Who are the country’s best DMs? Express Governance Awards to honour them today

Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting and Electronics & IT, will be the Chief Guest. The Guest of Honour will be Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science and Technology and Earth Sciences; MoS, Prime Minister’s Office; Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Atomic Energy and Space.

The winners have been chosen from over 450 entries received from 29 states. The entries were evaluated by PwC, the knowledge partner for the awards, following which the projects were verified through field visits by The Indian Express’s team of national correspondents and editors.

The winners were chosen by an eminent jury, chaired by Wajahat Habibullah, former chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities and Chief Information Commissioner of India. Other members of the jury were Nirupama Rao, former Foreign Secretary; K M Chandrasekhar, former Cabinet Secretary; and Amarjeet Sinha, senior fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress.

“The question we wanted to answer was, how much service have you done for the people of the country? Some of the entries were so exemplary that they deserve to be recognised by the rest of the country. These awards serve as an incentive for the District Magistrates who come next, who want to show everyone what they can do,” said Habibullah.

“The District Magistrate is a unique post in a democratic structure. We’ve inherited it from the British and Mughal Empires. When India became independent, Nehru was against having a bureaucracy or civil service but Sardar Patel was in favour of it,” he added.

The entries came from across the country and showcased a range of initiatives. “There were many memorable entries. I remember one in particular about a District Magistrate who had worked to get the river flowing in his area again, solving the people’s water problem. These awards are a great initiative and we hope more people will participate next year,” said Chandrasekhar.

Ranen Banerjee, partner at PwC that evaluated the entries, said: “It’s important to recognise that these District Magistrates are going above and beyond their normal course of duties for these projects of public service.”