The news lately has been buzzing about the prestigious recognition bestowed upon 32 exceptional children — ‘Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar.’ The accolade celebrates their remarkable abilities and impressive achievements. A distinguished tradition, the President of India presents these awards in the week leading up to Republic Day, which falls on 26th January every year.
Understanding the Two Categories of the Award
The Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar is divided into two distinct categories: the Bal Shakti Puraskar and the Bal Kalyan Puraskar. Each award focuses on a different aspect of the contribution of children and those helping them reach their potential.
Bal Shakti Puraskar: Celebrating Exceptional Achievement in Children
The Bal Shakti Puraskar is an annual recognition bestowed by the Indian Government to salute the extraordinary accomplishments of children in various domains. These fields include innovation, scholastic achievements, social service, arts & culture, sports, and bravery.
The criteria for eligibility for this award demands that the recipient must be an Indian citizen, living in India and aged between 5-18 years. As part of the award, recipients receive a medal, a cash prize of Rs. 1,00,000, book vouchers worth Rs.10,000, a certificate, and a citation.
The Bal Shakti Puraskar has a deep-rooted history, being instituted in 1996 as the National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement. However, its nomenclature was changed from 2018 and it is now known as the Bal Shakti Puraskar.
Bal Kalyan Puraskar: Recognizing Outstanding Contribution Towards Children’s Welfare
Bal Kalyan Puraskar is the second category of the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar. This award is accorded as recognition to individuals and institutions that have made remarkable contributions in child development, child protection, and child welfare.
A candidate for Bal Kalyan Puraskar must be an Indian Citizen, residing in India and should be aged 18 years or above. Crucially, they should have committed themselves to the cause of children for no less than seven years.
Institutions are also eligible for this honor. However, they should not be entirely government-funded and should have been actively involved in child welfare for at least a decade. Their performance in the field needs to have been consistently excellent.
The Bal Kalyan Puraskar recognizes three awardees in each of the two categories – Individual and Institution. Cash prizes are also part of the recognition with Rs.1,00,000 for individual recipients and a generous amount of Rs.5,00,000 for institution recipients.
The genesis of the Bal Kalyan Puraskar dates back to 1979 when it was instituted as the National Child Welfare Awards. Similar to its counterpart, the award underwent a name change in 2018 and has since been referred to as the Bal Kalyan Puraskar.
