National Bal Shree Award (Local / South zone / National level)

The word Bal Shree comes from the Hindi language and is made up of two words. Bal means a child and Shree denotes elegance, grace, fame and is also used as a halo or aura of glory. Shree also stands for Goddess of Wealth and Goddess of Knowledge. Therefore, the epithet Bal Shree was considered to be the most appropriate for defining the attributes of those very creative young ones, who possess unmatched qualities an unique approach and innovative ways and thereby not only enriching the society, but also cover themselves with glory. Such children are an asset to society and therefore, they are honoured as Bal Shree by the National Bal Bhavan.

National Bal Shree Honour :-

National Bal Bhavan launched National Bal Shree Scheme in 1995. National Bal Shree honour is an initiative of National Bal Bhavan(NBB) to identify the creative potential of children in four main streams and motivate them to pursue and enhance their creative potential. The evaluation and selection is a complex process and procedure which need constant refinement and inputs from creative artists and experts in various fields. In a nutshell, only a creative procedure can ensure a fair selection. Keeping this in mind, NBB has further revised the Bal Shree Scheme in 2015 with an aim to make it more inclusive and capture creative talent of children.

BAL SHREE HONOUR Bal Shree honour consists of

A Plaque
Citation
Cash Prize of Rs. 15,000 (Kisanvikas Patra)
Literature set (Consisting of Books/CDs)

ELIGIBILITY

10-16 Years
Age Groups : 10+ to 12 years; 12+ to 14 years; 14+ to 16 years
Number of Attempts : Each child can participate maximum two times and the second attempt is permitted only in another age group. Attempt made at ‘State Level’ will be treated as attempt for Bal Shree Selection.

BAL SHREE STREAMS

S.No	Main Stream	Sub Stream
I	Creative Performance	a. Vocal Music b. Dance c. Percussion / Instrumental Music d. Theatre and Puppetry
II	Creative Arts	a. Painting b. Sculpture c. Craft d. Visual Arts (Designing Graphics and Digital Art)
III	Creative Writing	a. Poem b. Story c. Prose d. Dialogues and Play
IV	Creative Scientific	a. Science Model Making b. Science Project Innovation c. Scientific Problem Solving d. Scientific Innovation

Stages of Bal Shree Selection

The selection is at three levels - District, State and National level. State and National level selection will be as per guidelines of National Bal Bhavan organised at State Centres and National Bal Bhavan respectively. The State level selection will be co-ordinated through identified State Centres. The National level selection will be conducted at National Bal Bhavan on stipulated date and time which will be communicated to State Centres.

District Level Selection

District level selection is through nominations (In Tamil Nadu, the District level selection is conducted by the competition) received from affiliated Bal Bhavan / Bal Kendras – Each Bal Bhavan and Bal Kendra affiliated to National Bal Bhavan can nominate one child per sub stream (total 16 sub-streams) to Sate level competition.
The selected candidate only to participate to State level selection
The District level competition conducted by the State Government Fund
In addition, four children under special category (divyangjan/orphan candidate) can also be nominated in four main streams. However, only one candidate in any of the four sub-streams under main stream can be nominated under special category.
District authorities from districts where there is no Bal Bhavan / Bal Kendras – from districts wherever there is no Bal Bhavan or Bal Kendra, District Administration will nominate one child per sub stream (total 16 sub-streams) to the State level competition from Govt. schools including Kendriya Vidyalaya, Navodaya Vidyalaya, etc.
In addition, four children under special category (Divyang/orphan candidate) can also be nominated in four main streams. However, only one candidate in any of the four sub-streams under main stream can be nominated under special category to the State level competition.

State Level Selection

Affiliated Bal Bhavan identified by National Bal Bhavan will co-ordinate and conduct the one day State level selection as per Bal Shree norms.
Applications received from affiliated Bal Bhavans/Bal Kendras and District authorities will be scrutinized at State Centres for eligibility. Eligible candidates will be permitted to attend State level selection in sub-stream of their choice on stipulated date and time.
There will be only two activity sessions in the State level selection in each sub-stream. For State level competition, there will be two resource persons for each sub-stream under Creative Arts, Creative Performance, Creative Scientific Innovation and Creative Writing to evaluate participating children. There will be language interpreter/translator in each stream and also sign language expert for differently abled child/children in case of Creative Writing.

