The government has reconstituted the Cabinet Committee on National Awards to scrutinise and recommend proposals for national honours submitted by various ministries.
A gazette notification in this regard was issued last night by the Cabinet Division. Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has been appointed as the convener of the high-powered 10-member committee.
The committee includes several key cabinet members, namely Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, Cultural Affairs Minister Nitai Roy Chowdhury, and Industries, Textiles and Jute, and Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir.
Other members are Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapon, Water Resources Minister Md Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Annie, and Disaster Management and Relief Asadul Minister Habib Dulu.
Additionally, Md Rajib Ahsan, State Minister for Railways and Shipping, and Md Nurul Haq, State Minister for Labour and Employment and Expatriates’ Welfare, have been inducted into the committee.
Ministers of the relevant ministries will also serve as members by virtue of their office.
To ensure administrative and technical efficiency, the cabinet secretary and the principal secretary to the prime minister will assist the committee, alongside the secretaries or senior secretaries of the ministries of home, finance, information, commerce, culture, and education.
The Cabinet Division will provide secretarial support and monitor the progress of the committee’s decisions.
The committee has been assigned three primary responsibilities, which include examining proposals received from various ministries or divisions for the conferment of national awards, as well as determining the order of precedence for various national awards and recommending changes if necessary.
The committee will scrutinise proposals for the introduction of new national awards and submit recommendations to the government.
The notification, signed by Additional Secretary (Committee and Economic) Md Humayun Kabir clarifies that this new formation nullifies the previous notification issued on 2 October 2024. The order comes into effect immediately, and the committee will convene meetings as required.
