Days ahead of International Women's Day, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has announced a nearly five-fold increase in the monetary award under the Himachal Pradesh Mahila Vikas Protsahan Puraskar.

Presiding over a state-level event for International Women's Day, Sukhu on Monday said the monetary award for the Mahila Vikas Protsahan Puraskar has been hiked to Rs 1 lakh from the current Rs 21,000.