Jindal Prize - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Jindal Prize
Sitaram Jindal Foundation, one of the leading not-for-profit organizations committed to welfare of Indian citizens for more than four decades now, has launched India’s biggest cash prize - Jindal Prize, wherein Rs. 5 crore shall be awarded to individuals and institutions annually to recognize their exceptional efforts towards social upliftment of people in the country.

1. JINDAL PRIZE INSTITUTED FOR FIVE STREAMS NAMELY RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION, HEALTH INCLUDING DRUGLESS HEALING, EDUCATION WITH EMPHASIS ON MORAL UPLIFTMENT, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT AND PEACE, SOCIAL HARMONY AND DEVELOPMENT.

2. THE PRIZE FOR EACH STREAM WILL CARRY A CASH AWARD OF RS.ONE CRORE, A MEMENTO AND A CITATION

3. THE PRIZE WILL BE GIVEN ANNUALLY FROM THE YEAR 2011

4. AWARDEES WILL BE SELECTED BY AN INDEPENDENT JURY OF NINE EMINENT PERSONS

Launching of Prize

The Sitaram Jindal Foundation has launched, from the year 2011, the “Jindal Prize” . The prize shall be awarded to individuals or organisations for contribution of exceptional nature and of current significance, for the welfare of people in the country .
The prizes are intended to encourage and inspire those engaged in serving humanity and promoting moral values, peace, harmony, health, education, patriotism

Patriotism

Patriotism is a devotion to one's country, excluding differences caused by the dependencies of the term's meaning upon context, geography and philosophy...

, national integration and religious tolerance

Religious toleration

Toleration is "the practice of deliberately allowing or permitting a thing of which one disapproves. One can meaningfully speak of tolerating, ie of allowing or permitting, only if one is in a position to disallow”. It has also been defined as "to bear or endure" or "to nourish, sustain or preserve"...

without motive of personal gain, social and political mileage.

Prize categories

There shall be five prizes of Rs One Crore each, to be conferred annually in the following categories:-

Rural development
Rural development
Rural development in general denotes economic development and community development actions and initiatives taken to improve the standard of living in non-urban neighbourhoods, remote villages and the countryside...

& Poverty Alleviation;
Health – including drugless healing;
Education
Education in India
Education in India is provided by the public sector as well as the private sector, with control and funding coming from three levels: federal, state, and local. Child education is compulsory. The Nalanda University was the oldest university-system of education in the world...

– with emphasis on moral upliftment ;
Science, Technology and Environment
Peace, Social Harmony & Development

It is implied that achievements in the field of art, culture, literature, entertainment, sports etc., constituting all together a different sector shall not fall within the ambit of the Prize scheme.
The Prize shall consist of a memento, a citation and the prize amount.

SECRETARIAT

To manage, regulate and implement the prize scheme, the Foundation has established a Secretariat , under the charge of Secretary General, at New Delhi

New Delhi

New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...

. The Secretariats role is limited to performing executive functions necessary to promote and implement the Prize Scheme, as per the guidelines laid down by the Foundation, in a transparent and professional manner.

NOMINATIONS FOR THE PRIZE

The Secretariat invites nomination

Nomination

Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to an office, or the bestowing of an honor or award.In the context of elections for public office, a candidate who has been selected by a political party is normally said to be the nominee of that party...

s, annually, to be considered for award of the Prize. Only the work or contribution nominated in writing by a nominator will be eligible for consideration. A Self-nomination shall not be taken as a valid entry.

Nominators

A nominator shall mean any reputed person or an institution of high repute . A person shall be entitled to make only one proposal every year. However, a nominator who has already been debarred shall not be entitled to make a nomination.
The nominator shall give a brief note on the nominee’s work and describe its indelible impact on people, society and the nation as a whole.

