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SR JINDAL PRIZE
GUIDELINES
SJ Foundation
Objects of the Foundation
SJ Foundation formerly known as S.J. Jindal Trust, set up in 1969 is a charitable organisation engaged in promoting education, healthcare & rural development. The Foundation believes in serving humanity without consideration of caste, creed, religion or gender. It has no political, religious or commercial affiliation. The Foundation has set up several schools, colleges, hospitals and has awarded scholarships to more than 1 lakh students.
The Foundation has been extending financial support to a large number of scholars, teaching institutions, hospitals and other philanthropic institutions.
A firm believer in the bountifulness of nature and its inherent potential to enable human beings to restore good health, The Patron Dr. Sitaram Jindal has been a dedicated follower of nature cure, yoga and drugless therapy. ‘Jindal Nature cure Institute’, Bangalore, providing natural cure to a large number of ailments since 1978, has achieved recognition the world over as an institute par excellence.
1. SR JINDAL PRIZE
1.01 Launching of Prize
The Foundation had launched the following prizes , from the year 2011:
i) ‘The Jindal Prize’ - under which five Prizes of Rs. One Crore each were to be awarded every year, in the following five categories:
- Rural Development & Poverty Alleviation;
- Healthcare – including drugless healing;
- Education - with emphasis on moral upliftment;
- Science, Technology and Environment; and
- Peace, Social Harmony & Development.
ii) ‘SR Jindal Prize’ for Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation – under which five Prizes of Rs. Twenty Five Lakhs each were to be awarded every year.
iii) ‘SR Jindal Prize’ for Crusade against Corruption – under which 10 Prizes of Rs. Ten Lakhs each were to be awarded every year.
iv) ‘SR Jindal Prize’ for Exemplary Service to Mankind in any field – Under this one Prize of Rs. 1 Crore was to be awarded every year.
v) ‘SR Jindal Prize’ for ‘Gallantry’ – Under this three prizes of Rs. 5 lakhs each were to be awarded.
It has now been decided to merge the above Prizes into one scheme to be known as “SR Jindal Prize” (hereinafter referred to as ‘The Prize’). The Prizes shall be awarded to individuals and organizations for contribution of an exceptional nature and of current significance for the welfare of people in the country. The Prizes are intended to encourage and inspire those engaged in serving humanity and promoting moral values, corruption free society, peace, harmony, health, education, patriotism, national integration and religious tolerance without motive of personal gain, social or political mileage.
1.02 SR Jindal Prize
There shall be 7 (Seven) Prizes of Rs. One Crore each to be conferred annually in each of the following fields.
a) Agriculture, Rural Development & Poverty Alleviation;
b) Healthcare – including drugless healing and naturecure;
c) Education - with emphasis on moral upliftment;
d) Science, Technology and Environment;
e) Peace, Social Harmony & Social Development.
f) Crusade against corruption.
g) Exemplary service to mankind in any field.
A maximum of two awardees in fields (a) to (e) and a maximum of five awardees in fields (f) and (g) can be jointly awarded prizes.
One additional Prize of Rs. 1 Crore can also be given as follows if the Jury agrees:
Any nomination received in usual course and screened as per normal procedure through all channels may be seconded by Dr. Sitaram Jindal, the ‘Patron’ of the Foundation, subject to availability of funds. The decision on the nomination seconded by the ‘Patron’ will be taken by the majority of the Jury present and voting. The Jury may approve or reject/drop or defer it for the next year as per their sole discretion. The nominee seconded by the ‘Patron’ should not be connected with Jindal Family, SJ Foundation or their relatives and SR Jindal Prize Secretariat. No specific mention or significance will be given for this additional Prize but treated like other Prizes.
If no suitable entries are available in any particular field(s) for award of the Prize, the jury will be at liberty to transfer such vacancies to any other field(s) as considered fit provided suitable entries are available in the such field(s). In such cases there will be more than One prize in such fields. The Jury can award prizes in new fields not specified in the scheme after getting approval of the foundation.
