President will present Nari Shakti Puraskar, 2018 on International Women’s Day

President Ram Nath Kovind will present the Nari ShaktiPuraskar 2018, the highest civilian honour for women in India, at a special ceremony to be held in RashtrapatiBhavan, New Delhi, on International Women’s Day tomorrow. To acknowledge women’s achievements, the Ministry of Women and Child Development confers Nari Shakti Puraskaron women and institutions in recognition of their relentless service towards the cause of women empowerment and social welfare. This year, 44 awardees have been selected for these Puraskar, out of around a thousand nominations received by the Ministry.
The Minister for Women and Child Development, Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi said, “All the awardees are a face of change, reflecting the shift in the status of women in the country, from women development to women-led development. I congratulate all of them for their achievements. I would like to highlight that for these awards we received several nominations from all over the country across all the sectors. No field has been left untouched, where women have not left their indelible mark, making women the leading force of our development trajectory. I thank all concerned for sending nominations and letting us know about the remarkable work of women of our country. I appreciate the contribution of each one of them and hope that they will continue working for the cause of a better society.”
This year, the Nari Shakti Puraskar has also been awarded to a One Stop Centre (OSC) and to a state which has shown exceptional progress in improving child sex ratio at birth under the BetiBachaoBetiPadhao scheme. The Ministry of Women and Child Development is establishing One Stop Centres for violence affected women in all districts of the country. One Stop Centres are being developed to provide 24×7 integrated services to women affected by violence under one roof, including handholding them in filing of FIRs, providing them legal aid, medical aid, psycho-social counseling and temporary shelter upto 5 days. BetiBachaoBetiPadhao is a flagship initiative of the Prime Minister touching women rights and women empowerment at the most initial foundational stage of their lives.
The Government of India believes that empowering women is empowering the nation. The Ministry of Women and Child Development reaffirms its commitment to empowering women by making them an integral part of the nation’s developmental journey. The Ministry salutes the exceptional strength of Nari Shakti Puraskar awardees, who are role models for generations to follow.

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