President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday conferred the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2019 at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The awards were given to 26 shortlisted awardees including one joint award for National Child Award which is now renamed as ‘Bal Shakti Puraskar’ under the categories of innovation, scholastic, sports, arts and culture, social service and bravery. The awards were given in two major categories: Bal Shakti Puraskar and ‘Bal Kalyan Puraskar’ (earlier known as National Child Welfare Award). The awards were conferred few days ahead of Republic Day.