The organisation was founded on 7 January 1972 by Eknath Ranade, a senior pracharak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Its current[when?] president is A. Balakrishnan.
The organisation has constructed a solid waste management and bio-gas plant in Mahabalipuram.[3]
Vivekananda Kendra received the Gandhi Peace Prize for 2015 for its contribution to rural development, education and development of natural resources.[4]
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Pandya, Samta P. (9 July 2014). "The Vivekananda Kendra in India: Its ideological translations and a critique of its social service". Critical Research on Religion. 2 (2): 116–133. doi:10.1177/2050303214534999. ISSN2050-3032. S2CID143748202.
Beckerlegge, G. (2003). "Saffron and Seva: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's Appropriation of Swami Vivekananda". In A. Copley (ed.). Hinduism in Public and Private. Oxford University Press. pp. 31–65. ISBN0198062826.
Beckerlegge, Gwilym (2010). "'An ordinary organisation run by ordinary people': A study of leadership in Vivekananda Kendra". Contemporary South Asia. 18 (1): 71–88. doi:10.1080/09584930903561689. S2CID145311756.