Yearly Review of Awards and Honors

2018 – Current Affairs Capsule in PDF

January 2018
• Asha Bhosle To Get Yash Chopra Award
o Bollywood playback singer Asha Bhosle will be given the 'Yash Chopra
Memorial Award'.

o She will be the fifth winner of the award. The name of Asha Bhosle is in the
Guinness World Records for recording over 11,000 songs in 20 different
languages.

o The award has been instituted by the TSR Foundation of T. Subbarami

Reddy in memory of producer-director Yash Chopra, who died in 2012.

• Ind-Origin in US Inventors Hall Of Fame

o 2 Indian-American innovation pioneers - Arogyaswami Paulraj for his
MIMO wireless technology and Sumita Mitra for her nanocomposite
dental materials, have been inducted into National Inventors Hall of
Fame.

o Arogyaswami and Sumita along with 13 other innovation pioneers would

be formally felicitated.

o Paulraj's wireless technology has revolutionised broadband wireless

Internet access.

• Grammy Awards winners

o Bruno Mars, Kendrick Lamar steal the show in early Grammys. Mars won
all of the awards for which he was nominated.

o Here is a list of winners in key categories:

o Album of the Year: Bruno Mars, 24K Magic.

1|Page
 o Record of the Year: Bruno Mars, 24K Magic.

o Song of the Year (for songwriting): Bruno Mars.

o The 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 28,
2018.

• Oxford dictionary’s Hindi word of 2017

o Oxford Dictionaries has chosen ‘Aadhaar’ as the Hindi word of 2017. It
also becomes the first Oxford Dictionaries Hindi Word of the Year.

o Widespread discussions & debates around ‘Aadhaar’ was the reason it was
selected as the word of the year.

o The Hindi Word of the Year was chosen by the Oxford Dictionaries team in
India with the help of an advisory panel of language experts.

• Padma Awards 2018 - 1

o The President has approved the awards for 85 individuals, which includes
3 Padma Vibhushan, 9 Padma Bhushan and 73 Padma Shri.

o Fourteen of the awardees are women and 3 persons have been awarded
posthumously.

o The awards are announced on the eve of the Republic Day every year.

• Padma Awards 2018 - 2

o The 2017 World Weightlifting Champion Saikhom Mirabai Chanu and
former Asian Games gold medallist tennis player Somdev Devvarman have
been conferred with the Padma Shri.

o Ilayaraja, Ghulam Mustafa Khan (Art) and Parameswaran Parameswaran

(Literature & Education) were awarded with Padma Vibhushan.

o Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Pankaj Advani are among others awarded
with Padma Bhushan.

• CM Edappady receives Unesco award

o CM Edappady received the Unesco Award of Merit awarded to the iconic
Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam.
2|Page
 o The Award of Merit, 2017, was given by Unesco Asia Pacific region for the
cultural heritage conservation activities taken up at the temple without
altering its original splendour.

o The ancient Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu

who is seen in reclining form.

• Aishwarya felicitated by the President

o The honorable President of India, Ram Nath Kovind felicitated 112 woman
achievers and titled them as "First Ladies" of the country.

o Those included Miss World 1994 Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Miss Earth
2010 Nicole Faria.

o The felicitation event was held at Rashtrapati Bhawan and the award
ceremony was hosted by Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, who felicitated and
congratulated the women achievers.

• Sheikh Salim to get second highest award

o A bus driver from Gujarat who drove through a hail of bullets and saved
the lives of more than 50 Amarnath Yatra pilgrims last year has been
selected for the Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak.

o It is the second highest honour given to civilians for gallantry after the
Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak.

o Sheikh Salim Gafur displayed rare grit and bravery.

• ‘Sachin: A Billion Dreams’ won 2 awards

o “Sachin: A Billion Dreams”, a biopic on cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has
won two awards at the recently concluded 11th Tehran International
FICTS Festival 2018.

o Helmer James Erskine won the trophy for the Best Director of a Long
Documentary and an honorary diploma.

o Producer Ravi Bhagchandka received the Special Award for the Best Film
in the Long Documentary section.

3|Page
 • Shah Rukh Khan Honoured at WEF
o Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan was honoured with the 24th Crystal
Award at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

o According to the WEF, Shah Rukh Khan received Award for "his
leadership in championing children's and women's rights in India".

o Shahrukh received the award alongside Elton John and Hollywood actress
Cate Blanchett.

• ‘The Shape of Water’ won Guild Award

o The monster romance “The Shape of Water” took the top prize at the
Producers Guild Awards.

o It is an honor that often predicts the best picture winner at the Oscars.

o The movie was directed by Guillermo del Toro.

• Morgan Freeman receives Award

o Morgan Freeman has been honoured with a Life Achievement Award at
the 2018 Screen Actor Guild awards.

o The 80-year-old actor became the 54th recipient of the SAG’s Life
Achievement Award for career achievement and humanitarian
accomplishment.

o Morgan won an Oscar in 2005 for his role in Million Dollar Baby (2004).

• Innovation in Governance Award 2018

o Andhra Pradesh Information Technology Minister Nara Lokesh was
felicitated with Dr. Kalam Innovation in Governance Award 2018.

o The award was conferred on him by Rajya Sabha Secretary General Desh
Deepak Verma for exemplary work in improving governance.

o The foundation was set up in the memory of former President A J Abdul

Kalam. It works in various areas for development of the society.

• President felicitates women achievers

4|Page
 o President Kovind felicitated exceptional women achievers who are the first
to set a milestone in their respective fields at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

o Over 100 women were selected after an extensive research process by

Women & Child Development Ministry.

o The women who have been felicitated are those who have been the first in
any field like first woman judge, first woman porter, first Olympian etc.

• Mangalajodi Eco Trust won UNWTO Award

o Mangalajodi Ecotourism Trust of Odisha was awarded the “Innovation in
Tourism Enterprise” award, at the 14th UNWTO (United Nations World
Tourism Organisation) Awards ceremony in Madrid, Spain.

o Mangalajodi Ecotourism Trust is promoted by RBS Foundation India and

Indian Grameen Services.

o It is a community owned and run entity. It is located on the banks of

Chilika Lake in Odisha.

• Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards

o President Kovind presented the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships &
Awards for 2016 to an eminent group of musicians, dancers & theatre
artists.

o 4 eminent artists & scholars were conferred fellowships of Akademi,

namely Arvind Parikh, R Vedavalli, Ram Bajaj & Sunil Kothari.

o Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships & awards are national honours

bestowed by the govt in the field of performing arts.

• Sudhir gets Janakavi Sawlaram award

o Sudhir Dalvi was presented the Janakavi P Sawlaram award at a function

in Thane, Maharashtra.

o Sudhir Dalvi was handed over the Janakavi P Sawlaram award along with
a citation by Meenakshi Shinde, Thane Mayor.

5|Page
 o The Janakavi P Sawlaram award is instituted by Thane Municipal
Corporation in association with the Janakavi P Savlaram Kala Samiti.
Dancer Jaishree T was awarded the Ganga Jamuna award.

• Soumitra to receive award

o The French government will confer, actor Soumitra Chatterjee with the
"Legion of Honour" which is the highest order of merit in France.

o The award will be given to him at the 42nd Kolkata Book Fair on January
30.

o The Legion of Honour is the highest French order of merit for military and
civil merits, established in 1802 by Napoléon Bonaparte.

• Nitish Kumar to get Mufti M Sayeed Award

o Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has been selected for the 1st Mufti Mohammad
Sayeed Award for Probity in Public Life.

o He will be conferred the award at an official function of Jammu & Kashmir

government to be held at Jammu on Monday.

o The award was constituted recently by the Jammu and Kashmir

government to commemorate the death anniversary of PDP founder and
two-time J&K Chief Minister Sayeed.

February 2018
• Pranab Mukherjee to get honorary D.Litt

o Former President Pranab Mukherjee will be conferred an honorary D.Litt

by the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology.

o Mukherjee will be conferred the honour during IIEST convocation for his
role as a public figure for many decades.

o Mukherjee was also awarded an honorary D. Litt by Jadavpur University

in December last year.

• EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2017

6|Page
 o Sanjiv Bajaj, managing director of Bajaj Finserv, has been named the EY
Entrepreneur of the Year 2017.

o Bajaj Finserv has emerged as the country’s leading name in financial

services with solutions across lending, life and general insurance and
wealth advisory.

o Bajaj will now represent India at the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year
Award (WEOY) in Monte Carlo from June 13-17, 2018.

• 'Startup of the Year' 2017

o Milkbasket, India's first and largest micro-delivery platform has been

recognised as 'Startup of the Year' 2017 at the 7th Small Business Awards.

o Milkbasket delivers milk, bread, eggs, butter, juices and other daily need
items every morning.

o The startup of the year award is dedicated to young SMEs, aged 7 years or
less, with great potential to become big in local/international markets.

• Asha Bhosle honoured with Yash Chopra Award

o Legendary singer Asha Bhosle has been honoured with the Yash Chopra
Memorial Award.

o Bhosle, who is the fifth recipient of the award, was felicitated by actress
Rekha during the ceremony.

o Bhosle illustrious music career spans 7 decades having recorded over

11,000 songs in 20 different languages.

o Previous recipients of the award are Lata Mangeshkar, Amitabh Bachchan,

Rekha & Shah Rukh Khan.

• TCS recognized as the world's best employers

o Tata Consultancy Services has been recognized as the world's best

employers by the Top Employer Institute for the consecutive 3rd year.

7|Page
 o TCS was selected from a pool of 1,300 companies in 113 countries for
offering exceptional services to its employees.

o Top Employer rankings are based on criteria including Talent Strategy,

Workforce Planning, Learning & Development & On-boarding among
others.

• Vikas Sathaye honoured at Oscars

o Vikas Sathaye has been honoured with the Scientific and Engineering
Academy Award at the Oscars Scientific and Technical Awards 2018.

o Sathaye and his team received the award for his contribution towards
conceptualisation, designing, engineering, and the implementation of the
'Shotover K1 Camera System.

o The Shotover K1 Camera System is a camera mount that is used in aerial

filming.

• Umang App wins Best M-Govt Service award

o Umang App was named as the winner of the Best M-Government Service
award in the Accessible Govt category while Aadhar won the best emerging
technology award at the World Government Summit 2018 in Dubai.

o Aadhaar was also recognized as the world’s largest biometric-enabled

identification programme.

o The award acknowledged Govt of India’s efforts to provide convenient

services to its citizens.

