On Civil Services Day, April 21st, 2018, the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration were given out by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The awards were given to officers in both state and central governments. These awards recognize the innovation and extraordinary work done by bureaucrats all across India. These are the six initiatives that were awarded on Civil Services Day.

One of the initiatives that was awarded was Promoting Digital Payments. The administration of Manipur was awarded for turning Karang into the first cashless island in India. The officials of Daman and Haryana’s Sonipat district were also awarded for popularizing digital payments in their areas.

Another initiative that was awarded was the Reinventing Education Via Technology. This award was given to the Banka district administration in Bihar. The Banka district uses smart TVs and mobile phones to improve the education of their students, even in remote areas of the district.

Another one of the initiatives that was awarded was Skilling and Placement. This is one of the cluster initiatives of the Ministry of Rural Development, known as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY). Two collectors were awarded with the best implementation of the DDU-GKY scheme, which are the Karimnagar district in Telangana and the Dhemaji district in Assam.

Another initiative that was awarded was Affordable Housing. For rural areas, the awards for the best implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana were given to the Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh and the Neemuch district in Madhya Pradesh. For urban areas, the awards were given to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and Puducherry.

Another one of the initiatives that was awarded was Ease of Doing Business. Three central teams of senior IAS officers were awarded for their work on GST, Ease of Doing Business, and Swachchta Bharat Abhiyan respectively. Team GST, Department of Revenue (GoI) was awarded for its work on the GST. Shailendra Singh and Ravinder from the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion were both awarded for helping improve the Ease of Doing Business in India. Yugal Kishore Joshi, an officer from the IAS, was awarded for his work on the Swachh Bharat Mission.

The last initiative that was awarded was Crop Insurance for Farmers. The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) scheme is the government’s flagship crop insurance scheme. The awards for the best implementation of this scheme were given to the Beed district and the West Tripura district in Maharashtra.

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