Rajya/Mukhyamantri Swarn/Rajat Padak Protsahan Puraskar

What is the Rajya/Mukhyamantri Swarn/Rajat Padak Protsahan Puraskar?

Rajya/Mukhyamantri Swarn/Rajat Padak Protsahan Puraskar is a cash-incentive award implemented by the Department of Education, Government of Uttarakhand, to reward outstanding National Cadet Corps (NCC) cadets. The scheme recognises cadets who win gold or silver medals at national-level NCC camps during the current training year and gives them a small cash prize as encouragement.

According to the scheme details published on the myScheme portal and the Uttarakhand government scheme compendium, the award is run through the NCC Group Headquarters using a structured selection and recommendation process. The purpose is to promote excellence in NCC training and motivate cadets to perform at the national camps.

The transliterated name, "Swarn" meaning gold and "Rajat" meaning silver; reflects the two award tiers built into the scheme. The award sits inside a wider NCC ecosystem in the state: according to the Uttarakhand Department of Higher Education, NCC is run through 22 government colleges with battalion attachments and nodal officers, so the pool of cadets from which national-camp medal winners emerge is spread right across the hills and the plains.

Which camps count, and why they matter

The award is tied to four flagship national NCC camps, and understanding them helps a cadet see where the medals are won:

• Republic Day Camp (RDC), the most prestigious NCC camp, held in New Delhi each January, where cadets selected from every state and directorate compete in drill, cultural and institutional events and march in the Republic Day parade.
• Thal Sainik Camp (TSC). The Army-oriented national camp testing map reading, firing, obstacle training and field craft.
• Vayu Sainik Camp (VSC). The Air Wing national camp covering aeromodelling, aircraft recognition and related events.
• Nav Sainik Camp (NSC), the Naval Wing national camp covering seamanship, rigging and semaphore.

Only medals won at these four camps in the current training year qualify a cadet for the Uttarakhand cash award. Camp-level attendance alone does not count — the cadet must actually win a gold or silver medal.

How much is the award, and who gets it?

The scheme has two tiers:

• Gold-medal winners: a cash award of Rs 3,000 each to 6 cadets who win gold medals during NCC training and camps.
• Silver-medal winners: a cash award of Rs 2,000 each to 6 cadets who win silver medals.

In total, 12 cadets are rewarded each training year to 6 for gold and 6 for silver.

Who is eligible for the award?

You can be selected if:

• You are a currently enrolled NCC cadet in Uttarakhand.
• You have demonstrated outstanding performance at one of the qualifying camps in the current training year: Republic Day Camp (RDC), Thal Sainik Camp (TSC), Vayu Sainik Camp (VSC) or Nav Sainik Camp (NSC).
• You are among the top 6 performers for a gold award or the next 6 for a silver award.

You are not eligible if:

• You are not an NCC cadet, because the award is only for cadets.
• You did not win a gold or silver medal at a qualifying camp in the current training year.
• You did not rank within the top 6 (gold) or next 6 (silver) performers, as the award is capped at 12 cadets a year.

Cadets from all recognised NCC units operating within Uttarakhand are considered, provided they meet these criteria.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the award

The award has an entirely offline process routed through the NCC chain, not a citizen portal.

1. Application forms are filled at all NCC units for their eligible cadets.
2. The units forward the completed applications to the Group Headquarters.
3. The Group Headquarters conducts verification of the applications and camp performance.
4. After verification, the Group Headquarters sends the applications to the Directorate, where a Board of Officers scrutinises the applications and board proceedings.
5. Based on performance and scrutiny, cash awards are allocated to the top 6 gold and next 6 silver cadets.

Because units initiate the forms, a cadet who has won a medal should follow up with their Associate NCC Officer (ANO) or unit to make sure the application is filed correctly and on time. There is no citizen login, no fee, and no way for a cadet to apply directly to the Department of Education. The recommendation must travel up the NCC chain of command, so the single most useful thing a medal winner can do is confirm with the ANO that their name and camp record have been entered.

What documents does the unit need?

Because the unit fills the form, a cadet's job is mainly to make sure the unit has clean, verifiable records:

• The prescribed award application form, completed at the NCC unit.
• Proof of the medal or camp performance. The certificate or result record from RDC, TSC, VSC or NSC, which the unit verifies before forwarding.
• NCC enrolment proof, confirming the applicant is a currently enrolled cadet.

A cadet who keeps their own copy of the camp certificate and enrolment record can step in quickly if a document is queried during Group Headquarters verification.

How is the final list decided?

The final list of awardees is prepared on merit. The Directorate's Board of Officers evaluates the verified applications and selects only the cadets with the highest performance who meet all the eligibility norms. The cash award is generally disbursed after the applications are scrutinised and approved and the funds are released through the respective NCC authorities.

Common reasons a cadet misses the award

• No medal at a qualifying camp: only RDC, TSC, VSC and NSC medals count.
• Ranking outside the top 6 (gold) or next 6 (silver), the award is limited to 12 cadets a year.
• Application not forwarded in time by the unit or Group Headquarters.
• Incomplete form or missing performance records, which stall verification.

Keeping your camp performance records with your unit and checking that your form was forwarded are the best ways to avoid missing out.

When is the award decided each year?

The award runs on the NCC training-year calendar rather than a fixed public last date. National camps such as RDC fall in January and the Thal, Vayu and Nav Sainik Camps run through the training year, after which units compile the medal records and forward recommendations. Because there is no open application window a cadet can miss, the practical timeline to watch is the internal one: as soon as a camp medal is won, the unit should begin the paperwork so it reaches Group Headquarters and the Directorate in that same training year. A cadet who waits a year risks the medal no longer counting, since the award recognises the current training year's performance.

Where to get help

This award is administered through the Uttarakhand Department of Education and the NCC Directorate. Because there is no public application portal or dedicated helpline for the scheme, the correct point of contact is your NCC unit or Group Headquarters, which handles the forms, verification and disbursement. Cadets should route any query about their award through the unit's Associate NCC Officer.

For scheme-level information a cadet or parent can also consult the national myScheme portal listing (myscheme.gov.in), which reproduces the eligibility, benefit tiers and offline process, and the Uttarakhand Department of Higher Education NCC page (he.uk.gov.in), which lists the colleges and nodal officers. Any grievance about a delayed or wrongly withheld award that the unit cannot resolve can be escalated in writing through the Group Headquarters to the NCC Directorate. Since this is a merit award routed through the armed-forces NCC chain, no agent or middleman is involved and no cadet should ever pay to have a name added to the awardee list.