As part of the Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Week, SHE STEM, the annual event to celebrate women in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and sustainability, was successfully held for the third year in a row.

The annual event is organized by the Sweden Embassy in India in partnership with the Atal Innovation Mission of the Government of India and the German Centre of Innovation and Research (DWIH New Delhi).

Ambassador of Sweden to India H.E. Jan Thesleff, who also addressed the students via a video message said, “We are very happy to continue the tradition of SHE STEM – it is a flagship event of the Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Week. Congratulations to all the winners of this year’s SHE STEM Video challenge.”

Dr. Chintan Vaishnav, Director of ATAL Innovation Mission said, “Today, the face of women’s involvement in STEM is changing and the rate of participation has increased. It was in ATL Marathon 2021, that there was a spike where the women’s participation was 49%. A strong STEM education will go a long way in cultivating such critical thinkers.”

SHE STEM 2022 began with a musical performance by the students of Darbari Lal DAV Model School, New Delhi, the host school for SHE STEM 2022, followed by talks, and a panel discussion with women in the fields of STEM and business, including D. Sridevi Annapurna Singh, Director of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – Central Food Technological Research (CSIR-CFTRI), Ministry of Science and Technology, Government. of India.

Dr. Annapurna Singh has done extensive work in the development of supplementary foods for undernourished children and in studying the impact of protein-rich food on children. She spoke to the audience about the need for women in fields of STEM to bring in their unique perspectives to problem-solving for a sustainable future.

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Other participants included Cecilia Oskarsson, Trade, and Invest Commissioner of Sweden to India, who shared her thoughts on the role of diversity in triggering and enabling positive changes for girls and women, Mamta Kumari, co-founder and CEO of Prepbytes, an ed-tech company in India, and Dr. Vasudharani Devanathan, Neurobiologist and Professor of Biology at the Indian Institute of Science Education Research (IISER). Rupali Mehra, Founder of Content People AB moderated the event.

Dr. Per-Arne Wikström, Head of Office of Science & Innovation, Embassy of Sweden in New Delhi said: “When women and girls provide their talent, their knowledge, and their capabilities to science and technology on equal terms with men and boys, then we know that societies prosper and that innovation capacity actually increases. So for us, gender equality is an integrated part and an important aspect of everything that we do. We would like to thank our Indian partners for their support for this very important initiative.”

“As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said, ‘who is not curious will not gain knowledge,’ so keep your curiosity on, drive your knowledge forward and who knows maybe one or other idea will be implemented,” said Dr. Katja Lasch, responsible for Strategy Management at the German Centre for Research and Innovation (DWIH New Delhi) and head of German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Regional Office in New Delhi.

Following the success of the Insta-reels Video Challenge in 2021, SHE STEM hosted the #SHESTEM2022 Video Challenge across Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, and Google Drive for students of ages 13 to 17, asking them to imagine themselves in the year 2047, and speak about an innovation of theirs that has helped in tackling climate change. The response was overwhelming with over 930 videos of which 15 were shortlisted. SHE STEM had an extensive jury round of 3 jury teams; Atal Innovation Mission Team led by Dr. Chintan Vaishnav, the Swedish Embassy team, led by Dr. Per-Arne Wikström, and the German Centre for Research and Innovation, represented by Dr. Katja Lasch.

The videos were assessed on the:

• Novelty of idea
• Clarity of thought and articulation
• Sustainability or climate action angle

G. Nivethiga Rani who created a video on how she as a STEM Leader in 2047 had invented a robot that collected and converted biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste into electricity, won the first prize in the video challenge. The second prize was tied between T Shatananda Dhanwantari and Shreya Singh and Nistha Aswal, who participated as a team. Gaurav Hanjoora won third place.

“I congratulate all the winners of the SHE STEM 2022. I have to say what caught my attention was that every single idea was addressing a fundamental constraint confronting us,” said Dr. Chintan Viashnav.

