Award for Ponnala, Tulasi Reddy

Minister for Information Technology Ponnala Lakshmiah was on Thursday named the recipient of the Rastra Seva Ratna award for his contribution to Jalayagnam project, by the Confederation of NGOs of Rural India.

The 20-point Programme Chairman N Tulasi Reddy was named as the winner of the Bharath Seva Ratna for his services in the villages by the CNRI.

The CNRI, which is an Apex Body of Non-Governmental organisations of rural India with the specific objective of strengthening, co-ordinating and facilitating their working at the grass root level for integrated development of the rural India. The body aims to facilitate the NGOs to emerge as a think-tank as well as a consultative body at the National and international level.

The CNRI, every year gives the two awards, according to its state chairman M Srinivasa Reddy. One of the stated ancillary objectives of the CNRI is to confer such honorary titles and distinctions to distinguished persons in India and abroad in recognition of their valuable contribution to the cause of the Confederation, as it deems fit.

There are 8,000 CNRI societies in India and 800 in the state.