In addition to the above Prizes to be selected by the Jury, the Foundation can honour one eminent person every year for selfless Service to Society by giving him an honorary award alongwith a trophy and a citation. This honorary award will not carry any cash prize.
It is implied that achievements in the field of art, culture, literature, entertainment, sports etc., constituting altogether a different sector shall not fall within the ambit of the Prize scheme.
The Prizes shall consist of a trophy, a citation and the prize amount.
Awardees if they so wish may donate the amount of prize in part or full to one or more charitable organizations. If the awardees want the cheques to be issued in Donees names they have to inform in advance. The cheque(s) so issued will be handed over to the awardees at the time of conferment in the function and the awardee(s) may forward the cheque(s) to the donee(s) of their choice themselves.
1.03 Corpus/ Earmarked funds
The Foundation has a corpus/ earmarked funds of Rs.125 crores invested in safest security/deposits, returns from which shall be utilized for giving the prizes and for supporting the operational costs of the scheme. Depending on the returns on the corpus/ earmarked funds, the prize amount and the number of Prizes may be revised from time to time by the Foundation. Excess funds, if any, can be transferred to General Funds, as considered necessary by the Foundation. Upto Rs 5 crores can be retained in the surplus account of the scheme for use in case of deficit or exigencies.
1.04 The Secretariat
To manage, regulate and implement the Prize Scheme, the Foundation has established a Secretariat, under the charge of a Secretary General, at New Delhi. The Secretariat’s role shall be limited to performing executive functions necessary to promote and implement the Prize Scheme, as per the guidelines laid down by the Foundation, in a transparent and professional manner.
2. NOMINATIONS FOR THE PRIZE
2.01
The Secretariat shall invite nominations, annually, to be considered for award of the Prizes. Only the work or contribution nominated in writing by a nominator will be eligible for consideration. A self nomination should not be taken as valid entry. Nomination for an organisation made by an office bearer or a member of the organization shall not be treated as self nomination and shall be taken as a valid entry.
Nominations received in any year will also be valid for two subsequent years.
Nominations received after the last date for receipt of nominations, from any source whatsoever, except the one seconded by the ’Patron’, will not be considered in that year. However, the Research Faculty can nominate nominees upto a maximum of 30 days from the last date of receipt of nominations.
2.02 Nominator
Any person of high reputation can propose anyone (individual or organisation) except themselves. A person shall be entitled to make only one proposal in any given year. In case of more than one nomination from any nominator, the nomination received first will be treated as a valid nomination.
None of the Trustees, Secretariat Staff and members of the Jury can suggest or nominate any case. However, the Research faculty of Prize Secretariat can make nominations after getting the approval of the Secretary General.
The following points may aid in guidance of the Nominators including Research Faculty:
a) Whether the organization or the individual being nominated has made an exceptional contribution, with a commendable spirit of dedication and social service, conducive to the development of the nation and the society;
b) Whether the organization or the individual through outstanding contribution in its/his respective field, has set an example for others ;
c) Whether the organization or the individual concerned has been active in the designated field on a sustained basis;
d) Whether the nominee has to his credit, publication of papers in reputed journals in India or abroad in the previous eight years;
e) Information about the nominee should reveal distinctive or original work in the designated field;
f) It should be ensured that the nominee is not doing such work or activity for personal profit or political gain;
g) A person or organization should be nominated only if the nominator is fully aware of nominee’s moral fiber and integrity and of its/his outstanding contribution to the cause of mankind.
h) The nominator should ascertain that the nominee is not involved in any criminal, anti-social or anti-national activity.
i) Whether the work of the nominee has benefited the Indian masses especially the poor and downtrodden without profit motive and for social benefit.