• RIL wins Golden Peacock Award for CSR

o Reliance Industries has won the Golden Peacock Award 2017 for success of
its Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.

o One of RIL's key social projects aims at impacting the livelihood of farmers
through water and food security interventions.

o The award aims to give attention to social & environmental concerns &
encourage companies to balance financial profits, value addition & social
good
8|Page
 • Modi gets Grand Collar of State of Palestine

o Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been conferred with the ‘Grand Collar
of the State of Palestine’.

o The Grand Collar is Highest order given to foreign dignitaries, in the past
it has been awarded to King Salman of Saudi Arabia & President Xi
Jinping of China among others.

o Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister to make an official visit to

Palestine.

• The Shape of Water won award: Guild Awards

o Guillermo del Toro, director of 'The Shape of Water', won the prize for
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film at the Directors
Guild of America Awards.

o Movie has received 13 nominations at Oscars 2018.

o Reed Morano was named best director in Dramatic Series for 'The
Handmaid's Tale' while Jordan Peele was awarded best First-Time Feature
Film Director for 'Get Out'.

• Benegal Awarded Lifetime Achievement Award

o Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) committee has decided to

bestow V. Shantaram lifetime achievement Award to veteran film producer
and director Shyam Benegal.

o He will be awarded a trophy, cash price of 10 lakh rupees, a certificate and

a shawl by Governor of Maharashtra C. Vidyasagar Rao.

o Benegal has been selected for his contribution to the promotion of the
documentary movement.

• Shabnam won Times Power Woman 2017 Award

o Shabnam Asthana was awarded the 'Times Power Women of the Year
2017'- Pune for Global PR.

9|Page
 o The Times Group celebrated the invaluable contribution of women by
introducing The Times Power Woman 2017 (Pune) awards.

o The award was conferred on her by Dilip Kamble, Minister of State for
Social Justice and Special Assistance in the Government of Maharashtra.

• Madhukar awarded with Bhasha Samman

o Magahi writer Shesh Anand Madhukar, who has been working extensively
for the development of the language, was honoured with this year's Sahitya
Akademi Bhasha Samman award.

o The second writer of Magahi language to be given the award, Madhurkar

was conferred the award, comprising a Rs 1 lakh cheque and a memento,
by Sahitya Akademi President Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari.

March 2018
• J.C. Daniel Award for Sreekumaran Thampi

o Sreekumaran Thampi has been selected for the J.C. Daniel Award, the
Kerala government’s highest honour for lifetime contribution to
Malayalam cinema.

o Thampi is a lyricist, director and scriptwriter who has written over 1,000
melodies since 1966.

o Thampi had won the Kerala Sangeeta Nataka Akademi award for lifetime
contribution to light music and drama songs in 2015.

• President conferred Gallantry Awards

o President Ram Nath Kovind presented Gallantry Awards and

distinguished service decorations at the Defence Investiture Ceremony
held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

o The President presented three Kirti Chakra, India's second highest

military decoration and 17 Shaurya Chakra in the grand ceremony.

o President Kovind honoured Kirti Chakra to Central Reserve Police Force

(CRPF) Commandant Chetan Cheetah.

10 | P a g e
 • Chhattisgarh won 'Water Digest Award'

o Chhattisgarh bagged the National 'Water Digest Award' for Water

Conservation-Diversion and for increasing the irrigation capacity in the
State.

o It is for the first time that Chhattisgarh Water Resources Department had
been given national Award during the past 17 years.

o The Award is presented every year by globally renowned magazine 'Water

Digest'-which focuses mainly on water resources.

• Joginder Sanger won Business Personality award

o Joginder Sanger, a leading NRI entrepreneur has won the 'Business

Personality of the year 2018' award in the UK.

o He awarded for showing a high level of commitment and enthusiasm in

leading his business to success.

o Sanger is the chairman of Mastcraft Group and Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

o Sanger had played a key role in raising funds for rebuilding the Bharatiya
Vidya Bhavan's building in the UK.

• 'Most Improved Airport' in Asia Pacific region

o Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad has received

the award for the Most Improved Airport in the Asia Pacific region.

o It is the 1st international award for Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International

Airport that has over 200 flight movements per day.

o In 2016-17, it handled over 7.4 million passengers making it the 8th busiest
airport in terms of passenger traffic in India.

• Google honours Ustaad Bismillah Khan

o Google celebrated the 102nd birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna awardee

and Shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan on 21st March.

11 | P a g e
 o He was awarded with Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri
and Sangeet Natak Akademi.

o The doodle has been illustrated by a Chennai-based illustrator, Vijay

Krish, according to the Google.

• Changi gets 'World Best Airport' title

o Singapore's Changi Airport topped in the list of 'world's best airport' for
the sixth consecutive year at the Skytrax World Airport Awards held in
Stockholm.

o South Korea's Incheon Airport, Tokyo Haneda in Japan, Hong Kong and
Doha Hamad turned out to be the top five on the list.

o Mumbai Airport got 63rd rank whereas Banglore and Delhi airports got
64th and 66th rank respectively.

• DRDO gets 'Most Informative Pavilion' award

o The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has

received the "Most Informative Pavilion" award in the 'Pride of India
Expo'.

o The event was organised as part of the 105th Indian Science Congress
(ISC) in Manipur.

o The DRDO participated in the expo showcasing cutting-edge indigenous

defence technologies with over 150 exhibits and models from 18 of its
laboratories.

• G.K. Reddy award for journalist Karan Thapar

o Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presented the G.K. Reddy

Memorial National Award for journalism to senior journalist and
television presenter Karan Thapar.

o He was associated with CNN-IBN and hosted 'The Devil's Advocate' and
'The Last Word'.

o In December 2013, Karan Thapar received the International Press

Institute-India Award for excellence in the field of journalism.
12 | P a g e
 • NHAI Receives Best Design Pavilion Award

o The NHAI pavilion at 105th 'Indian Science Congress- Pride of India Expo'
held at Imphal from 16-20 March 2018 has been adjudged as BEST
DESIGN PAVILION.

o The NHAI had put up an exhibition stall to showcase its Projects and other
initiatives like Electronic Toll Collection, Wayside Amenities, Road Safety
etc.

o The award was conferred by Dr Najma Heptulla, Governor of Manipur.

• President Kovind gave away Padma awards 2018

o President Ram Nath Kovind gave away prestigious Padma awards to

85 winners at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

o Ilaiyaraja got Padma Vibhushan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is among the

nine Padma Bhushan recipients.

o Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan are the second and third
highest civilian awards of the country respectively.

• Canadian mathematician wins Abel Prize

o Canadian mathematician Robert Langlands won the prestigious Abel Prize

for developing a programme connecting representation theory to number
theory.

o The prize was established by the Norwegian government in 2002 to

honour outstanding scientific work in the field of mathematics.

o Along with the Fields Medal, it is one of the world’s most prestigious
maths prizes.

• Simi Garewal won the UK film festival award

o Veteran actress and talk show host Simi Garewal has been felicitated with
a "UK Golden Flame Award" for her contribution to Indian cinema.

13 | P a g e
 o She received the award at the opening ceremony of the annual Tongues of
Fire UK Asian Film Festival in London.

o She is known for her work in the films Do Badan, Saathi, Mera Naam
Joker and for her celebrity talk show, Rendezvous with Simi Garewal.

• Sri Lanka Cricket released book on Dalmiya

o Sri Lanka Cricket paid glowing tribute to the former BCCI President
Jagmohan Dalmiya by releasing a book, titled ‘A Tribute to Jagu’.

o SLC President Thilanga Sumathipala lauded Dalmiya's role in

strengthening the Asian Bloc.

o They felicitated him posthumously as the greatest non-Sri Lankan

contributor to their country’s cricket.

o Jagmohan Dalmiya headed ICC from 1997-2000 & BCCI from 2001-04.

• Festival of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

o President of India will inaugurate Festival of Innovation and

Entrepreneurship (FINE) and will present Gandhian Young Technological
Innovation awards at Rashtrapati Bhawan on March 19, 2018.

o FINE is an initiative to recognise, showcase, reward innovations and to

foster a supportive ecosystem for innovators.

o It is a platform for innovators for building linkages with potential

stakeholders.

• Book signed by Tagore auctioned for US$ 700

o A signed hardcover copy of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore's 'The
King of the Dark Chamber' - the English translation of his famous Bengali
play 'Raja' - has been sold for USD 700 at an auction in the US.

o The play revolves around a mysterious, unseen, omniscient king, who is

both benevolent and efficient.

o Tagore became the first Indian to win a Nobel Prize (Literature) in 1913.

• ICMR won the Kochon Prize for TB research

14 | P a g e
 o The 2017 Kochon Prize was awarded to the Indian Council of Medical
Research (ICMR) for building a excellence in TB research and
development.

o The $65,000 Prize is awarded annually by Stop TB Partnership to

individuals and/or organizations that have made a significant contribution
to combating TB.

o ICMR and several of its research groups are engaged in TB research.

• Medal for Excellence in Police Investigation

o The Government has approved to institute the “Union Home Minister’s

Medal for Excellence in Police Investigation” to promote high professional
standards of Investigation of Crime in the State/UT Police and Central
Investigating Agencies.

o A total of 162 medals will be awarded every year.

o The names of awardees will be declared on 15th August every year.

• Palace on Wheels got tourist train award

o The luxury train ‘Palace on Wheels’ of Rajasthan, popular among foreign

tourists, has bagged the ‘Tourist Train of the Year’ award of the Pacific
Area Travel Writers’ Association.

o It was launched by the Indian Railways in association with Rajasthan

Tourism Development Corporation to promote tourism in Rajasthan.

o The Palace on Wheels was started on 26 January 1982.

• Amol Palekar received 'Godavari Gaurav' award

o Noted actor Amol Palekar has been honoured with the 'Godavari Gaurav'
award.

o Palekar known for his performance in films like Gol Maal, Choti Si Baat,
Chitchor among others, was presented with the award, which has been
instituted by 'Kusumagraj Prathishthan'.

15 | P a g e
 o The award was given by noted Marathi writer Madhu Mangesh Karnik,
who is the chairperson of the Prathishthan.

• Commonwealth Point of Light award

o Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II recognised Srishti Bakshi from India as the

26th Commonwealth Point of Light in honour of her exceptional service to
empowering women in India.

o Srishti is the founder of the CrossBow Miles movement.

o Srishti leads workshops for women in rural communities on digital and

financial literacy, leadership and health.

• Women Transforming India Awards 2018

o The nominations for the Women Transforming India Awards were opened
during the launch of the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) at
NITI Aayog.

o The theme of the Awards for the year 2018 is ‘Women and
Entrepreneurship’.

o NITI’s flagship event, which it has organised in partnership with United

Nations, will also have the collaboration of DICE Districts.

