He was presented with the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration, Academics and Management for the year 2017.

[7] A prolific writer and speaker, Dr. Pathak authored several books, the best known of which is The Road to Freedom, and was a frequent participant in conferences on sanitation, health and social progress around the world.

Pathak established the Sulabh International[9] Social Service Organization in 1970, combining technical innovation with humanitarian principles.

[10][11] The organisation works to promote human rights, environmental sanitation, non-conventional sources of energy, waste management and social reforms through education.

He has made innovative use of biogas creation by linking Sulabh toilets to fermentation plants, he had designed over three decades ago and which are now becoming a byword for sanitation in developing countries all over the world.

One of the distinctive features of Pathak's project lies in the fact that besides producing odour-free bio-gas, it also releases clean water rich in phosphorus and other ingredients which are important constituents of organic manure.

[19] On 12 July 2017, Pathak's book The Making of a Legend, on the life of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was launched in New Delhi.