Shyamhari Chakra
The Ministry of Women and Child Development has invited nominations for the prestigious annual national awards for exceptional children – Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Shakti Puraskar for 2021.
The awards were instituted in 1996 to accord recognition to children with extraordinary abilities and outstanding achievements in the fields of innovation, scholastic, social service, arts, culture and sports. Each award carries a medal, a citation, a certificate and a cash prize of Rs.one lakh.
Children in the age group of 5 to 18 are eligible for nominations for the awards.
The Ministry has also invited nominations for Bal Kalyan Puraskar which were known earlier as the National Child Welfare Awards. Instituted since 1979, the awards aim at recognising such individuals and institutions who have made outstanding contributions in the fields of child Development, child protection and child welfare. Three awards are given in each of these two categories – individuals and institutions.
The awards are conferred by the President of India in a special ceremony hosted at the historic Darbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan in the week preceding Republic Day celebration.
The Prime Minister of India also felicitates the awardees in a special gathering at his residence. Besides, the Bal Shakti Puraskar recipients also take part in Republic Day parade staged on Rajpath in the national capital on January 26.
Detailed guidelines of the awards are available on the exclusive /website – www.nca-wcd.nic.in – the Ministry has announced.
Only online application forms submitted by applicants will be entertained latest by September 15, it added.
The Ministry has clarified that some awards conferred in the name of ICCW National Bravery Awards by a private organization are not recognized by the Ministry and the awards are not associated with the Ministry in any way.
