The country is all set to launch next year an award with a price tag of $1 lakh (Tk1 crore 17 lakh) for people living anywhere in the world for their contributions to international peace, as per a cabinet approval on Monday.

On top of the $1 lakh cash, awardees would get an 18-carat gold medal weighing 50 grams, the cabinet decided at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the capital.

Any organisation or individual from anywhere in the world is eligible for the award named "Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Peace Medal" that would be handed over on or around 23 May every two years, Cabinet Secretary Mahbub Hossain told reporters in a post-meeting briefing.

Last year, the country celebrated 50 years of achievement of Joliot-Curie Medal of Peace by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 23 May 1973. During last year’s celebrations, PM Hasina had announced the introduction of an international peace award named after Bangabandhu.