State Level Award for Women (Haryana)

What is the State Level Award for Women in Haryana?

State Level Award for Women is a recognition scheme run by the Women and Child Development Department, Haryana. The stated purpose, in the department's own words, is to give recognition to women who have done outstanding work in different fields so that they become role models for the future generation of Indian women, and to help change the mindset of society so it accepts and encourages the versatile role women play.

State Level Award for Women is not a welfare payment. It is an honour with a cash component, decided by a selection process rather than by an eligibility test, and paid once to each awardee in the year the award is conferred. The awards are conferred at the state International Women's Day function held around 8 March each year, and the department publishes the list of awardees on wcdhry.gov.in afterwards.

The scheme has grown into a family of awards. Six are individual state awards for women; alongside them the department also runs an Adolescent Girls Award, a Best Mother award at circle and block level, a Sports Meet for Rural Women, and an institutional incentive award for districts that improve their sex ratio.

What are the six State Level Awards for Women?

Each award carries a name with a reason behind it. The Indira Gandhi Mahila Shakti Award is named after the former Prime Minister and, in the department's framing, symbolically represents women's power; it goes to a woman who reached the top through selfless and dedicated work. The Kalpana Chawla Shaurya Award is named after the astronaut from Karnal and recognises bravery. The Bahin Shanno Devi Panchayati Raj Award is named after the first woman Speaker in Haryana and is meant to encourage the emergence of women in the public sphere in Haryana's villages.

What are the other awards under the scheme?

Adolescent Girls Award; instituted to encourage girls to pursue higher education.

Incentive Awards for Improvement in Sex Ratio: given to districts that show improvement in a declining sex ratio: Rs 5,00,000 for first place, Rs 3,00,000 for second and Rs 2,00,000 for third. This award goes to the district administration, not to an individual.

Best Mother Award; to encourage women in the proper rearing of children, especially the girl child.

Sports Meet for Rural Women, for the exposure and recreation of rural women.

Who is eligible for the State Level Award for Women?

Who can be considered:

• Women of Haryana who have done outstanding work in any field — the general test for the Smt. Sushma Swaraj Award and the Indira Gandhi Mahila Shakti Award.
• Women who performed an act of bravery or meritorious service, for the Kalpana Chawla Shaurya Award.
• Elected women representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies in Haryana, for the Bahin Shanno Devi Panchayati Raj Award.
• Women aged 60 years and above, for the Life Time Achievers Award.
• Frontline and working women; ANMs, nurses, MPWs, sportswomen, government employees, Sakshar Mahila Samooh members, social workers, women entrepreneurs and Anganwadi Workers, for the Women Outstanding Achievers Award, based on work done in the calendar year.
• Adolescent girls who topped the Matriculation or Senior Secondary examination, for the Adolescent Girls Award.
• Rural women who compete in the departmental Sports Meet, and mothers selected at circle and block level for the Best Mother Award.

Who is not eligible:

• Women who do not belong to Haryana. State Level Award for Women is a state honour and applies to women of the state.
• Men. Every award in this scheme is reserved for women and girls; the sex ratio incentive is the only award that goes to an institution.
• Women below 60 cannot apply for the Life Time Achievers Award, which sets an explicit age floor.
• Women who are not elected representatives cannot be considered for the Bahin Shanno Devi Panchayati Raj Award, however strong their village work.
• Anyone seeking a routine welfare grant. The scheme confers a competitive honour and there is no entitlement to it; a nomination that is not selected simply does not result in an award.

How to apply or nominate for the State Level Award for Women

1. Watch for the annual call. The Women and Child Development Department invites nominations in the run-up to International Women's Day, and publishes the notice under the Advertisements and Notifications sections of wcdhry.gov.in.
2. Download or collect the nomination form for the specific award. Each award has its own field and evidence requirement, so pick the right one before filling anything in.
3. Assemble the evidence. Attach citations, press coverage, departmental certificates, panchayat resolutions or, for a bravery case, the police record or FIR. Attach the marksheet for an Adolescent Girls Award, and age proof for the Life Time Achievers Award.
4. Submit the completed nomination to the District Programme Officer of the Women and Child Development Department in your district, within the date given in the notice. Nominations may be filed by the woman herself, by an institution, or by a district official.
5. District screening. A district-level committee scrutinises nominations and forwards a shortlist to the state.
6. State selection and conferment. The state selection committee finalises the awardees, and the awards are presented at the state International Women's Day function around 8 March. The cash component is credited to the awardee's own bank account.

What documents are needed for a nomination?

How to check whether a nomination succeeded

State Level Award for Women does not run an online application-tracking service of the kind used for welfare schemes. Two routes work in practice:

1. Follow up with the District Programme Officer who received the nomination, quoting the date of submission and the award applied for.
2. Check the Women Awardees and Latest Events pages on wcdhry.gov.in after the International Women's Day function. The department publishes the year's awardee list there. The list for International Women's Day 2024, for example, is available on the site.

Why nominations commonly fail

• Wrong award chosen. A village-level worker nominated for the Panchayati Raj award without being an elected representative, for instance.
• No documentary evidence of the achievement, leaving the committee with only an assertion.
• Nomination filed after the closing date in the annual notice.
• Age below 60 for the Life Time Achievers Award.
• Work done outside the relevant calendar year, which matters for the Women Outstanding Achievers Award.

Where to get help

• Women Helpline, Haryana: 181, operated by the Women and Child Development Department
• District Programme Officer (WCD) in your district, for the nomination form, the closing date and the status of a nomination
• Directorate of Women and Child Development, Haryana, Panchkula, for questions about the award scheme itself
• wcdhry.gov.in, under Advertisements, Notifications and Women Awardees, for the annual notice and the published awardee lists

There is no fee for a nomination, and no agent can secure an award. Selection is made by departmental committees only.