The National Awards Committee announced Tuesday that nominations for the President’s National Award for Special Achievement would close at 3 p.m. on Thursday, September 22, 2022. Interested parties and individuals can submit nomination forms for the award through the designated "Form Hushahelhun" portal at http://apply.presidency.gov.mv on the President’s Office’s website.

The awards feature five categories this year; the first category is dedicated to individuals who have attained significant higher education and training achievements. The second category is dedicated to individuals who have excelled at or achieved the highest rank in an international competition or exhibition. The third category is dedicated to innovative and enterprising individuals who have presented practical resolutions or outstanding solutions by conducting academic research on critical national challenges.

The fourth category would see awards conferred on talented youth who were remarkably creative and innovative in their field of expertise and were acknowledged to have had a positive effect on national progress.

The new fifth category coincides with the 50th-anniversary celebrations of tourism in the Maldives. The President introduced the new category to recognise the outstanding, creative, and innovative contributions of tourism sector stakeholders and staff towards developing the industry and the nation over the past five years.