Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration, 2022

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

The Government of India has approved the Scheme for the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration, 2022. The Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration has been designed to acknowledge, recognize and reward exemplary work done by civil servants across the country. 

For the year 2022, the Scheme for Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration aims to recognize the contribution of civil servants in the following areas:

• Promoting Swachh Jal (Clean Jal) through Har Ghar Jal Yojana
• Promoting Swasth Bharat (Healthy Bharat) through Health & Wellness Centres
• Promoting quality education with an equitable and inclusive classroom environment through Samagra Shiksha.
• Holistic Development through Aspirational District Program – overall progress with special focus on saturation approach.
• Innovations.

National Civil Service Day

• 21st April is celebrated as the National Civil Service Day as it marks the anniversary (21st April 1947) of the historic address given by the country’s 1st home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel to the newly appointed administrative services officers.
• During the Speech, Sardar Patel had referred to the newly-appointed civil servants as the “steel frame of India”.
• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is regarded as the ‘Father of all-India Services’.
• The country’s first National Civil Service Day event was organised on 21st April 2006 in New Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan. Since then, this function has become an annual affair that celebrates the contributions of civil servants to the country’s development.
• On this day, Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration are awarded “to acknowledge, recognize and reward the extraordinary and innovative work done by Districts/ Organizations of the Central and State Governments”.