• President gives Nari Shakti Puraskar

o On the occasion of International Women’s Day, President Ram Nath

Kovind conferred Nari Shakti Puraskars to 30 eminent women and 9
distinguished Institutions in recognition of their service towards society
and women’s empowerment.

o Women and Organisations from fields of science, sport, art, etc have been
awarded.

o The awardees were finalised by the Ministry of Woman and Child

Development.

• Indian architect BV Doshi wins Pritzker

16 | P a g e
 o Balkrishna Doshi, the legendary Indian architect is being honoured with
the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the Nobel equivalent for the field.

o He is the 45th Pritzker laureate and the first from India.

o The international prize, established by Chicago’s Pritzker family in 1979,

bestows laureates with $100,000 along with a bronze medallion.

• Guillermo won best director award: Oscars

o 'Guillermo del Toro won Oscars in the Best Director category.

o He got the award for 'The Shape Of Water'.

o The movie also won two other Oscars for Best Production Design and Best
Score. Meanwhile, 'A Fantastic Woman' won Best Foreign Language Film
at the award show.

• McDormand won Best Actor, Actress at Oscars

o Gary Oldman was named Best Actor in a Leading Role for 'Darkest Hour'
while Frances McDormand won Best Actress Oscar for 'Three Billboards
Outside Ebbing, Missouri' at the 90th Academy Awards.

o Meanwhile, Sam Rockwell won Best Actor in a Supporting Role for 'Three
Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' while Allison Janney won best
supporting actress for 'I, Tonya'.

• The Shape of Water won best picture award

o The Shape of Water has won the Oscar for best picture at the 90th
Academy Awards.

o The Shape of Water is American fantasy drama film directed by Guillermo

del Toro and written by del Toro and Vanessa Taylor.

o Set in Baltimore in 1962, the plot follows a mute custodian at a high-

security government laboratory who falls in love with a captured
humanoid-amphibian creature.

• Shatrughan won lifetime achievement award

17 | P a g e
 o Shatrughan Sinha has been honoured with a lifetime achievement award
for his contribution to the fields of arts and politics.

o He was awarded at a ceremony in the UK's Parliament complex in London.

o The annual 'Political and Public Life Awards', now in its 12th year,
recognize individuals who have made a significant impact on public life or
made a difference in their local communities.

April 2018
• Budgam shortlisted for Modi's excellence award

o Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam district has been shortlisted for PM Modi's
excellence award for promoting digital payments and cashless economy.

o Digital payments facility has been installed at 670 places across the district
so far.

o In order to ensure successful implementation of the digital payments, the

district administration has trained hundreds of local residents at Common
Services Centers.

• Saraswati Samman for Sitanshu

o Eminent Gujarati poet Sitanshu Yashaschandra's poetry collection

"Vakhar" has been chosen for the Saraswati Samman for 2017.

o The selection for the award is made by a high level 'Chayan Parishad'
(selection committee), presided over by former secretary general of Lok
Sabha, Subhash C Kashyap.

o The Saraswati Samman is awarded annually by the K K Birla Foundation.

• CSIR bags Intellectual Property Award

o The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has been

awarded the National Intellectual Property Award, 2018 for being the top
research and development organisation for patents and
commercialisation.

18 | P a g e
 o The award was handed over by Union Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu
to mark the World Intellectual Property Day.

o The CSIR was established in 1942.

• BCCI recommends Shikhar & Smriti for Arjuna

o BCCI recommended Indian cricketers Smriti Mandhana and Shikhar

Dhawan for the Arjuna Award.

o Shikhar Dhawan currently opens the innings for the Indian Premier
League (IPL) side Sunrisers Hyderabad.

o Last year, the BCCI had recommended Cheteshwar Pujara and

Harmanpreet Kaur for the award given by the Government of India's
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

• Egyptian journalist gets press freedom prize

o Egyptian photo journalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid won the 2018 Press
Freedom Prize awarded by the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO
on 23rd April.

o The prize, the Guillermo Cano Press Freedom Prize, will be awarded on
May 2 to mark World Press Freedom Day.

o The $25,000 World Press Freedom Prize was established in 1997 to honor
Guillermo Cano Isaza who was a journalist.

• Ambani in World's Greatest Leaders' list

o Richest Indian Mukesh Ambani has been named by Fortune magazine as

the World's Greatest Leaders of 2018.

o Ambani was ranked No.24 behind likes of South Korean President Mon
Jae-in, Chinese vice premier Liu He and French President Emmanuel
Macron.

o Ambani's 'Jio-fication' in less than two years has brought mobile data to
the masses and has completely upended the country's telecom market.

19 | P a g e
 • Madhya Pradesh: Most film Friendly state

o Madhya Pradesh has been announced as the Most Film Friendly State for
its efforts towards easing filming in the state.

o MP has offered excellent on ground support, filmic infrastructure, an

informative website and incentives for filmmaking.

o The jury for selecting the Most Film Friendly State Award 2017 was
chaired by acclaimed filmmaker Ramesh Sippy.

• First rapper to win Pulitzer Prize for music

o Kendrick Lamar has become the first rapper to win the Pulitzer Prize for
music.

o Lamar won the Pulitzer for his 2017 album “DAMN” & was also the first
music winner in the history of the Pulitzers to come from outside of the
world of classical or jazz.

o Lamar’s fusion of jazz, poetry and blues with social themes and love songs
has made him one of the most innovative rappers of his generation.

• K-Pop Group BTS won TIME 100 Reader Poll

o South Korean pop group BTS has won the online reader's poll for TIME
'Person of the Year 2018'.

o South Korean President Moon Jae-in finished second with 5% votes,

followed by former US President Barack Obama with 3% votes.

o The group won the Top Social Artist title at last year's Billboard Music
Awards and earned a spot on TIME's list of the Most Influential People on
the Internet in 2017.

• Aditi Hydari to receive Dadasaheb Phalke Award

o Aditi Rao Hydari will receive the Dada Saheb Phalke excellence award
2018 for the Best Leading Lady (Critics Award) for her memorable
performance in 'Bhoomi'.

20 | P a g e
 o The film, Bhoomi also starred Sanjay Dutt and was about the protective
father who saved his daughter from all the evils that surrounded her.

o The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in cinema.

• New York Times, New Yorker won Pulitzer

o The New York Times and The New Yorker won the Pulitzer Prize for public
service on April 16.

o The Washington Post won the Pulitzer in the investigative category for
relentless reporting that influenced the outcome of the 2017 Senate race in
Alabama.

o The New York Times and The Washington Post shared the Pulitzer in
national reporting for coverage of Russian interference in the 2016
elections.

• Lifetime Achievement Award for Dharmendra

o Veteran actor Dharmendra and filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani will be

conferred with the prestigious Raj Kapoor Lifetime Achievement and Raj
Kapoor Special Contribution awards.

o Veteran Marathi actor Vijay Chavhan will receive the V Shantaram

Lifetime Achievement award.

o Actor-director Mrinal Kulkarni has been named for V Shantaram Special

Contribution awards.

• 65th National Film Awards list

o The 65th National Film Awards were announced in Shastri Bhawan, New
Delhi.

o Best Hindi Film - Newton

o Best Actor - Riddhi Sen for ‘Nagar Kirtan’.

o Best Actress - Sridevi for ‘Mom'.

o Best Director - Jayaraj for ‘Bhayanakam’.

21 | P a g e
 o Best Film - Village Rockstars (Assamese).

o Best Action Direction - ‘Baahubali 2: The Conclusion’.

• Vinod Khanna awarded Dadasaheb Phalke award

o Veteran Hindi film actor Shri Vinod Khanna was awarded the Dadasaheb
Phalke Award for his contribution to Indian Cinema.

o This was announced during the 65th National Film Awards.

o The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in cinema.

• Sridevi won best actress award

o Sridevi has posthumously conferred with the Best Actress Award for her
last film Mom at the 65 National Awards.

o Mrs. Sridevi died on February 24 this year in Dubai.

o The actress, whose work spanned 50 years, had roles in over 300 films in
Tamil, Telugu and Hindi.

• Siddharth won Shorenstein Journalism Award

o Siddharth Varadarajan, the founding editor of The Wire, has won the
Shorenstein Journalism Award.

o The award, given annually by Stanford University’s Walter H. Shorenstein

Asia-Pacific Research Center.

o The award honours journalists who have “produced outstanding reporting

on Asia and contributed significantly to Western understanding of the
region”.

• Highest civilian honour to Indian President

o President Ram Nath Kovind was conferred with the "Condecoracion", the
highest honour accorded to a non-citizen by the government of Equatorial
Guinea.

o President Kovind was bestowed with the medal of the 'Gran Colar de la
Independencia' by the President of Equatorial Guinea.
22 | P a g e
 o The award was given for his contribution to the cause of development,
security and world peace.

• Dadasaheb Excellence Award for Anushka

o Anushka Sharma will be awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Excellence Award

2018 for being a path-breaking producer.

o The 29-year-old actress has been appreciated for breaking new grounds as
a film producer, along with her brother Karnesh Sharma.

o Three movies produced by Anushka, NH 10, Phillauri and Pari belonged to

three different genres, thriller, romance and horror.

• Mithali Raj adjudged Sportsperson of the Year

o Indian women's cricket team captain Mithali Raj was adjudged

'Sportsperson of the Year' at the Telangana Sports Journalists Association
annual awards for 2017.

o She is the highest run-scorer in women's international cricket and the only
female cricketer to surpass the 6,000 run mark in ODIs.

o In December 2017, she was named as one of the players in the ICC
Women's ODI Team of the Year.

May 2018
• ‘Ceat Cricket Rating awards for 2017-18

o India skipper Virat Kohli won the International Cricketer of the Year
Award at the CEAT Cricket Ratings awards.

o Opener Shikhar Dhawan was presented the International Batsman of the

Year Award, while New Zealand's Trent Boult won International Bowler of
the Year Award.

o Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan, was presented with the T20 Bowler
of the Year Award.

• First Indian to receive Linnean Medal

23 | P a g e
 o Indian botanist Kamaljit Bawa received the Linnean Medal in Botany from
Linnean Society of London.

o Bawa is the 1st Indian to win the award ever since it was constituted in
1888.

o He was recognised for his pioneering research on evolution of tropical

plants, tropical deforestation & non-timber forest products.

o Linnean Medal is awarded to a biologist every year by the Linnean Society

of London

• Biodiversity award for Arunachal reserve

o An NGO, Singchung Bugun Community Reserve, won the India

Biodiversity Award 2018 in the category of ‘Conservation of wildlife
species’

o The NGO bagged the prize for its unique endeavor & contributions
towards conserving the rare wildlife resources of that area.

o The prize was presented by Union Ministry of Environment, Forest &

Climate Change & was conferred by National Biodiversity Authority.