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Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog on Tuesday, December 1st, 2022 announced the launch of applications for Community Innovator Fellowship (CIF), an initiative of Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog in collaboration with UNDP India to facilitate knowledge-building and provide infrastructure support to aspiring community innovators essential for their entrepreneurship journey. Currently, there are 22 Community Innovator fellows being incubated at the Atal Community Innovation Centre (ACIC) program of AIM.

A Community Innovator Fellow is an individual with an entrepreneurial mindset, with an idea to solve a community challenge through her/his enterprise. The journey of the fellow has been structured into 5 phases. Applicants can visit this link to learn about this year’s fellowship.

Speaking at the launch Dr. Chintan Vaishnav, Mission Director, AIM mentioned “At the micro level, the start-up revolution has reached the tier 2, and tier 3 cities of India and amped up the Startup ecosystem in these regions. Solving local problems at scale ranging across issues like healthcare, education, agriculture, and financial services is the key driving force for Atal Innovation Mission to empower the innovators to solve local community problems at the grassroots. With the strategic locations, Atal Community Innovation Centres are witnessing grassroots innovators undergoing the transformation journey of pursuing entrepreneurship as their full-fledged career option. With this launch of applications for the fellowship we call upon the applicants to experience the journey of creating a change in the community”.

This is a one-year-long intensive fellowship program wherein aspiring community innovators can apply irrespective of their socio-economic background is aimed at creating a conducive environment where knowledge, mentorship, community immersion, and inclusion can prosper through adequate infrastructure and funding. During the course of this fellowship, each fellow would be hosted at an Atal Community Innovation Centre and would acquire SDG awareness, entrepreneurial skills, and life skills while working on her/his idea.

AIM has been setting up Atal Community Innovation Centres (ACIC) across the country. Currently, there are 14 such centres, spread across 9 states and 36 more are coming up in the near future to take the collective number to 50 ACICs.

Link to Apply to the Fellowship

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Learn more about CIF

Sanjay Kumar took charge as Secretary, of the Department of School Education & Literacy on 1st December 2022 in Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi.

Pursuant to assuming charge, Kumar held a meeting with the senior officials of the Ministry in which he reviewed the functioning of the department, autonomous bodies, and various schemes relating to school education.  Discussions were held on the implementation of National Education Policy 2020, capacity building of teachers, infrastructure in schools, and the upcoming Prime Minister’s interaction programme ‘Pariksha Pe Pariksha’.

Kumar said that he looks forward to contributing to providing quality, accessible and affordable education to every student in the country.

The school timings will be changing from December 1, as announced by the Haryana government. This change has been announced by the Directorate of School Education, due to the drop in the temperature. On Wednesday, the new winter school timings were announced – single-shift schools will take classes from 09:30 a.m. to 03:30 p.m. Whereas, for the schools with two shifts, the first shift will be from 07:55 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and the second shift will be from 12:40 p.m. to 05:15 p.m.

The Directorate of Information, Public Relations, and Language Department, Government of Haryana took to its official Twitter handle and announced the new timings for the winter session.

Meanwhile, Education Minister Kanwar Pal talked about the dual desks being purchased for the schools of Haryana. “There are 1.41 Lakh dual desks being purchased for primary, secondary, and senior secondary schools in 22 districts of the state. 65,501 desks will be made available for students of class five; 36,168 desks for classes six to eight students and 39,208 desks for the students of classes 11 and 12,” he added.

The Education Minister also said that an amount of around Rs. 95 Crore will be spent on this. These desks will be delivered by January 31, 2023, that is, by the first phase to the respective schools.

Union Minister of State for Education, Dr. Subhas Sarkar addressed the 33rd Foundation Day Celebrations of NIOS as the Chief Guest.

The function was attended by senior officials of the Ministry of Education, Chairpersons of educational institutions, Heads of Departments, officers, and staff of NIOS. Prof. Naval Kishore Ambasht, former Chairman, of NIOS and Pro-Vice Chancellor, of the Central University of Haryana, Prof. Sushma Yadav graced the occasion.

