New Delhi, Aug 4: The Public Relations Council of India (PRCI) has presented the first PRCI NextGen Governance Awards which recognize transformative public administration and governance excellence.
The Awards were presented at a conclave of PRCI Transformative Governance Symposium, a high-level forum featuring Supreme Court legal professionals, senior bureaucrats, industry leaders, and media veterans who discussed discussing innovative governance models and pathways for nation-building.
The “N” and the “G” in NextGen signify governance that is forward-looking, reform-oriented,
and built for the India of tomorrow, PRCI said in a statement.
The awards celebrate administrators and institutions that champion transparency, digital innovation, accountability, and measurable public impact.
The premier institutional honor — the PRCI Next Gen Award for Excellence in Citizen-
Centric Urban Governance — has been awarded to the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), Karnataka, under the leadership of its Chairman N. A. Haris.
The award is unique as BDA has engineered and implemented one of the most innovative
and structurally unique Public Grievance Redressal Systems (PGRS) in Indian urban
governance.
Launched in August 2025, the BDA PGRS represents a ground-up institutional
redesign built on four foundational pillars: Transparency, Technology, Good Governance,
and Citizen Orientation.
Five distinguished public servants have been selected for the PRCI NextGen Governance
Awards:
• N. A. Haris, Chairman, Bangalore Development Authority, Member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, Shantinagar – PRCI NextGen Award 2026 for Visionary Leadership
• Major Manivannan P, IAS, Commissioner of the BDA- PRCI NextGen Award 2026 for
Transformational Public Service
• Syedain Abbasi, IAS (1990), Special Chief Secretary, Public Health Engineering
Department (PHED) & Water Resources, Government of Assam — PRCI Next Gen Award
for Sustainable Water Leadership
• Rajiv Kumar Singh, Director (Academic), National Institute of Open Schooling
(NIOS), Ministry of Education — PRCI Next Gen Award for Inclusive Education
Leadership
• Arun Dev Gautam, IPS (1992), Director General of Police (DGP), Chhattisgarh —
PRCI Next Gen Award for Excellence in Ethical Governance
About PRCI
The Public Relations Council of India (PRCI), established on April 3, 2004, is a national
professional body dedicated to advancing excellence in public relations, communications,
and stakeholder engagement.
PRCI, with 60 chapters pan-India, brings together communication professionals, policymakers, academics, and industry leaders to promote transparency, public participation, ethical communication, and effective governance through strategic communication initiatives across India. (BVI)
