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Awards
74th British Academy Film Awards
- The 74th British Academy Film Awards, also known as the BAFTAs, were held on 10 and 11 April 2021 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, honouring the best national and foreign films of 2020 and early 2021.
- It was presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
Major Awards & Winners
- Best Film: Nomadland
- Best Director: Chloé Zhao – Nomadland
- Best Actor in a Leading Role: Anthony Hopkins – The Father
- Best Actress in a Leading Role: Frances McDormand – Nomadland
AICTE Lilavati Awards 2020
- Union Minister of Education Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' presented the AICTE Lilavati Awards 2020 on women empowerment to the winners in New Delhi on 11 April 2021.
- The awards were based on the theme 'Women Empowerment’ across 6 sub themes - Women's Health, Self-Defense, Sanitation and Hygiene, Literacy, Women Entrepreneurship, and Legal Awareness.
Winners in Different Sub-themes
- Women Entrepreneurship: SWEAT (Sona Women Entrepreneurship and Training) from Sona College of Technology, Tamil Nadu.
- Digital Literacy:Bharatiya Vidyapeeth.
- Literacy: Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship Development Pune.
- Women's Health: WIT Women Health Coalition from Walchand Institute of Technology, Maharashtra.
- Legal Awareness: Radiant Seetha from Thiagarajar Polytechnic College.
- Self Defense: Paritrana from St. Joseph's College of Engineering, Tamil Nadu.
Turing Award
- On 31 March 2021, the Association for Computing Machinery, the world’s largest society of computing professionals, declared Dr. Aho and Dr. Ullman as the winners of this year’s Turing Award for their work on the fundamental concepts that underpin computer programming languages.
- Given since 1966 and often called the Nobel Prize of computing, the Turing Award comes with a $1 million prize, which the two academics and longtime friends will split.
GD Birla Award For Scientific Research
- Professor Suman Chakraborty, a faculty member at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur has been selected for the 30th GD Birla Award for Scientific Research for his outstanding contribution to engineering science and its applications in developing technologies for affordable healthcare.
- Instituted in 1991, the award is given by KK Birla Foundation.
- The award recognises eminent Indian scientists below the age of 50 for their original and outstanding contributions to any branch of science or technology.
Saraswati Samman 2020
- Noted writer Dr. Sharankumar Limbale will receive the 30th Saraswati Samman 2020 for his Marathi novel ‘Sanatan’ that features the story of socio-cultural struggles of the untouchables.
- The Saraswati Samman is an annual award instituted by KK Birla Foundation in 1991.
- The winner of the award is selected from the outstanding works from 22 Indian languages.
Dadasaheb Phalke Award
Superstar Rajinikanth will be conferred with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2019.
Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, known professionally as Rajinikanth, is primarily works in Tamil cinema. In addition to acting, he has also worked as a producer and screenwriter.
International Ranger Award
- Mahinder Giri, range officer of Rajaji Tiger Reserve (Uttarakhand) is the only ranger from Asia to win the prestigious International Ranger Award for his contribution towards conservation.
- The award has been announced for 10 professionals across the world by the International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN and World Commission on Protected Areas WCPA.
Vyas Samman 2020
- Well known Hindi writer Prof. Sharad Pagare will be conferred with the prestigious Vyas Samman - 2020 for his novel 'Patliputru Ki Samragi.'
- He is the first Hindi writer from Madhya Pradesh to get this award.
- The Vyas Samman, started in 1991, is given by K K Birla Foundation for an outstanding literary work in Hindi authored by an Indian citizen published during the last 10 years.
Gandhi Peace Prize
- The Gandhi Peace Prize for the past two years ( 2019 and 2020) will be conferred on late Omani Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said and Bangladeshi leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman respectively.
- Late Sultan Qaboos is being recognised for his “unparalleled vision and leadership” in strengthening India-Oman relations and his efforts to promote peace and non-violence in the Gulf.
- Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is being recognized for his “immense and unparalleled contribution” in “inspiring the liberation of Bangladesh, bringing stability to a nation born out of strife, laying the foundation for the close and fraternal relations between India and Bangladesh, and promoting peace and non-violence in the Indian subcontinent”.
67th National Film Awards
The 67th National Film Awards for the year 2019 were announced on 22nd March 2021.
The chairman of the Jury was N. Chandra.
Major Awards/Awardees in different Categories
Feature Film
- Best Film: Marakkar Arabikkadilinte Simham (Malayalam) - directed by Priyadarshan
- Best Director: Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan (for Hindi film Bahattar Hoorain)
- Best Actor: Manoj Bajpayee (Hindi movie Bhonsle) and Dhanush (Tamil Movie Asuran)
- Best Actress: Kangana Ranaut (for Manikarnika -The Queen of Jhansi and Panga).
