THE GAZETTE OF INDIA : EXTRAORDINARY [PART I—SEC. 1]
MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
NOTIFICATION
New Delhi, the 13th July, 2016
F.No.OI-11014/37/2016-OIA-II.—In supersession of the notifications of the Government of India listed below, the President is pleased to revise the regulations governing the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards (hereafter referred to as the Award), as follows:-
I. General Information
1. The Award shall be known as “Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award”.
2. The Award shall be conferred on a Non-Resident Indian, Person of Indian Origin or an organisation or institution established and run by Non-Resident Indians or Persons of Indian Origin, who has made significant contribution in any one of the following fields:
A. For Achievements in Abroad
(a) Better understanding abroad of India;
(b) Support to India’s causes and concerns in a tangible way;
(c) Building closer links between India, the overseas Indian community and their country of residence;
(d) Social and humanitarian causes in India or abroad;
(e) Welfare of the local Indian community;
(f) Philanthropic and charitable work;
(g) Eminence in one’s field or outstanding work, which has enhanced India’s prestige in the country of residence; or
(h) Eminence in skills which has enhanced India’s prestige in that country (for non-professional workers).
B. For Achievements within India:
(a) Philanthropic investments and charitable work in India;
(b) For contributions made towards India’s Development.
3. The maximum number of Awards every alternate year shall be thirty (30).
4. The Award shall carry a bilingual Sanad under the hand and the seal of the President of India in addition to a citation, a gold medallion and a miniature of the medallion in the form of a lapel pin.
5. The Sanad shall be printed in handmade paper of size 24” x 18”.
6. The medallion shall be circular in shape, 2.9 mm in thickness and of diameter 50.8 mm, made from 60 grams of 22 carat gold. The logo of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) would be etched into the inner circle of 30 mm diameter. The front side of the medallion would have minakari work etched in the outer circle. The backside of the medallion would have the National emblem in the middle, with the name of the award as Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award, engraved around it.
7. The medal shall be worn around the neck by a tricolour ribbon of one inch in width.
8. A miniature of the medallion, in rectangular shape with the PBD logo engraved in the middle, and with minakari work on both sides, which may be worn on certain occasions by recipients, shall be mounted on a gold plated silver lapel-pin weighing 10 gms.
II. Authorized persons or Organisations eligible for making nominations to Award
9. The following authorised persons or organisations shall be eligible to nominate eminent persons, organisations or institutions for the Award within the stipulated date and time and in such format as may be prescribed:
a) Governors of States and Lt. Governors of Union Territories in India;
b) Heads of Indian Diplomatic Missions/Heads of Indian Diplomatic Posts abroad. However, Heads of Indian Diplomatic Missions/Posts abroad may restrict the nominations to a maximum of 3 to 5 considering the size of Diaspora population in their country of accreditation.
c) Chairman and Members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee dealing with the Ministry of External Affairs.
d) The Executive Head of Prominent Overseas Indian Associations with nation-wide character as may be decided by the Ministry of External Affairs. However, the associations shall not nominate their own office bearers.
e) Previous awardees of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award.
10. Ordinarily only proposals emanating from competent persons eligible to nominate shall be considered. However, the Jury-cum-Awards Committee can also make suo-motu nominations for persons from the fields mentioned in these regulations. However, the number of persons suo-moto nominated by the Jury-cum-Awards Committee shall not exceed six. In all such cases the recommendations of the Jury-cum-Awards Committee shall be final.
III. Screening Committee
11. A committee of officers constituted by the Ministry of External Affairs shall examine the nominations received with a view to ensure their completeness and draw up a short citation on each nominee to facilitate the work of the Jury-cum-Awards Committee.
IV. Jury-cum-Awards Committee
12. The nominations and citations shall be placed before the Jury-cum-Awards Committee comprising of: (a) Vice President of India – Chairman
(b) Minister of External Affairs – Vice-Chairman
(c) Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister – Member
(d) Home Secretary – Member
(e) Foreign Secretary – Member
(f) Five members to be nominated by the Prime Minister –
(g) Secretary or Additional Secretary dealing with Overseas Indian Affairs matters in The Ministry of External Affairs – Member Secretary
13. The recommendation of the Jury-cum-Awards Committee shall be submitted to the Prime Minister and President for approval.
14. The Awards shall not be given posthumously except in very rare cases where the person had died within a year preceding the announcement of the Awards.
V. Conferring of the Awards
15. The Awards shall be presented at a formal ceremony to be organised by the Ministry of External Affairs, as far as possible, at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas on 9 th January every alternate year.
16. The Awards shall be presented either by the President, Vice-President or Prime Minister, depending upon the availability of these dignitaries.
17. The names of the persons, upon whom the Award is conferred, shall be published in the Gazette of India prior to the day of presentation of the Awards.
18. With the institution of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards, Non-Resident Indians and Persons of Indian Origin shall continue to be considered for Padma Awards and Padma Awardees shall be eligible for Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award.
19. The President may cancel and annul an Award in the event of any adverse information on the awardees coming to light subsequently.
VANI RAO, Jt. Secy. (OIA-II)