This is the first time that an organisation has bagged this international award since it was instituted in 1995. The award will be given away by President K R Narayanan at a ceremony in January next year.

A high-power jury chaired by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee unanimously chose the organisation for this prestigious award. The other members of the jury were Chief Justice of India M M Punchhi, Leader of the Opposition Sharad Pawar, Former President R Venkatraman and Dr A T Ariyaratne of Sri Lanka.

Dr Joshi said the Mission had been chosen for its charitable and philanthropic work from among 53 nominations received. ``This prize honours the commitment and contribution of the Mission towards the amelioration of humansufferings and undertaking activities, which are close to the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi''.

The minister also announced on the occasion the government's decision sanctioning 1.4 crore rupees for the repair of Swami Vivekananda's ancestral home. The Mission runs schools, colleges, hospitals and orphanages and also preaches religious tolerance and other teachings of Sri Ramakrishna through books, journals and lectures. The Mission was founded in 1897 by Swami Vivekananda and has 135 branches in different parts of India and countries like Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, United Kingdom, United States, France, Switzerland, Argentina, Fiji, Japan and Russia.

Former Tanzanian President Julius K Nyerere was the first recipient of the Gandhi peace prize in 1995. Dr Ariyaratne, who is a Sri Lankan social scientist, won the award in 1996 while Dr Gerhard Fischer, former German diplomat, was its winner in 1997.