2.03 Nominee’s Eligibility
a. Any Individual or group of individuals / organization including whistle blowers, having contributed towards welfare of Indian citizens shall be eligible for nomination subject to the condition that the contribution is of exceptional nature
b. The achievements made are transparent and open for public scrutiny He/she/they are not doing the activity for any commercial purpose or for profit motive.
c. The nominee is not an employee, family member or close relative of the Jindal group / its sister concerns / the Foundation / the Secretariat or any other persons associated with the prize scheme.
d. The nominee is not involved in any criminal, immoral, unethical, anti national or anti social activities.
A foreign national who has acquired Indian Citizenship and has contributed towards the welfare of Indian citizens in India shall also be eligible for the awards.
2.04
To take care of achievements which have not attracted attention of a nominator or in case a highly deserving person concerned hesitates to come forward for the Prize, the Secretariat on the basis of findings of its research faculty may approach the potential nominee to seek his consent for his name being considered for the award and may obtain relevant details which shall be put in the nomination form and the research faculty shall sign as the nominator. Such nomination shall be processed at par.
2.05
Ordinarily every nomination made by a nominator shall be verified by the nominee as to the correctness of its contents. As an exception, a nomination which has not been verified by the nominee may also be considered after taking due care. In such a case, the nominator is expected to keep in view that he is nominating a suitable and deserving person.
2.06
Papers / documents submitted in support of a nomination shall not be returned to the nominee / nominator.
2.07
While nominating a person, the nominator should describe the contribution and specifically the achievements/ accomplishments that, according to the nominator, make the nominee suitable for award of the Prize particularly commenting on the nature of project/work, likely or measurable impact of the work, the extent of geographical area/population likely to be benefited by the work and future action plan, if any. Actual number of beneficiaries impacted/ benefited should be given instead of giving the total population of the area where the work is being done. Reports on Independent Impact Assessments, if any, done on the work/ achievements of the Nominee should invariably accompany the nomination.
Quantum of work done against the funds received from the Government or any other source for specified purpose should be clearly furnished.
If the nominee is an organisation, and in cases where an individual Nominee is heading or is an office bearer of an organisation, last 3 years Annual Reports, Audited Balance Sheets, Income and Expenditure statements particularly the fees being charged for services rendered with total income therefrom, details of income from Donations and other sources of funds received and its utilization during the last 3 years should invariably accompany the nomination. Nominations should also be accompanied by publications and other supporting documents. Books and Journals, however, need not be sent. Only a list of relevant books and journals need be sent with the nominations.
2.08
Fresh nominations of a nominee, who has already been nominated in any year, need not be sent for the next two years. Only additional information about the fresh achievements, if any, independent impact study done, if any only need be sent by the nominator during the subsequent two years. Fresh nominations need be sent for such nominees only in the fourth year of the year in which the first nomination was sent.
In case the nominee is an organisation and if an individual nominee is the head of office bearer of an organisation, particulars for subsequent years mentioned in the third para of 2.07 should also be sent in subsequent years, if the organisation wants its case to be considered in a subsequent year.
2.09
A work or an achievement may not be awarded a prize unless, by thorough scrutiny, it is found to be of such outstanding nature, importance and impact as is intended by the Jury. The process of inviting nominations shall cast no contractual obligation on the Foundation or the Secretariat.
2.10
Nominations found to be suppressing information or giving false or misleading information about the nominee shall be disqualified and the nominee as well as nominator may be barred from future nomination.
2.11
Integrity of the person, his peace loving and law-abiding nature shall be a pre condition for award of the Prize. A person convicted by a court of law for a criminal offence shall be barred from participating in the scheme.
2.12 Confidentiality of Nominations.
Processing of nominations shall remain confidential, except in so far as they are discussed within the Jury, the Foundation and the Secretariat. The list of nominations received will, however, be put on the website of the prize. Nominations will also be acknowledged by email.
3. RESEARCH FACULTY
The Secretary General, with the approval of Executive Committee of the Foundation shall constitute a research faculty.