- Best Male Playback Singer: B Praak (for song Teri Mitti in Hindi Film Kesari)
- Best Female Playback Singer: Savani Ravindra (for song Rann Petala in Marathi Movie Bardo)
- Best Music Director: D Imman (for his songs in Tamil Fim Vishwasam)
- Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration: Taj Mahal (Marathi) - directed by Niyaz Mujawar
- Best Film on Other Social Issues: Anandi Gopal (Marathi) - directed by Sameer Vidwans
- Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation: Water Burial(Monpa) -directed by Shantanu Sen
- Best Children's Film: Kastoori (Hindi) – directed by Vinod Uttreshwar Kamble
- Best Hindi Film: Chhichore – directed by Nitesh Tiwari
Non Feature Firm
- Best Non Feature Film: An Engineered Dream (Hindi) directed by Hemant Gaba
- Best Animation Film: Radha – directed by Bimal Poddar
- Best Art and Culture Film: Shrikhetra ru Sahijata (Odia) - directed by Ashutosh Pattnaik
- Best Environment Film: The Stork Saviours(Hindi) – directed by Ajay Bedi & Vijay Bedi
- Best Film on Social Issues:Holy Rights (Hindi) – directed by Farha Khatun
- Best Educational Film: Apples and Oranges (English) – directed by Rukshana Tabassum
Other Awards
- Most Film Friendly State: Sikkim
- Best Book on Cinema: A Gandhian Affair: India's Curious Portrayal of Love in Cinema - by Sanjay Suri
Pritzker Architecture Prize 2021
- French architects and educators Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal were selected as the laureates of the Pritzker Architecture Prize 2021, the highest honour in the field of architecture.
- Anne Lacaton became the first French female architect to win the prize and the 6th woman to receive the prize since it was established in 1979.
Beyonce: Most-Decorated (Grammy) Female Artist Of All Time
- At the 63rd Grammy Awards on 14th March 2021, Beyoncé made history as she earned her 28th win, making her the show's most-decorated female artist. She surpassed Alison Krauss' previously held record of 27 wins.
- Beyoncé is now tied with Quincy Jones for the second-most Grammy wins, while conductor Georg Stolti holds the record with 31 Grammys.
Sahitya Akademi Awards 2020
- Sahitya Akademi, announced its annual Sahitya Akademi Awards in 20 languages on 12th March 2021.
Maha Vir Chakra Awarded To Col Santosh Babu
- Colonel B Santosh Babu, the Commanding Officer of 16 Bihar Regiment, who lost his life during the Galwan Valley clash last year, was posthumously awarded with Maha Vir Chakra.
- The Maha Vir Chakra is the second highest military decoration in India, after the Param Vir Chakra, and is awarded for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea or in the air.
Padma Awards 2021
The President of India has approved conferment of 119 Padma Awards including 1 duo case (in a duo case, the Award is counted as one).
- The awards comprise 7 Padma Vibhushan, 10 Padma Bhushan and 102 Padma Shri Awards.
- 29 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 10 persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI, 16 posthumous awardees and 1 transgender awardee.
About Padma Awards
Padma Awards - one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The Awards are given in various disciplines/ fields of activities, viz.- art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc.
- The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year.
- These awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March/ April every year.
- ‘Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service;
- ‘Padma Bhushan’ for distinguished service of high order; and
- ‘Padma Shri’ for distinguished service in any field.
