Hon'ble Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu honored 338 workers with Prime Minister’s Shram Awards in the presence of Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Union Minister of State (I/C) for Labour & Employment. 194 prestigious Awards for the Year 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 were given away by the Vice President today at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The Awardees are employed in Public Sector Undertakings of the Central and State Government and Private Sector Units with 500 or more workers. These awards are given in recognition to those who have distinguished record of performance, demonstrated devotion towards duty of a high order, specific contribution in the field of productivity, safety, quality, proven innovative abilities, conservation of resources, presence of mind and exceptional courage. The awards are also given to those workmen, who have risked their lives or made supreme sacrifice of laying down their lives in the conscientious discharge of their duties.Speaking on the occasion the Vice President said India is the economic hope of the globe and that the picture is both fascinating and complex as our economy is fast expanding. Felicitating the Awardees Shri Venkaiah Naudu said millions of workforces are working round the clock to keep the wheels of economy running. He further said that this is the ‘real GDP’ festival. By this I mean, the ‘Growth Driving Power’ from among whom the ‘Great Dedicated Persons’ are being honoured today and these two GDPs are critical for the ‘Gross Domestic Product’, the GDP that we are all ultimately concerned with, he added.
Union Minister for Labour and Employment (I/C), Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, on this occasion reiterated the commitment of the Government to protect workers’ rights and their welfare. He said that initiatives of Ministry of Labour and Employment directly affect more than 50% of the Indian population whereas indirectly it caters to almost entire population. He told the gathering about the labour reforms initiative undertaken by his Ministry, more particularly the Code on Social Security which proposes to universalize the social security cover for all workers. He said that “Minimum Government and Maximum governance” was the guiding principle of his ministry in its policy discourse.He congratulated all the recipients and said that you have not only done your work diligently, but have also inspired your companions to give their best. The Minister further stated that the economic development of the country depends on the work which you do in various sectors which is an effective step to strengthen the country and create a strong nation.Public Sector workers bagged 232 Awards while 106 Awards were bagged by Private Sector. Awards were also bagged by group of workmen together. Out of 338 Awardees twenty were Women and two were posthumously awarded.Shram Ratna Award is the highest Awards in Shram Awards. This award, which carries a cash prize of Rs.2 lakh and a Citation, was conferred to Shri Subrata Kumar, Charge hand (Diesel) (Special grade) in Tata Steel Limited, Jamshedpur for his exemplary contributions in 2012.
Five Women workers were awarded Shram Bhushan Awards out of the Forty Six Awardees in the category for 2011 to 2016. Each Award Carries a cash prize of Rs. 1,00,000/- and a Citation. There were four Shram Bhushan Awardees in 2011 which includes one woman worker from PSU and two workers from PRS; two from PSU and six including one woman worker from PRS in 2012; four workers from PSU and three workers from PRS in 2013; seven workers from PSU and two workers from PRS in 2014; two including one woman worker from PSU and Two workers from PRS in 2015; and ten including one woman worker from PSU and two including one woman worker from PRS in 2016.Out of 129 Awardees in Shram Vir/ Veerangana Awards category, four were Women workers from 2011 to 2016. Each Award carries a cash prize of Rs. 60,000/- and a Citation. In 2011 there were twenty seven worker from PSU and six workers from PRS who won Shram Vir/ Veerangana awardees; thirteen including one woman worker from PSU and seven workers from in 2012 ; nine workers from PSU and six workers from PRS in 2013: eleven workers from PSU and eight including one woman worker from PRS in 2014; eighteen workers from PSU and six including one woman worker from PRS in 2015; and twelve including one woman worker from PSU and six including one woman worker from PRS in 2016.There are eleven women workers out of 162 Awardees in the Shram Shri/ Shram Devi Awards category for 2011 to 2016. Each Award carries a cash prize of Rs. 40,000/- and a Citation. In 2011, there were 21 Shram Shri/ Shram Devi awardees, including five women workers from PSU and eight workers from PRS; in 2012, 32, including One Woman worker from PSU and 9 workers from PRS; in 2013 10, including one woman worker from PSU and eight including one worker from PRS; in 2014 there are 18, including One Woman worker from PSU and Eight including One Woman worker from PRS; in 2015 Twenty including One Woman worker from PSU and Eight workers from PRS; and in 2016 Twelve workers from PSU and Eight workers from PRS.The Secretary, Labour and Employment, Smt. M. Sathiyavathy, Additional Secretary, Shri Heera Lal Samariya and Economic Adviser, Shri Devender Singh also present on the occasion.