Shortlisted nominees for the Odisha Citizens Award-2021 (OCA-2021) were marked by the jury on Friday as per their merit for the online voting round. The selection panel of the OCA-2021 has short listed four nominees each in nine different categories.
selection panel of experts from various fields formed to scrutinise the entries awarded marks after studying the profiles of the respective nominees.
The shortlisted nominees will now enter the online voting round, following the completion of which the award will be given away at a special ceremony this month basing on a joint value of jury marks and public vote.
Earlier, the committee had selected four names each from several entries in nine different categories namely Agriculture, Art and Culture, Industry, Education, Entertainment, Social Service, Sports, Health Services and Politics.
Speaking about the entries this year, one of the jury members, Odissi Music Guru, Ramahari Das said, “I am happy to be part of the selection process for this award. What I observed is that all the nominees shortlisted in the primary round are legends in their own field and their talents are second to none.”
Eminent chartered accountant, AK Sabat who represented the Industries category as a jury, said that the selection process is transparent and the outcome of the jury marking and public votes will be the undisputed winner.
Similarly, award winning film director, Sabyasachi Mohapatra said, “It was a tough job to select only four from the entertainment industry and mark them as per their achievements. This is a vast industry and all the entrants are quite good in their fields.”
The annual Odisha Citizen Awards instituted by Odisha's No.1 news channel, OTV honours personalities to recognize their contribution to the society in their respective fields.