At the 165th Income Tax Day celebrations on Wednesday, a group of officers were felicitated for the first time not for excellence in their investigation skills or for contributing to an increase in overall tax collections but for pursuing their “creative pursuits.”
A new category was created to recognise the talent among IT department officers who excel in literature, music, theatre, cinema, and sports.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman handed over certificates of excellence to such deserving officers. Among them was Raghav Gupta, a 2012 batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) presently posted in the Ministry of Home Affairs, who was awarded for his wildlife photography.
A lifetime member of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), Gupta’s recent click captured an endangered species, the Bristled Grassbird, while he was travelling in a car from Delhi to his native place in Kanpur.
Thanking the government for recognising his wildlife interest, Gupta told businessline that he was on the trans-Ganga city road, Kanpur, when he heard a “distinctive explosive and melodious call” characterstic of grassbirds.
“I initially assumed it to be a ‘Striated Grassbird’ but the call continued and I went closer for a clearer view. On crossing the road, on the side of the Ganges, I heard the call closely and realised that it was actually Bristled Grassbird. I recorded the presence on my still and video cameras,” the IRS officer narrated his engagement with nature.
Gupta said he has been visiting this area for the past six years and has encountered bird species not commonly encountered, such as the Striped Weaver, Black Bittern, Cinnamon Bittern, Yellow Bittern, Striated Grassbird, and Black Francolin.
The latest encounter with an endangered Bristled Grassbird underscores how important the conservation of grasslands, under duress from urbanisation and modern agricultural practices, has become today more than ever before.
The IRS officer stated that he has achieved numerous accolades for his wildlife photography at national and international forums.
According to a Finance Ministry statement released after Wednesday’s event, the CBDT Certificates of Meritorious Service and Excellence and Certificates of Excellence in creative pursuits/ sports were conferred.
The winners of the all-India slogan writing competition, too, were felicitated.