Government may change rules for new protocol on Presidential Awards

NEW DELHI: Barely a month after a row erupted over President Ram Nath Kovind conferring the National Film Awards to not more than 11 of the 70 awardees, the HRD ministry is set to amend a notification on Presidential Awards on Classical Languages to avoid a similar situation.

The ministry is preparing to amend a 2016 notification to do away with the specification that requires the President of India to give away this award, ET has learnt.

Seventy-five awards under the Presidential Awards of Certificate of Honour — pending since 2016 — are to be given to scholars in eight classical languages. The President has traditionally been conferring the awards on classical languages since 1958.


A break from this tradition will be seen in 2018 once the government amends the notification that specifies that the President will give away these awards. It is expected that the Vice-President of India will instead give away the awards this year.

“We will be changing the notification in order to bring flexibility so that the award can be given by the President or such other dignitaries”, higher education secretary at HRD ministry toldET. The amendment will allow the ministry to have the Vice-President, Prime Minister or any other top dignitary to give away the awards instead of limiting it to the President.

Rashtrapati Bhavan declined comment on ET queries the issue and said that the HRD ministry was best equipped to respond on the subject.

The HRD ministry had approached the President’s Secretariat requesting President Kovind’s presence for giving away the awards for classical languages to 75 awardees. Rashtrapati Bhavan, however, has brought in a new protocol as per which the President will give away not more than 10-13 awards at one instance, limiting the exercise to a span of one hour or so.