Ranchi, Dec. 13: Two students from Ranchi schools will receive the coveted Bal Shree award from President Pranab Mukherjee next month in New Delhi.

Sumit Prajapati (14) and Joyon Mazumdar (16) beat over a thousand rivals from across India in creative competitions hosted by National Bal Bhavan to get selected for the prestigious award.

The state Bal Bhavan in Jharkhand received their names today.

The contest was divided into four creative categories - performance, art, scientific innovations and writing. Across India, students aged between nine and 16 took part in them.

Sumit, a Class IX student of Surendranath Centenary School, bagged the honour in creative art (general category). Joyon, a Class X student of Vivekanand Vidya Mandir, and an amputee, has been chosen for the award in the same section in the special category.

Joyon's proud father Bholanath Mazumdar said that the judges might have been impressed with the boy's painting on global warming. "Joyon paints with his left hand. Since childhood, he has a passion for painting and we helped him to realise his dream. Today, we are feeling proud," he said.

Sumit, who won the award in the same section, said competing at the national-level was a bit tough as there were talented students from other states too.

"I drew a cricket stadium in the first round, a road-side dhaba in the second round and a railway station in the third round. In the final round, we faced an IQ test," he said, adding he was eager to meet the President.

Another student Ashutosh Sahay (15), a Class X boy of Senior Secondary School, Bhilai, who will be awarded in the creative performance (general category) section, as a budding sitarist, has a Ranchi link.

Though Ashutosh is a resident of Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, he stayed with his maternal uncle in Ranchi while taking part in the district-level competition.

Shailesh Mohan, Ashutosh's maternal uncle with whom he stayed, said, "Ashutosh has been learning the sitar since he was four years old. He has made our family proud."

Lauding the talent of the children, director of Jharkhand State Bal Bhavan Abhilasha said that since 2009 students from Jharkhand had been winning the honour.

Notably, the district-level selection procedure was held at Sarla Birla School in August, 2015, which saw participation of 17 students.

Only eight were selected out of 17, who went to New Delhi to participate in the national-level competition held in March, 2016.

The competitions are organised by the National Bal Bhavan under the Union ministry of human resource development.