VISHWAKARMA RASHTRIYA PURASKAR & NATIONAL SAFETY AWARDS

The Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India, has been operating the “Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar (VRP)” (Previously known as Shram Vir National Awards) and “ National Safety awards (NSA)” since 1965. These Award schemes are operated by the technical wing of the Ministry, namely the Directorate General Factory Advice Service & Labour Institutes (DGFASLI), Mumbai – an attached office of the Ministry of Labour & Employment. DGFASLI renders technical advice/service to workers, their representatives and managements in factories and docks to make the industrial activities safe and to promote workers’ health & well-being.

Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar (VRP)

VRP is awarded in recognition of outstanding suggestions given by a worker or group of workers and implemented by the management during the previous calendar ear resulting improvement in quality, productivity and working conditions such as safety, health and environmental conservation in the industrial undertakings where “Suggestion Schemes” are in operation.

VRP is awarded in the form of cash prize and a certificate of merit in three categories: Class ‘A’ – five (5) of Rs. 75,000/- each, Class ‘B’ – Eight (8) of Rs. 50,000/- each and Class ‘C’ – fifteen (15) of Rs. 25,000/- each. There are 28 awards

National Safety Awards (NSA)

The NSA is given is recognition of outstanding safety performance of industrial establishments, construction sites, ports and installations under AERB to stimulate and maintain the interests of both the management and the workers in accident prevention programmes. The awards are given under twelve schemes, out of which ten are meant for Factories /Construction sites /Installations under Atomic Energy Regulatory Board(AERB) and two are for Ports. Under each award, a Shield and a Certificate of Merit is given to each of the Award Winners and Runners-up. The establishments are classified in different schemes on the basis of working of highest man-hours.

The criterion for presentation of these Awards is indicated as below:

• Lowest Average Frequency Rate over a period of three consecutive years ending in the contest year as compared to the national Average for that group of industries.
• Accident Free year based on man-hours worked during the contest year

The VRP and NSA awards work both as an impetus as well as a catalyst to unleash the latent and untapped potentials of the promising workers at the plant level while recognizing the excellent performance of the companies in preventing accidents and promoting safety at work place. They stimulate and sustain the interest of both the managements and the workers alike in accident prevention and safety promotional programmes. The applications of these awards are invited through wide publicity all across the country. The applications thus, received for VRP as well as NSA are adjudged by a Tripartite Awards Committee consisting of representation from employers’ organization, employees’ organizations and Central/ State Governments. This Tripartite Committee is constituted by the Ministry of labour & Employment, Govt. of India. Apart from the tripartite representation, there are also experts on the Committee from renowned Institutions, Universities and industry in the field of safety, health environment, productivity and quality.

About the Awards Presentation Ceremony

The award presentation Ceremony for Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar (VRP) & National Safety Awards (NSA) is held every year on the occasion of Vishwakarma day on 17th September. The Awards are presented by the Hon’ble Minister for Labour and Employment. An estimated around 1,000 persons consisting of the Awardees, representatives of the various industrial undertakings, invitees and senior Govt. officials attend the function. The winners of the National Safety Awards are presented with a certificate of merit and a shield. The winners of the Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar are presented with cash Award and certificate of merit.