Shahu, Phule, Ambedkar Award

What is the Shahu, Phule, Ambedkar Award?

Shahu, Phule, Ambedkar Award is the Government of Maharashtra's highest institutional honour for social justice work. It is given by the Social Justice and Special Assistance Department through the Commissionerate of Social Welfare, Pune, to organisations whose work has measurably improved the lives of the state's most vulnerable and most backward communities.

The award is named for the three figures Maharashtra treats as the lineage of its social reform movement: Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur, Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. It is conferred each year on 26 June, observed in the state as Social Justice Day, which is Shahu Maharaj's birth anniversary. The 2025 awards were conferred on 26 June 2025.

According to the Commissionerate of Social Welfare, the award rests on Government decisions dated 6 June 2005 and 31 August 2012.

What does the award carry?

• Rs 7.50 lakh in cash to the recipient organisation.
• A certificate of honour and a memento. The Social Justice and Special Assistance Department describes the honour as being presented with a silver scroll bearing the citation, along with a shawl and a coconut at the ceremony.
• 12 awards a year, distributed as 2 awards from each of the 6 revenue divisions of Maharashtra, Konkan, Pune, Nashik, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Amravati and Nagpur.

The division-wise distribution matters. It means an organisation working in a rural taluka of Amravati division competes with others in that division, not with large, well-resourced institutions in Mumbai or Pune.

Who is eligible for the Shahu, Phule, Ambedkar Award?

Organisations that can be considered:

• Registered voluntary organisations: registered under the Bombay (Mumbai) Public Trusts Act, 1950 and the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
• Urban and rural local self-government institutions; municipal corporations, municipal councils, zilla parishads, panchayat samitis and gram panchayats.
• Government departments operating under the state's Rules of Business.
• Co-operative institutions.

The conditions an organisation must satisfy:

• At least 10 years of continuous work in the relevant field.
• Unique and exceptional work in service, education, health, rehabilitation and employment for the most vulnerable and backward sections of society.
• Sound financial standing, evidenced by audited accounts.
• No criminal case and no punitive action pending or recorded against the organisation or against its office bearers.

Who is not eligible:

• Individuals. Shahu, Phule, Ambedkar Award is an institutional honour. A social worker seeking personal recognition is not eligible under this award, though the Social Justice and Special Assistance Department runs separate awards for individuals, such as the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Samajbhushan Award.
• Unregistered groups, however active. Registration under the Public Trusts Act and the Societies Registration Act is a threshold condition.
• Organisations under 10 years old in the field of work claimed.
• Organisations with criminal cases or punitive action against them or their office bearers.
• Organisations whose accounts are not in order or which cannot show audited statements.

How to apply for the Shahu, Phule, Ambedkar Award

1. Watch for the annual call. The Commissionerate of Social Welfare and the district social welfare offices publish the call for proposals ahead of the 26 June ceremony. There is no rolling window — proposals are invited for that year's cycle.
2. Assemble the proposal file. Include the registration certificates under the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950 and the Societies Registration Act, 1860, the trust deed or memorandum with the list of office bearers, audited accounts, and documentary proof of at least 10 years of work in the field.
3. Write the substantive note. This is what the selection is actually made on: what the organisation did, for which community, over what period, with what verifiable results in service, education, health, rehabilitation or employment for vulnerable and backward groups. Attach annual reports, project evaluations, beneficiary numbers and press documentation.
4. Attach the declaration that no criminal case or punitive action is pending or recorded against the organisation or its office bearers.
5. Submit the proposal to the Assistant Commissioner of Social Welfare of your district, and obtain a dated acknowledgement.
6. Follow it through the chain. The district office scrutinises the proposal and forwards eligible cases through the regional Deputy Commissioner of Social Welfare to the Commissionerate of Social Welfare, Pune, where the division-wise selection is made.

How to check the status of a proposal

Shahu, Phule, Ambedkar Award has no online tracking portal. The route is the office that received the file: ask the Assistant Commissioner of Social Welfare of your district whether the proposal was found complete and forwarded, and to which authority. Selected organisations are informed by the Commissionerate ahead of the 26 June ceremony, and the list is published by the Social Justice and Special Assistance Department.

Why proposals are set aside

• Incomplete registration papers, or registration under only one of the two required Acts.
• Less than 10 years of documented work in the field claimed.
• Accounts not audited, or audited statements not attached, so financial soundness cannot be established.
• A general description of activity rather than evidence of unique and exceptional work for vulnerable and backward sections, this is the most common weakness in an otherwise valid proposal.
• A pending criminal case or punitive action against the organisation or an office bearer.
• Submission after the district office's cut-off for that year's cycle.

Contact and grievance route

• Assistant Commissioner of Social Welfare of the district, the receiving and scrutinising authority.
• Regional Deputy Commissioner of Social Welfare for the revenue division.
• Commissionerate of Social Welfare, Pune: socialwelfare.maharashtra.gov.in, for the award scheme as a whole.
• Social Justice and Special Assistance Department, sjsa.maharashtra.gov.in, for policy-level questions.

There is no fee for submitting a proposal, and no agent has any role in the selection.