The government has approved the scheme for the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration, 2025, designed to acknowledge and reward exemplary work carried out by civil servants across the country. The initiative has received 2,035 nominations, with 737 districts — about 95 per cent of all districts — registering for participation.
For 2025, the awards will recognise outstanding contributions in three areas: holistic development of districts across 11 priority sector programmes, the Aspirational Blocks Programme, and innovations undertaken by central ministries, state governments and district administrations. The PM Awards portal, launched on October 1 remained open for submissions until November 30. Of the total nominations, 513 were received under holistic district development, 464 under the Aspirational Blocks Programme, and 1,058 under the innovations category.
The evaluation process will include shortlisting by screening committees chaired by Additional Secretaries, followed by an assessment by an expert committee led by the Secretary of the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances. The final recommendations will then be made by an empowered committee chaired by the Cabinet Secretary, before being submitted to the Prime Minister for approval.
Each award will comprise a trophy, a scroll and an incentive of Rs 20 lakh for the awarded district or organisation to support project implementation or bridge resource gaps in public welfare initiatives. The awards will be presented by the Prime Minister on April 21, 2026, on the occasion of Civil Services Day at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