National Level Selection

From State level participants, based on approved selection criteria, children will be selected for National level selection and the list of selected children will be communicated to State Centres for further communication to respective child.
These selected children will attend National level selection at National Bal Bhavan. National Bal Bhavan will organize ‘two day National Camp’ at National Bal Bhavan.
For National level competition also, there will be two resource persons for each substream under Creative Arts, Creative Performance, Creative Scientific Innovation and Creative Writing to evaluate participating children. There will be language interpreter/ translator in each stream and also sign language expert for differently abled child in case of Creative Writing.

PARAMETERS FOR EVALUATION

The participant will be evaluated exclusively on the chosen sub-stream of the main stream, using tools prepared by National Bal Bhavan.

A. Creative Performance			C. Creative Writing
S.No	Particulars	Score (100)	S.No	Particulars	Score (100)
1	Skill	20	1	Language fluency	20
2	Perception/Expression of Feeling	20	2	Perception/ Expression of feeling	20
3	Originality & Effectiveness of Central Theme	40	3	Effectiveness of Central Theme	20
4	Overall evaluation	20	4	Originality & Overall evaluation	40

B.Creative Art			D.Creative Scientific
S.No	Particulars	Score (100)	S.No	Particulars	Score (100)
1	Process	40	1	Process	40
2	Product	40	2	Product	40
3	Originality & Effectiveness of output	20	3	Originality & Effectiveness of output	20

In addition to the above at National level selection, experts will evaluate the participants for assessment of creativity and problem solving ability using standardized tools.

NUMBER OF BAL SHREE AWARDS

There are totally 80 AWARDS and these are distributed as below under three age groups.

Distribution of Awards

(a)	20 Awards in 10-12 years i. One award for 10+ -12 years age group in each sub category ii. One award for divyang category per stream	Total = 16 Total = 4
(b)	20 Awards in 12-14 years. i. One award for 12+ – 14 years age group in each sub category. ii. One award for divyang category per streams	Total = 16 Total = 4
(c)	40 Awards in 14-16 year i. Two awards for 14+ - 16 years age group in each sub-category. (ii) Two awards for divyang children in each stream.	Total = 32 Total = 8

FINAL RESULT

National Bal Bhavan will announce the Bal Shree award following approved selection criteria.
Decision of National Bal Bhavan in this regard will be final and there will not be any provision for revision /revaluation after declaration of the award.
The Tamil Nadu Government also encourages the National Bal Shree awardees from Tamil Nadu by giving Rs.15,000/- cash prize and a citation. So far, 65 students from Tamil Nadu have won this prestigious Bal Shree award.

Every year National Bal Bhavan organizes Bal Shree award in four streams as detailed below :-

1. Creative Performance
2. Creative Art
3. Creative Innovative Science
4. Creative Writing

Competition Levels

1. Local Level
2. State Level
3. National Level

Age Group

1. 9 + to 11 years
2. 11+ to 14 years
3. 14+ to 16 years

The National Bal Shree award is given by Hon'ble Human Resource Development Minister, Government of India. A cash award of Rs.15,000/- each and a citation plaque are given to awardees. The Tamil Nadu Government also encourages the National Bal Shree awardees from Tamil Nadu by giving Rs.15,000/- cash prize and a citation. So far, 65 students from Tamil Nadu have won this prestigious Bal Shree award.