• INSV Tarini Team gets Nari Shakti Puraskar

o Nari Shakti Puraskar 2017 was presented to INSV Tarini Team in Delhi by
Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, Minister of Women & Child Development.

o Team comprising of 6 Lady Officers, led by Lieutenant Commander

Vartika Joshi from Indian Navy received the award from the Minister.

o Tarini is a part of Navika Sagar Parikrama, a unique project of Indian

Navy which promotes ocean sailing activities in the Navy.

• Bhosle to be conferred with Banga Bibhushan

o Asha Bhosle will be conferred with the highest civilian award of West
Bengal, the Banga Bibhushan, by the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

o She has done playback singing for over a thousand Bollywood movies &
has sung in over 20 Indian & foreign languages.

24 | P a g e
 o Bengal government in 2011 instituted Banga Bibhushan award
to recognize the services of eminent personalities from their respective
fields.

• Pawel Pawlikowski won the best director award

o Poland’s Pawel Pawlikowski won the best director award at the 2018
Cannes film festival for his love story “Cold War”.

o Cold War is the 1st Polish film to compete for the Palme d’Or award since
Roman Polański’s ‘The Pianist’ scooped up the major award in 2002.

o Set against the background of the Cold War in the 1950's in Poland, the
film depicts an impossible love story in impossible times.

• Shoplifters won Palme d'Or 2018

o The Japanese family drama Shoplifters has received the coveted award for
best film, the 'Palme d'Or', at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.

o 'Shoplifters' has been hailed as a modest masterpiece from a veteran

filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda that centres on a small-time thief who takes
a young girl home to his family.

o The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival.

• Jagriti Yatra won charity award in UK

o Jagriti Yatra, an Indian charity that organises train journeys to understand

& build India of smaller towns & villages has won an award in London.

o It was among a series of worldwide charities and individuals recognised

for their impact on their communities at the Asian Voice Charity Awards.

o It organises 15-day train journeys, covering 800 km for 400 change-

makers across India every year.

• Digital Leader of the Year

25 | P a g e
 o Andhra Pradesh Minister for IT, Panchayat Raj & Rural Development,
Nara Lokesh received the Digital Leader of the Year award during
Businessworld Digital India Summit 2018.

o The award was announced for best utilisation of technology in governance.

o Lokesh won the award for using cutting edge technology & yielding good
results in Panchayat Raj, Rural Development & Rural Water Supply
departments

• Swraj Paul wins lifetime achievement award

o NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul has received a lifetime achievement

award for his contributions towards promoting brand India in UK.

o The founder of Caparo Group of industries, Paul was recognised at a UK &

Asia Business Awards ceremony, organised by World Consulting &
Research Corporation.

o He has also served as the deputy speaker of the Lords & was appointed to
the Privy Council in 2009.

• Anindita got Jayadev Rashtriya Yuva Puraskar

o US-based Kathak dancer Anindita Anaam was honoured with the

prestigious 'Shri Jayadev Rashtriya Yuva Pratibha Puraskar 2018' for
outstanding contribution to the field of art.

o The award was presented to the Kathak exponent during the 'Jayadev
International Dance Festival'.

o The festival is organised under the aegis of Odisha's culture department

and National Culture Mission.

• NPCIL won Russian award for 'Atom on Wheels'

o Nuclear Power Corp of India has won the top award in public
communication category at the 10th anniversary of international event
ATOMEXPO.

o NPCIL won the award for its "Atom on Wheels" campaign started in 2016
to spread awareness in rural areas about the benefits of nuclear energy.
26 | P a g e
 o The campaign mounted on wheels covered 6 lakh rural population in
6 states with material on nuclear technology

• Mark Tully chosen for RedInk Award 2018

o Veteran British journalist and former BBC India correspondent Sir

William Mark Tully has been chosen for 2018 RedInk award for lifetime
achievement in journalism.

o Tully worked with the BBC for 30 years before resigning in July 1994. He
held the position of Chief of Bureau, BBC, Delhi, for 20 years.

o The RedInk awards for excellence in journalism are instituted by the

Mumbai Press Club.

• Sulabh founder awarded Nikkei Asia Prize

o The founder of Sulabh International, Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, has been

honoured with the Nikkei Asia Prize in Japan for his contribution to Asia's
development.

o Pathak is among the three who have been conferred with the award.

o Nikkei Inc., one of the largest media corporations in Japan, has been
presenting the awards since 1996.

• Mangeshkar conferred with Swara Mauli award

o Lata Mangeshkar has been honoured with the Swara Mauli title by
spiritual guru Vidya Narsimha Bharati Swami.

o It is for the second time that Lata Mangeshkar has been honoured with the
Swara Mauli title.

o The veteran singer has several awards to her credit in her over seven-
decade-long career, including three National Awards.

• KISS Humanitarian Award 2018

27 | P a g e
 o Nobel Peace award winner & the founder of Grameen Bank Prof.
Muhammad Yunus has been conferred with the prestigious KISS
Humanitarian Award 2018.

o Prof Yunus is the second Nobel laureate to be conferred the award.

o KISS Humanitarian Award is an international award given to someone

who has made an exceptional contribution to the society in various fields
relating to social issues.

• Nisha Bhalla conferred with 'WEF 2018' award

o Holistic coach and consultant, Nisha Bhalla was felicitated at the recently
concluded Annual WEF 2018 Awards.

o Nisha was presented the 'Excellent Woman of Excellence' award for her
spiritual service.

o Women Economic Forum is the largest global gathering of women

entrepreneurs and leaders worldwide that recognises the most successful
women across all fields.

• No Nobel Prize in Literature this year

o The Swedish Academy has postponed the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature
following sex-abuse allegations and other issues within its ranks that have
tarnished the body’s reputation.

o The 2018 winner will be presented alongside the 2019 winner next year.

o It is the first time since wartime 1943 that the prestigious award will not be
given.

• MT Vasudevan Nair wins ONV Literary Award

o Legendary writer M T Vasudevan Nair has been selected for the ONV
Literary Award instituted by the by the ONV Cultural Academy. The award
carries Rs 3 lakh.

o The ONV award for young promising writer has gone to ‘Amma
urangunnilla’, a poetry collection by Anuja Akathoottu.

28 | P a g e
 o The awards were presented by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

• 65th National Film Awards 2018

o The 65th National Film Awards 2018 ceremony began at Vigyan Bhawan
in New Delhi.

o Actor Sridevi posthumously won the Best Actress Award for her role in
Hindi film Mom while Bengali actor Riddhi Sen got the Best Actor award
for Nagar Kirtan.

o The Best Feature Film award went to Assamese film Village Rockstars.

o Actor Vinod Khanna was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.

June 2018
• Haddad and Nabarro win World Food Prize

o Lawrence Haddad and David Nabarro win 2018 World Food Prize.

o The World Food Prize was created by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Norman
Borlaug in 1986 to recognize scientists and others who have improved the
quality and availability of food.

o The two men who have worked to provide availability of nutritious food for
pregnant women and children to reduce malnutrition in developing
countries.

• India's first 'Tribal Queen' : Pallavi Darua

o Pallavi Durua, who belongs to Odisha's Koraput district, was crowned as

the first Tribal Queen at the Adi Rani Kalinga Tribal Queen competition
held at Utkal Mandap.

o The contest was organised by SC & ST department, Govt of Odisha and the
State Tourism Department.

o Tribal population constitutes nearly 22.5% of the Odisha's population.

• IIFA Awards 2018

29 | P a g e
 o Indian International Film Awards (IIFA), held in Bangkok, late star
Sridevi won Best Actress (posthumously) for MOM.

o Irrfan Khan was given the Best Actor Award for Hindi Medium.

o Vidya Balan's Tumhari Sulu was awarded the Best Film trophy.

o Saket Chaudhary was awarded the Best Director for Hindi Medium.

o Anupam Kher was awarded Outstanding Achievement by an Actor in

Indian Cinema.

• ‘Chief Minister of the Year’ award

o Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje was conferred the ‘Chief

Minister of the Year’ award for her remarkable work in e-governance.

o The award was given to her at the 52nd Skoch Summit held in New Delhi.

o Efforts of the chief minister and state government were appreciated in

implementing the prime minister's Digital India campaign for benefitting
the common man.

• Kalki to be conferred with French honour

o Kalki Koechlin will be conferred with French distinction of Knight of the

Order of Arts and Letters for her contribution in enhancing Indo-French
ties in cinema.

o Kalki, who has French roots, has done films such as Dev.D, Zindagi Na
Milegi Dobara & Shanghai to name a few.

o The honour comes in recognition of an actor, who has interpreted striking

roles in the Indian film industry.

• FICCI awarded at X international IT forum

o The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) was

awareded at X International IT Forum at Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.

o FICCI was awarded for its support and active participation at the forum,
consecutively for two years.

30 | P a g e
 o The forum brought together industry leaders from BRICS and SCO nations
to interact in the fields of information technology and digital
transformation.

• EDMC gets SKOCH Award under solid waste mgmt

o East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) won Order-of-Merit Awards

from SKOCH under solid waste management category for its construction
and demolition waste processing plant.

o The waste plant at Shastri Park processes 500 tonnes of construction

waste per day & converts it into products such as bricks, stone, sand etc.

o The plant is in line with Swachh Bharat Mission and Smart City inititaive.

• Vishwas Mandalik & yoga institute to get award

o Vishwas Mandalik from Nasik and the Yoga Institute in Mumbai have
been selected as recipients of the Prime Minister’s award.

o They are being awarded for their outstanding contribution for promotion
and development of yoga for the year 2018.

o The selection was done from among 186 nominations received under
different categories.

• M. Scorsese to receive Lifetime Achievement

o Veteran director Martin Scorsese will be conferred with the Lifetime

Achievement Award at the Rome Film Festival 2018.

o Martin Scorsese is an American director, producer, screenwriter, actor and

film historian. He is widely regarded as one of the most significant and
influential filmmakers in cinematic history.

o The 13th edition of the famed Rome film festival will run from October 18-
28 2018.

