Brief About National Awards
Introduction
In order to give focused attention to policy issues and meaningful thrust to the activities aimed at Welfare and Empowerment of the Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), a separate Department of Disability Affairs was carved out of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on May 12, 2012. The Department was renamed as Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities on December 8, 2014. The Department acts as a nodal agency for matters pertaining to disability and Persons with disabilities including effecting closer coordination among different stakeholders: related Central Ministries, State/UT Governments, NGOs etc. in matters pertaining to disability.
The Department is working to achieve its mission of Empowering Persons with disabilities through its various Acts, Institutions, Organizations, and Schemes for rehabilitation and to create an enabling environment that provides such persons with equal opportunities, protection of their rights, and enables them to participate as independent and productive members of society. The Department has presently 09 autonomous bodies (National Institutes), 02 Corporations, 03 Statutory Bodies, and 25 Composite Regional Centres for Skill Development, Rehabilitation & Employment of Persons with Disabilities.
In 1969, the Government approved a scheme for presenting National Awards to outstanding Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) as employers and employees. These awards have been instituted with the objective of focusing public attention on issues concerning persons with disabilities and promoting their mainstreaming in society. The scope of the scheme has been amended from time to time, keeping in view the changing scenario.
The National Awards are conferred on 3rd December every year on the ‘International Day of Persons with Disabilities’ to outstanding Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) and Individuals/Organizations working for their empowerment.
Till 2017, the Award Scheme was governed under the National Awards Rules, 2013 which provided for 7 categories of disabilities as per the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995. However, with the coming into force of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 w.e.f. 19th April 2017, the number of specified disabilities increased from 7 to 21 under the new Law. Accordingly, all the 21 disabilities were included under the National Award Guidelines notified in the Extra-ordinary Gazette of India dated 2nd August 2018.
In July 2020, the Ministry of Home Affairs advised that over the years, the institution of multiple Awards across Ministries/Departments and selection of a large number of awardees had impacted the value and prestige associated with these National Awards. In this connection, the vision of the Hon’ble Prime Minister was communicated as follows:
“To transform the entire ecosystem of awards conferred by the Government especially building credibility and trust by focusing on merit, objectivity, transparency, people participation, simplicity, efficiency and use of technology. And that selection of awardees may be such that it not only elevates the stature of the award but also inspires the Nation by their exceptional achievements and impact of their contributions on society.”
The Guidelines for the National Awards for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities have since been simplified, revised, and notified in the Extra-ordinary Gazette of India dated 19th July 2022 (Copy at Annexure-I). The revised Guidelines provide two main categories of Awards:
- Individual Excellence (6 sub-categories)
- Institutional Empowerment (8 sub-categories)
Under the revised Guidelines, applications/nominations are invited online on the award portal designed and administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs: www.awards.gov.in.