KATHMANDU, APRIL 14

President Bidhya Devi Bhandari today conferred various honours, decorations, and medals on personalities contributing to different sectors of the nation.

The head-of-state conferred the orders, decorations and medals at an investiture function held at Shital Niwas. These personalities could not be decorated at the earlier function on April 9. The decorations were conferred in accordance with Article 277 (1) of the constitution and on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers.

The list of individuals and institutions receiving the decorations, medals and honours has already been made public before this.

The Decorations Committee had last year recommended the names of 633 persons, including two persons for the Mahaujjwal Rashtradeep (First Class), seven persons for the Suprasiddha Janasewashree First Class, one person for the Ujjwal Kirtimaya Rashtradeep Second Class, one person for the Prasiddha Janasewashree Second Class, nine persons for the Sukritimaya Rashtradeep Third Class, 112 persons for the Suprabala Janasewashree Third, eight persons for the Kirtimaya Rashtradeep Fourth Class, 200 persons for the Prabala Janasewashree Fourth and 110 persons for the Janasewashree First. Likewise, the committee had recommended 155 persons for decorations and 28 individuals for medals.

The 450 individuals, who were conferred with the decorations on the occasion of the Constitution Day and the National Day 2019 as per the decision of the Council of Ministers on 17 September 2019 were also decorated today. They could not be decorated last year as the investiture function could not be organised due to the risk of COVID-19 pandemic. Those persons remaining to be decorated today will be conferred with the decorations at the investiture ceremony to be organised on April 14.

The recommendation for the decoration was made by a meeting of the Decorations Committee chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Ishwor Pokhrel. The designated experts are members and Home Secretary Maheshwor Neupane is the member-secretary of the committee constituted as per Clause 4 of the Decorations Act 2007.

A version of this article appears in the print on April 15, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.