• Nerella Venumadhav passes away

31 | P a g e
 o Father of Indian mimicry, Nerella Venu Madhav died after a brief illness at
his home in Mattewada in Warangal city in Telangana.

o Venumadhav served as an MLC in 1971 in the undivided Andhra Pradesh.

o He rose to international fame after his enthralling performance at the

United Nations.

o He has been conferred scores of awards, including the Padma Shri in

2001.

• Bindeshwar honoured with Nikkei Asia Prize

o Social reformer & founder of Sulabh Int. Bindeshwar Pathak was

honoured with Japan’s prestigious Nikkei Asia Prize.

o The award was given under Culture and Community category for his
significant work in tackling poor hygiene and discrimination.

o Launched in 1996, the award honours people in Asia who have made
significant contributions in science, technology & innovation and culture &
community.

• National Awards on Best Performing SHGs

o Shri Narendra Singh conferred the National Awards on Best Performing

Self Help Groups under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural
Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM).

o It will provide public recognition to the outstanding performance of the

community institutions.

o As part of the Award, each SHG received a cash award of Rs. 1,00,000
along with a commemoration and a certificate of appreciation.

• CRPF jawan posthumously given PM's medal

o CRPF constable Harvinder Singh has been posthumously honoured with

the PM's police medal for saving the lives of Vaishno Devi pilgrims in
2016.

32 | P a g e
 o Singh had been helping pilgrims reach the shrine when he saw some
women and children trapped under a landslide.

o While saving them, he was hit by a huge rock, later succumbing to his
injuries.

• Best practices in payment security

o HDFC Bank has once again been recognized with the Champion Security
Award at the 14th Visa Asia Pacific Security Summit.

o For the second time in a row, the bank has won the award in the India and
South Asia category.

o The Award is a mark of excellence reflecting leadership in risk

management and payment security performance.

July 2018
• 3rd BRICS Film Festival concluded

o The 3rd BRICS Film Festival took place in Durban, South Africa, along
with the International Durban Film Festival from 22-27th July, 2018.

o "Newton" won the Best Film and "Village Rockstars" won two awards at
the third edition of the BRICS Film Festival.

o The Best Actress award went to Bhanita Das.

o The film festival is aimed at celebrating world-class film productions from

the BRICS nations.

• HDFC awarded best performing bank

o HDFC has been awarded the best performing primary lending institution
in credit linked subsidy scheme (CLSS) for the EWS (Economically
Weaker Section) and LIG (Low Income Group) category.

o The award was given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

33 | P a g e
 o CLSS was introduced in June 2015 under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana for
home loans to customers from the EWS as well as LIG and MIG (Middle
income group).

• Assamese film wins 3 top awards at US fest

o Assamese film Xhoihobote Dhemalite (Rainbow Fields) bagged 3 top

awards at the 3rd Love International Film Festival in US including best
movie.

o Besides the best film, it also won the awards for best actress and best
music at the festival.

o The film, directed by Bidyut Kotoky, deals with the sensitive issue of
children of Assam growing up in violent times & witnessing brutality
around them.

• Pradip Chowdhury to receive Mohun Bagan Ratna

o Mohun Bagan 'Ratna', the highest honour of the century-old club will be
conferred on former India international Pradip Chowdhury.

o A former Mohun Bagan captain, Chowdhury was also the India team
manager.

o Chowdhury will be the 18th recipient of the award first given to Sailen
Manna in 2001.

• ONGC presented with INFRA Icon Award

o ONGC has been bestowed with INFRA Icon Award in the 'Global Energy'
category at the mid-day 'INFRA Icons'.

o ONGC has received the top corporate level award in recognition of its
valuable contribution in upgrading the country as a whole.

o ONGC is the second largest exploration and production (E&P) company in

the world.

• Kochi airport gets UN environmental award

34 | P a g e
 o The United Nations has honoured the Cochin International Airport (CIAL)
with 'Champion of Earth' award for being the first airport in the world to
be completely powered by solar energy.

o CIAL is the first airport in the world to receive the highest environmental
award issued by the United Nations.

o UN established 'Champion of Earth' award in 2005 to recognise

outstanding environmental leaders.

• Bharat & Sonam named Ramon Magsaysay winners

o Bharat Vatwani and Sonam Wangchuk are among the winners of Ramon
Magsaysay Award 2018.

o Bharat Vatwani is a psychiatrist who works for mentally-ill people living

on the streets.

o Sonam Wangchuk, known for his reforms in the education sector in

Ladakh.

o The Ramon Magsaysay Award is often referred to as the Asian version of

the Nobel Prize

• Graphic novel in Booker Prize longlist

o A graphic novel was longlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction for the first
time on July 24, with Nick Drnaso’s novel Sabrina in contention for the
prestigious award.

o The U.S. cartoonist was among the 13 authors longlisted for the prize
which markets itself as the leading literary award in the English-speaking
world.

o The winner receives £50,000 and the award.

• India Heritage Walk fete wins PATA award

o India Heritage Walk Festival, a collaboration of Sahapedia and YES Arts &
Culture, has been awarded the PATA Gold Award 2018.

35 | P a g e
 o Sahapedia is an open online resource on the arts, cultures and heritage of
India.

o Sahapedia got the award, announced by the Pacific Asia Travel Association
(PATA) in Bangkok, has been presented to it under the 'Heritage-Culture'
category.

• 'Sangita Kalanidhi' award for Aruna Sairam

o Carnatic vocalist Aruna Sairam has been selected for this year's 'Sangita
Kalanidhi' award of the Music Academy.

o Veteran Mridangam artiste 'Thanjavur' R Ramadas was selected for the

'Sangita Kala Acharya' award.

o The 'Sangita Kalanidhi' and other music awards would be presented at the
'Sadas' of the music festival on January 1, 2019.

• Awards for Station Beautification competition

o The Union Minister of Railways, Piyush Goyal distributed awards to

winning stations of Station Beautification competition in Rail Bhawan.

o Balharshah & Chandrapur Railway Stations of Central Railway have been

awarded the first position and cash prize of 10 lakh.

o Total 62 entries were evaluated on the basis of a number of

criteria including the depiction of local subjects, culture & themes.

• T.K Chand gets knowledge excellence award

o Dr. Tapan Kumar Chand received the Knowledge Excellence Award from
Secretary, Mines, Govt. of India for Outstanding Contribution in
Aluminium Knowledge domain.

o Chand is an Indian mining veteran and is the Chairman cum Managing

Director of National Aluminium Company (NALCO).

o NALCO is the largest integrated aluminium unit in Asia and is also one of
the largest aluminium complexes of the world.

• Ghatam maestro to receive lifetime award

36 | P a g e
 o The Music Academy has announced a Special Lifetime Achievement
Award to be conferred on ghatam maestro T.H. Vinayakram.

o The award is conferred, once in a while, on artists of outstanding calibre

who, the Music Academy feels, deserve independent recognition.

o Vikku Vinayakram, is a Grammy Award-winning Indian percussionist and

is a recipient of Padma Shri and Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship.

• Tata bagged Bharat Net’s project

o Tata Projects has bagged an Rs. 3,057 crore project of optical fiber cable
network of Bharat Net in Chhattisgarh.

o Important services such as 102, 108, and PDS would be effectively

executed at the Gram Panchayat level and around 2.6 crore people would
be benefited through the project.

o It will strengthen the state’s economy and enable local people to lead an
easy life.

• Anjolie Ela Menon conferred the Kalidas Award

o Noted artist Anjolie Ela Menon has received the National Kalidas Samman
for visual arts from the Madhya Pradesh government.

o The award was conferred in recognition of her insightful and sensitive

portrayal of the identity and spirit of women through her meaningful
paintings in a variety of media.

o Menon is India’s most accomplished artists and is the recipient of the

Padma Shri.

August 2018
• David Beckham will receive UEFA Prez's award

o Former England captain David Beckham will receive the UEFA President's
Award for his contribution to football and for promoting the sport around
the world.

37 | P a g e
 o Beckham played for Manchester United, La Galaxy, Real Madrid, AC
Milan and Paris St-Germain.

o Beckham made 115 appearances for England and won 19 club trophies,
including 10 league titles.

o He will receive the award in Monaco.

• Gopal Gandhi conferred with Sadbhavna Award

o Gopalkrishna Gandhi was honoured with Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavna

Award for promoting communal harmony and peace.

o The award was presented on the birth anniversary of former prime

minister Rajiv Gandhi.

o Gopalkrishna Gandhi was the former Governor of West Bengal.

• Gen Dalbir Singh awarded 'Legion of Merit'

o Former Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag has been awarded United
States (US) 'Legion of Merit' (LOM).

o The award was given to Singh for exceptionally meritorious service as

Chief of Army Staff from August 2014 to December 2016.

o The LOM is issued to members of the seven uniformed services of the

United States as well as to military and political figures of foreign
governments.

• Delhi official wins WHO award

o Delhi government's additional director of health S K Arora has been

awarded the prestigious WHO World No Tobacco Day 2017 Award for his
extraordinary contribution towards tobacco control.

o Tobacco prevalence in Delhi has come down by 6.5% in the past six years.

o The National Health Policy 2017 has set targets of relative reduction in
tobacco prevalence by 15% by 2020 and 30% by 2025.

• McQueen to receive BAFTA's Britannia Award

38 | P a g e
 o British director Steve McQueen will receive BAFTA's John Schlesinger
Britannia Award.

o McQueen, who won an Oscar for 12 Years a Slave, would be this year's
recipient of the John Schlesinger Britannia Award for excellence in
directing.

o The award's previous recipients include Danny Boyle, Christopher Nolan,

and Quentin Tarantino.

• 3 scientist awarded by Albany Medical Center

o The recipients of the annual Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and
Biomedical Research were announced on 15th August 2018.

o The recipients are James Allison, Dr Carl June and Dr Steven Rosenberg.

o Three scientists will share a $500,000 medical prize for their studies of
the immune system that have led to innovative treatments for cancer, HIV
and other diseases.

• Shaurya Chakra for Major Aditya, Aurangzeb

o Rifleman Aurangzeb and Major Aditya Kumar of Indian Army will be

conferred the Shaurya Chakra along with 18 others Armed Forces
Personnel and members of Paramilitary Forces.

o Sepoy Vrahma Pal Singh was selected for Kirti Chakra posthumously.

o The President has approved 131 Gallantry Awards to armed forces

personnel and members of paramilitary forces.

• Prez awards medals to Indian Coast Guard

o President of India has awarded one President's Tatrakshak Medal for

Distinguished Service, five Tatrakshak Medal for Gallantry and two
Tatrakshak Medal for Meritorious Service on the to Indian Coast Guard
personnel.

o The President's Tatrakshak Medal for Distinguished Service has been

awarded to IG Rakesh Pal.
39 | P a g e
 o These awards are being given to the personnel of Indian Coast Guard since
1990.

