President confers Nari Shakti Puraskars on 29 women

• President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the Nari Shakti Puraskars on 29 women for 2020 and 2021 on International Women's Day . 

• Twenty-eight awards — 14 each for 2020 and 2021, including a joint award, were given to the women in recognition of their exceptional work towards women empowerment, especially the vulnerable and marginalised.

• Its recipients are from fields such as entrepreneurship, agriculture, innovation, social work, education and literature, linguistics, arts and crafts, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), disability rights, merchant navy and wildlife conservation.

Nari Shakti Puraskar

• The Nari Shakti Puraskar, which literally means ‘Woman Power Award’, is a national award in recognition of exceptional work for women empowerment conferred by the President every year on March 8 — the International Women’s Day.

• It is an initiative of the ministry of women and child development (WCD)  ministry to acknowledge exceptional contributions made by individuals and institutions, and to celebrate women as game-changers and catalysts of positive change in society.

• The award carries a certificate and a cash amount of Rs 2 lakh per awardee.

How are the awards finalised?

• The awards are open to all individuals and institutions. 

• In case of individual category, the awardee must be at least 25 years of age. If the applicant is an institution, it should have worked in the relevant field for at least five years. 

• Self-nominations and recommendations are also considered. The Selection Committee may also, suo-moto, recommend an individual/institution for the award with sufficient justification.

• A Screening Committee, headed by a joint secretary-level officer of the WCD ministry, will scrutinise and shortlist the nominations received considering the achievements of institutions and individuals.

• The final selection is made by a Selection Committee, chaired by the Union Minister of Women and Child Development, on the basis of recommendations of the Screening Committee.

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