Mohan Majhi Govt Renames Biju Patnaik Sports Award As Odisha Rajya Krida Samman

Bhubaneswar: The Mohan Majhi-led BJP government in Odisha has rebranded ‘Biju Patnaik Sports Award’ as ‘Odisha Rajya Krida Samman’.

A notification in this regard was issued by the Sports & Youth Services Department on Friday. 

This comes within a month of the name change for Location Accessible Multi-Modal Initiative (LAccMI) bus service to Mukhyamantri Bus Seva. The government has also hinted at renaming the ‘Mo Bus’ service and Aahaar Centres in the state.

The notification said that the award will be given to the sportspersons of Odisha who have achieved outstanding performance in any of the recognised sports during the year making the state and India proud.  The award is also given to eminent coaches, sports journalists and sports organisations for their excellence in the field.

It also mentioned that Rajya Krida Samman will be awarded in eight categories:

@ Samman for Lifetime Achievement for promotion of Sports and Games, which will carry cash award of Rs 3 lakh

@ Samman for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games for the year, which will carry cash award of Rs 2 lakh

@ Samman for Excellence in Coaching ,which will carry cash award of Rs 1 lakh

@ Samman for Best Contribution for Promotion of Sports and Games, which will carry cash award of Rs 1 lakh

@ Samman for Excellence in Sports Journalism, which wall carry cash of Rs 1 lakh

@ Samman for Best Para Sportsperson of the year, which will carry a cash award of Rs 1 lakh.

@ Samman for Upcoming Athlete of the year, which will carry a cash award of Rs 1 lakh.

@ Samman for Sports Technical Official (s)/Support Staff of the year, which will carry a cash award of Rs 1 lakh.

The notification further said that the award recipient must be a resident of Odisha and free of any criminal convictions. It will be conferred only once per lifetime per category and can be awarded posthumously to the next of kin. The Sports and Youth Services Department secretary will constitute a five-member scrutiny committee comprising senior officials and coaches of the department with sports director or the senior-most officer of the department as head of the panel.

Biju Patnaik Sports Award was instituted by the previous BJD government in 2001-2002 to commemorate the yeoman service of late Biju Patnaik, the ex-Chief Minister of Odisha, towards the development of sports and games in the state. It is the highest honour to felicitate the sportspersons and coaches of the state. The award was initially presented in four different categories – outstanding performance in sports and games, lifetime achievement in the promotion of sports and games, excellence in coaching and excellence in sports journalism – on the occasion of National Sports Day on August 29. A new category ‘best contribution for the promotion of sports and games’ was added in 2015. During last year’s award ceremony, three more categories were included.