• Gallantry award for members of INSV Tarini

o President Ram Nath Kovind approved 'Nao Sena' medal for the six women
crew members of Indian Naval Sailing Vessel Tarini.

o Lt. Commander Vartika Joshi, who led the expedition, Lt. Commander
Prathibha, and Swathi, Aishwarya, Vijaya and Payal have been awarded
the Nao Sena Medal.

o Nao Sena Medal is a gallantry award that recognises individual acts of

exceptional devotion to duty or courage.

• Oscars introduces new ‘popular film’ category

o The Academy which runs the Oscars ceremony has added a new category
to honour popular films.

o The Academy also plans to set an earlier air date for the Oscars in 2020 —
February 9 — and will be making that broadcast more “globally
accessible.”

o The award show will also be capped at three hours long.

• Javed Akhtar awarded Hindi Sahitya Samman

o Eminent personalities from different fields, including Bollywood song

writer Javed Akhtar, were presented the Delhi government's "Hindi
Sahitya Academy Samman".

o Akhtar was awarded the 'Shalaka Samman' for his contribution to the
world of films and poetry.

o Veteran theatre director M K Raina received the 'Shikar Samman'.

• Akshay Venkatesh gets Fields Medal

o Akshay Venkatesh, a renowned Indian-Australian mathematician, is one

of four winners of mathematics’ prestigious Fields medal, known as the
Nobel prize for math.

40 | P a g e
 o The Fields medals are awarded every four years to the most promising
mathematicians under the age of 40.

o The prize was inaugurated in 1932 at the request of Canadian

mathematician John Charles Fields.

• ONGC won top honours at Swachhta Pakwada

o Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) bagged top honours at the Swachhta
Pakwada Awards.

o Swachhta Pakwada Awards is an oil ministry initiative to honour

companies and individuals doing exemplary work in cleanliness.

o Indian Oil Corp (IOC) bagged the runner-up's award.

o The Ministry celebrated Swachhta Pakhwada from July 1, 2018, to July 15,
2018, with the theme 'Innovation and Sustainability'.

• Azad, Najma to be given Parliamentarian award

o The leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, Manipur
Governor Najma Heptulla and BJD MP Bhartruhari Mahtab will be
conferred the Outstanding Parliamentarian award by President Ram Nath
Kovind.

o Najma Heptulla will get the award for 2013, Lok Sabha member
Hukumdev Yadav for 2014.

o The award will be given to Azad for 2015, TMC MP Dinesh Trivedi for
2016 and Mahtab for 2017.

• Rajiv Sadbhavana Award for Gopal Gandhi

o Former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi has been chosen

for Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Award 2018 for promoting communal
harmony and peace.

o The award carries a citation and a cash award of Rs. 10 lakh.

41 | P a g e
 o Former recipients of the award include Mother Teresa, Ustad Bismillah
Khan, Mohammed Yunus, Lata Mangeshkar, Sunil Dutt, Dilip Kumar,
Kapila Vatsyayan, Teesta Setalvad.

September 2018
• Kanha guide among winners of TOFTigers Awards

o Ramkali Dhurway, a guide from Kanha Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh

won the "Billy Arjan Singh Memorial Award for Wildlife Guide"
at TOFTigers Wildlife Awards.

o The theme of the 5th edition: "Inclusive Conservation - People and

Wildlife".

o Also, a restaurant from Nepal and a nature tour operator from the
Netherlands were some of the winners at the event.

• Ahmedabad and Indore Airports- Best Airports

o AAI’s Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport, Indore and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
International Airport, Ahmedabad were conferred with the prestigious
National Tourism Awards 2016-17.

o Ahmedabad airport received the Best Airport Award in Major Cities

category.

o Indore airport received the Best Airport Award in ‘Rest of India’ category.

o The awards were presented on World Tourism Day i.e 27 Sept 2018.

• PM Modi awarded UN Champions of Earth Award

o Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been awarded the prestigious United
Nations Champions of the Earth Award.

o Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron have been

awarded in the Policy Leadership category, for their efforts regarding their
International Solar Alliance.

o The Champions of the Earth prize is awarded to leaders whose actions

have had a positive impact on the environment.
42 | P a g e
 • Arjuna Awards for the year 2018

The Arjuna Awards are given by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to
recognize outstanding achievement in sports. The award was presented to 20
peoples, some winners of Arjuna Awards 2018 are as follows-

o Neeraj Chopra- Athletics

o Hima Das- Athletics

o Smriti Mandhana- Cricket

o Manpreet Singh- Hockey

o Ankur Mittal- Shooting

o Shreyasi Singh- Shooting

o Manika Batra- Table Tennis

• Dronacharya Awards for the year 2018

The Dronacharya Award is a sports coaching honor of India. Following sportspersons

were conferred with Dronacharya Awards for the year 2018:

o Subedar Chenanda Achaiah- Boxing

o Vijay Sharma- Weightlifting

o Srinivasa Rao- Table Tennis

o Sukhdev Singh- Athletics

o Clarence Lobo- Hockey (Life Time)

o Tarak Sinha- Cricket (Life Time)

o Jiwan Sharma- Judo (Life Time)

o V.R. Beedu- Athletics (Life Time)

• Luka Modric won FIFA Best player award

43 | P a g e
 o Luka Modric won FIFA's best male player award for 2018.

o Brazil and Orlando Pride forward Marta won the best female player award.

o Mohamed Salah's curling, left-footed strike in an October 12, 2017 match

against Everton won the Puskas Award for the best goal.

o Peru's supporters won the Fifa Fan Award.

• 'Village Rockstars' enters Oscars 2019

o Assamese movie 'Village Rockstars' has been selected as India's official

entry to the Oscars 2019.

o The film is directed by Rima Das.

o The film which had its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film
Festival and India premiere at the Mumbai Film Festival 2018.

o It also won the 'Best Feature film Award' at the 65th National Film
Awards.

• Anushka Sharma Receives Smita Patil Award

o Union Transport Minister felicitated Anushka Sharma during the 34th

anniversary of Priyadarshni Academy Global Award, in Mumbai.

o She received the Smita Patil award for best actor.

o Global Awards honours the eminent personalities in social, cultural and

educational fields that have made significant contribution in their
respective fields.

o Awards were started in the year 1987.

• Youngest author short-listed at Booker Prize

o British writer Daisy Johnson became the youngest author to be shortlisted

for the prestigious Man Booker Prize 2018.

o She has been shortlisted for her mother-daughter tale, "Everything

Under".

44 | P a g e
 o The 27-year-old joins fellow UK authors Anna Burns for
"Milkman" and Robin Robertson for "The Long Take".

o The shortlisted authors each receive 2,500 pounds and a specially-bound

edition of their book.

• Virat, Mirabai to receive Khel Ratna

o Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli and weightlifter Mirabai Chanu will
receive the prestigious 'Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna' on September 25, 2018.

o Chanu was chosen for the prestigious award following her gold medal in
the 48kg category at the World Championships 2017.

o Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra was among 20 sportspersons picked for

the Arjuna Awards.

• Indian Films Won an award at TFF

o Vasan Bala’s superhero movie, Mard ko Dard Nahin Hota has won
the Toronto film festival’s prestigious Grolsch People’s Choice Midnight
Madness Award.

o The film pays tribute to action comedies of the 70s and 80s and tells the
story of a young man born with a disorder that makes him immune to
pain.

o This is the first ever Indian film to be screened in the Toronto festival’s
Midnight Madness.

• HRD Minister present Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar

o The Union Minister HRD minister conferred the Swachh Vidyalaya

Puraskar 2017-18 at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi.

o The SVP honours the schools that have done exemplary work in the field of
water, sanitation and hygiene.

o The awardee schools got a Certificate of Recognition along with an

additional school grant of Rs. 50,000/- through digital payment.

45 | P a g e
 • INSV Tarini received Tenzing Norgay Award

o The all-women crew of INSV Tarini has bagged the prestigious Tenzing
Norgay National Adventure award.

o The award is the highest national recognition for outstanding

achievements in the field of adventure on land, sea and air.

o The INSV Tarini crew was also bestowed with Nav Sena Medal on the
occasion of 72nd Independence Day.

• Toronto film festival to 'Green Book'

o Peter Farrelly's dramatic comedy buddy movie 'Green Book', won

the Toronto International Film Festival audience prize.

o The film follows a working-class Italian-American bouncer who takes a job

chauffeuring an African-American through the US South in the1960.

o The Toronto film festival is the biggest in North America and has
traditionally been a key event for Oscar-conscious distributors.

• 6 AAI-run airports bag international awards

o Six aerodromes of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) have bagged seven
international awards.

o The Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards 2017 were presented by the
Airports Council International (ACI) at the Customer Excellence Global
Summit in Canada, on September 12 2018.

o The winning airports are Lucknow, Indore, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata

and Pune airports.

• VRP & NSA-2016 ceremony on September 17, 2018

o Labour and Employment ministry will give away Vishwakarma Rashtriya

Puraskar (VRP) and National Safety Awards (NSA) for the performance
year 2016 on September 17, 2018.

o These Award schemes are operated by the Ministry's Directorate General

Factory Advice Service & Labour Institutes.

46 | P a g e
 o The NSA is given in recognition of outstanding safety performance of
industrial establishments.

• Sawai Singh to be honoured with Meera Puruskar

o Jaipur-based poet and writer Sawai Singh Shekhawat will be honoured

with Meera Puruskar by Rajasthan Sahitya Academy for his contribution
to Hindi literature.

o Meera award is the highest award of the Rajasthan Sahitya Academy.

o He also announced other awards to be given for the year 2018-19 in

October 2018.

• Manoj Jhalani selected for UNIATF Award

o Manoj Jhalani, Additional Secretary & Mission Director (NHM), Ministry

of Health and Family Welfare, has been conferred with the prestigious UN
Interagency Task Force (UNIATF) award.

o He was awarded for his outstanding contribution towards prevention and

control of non-communicable diseases and related Sustainable
Development Goals.

o The ceremony will take place on 27th Sept in New York.

• First Ever Award to Secondary Steel Sector

o Ministry of Steel has launched an Award Scheme to recognize the

Secondary Steel sector for their contribution to the national economy.

o The first ever awards will be given on 13th September 2018 at a function in
New Delhi.

o At present, the PM Trophy / Steel Minister’s Trophy are given to large

integrated steel plants having achieved crude steel production of 1 million
tonnes per annum.

