Akarshana Satish, a Class 7 student of Hyderabad, has earned the praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for promoting the habit of book reading among children by setting up libraries.
A student of Hyderabad Public School, the 11-year-old is running seven libraries for children at different places in the city.
Her libraries have more than 6,000 books.
The Prime Minister mentioned her work in his monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat on Sunday.
In 2021, Akarshana had donated a library full of children's books for children suffering from cancer at MNJ Cancer Hospital so that they can spend time fruitfully.
Akarshana got her inspiration when she visited the hospital with her parents. The children asked her for colouring books.
Touched by this, she decided to gather books from neighbours and relatives and set up the first library for children at the same hospital.
She spent a year collecting 1,036 books in Telugu, English and Hindi to set up the library to help the children take their mind off their excruciating treatment cycles.
The student set up six more libraries for children at different places.
The Prime Minister called her an inspiration to everyone.
The girl set up one of the libraries in the Girls Juvenile Home run by the Department of Women Development and Child Welfare.
The library with 625 books was inaugurated in April.
Akarshana has won appreciation from several top officials including Director General of Police Anjani Kumar, Additional DGPs Swati Lakra and Shikha Goel.