For most public servants, retirement marks the end of an official career. For Prakriti Srivastava, a retired 1990 batch Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer and former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), Kerala, it has become the beginning of another chapter of public service.
Years after stepping away from government office continues to contribute her personal savings towards the education of children from underprivileged tribal communities. Her latest contribution of Rs 3 lakh to Kerala’s ‘Srishti Scholarship’ has taken her personal contribution to the initiative to Rs 16 lakh.
The contribution is aimed at helping more tribal girl students pursue their education and comes from the retired officer’s own savings.
For Ms Srivastava, a Kerala cadre officer, the initiative is rooted in a simple belief: service to society does not end with retirement.
“Whatever I am doing for these tribal girls is much lesser compared to what the society has given me during all these years,” she humbly told Indian Masterminds.
Another Rs 3 Lakh for Srishti Scholarship
In September 2026, Srivastava wrote to the Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (APCCF), E&TW, Kerala Forest Department, Thiruvananthapuram, informing the department about her latest contribution.
She stated that she had transferred Rs 3 lakh in three instalments on September 7, 2026, towards funding the Srishti Scholarship for tribal girl children through the State Forest Development Agency (SFDA), Kerala.
Read Also: How an IFS Officer Remarkably Turnaround KDFC’s Fortunes
In her communication, she requested that the amount be incorporated into the Fixed Deposit created for disbursing the ‘Srishti Scholarship’ so that the fund could support more scholarships according to the scheme’s norms.
She also requested the department to provide her and her daughter Srishti with an annual update on the disbursement of the scholarships.
With this latest contribution, Ms Srivastava’s personal contribution to the ‘Srishti Scholarship’ has reached Rs 16 lakh – including Rs 15 lakh towards the corpus and Rs 1 lakh for immediate scholarship payments, according to her latest communication.
The contribution reflects a commitment that has continued for more than a decade, long after the officer first decided to put her award money towards the education of tribal girls.
It Started With an Award in 2015
The story of Ms Srivastava’s association with tribal girls’ education goes back to 2015, when she received the RBS Green Warrior Award for her contribution to environmental conservation.
The award carried a cash prize of Rs 1.5 lakh.
Rather than using the prize for herself, Ms Srivastava decided to put the entire amount towards the welfare and education of tribal children.
She donated the Rs 1.5 lakh award money to establish a scholarship initiative for tribal girls. She further contributed Rs 65,000 from her own savings to the scholarship corpus.
Thus began what would eventually become the ‘Srishti Scholarship’.
At the time, 22 applications were received from tribal girls. Following several stages of scrutiny, Haritha V from South Wayanad and Jijitha Rajan from Wayanad Wildlife were selected as the first beneficiaries.
The two students were awarded scholarships of Rs 15,000 each to support their studies from 2017 onwards.
The initiative would soon demonstrate the potential of a relatively small personal contribution to create a sustained educational support system.
From Two Students to a Government-Backed Scholarship
What began with Ms Srivastava’s award money and personal savings gradually evolved into a structured scholarship programme.
The Kerala Forest Department subsequently adopted the initiative, with the department depositing Srivastava’s contribution into a dedicated bank account. The interest generated from the corpus is used to provide scholarships to tribal girls, allowing the initiative to support students on a continuing basis.
The scale of the programme also expanded over time.
As the corpus grew, the number of applications increased substantially. At one stage, more than 60 applications from tribal girls were received for consideration, with applications being scrutinised according to the prescribed criteria.
The transformation of a personal philanthropic gesture into a government-supported scholarship programme is perhaps one of the most significant aspects of Ms Srivastava’s initiative.
Her contribution did not remain a one-time donation. Instead, it became the foundation for a mechanism through which more tribal girls could receive educational support.
‘Budding Doctors’ Who Benefited From the Initiative
Among the early beneficiaries were Haritha V and Jijitha Rajan, who received scholarships from the programme to continue their studies.
The two students later pursued MBBS degrees, turning the early success of the scholarship into an example of how targeted educational assistance can help students from disadvantaged communities move towards professional careers.
For Ms Srivastava, the objective was never merely to provide financial assistance. It was about creating opportunities for young tribal girls who otherwise face significant social and economic challenges in continuing their education.
Her experience as a forest officer had given her a close understanding of the difficulties faced by tribal communities.
‘I Have Seen Numerous Tribal Settlements From Close Quarters’
Speaking with Indian Masterminds, Ms Srivastava explained the personal motivation behind the initiative.
“As a DFO I have seen numerous tribal settlements from close quarters. I admire how they live under such hardships and vagaries of nature. I always wanted to do something for them.”
Her words underline the connection between her professional experience in the forest service and her philanthropic work.
As a forest officer, she had worked in and around forest landscapes where tribal communities live. Her interaction with these communities brought her face-to-face with the hardships experienced by many families, particularly when it came to access to education and opportunities.
That experience eventually translated into a personal commitment to support tribal girls’ education.
She Later Increased Her Personal Contribution
Ms Srivastava’s commitment to the scholarship did not stop with her initial donation.
