Tatsat Chronicle Magazine

President Gives National Awards for Outstanding Work Towards Empowerment of PwDs

December 3, 2021
Ram Nath Kovind with the Persons with Disabilities

The President of India Ram Nath Kovind has conferred annual National Awards on individuals, institutions, organisations, state/district and others for their outstanding achievements and work towards the empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs). The awards were given on International Day of Persons with Disabilities, organised by the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, in New Delhi.

Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Dr Virendra Kumar presided over the function, while Union Ministers of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale, A. Narayanaswamy and Pratima Bhoumik graced the occasion.

The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment confers National Awards on individuals, institutions, organisations and state/district for their outstanding achievements and work done towards empowerment of PwDs every year. The department writes to the state governments/union territory administrators and central ministries/departments calling nominations for the annual awards in various categories. An advertisement is also published in the national/regional language daily newspapers to give wide publicity to the awards. This year too, an advertisement inviting applications from persons belonging to 21 specified disabilities, as also individuals/intuition working for the empowerment of persons with disabilities (Divyangjan) was published in newspapers, to which 1,095 applications were received. These applications were screened and shortlisted by the Screening Committees formed by the Department.