Garshom Awards were instituted by Garshom Foundation, Bangalore India and initiated in the year 2002. The word "Garshom" means "Pravasi", one who is away from his motherland. Garshom Awards were instituted to recognize those hidden faces among the community of Non Resident Keralites who have been doing laudable work in the socio-cultural-business-professional field in various parts of the world. The awards recognize the contribution of the global community of NRKs to the society they are currently part of, the nation they were born to, and to Kerala, their motherland in particular.