On December 1, 2025, the Government of India (GoI) approved the Prime Minister (PM)’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration 2025, designed to acknowledge, recognize and reward outstanding work by civil servants across India.
- The awards will be presented by PM Narendra Modi on 21 April 2026, marking Civil Services Day, at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, Delhi.
Exam Hints:
- What? PM’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration 2025 Approved
- Who? Government of India (GOI)
- Categories: Holistic Development of Districts, Aspirational Blocks Programme, Innovation
- Presentation Day: On 21 April 2026 (Civil Services Day)
- Evaluation Criteria: Good Governance, Qualitative Achievements, and Quantitative Achievements.
- Award Components: A trophy, scroll, Rs.20 lakhs incentives
2025 Award Categories:
For 2025, the PM’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration seek to honour the outstanding contributions of civil servants under three key categories.
Category 1- Holistic Development of Districts: It focuses on overall development in districts, showing exceptional performance and improvement in the 11 priority sectors.
- Under this category, 5 awards will be conferred.
- 11 priority sectors include Drinking water & sanitation, Rural Housing, Urban Housing, Health Services, Health Insurance, Livelihood & Financial Inclusion, Maternal & Child Welfare, Agriculture & Allied activities, Traditional skills, Small Business & Entrepreneurship, and Nutrition.
Category 2 – Aspirational Blocks Programme (ABP): It focuses on Aspirational Blocks, areas identified as backward or needing targeted intervention.
- Under this category, 5 awards would be conferred on blocks showing remarkable progress and innovation.
Category 3 – Innovations for Central Ministries or Departments, States, Districts: Under this category, 6 awards will be conferred on innovative projects or practices, developed by Central Ministries or Departments, State Governments, and District Administrations.
Background:
Launches: On 1 October 2025, PM’s Awards Portal was launched and made operational for registration and submission of nomination from October 1, 2025, to November 20, 2025.
Nominations Received: A total of 2035 nominations were received on the portal, encompassing Holistic Development of Districts (513), ABP (464), and Innovations (1058).
Evaluation Process: It includes:
- Screening Committee, chaired by Additional Secretaries, to shortlist entries
- Expert Committee, chaired by Rachna Shah, Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DRPG), under Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions (MoPP&P), to evaluate.
- Empowered Committee, chaired by Dr. T.V. Somanathan, Cabinet Secretary, to give Final recommendation
- PM Narendra Modi will approve the recommendations from the Empowered Committee.
Evaluation Criteria: The applications are evaluated on three criteria, including Good Governance, Qualitative Achievements, and Quantitative Achievements.
About PM’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration:
Overview: It was instituted in 2006 to recognize and reward outstanding and innovative work by districts and government organizations.
Evolution: In 2014, the scheme was revised to honor the contributions of District Collectors for their work in priority programs, innovation, and aspirational districts.
- In 2020, it focused on District Collectors’ contributions to economic development. In 2021, the scheme was revamped to encourage competition, innovation, replication, and best practices.
- In 2025, the awards focus on good governance, quality of work, and reaching the last mile.
Award Components: The awards include a trophy, scroll, and an incentive of Rs.20 lakhs to the awarded District or organization for project implementation or welfare needs.
About Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions (MoPP&P):
Union Minister – PM Narendra Modi (Constituency – Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, UP)
Minister of State (MoS) – Dr. Jitendra Singh (Constituency – Udhampur, Jammu & Kashmir, J&K)
