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The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Coal, Mines and Steel, chaired by former Union Minister and Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur, has been conferred the prestigious Sansad Ratna Award 2026.
The committee received special recognition in the category of "Highest in the Original Reports presented" at the 16th edition of the awards held at the Dr Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi. It is one of only four parliamentary committees across both Houses of Parliament selected for the honour this year. Expressing gratitude to the jury and the Prime Point Foundation, Thakur dedicated the award to the committee members and the secretariat staff. "This recognition reflects our collective synergy, rigorous research, and a firm commitment to strengthening bipartisan legislative oversight," Thakur said while accepting the honour. Under Thakur's leadership, the committee demonstrated high productivity, holding 64 meetings and presenting 29 comprehensive reports since June 2024. The reports focused on strategic sectors vital to the country's economic and infrastructural resilience, including securing critical mineral supply chains through Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL), accelerating domestic mineral exploration, boosting the output of washed coal, and promoting self-reliance in the steel sector. The committee also reviewed the implementation of the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) Fund and the Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY). Inspired by the vision of former President APJ Abdul Kalam, the Sansad Ratna Award is a non-governmental initiative that transparently evaluates parliamentary performance from a civil society perspective. Thakur, who previously received the individual Sansad Ratna Award in 2019 and the Champions of Change Award in 2019, currently also serves on the Public Accounts Committee, the Consultative Committee on Power, and Joint Parliamentary Committees (JPCs) including 'One Nation One Election', the 130th Constitutional Amendment Bill and the Vikasit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan. He also chairs the India-European Union Parliamentary Friendship Group. (ANI)
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