Raipur: Announcement of Chief Minister Excellence Award 2025-26, best administrative innovations of Chhattisgarh will be honored – keeping an eye on every movement of the media world.

Selection of 10 innovations from 312 entries received from districts and departments – special emphasis on technology, results and citizen-centric service

“Continual development of governance is necessary for better service to the citizens” – Chief Minister Sai

Raipur News: Underlining the changes taking place in the direction of good governance in Chhattisgarh and the strengthening of administrative culture, Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai today announced the Chief Minister Excellence Award 2025–26. These awards will be given to honor the innovations implemented by various districts and departments of the state, which have played a significant role in making the governance system more effective, transparent and citizen-centric.

Chief Minister Sai said that these awards instituted by the Department of Good Governance and Convergence are a clear indication that the state government is giving top priority to innovation, concrete results and citizen interest at the center of public administration. He said that the quality of governance should be judged not just on the basis of intentions or expenditure, but on the basis of its actual, measurable impact, scalability and ability to solve problems on the ground. The Chief Minister Excellence Awards are an attempt to institutionalize this new administrative thinking, where technology, sensitivity and institutional reforms come together to strengthen public service.

He said that good governance is realized not only through policies but through continuous innovations. On the occasion of Good Governance Day being celebrated on the birth anniversary of Most Revered Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji, the winners of the Chief Minister Excellence Award 2025–26 have been announced to honor the excellent administrative innovations developed in Chhattisgarh keeping public interest at the center.

Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai said that innovation in governance is not an option, but the need of the hour and the responsibility of the administration. He said that public systems have to continuously adapt to the expectations of citizens with speed, transparency and reliability. The Chief Minister said that the innovations to be honored today are not just individual achievements, but exemplary and replicable models for future-oriented governance. A robust and multi-tier evaluation process has been adopted for the Chief Minister Excellence Awards 2025–26, with the aim of striking a balance between inclusivity and quality.

He said that a total of 312 innovation proposals were received this year, of which 275 were from districts and 37 from state level departments. This widespread participation is proof that innovative problem-solving thinking is developing at every level of governance. This trend also reflects the cultural shift taking place towards solution-focused administration.

Under the two-tier selection process for the Chief Minister Excellence Award, 55 innovations were shortlisted in the first phase. Subsequently, 13 innovations were selected as finalists and ultimately 10 winning innovations were selected, comprising equal number of entries from district and departmental categories. During the evaluation, outcomes were weighted 50 points, scalability 40 points and innovation 10 points, ensuring that the award was based on real and impactful results, not just ideas.

“Blockchain based land records digitization” initiative of Dantewada district stood out as a prime example among the winners in the district category. Through this innovation, manual and paper processes were eliminated and a blockchain based tamper-proof system was implemented, reducing the time to obtain land records from weeks to just a few minutes. This initiative completely eliminated documentary fraud and led to unprecedented speed up of service delivery, setting a new standard for revenue administration in tribal and remote areas.

“Nirman Jashpur” initiative of Jashpur district demonstrated how integrated digital monitoring can effectively implement the implementation of infrastructure projects. Covering over 7,300 projects across 16 departments and 444 gram panchayats, the system enabled real-time monitoring, geo-tagged verification and GIS based planning, thereby improving the quality of works and significantly reducing delays.

The Augmented Take-Home Ration (A-THR) innovation implemented at Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki offered an effective solution to the challenge of severe malnutrition. Through this nutrition-dense diet developed in collaboration with national and international institutions, a 77.5 percent improvement rate was recorded in severely malnourished children. This initiative exemplifies how evidence-based nutrition interventions can bring positive change to lives on a large scale.

Gariaband district’s “Elephant Tracking and Alert App” powerfully highlights the role of technology in reducing human-wildlife conflict. Human casualties were brought down to almost zero through AI based tracking and real-time alert system, along with significant reduction in crop damage and compensation burden. This initiative, which has also been adopted outside the state, has become an effective model of conflict-sensitive governance.

“Intify Intelligence Tool” of Narayanpur district shows the usefulness of data integration in the field of internal security. This real-time, geo-spatial and forecast based platform has enabled the conduct of over 100 planned operations, improved coordination between various agencies and strengthened situational awareness in Left Wing Extremism affected areas.

In the departmental category, “Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK)” of the Education Department emerged as a strong pillar of data-based education governance. This AI enabled platform monitors over 56,000 schools, 2.83 lakh teachers and 57.5 lakh students, enabling early identification of dropouts, better utilization of resources and evidence-based decision making.

“One Click Single Window System” of the Commerce and Industry Department has done remarkable work in the field of improving ease of doing business. Integrating 136 services from 16 departments, the system streamlined approvals, incentives, grievance redressal and inspection processes, reducing delays and increasing investor confidence with transparency.

The overall e-governance reform initiative of the Commercial Taxes (Excise) Department strengthened the revenue collection and compliance system. Through end-to-end digitization, track and trace system and real-time dashboard, the department generated revenue of ₹5,425 crore and set new standards of transparency and regulatory oversight.

“FDS 2.0 – e-Kuber Digital Payment System” of the Department of Forest and Climate Change implemented a completely cashless, RBI integrated payment system by eliminating manual check based processes. Through this, 18 lakh transactions worth more than ₹1,776 crore were completed, thereby ensuring timely wage payment, livelihood security and transparent fund flow even in remote and Naxal-affected forest areas.

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The QR code based information self-disclosure system implemented under MNREGA by the Panchayat and Rural Development Department gave new strength to citizen-centric governance. By providing real-time planning information to villagers through QR codes, the initiative reduced dependence on intermediaries and strengthened transparency in more than 11,000 gram panchayats.

On this occasion, Chief Minister Sai said that these awards are a new beginning to encourage public welfare focused innovations and good governance in Chhattisgarh. This is an indication that the future of Chhattisgarh lies in scalable, citizen-centric and technology-enabled governance. The officers and teams receiving the award will participate in a leadership development program at a prestigious management institute, so that today’s innovations can become the standards of governance in the future.

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Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai said innovation in public administration does not just mean adopting new technology but also providing timely, transparent and result-oriented services to citizens. He said governance has to continuously evolve to address complex challenges at the grassroots level and the Chief Minister Excellence Awards initiative proves how scalable, data-driven and citizen-centric solutions strengthen trust in public institutions.

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The Chief Minister also reiterated that the Government of Chhattisgarh will continue to encourage innovation as a core value of public service, so as to transform governance from within and ensure measurable and positive impact to every citizen.