The Research faculty shall perform the following functions:
a. Regularly scan newspapers, magazines / journals, examine material on the internet and research material from various other sources to obtain and shortlist the names of well-known individuals and institutions, and assess their contribution and impact and maintain necessary database.
b. Create and update the list of potential individuals/ institutions who have not been nominated and to explore the possibility of such persons being contenders for the prize;
c. Endeavour to have maximum number of quality nominations;
d. To nominate those not nominated by anyone but considered suitable for the award. Such nomination will be treated at par with others and will go thru the same process of scrutiny and approvals.
e. To perform any other research related activities as may be assigned by the Secretary General.
4. SCREENING COMMITTEE
4.01
With a view to assisting the Jury the Foundation shall constitute a Screening Committee which shall undertake scrutiny of nomination papers to eliminate nominations from the zone of consideration which are either ineligible or apparently not involving matters of significant contribution to the benefit of the society. Subject experts or institutions relevant to the subject may be requested by the Screening Committee or the Secretary General to assist the Screening Committee in objective evaluation of the nominations. The experts should evaluate the nominations about the credibility of the claims made in the nominations, any other notable achievements of the nominee and any negative aspects/ features of the nominee to facilitate objective evaluation of the nominations. Experts should not rank or grade the nominations.
A maximum of 29 (twenty nine) nominations i.e. 3 nominations in each field (a) to (e) in para 1.02 and seven nominations each in fields (f) and (g) in para 1.02 graded best by the Screening Committee under the supervision of the Secretary General shall be placed before the Jury for final selection. The Secretary General may get the claims made in the nominations verified by deputing the Secretariat staff for physical verification in the field or by any other means considered necessary and fit by him, before placing them before the Jury.
A duly verified statement of nominations rejected by the Screening Committee and the Secretary General shall also be placed before the Jury along with all the rejected nominations for examination or checking by the Jury if it so considers necessary.
If the Jury so directs it will be obligatory for the Screening Committee and the Secretary General to re-examine a nomination rejected earlier and submit report on such nomination to the Jury.
4.02 Broad Guidelines for analysis by Screening Committee.
While scrutinizing nominations the Screening Committee shall broadly keep the following parameters in mind:-
a. That the work done by the nominee is of exceptional nature;
b. That the nominee’s efforts have contributed towards lessening of corruption, human suffering and the upliftment of the poor and the underprivileged;
c. That the nominee’s work has promoted honesty, peace, ethical practices, harmony and brotherhood among people;
d. That the benefit of accomplishments, both in terms of geographical coverage and the number of people, has reached a large number of people
e. That the nominee’s work has significant impact, whether in the short or long-term, on the problems being faced by the country
f. That the nominee’s work has acquired general acceptance among the public ;
g. That the work has helped the weaker sections of society;
h. That the work has motivated people towards self help and self reliance and following ethical practices;
i. That the nominee is not working with any political aim or for any community, religion or caste for personal profit, commercial gain or other self interest.
j. That the nominee has made contribution towards improving standards of human life
k. Integrity & commitment of the nominee towards serving the poor/society selflessly.
l. For ‘SJF Prize’ for Crusade against Corruption, the work of the Nominee should have exposed erring public servants, contractors and others for their corrupt acts, favourtism, malafide, unethical/ immoral practices and has helped people in general by constantly working boldly with painstaking efforts.
5. The Jury
5.01 Constitution of the Jury
1. The Foundation shall invite eminent persons of high reputation to be the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the Jury. The Foundation shall also nominate four more eminent persons of repute and integrity to be the Members of the Jury. The Secretary General shall be the ex-officio member-secretary of the Jury. These seven members shall form the jury.
2. The tenure of the Jury shall be one year. However, the tenure of the members of the Jury may be extended by the Foundation up to a maximum of 3 years.
3. A mid term vacancy, if any, shall be filled by the Foundation.
5.02 Role of the Jury
1. The Jury shall be the final authority on award of the prizes and its decision selecting a winner shall be binding without recourse. It may hold as many meetings as are considered necessary to finalize the selections.