List of Awardees
Padma Vibhushan
- Shri Shinzo Abe - Public Affairs - Japan
- Shri S P Balasubramaniam (Posthumous) - Art - Tamil Nadu
- Dr. Belle Monappa Hegde - Medicine - Karnataka
- Shri Narinder Singh Kapany (Posthumous) - Science and Engineering - United States of America
- Maulana Wahiduddin Khan - Others - Spiritualism - Delhi
- Shri B. B. Lal Others - Archaeology - Delhi
- Shri Sudarshan Sahoo - Art - Odisha
Padma Bhushan
- Ms. Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra - Art - Kerala
- Shri Tarun Gogoi (Posthumous) - Public Affairs - Assam
- Shri Chandrashekhar Kambara - Literature and Education - Karnataka
- Ms. Sumitra Mahajan - Public Affairs - Madhya Pradesh
- Shri Nripendra Misra - Civil Service - Uttar Pradesh
- Shri Ram Vilas Paswan (Posthumous) - Public Affairs - Bihar
- Shri Keshubhai Patel (Posthumous)- Public Affairs - Gujarat
- Shri Kalbe Sadiq (Posthumous) Others - Spiritualism- Uttar Pradesh
- Shri Rajnikant Devidas Shroff - Trade and Industry - Maharashtra
- Shri Tarlochan Singh - Public Affairs - Haryana
Padma Shri
Art
- Shri Gulfam Ahmed (Uttar Pradesh)
- Shri Rama Swamy Annavarapu (Andhra Pradesh)
- Shri Subbu Arumugam (Tamil Nadu)
- Ms. Bhuri Bai (Madhya Pradesh)
- Shri Radhe Shyam Barle (Chhattisgarh)
- Shri Biren Kumar Basak (West Bengal)
- Shri Peter Brook (United Kingdom)
- Shri Gopiram Bargayn Burabhakat (Assam)
- Shri Narayan Debnath (West Bengal)
- Ms. Dulari Devi (Bihar)
- Ms. Radhe Devi (Manipur)
- Ms. Purnamasi Jani (Odisha)
- Shri Parshuram Atmaram Gangavane (Maharashtra)
- Matha B. Manjamma Jogati (Karnataka)
- Shri Damodaran Kaithapram (Kerala)
- Shri Maheshbhai & Shri Nareshbhai Kanodia (Duo) * (Posthumous) (Gujarat)
- Shri K Kesavasamy (Puducherry)
- Shri Ghulam Rasool Khan (Jammu and Kashmir)
- Shri Lakha Khan (Rajasthan)
- Shri Vinayak Vishnu Khedekar (Goa)
- Ms. Lajwanti (Punjab)
- Shri Ramachandra Manjhi (Bihar)
- Shri Dulal Manki (Assam)
- Shri Rewben Mashangva (Manipur)
- Shri Kartar Paras Ram Singh (Himachal Pradesh)
- Shri Kartar Singh (Punjab)
- Shri K C Sivasankar (Posthumous) (Tamil Nadu)
- Ms. Nidumolu Sumathi (Andhra Pradesh)
- Shri K K Ramachandra Pulavar (Kerala)
- Shri Kanaka Raju (Telangana)
- Ms. Bombay Jayashri Ramnath (Tamil Nadu)
- Shri Satyaram Reang (Tripura)
- Shri Wayan Dibia (Indonesia)
- Ms. Sanjida Khatun (Bangladesh)
Sports
- Ms. P. Anitha (Tamil Nadu)
- Ms. Mouma Das (West Bengal)
- Ms. Anshu Jamsenpa (Arunachal Pradesh)
- Shri Madhavan Nambiar (Kerala)
- Ms. Sudha Hari Narayan Singh (Uttar Pradesh)
- Shri Virender Singh (Haryana)
- Shri K Y Venkatesh (Karnataka)
Literature and Education
- Shri Prakasarao Asavadi (Andhra Pradesh)
- Shri Dharma Narayan Barma (West Bengal)
- Shri Sujit Chattopadhyay (West Bengal)
- Shri Dadudan Gadhavi (Gujarat)
- Shri Jai Bhagwan Goyal (Haryana)
- Shri Jagadish Chandra Halder (West Bengal)
- Shri Mangal Singh Hazowary (Assam)
- Shri Namdeo C Kamble (Maharashtra)
- Shri Rajat Kumar Kar (Odisha)
- Shri Rangasami Lakshminarayana Kashyap (Karnataka)
- Shri Chandrakant Mehta (Gujarat)
- Ms. Usha Yadav (Uttar Pradesh)
- Shri Chaman Lal Sapru (Posthumous) (Jammu and Kashmir)
- Shri Arjun Singh Shekhawat (Rajasthan)
- Shri Ram Yatna Shukla (Uttar Pradesh)
- Ms. Mridula Sinha (Posthumous) (Bihar)
- Shri Kapil Tiwari (Madhya Pradesh)
- Shri Imran Shah (Assam)
- Shri Balan Putheri (Kerala)
- Shri Nanda Prusty (Odisha)
- Shri Srikant Datar (United States of America)
- Father Vallés (Posthumous), Spain
- Shri Nicholas Kazanas (Greece)
- Literature and Education- Journalism
- Shri Roman Sarmah (Assam)
- Shri Solomon Pappaiah (Tamil Nadu)
Social Work
- Ms. Lakhimi Baruah (Assam)
- Ms. Sangkhumi Bualchhuak (Mizoram)
- Shri Jagdish Chaudhary (Posthumous), Uttar Pradesh
- Shri Tsultrim Chonjor (Ladakh)
- Ms. Shanti Devi (Odisha)
- Chutni Devi (Jharkhand)
- Ms. Prakash Kaur (Punjab)
- Ms. Niru Kumar (Delhi)
- Shri Shyam Sundar Paliwal (Rajasthan)
- Shri Jitender Singh Shunty (Delhi)
- Guru Maa Kamali Soren (West Bengal)
- Shri Marachi Subburaman (Tamil Nadu)
- Ms. Sindhutai Sapkal (Maharashtra)
- Shri Girish Prabhune (Maharashtra)
- Ms. Birubala Rabha (Assam)
Trade & Industry
- Ms. Rajni Bector (Punjab)
- Shri P Subramanian (Posthumous) (Tamil Nadu)
- Ms. Jaswantiben Jamnadas Popat (Maharashtra)
- Shri Sridhar Vembu (Tamil Nadu)
