FAQs

1. What is V Ramachandran Awards for Excellence in Urban Decentralisation?

These Awards in the name of Mr V Ramachandran, a doyen of decentralisation, is being instituted in recognition of ground-breaking work in decentralisation in the urban context by State Government, Urban Local Bodies, Civic Agencies, State Election Commission and State Finance Commission. The Awards seek to recognise outstanding work that either enables decentralisation in cities through laws, policies and institutions or operationalizes decentralisation in cities through execution and implementation. Rather than reward past achievements, it seeks to identify and honour present accomplishments that germinate far-reaching impact.

2. Who is V Ramachandran?

Mr V Ramachandran (1931-2015), a Padma Bhushan awardee, was one of India's finest civil servants who retired as Chief Secretary to the Government of Kerala in 1989. He was also a Member of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission constituted by the Government of India and one of India's most eminent advocates of decentralisation to local bodies. Please do visit www.janaagraha.org/vramachandranawards to know more about his immense contribution to the cause of decentralisation.

3. Who can apply?

General Eligibility Criteria:

  1. Any State Government, Municipality (all categories of Urban Local Bodies), Civic Agency that provides services in urban areas, State Election Commissions and State Finance Commissions in India are eligible to apply.
  2. The Application should provide evidence of ground breaking work in decentralisation in the urban context. It could cover areas such as decentralised planning, fiscal decentralisation, functional devolution, administrative devolution and practices, community participation or any other initiative that has furthered urban decentralisation.
  3. Applications should be made only for initiatives undertaken post December 2010.
  4. Applications submitted during V Ramachandran Awards inaugural edition are not eligible to apply for this edition.
  5. The decision of the awards jury shall be binding.

Criteria By Award Categories:

Award Category Eligibility Area of Work
Best State Efforts by State Government through departments such as Local Self Government/ Urban Development / Directorate of Municipal Administration/ Finance.
  1. Enactment of laws, drafting of policies, setting up of institutional mechanisms to successfully foster urban decentralisation in the city / state.
  2. Implementation of a policy / programme / scheme to successfully foster urban decentralisation in the city / state.
Best Municipality Initiatives by Urban Local Bodies (Municipal Corporations, Municipalities and Town Panchayats).
  1. Drafting of policies, setting up of institutional mechanisms to successfully foster urban decentralisation in the city.
  2. Directly implemented or facilitated implementation of initiatives (laws, policies, schemes, programmes) that have furthered urban decentralisation in the city.
Best Civic Agency Initiatives by Development Authority/ Metro Rail Cooperation/ Water Supply Board /any city civic agency excluding Urban Local Bodies. Effective implementation of project / scheme through demonstrable inter-agency/government coordination and decentralization in practice.
Best State Election Commission State Election Commissions in India. Drafting of policies and setting up of institutional mechanisms and processes and implementing such initiatives to successfully conduct elections to the Municipal Bodies such as improving voter participation, accuracy of electoral rolls, promoting candidate disclosures and using technology to improve election process management.
Best State Finance Commission State Finance Commissions across India. Setting up of institutional mechanisms to successfully foster urban decentralisation in the state. Initiatives could typically include steps that help improve financial management and transparency in ULBs and role in improving decentralised governance in India.

4. How to Apply?

Applications can be submitted online or in physical format. To apply online, click here

To submit the application form offline, download the application form from the website, fill in the details with necessary support documents and send by email to vrawards@janaagraha.org

Or

by courier/post to:

V R Vachana,
Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy,
4th Floor, UNI Building, Thimmaiah Road,
Millers Tank Bund Rd, Kaverappa Layout,
Vasanth Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560052.

For any clarifications/information, please reach out to:

Contact no: 080 4079 0400 | email ID: vachana.vr@janaagraha.org

5. What does the Award consist of?

The Award consists of a Trophy and a Citation. One winner and Two Runners – up will be awarded under each of the five categories.

6. What are the important dates?

The important dates are as follows:

i. Start Date for receiving Applications : 1st November, 2018

ii. End Date for receiving application: 31st May, 2019

iii. Evaluation of Applications : 2nd May - 1st July, 2019

iv. Announcement of Finalists: October/November 2019 (tentative)

v. Awards Ceremony – November/December 2019 in Delhi (tentative)