2. Meetings of the Jury shall be held in the premises of the Prize Secretariat.
3. The Jury may consult experts, appoint commissioners and/or take other recourse considered necessary for arriving at a fair decision.
4. The Jury members may call for any information or document from the nominator, Secretariat or other source.
5. Each and every case presented before the Jury shall be discussed and debated well in the Jury’s meeting. Cases where consensus cannot be reached, will be put to vote for a decision. In case of a tie, the chairperson shall have a casting vote.
6. Reasons for rejecting any case recommended by the Screening Committee/ Secretary General will be recorded.
7. If a Jury member is personally interested in any case, in whatever manner, he shall abstain from discussions and voting in that case.
8. If no suitable nominees are available in any particular field (s) for award of the Prize, the Jury will be at liberty to transfer such vacancy to any other field (s) as considered fit provided suitable nominations are available in such field (s).
9. All Jury deliberations shall be confidential. In case of any ambiguity in interpretation of the guidelines or procedures of the prize scheme, the Jury shall have the discretion to refer the issue to the EC/Foundation through the Secretariat for clarification.
10. If a member of the Jury is not able to participate in the final meeting for deciding the awardees due to unavoidable circumstances, he may send his views in writing duly signed.
11. If the work being felicitated represents efforts of a group of individuals the prize shall be presented through the group leader. In such a scenario :
a. the prize money may be distributed internally or through the Secretariat as suggested by the group leader ;
b. each member of the group (upto a maximum of 5 members, including the group leader) shall be entitled to an individual citation.
12. To take care of an unlikely situation of selected nominees refusing to accept the Prize or a person being denied the Prize as a result of findings of subsequent investigations, the Jury may also keep additional entries on wait list, if suitable nominees are available under each category, which may be considered for award of the Prize.
13. The Jury shall exercise the right to withhold any or all the prizes in any particular year if they are not satisfied with the quality of nominations received.
14. A Prize may be shared jointly by not more than two nominees in case of a tie in the fields in para 1.02 (a) to (e) and by not more than five nominees in the field in para 1.02 (f) and 1.02 (g). In such cases, the Prize money shall be equally divided amongst the joint winners. Such joint winners will also be presented with a citation and trophy.
15. The Jury may award more number of Prizes if seconded by the ‘Patron’ of the Foundation as aforementioned during his lifetime and by the majority of the trustees of the foundation thereafter subject to availability of funds and processed in normal course/ recommended by the Screening Committee.
6. INDEPENDENT SELECTION PROCESS
The Jury shall be endowed with complete independence in finalizing names of the awardees. The Foundation, the Patron the Trustees and the Executive Committee of the Foundation shall have no say in the selection by the Jury. The Secretariat, the Patron and the Foundation shall, at all times, respect autonomous functioning of the Jury. The Jury may take any decision as it deems fit and its decision shall be final and binding .
The awardees are expected to be responsible citizens of the society with clean track record. The screening committee / Jury shall observe due diligence in shortlisting / finalizing of nominations / awardees.
7. Quorum
Four out of the total of seven members (including the Chairperson) shall constitute the quorum for meetings of the Jury. Presence of the Chairperson or vice chairperson shall be essential for constituting quorum. If the Chairperson is unable to attend a meeting, it shall be presided over by the Vice-Chairperson.
8. FINAL DECISION
All cases selected by the Jury will be forwarded to the Foundation alongwith a consolidated statement of rejected nominations, who may suggest within 10 days, adding, dropping or replacing any of the selectees from out of the cases screened in normal procedure. The Foundation will give reasons/ justification for their suggestion. The Jury may modify, accept or reject such suggestions. The decision on the suggestions of the foundation will be taken by the majority of the Jury present and voting.
The decision of the Jury shall be final, not subject to any recourse or challenge.
