Dr. Ambedkar Foundation Essay Competition Scheme for Class 10th-12th & Colleges/Universities/Institutions Students in 22 Indian Languages and English

The "Dr. Ambedkar Foundation Essay Competition Scheme for Class 10th–12th and College/University/Institution Students in 22 Indian Languages and English" is implemented by the Dr. Ambedkar Foundation under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India. Under this scheme, cash prizes and recognition are awarded to school and college/university students who write insightful essays on Babasaheb Ambedkar’s thoughts on social justice, empowerment, and national integration.
Objective:
The primary objective of this Essay Competition is to encourage school, college and university students of 10th and 12th standards to write on the contribution of Babasaheb, particularly on his thoughts on social justice, empowerment of the depressed section, removal of caste-based discriminations like untouchability and atrocities on Dalits, national integration, communal harmony and the like.
Topics:
The topics of the essay shall be selected every year by the respective Chairs from the themes based on Dr. Ambedkar’s thoughts on social justice, removal of inequality and discrimination, ameliorating the conditions of weaker sections of the society, removal of untouchability, caste-based prejudices, disparities, equality of opportunity, social democracy etc.
Medium:
The essays may be written in Indian Languages and English.
Indian languages:
(1) Assamese, (2) Bengali, (3) Gujarati, (4) Hindi, (5) Kannada, (6) Kashmiri, (7) Konkani, (8) Malayalam, (9) Manipuri, (10) Marathi, (11) Nepali, (12) Odiya, (13) Punjabi, (14) Sanskrit, (15) Sindhi, (16) Tamil, (17) Telugu, (18) Urdu (19) Bodo, (20) Santhali, (21) Maithili and (22) Dogri.

The winning students of the recognized colleges/universities/institutions will be given the following prizes:
Language 1st prize (₹) **2nd prize (₹)***3rd prize (₹)**Hindi1,00,000/-50,000/-25,000/-English1,00,000/-50,000/-25,000/-Indian Languages1,00,000/-50,000/-25,000/-The winning students of the recognized school will be given the following prizes:
Language 1st prize (₹) **2nd prize (₹)***3rd prize (₹)**Hindi25,000/- 15,000/-10,000/-English25,000/- 15,000/-10,000/-Indian Languages25,000/- 15,000/-10,000/-Other Benefits:

• Winning students will be felicitated at the Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi.
• Travel and accommodation expenses (₹4,000/day per person for 2 days) will be covered for each winner and their escort.
• Awardees will have sightseeing within Delhi at the cost of DAF.
• Awardees will receive a citation and a set of books on Babasaheb Ambedkar.

Announcement of Prizes:

• A full list of winners would be placed on the websites of the organizing Chair and/or on the Notice Board of that Chair.
• A full list of winners would be placed on the websites of the Foundation (www.drambedkarfoundation.nic.in).- Winners may be invited to Delhi for felicitation in a befitting manner

1. Bonafide students from Secondary and Higher Secondary schools (10th and 12th Standard) registered under a state board or any of the central boards are eligible to participate.
2. Bonafide students from colleges and universities recognized by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in India are also eligible to participate.

Terms & Conditions of the Competition:

1. There is no entry fee.
2. The word limit of the essay will be 3500 words in English and 2500 words in Indian Languages.
3. Each participant should submit only one essay entry on the suggested topic.
4. The participants shall submit a certificate that the essay is their original work.
5. Participants should submit one clean typed copy of the essay with name, address, school/college/university details, topic, language, e-mail, phone no., bank account details etc. with the participant's signature as well as the signature of the Head of the Institution.
6. Submission of the essay entry to the competition implies the acceptance of the rules and regulations of the competition.
7. No correspondence will be entertained in this regard.
8. Plagiarism above 20 per cent will result in immediate disqualification.
9. The student participant's name, e-mail address, postal address, institution, course and year of study, etc., should be indicated in the covering letter and strictly not in the essay.
10. The organisers reserve the right to reject entries that do not conform to these guidelines.
11. All entries received for competition will become the property of the respective Chairs and Dr. Ambedkar Foundation. The winning entries may be considered for publication in book form by the Chair and/or Foundation subject to the approval of the Editor, DAF.
12. In all matters of dispute, the decision of the respective Chairs will be final and binding.
13. The respective Chairs can further add additional terms and conditions in consultation with the Editor, DAF.
14. In case of violation of any of the terms and conditions of the Competition, the participants may be barred from the Competition.

Judging Criteria: The essays will be judged by an evaluation committee (to be set up by the respective Chairs) for the selection of the prize-winning entries. The essays will be evaluated on the basis of contents, analysis/interpretation, presentation and writing skills as per the following provisions:

• Contents - 50 Marks
• Analysis/ interpretation - 20 Marks
• Presentation - 15 Marks
• Writing Skills - 15 Marks

Offline

• Interested students may contact their respective school, college, or institution to apply under this scheme.

Notes:

1. The Dr. Ambedkar Foundation Essay Competition for students of recognized schools, colleges, universities, and institutions shall be held every year.
2. An advertisement in this regard will be published in major national and regional newspapers.
3. The advertisement will also be made available on the websites of the Dr. Ambedkar Foundation and the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (https://socialjustice.gov.in/). 1. Advertisements will additionally be published on the websites of all the Ambedkar Chairs.
4. Submit the complete entry (essay + documents) as per instructions provided by the implementing chair or Dr. Ambedkar Foundation.
5. The list of winners will be published on the DAF website and notice boards of the implementing chair.