New Delhi: A record number of over 2,300 nominations have been received for "Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration 2017". The awards will be given this year's Civil Services Day on 21st April to bureaucrats for implementing the Centre's key programmes.
Of the total 2,345 nominations, Uttar Pradesh has sent 269 entries, 114 from Madhya Pradesh, followed by Telangana and Gujarat with 98 nominations each, Odisha with 83, Rajasthan with 82 and Jharkhand with 81.
Among the North-Eastern and Hill states, Assam has sent maximum number of entries i.e. 50, followed by Himachal Pradesh with 33 and Uttarakhand with 22. Jammu and Kashmir has sent a total of 17 entries, a press release issued today by the Personnel Ministry said.
Of the total nominations, 1,515 have been received from 599 districts under the priority programmes category and 830 from various organisations and government agencies under innovation category.
The "Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Public Administration 2017" will be given to select bureaucrats and organisations by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Civil Services Day on April 21.
Union minister Jitendra Singh, who reviewed the preparations for the two-day programme, said efforts are being made to have some of the most renowned Noble laureates from across the world to deliver keynote addresses during the different sessions.
The final award winners will be decided on the basis of the performance of the priority programmes and innovation initiatives of the Centre undertaken by different districts or states during the period from April 1, 2015 to December 31, 2016, said Dr Jitendra Singh, the Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
"This year’s awards", he said, "Will be based primarily on excellence in implementation of five priority programmes of Government of India, which include (i) Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), (ii) Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), (iii) Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY), (iv) e-National Agriculture Market (eNAM) and (v) Startup India, Standup India."
In addition, he said, awards will also be presented for innovation work done in areas of environment, conservation, disaster management, education, health, women and child initiatives, etc.