9. ANNOUNCEMENT OF WINNERS
The final list of prize winners may be announced by the Foundation at a press conference and through advertisements in the Print and Electronic Media. The prize winners shall be felicitated in a vibrant prize giving ceremony at the hands of eminent personalities of repute.
10. AWARDEES OBLIGATIONS
a. The Secretariat shall have the right to use the winner’s name, nomination forms, photographs and other details of publications and any other materials submitted, for promotion and publicity, including advertisement, for the prize scheme.
b. All prizes shall be subject to tax laws, rules and regulation, including guidelines issued from time-to-time by the Reserve Bank of India. The prize winner shall be responsible for the payment of Income Tax and any other taxes or levies as may be chargeable on the prize amount, under the prevalent Income Tax and other applicable laws from time-to-time.
11. PRIVILEGES TO AWARDEES
a. The awardees shall have the option to use the Prize emblem or symbol with their names on their stationery or in advertisements issued by them in good faith.
b. The awardees can recommend to the Foundation, three cases in a year for the grant of scholarships to eligible poor and meritorious students and one case for grant of donation to any eligible charitable institution rendering commendable services.
c. An awardee may seek financial assistance for their continuing or new projects. The financial assistance shall however be available only for the projects as the Foundation in its discretion may, on merit, consider suitable for the grant.
12. CALL BACK CLAUSE
If it is subsequently found that any awardee has secured a Prize on the basis of misrepresentation of material facts, the Jury in its discretion may, as an exceptional case, withdraw the honour bestowed on such awardee.
13. MISCELLANEOUS
13.01
For the Prize to attain an enviable mark, all persons connected with award of the Prize are expected to exhibit high standards of integrity, probity and fair play.
13.02
Only a living person shall be eligible for the prize except SR Jindal Prize for Crusade against Corruption which can also be awarded posthumously. The Prize money in such cases will be given to the next of kin of the Awardee. If a prize winner expires after the prize has been announced but before it has physically been presented and money disbursed, the prize shall be awarded to next of kin.
13.03
All information relating to nominations or reasons for arriving at a particular decision shall be confidential for 3 years.
13.04
It is a prerequisite for the Awardee to accord his consent to receive the award in person except in exceptional or unforeseen circumstances of ill health or any handicap which may be acceptable to the Jury/ Foundation.
13.05
The Prizes shall be distributed as far as possible on 12th September, every year.
14. AUDITING
14.01
Accounts and the systems of the Secretariat shall be audited during the year and a report thereof shall be submitted to the foundation. The Auditors shall, at all times, enjoy free access to all the books, documents and accounts of the Foundation (in relation to the prize scheme) and the Secretariat.
Auditors so appointed shall be independent and not be related to the Foundation or Secretariat in any way
14.02
The Foundation may at any time inspect or access the records and systems of the Secretariat through its authorized representative. Any instruction or suggestion given by the Foundation will be binding on the Secretariat except in the selection of Awardees by the Jury.
14.03
Internal and external auditors/ authorised representatives of the Foundation shall have access to all records except those relating to nominations / selection process and their scrutiny / selection before the winners are announced. As a precautionary measure, the auditors shall carry out an audit after the award function to prepare a report for the perusal of Executive Committee to verify that there has been no anomaly in the selection process at any stage.
15. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The Foundation shall be represented through an Executive Committee of the Foundation which shall oversee the working of the Secretariat and may issue suitable directions, as may be necessary, from time to time, for smooth operation of the prize scheme.
16. AMENDMENT OF Guidelines
The Foundation may, suo - motu or on the advice of the Jury, the Secretariat, Trustees, functionary of the Foundation or any other person or outfit associated with the administration of the Prizes, consider amendment of these guidelines.
An amendment not affecting the aims and basic structure of the prize scheme, may be brought about by a resolution passed by a simple majority of Trustees present in the meeting and voting. However, major issues like suspension, deferment or withdrawal of the Prize scheme or other changes of fundamental nature shall require approval of two third of the Trustees, in a special meeting called for the purpose.
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Prize Guidelines
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