Droupadi Murmu to confer PM Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2024 to 19 children on January 22

NEW DELHI: The President Droupadi Murmu will present the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2024 to 19 children on January 22 at Vigyan Bhawan. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with the awardees on the next day, the official statement read.

The Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2024 will be awarded in six categories. Seven students will receive awards under art and culture, five under sports category, four for social service, and one each for bravery, innovation, and science and technology. They will also receive a medal and a certificate.

Of the 19 children selected, 9 are boys and 10 are girls belonging to 18 states and Union Territories (UTs), including 2 aspirational districts.

The minister of women and child development, Smriti Zubin Irani and minister of state Munjpara Mahendrabhai will also interact with the children during the event.

The Government of India confers the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar (PMRBP) award to children in the age group 5 – 18 years to recognise their achievements. There are a total of seven categories, viz. art and culture, bravery, environment, innovation, science and technology, social service and sports; and this year, students are awarded under 6 categories.

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Bal Puraskar 2024: Selection process

The ministry of women and child development said that this year advertisements were published in both regional and national newspapers to increase the nominations. “The National Award Portal was kept open for nominations for a longer period from 9th May, 2023 to 15th September, 2023. Line Ministries, Chief Secretaries/ Administrators of all States/ UTs, DMs/ DCs across the country were requested to give PMRBP wide publicity through print and electronic media and other mediums, so that the award is publicized, and nominations are submitted from all levels including Gram Panchayats/ Municipalities, etc,” the ministry said.

Moreover, artificial intelligence was used for data crawling for the past 2 years through media content. The ministry also approached the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) for recommending deserving children.

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The claims were verified through multiple layers including district magistrates and domain experts followed by a screening committee comprising of experts in varied disciplines like social service, environment, science, technology, art and culture, sports, etc.

“The profiles shortlisted after the Screening Committee Meeting were again examined by National Level Independent Experts from various domains such as Sangeet Natak Akademi, Central Reserve Police Force, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Indian Institute of Public Administration and Sports Authority of India amongst others,” it added.