National Highways Excellence Awards 2020 | UPSC
HEADLINES:
Applications invited for the National Highway Excellence Awards 2019
WHY IN NEWS:
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has invited proposals for the National Highways Excellence Awards for the year 2020.
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3: Transport
LEARNING:
For PRELIMS go through the categories once and take a note of it . It is very easy to remember !
For MAINS what are the difference between National Highways vs State Highways vs District Roads ?
ISSUE:
NATIONAL HIGHWAY EXCELLENCE AWARDS
AIM
- Ministry of Road Transport & Highways initiated Excellence Awards in 2018 to incentivize stakeholders in the highway construction and maintenance process.
- This is part of the larger objective of strengthening and augmenting the road infrastructure in the country, which is a top priority of our government.
CATEGORIES
- Excellence in Project Management
- Excellence in Operation and Maintenance
- Green Highway
- Innovation
- Excellence in Highway Safety
- Excellence in Toll Management and
- Outstanding Work in Challenging Conditions.
TIMELINE
- Winners will be announced in December this year.
FOR 2020 AWARDS THE CATEGORIES ARE
- EXCELLENCE IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT : Acknowledges the efficient use of resources with adherence to the highest quality standards, smooth and cost-effective execution of the project, and timely achievement of all project milestones.
- EXCELLENCE IN OPERATION & MAINTENANCE : Recognizes projects with swift and smooth execution of maintenance works, inspections and unparalleled quality in riding experience.
- EXCELLENCE IN HIGHWAY SAFETY : Acknowledges commendable work done to reduce road casualties and establish preventative safety measures, safety signages, road markings and emergency response services.
- INNOVATION : Focuses on significant achievement in devising or adapting a new construction technology or structural and geometric design.
- GREEN HIGHWAY : highlights innovative practices adopted to protect or enhance the natural environment and/or minimize the effect of project development & operation on the environment.
- OUTSTANDING WORK IN CHALLENGING CONDITION : Focuses on the measures undertaken to develop highway infrastructure in a challenging environment such as difficult terrain, conflict zones, urban congested areas.
SALIENT FEATURES
- The best performers are selected after multiple rounds of rigorous assessment.
- The companies nominate themselves on an online portal by uploading the project information and documents specific to the award category.
- In the first round, the validity and propriety of the submitted data is verified and evaluated by trained officials.
- This is followed by the second field round, which involves an on-site inspection of the shortlisted projects.
- In the third round, an expert jury panel reviews the finalists and selects the winners.
SIGNIFICANCE
- Acknowledging companies who are performing exceptionally will foster healthy competition.
- Checks and competition ; delivering finest quality services during construction will improve the quality of service.
- Analysis of operations and maintenance stages of the highway project, would encourage all companies in the sector to perform better.
- This will uphold high quality and safety standards, and employed innovation and sustainable practices in their work.
2019 AWARDS
- Last year, in the 2019 cycle, 104 nominations were received across 7 categories .
- The final 12 winners were facilitated by Hon’ble Minister Shri Nitin Gadkari on 14th January, 2020.
IASbhai WINDUP:
- In the first cycle of awards in 2018, 107 nominations were received across 5 categories.
- The final 11 winners were facilitated by Hon’ble Minister Shri Nitin Gadkari on 8th January, 2019.
SOURCES:THE HINDU & PIB | National Highways Excellence Awards 2020 | UPSC
DISCOVER MORE : GS-1
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