National Awards to disableds to be present on December 3

New Delhi, Nov 27 : Empowerment of persons with disabilities requires dedicated efforts of persons and institutions involved. To recognise their effort and encourage them to achieve excellence in this field, the Government will present National awards on December 3, which has been declared as the "International Day of Disabled Persons."

The awards will be given to the most efficient and outstanding employees or self-employed with disabilities, best employers, best placement agency, outstanding individuals, outstanding institutions, role models, outstanding creative disabled individuals and for best applied research or innovation development aimed at improving the life of persons with disabilities.

Awards will also be given to Government Sector, Public Sector Undertakings and private enterprises for creating barrier free environment for the persons with disabilities, the best district in the field of disability rehabilitation, best Local Level Committee of the National Trust and to the best State Channelising Agency (SCA) of the National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation (NHFDC).

Awards will be presented to outstanding employees with disabilities and outstanding persons with disabilities regardless of whether they are in public sector/Government or private sector.

Preference will be given to the placement of women with disabilities, particularly, from the rural areas and self-employed women disabled persons. Women with disabilities are encouraged to send their nomination for National Awards.

In 1969, the Government approved a Scheme for giving National Awards to the outstanding employers of persons with disabilities as well as the most outstanding employees. The scope of the scheme has been amended whenever required keeping in view the changing scenario.

The applications are invited by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment from eligible candidates or institutions in above-mentioned categories in prescribed application form through advertisement in the leading national or regional newspapers and writing to the State Governments or Union Territories and earlier awardees to forward applications with their recommendation.

Wide publicity is also given through radio and television for inviting applications. The eligible applications received till the prescribed last date is short-listed on merit by the Screening Committee constituted for this purpose.

The national selection committee decides the nomination of the awardees for various categories of national awards after giving due consideration to respective Screening committee recommendations.

ANI