Award

Recognising the innovative works done by civil servants, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today presented the first-ever Award of Excellence in Public Administration to two senior IAS officers - Rajeev Chawla, Secretary to Government of Karnataka and R.S. Pandey, Secretary in the Ministry of Steel.The awards, which comprised a medal, scroll and cash of Rs. one lakh, were given to them on the second Civil Service Day.Forty five-year old Chawla, a 1987 batch IAS officer of Karnataka cadre, has been chosen for the award for implementing 'Bhoomi', a computerised system for delivery, updating and safe storing of land records in Karnataka.A 1972 batch officer of Nagaland cadre, 57-year old Pandey won the award for his initiative in enabling participation of the user community in the management of public institutions and services in the northeastern state.Pandey, a former Chief Secretary of Nagaland, conceptualised and implemented the programme to involve user communities in fields like education, health and power.The Prime Minister also inaugurated an exhibition on "Best Practices" and released a book compiled by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances.