The Women and Child Development Minister, Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi has announced that similar to the Stree Shakti Puruskars that recognise the contribution of women in various fields at the national level, an award to recognise the contribution of women at the grassroots level towards women’s issues and empowerment, will be conferred to one woman from each district every year on International Women’s Day on 8th March.
The Minister said that this will help to incentivize the activities undertaken by women at the grassroots level in the direction of community development and nation building. The Award will give recognition to the women who have made outstanding contribution in the field work. This will also boost their morale and that of the others in the community to aspire to be like them and contribute to strengthening women in the community. This award will be given to a girl or woman from each district throughout the country.
The Award will comprise of a cash prize of Rs 25,000 and a citation. The Award will be presented to women who have done extraordinary work at grass root level and will be selected by a district level committee headed by the District Collector and will include other members like the Superintendent of Police, Chief Medical Officer, eminent civil society organisations, etc. with the final approval of Ministry of Women and Child Development. A checklist will be provided by the WCD Ministry to the districts to guide the selection.
The Stree Shakti Award is conferred by the WCD Ministry to recognize and honour women for outstanding contribution to society. Presently five Awards are given to women for their extraordinary work in different fields. The Award includes cash prize of Rs 3 lakhs and a citation.