Public Affairs
- Bijoya Chakravarty (Assam)
- Col Quazi Sajjad Ali Zahir (Bangladesh)
Science and Engineering
- Shri Rattan Lal (United States of America)
Others-Grassroots Innovation
- Shri Ali Manikfan (Lakshadweep)
Others- Agriculture
- Shri Nanadro B Marak (Meghalaya)
- Shri Prem Chand Sharma (Uttarakhand)
- Ms. Pappammal (Tamil Nadu)
- Shri Chandra Shekhar Singh (Uttar Pradesh)
Medicine
- Dr. Rattan Lal Mittal (Punjab)
- Dr. Chandrakant Sambhaji Pandav (Delhi)
- Dr. J N Pande (Posthumous), Delhi
- Dr. Bhupendra Kumar Singh Sanjay (Uttarakhand)
- Dr. Thiruvengadam Veeraraghavan (Posthumous), Tamil Nadu
- Dr. Dhananjay Diwakar Sagdeo (Kerala)
- Shri Ashok Kumar Sahu (Uttar Pradesh)
- Dr. Krishna Mohan Pathi (Odisha)
- Dr. Dilip Kumar Singh (Bihar)
Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2021
For the year 2021, (i) Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society (in the institutional category) and (ii) Dr. Rajendra Kumar Bhandari (in the Individual category) have been selected for the Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar for their excellent work in Disaster Management.
- Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society (SEEDS) has done commendable work in building community resilience to disasters. It has been working towards disaster readiness, response, and rehabilitation, building local capacities and enabling risk reduction at the community level in different States of India.
- Dr. Rajendra Kumar Bhandari is among the pioneers in India who laid the foundation of scientific studies on geo hazards in general and landslides in particular. He established India’s first laboratory on landslide studies at CSIR-Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), and three other Centres.
About the Award
- To recognize and honour the invaluable contribution and selfless service rendered by individuals and organizations in India in the field of Disaster Management, Government of India has instituted an annual award known as Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar.
- The award is announced every year on 23rd January, the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
- The award carries a cash prize of Rs. 51 lakh and a certificate in case of an institution and Rs. 5 lakh and a certificate in case of an individual.
Nikhil Srivastava Wins Michael And Sheila Held Prize
- Nikhil Srivastava, an Indian mathematician, has been named winner of the prestigious 2021 Michael and Sheila Held Prize along with two others for solving long-standing questions on the Kadison-Singer problem and on Ramanujan graphs.
- Srivastava from the University of California, Berkeley, Adam Marcus, the Ecole polytechnique federale de Lausanne (EPFL) and Daniel Alan Spielman from Yale University will receive the 2021 Michael and Sheila Held Prize.
- Srivastava, Marcus and Spielman solved long-standing questions on the Kadison-Singer problem and on Ramanujan graphs, and in the process uncovered a deep new connection between linear algebra, geometry of polynomials, and graph.
51st IFFI: Awards And Accolades
- The 51st edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) held its coveted award ceremony on the closing day of the festival in Goa at Shyama Prasad Mookerjee Stadium.
- While Danish World War II drama ‘Into the Darkness’ won the Golden Peacock Award (Best Film), Tzu-Chuan Liu and Zofia Stafiej won the top acting honours.
- 51st IFFI jury chairman was Pablo Cesar of Germany.
Awards and Accolades
Golden Peacock Award (Best Film)
- Into the Darkness, directed by Anders Refn won the Best Film (Golden Peacock) award.
- The film chronicles the complex, emotional turmoil which the people of Denmark had to undergo, during the Nazi occupation of the country.
Silver Peacock Award
- Best Actor (Male): Tzu-Chuan Liu (Taiwan), The Silent Forest
- Best Actor (Female): Zofia Stafiej (Poland), I Never Cry
- Best Director: Chen-Nien Ko (Taiwan), The Silent Forest
Other Awards
Best Debut Director Award: Cássio Pereira dos Santos (Brazil), Valentina
- Special Mention Award: Kripal Kalita (Assam, India), Bridge
- Indian film director Kripal Kalita from Assam has brought laurels to the country and the state after winning the IFFI 51 Special Mention Award for his Assamese film ‘Bridge’.
