Haryana government today conferred the 'Gaurav Samman' upon 19 Pravasi Haryanvis, including actor Randeep Hooda and singer Sonu Nigam, for excelling in their respective fields at the first Pravasi Haryana Divas here.
The awards were presented by Union Minister of State for External Affairs Gen V K Singh (Retd), Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Krishan Pal and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
Other than Hooda and Nigam, the recipients included: in Entertainment and Tourism category Lalit Shokeen, Principal Engineer, Global Foundries, New York, USA; in social service category, Mahendra Pal Chaudhry, former prime minister, Fiji; and Subhash Chandra, chairman, Essel Group of Companies; Balinder Singh Kundu, Touch International Inc, USA; in art and culture category, Ritu Sheoran; and Vikas Sheoran, Melbourne, Australia; in health and education category, Special Achievement Award to B L Chawla, father of Kalpana Chawla (posthumously).
Prominent sports personalities felicitated at the event included former captain of Indian Women's cricket team, Anjum Chopra, international athlete Naveen Suhag and former captain of Indian Women's hockey team Mamta Kharab.
Speaking on the occasion, Gen Singh outlined the vision of the state government to provide all amenities in villages so that the villagers do not have to move out of their areas.
Singh also called for action against those who dupe people on the pretext of sending them abroad.
Khattar urged Pravasi Haryanvis to adopt villages under the 'Swa-prerit Adarsh Gram Yojana' for their development.
He claimed the atmosphere in the state has changed over the last two years, alleging previous governments, instead of making people socially aware, "misused" them as vote banks and discriminated against them on the basis of region and caste.
Khattar said his government has risen above such politics and is working with the ideology of 'Haryana Ek, Haryanvi Ek'.
Union minister Krishan Pal said the state government has introduced a system for fast-track approval of schemes and brought a positive change in the attitude of the officers.
Gen Singh, Pal and Khattar also released a directory of Pravasi Haryanvis at the event.
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