The Janaagraha City Governance Awards (JCGA) for Excellence In Urban Decentralisation (formerly the V Ramachandran Awards) has been instituted in the memory of Mr V Ramachandran, a doyen of decentralisation, to recognise ground-breaking work on decentralisation in the urban context by institutions across all levels of the government.
Mission & Objectives
- More than two decades have passed since the enactment of the 74th Constitution Amendment Act, but decentralisation of governance continues to be a crucial reform agenda in India. This is more so in the urban context.
- These awards seek to recognise outstanding work that either enables decentralisation in cities through laws, policies and institutions or operationalises decentralisation in cities through execution and implementation. Rather than reward past achievements, it seeks to identify and honour present accomplishments that germinate far-reaching impact.
About V R Ramachandran
V Ramachandran was born in Tamil Nadu on 21 March 1931. He is an alumni of University of Madras and Harvard University, and was a member of the Indian Administrative Service till 1989. He has held many illustrious positions like Chief Secretary of Kerala State, Vice-Chairman of the UN Committee on Right to Development, Advisor to the Governor of Tamil Nadu, and Vice-Chairman of Kerala State Planning Board, among many others. He is also the recipient of the third highest Indian civilian honor, the Padma Bhushan.
Jury
Over the years, we have been truly honoured to have hosted an eminent list of jurors. To be able to promote innovation in urban governance, these biennial awards will continue to invite jurors from the highest echelons of our community.
SK Das, IAS (retd.) (Chair of the Jury)
Former Secretary, Govt. of India
Amitabh Kant, IAS
CEO, NITI Aayog
Arvind Bellad
Hon’ble Member of Legislative Assembly, Karnataka and member of Bhartiya Janata Party
Dr. Ashutosh Varshney
Professor, Brown University and Eminent Political Scientist, Author
Dr. Niranjan Rajadhyaksha
Research Director and Senior Fellow, IDFC Institute
Priyank M Kharge
Hon’ble Member of Legislative Assembly, Karnataka and member of Indian National Congress
Dr. Sanjeev Chopra, IAS
Director and Chairperson, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA)
Yamini Aiyar
President and Chief Executive, Centre for Policy Research
Gallery
FAQs
Janaagraha City Governance Awards (formerly the V Ramachandran Awards for Excellence in Urban Decentralisation) was instituted in the name of Mr V Ramachandran, a doyen of decentralisation. It recognises ground-breaking work in decentralisation in the urban context by State Governments, Urban Local Bodies, Civic Agencies, State Election Commission and State Finance Commission.
The Awards seek to recognise outstanding work that either enables decentralisation in cities through laws, policies and institutions or operationalizes decentralisation in cities through execution and implementation. Rather than reward past achievements, it seeks to identify and honour present accomplishments that germinate far-reaching impact.
Mr V Ramachandran (1931-2015), a Padma Bhushan awardee, was one of India’s finest civil servants who retired as Chief Secretary to the Government of Kerala in 1989. He was also a Member of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission constituted by the Government of India and one of India’s most eminent advocates of decentralisation to local bodies.
Please do visit www.janaagraha.org/vramachandranawards to know more about his immense contribution to the cause of decentralisation.
General Eligibility Criteria:
Any State Government, Municipality (all categories of Urban Local Bodies), Civic Agency that provides services in urban areas, State Election Commissions and State Finance Commissions in India are eligible to apply.
The Application should provide evidence of ground breaking work in decentralisation in the urban context. It could cover areas such as decentralised planning, fiscal decentralisation, functional devolution, administrative devolution and practices, community participation or any other initiative that has furthered urban decentralisation.
Applications should be made only for initiatives undertaken post December 2010.
Applications submitted during V Ramachandran Awards inaugural edition are not eligible to apply for this edition.
The decision of the awards jury shall be binding.
Criteria By Award Categories:
| Award Category | Eligibility | Area of Work |
| Best State | Efforts by State Government through departments such as Local Self Government/ Urban Development / Directorate of Municipal Administration/ Finance. |
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| Best Municipality | Initiatives by Urban Local Bodies (Municipal Corporations, Municipalities and Town Panchayats). |
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| Best Civic Agency | Initiatives by Development Authority/ Metro Rail Cooperation/ Water Supply Board /any city civic agency excluding Urban Local Bodies. | Effective implementation of project / scheme through demonstrable inter-agency/government coordination and decentralization in practice. |
| Best State Election Commission | State Election Commissions in India. | Drafting of policies and setting up of institutional mechanisms and processes and implementing such initiatives to successfully conduct elections to the Municipal Bodies such as improving voter participation, accuracy of electoral rolls, promoting candidate disclosures and using technology to improve election process management. |
| Best State Finance Commission | State Finance Commissions across India. | Setting up of institutional mechanisms to successfully foster urban decentralisation in the state. Initiatives could typically include steps that help improve financial management and transparency in ULBs and role in improving decentralised governance in India. |
Applications can be submitted online or in physical format.
To submit the application form offline, download the application form from the website, fill in the details with necessary support documents and send by email to vrawards@janaagraha.org
Or
by courier/post to:
V R Vachana,
Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy,
19/4, “Sair Bagh” Building, 3rd Floor, Cunningham Rd,
Vasanth Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560052.
For any clarifications/information, please reach out to:
Contact no: 080 4079 0400 | email ID: vachana.vr@janaagraha.org
The Award consists of a Trophy and a Citation. One winner and Two Runners – up will be awarded under each of the five categories.
Details coming soon.
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