The Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize, established in 2018 by the New India Foundation, annually recognizes outstanding non-fiction works concerning modern or contemporary India. The New India Foundation is a charitable trust dedicated to supporting Indian scholars and writers through research fellowships and book grants, including those for fiction and translations from Indian languages.

The prize is open to authors of any nationality and books published in any language, with a financial award of ₹15 lakh. Books that have previously received fellowships from the foundation are excluded from consideration. The selection process involves a jury composed of the foundation's trustees. Piers Vitebsky was among the authors shortlisted for this prestigious award, highlighting his contributions to non-fiction writing about India.