The President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee will present Nari Shakti Puraskars 2016 at a special ceremony/function to be held in New Delhi on International Women’s Day tomorrow.

 To acknowledge Women’s achievements, the Government of India confers Nari Shakti Puraskars on eminent women and institutions in recognition of their service towards the cause of women empowerment.

            The awards recognize the efforts made by women & institutions in rendering distinguished services for the cause of women, especially vulnerable and marginalized women. The Ministry of Women and Child Development announces these national level awards for eminent women, organisations and institutions.

The Puraskars are open to all Indian Institutions, organisations and individuals. The WCD Ministry invites nominations from the State Governments, Union Territory Administrations, concerned Central Ministries/Departments, Non-Governmental Organisations, Universities/ Institutions, private and public sector undertakings (PSUs) working for empowerment of women. However, in exceptional cases, the Selection Committee may also, suo moto, recommend a person or institution for the award, with justification.

A Screening Committee to scrutinize and short list the nominations received for the Awards and a Selection Committee constituted for the purpose considers the achievements of organizations and individuals nominated or recommended for the Puraskars by the prescribed authority. The outstanding contributions in the field are of primary consideration in identifying the recipients of Puraskars.

The final selections of the Awardees are made by the National Selection Committee which takes into account the recommendations of the Screening Committee. The National Selection Committee may at its discretion also consider individuals other than those recommended by the State Governments/Central Ministries. This year the Selection Committee chaired by the Minister of Women & Child Development, Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, has unanimously agreed to increase the number of Awards to 31 as more nominees were found to be deserving and the  age criteria was also relaxed.

The Nari Shakti Awards were initiated in the year 1999 and the guidelines were reframed in the year 2015.

The Nari Shakti Puraskar carries a cash award of Rs.1 Lakh and a certificate for individuals and institutions.

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NB/UD