- ‘Bridge’ reflects the life amidst hardships caused by annual floods in rural Assam.
- The film tells the story of the annual phenomenon in the state, wherein the mighty Brahmaputra and its tributaries flood many villages and ruin cultivation.
- Special Jury Award: Kamin Kalev (Bulgaria), February
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Vittorio Storaro (Italy)
- ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Award: '200 Meters'
- Ameen Nayfeh’s 2020 Arabic film '200 Meters' won the ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Award – for best reflecting Gandhiji's ideals of peace, tolerance & non-violence.
- Indian Personality of the Year Award: Biswajit Chatterjee
Other Felicitations
- Yesteryear actress Zeenat Aman and Bhojpuri superstar Ravi Kishen were felicitated for their contribution to films.
Tansen Samman
- Renowned Indian Santoor player, Pandit Satish Vyas was conferred with the National Tansen Samman for 2020 by the Madhya Pradesh Government during the Tansen Music Festival held in Gwalior.
- The festival is held every year to pay tributes to one of the greatest musicians in Indian history of classical music, Tansen, who was also one of the nine gems in the court of Mughal emperor Akbar.
- Pandit Vidyadhar Vyas - Hindustani vocalist (Gwalior gharana) was given this award in 2019.
Four Indian Sites Won UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards For Cultural Heritage Conservation
- India won UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation towards its four sites.
Award Category & Sites
- Award of Excellence/Special Recognition for Sustainable Development: Sunder Nursery, the sprawling park set amid historical structures at Nizamuddin, has become Delhi’s first heritage complex to receive two Unesco Asia-Pacific awards for Cultural Heritage Conversation, bagging the Award of Excellence and the newly announced Special Recognition for Sustainable Development.
- Award of Distinction: Koothambalam at Guruvayoor Temple in Thrissur. Koothambalam or Kuttampalam meaning temple theatre is a closed hall for staging Koothu, Nangiarkoothu and Koodiyattam, the ancient ritualistic art forms of Kerala.
- Award of Merit: Amar Singh College, Srinagar; and Malabari Hall Building, Mumbai(A multipurpose hall that formed part of the SevaSadan Society - one of the earliest of such spaces that catered to the emerging middle-class community, where women began to be recognised for their contribution towards the society).
Since 2000, the Unesco Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation Programme have been lauding the efforts of private individuals and organisations in successfully restoring, conserving and transforming structures and buildings of heritage value in the region.
USA’s ‘Legion Of Merit’ Award For Three ‘QUAD’ Leaders
- US President Donald Trump has mainstreamed the QUAD by awarding its original architects Indian Prime Minister NarendraModi, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison with the prestigious Legion of Merit.
- Narendra Modi: US President Donald Trump presented the prestigious ‘Legion of Merit’award to Prime Minister NarendraModi for his leadership in elevating strategic partnership of the two countries and emergence of India as a global power. India's Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, accepted the award on behalf of the prime minister from the US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien at the White House.
- Scott Morrison: The Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was also presented the ‘Legion of Merit’ award for his leadership in addressing global challenges and promoting collective security.
- Shinzo Abe: Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was awarded for his leadership and vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific.
- The Legion of Merit, in the highest degree of the Chief Commander, is a prestigious award conferred by the President of the United States, typically upon Heads of State or Heads of Government of other countries.
State Honours to Narendra Modi
- 2016: Order of Abdulaziz Al Saud (Saudi Arabia) - Member Special Class, the highest honour of Saudi Arabia awarded to non-Muslim dignitaries.
- 2016: State Order of Ghazi Amir Amanullah Khan (Afghanistan) - The highest civilian honour of Afghanistan.
- 2018: Grand Collar of the State of Palestine (Palestine) - The highest civilian honour of Palestine.
- 2019: Order of Zayed (United Arab Emirates) - The highest civilian honour of the United Arab Emirates.
- 2019: Order of St. Andrew (Russia) - The highest civilian honour of Russia.
- 2019: Order of the Distinguished Rule of Izzuddin(Maldives) - The highest honour of the Maldives awarded to foreign dignitaries.
- 2019: King Hamad Order of the Renaissance (Bahrain) - Member First Class, the highest civilian honour of Bahrain.
- 2020: Legion of Merit (United States) - Highest degree of Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit.
Vidyut Mohan From India Wins 'Young Champions Of The Earth' Award
- A an Indian entrepreneur is among the seven winners of the prestigious "Young Champions of the Earth" 2020 prize given by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) to global change-makers using innovative ideas and ambitious action to help solve some of the world's most pressing environmental challenges.
