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Bal Puraskar winners to be awarded with digital certificates on January 24
The winners of last year’s Bal Puraskar, who could not get certificates after the ceremony was shifted to online mode due to Covid-19 pandemic, will also receive digital certificates this time
In a first, winners of the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar (PMRBP) will receive digital certificates using ‘blockchain technology’ during a virtual ceremony scheduled on Monday. The winners of last year’s Bal Puraskar, who could not get certificates after the ceremony was shifted to online mode due to Covid-19 pandemic, will also receive digital certificates this time.
In an official communication sent to all secretaries on Thursday, secretary of Union women and child development (WCD) ministry, Indevar Pandey, said the award ceremony will be held virtually this year as well in view of the surging Covid-19 cases.
“On the occasion of National Girl Child Day on 24th January and as a part of the Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav, the Prime Minister would interact virtually with the winners of PMRBP 2022. The children along with their parents and respective district magistrates would join the event from their respective district headquarters,” the secretary said in the communication.
He added that the government has roped in a blockchain-based system for the transfer of certificates. “During the function, the Prime Minister would give digital certificates to the winners of PMRBP using blockchain technology. The certificates would also be given to the winners of PMRBP 2021, who could not be given the certificates last year due to Covid-19 situation,” the communication added.
Last year, 32 children were awarded.
The blockchain is an emerging technology that works on the principle of decentralisation. This effectively means that the control is not in the hands of a central agency, but to a distributed network of nodes. This will help in keeping the data safe even if any specific node is compromised. The information in a blockchain is recorded and stored sequentially along with an exact timestamp. The technology is already being used in the financial sector and has been powering currencies like bitcoin.
In September last year, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had introduced the blockchain-based system in order to go completely paperless and deliver secure, transparent and tamper-proof result certificates to students. In December, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Kanpur also launched a system to award blockchain-based educational degrees in digital form to students.
Till 2020, the winners of the PMRBP, under which children in the age group five-18 years are honoured for their exceptional abilities and outstanding achievements, were receiving physical certificates during a ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. The award is given in six fields -- innovation, scholastic achievement, sports, arts and culture, social service, and bravery. Each awardee is conferred with a medal, a cash prize of ₹1 lakh and a certificate.
