Van Mahotsav was started by K.M. Munshi (Dr. Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi), Union Minister for Agriculture and Food in the Government of India, in 1950.
- Van Mahotsav (Sanskrit: "Festival of Trees") is an annual tree-planting festival held during the first week of July coinciding with monsoon onset for optimal planting conditions
- Launched to address rampant deforestation and declining forest cover in post-independence India
- Involves mass tree-planting drives by government agencies, schools, colleges, and citizens
- K.M. Munshi was also a prominent writer, lawyer, member of the Constituent Assembly, and co-founder of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (1938)