• Balzan Prize awarded to NGO in Switzerland

47 | P a g e
 o An international children rights charity based in Switzerland has been
awarded the 2018 'Balzan Prize' for humanitarian achievement.

o The Balzan Foundation announced that 'Terre des Hommes' will receive 1
million Swiss francs (USD 1 million) for a project in the African nation of
Mali.

o In 2018, prizes were awarded for social anthropology, global history,

chemical ecology and fluid dynamics.

• Aishwarya received 'Meryl Streep Award'

o Aishwarya Rai was felicitated with the 'Meryl Streep Award for
Excellence' at the first edition of Women In Film and Television (WIFT).

o The award has been established to honour the best female talent in
Bollywood and Hollywood.

o Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar received the 'Wyler Award for Excellence in

Direction' at the same event.

• 'Sarala Puraskar' for poet Satrughna Pandav

o Odia poet Satrughna Pandav will be honored with the prestigious 'Sarala
Puraskar' for his poetry collection 'Misra Dhrupad'.

o The annual Sarala Puraskar, recognized as one of the foremost literary

awards.

o The 'Sarala Puraskar' - instituted by eminent Odia industrialist late Dr

Bansidhar Panda and late Ila Panda in 1979 and awarded by the Indian
Metals Public Charitable Trust(IMPaCT)

• Dr B.K. Misra named for Dr B.C. Roy award

o Eminent neurosurgeon Dr. Basant Kumar Misra has been named for the
prestigious Dr B.C. Roy National Award.

o Dr B.C. Roy National Award is the highest medical honour of India,

instituted by the Medical Council of India in 1962.

48 | P a g e
 o Misra is the Head of Department of Surgery as well as Neurosurgery and
Gamma Knife Radiosurgery at Mumbai's P.D. Hinduja Hospital.

• Nehal crowned as Miss Universe India

o Nehal Chudasama is crowned as the new Yamaha Fascino Miss Diva - Miss
Universe India 2018.

o She will compete at the Miss Universe 2018 pageant in Bangkok in

December 2018.

o Aditi Hundia from Jaipur won Yahama Fascino Miss Diva Universe
Supranational 2018, and the Yahama Fascino Miss Diva 2018 - Second
Runner-up title went to Lucknow's Roshni Sheoran.

• Bharat and Sonam receive Magsaysay Award

o Two Indian nationals, Bharat Vatwani and Sonam Wangchuk, were given
the Ramon Magsaysay award, popularly known as Asia’s Nobel Prize.

o Since 1988, Vatwani has helped around 7,000 mental patients, reuniting
many of them with their families.

o Wangchuk has been recognised for “his uniquely systematic, collaborative

and community—driven reform of learning systems in Ladakh.

October 2018
• Malala to be honoured by Harvard University

o Malala Yousafzai will be honoured by Harvard University for her work

promoting girls' education.

o She will be conferred with the '2018 Gleitsman Award' at a ceremony on

6th December 2018.

o The Gleitsman Award provides US$125,000 for activism that has

improved quality of life around the world.

o Malala Yousafzai is the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize in
2014.
49 | P a g e
 • Meenakshi Chaudhary won 1st runner-up title

o India's Meenakshi Chaudhary has been crowned the first runner-up of

Miss Grand International 2018 at the sixth edition of the pageant held in
Myanmar.

o Chaudhary was narrowly edged out by Paraguay's Clara Sosa for the top
honour.

o Sosa succeeds Miss Grand International 2017 Maria Jose Lora of Peru.

o She has been the winner of fbb Colors Femina Miss Grand India 2018 title
earlier.

• Roopam won World Health Summit Startup Award

o Roopam Sharma, a 23-year old Indian scientist, won the World Health
Summit Startup award, 2018.

o He won for his invention, Manovue – the world’s first intelligent personal
assisting system for the visually impaired.

o He is the youngest person to be recognized as one of the top innovators

under 35 by the MIT Tech Review in 2016.

• Asma Jahangir won UN Human Rights Prize

o Pakistan’s human rights activist and lawyer Asma Jahangir has been
posthumously awarded the UN Prize along with three other winners.

o Rebeca Gyumi of Tanzania, Brazil’s first indigenous lawyer Joenia

Wapichana and Ireland’s human rights organisation Front Line Defenders
are the other winners of the prize.

o The Prize is an honorary award given for outstanding achievement in

human rights.

• BEML received Top Challengers’ Award

o Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML), a Mini Ratna Public Sector

Undertaking, under the Ministry of Defence, received the prestigious ‘Top
Challengers Award 2018’.

50 | P a g e
 o It won the prize for the excellent performance during the financial year
2017-18 and Best Seller in Crawler Equipment-Dozers and Rigid Dump
Truck segment for mining sectors.

o The award is instituted by ASAAP Information Global Group.

• Sakharov prize awarded to filmmaker Sentsov

o The European Parliament awarded the prestigious Sakharov human rights

prize to jailed Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov on 25 October 2018.

o The Sakharov Prize was set up in 1988.

o It is awarded every year to individuals or organizations that have made an

important contribution to the fight for human rights or democracy.

• 'Unnayan Banka' won CAPAM award for 2018

o 'Unnayan Banka' has won the Commonwealth Association for Public

Administration and Management’s (CAPAM) international innovation
award for 2018.

o It is an online and offline education project started in Banka, Bihar.

o CAPAM is an organisation that promotes good governance and knowledge

exchange amongst governments from Commonwealth countries.

• Tagore awards for cultural harmony announced

o 'Tagore Award for Cultural Harmony' for the years 2014, 2015 and 2016
were announced on 25 October 2018.

o The awards were given to Manipuri dancer, Rajkumar Singhajit Singh

(2014), Chhayanaut (a cultural organisation of Bangladesh) (2015) and
sculptor, Ram Vanji Sutar (2016).

o It carries an award prize of Rs 1 crore, a citation in a scroll and a plaque.

o The award jury was headed by PM Modi.

• Malayalam author won first JCB Prize 2018

51 | P a g e
 o Malayalam author Benyamin has bagged the inaugural 'JCB Prize for
literature' for his book 'Jasmine Days'.

o The book explores the lives of South Asians in the Middle East.

o Benyamin was awarded a cash prize of ₹25 lakh and a trophy.

o JCB Prize for Literature is an Indian literary award established in 2018

and the award is funded by the construction manufacturing group JCB.

• Tezpur Univ professor won INSA Teachers Award

o Tezpur University professor Ashis Mukherjee has been awarded the

prestigious "Indian National Science Academy (INSA) Teachers Award
(2018)".

o He has been awarded for his consistent and high-level of teaching, and
inspiring and mentoring students to take up careers in Science and
Technology.

o The award is one of the highest recognition for science and technology
teachers in the country.

• PM Modi awarded Seoul Peace Prize 2018

o Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been awarded the Seoul Peace Prize
2018.

o He has been awarded for his contribution to high economic growth in

India and world through ‘Modinomics’.

o The Seoul Peace Prize was established in 1990 to commemorate the

success of the 24th Olympic Games held in Seoul, Republic of Korea.

• Invest India won UN award

o 'Invest India' has won the UN Award for excellence in promoting

investments in sustainable development.

o The awards are organised by the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD).

52 | P a g e
 o Invest India is a non-profit venture of the Department of Industrial Policy
and Promotion (DIPP).

o Deepak Bagla is the CEO of Invest India.

• International honour for scientist

o Agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan will receive the first 'World

Agriculture Prize' on 26 October 2018.

o The award has been instituted by the Indian Council of Food and
Agriculture (ICFA) with an aim to recognise individuals who have served
humanity through agriculture.

o Prof. Swaminathan has been hailed by the United Nations Environment

Programme as ‘The Father of Economic Ecology’.

• Fali S. Nariman conferred National Award

o Fali S. Nariman was conferred with Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award
for Excellence in Public Administration on 22 October 2018.

o He is a distinguished Indian Constitutional jurist and senior advocate to

the Supreme Court of India.

o He has been awarded the Padma Bhushan (1991), Padma Vibhushan

(2007) and Gruber Prize for Justice (2002).

• Sujatha Gidla won Shakti Bhatt Prize

o Sujatha Gidla has won the 2018 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize.

o She won the award for her book, 'Ants Among Elephants: An Untouchable
Family and the Making of Modern India'.

o The Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize is funded by the Shakti Bhatt
Foundation.

o It was set up in 2008 in memory of writer Shakti.

o It carries a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh.

53 | P a g e
 • Minal Patel awarded at White House

o Minal Patel Davis has been honoured with a Presidential award by US

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

o She has been awarded for her extraordinary contribution towards

combatting human trafficking in Houston.

o She is the Special Advisor on Human Trafficking to Houston Mayor.

o She is a past speaker at the United Nations World Humanitarian Summit.

• Piyush Goyal received Carnot prize

o Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania

awarded 4th annual Carnot Prize to Union Minister Piyush Goyal.

o Carnot Prize is the Kleinman Center’s annual recognition of distinguished

contributions to energy policy through scholarship or practice.

o Carnot Prize is named after French physicist Nicolas Sadi Carnot.

• Breakthrough Prize winners announced

o The winners of the 2019 Breakthrough Prize were announced on 17

October 2018.

o Nine researchers were awarded a total of $22 million for their innovations
in mathematics, fundamental physics and the life sciences.

o The Breakthrough Prize is sponsored by Sergey Brin, Priscilla Chan and

Mark Zuckerberg, Ma Huateng, Yuri and Julia Milner, and Anne Wojcicki.

• Suheil Tandon won IOC Grant award

o Suheil Tandon has won the International Olympic Committee's Sport and
Active Society Commission's Grant Award.

o The award has been given for his contribution to the development of
sports.

o The award ceremony was held at Buenos Aires, Argentina.

54 | P a g e
 o Suheil is the founder of Pro Sport Development (PSD) and Executive
Director of Martha Farrell Foundation.

• Anna Burns won Man Booker Prize

o Author Anna Burns won the Man Booker Prize for her novel "Milkman".

o She has become the first Northern Irish writer and the first woman since
2013 to win the Man Booker Prize.

o Milkman, set in an unnamed city in Northern Ireland during the Troubles,

is a coming-of-age story about a young girl's affair with a married man.

• Khayyam named for Hridaynath Award

o Mohammed Zahur Khayyam Hashmi has been named for 2018

Hridaynath Award for Lifetime Achievement.

o The Award has been instituted by the Hridayesh Arts and carries a cash
prize of Rs 100,000 and a memento.

o He is famously known as 'Khayyam' and is a composer, lyricist and writer.

o The other past recipients of the awards are Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle,
Amitabh Bachchan.

