Prominent Indian social activist Deep Joshi, who has done pioneering work for “development of rural communities”, was on

Monday named along with five others for the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for 2009, considered as Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize.

Joshi is being recognised for “his vision and leadership in bringing professionalism to the NGO movement in India, by effectively combining ‘head’ and ‘heart’ in the transformative development of rural communities,” the Board of Trustees of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation said in a press statement from its headquarters in Manila.

“I am delighted to get this honour. But the award is not for an individual, it is for an idea, for the development of rural population. We need the educated people to go to rural areas and work for their welfare,” 62-year-old Joshi said.

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