Four Lok Sabha MPs and three Parliamentary Standing Committees nominated for the ‘Sansad Maha Ratna Awards’ based on their consistency of performance in the 17th Lok Sabha

 Press Release

Four Lok Sabha MPs and three Parliamentary Standing Committees nominated for the  ‘Sansad Maha Ratna Awards’ based on their consistency of performance in the 17^th Lok Sabha

Chennai, December 12, 2023:  The prestigious Sansad Maha Ratna Awards (presented once in five years) have been announced for the 17th Lok Sabha, to honour four distinguished Parliamentarians and three Standing Committees of Parliament in recognition of their consistent and exemplary performances.

‘Sansad Maha Ratna Award,’ presented once in five years by the Chennai-based NGO Prime Point Foundation and the eMagazine PreSense, acknowledges outstanding performances in the Parliament. Prime Point Srinivasan, the Founder and Chairman of Prime Point Foundation, said these awards are based on comprehensive performance, with nominees selected by a distinguished Jury Committee chaired by Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State for Law and Parliamentary Affairs, and T. S. Krishnamurthy, Former Chief Election Commissioner of India. The performance data was sourced from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha websites, as well as from the PRS Legislative Research.

The  Sansad Ratna Awards Committee, led by Priyadharshni Rahul, Trustee Secretary of Prime Point Foundation and the Chairman of Sansad Ratna Awards Committee, announced the recipients for the Sansad Maha Ratna Awards for the entire 17th Lok Sabha. These include NK Premachandran (RSP, Kerala), Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury (Indian National Congress, West Bengal), Bidyut Baran Mahato (BJP, Jharkhand), and Dr. Heena Vijayakumar Gavit (BJP, Maharashtra). According to the awards committee, these four parliamentarians have demonstrated unwavering consistency in debates, private members' bills, and questions since the inception of the 17th Lok Sabha.

Sansad Maha Ratna Awards were not previously conferred upon Parliamentary committees.  But starting from the current 17th Lok Sabha, three Standing Committees have been included in the Sansad Maha Ratna Awards. The Agriculture Committee chaired by P C Gaddi Gowdar (BJP, Karnataka), the Finance Committee chaired by Jayant Sinha (BJP, Jharkhand), and the Transport and Tourism  Committee presently chaired by Vijayasai Reddy (YSR Congress, Andhra Pradesh) and formerly chaired by T G Venkatesh (BJP, Andhra Pradesh)  have been nominated for their consistent contributions based on sittings and the reports presented by them, relying on the data commensurate with the term of 17^th Lok Sabha.

“Recognising the continued consistent top performance of Supriya Sule (NCP, Maharashtra), Shrirang Appa Barne (Shiv Sena, Maharashtra), and Bhartruhari Mahtab (BJD, Odisha), the Sansad Maha Ratna Awardees of the previous 16th Lok Sabha, the Jury  Committee has decided to honour them for their 'Exemplary Performance' in the 17th Lok Sabha as well”, said Priyadharshni Rahul.

The prestigious awards are scheduled to be presented at a grand ceremony on February 17, 2024, in Delhi, marking the 14th edition of the event. Prime Point Foundation instituted these honours at the instance of Dr. Abdul Kalam, former President of India, who inaugurated the first award event in 2010 in Chennai. 

Sansad Ratna Awards are presented annually to the top performing Parliamentarians based on their performance, while Sansad Maha Ratna awards are presented once in five years for the consistency of performance during the term of the Lok Sabha. Till March 2023, 106 Sansad Ratna Awards have been presented through 13 award ceremonies making it the only award presented by any civil society at a global level to the best-performing Parliamentarians.

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