- Vidyut Mohan, an engineer, is the co-founder of "Takachar", a social enterprise enabling farmers to prevent open burning of their waste farm residues and earn extra income by converting them into value-added chemicals like activated carbon on-site.
About Takachar
- Takachar buys rice husks, straw and coconut shells from farmers and turns them into charcoal, saving the debris from the fires, which are also a driver of climate change.
About the Award
- The Young Champions of the Earth prize is awarded every year by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) to seven entrepreneurs under the age of 30 with bold ideas for sustainable environmental change.
'UNESCO-Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Prize
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has decided to launch the 'UNESCO-Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Prize'.
- The prize will be launched in the field of ‘creative economy’ starting from November 2021.
- The decision came as Bangladesh is celebrating Rahman’s birth centenary, and also preparing for the country’s 50th independence anniversary.
- Starting November 2021, the dollar 50 thousand award will be given away once in two years for global economic initiatives of the youth.
- UNESCO has declared 2021 as ‘International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development’.
About Mujibur Rahman
- Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the founding father and the first Prime Minister of Bangladesh (1972-75).
- He was given the title of “Bangabandhu” (Friend of Bengal) by the people of Bangladesh.
- His daughter Sheikh Hasina is the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
HelpAge India: 1st Indian NGO To Receive UN Population Award
For the first time, an Indian institution ‘HelpAge India’ won the prestigious ‘2020 UN Population Award’ in its ‘institutional category’for its contribution towards serving disadvantaged elderly people and raising awareness on their cause.
- Bhutan's Queen Mother Gyalyum Sangay Choden Wangchuck was given the 2020 United Nations Population Award in the individual category for her work on sexual health and gender violence.
- The last time the Award came to an Indian was in 1992, when it was awarded to Mr. J.R.D. Tata as an individual laureate.
About the Award
- The UN Population Award, established by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 1981, recognises contributions in the fields of population and reproductive health. It is an annual award given to an individual and/or institution for outstanding contributions to population and reproductive health.
- The much-coveted award consists of a gold medal, a diploma and a monetary prize.
About HelpAge India
- HelpAge India was formed in 1978 with the founder of HelpAge International (UK), Cecil Jackson Cole as its first President.
- HelpAge India has been working for the cause and care of disadvantaged older persons to improve their quality of life for over four decades.
- Padma Shri awardee KiranKarnik is the Chairman of the Governing Body of HelpAge India.
Ramanujan Prize For Young Mathematicians 2020
- The Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians 2020 was awarded to Dr. Carolina Araujo, Mathematician from the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for her outstanding work in algebraic geometry.
- Her work area focuses on birational geometry, which aims to classify and describe the structure of algebraic varieties.
- Dr. Araujo, who is Vice President of the Committee for Women in Mathematics at the International Mathematical Union, is the first non-Indian to receive this.
About the Award
- The Prize, given every year to young mathematicians less than 45 years of age who have conducted outstanding research in a developing country, has been instituted by DST in the memory of Srinivasa Ramanujan, a genius in pure mathematics who was essentially self-taught and made spectacular contributions to elliptic functions, continued fractions, infinite series, and analytical theory of numbers.
- The prize is awarded to a researcher from a developing country funded by the Department of Science and Technology of the Government of India in collaboration with ICTP (International Centre for Theoretical Physics), and the International Mathematical Union.
‘Invest India’ Wins Investment Promotion Award 2020
- The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) declared ‘Invest India’ as winner of the United Nations Investment Promotion Award 2020.
- The award ceremony took place at the UNCTAD headquarters in Geneva.
- The award recognises and celebrates the outstanding achievements of the world’s investment promotion agencies.
- The evaluation was based on UNCTAD’s assessment of work undertaken by 180 national investment promotion agencies across the world.
About Invest India
- Invest India is the National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency of India and act as the first point of reference for investors in India.
- Invest India, set up in 2009, is a non-profit venture under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India.
- Mr. Deepak Bagla is the MD & CEO of Invest India.
- As the national investment promotion and facilitation agency, Invest India focuses on sector-specific investor targeting and development of new partnerships to enable sustainable investments in India.
- In addition to a core team that focuses on sustainable investments, Invest India also partners with substantial investment promotion agencies and multilateral organizations. Invest India also actively works with several Indian states to build capacity as well as bring in global best practices in investment targeting, promotion and facilitation areas.
National Fisheries Awards
The Department of Fisheries under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying awarded best performing States, Organisations and Districts for 2019-20 for the first time on the occasion of the ‘World Fisheries Day’ (21 November).
