Earthshot Prize 2026 comes to India for the first time – Awards Night in Mumbai on 17 Nov; Prince William's environment prize

28 October 2026 · English Awards, Appointments & Persons

Topics: History, Water, States, Environment & Science · 28 October 2026 Current Affairs (UPSC / TNPSC / SSC / RRB)

News

The Earthshot Prize – the leading global environment prize founded by Prince William – is being held in India for the first time, in Mumbai. A summit runs on 16–17 Nov 2026 and Awards Night is on 17 Nov. Five winners, one in each of five categories, will each receive £1 million. The ceremony will be hosted by filmmaker Karan Johar, the first Indian to host it. The 15 finalists for 2026 were announced on 18 Sept; they include India's Mahila Housing Trust (Fix our Climate) and Mahindra Last Mile Mobility (Clean our Air). Mumbai was named host on 17 Feb 2026 during the inaugural Mumbai Climate Week.

Key facts

Ceremony	17 Nov 2026 – Mumbai (summit 16–17 Nov); first time in India
Founder	Prince William & Royal Foundation, 2020; named after Kennedy's 'Moonshot'
Prize	5 winners × £1 million; £25 million awarded so far
5 Earthshots	Protect & Restore Nature; Clean Our Air; Revive Our Oceans; Build a Waste-free World; Fix Our Climate
Past hosts	London (2021), Boston (2022), Singapore (2023), Cape Town (2024), Rio de Janeiro (2025)
Partners	Serum Institute of India – principal sponsor; Prime Video – streaming

Background

Indian winners: Takachar (Vidyut Mohan, 2021, Clean Our Air – turns crop residue into fuel/fertiliser instead of burning); Kheyti (2022, Protect & Restore Nature – 'Greenhouse-in-a-Box' for smallholders); S4S Technologies (2023, Waste-free World – solar dryers cutting food waste); Boomitra (2023, Fix Our Climate – carbon-credit market for soil restoration).
Indian finalists: Vinisha Umashankar (2021, Clean Our Air), Fleather (2022), State of Gujarat (2025, Clean Our Air). Earthshot has identified over 5,600 innovations from 156 countries.
Environment: stubble burning after paddy harvest in Punjab and Haryana worsens north India's winter air pollution; Takachar's machine is reported to cut such smoke emissions by up to 98%.

Tamil Nadu link: Tiruvannamalai student Vinisha Umashankar became a finalist (the youngest) in the 'Clean Our Air' category of the first Earthshot Prize in 2021 for her solar-powered ironing cart (Iron-Max), which replaces charcoal irons; she also spoke at COP26 in Glasgow. The National Innovation Foundation (NIF) helped build the prototype.

Source: earthshotprize.org (Mumbai 2026; 17 Feb 2026 announcement); Business Wire (finalists, 18 Sept 2026); Global Indian (19 Sept 2026); Free Press Journal; WFAE/NPR (Vinisha, Nov 2021)

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