UN award for Chhattisgarh, first for Asian state

RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh has bagged a UN award for 'excellence in participation and capacity building', making it the first state in Asia to receive the award.

"Chhattisgarh has been chosen for the UN award under UNDP's (United Nations Development Programme) 'excellence in participation and capacity development' category for its first report based on human resource development index, released by Chief Minister Raman Singh in December 2005," a UN press statement said on Wednesday.

The report, split into 10 chapters, was prepared by the Chhattisgarh Infotech and Biotech Promotion Society (CHiPS), an IT wing of Chhattisgarh government.

Aman Singh, chief executive officer of CHiPS, has been invited to receive the award in June at New York, UN headquarters. 

This year, UNDP received 50 nominations from 39 countries in the 'participation and capacity building process' category but finally Chhattisgarh, which came into existence in November 2000, edged out all contenders.

The award came as a surprise to the state's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government that is struggling to improve the quality of living of millions of decades old marginalized people, mostly residing in the state's vast northern and southern forested areas.