Top States
- Marine States: Odisha
- Inland States: Uttar Pradesh
- Hilly and NE States: Assam
Top Districts
- Best Marine District: Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh
- Best Inland District: Kalahandi, Odisha
- Best Hilly and NE District: Nagaon, Assam
Top Organisations
- Marine: Tamil Nadu Fisheries Development Corporation Ltd.
- Inland: Telangana State Fishermen Cooperative Societies Federation Ltd.
- Hilly Region: Assam Apex Cooperative Fish Marketing and Processing Federation Ltd.
International Children's Peace Prize
- The 2020 International Children's Peace Prize, organised by KidsRights, has been awarded to 17-year-old Sadat Rahman from Bangladesh for his work to stop cyber bullying of teens.
- The prize was presented digitally by Malala Yousafzai, winner of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize.
- The International Children's Peace Prize is annually awarded to a child who has made a special effort to promote children's rights and better the situation of vulnerable children.
- Last year, the prize was awarded to Greta Thunberg from Sweden and Divina Maloum from Cameroon.
- The prize was launched by KidsRights during the 2005 World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates at the Capitol in Rome, chaired by Mikhail Gorbachev. Since then, the prize has been presented every year by a Nobel Peace Laureate.
GHE Wins 2020 UN Global Climate Action Award
- The Global Himalayan Expedition (GHE), an Indian organisation is among the winners of the 2020 UN Global Climate Action Award.
- GHE is one of the world's first organisations that leverage tourism and technology to help remote communities’ access solar energy.
- GHE conducts "Impact Expeditions" to remote Himalayan villages and uses a portion of the expedition fee to fund the capital cost of the hardware, transportation, installation and training of village-scale solar micro-grids.
Nobel Prize 2020 In Economic Sciences
Noted American economists Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson have been awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in economics for their contributions to ‘auction theory’.
They have studied how auctions work. They have also used their insights to design new auction formats for goods and services that are difficult to sell in a traditional way, such as radio frequencies.
Robert Wilson developed the theory for auctions of objects with a common value – a value which is uncertain beforehand but, in the end, is the same for everyone. Examples include the future value of radio frequencies or the volume of minerals in a particular area. Wilson showed why rational bidders tend to place bids below their own best estimate of the common value: they are worried about the winner’s curse – that is, about paying too much and losing out.
Paul Milgrom formulated a more general theory of auctions that not only allows common values, but also private values that vary from bidder to bidder. He analysed the bidding strategies in a number of well-known auction formats, demonstrating that a format will give the seller higher expected revenue when bidders learn more about each other’s estimated values during bidding.
- In the 1990s, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission put this theory to work to better allocate radio frequency bands to telecom and media companies. The agency previously allocated spectrum using licence applications and random lotteries.
- By using Milgrom and Wilson’s auction format, designed to counter the problems of uncertain values and the winner’s curse, the new FCC spectrum auctions drove billions of dollars in sales over the next twenty years.
- The format has since been adopted by other countries—including the United Kingdom, India, and Canada—to improve their allocation of not just radio frequency bands, but also other assets like carbon emission allowances.
In 2019, the award was shared by Indian-American economist Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer. The trio was awarded for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty. In 1998, Amartya Sen won Economics Nobel "For his contributions to welfare economics."
The prize for economics is officially known as the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences. It was established by Sweden's Central Bank and has been awarded since 1969 in memory of industrialist Alfred Nobel.
WFP Gets Nobel Peace Prize
- The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for the year 2020.
- The agency was given the prize "for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict”.
- The group provided assistance to close to 100 million people in 88 countries last year who were victims of acute food insecurity and hunger.
Last Year’s Winner
- Last year it went to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, whose peace deal with Eritrea ended a 20-year military stalemate following their 1998-2000 border war.
First Nobel Peace Prize
- The first Nobel Peace Prize was given in 1901 to Henry Dunant (Switzerland) for his role in founding the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Youngest and Oldest Winner
- The youngest laureate is Malala Yousafzai (Pakistan), who was 17 years old when she won in 2014 and the oldest recipient was Joseph Rotblat (Poland) who was given the award at the age of 87 in 1995.
Indians to win this Award
- Mother Teresa was the first Indian to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
- Kailash Satyarthi along with Malala Yousafzai won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.
Who awards the Nobel Peace Prize?
- The Norwegian Nobel Committee (a 5-member committee appointed by the Norwegian Parliament) awards the Nobel Peace Prize.
- Berit Reiss-Andersen is the current chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
About World Food Programme
- Established in 1961, the World Food Programme (WFP) is the food-assistance branch of the United Nations and the world's largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger and promoting food security.
- It is a priority of the World Food Programme to accomplish Sustainable Development Goal 2, one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations in 2015, which targets achieving "zero hunger" by 2030.
