The Shankar's International Children's Competition (SICC) began in 1949. At that time, Mr. Shankar Pillai, SHANKAR as he is more popularly known, was editing a cartoon journal called 'Shankar's Weekly'. In the weekly Shankar made fun of grown-ups, especially politicians and public men. However, for children, Shankar always had a soft corner. So, acting on the spur of the moment, he held a competition for children in painting and writing. About a thousand children took part sending 3,000 entries. Shankar was so impressed with what they had drawn and written that the very next year he held another competition throwing it open to children from other countries. The result was 7,000 entries from 13 countries. The number of entries has grown over the last three decades and more, touching an average of about 1,60,000 from 130 countries. Even Shankar had not bargained for such an explosion of child talent.

The best of the entries are chosen by an international jury. Because of the limited space available for display, about 2000 paintings are selected after an initial screening. The selected paintings are put up for public viewing for three weeks. This exhibition has come to be known as Shankar's International Children's Art Exhibition.

The paintings, chosen by the international jury, are awarded prizes at an annual function held in New Delhi. There are over 800 prizes. The top awards are the President of India's Gold Medal for the best painting, the Shankar's Gold Medal for the best written entry, and 24 Nehru Memorial Gold Medals, named after Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India. He had been a source of great encouragement and inspiration to Shankar.

The annual prize-distribution function itself is unique in that it is conducted entirely by school children. Prize-winners from India and a few from abroad attend the function. Prizes won by other foreign children are received, on their behalf, by the diplomatic representatives of the respective countries. The President of India or the Vice-President or the Prime Minister is normally the Chief Guest at the function.

Set up by the renowned political cartoonist K. Shankar Pillai (1902-1989), Shankar's International Dolls Museum has the largest collection of costume dolls anywhere in the world.

Housed in the building of the Children's Book Trust on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi, the Museum occupies a floor area of 5184.5 sq. feet – a portion of the first floor. A separate entrance with a stately winding staircase leads up to a foyer. Inside, the Museum is divided into two equal halves. The two sections have over 160 glass cases, 1000 ft. long, mounted on the walls. One section has exhibits from European countries, the U.K., and the U.S.A., Australia, New Zealand, Commonwealth of Independent States and the other from Asian countries, the Middle East, Africa and India. There are also special displays besides a representative collection from the over 150 kinds of authentic Indian costume dolls made at the Dolls Designing Centre and Workshop (started in 1966) attached to the Museum.

Indian dolls made at the workshop are exchanged for gifts received from abroad as well as sold to collectors and to museums in India and abroad. Each doll is handcrafted after meticulous research into the physical attributes, dress and jewellery of individual characters. Little wonder then, the dolls won the First Prize–Golden Peacock Feather–at the Dolls Biennale held in Cracow, Poland, in 1980. The Museum's collection of the costume dolls was inspired by a gift of a single doll, which Shankar received from the Hungarian Ambassador in the early fifties, to be given away as a prize in the Shankar's International Children's Competition. Shankar fell in love with the doll. With the permission of the Ambassador, he kept the doll for himself. So fascinated was he with this Hungarian doll that Shankar, thereafter, began collecting costume dolls whenever he went abroad. His visits were frequent, he being a part of the group of journalists accompanying the then Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

Soon he had a collection of around 500 dolls which he decided to exhibit in various places in India along with the paintings done by children. The frequent packing and unpacking resulted in damage to the dolls much to Shankar's consternation.

Shankar voiced his concern for the damaged dolls. Promptly a suggestion came from Indira Gandhi: Why not a permanent museum for the dolls? So, when the Children's Book Trust was putting up its building, a portion was set apart and planned as a museum for the dolls. The museum was ready in 1965 and it was inaugurated by the then President of India, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, who appropriately named the building, 'Nehru House' after the late Prime Minister. The Museum started with a thousand dolls. Between 1965 and 1987 another 5000 were added – a vast majority coming as gifts. Today the volume has increased to 6,500 exhibits from almost eighty-five countries, giving it a truly international character. The Museum is listed in the itinerary of all visitors to Delhi. Some of the important dignitaries who have visited the Museum and recorded their appreciation are: President U. Thant of Burma (now Myanmar), Madame Tito of Yugoslavia, Queen Frederika of Greece, the Queen of Thailand, the sister of Shah of Iran, the wives of the President of Mexico and Indonesia, of the Prime Ministers of Poland and South Korea and the UN Secretary General and cultural delegations from many countries.

The Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. without any lunch break. The ticket counter closes at 5.30 p.m. The Museum observes Mondays as weekly holiday, besides three National and festive holidays.

Housed in the premises of the Trust, the Dr. B.C. Roy Memorial Children’s Reading Room and Library was opened in 1967 and is exclusively for school going children. The library has a collection of over 40,000 books on varied subjects, in English and Hindi. It is open to members from 9.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. The Library is closed on all Mondays, National holidays and certain festival holidays.

Fastidious ever, Shankar established his own press in 1965 to print CBT publications, to ensure quality. It accepts prestigious outside jobs. The Press is well-equipped, employs advanced, modern printing technology and is known for its quality. It has received several awards for excellence in printing.

The Shankar's Academy of Art and Book Publishing, situated in Nehru House, was founded in 1991 to train students for the field of book publishing and to develop illustrators of children's books. The Academy began by conducting two diploma courses – one in Art, Book Illustration and Graphics, and the other in Book Publishing. The courses are conducted by a trained faculty, their content being intensive in nature. The Book Publishing course is currently suspended.

Children's Book Trust was allotted land in the Diplomatic Enclave in New Delhi where now stands the Shankar’s Centre for Children. Proposed to be a meeting ground for children, the Centre is intended to be a visible symbol of the goodwill and sense of togetherness among children of the world that Shankar's International Children's Competition has succeeded in creating in the last six decades.

Children's Book Trust has travelled far in perspective and the quality and variety of its activities. As for publications, it remains the most important publishing house for children's books. The production of books, limited to a few decades back, has increased several-fold, at times exceeding a 100 in a year. CBT books have become a byword for elegance, quality and printing merit. The annual sale of books has increased five-fold. The diversification of subjects has come to cover a large gamut relevant to children and their growing needs. CBT books have got national and international awards. CBT Library is attracting a larger number of members. The SICC, with its increasing worldwide participation, has created a much-needed sense of fraternity among children of many countries. Drawing and writing about peace on earth, which now figures as a recurring subject in the Competition entries, the participants have come together in their attitudes and sensitivity, favouring harmony and cooperation among the nations. In all these activities CBT has kept in mind Shankar's passionate belief that children deserve nothing but the very best.