Why in news? Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated fellow Members of Parliament who will be conferred the Sansad Ratna Awards 2023

Highlights:

• The Sansad Ratna Awards were inspired by the teachings of former President APJ Abdul Kalam, to honour top performing Members of Parliament.
• First edition of the Award function was in Chennai.
• They seek to recognise and felicitate the top-performing MPs on the basis of their work in the apex legislative body.
• The current edition of the award ceremony is set to be held this year on March in New Delhi.

Who are the Sansad Awards winners this year?

• The Jury Committee has chosen a total of 13 MPs and two parliamentary committees for the award, with a lifetime award being presented for the first time this year.

Who chooses the winners and how?

• The Sansad Ratna Awards jury committee comprises “eminent Parliamentarians and (members of) civil society”.
• It was chaired by Arjun Ram Meghwal (MoS, Parliamentary Affairs) and co-chaired by T S Krishnamurthy (Former Chief Election Commissioner of India).

How are nominations done ?

• These nominations were based on an MP’s cumulative performance in Parliament, from the beginning of the 17th Lok Sabha until the end of Winter Session 2022.
• Factors that the decision is based on include questions asked, private members’ Bills introduced, debates initiated, attendance, funds utilised, etc.
• The performance data of the members have been sourced from information provided by PRS Legislative Research.

Which is the organisation that instituted the Sansad Ratna Awards and runs the award function?

• The Sansad Ratna Awards are not given by the Government of India, though over the years, its jury members have included individuals in the government.
• The awards were the brainchild of K Srinivasan, a communication strategist who founded the Prime Point Foundation in 1999.
• Started to “promote communication awareness”, it is this foundation which runs the awards show, alongside the foundation’s monthly eMagazine PreSense.
• The awards were started with support from IIT Madras.