- The World Food Programme was an active participant in the diplomatic process that culminated in May 2018 in the UN Security Council’s unanimous adoption of Resolution 2417, which for the first time explicitly addressed the link between conflict and hunger.
- WFP has its Headquarter at Rome, Italy and currently headed by David Beasley.
WFP initiatives in India
- WFP has been working in India since 1963 and has transitioned from food distribution to providing technical assistance as India became self-sufficient in cereal production.
- TPDS: At present, WFP is working to improve the government’s targeted public distribution system (TPDS) to ensure that food reaches those that need it the most.
- Midday Meal Programme: It is also working with the government to improve the nutritional value of the Midday Meal programme and is using its own software called the Vulnerability and Analysis Mapping to identify the most food insecure groups in the country.
- ICDS: WFP has partnered with the government of Uttar Pradesh to set up over 200 supplementary nutrition production units to support distribution under the government’s Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme that provides nutrition services to children below the age of six.
- Annapurti: It is a WFP program approved by India to set up automatic grain dispensing machines at five locations across five states — Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. These machines, expected to check malpractices in PDS distribution.
- Mobile Storage Units (MSU): A “cost-effective solution for foodgrain storage” is running as a pilot in Odisha and Uttarakhand.
Nobel Prize For Literature 2020
- The 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the American poet Louise Glück ‘for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal’.
- Glück, the 16th woman to win the literature prize, has published 12 collections of poetry and several volumes of essays on poetry. Her writing is characterized by a striving for clarity and focuses on themes of childhood and family relationships.
- Glück is a professor of English at Yale University in Connecticut. She made her debut in 1968 with "Firstborn," and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1993.
- The first woman to win the Nobel Prize for literature was Selma Lagerlöf (Sweden) who won the prize in 1909.
- The Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded by The Swedish Academy, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Last year's decision to give the Nobel literature award to Peter Handke was deeply controversial, with critics calling it "shameful" because of his comments on the Yugoslav Wars and ties to former Serbian leader Slobodan Milošević, who was charged with war crimes.
Nobel Prize In Chemistry 2020
- The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020 was awarded jointly to Emmanuelle Charpentier (France) and Jennifer A. Doudna (USA) "for the development of a method for genome editing."
- Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna have discovered one of gene technology’s sharpest tools: the CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors. Using these, researchers can change the DNA of animals, plants and microorganisms with extremely high precision.
- This technology has had a revolutionary impact on the life sciences, is contributing to new cancer therapies and may make the dream of curing inherited diseases come true.
Nobel Prize In Physiology Or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2020 was awarded jointly to Harvey J. Alter (USA), Michael Houghton (UK) and Charles M. Rice (USA) "for the discovery of Hepatitis C virus."
- Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute gives away the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
- About Hepatitis C:Hepatitis C is a blood-borne virus and causes Hepatitis C disease which affects the liver.
- Types of Hepatitis:There are five types (mainly) - A, B, C, D and E
What vaccines are available?
- Vaccines are available for A, B, D and E but not for C
How does the virus spread?
- Hepatitis A and E: Lack of food hygiene, contaminated water and sub-standard sanitary facilities.
- Hepatitis B, C and D:Through blood, sperm and other body fluids.
Nobel Prize In Physics
- Three scientists have won the 2020 Nobel Prize in physics for their work on blackhole formation and the discovery of a supermassive blackhole at the centre of our galaxy.
- Roger Penrose (UK): A British mathematical physicist based at the University of Oxford, won his share (1/2) of the prize for using ingenious mathematical tools to prove that the formation of black holes are predicted by Einstein's general theory of relativity.
- Reinhard Genzel (Germany) and Andrea Ghez (America):For their work in which they turned telescopes on our own galaxy and discovered there is a supermassive blackhole in the centre of the Milky Way.
- Andrea Ghez is the fourth woman to win Nobel Prize in Physics.Marie Curie was the first woman to be awarded in 1903.
- Nobel Prize in Physics and Chemistry is presented by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Four Indian Women Win WWSF Prize
- Subhadra Khaperde, Shabnam Shah, SaraswatiUike (Madhya Pradesh) and Nirmala Kujur (Chhattisgarh) are among the ten women leaders from across the globe who have been selected for the Women’s World Summit Foundation (WWSF) Prize for Women’s Creativity in Rural Life.
- The WWSF’s Prize for Women’s Creativity in Rural Life (created in 1994 at the Beijing 4th World Conference on Women), annually awards creative and courageous rural women leaders and groups that help to advance and improve the quality of life in rural communities.
- The WWSF is a Geneva-based non-profit organisation.