In 2023, she contributed another Rs 6.75 lakh from her personal savings towards the Srishti initiative. She also encouraged her mother to contribute to the cause.
Her mother subsequently donated Rs 4 lakh to the state forest funds towards the Srishti Scholarship.
At that stage, the fund included earlier contributions of Rs 2.15 lakh in 2017 and Rs 10.75 lakh in 2023, taking the total fund to approximately Rs 12.90 lakh.
With the enhanced corpus, the Kerala Forest Department planned to provide additional scholarships to tribal girl students.
The progression demonstrates how Srivastava repeatedly chose to put her own resources into an initiative that she believed could create long-term educational opportunities.
‘What I Am Doing Is Much Lesser Compared to What Society Has Given Me’
For Ms Srivastava, the philanthropy is not something she considers extraordinary.
Explaining her motivation, she had said, “Whatever I am doing for these tribal girls is much lesser compared to what the society has given me during all these years.”
She also expressed her desire to take the initiative to a larger number of beneficiaries.
“So I want to take this to as many girls as possible. I will also try to spread this initiative to the entire country after my retirement.”
Her latest contribution shows that the commitment she spoke about years ago has continued even after retirement.
Retirement Has Not Ended Her Public Service
Ms Srivastava’s latest Rs 3 lakh contribution is significant not simply because of the amount involved, but because of where it comes from and when it has been made.
“I always wanted to do something for them,” she added.
She is no longer drawing a government salary or holding an official position. Yet, she continues to set aside money from her personal savings for the education of tribal girls.
This makes her story different from conventional government welfare initiatives. The Srishti Scholarship began with an individual decision to redirect prize money towards a social cause and subsequently evolved into a structured scholarship supported through the forest department.
Her latest communication also shows that she remains personally interested in knowing how the scholarship is being used. By requesting an annual update on scholarship disbursement, she has maintained a direct connection with the initiative and its beneficiaries.
A Legacy Beyond the Forest Service
During her career in the Indian Forest Service, Ms Srivastava served in different capacities and eventually became PCCF, Kerala. Her professional work was associated with environmental conservation and forest administration.
But her contribution to society has extended beyond the conventional responsibilities of the Forest Service.
The ‘Srishti Scholarship’ represents a different dimension of her legacy – one that connects conservation, tribal communities and education.
For tribal girls living in and around forest areas, access to education can open doors to opportunities that may otherwise remain beyond reach. By supporting their studies, the initiative seeks to help them build independent futures.
The fact that early beneficiaries went on to pursue medical education demonstrates the transformative potential of such interventions.
From One Award to a Continuing Movement
The journey of Srishti is, in many ways, a story of how one individual’s decision can grow into a larger institutional effort.
It began with Rs 1.5 lakh in award money in 2015, followed by Srivastava’s personal contribution of Rs 65,000. Over the years, she continued adding to the corpus, including her substantial contribution in 2023 and now another Rs 3 lakh in 2026.
Meanwhile, her initiative encouraged her own family to participate, with her mother contributing Rs 4 lakh, while the Kerala Forest Department took the initiative forward as a formal scholarship programme.
What started as an individual act of philanthropy thus developed into a continuing mechanism for supporting tribal girls’ education.
For Srivastava, however, the underlying purpose remains unchanged: to ensure that talented children from disadvantaged communities do not have to give up their education simply because of financial constraints.
About Her
Ms Srivastava is a highly distinguished, retired Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer from the 1990 Kerala cadre who concluded her decorated 32-year career in 2022 as the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) for Kerala.
Holding a Master’s Degree in Zoology from Delhi University, she earned a formidable reputation for her strict enforcement of environmental laws. She held six territorial postings, aggressively combating illegal timber smuggling and encroachments, establishing four new national parks in Kerala, and serving at the central level as the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) for Wildlife. From 2018 to 2022, she was deputed as the Country Director for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) – India Programme, where she advocated for innovative habitat connectivity frameworks like a National Wildlife Highway System.
Since her retirement, she has remained a prominent voice in Indian environmental policy, frequently publishing analytical critiques against the commercialization of ecotourism and the illegal diversion of natural forests
Service That Continues After Retirement
Ex-IFS Prakriti Srivastava’s story offers a different definition of retirement.
For her, leaving government service did not mean leaving behind the communities she had encountered during her career. Instead, she chose to continue serving them through a cause she believes can create lasting change – education.
Her latest Rs 3 lakh contribution takes her personal contribution to the Srishti Scholarship to Rs 16 lakh. More importantly, it reinforces a commitment that began with her award money more than a decade ago and has continued through her own savings even after retirement.
The Srishti Scholarship may have begun with one officer’s decision, but its larger message extends beyond one individual: public service can continue even when the official position ends, and sometimes the most enduring legacy of a public servant is created after retirement.
“Retirement may have ended her official service, but it could not end her commitment to tribal girls’ education.”
Read Also: People Being Relocated In Kerala To Avoid Conflict with Elephants
