Govt institutes annual awards to recognise excellent work in disaster management

The Centre has instituted annual awards to recognise the excellent work done by individuals and institutions in the country in the field of disaster management.

Three eligible institutions and individuals will be given the 'Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskaar' every year with cash rewards ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 51 lakh, a statement issued by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said.

If the awardee is an institution, it will be given a certificate and a cash prize of Rs 51 lakh and the prize money will be utilised for disaster management-related activities only. If the awardee is an individual, the person shall receive a certificate and a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh, it said.

An application by an institution does not debar any individual from that institution to apply for the award in his individual capacity.

The statement said there is a need to recognise the efforts of individuals and organisations who have been working assiduously to alleviate the human suffering caused by disasters.

Only Indian nationals and Indian institutions can apply for the award.

For institutional awards, voluntary organisations, corporate entities, academic, research institutions, response, uniformed forces or any other institution may apply for the award.

The applicant must have worked in the area of disaster management like prevention, mitigation, preparedness, rescue, response, relief, rehabilitation, research, innovation or early warning related work in India, the statement said.

The application must be accompanied by details of the work done in disaster management and must highlight achievements in any one or more of the areas like saving human lives, reduction in impact of disasters on lives, livestock, livelihoods, property, society, economy, or environment, it said.

Mobilisation and provision of resources for effective response during disasters, immediate relief work in disaster hit areas and communities, effective and innovative use of technology in any field of disaster management and disaster mitigation initiatives in hazard prone areas are some of the other criteria.

The applications has to be be filed online on www.dmawards.ndma.gov.in