World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Awards(Recipients from India)

Year	Recipient	Achievement
2019	West Bengal Government of Mamata Banerjee	Utkarsh Bangla and Sabuj Sathi schemes

Background: The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was a unique two-phase United Nations summit that began with the goal of achieving a shared commitment to building a people-centric, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society where everyone can create and share information. The first phase took place in Geneva from 10 to 12 December 2003 and the second phase took place in Tunis, from 16 to 18 November 2005.  In December 2015, the United Nations General Assembly reviewed the progress over the past ten years and considered the future of the WSIS process beyond 2015. This process, also called WSIS+10 Review, culminated in a High-Level Event on 15-16 December at the UN Headquarters in New York.

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) through the Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government (DPIDG) serves as facilitator for the implementation of and follow-up to the action lines:

• C1 - The role of public governance authorities and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for development
• C7 - ICT Applications: E-government
• C11 - International and regional cooperation

The WSIS Forum is co-organized by The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Geneva Phase: 10-12 December 2003: The objective of the first phase was to develop and foster a clear statement of political will and take concrete steps to establish the foundations for an Information Society for all, reflecting all the different interests at stake.

Nearly 50 Heads of state/government and Vice-Presidents, 82 Ministers, and 26 Vice-Ministers from 175 countries as well as high-level representatives from international organizations, private sector, and civil society attended the Geneva Phase of WSIS and gave political support to the Geneva Declaration of Principles and Geneva Plan of Action that were adopted on 12 December 2003. More than 11,000 participants from 175 countries attended the Summit and related events.

Tunis Phase: 16-18 November 2005: The objective of the second phase was to put Geneva's Plan of Action into motion as well as to find solutions and reach agreements in the fields of Internet governance, financing mechanisms, and follow-up and implementation of the Geneva and Tunis documents.

Nearly 50 Heads of state/government and Vice-Presidents and 197 Ministers, Vice Ministers and Deputy Ministers from 174 countries as well as high-level representatives from international organizations, private sector, and civil society attended the Tunis Phase of WSIS and gave political support to the Tunis Commitment and Tunis Agenda for the Information Society that were adopted on 18 November 2005. More than 19,000 participants from 174 countries attended the Summit and related events.

11-Feb-2019: Swachh Shakti 2019: Rural women Champions for Swachh Bharat

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi will visit Kurukshetra in Haryana on February 12, 2019. He will participate in Swachh Shakti 2019, a convention of Women Sarpanches and distribute the Swachh Shakti-2019 awards. PM will visit the Swachh Sundar Shauchalay exhibition at Kurukshetra and address a public gathering.

Swachh Shakti-2019 is a national event which aims to bring in to focus the leadership role played by rural women in Swachh Bharat Mission. Women Sarpanches and Panches from all over the country will be attending the event. Around 15,000 women are expected to participate in this year’s Swachh Shakti event aimed at empowering the women.

The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation in association with the Govt. of Haryana is organizing the Swachh Shakti-2019. Best practices from grass root level in the rural areas for Swachh Bharat will be shared by them. The event will showcase the achievements of Swachh Bharat and the recently conducted Swachh Sunder Shauchalay, (neat and clean toilet) - a unique and first of its kind in the world campaign.  

Background: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Swachh Shakti program first in 2017 at Gandhinagar, Gujarat. 6000 women sarpanches from across the country had assembled in Gujarat on the occasion of International Women’s Day under the banner of Swachh Shakti 2017. PM addressed and honoured them.

The second Swachh Shakti event, Swachh Shakti-2018 was held at Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. 8000 women sarpanches, 3000 women Swachhagrahis and women champions from other walks of life from across the country were recognized for their outstanding contribution towards making a Swachh Bharat during the event.

Now the third edition is being inaugurated from Kurukshetra.

Swachh Shakti is an example of how at the grass root level, rural women champions are acting as a change agent to mobilize the community and lead from the front women taking initiatives for a Swachh Bharat. The movement is a part of ongoing activities under the aegis of the Swachh Bharat Mission, launched on October 2nd, 2014, by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi aimed at achieving a Clean and Open Defecation Free (ODF) India by 2nd October, 2019.