Nominees

Any Individuals or group of individual / organization ; having contributed towards welfare of Indian citizens shall be eligible for nomination subject to the condition that :

The contribution is of exceptional nature
The achievements made are transparent and open for public scrutiny He/she/they are not doing the activity for any commercial purpose or for profit motive.
The nominee is not an employee, family member or close relative of the Jindal Group
Jindal Group
The Jindal group is a US$ 15 billion conglomerate, which over the last three decades has emerged as one of India's most dynamic business groups. Founded in 1952 by O.P. Jindal, a first-generation entrepreneur, it is today a leading steel producer, with interests spanning across the spectrum, from...

/ its sister concerns / the Foundation / the Secretariat or any other persons associated with the prize scheme.
A person shall be nominated only if the nominator is fully aware of nominee’s moral fiber and integrity and of his outstanding contribution to the cause of mankind.
If it subsequently comes out that the person/organization either nominee or nominator has misrepresented or concealed facts they shall be blacklist
Blacklist
A blacklist is a list or register of entities who, for one reason or another, are being denied a particular privilege, service, mobility, access or recognition. As a verb, to blacklist can mean to deny someone work in a particular field, or to ostracize a person from a certain social circle...

ed and shall also be barred from any future participation.
A person who has been debarred on an earlier occasion shall not be entitled to participate.
A foreign national who has contributed towards the welfare of Indian citizens shall also be eligible for the awards.

Confidentialty of Nominations

All nominations shall be confidential. No one will divulge any information relating to a nomination to anyone. All information relating to nominations or reasons for arriving at a particular decision shall be confidential for 25 years.

SCREENING COMMITTEE

With a view to assisting the Jury the Executive Committee constitute a team of three persons consisting of two eminent persons and the Secretary / Dy. Secretary to be known as Screening Committee
. The Secretary / Dy. Secretary shall be the member secretary of the Screening Committee. The committee will undertake scrutiny of nomination papers to segregate nominations out of the zone of consideration which are either ineligible or apparently not involving matters of significant contribution for the benefit of the people. For this purpose the Screening Committee may take the help of appraisers or eminent subject experts or institutions relevant to the subject.

Constitution of The JURY

The Foundation shall invite eminent persons of high reputation to be the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Jury .The Foundation shall also nominate two more eminent persons of repute and integrity to be the member of the jury. The Secretary General is the ex-officio member secretary of the Jury, with the right to vote. These 5 members form the core committee of a Jury.
The core committee of the Jury select the other four members of the Jury either directly or from a suggestive list of eminent persons preferably from different fields , relevant to the each prize category
The tenure of the Jury is one year. However, the tenure of the members of the Jury may be extended by the E.C./Foundation up to a maximum of 3 terms.

First Jury

Mr Justice J.S. Verma
Jagdish Sharan Verma
Jagdish Sharan Verma was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India from 25-March-1997 until his retirement on 18-January-1998.He did his early education in Satna, Madhya Pradesh....

,

Former Chief Justice Of India.
Chairperson, Jury
Justice J.S.Verma served as Chief Justice of India

Chief Justice of India

The Chief Justice of India is the highest-ranking judge in the Supreme Court of India, and thus holds the highest judicial position in India. As well as presiding in the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice also head its administrative functions....

during 1997-98 and Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission from 1999 to 2003.

Mr Sudarshan Agarwal
Sudarshan Agarwal
Sudarshan Agarwal was the Governor of Sikkim from October 2007 to July 2008.Sudarshan Agarwal was born in Ludhiana, and he is a first class Law Graduate. He served as a Member of the National Human Rights Commission for three years as a Judge of the Supreme Court...

,

Former Hon'ble Governor of Uttarakhand and Sikkim.
Vice Chairperson, Jury
He has also served as Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha from 1981 to 1993.

Mr L.C.Gupta,

Former Chief Secretary, Haryana,
Member, Jury.
Sh.L.C.Gupta is a retired officer of the Indian Administrative Service and served in various important capacities. He served as Chief Secretary Haryana during 1987-88.

Mr H.K.Dua,

Eminent Journalist and Member Of Parliament (Rajya Sabha)
Member, Jury.
He was President of Editor’s Guild of India for two terms and has served as Press Advisor to two Prime Ministers of India. Currently, he is a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha.

