MPPOST, Bhopal: April 20 , 2026. Priyank Mishra-the then-Collector of Dhar district, Madhya Pradesh-and Mrinal Meena, the current Collector of Balaghat district, who have reached the final stage for the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence, have delivered their presentations before the Empowered Committee chaired by the Cabinet Secretary-a committee constituted with the approval of the Prime Minister. Priyank Mishra is currently the Collector of Bhopal district.
According to official information received by MPPOST, the Collectors of both districts recently delivered their respective presentations for the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence 2025 before the committee constituted under the chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Government of India. These presentations were made under the category of “Overall Development of Districts,” which covers 11 priority-sector programs.
The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India, initiated this scheme in 2006 to recognize and reward the exemplary work undertaken by civil servants across the country for the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration. For the year 2025, the scheme for the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration aims to recognize the contributions of civil servants across three categories through the conferral of 16 awards.
For the “Overall Development of Districts” category, the first-stage screening committee finalized the nominations for the second stage after reviewing the presentations for the PM Awards 2025. Subsequently, feedback was collected from beneficiaries via a call center, and on-the-spot visits were conducted by a Director-level team. Upon the completion of this process, presentations were made before the committee constituted under the chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary .
Category 1: Holistic Development of Districts: Har Ghar Jal Scheme, Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Rural), Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Urban), Mission Indradhanush, Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), PM SVANidhi, Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, Kisan Credit Card Scheme for farmers, animal husbandry, and fisheries, PM Vishwakarma, Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, and PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana. This category encompasses the holistic development of districts under a total of 11 priority sector programs. Five awards will be presented under this category.
Category 2: Aspirational Blocks Programme. Five awards will be presented under this category.
Category 3: Innovation for Central Ministries, Departments, States, and Districts. Six awards will be presented under this category.
On the PM Awards Portal, 513 nominations were received from across the country under the ‘Holistic Development of Districts’ category; among these, Collectors from 18 districts of Madhya Pradesh had filed nominations. From this pool, the districts of Dhar and Balaghat in Madhya Pradesh have successfully reached the final stage. Now, an Empowered Committee chaired by the Cabinet Secretary will make its recommendations, following which the approval of the Prime Minister will be sought.
For the purpose of these awards, the evaluation of applications will involve: (1) Shortlisting of districts and organizations by a Screening Committee chaired by Additional Secretaries; (2) Evaluation by an Expert Committee chaired by the Secretary, DARPG; and (3) Final recommendations for the awards by an Empowered Committee chaired by the Cabinet Secretary. The Prime Minister’s approval will be obtained regarding the recommendations made by the Empowered Committee for the awards.
These awards will be presented by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
Under the Prime Minister’s Awards 2025, the awardee district or organization will receive a trophy, a scroll, and an incentive amount of ₹20 lakh. This amount is to be utilized for the implementation of projects or programs, or to address resource gaps in any area of public welfare.
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the entire concept and format of the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration have undergone a revolutionary transformation since the year 2014. The objective of this scheme is to encourage constructive competition, innovation, replication, and the institutionalization of best practices. Under this approach, emphasis will be placed on good governance, qualitative achievements, and last-mile connectivity, rather than merely on the attainment of quantitative targets. This year as well, under the ‘Holistic Development’ category, the awards scheme recognizes the performance of District Collectors through implementation strategies involving targeted individual beneficiaries and a saturation approach. With this specific focus, applications for the awards are being evaluated based on three parameters: Good Governance, Qualitative aspects, and Quantitative aspects.
