World Habitat Day 2012 Essay Competition (Rs.20,000 top prize | India)

Deadline: 31 January 2013

As a part of World Habitat Day celebrations in 2012, National Housing Bank is organizing an essay competition, keeping in mind the theme of the World Habitat Day 2012, viz. “Changing Cities, Building Opportunities”. The topics of the essay competition are:

• Efficient Urban Planning in Housing - Facilitator of Hygienic Environment in the era of Urban Migration. (It may cover different innovative schemes of development, architectural designs, Transport solutions, waste management etc.)
• Sustainable Development with Energy Efficient Housing and maintaining Ecological balance. (It may cover Ecological Urbanism and pattern of economic growth in which resource aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment by compositing various elements of Energy Efficient Housing)
• Changing Cities - Without Slums (Business and commercial centers in India have seen an uprising in slums which has led to unhygienic living conditions; the need for building a more inclusive city which provides for adequate living conditions, safety and shelter, even to the most marginalized population of the society, issues pertaining to Slum re-development and its remedies etc.)
• PPP Model- Helps Building Opportunities. (It may cover various aspects of PPP model, funding options for affordable housing under PPP model with live examples, Challenges and Opportunities therein and how PPP model will help Regeneration of a City)

Participants can choose any one of the topics. The essay may be either in English or Hindi and should not be of more than 5000 words.

ELIGIBILITY: The competition is open to employees of Housing Finance Companies (HFCs), Banks, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and All India Level Financial Institutions only.

ENTRIES: The last date for receipt of the entry is January 31, 2013. Three copies of the Essay (an original copy and two photocopies) in A-4 size paper in an envelope super scribing “World Habitat Day, 2012 – Essay Competition” should be sent to:

Shri Vishal Goyal
Assistant General Manager
National Housing Bank
Core-5A, 4th Floor,
India Habitat Centre,
Lodhi Road,
New Delhi – 110 003

Alternatively, soft copies of the essays can be e-mailed as an attachment to NHB. The subject line of the email should bear “World Habitat Day, 2012 – Essay Competition”.

Note: In case of entries sent by email, the size of the attachment should not exceed 1000 KB.

PRIZES:

• 1st Prize 20,000/-
• 2nd Prize 15,000/-
• 3rd Prize 10,000/-
• Consolation Prizes (3) 5,000/- each

Besides, certificates will also be given to winners and NHB shall include the prize winning entries in its annual publication named NHB-AWE (Award Winning Essays) to be released during the next World Habitat Day celebrations.

OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS:

• The entry should be original and should not have been published earlier. The contestant has to furnish a signed declaration to this effect along with the entry.
• Word limit set for the essay should be strictly adhered to.
• Winners of the World Habitat Day Essay Competitions organized during the last three years are not eligible to apply in this competition.
• Entries received after January 31, 2013 will not be considered.
• All references and materials from other sources should be duly acknowledged.
• The participants should not write their names or put their signatures on any page of the entry.
• The participants should furnish their full postal address along with contact number and e-mail ID on the covering letter of the entry.
• The entries will be examined by an independent panel of judges appointed by the National Housing Bank. The decision of the judges shall be final.
• An essay may be contributed by one or more persons jointly.

DECLARATION OF RESULT: National Housing Bank shall inform the prize winners individually as well as through their respective institutions. The prizes will be distributed during the World Habitat Day Celebrations in 2013. All outstation winners will be paid TA to enable them to receive their prizes personally at the venue of the function.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For queries/ submissions: vishalg@nhb.org.in, sukritiw@nhb.org.in and bimalr@nhb.org.in

Website: http://www.nhb.org.in