Maharashtra government announces Rajiv Gandhi Award for excellence in IT sector

Maharashtra government announced on August 10, 2021 that it has decided to introduce Rajiv Gandhi Award for firms that are excelling in the Information Technology (IT) sector in the state. 

The state government's resolution stated that the awards will be conferred upon the firms for best work in the IT sector. The awards have been named after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. 

The resolution stated that late Rajiv Gandhi had stressed on results-oriented usage of Information technology and science technology for the nation and the usage of science and technologies is the center point for the social and economic development of the country. Hence, it was decided that it would be composite to introduce an award that would be named after Rajiv Gandhi.

The decision was taken during a meeting headed by the Minister of State for Information and Technology in the Maharashtra government, Satej Patil on July 7, 2021.

Rajiv Gandhi Award for excellence in IT sector

•The Rajiv Gandhi Award for excellence in the IT sector will be conferred upon institutions and companies for their outstanding performance in the IT sector on August 20, on the occasion of the birth anniversary of the late Rajiv Gandhi.

•Congress leader Satej Patil tweeted saying, “As the Minister of State for IT, Maharashtra, it fills my heart with pride to announce that MVA government has declared an award in the name of Late Shri Rajiv Gandhi ji to encourage organizations excelling in the IT sector in Maharashtra. The award, which will be announced on August 20, will be a lasting tribute to Late Shri Rajiv ji for his pioneering work in the technology sector in India.”

•The Minister of State will speak to various organisation bodies such as NASSCOM to finalise the modalities of the award. 

The award will be a lasting tribute to Late Shri Rajiv Ji for his pioneering work in the technology sector in India. @CMOMaharashtra @AjitPawarSpeaks @Subhash_Desai @nasscom

— Satej (Bunty) D. Patil (@satejp) August 10, 2021

•The award will be given to companies/ institutions that excel in the field with their new ideas and innovations. 

•It will be conferred by Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. 

•Maharashtra IT Corporation Limited (MAHA-IT) has been appointed as the nodal agency to propose the award.

Background

Rajiv Gandhi had served as the sixth Prime Minister of India between 1984 and 1989.

He is credited for bringing an IT revolution in the country, as several of his policy decisions helped India in availing the computers at a reduced price, which spread the telecommunication network across the country.

Recently, another award named after the late Prime Minister was renamed after hockey legend, Major Dhyan Chand. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award will now be called Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award after several requests from the public.