Maha govt sets up IT award in Rajiv Gandhi's name | Economic Times

Days after former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's name was removed from the country's top sports award Khel Ratna, the Maharashtra government, of which Congress is a constituent, on Tuesday set up an award in his name to felicitate information technology (IT) organizations helping society. A government order said the award commemorates the contribution of Rajiv Gandhi, who was prime minister from 1984 to 1989, in giving impetus to the IT sector in India. The award would be conferred on August 20, the late Congress leader's birth anniversary, every year. But this year the recipient will be selected by October 30, an official release said. The Maharashtra Information and Technology Corporation will be the nodal agency to decide the framework for screening organizations for the award. Rajiv Gandhi was born in Mumbai on August 20, 1944. The Congress is one of the partners in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra along with the Shiv Sena and NCP. The BJP-led Union government last week renamed the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award as 'Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award' in the memory of the hockey legend Dhyan Chand.