2016 Bal Shree awardees

S.No	Name of the Awardees	Stream	Place
1	V.U.M.Ayshwarya	Vocal Music (CP)	Chennai
2	A.Lalitha Adwitha	Theatre Art (CP)	Chennai
3	S.Haripriya	Painting (CA)	Chennai
4	P.Parthiban (Special Child)	Sculpture (CA)	Chennai
5	Jayachandar.P	Visual Art (CA)	Chennai
6	J.Pradeep Kumar	Science Project(CS)	Chennai

2015 Bal Shree awardees

S.No	Name of the Awardees	Stream	Place
1	Aishwarya (Special Child)	Dance (CP)	Chennai
2	Shankara Prasad	Instrumental Music (CP)	Chennai
3	Abishek	Science	Chennai
4	Srinivasan	Visual Art (CA)	Chennai
5	Akshaya Mohan	Story Writing (CW)	Chennai
6	Nikitha	Painting (CA)	Chennai
7	Daarshinee	Dance (CP)	Chennai
8	Shruthi	Vocal Music (CP)	Chennai
9	Sanjeevi	Science (CS)	Ooty
10	Thiruvenkatam	Instrumental Music (CP)	Cuddalore
11	Greeswar	Science (CS)	Thanjavur
12	Samyuktha	Craft (CA)	Karur
13	Devishree	Craft (CA)	Salem
14	Madhuritaa	Science (CS)	Namakkal
15	Srikanth	Instrumental Music (CP)	Erode
16	Janani	Craft (CA)	Salem
17	Monisha	Writing (CW)	Nagarkovil

2013 Bal Shree awardees

S.No	Name of the Awardees	Stream	Place
1	Bhaviravi Venkatesan	Creative Performance (Dance)	Chennai
2	Aharika Basker	Creative Art (Painting)	Chennai
3	Akshaya	Creative Writing (Story)	Chennai
4	Srinivasan	Creative Performance (Dance)	Vellore
5	Samuya Hariharan	Creative Performance	Coimbatore
6	Blessy Stegil	Creative Writing	Tirunelveli
7	Prasanth	Creative Art (Painting)	Trichy

2012 National Bal Shree Awardees

S.No	Name of the Student	Stream	Place
1	Kamala Devi Linga Ravindranath	Creative Performance	Chennai
2	Ananthitha Ramachandran	Creative Performance	Chennai
3	S.Muthukumaraswami	Creative Art	Chennai
4	K.Deepa Rakshana	Creative Art	Chennai
5	Anupama Ravichandran	Creative Writing	Chennai
6	Shashank.U	Creative Writing	Salem
7	Nikila Raman	Creative Writing	Kancheepuarm
8	Thiyagarajan	Creative Writing	Cuddalore

2011 National Bal Shree Awardees

S.No	Name of the Student	Stream	Place
1	Simran Sivakumar	Creative Performance	Chennai
2	P.S.Nandhini	Creative Art	Chennai
3	Dhubuna	Creative Writing	Salem

2010 National Bal Shree Awardees

S.No	Name of the Student	Stream	Place
1	Ramya Lakshmi	Creative Innovative Science	Coimbatore

2009 National Bal Shree Awardees

S.No	Name of the Student	Stream	Place
1	Harinee Jeevitha	Creative Performance	Chennai
2	Diya Naresh Rao	Creative Innovative Science	Chennai
3	Naveena Manoharan	Creative Writing	Chennai
4	Rubadharshini	Creative Innovative Science	Tirunelveli

2008 National Bal Shree Awardees

S.No	Name of the Student	Stream	Place
1	M.Subrabalan	Creative Innovative Science	Chennai
2	J.P.Dharshini	Creative Writing	Karur

2007 National Bal Shree Awardees

S.No	Name of the Student	Stream	Place
1	Sri Nithi	Creative Performance	Trichy
2	Swetha Viswakarma	Creative Art	Chennai

2006 National Bal Shree Awardees

S.No	Name of the Student	Stream	Place
1	Siddarth Chandrasekar	Creative Writing	Chennai
2	Avipsa Das	Creative Writing	Trichy
3	Dinesh (PH)	Creative Art	Trichy

2005 National Bal Shree Awardees

S.No	Name of the Student	Stream	Place
1	Yatin Agarwal	Creative Performance	Chennai
2	Immanuvel Lazaras	Creative Writing	Chennai

2004 National Bal Shree Awardees

S.No	Name of the Student	Stream	Place
1	Vishala Mishra	Creative Innovative Science	Chennai
2	Janarathanan (PH)	Creative Art	Chennai
3	S.Sathvika	Creative Performance	Chennai
4	R. Deepthi	Creative Writing	Madurai

Department of Art and Culture

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