India wins Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management Award, 2018
Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM) is a non-profit association representing an international network of senior public servants, Heads of Government, leading academics and researchers located in over 50 different countries across the Commonwealth.
The association is guided by international leaders who believe in the value of networking, knowledge exchange and the promotion of good governance for the betterment of citizens in the Commonwealth countries.
The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions is an institutional member of CAPAM.
CAPAM has been announcing its International Innovations Awards (IIA) Programme bi-annually, since 1998.
The CAPAM Awards celebrate the spirit of innovation in the public service by recognizing organizations that have made significant contributions to improve governance and services in the public sector.
The initiative entitled Unnayan Banka- Reinventing Education Using Technology of Banka District, State of Bihar has been awarded under the Category “Innovation Incubation”.
“Unnayan Banka” is an initiative which envisages “Quality education for all" especially for those at the bottom of the pyramid, using latest technologies. It’s a holistic model of overall development of youths from Education to Employability.
Tagore Award for Cultural Harmony
The Tagore Award for Cultural Harmony for the years 2014, 2015 and 2016 were awarded to a distinguished Manipuri dancer, a Bangladesh-based cultural organisation and an eminent sculptor, respectively.
The award was instituted by the government during the commemoration of the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore in 2011. It was conferred first on sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar.
For 2014, the award was given to Rajkumar Singhajit Singh, a doyen of Manipuri dance who is also a teacher, performer and choreographer.
His choreography has been enriched by elements incorporated from various forms of performing arts of Manipur such as Thang-ta, Nata-Sankirtana, Lai-haraoba and Rasleela.
His role in keeping the tradition of Manipuri dance alive and vibrant has paid tribute to Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, who was deeply influenced by Manipuri dance and made it an integral part of the education curriculum at Visva Bharati University.
Chhayanaut, an institution devoted to Bengali culture, established in Bangladesh in 1961 won the award for 2015. It has played a leading role in promoting Tagore’s works in Bengali culture.
It was part of the movement for an independent Bangladesh and provided a platform for cultural expression and assertion of Bengali identity.
It has played significant role in upholding the liberal progressive tradition of universal humanism of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore and in promoting the spirit of cultural harmony.
For 2016, the award was given to sculptor Ram Vanji Sutar, whose first notable work was the 45-feet Chambal monument at the Gandhi Sagar Dam in Madhya Pradesh.
This gigantic masterpiece carved out of a single block depicts mother Chambal with her two children- Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan symbolizing the brotherhood of the two states.
His iconic bust of Mahatma Gandhi is one of the most celebrated representations of the Mahatma, as is his bronze bust of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.
