The Union Higher Education Ministry has discontinued the ‘Shiksha Puraskar’, launched by the Centre in 1992 for encouraging original writings in Hindi. The decision is part of the Union Home Ministry’s move to rationalise various awards instituted by the Centre. The ‘Hinditar Bhashi Hindi Lekhak Puraskar’, an award given to promote writings in Hindi by writers from non-Hindi speaking areas, has also been discontinued.
Under the ‘Shiksha Puraskar’, five awards worth ₹1 lakh each is given every year. The ‘Hinditar Bhashi Hindi Lekhak Puraskar’ carries a cash prize of ₹50,000.
According to a circular issued by the Union Higher Education Ministry, a meeting chaired by Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in November 2022 had decided to implement the Home Ministry’s directive on the discontinuation of certain awards. Another circular on May 17 said the Ministry had decided to stop the ‘Shisha Puraskar’ and the ‘Hinditar Bhashi Hindi Lekhak Puraskar’.
According to the Ministry, the ‘Shiksha Puraskar’ is given to books originally written in Hindi by Hindi and non-Hindi-speaking authors in various fields of knowledge such as education policy, method of teaching, Social Sciences, Philosophy, political thought, culture, communication, moral science, science and technology, medical science, law, Political Science, Environment, and other subjects related to education. The Central Hindi Directorate, under the Ministry, would select the winners for the awards from entries received after the publication of the award process every year.