Dr. Subhas Sarkar in his address appreciated the various programmes and schemes of NIOS and said that NIOS is lighting the lamp of knowledge all over the world. Talking about the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, he mentioned that today’s children will be young people in the age group of 30-40 years on the completion of 100 years of independence and will be responsible for building our nation.

He said that the Ministry of Education has entrusted NIOS with several responsibilities such as developing inclusive education resources, expanding the open and distance education system in states/UTs, translating all courses into more languages as required, creating Indian Knowledge Tradition based courses and propagating Indian culture by translating them into major foreign languages. He also praised the programmes of NIOS enrolling 10 crore adults under ‘Basic Literacy Assessment’, training of in-service teachers, Gender Green Project, and training in Yoga. He said that Indian Sign Language as a subject at the secondary level has been acknowledged on national and international platforms. He described the launch of an e-library called ‘DEEP’ by NIOS as a big step forward.

Prof. Saroj Sharma spoke about the journey of 33 years of NIOS and highlighted the special achievements. She said that NIOS is one of the two National Boards of Education under the Ministry of Education, which provides school education through Open and Distance Learning (ODL) for secondary, senior secondary, and vocational education. She elaborated on the role of NIOS in the field of education, efforts being made by NIOS for the successful implementation of the New Education Policy, Virtual Open School, Digital Library (DEEP), NEPIA Project, MoU with Ministry of Defence for Agniveer Project, setting up of Mukta Kaushal Kendras and subjects offered under Indian knowledge Tradition.

It was also conveyed by her that a curriculum called ‘Aarambhika’ is being developed by NIOS for catering to the Indian Diaspora.

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A documentary based on the journey of 33 years of educational endeavours of NIOS was presented on the occasion. In this documentary, ‘All England Badminton winner Pullela Gopichand said that most of the players in his badminton academy are getting an education from NIOS.

NIOS alumni, Ms. Niranjana and Vinod Kumar Chaudhary were also felicitated on the occasion. Shri Vinod Kumar said that only due to his education in NIOS, he was able to get the credit of making the Guinness Book of World Records 10 times (8 in Typing and 2 in sports). A proud learner of NIOS, Ms. Niranjana is a successful ventriloquist. Prof. N. K. Ambasht, former Chairman, NIOS said that in this age of technology, innovations must lead to developing ‘standalone’ courses for the Indian Diaspora, to achieve the goals of the National Education Policy- 2020. Pro-Vice Chancellor, Prof. Sushma Yadav said that the role of NIOS increases in the light of New Education Policy. NIOS has such potential that the institute will be able to achieve the ambitious goals of National Education Policy 2020 in the coming years.

The half-yearly magazine of NIOS ‘Pragyan’ was released by Dr. Subhas Sarkar on this occasion.

Tata Consultancy Services – the country’s largest software services company will train students and teachers of 105 Jaiprakash Narayana Sarvodaya Schools and Eklavya Residential Schools in computational and logical thinking.

These schools are run by the social welfare department of Uttar Pradesh.

A memorandum of understanding for 18 months was signed between TCS and the social welfare department in the presence of Minister of State (Independent charge) Asim Arum on 21st November 2022, a government statement said.

The company, under its programme go-IT and Ignite My Future along with International Bebras Computing Challenge will train the students in logical thinking and computational thinking as a push towards Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), the statement also said.

These schools with 35,000 students provide residential accommodation and try to impart quality education to students from underprivileged sections and tribal regions of the state.

Under this program, TCS will also train 1,500 teachers in these schools under the programme Ignite My Future in computational thinking to help them understand computers, algorithms, programming, coding, and problem-solving skills. These teachers will act as master trainers to impart training further to their colleagues and students.

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Under the go-IT program of the company, students will be taught design and logical thinking with problem-solving skills and developing codes, besides preparing them through the International training programme – Bebras Computing Challenge.

