(a) whether the Government has instituted any award to give recognition to children with exceptional abilities and who have achieved outstanding status in different fields from each State;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the Government has formulated any criteria for selecting such
children; and
(d) if so, the details thereof along with the amount earmarked for this award?
MINISTER OF STATE OF THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT(SHRIMATI KRISHNA TIRATH)
(a) & (b): Yes Madam. The Government has instituted "National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement" to give recognition to children with exceptional abilities and who have achieved outstanding status in various fields including
academics, arts, culture, and sports etc. Children between the age of four to
fifteen years who have shown exceptional achievement in various fields are
considered for this award. One Gold medal (at National level) and 35 Silver
medals (one for each State/UT) are given annually. The selection of awardees
is done by a National Selection Committee headed by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Women and Child Development.
(c) & (d): The Government has formulated following criteria for selecting
such children:
(i) The child to be selected for the Award should have unusual talent and
exceptional achievement in any field including academics, arts, culture and
sports etc.
(ii) Age certificate (Date of birth) duly attested by a Gazetted Government
officer.
(iii) Attributes/traits, which are claimed to be possessed by the child,
extraordinary or exceptional, should be reported in the Press, or have been
tested by experts in the field. It should also be possible to subject the
claim to an objective test.
A cash prize of Rs. 20,000, citation, certificate and a Gold Medal is given to
the awardee of Gold Medal at the National Level. For Silver medal awardees,
cash prize of Rs. 10,000, citation, certificate and a silver medal is given
to each awardee.