INVITING APPLICATIONS FOR – V Ramachandran Awards for Excellence in Urban Decentralisation

Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy is inviting applications for the second edition of “V Ramachandran Awards for Excellence in Urban Decentralisation”.

Mr V Ramachandran (1931-2015) in whose name these Awards have been instituted, was a member of Governing Board of Janaagraha till he passed away in December 2015. Mr V Ramachandran was a recipient of the Padma Bhushan and one of India’s finest civil servants. He retired as Chief Secretary to the Government of Kerala in 1989. Mr Ramachandran was one of India’s most eminent advocates of decentralization to local bodies, and played a seminal role as a Member of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission constituted by the Government of India in pushing the envelope on administrative reforms in India, especially on decentralization to local bodies. These Awards are in remembrance of Mr. Ramachandran’s life and work.

The applications will be evaluated by an independent Jury comprising:

• Shri S K Das IAS (retd.), Member, Governing Board, Janaagraha (Chairman of the Jury)
• Shri Amitabh Kant IAS, CEO, NITI Aayog
• Shri Ashutosh Varshney, Professor, Brown University and eminent political scientist
• Shri Niranjan Rajadhyaksha, Research Director and Senior Fellow, IDFC Institute
• Shri Priyank M Kharge, Hon’ble Minister, Social Welfare Department, Govt. of Karnataka
• Ms Upma Chaudhary, IAS, Director, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration
• Ms Yamini Aiyar, President and Chief Executive, Centre for Policy Research

The award categories are –

• Best State,
• Municipality (all categories of Urban Local Bodies),
• State Election Commission,
• State Finance Commission
• Civic Agencies.

One winner and two runners – up will be awarded under each category.

The application will be open from 1st November, 2018 to 30th April, 2019.

We are sharing the Awards brochure and the Application form, with a request to disseminate the same to the relevant stakeholders and encourage them to apply. Detailed information on the Awards and the application process can be accessed on www.janaagraha.org/vramachandranawards . Applications can also be submitted online.

We believe these Awards would provide an opportunity to recognize and reward urban decentralization initiatives and to show case them at the national stage.