Union Minister for Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Dharmendra Pradhan participated in the stakeholders’ consultation on the draft National Credit Framework (NCrF) at IIT Delhi. The Chairperson, NCVET India, Dr. NS Kalsi, Director, IIT Delhi, Prof. Rangan Banerjee, Rakesh Ranjan, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India, academicians, and many other distinguished dignitaries were also present.

Speaking on occasion, Pradhan said that NEP 2020 envisages universalization of credit framework for removing barriers between knowledge, skills, and employability, establishing a credit accumulation & transfer system for all kinds of learning for ensuring seamless mobility between learning and skilling pathways.

He further said that to reap a demographic dividend we have to provide a level playing field and equal opportunities to all. This can only be achieved by recognizing, accounting, and formalizing all kinds of conventional, unconventional, and experiential knowledge repositories.

The Minister stated that NCrF will provide us with an opportunity to recognize applied aspects of knowledge and skills. It will also create new possibilities for lifelong learning & skilling. NCrF will boost per capita productivity, empower all, and lay a strong foundation for India to lead this century, he further added.

Pradhan underlined that National Credit Framework will be a key for enhancing the economic convertibility of education, bringing a vast majority of our population under the fold of formal education and skilling, achieving GER targets, and accelerating India’s march towards becoming a $5 trillion economy.

National Credit Framework will integrate education and skilling at all levels, enhance economic convertibility of education and empower all.

Do submit your feedback and observations on the draft NCrF here. 👇https://t.co/VoH9HBGW8K

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— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) November 21, 2022

About the National Credit Framework (NCrF):

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 emphasizes making education more holistic and effective by integrating higher education and vocational education. To realize the intent and objective of NEP 2020, the National Credit Framework (NCrF) has been developed by a high-level committee constituted by the Government of India.

The NCrF is a comprehensive framework that enables seamless integration of learning from academic, vocational, and experiential learning. The NCrF provides for creditisation of all learning and assignment, accumulation, storage, transfer, and redemption of credits, subject to assessment, removes distinction and establishes academic equivalence between vocational and general education; enables mobility within and between them and its operationalization through the Academic Bank of Credits (ABC).

The draft National Credit Framework is available here for comments/suggestions from all stakeholders.

The comments/suggestions may be sent to [email protected] up to 30th November 2022.

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Minister of State, Ministry of Education Dr. Subhas Sarkar gave away the Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar (SVP), 2021-22 to the National awardee schools in New Delhi today. Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, Minister of State for Education was the esteemed Guest of Honour.

The third edition of the Award i.e. SVP 2021-22, saw phenomenal participation with 9.59 lakh schools registered for the awards. This number is approx. 1.5 times more than the number of schools (6.15 lakh schools) in SVP 2017-18, who participated during that year.

Out of 9.59 lakh schools, more than 8.23 lakh schools submitted their applications for SVP 2021-22. The evaluation process of 4,27,718 eligible schools was undertaken at the district and state levels, out of which 606 schools at State/UT level awards were found eligible for National level awards. The National Selection Committee for selection of schools for SVP 2021-22, in their meeting held on 10^th October 2022, selected 39 schools (34 in the overall category and 5 in sub-categories) for National level awards for SVP 2021-2022, after 3rd party evaluation by UNICEF partner agency (NEERMAN).

Out of 39 selected schools, 21 schools are from rural areas and 18 are from urban areas. Further, 28 schools are government/ government aided while 11 are private schools. The awarded schools also include 2 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas and one (1) Navodaya Vidyalaya and 3 Kendriya Vidyalayas. Out of 39 schools, 17 are elementary and 22 are secondary/ higher secondary schools. Cash prizes of Rs. 60,000/- to 34 schools (in the overall category) and Rs. 20,000/-, (in sub-categories) were given to the awardee schools.

Speaking on the occasion Dr. Sarkar asked all the schools from Districts and States to work hard in the field of swachhata in schools to compete with the performance of award-winning Schools, Districts, and States. He also stressed that schools conferred with the National award may sustain the standard and rating of cleanliness and hygiene.

