In a novel initiative, the state government has invited citizens to recommend achievers for the 2021 Rajyotsava award.
Citizens can nominate people from various walks of life and the applications will be scrutinized by a committee, Kannada & Culture Minister V Sunil Kumar said Saturday.
With this, the state government has taken a leaf out of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for people to nominate achievers for the Padma awards. Also, the government is trying to rebrand the Rajyotsava awards that have come to be accused of nepotism.
The Rajyotsava award, instituted in 1966, is Karnataka’s second-highest civilian honour after the Karnataka Ratna. Recipients of the award receive a cash prize, a gold medal and a citation.
According to Kumar, the government will recognise 66 achievers this year. Anyone wanting to recommend names can go to the Seva Sindhu portal - sevasindhu.karnataka.gov.in - and access the application specially created for the recommendations.
Each person can recommend three names and furnish details of the achievers - name, the sector of achievement, contact details among other personal details. This will help the government recognise achievers who may have done significant contributions to their field, but have not yet been recognised, the minister said.
An expert committee will scrutinise the applications and consider all the names that are found eligible. Except for sports, the recommended names have to be of achievers who are 60 years and above. The public can access the Seva Sindhu portal even through mobile phones. The last date for nominations is October 15, Kumar said.
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