Prof. Dr. Srinath K Reddy
K. Srinath Reddy
Kolli Srinath Reddy, who goes by K. Srinath Reddy, is the president of the Public Health Foundation of India.-Career:Reddy is the former head of the cardiology department at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.-External links:...

Prof. Dr. Srinath K Reddy is presently President, Public Health Foundation of India

Public Health Foundation of India

The Public Health Foundation of India , is an autonomous foundation located in New Delhi, India. The foundation was created as a public-private initiative and launched by the Prime minister of India, Manmohan Singh in 2006 with the aim of enhancing the capacity of public health professionals in the...

and till recently he headed the Department of Cardiology at All India Institute of Medical Sciences

All India Institute of Medical Sciences

All India Institute of Medical Sciences is a premier medical college and teaching hospital based in New Delhi, India. The Institute operates autonomously under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare ....

Mr Kiran Karnik
Kiran Karnik
Kiran Karnik is a prominent figure and guiding force behind the Indian outsourcing industry. He has formerly been the president of NASSCOM , and is now one of its trustees. Mr...

He was the President of NASSCOM

NASSCOM

The National Association of Software and Services Companies of IT software and services related activities for use of both the software developers as well as interested companies overseas....

(National Association Of Software and Services Companies ). He has worked for 20 years with ISRO and has held several positions related to application of space technology. Presently Mr Karnik is the Chairman of International Steering Committee of the Commonwealth Connects Programme.

Dr. Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan

He is known for his pioneering contribution to India’s Space Programme .He has held various senior assignments like Director N.I.A.S., Chairman International Committee on Earth Observation Satellites, Chairman, COSPAR Panel on Space Research in Developing Countries etc.

Mr B.G.Verghese

He was Editor of The Hindustan Times & Indian Express from 1969 to 1975 and from 1982 to 1986 respectively . He served as Information Officer to the Prime Minister of India from 1966 to 1969.

Mr. N.P.Gupta

He is the Secretary General of The Jindal Prize Secretariat and ex- officio Member Secretary of the Jury.
He is retired I.A.S. officer. he has multifarious administrative experience of 35 years in the Govt. of Tamil Nadu and Govt. of India. He was Member secretary, National Commission for Women

National Commission for Women

The National Commission for Women is a statutory body for women established in 1992 by Government of India under the provisions of the Indian Constitution, as defined in the 1990 National Commission for Women Act.. The present head of the Commission is Mrs...

in N. Delhi from 2005 to 2007.

INDEPENDENT SELECTION PROCESS

The Jury is endowed with complete independence in finalizing names of the awardees. The Foundation, the Trustees, the executive Committee of the Foundation has no say in the selection process .The Secretariat and the Foundation shall, at all times, respect autonomous functioning of these bodies. Jury can take any decision as it likes and its decision shall be final and binding.
The awardees are expected to be responsible citizens of the society with clean track record. The screening Committee / Jury observe due diligence in shortlisting / finalizing of nomination / awardee.

Consent of Winner

The Secretary General shall inform the prospective winner and seek his consent for the proposed felicitation. In case a winner is reluctant to accept the prize, his name may be replaced by the next deserving nominee as finalised by the Jury .

The secretariat shall request the awardee to make available a detailed write-up so that due awareness is created amongst the people about his contribution towards human welfare .

Announcement of Winners

The final list of the prizewinners shall be announced by the Jury/S.G. at a press conference and through advertisements / press releases in major daily newspapers and electronic media.
The profile of the awardees shall also be posted on “The Prize” website .
The prize shall preferably be conferred by a high dignitary say the President or the Prime Minister of India, in presence of members of the Foundation, the Jury, the Expert’s on Panel and all other eminent invitees.

Felicitation Banquet

EC may decide to arrange a felicitation banquet on the eve of award ceremonyin honor of the prizewinners in the presence of eminent dignitaries. The awardees shall be required to attend the same.

Call Back

If it subsequently comes out that the awardee had secured a Prize on the basis of misrepresentation of material facts, the Jury in office may, as an exceptional case, decide to withdraw the honour bestowed on an awardee.

External links

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