In his Independence Day address to the nation on 15^th August 2014, Prime Minister declared that all schools in the country should have toilets with separate toilets for girls within a period of one year as only then our daughters will not be compelled to leave schools midway.

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The Department launched Swachh Vidyalaya Initiative in 2014. Under this initiative, a record number of 4,17,796 toilets were constructed in 2,61,400 schools, including 1,90,887 girls’ toilets in one year period up to 15^th August 2015. Encouraged by this stupendous success, the Department of School Education and Literacy launched the Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar in 2016-17 to ensure long-term sustainability and behavioural change. The Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar not only honours the schools that have taken exemplary work in the field of water, sanitation, and hygiene but also provides a benchmark and roadmap for schools to make further improvement

Under this Award, schools are rated on six broad parameters of (a) Water (b) Toilets (c) Handwashing with Soap (d) Operation and Maintenance (e) Behaviour Change and Capacity building, and (f) COVID-19 (Preparedness and Response). The Puraskar is given at District, State, and National levels.

Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar (SVP), 2021-22 was successfully launched by  Dr. Subhas Sarkar on 12^th January 2022, which was the birthday of Swami Vivekanand and is celebrated as National Youth Day. In view of the COVID pandemic, an additional parameter – “COVID-19 preparedness and response” – was included in the Swachh Vidyalaya guidelines in 2021-22, considering its implications for the health, hygiene, and safety of the children. The methodology of the awards was evolved in consultation with UNICEF, which was the Implementation and Technical partner for the awards.

In the National award ceremony  Sanjay Kumar, OSD, Prachi Pandey, Joint Secretary, and Archana Sharma Awasthi, Joint Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education were also present.

The 28th National Annual Conference of Sahodaya School Complexes (2022) began on 18th November 2022. This year the conference is being held in collaboration with Gyan Sarovar Sahodaya –The Central Gujarat CBSE Schools Sahodaya Complex.

The theme of the conference is “Education 4.0: Reinventing Education for 2030 and Beyond” with the objective to sensitize school leaders and prepare them for the era of education 4.0 with the necessary changes in the design of curriculum and pedagogy.

Sub Themes

1. Social dynamics and development of education
2. School Leadership for futuristic schools
3. Technology is indispensable for education
4. Capacity Building of teachers
5. AI in school education
6. Creative Learning
7. Positioning curriculum for 2030 and beyond
8. Moving from Transactional Leadership to Transformational Leadership
9. Building Learning Communities
10. Schooling Vs. Education: Bridging the gap for a better India for 2030 and beyond
11. Community School Partnership for quality education

This year’s conference is hosting the representatives of more than 200 Sahodaya School Complexes and educationists from around the world in a two-day event at Vadodara.

Principals from 800 plus CBSE affiliated schools in the country and abroad, academics, and senior officers of the Board are participating in this two-day conference which will dwell upon various themes such as Community School Partnership, Schooling versus Education, Technology for Education, Artificial Intelligence in Education, Building Learning Communities, Leadership, Creative Learning, and Capacity Building of Teachers.

The inaugural session of the conference began with the address of the Chairperson CBSE Smt. Nidhi Chhibber highlighting the roles and responsibilities of school principals and administrators in realizing the objectives of NEP 2020 and making schools future ready.

A number of publications prepared by the Board were also launched by the Chairperson, on this occasion.

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Conference Souvenir

A compilation of the probable best practices received from different schools across the country in the area of curriculum, pedagogy, capacity building of teachers, school leadership, school community partnership, and use of technology.

CBSE SQAA Portal

As per NEP 2020 recommendations, CBSE has developed a ‘School Quality Assessment and Assurance (SQAA)’ Framework based on 7 domains covering all the aspects of school functioning and can be useful as a tool for accomplishing individual and institutional excellence.

Practice Books in Science and Mathematics have been developed for Students of classes IX and X in the subjects of Mathematics and Science to strengthen the skills and competencies of students and help them apply the learned concepts in real-life situations and draw inferences.

