Jindal Steel and Power limited (JSPl) will support a national initiative titled Rashtriya Swayamsiddh Samman it instituted since this year onwards.
The Rashtriya Swayamsiddh Samman will felicitate people from the grassroots level for their exemplary Courage, Commitment and Confidence that has enabled them to overcome adversities and create a unique identity of their own, making them a source of inspiration for many in India. They would become Ambassadors of Change who will pan out in other parts of the country to work for the upliftment of the underprivileged and through their experience and hardships guide others to achieve their dreams, a press release stated.
Shallu Jindal, President, JSPl Foundation said that the objective of holding the venture is to recognise and nurture talent at the grassroots level. Our effort is to bring out stories that have yet been untold.
“Stories of Courage, Determination and a Will to bring about a change in the society. It is an effort to salute such people and provide them with a national platform, so that others too can take inspiration from them. By taking the Swayamsiddh Samman national, JSPl Foundation thus strives to form a human chain,” she said.
The awards will be conferred in 10 categories viz. Women Empowerment,Entrepreneurship (start-ups), Education, Agriculture / Rural Development, Public Service / Social Service, Art and Crafts (Ancient Heritage/Village Crafts), livelihood / Vocational Skills, Health, Innovation / Technology (related to Science) and Environment.
TEN awards would be given among Individuals and 10 to organisations. The awardees will be given a certificate and `1 lakh as prize money.
United Nations Global Compact Network India (UNGCN), the Indian arm of United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), will be the Knowledge Partner for the awards and will be responsible for earmarking the parameters and finalising the awardees with the help of four regional juries and one national jury. The call for entries will begin from today and close by October 25, 2015.
The four regional juries will meet in the first week of November this year in Kolkata, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi to shortlist 2-3 names in each category from their respective regions. The shortlisted entries will then be placed before an eminent National Jury at the end of November wherein the awardees will be finalised. The National Jury will comprise noted personalities who have attained great heights in their own right. The awards ceremony will take place on January 14, 2016 at Kamani Auditorium in New Delhi. Application form can be downloaded or filled online at jsplfoundation.co.in/swayamsiddh.
Enumerating about the process, Pooran Chandra Pandey, Executive Director, United Nations Global Compact Network India (UNGCN), says, “The process undertaken to recognise and honour grassroots leaders in identified areas will be a 360 degree, robust, multi-layered and impartial one that will potentially eliminate any form of favour towards anyone through a well-structured evaluation mechanism by 4 regional and one national jury. The Rashtriya Swayamsiddh Samman harmoniously blends with the mandate of the UN Global Compact to recognise leaders and their innovative initiatives on the Ten Universal Principles and UN’s Sustainable Development Goals that would be rolled out this month.”
JSPl Foundation has held such similar Swayamsiddh Samman awards previously in the States of Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkhand in March, May and July, 2015 respectively, states where JSPl has a significant presence. The awardees were shortlisted on the basis of their contribution to particular Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives of the JSPl Foundation that they have been a part of, how they have taken it forward and how it has changed their life. leadership qualities and the ability to work in a team coupled with their strategies for the future were other parameters on which they were identified.