The cabinet today decided to resume conferring Award for Special Achievements as a special award given by the President. The cabinet made this decision after discussing a paper submitted by the National Awards Committee.
The Award for Special Achievement is given to those who achieve distinction for the country. The award was first given during President Gayoom’s presidency in 1985. The award had been given each year since then, till 2007.
During President Nasheed’s administration, it was decided that the award would be given by the relevant government office. However, the cabinet members today noted that this could create inconsistencies in the selection criteria for the award. Therefore, after discussing the matter, the cabinet decided to form a technical committee and to confer the award under the criteria decided by the committee.