These workbooks present a series of questions organised as themes, mapped to concepts from the curriculum of the respective class.

Item Banks

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The board has designed and developed Competency Focussed Practice Questions aligned to the NCERT curriculum in the subjects of English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Science for Class X students to test conceptual understanding and application.

SAFAL Assessment Frameworks for grades 3, 5, and 8 were also launched today in the subjects of Language (English/Hindi), Mathematics, and EVS/Science. These include domains, strands, and competencies, and define learning outcomes at various proficiency levels.

PRAYOG

Pradhanacharya Yojna for Growth, has been designed in view of the important role of the Principals in the effective implementation of NEP 2020 in CBSE schools and covers various themes such as Innovative Pedagogy, Competency Focussed Education, Experiential Learning, Art integrated learning, Story Telling and Sports Integrated Learning, Systemic Reforms via initiatives such as SAFAL, HPC, SQAA, and Competency-based assessments, and other topics like Peer Education and Life Skills, Inclusive Education, Environmental Education, Pedagogy Leadership and Expectations from Principals.

Skill Education

A number of Skill Modules for Class VI-VIII on Travel and Tourism, Marketing, Media, Beauty & Wellness, Design Thinking, and Innovation were also launched today along with new modules for classes IX-XII in Library and Information Science, Cost Accounting, Early Childhood Care and Education.

Hand Book on Positive Parenting – A Ready Reckoner

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The Board has always been sensitive and proactive regarding the mental health and wellness of students. Positive Parenting – A Ready Reckoner has been brought out by CBSE with the hope of adding value to the nuances of parenting and nurturing skills in a very simplistic and easy-to-follow manner. This publication by no means attempts to undermine the concerns and care of the parents already in place but may help in deepening the understanding and in building positive relationships amongst schools, parents, and students. The contents have been carefully curated post-COVID challenges and include topics such as the Mental and Emotional Wellness of Children, Parenting the Pre- teens, Gender Equality and Child Abuse Protection, Children with Special Needs, Online Learning for Parents, and more.

Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports announced the National Sports Awards 2022 on 14th November 2022.

The awardees will receive their awards from the President of India at a specially organized function at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 30^th November 2022 (Wednesday) at 1600 hrs.

Based on the recommendations of the Committee and after due scrutiny, the Government has decided to confer awards upon the following sportspersons, coaches, and entities:

(i)​ Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2022

(ii)​ Arjuna Awards for outstanding performance in Sports and Games 2022

(iii)​ Dronacharya Award for outstanding coaches in Sports and Games 2022

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A. Regular Category:

B. Lifetime Category:

(iv)​ Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports and Games 2022

(v) ​Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar 2022

(vi)​ Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy 2022:

Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar

National Sports Awards are given every year to recognize and reward excellence in sports.

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• ‘Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award’ is given for the spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over the period of the previous four years.
• ‘Arjuna Award for outstanding performance in Sports and Games’ is given for good performance over a period of the previous four years and for showing qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and a sense of discipline.
• ‘Dronacharya Award for outstanding coaches in Sports and Games’ is given to coaches for doing outstanding and meritorious work on a consistent basis and for enabling sportspersons to excel in International events.
• ‘Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports and Games’ is given to honour sportspersons who have contributed to sports through their performance and who continue to contribute to the promotion of sports even after their retirement.
• ‘Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar’ is given to corporate entities (both in the private and public sector), Sports Control Boards, NGOs, including sports bodies at the State and National level, who have played a visible role in the area of sports promotion and development.

The overall top-performing university in inter-university tournaments is given the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy.

This year, for the first time, applications were invited only online and sportspersons/coaches/entities were permitted to self-apply through a dedicated portal.

A large number of nominations were received for these awards this year, which were considered by the Selection Committee headed by Justice A. M. Khanwilkar, Retd. Judge, Supreme Court of India and consisting of eminent sportspersons, persons having experience in sports journalism, and sports administrators.