• IAF to hold competition for drones technology

o The Indian Air Force (IAF) has announced India’s first competition in the
defence sector, the Mehar Baba Prize.

o The IAF is holding a competition for participants to build a swarm of 50

drones.

o The IAF will pick up to three winners, each of whom will get Rs. 10 lakh in
prize money.

o The Mehar Baba Prize has been named after Commodore Mehar Singh,
DSO MVC, who was often called Mehar Baba.

• Prema won social entrepreneurship award

55 | P a g e
 o Prema Gopalan, founder of Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP), was awarded
the 8th Social Entrepreneur of the Year award, 2018.

o She was awarded for her work in promoting women’s entrepreneurship at

the grassroots and ensuring rural livelihood.

o The award was jointly founded by Jubilant Bhartia Foundation and

Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship in 2010.

• H M Pernal gets Vishwa Konkani book award

o 'Beeg Ani Beegath', a collection of short stories in Konkani by well-known

writer, journalist and critic H M Pernal has bagged the prestigious 'Vimala
V Pai Vishwa' Konkani best book award for the year 2018.

o Konkani poet Sharathchandra Shenoy won the Vishwa Konkani best

poetry award for his book 'Idam Na Mama'.

o Each award carries a purse of Rs one lakh each, a certificate, memento and
shawl.

• Conde won alternative Nobel

o Maryse Conde won an alternative award formed in protest to the Nobel

Literature Prize which got cancelled in 2018.

o Maryse Condé won the New Academy prize in literature.

o The New Academy was founded by more than 100 Swedish writers, artists
and journalists.

o Condé is the author of some 20 novels, including Desirada, Segu and

Crossing the Mangrove

• Sikkim won '100% Organic State' UN Award

o Sikkim has won 2018 UN Food and Agriculture Organisation's Future

Policy for Gold Award.

o The award was given for its achievement in becoming the world's first
totally organic agriculture state.

56 | P a g e
 o Sikkim was declared fully organic state in 2016 after phasing out chemical
fertilisers and pesticides

• ESIC wins ‘ISSA GOOD Practice Award 2018'

o The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has won the ‘ISSA
Good Practice Award’ at the “Regional Social Security Forum for Asia and
the Pacific” held at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

o The award recognizes the measures taken by ESIC for the administrative
solution for Coverage Extension.

o ISSA (International Social Security Association) is an organization for

Social Security Organizations.

• William, Paul won Nobel prize for economics

o The 2018 Nobel prize for economics has been awarded to William
Nordhaus and Paul Romer of the United States for their work on
sustainable growth.

o The research of the two US economists focuses on how climate change and
technology have affected the economy.

o Prof Nordhaus was the first person to create a model that described the
interplay between the economy and the climate.

• Nobel Prize Peace prize to Mukwege and Nadia

o The Nobel Peace Prize 2018 was won by Denis Mukwege and Nadia
Murad.

o The award has been presented to the two figures who have brought
attention to ending sexual violence in armed conflict.

o Mukwege is a gynecologist helping victims of sexual violence in the

Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nadia is a Yazidi rights activist and
survivor of sexual slavery by Islamic State.

• Maruti Suzuki gets the National Safety Award

57 | P a g e
 o Maruti Suzuki has been awarded the 'National Safety Award' by Ministry
of Labour and Employment.

o The award is for excellence in industrial safety in the automobile category

for the year 2016.

o The prestigious award is given annually in recognition of outstanding

safety performance of industrial establishments.

o Maruti Suzuki has developed a three-tier safety governance structure.

• Rail Min won 'Swachchta Hi Seva' award

o The Ministry of Railways has been declared the best department for its
contribution to "Swachchta Pakhwada" under the "Swachchta Hi Seva"
category of awards.

o The award was presented to the Railway Ministry, on the fourth

anniversary of the Swachh Bharat Mission.

o The 'Swachchta Hi Seva' campaign was launched in 2017.

• Nobel prize in chemistry awarded

o The 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Frances H. Arnold,

George P. Smith and Sir Gregory P. Winter on 3 October 2018.

o They were awarded for their work on harnessing the power of evolution to
develop new proteins used in drugs and medical treatments.

o Frances H Arnold, George P Smith and Gregory P Winter will share the
prize of 9 million Swedish kronor.

• Lilima to receive Ekalabya Puraskar, 2018

o Hockey player Lilima Minz from Odisha has been selected for the
prestigious Ekalabya Puraskar, 2018.

o The annual award is instituted by the charitable wing of Indian Metals &
Ferro Alloys (IMFA) comprises of a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh along with a
citation.

58 | P a g e
 o Ekalabya Puraskar has been instituted to promote literature, sports, the
arts, culture, and other socially meaningful activities.

• PM Modi received UNEP Champions of the Earth

o PM Narendra Modi received the United Nations highest environmental

honour, the UNEP Champions of the Earth award at New Delhi.

o The award is presented by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

o The award was announced on 26th Sept, on the sidelines of 73rd UN GA in

New York.

o The annual prize is awarded to leaders from government whose

actions had a positive impact on the environment.

• Ashkin, Mourou, Strickland won Nobel prize

o Scientists Arthur Ashkin, Gerard Mourou and Donna Strickland won the
2018 Nobel Prize for Physics.

o They were awarded for their work in the field of lasers used for surgery as
well as scientific study.

o Ashkin invented optical “tweezers” that could grab particles, atoms,

viruses and other living cells.

o Mourou and Strickland separately created the shortest and most powerful
laser pulses ever.

• NALCO CMD conferred with NIPM Ratna award

o NALCO CMD Dr Tapan Kumar Chand was conferred with the 'NIPM
Ratna Award' at the 37th NIPM Annual National Conference (NATCON-
2018).

o He was given the award for his contribution to People Management &
Strategic Leadership.

o National Institute of Personnel Management (NIPM) is the highest body of

HR professionals in India.

59 | P a g e
 o NIPM organized the NATCON-2018 at Pune.

• Nobel prize for medicine

o Two immunologists, James Allison of the US and Tasuku Honjo of Japan

won the 2018 Nobel prize in medicine.

o They won the prize for the discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of
negative immune regulation.

o They will receive their prize at a formal ceremony in Stockholm on 10th

December.

o Allison and Honjo also have won the Tang Prize in 2014 for their research.

• VP to give "Vayoshreshtha Samman-2018"

o The Vice President of India M. Venkiah Naidu gave "Vayoshreshtha

Samman-2018" to senior citizens on October 1, 2018.

o The award is given to eminent senior citizens and institutions in

recognition of their services towards the cause of the elderly persons.

o Vayoshreshtha Samman is a Scheme of National Awards instituted by the

Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.

November 2018
• Keshav Ginde to get Pt. Bhimsen Joshi award

o Renowned flautist Pandit Keshav Ginde will be conferred with the

prestigious 'Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Lifetime Achievement
Award 2018' for classical music.

o The award has been instituted by Maharashtra Governement.

o The award honours maestros in classical music and singing, and carries a
cash award of Rs 500,000, a memento and a citation.

• 'Asian of The Year' award 2018 announced

o Indian Navy Commander Vijay Varma and Captain P Rajkumar won the
'Asian of The Year' Award on 28 November 2018.
60 | P a g e
 o They were awarded for their selfless service and bravery in rescue
operations during the devastating floods in Kerala.

o The awards have been constituted by the English language newspaper 'The
Straits Times' and it is based in Singapore.

• Donbass won the 'Golden Peacock' at IFFI 2018

o 'Donbass' has won the coveted 'Golden Peacock Award' at the 49th
International Film Festival of India (IFFI) on 28 November 2018.

o The Award carries a cash prize of Rs 40 lakhs to be shared equally between

the Producer and the Director, Trophy, and the citation.

o 'Donbass' is the official submission of Ukraine for the 'Best Foreign

Language Film' category at the 91st Academy Awards in 2019.

• Premji to be conferred French civilian award

o Azim Premji will be conferred with the 'Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur'

(Knight of the Legion of Honour).

o Alexandre, Ambassador of France to India will confer the award to Premji.

o The award comes in recognition of his outstanding contribution in

developing the information technology industry in India, his economic
outreach in France, and his contribution to society as a philanthropist.

• Salim Khan to receive Special Award at IFFI

o Screenwriter Salim Khan will be honoured with 'International Film

Festival of India (IFFI) Special Award' for his lifetime contribution to
cinema.

o He will receive the honour at the closing ceremony of the 49th edition of
the IFFI on November 28.

o He will be presented with a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh, a certificate and a

shawl.

• Sanjay Kumar won the First UN-GGIM award

61 | P a g e
 o Sanjay Kumar was conferred the 'Global Geospatial Industry Ambassador'
Award by the United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management
(UN-GGIM) on 19 November 2018.

o He was awarded at the United Nations World Geospatial Information

Congress held in China.

o He is the Founder and CEO of Geospatial Media & Communications.

• 12 movies nominated for UNESCO Gandhi Medal

o The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) has nominated 12 movies

for 2018 International Council for Film, Television and Audiovisual
Communication (ICFT) UNESCO Gandhi Medal.

o Of these 12 films, two are from India and the rest are foreign movies.

o The two Indian movies competing for the honour are Tamil film 'Baaram'
and Ladakhi movie 'Walking with the Wind'.

• Filmmaker Nandita Das to receive FIAPF Award

o Filmmaker Nandita Das will be honoured with the 'International

Federation of Film Producers Associations' ( FIAPF) Award 2018.

o The award will be given at the '12th Asia Pacific Screen Awards' on 29
November 2018.

o She will be presented the award in recognition of her achievement in film

in the Asia Pacific region.

o She started her career as an actor in films like '1947 Earth, 'Fire' etc.

• Forbes India Leadership Awards 2018 announced

o The 'Forbes India Leadership Awards' was held on November 22 in

Mumbai.

o The award honours the top executives of companies in India.

o Azim Premji, Chairman of Wipro Limited, got the 'Lifetime Achievement

Award 2018'.

62 | P a g e
 o Vivek Chaand Sehgal, Chairman of Motherson Sumi Systems, got the
'Entrepreneur for the Year 2018 award'.

• Vimal Chandra won the Young Scientist award

o IIT Roorkee Professor Vimal Chandra Srivastava has won the 'NASI-
Scopus Young Scientist Award 2018' in 'Environmentally Sound
Sustainable Development' category.

o He has been given the award for his work on Industrial Wastewater
Treatment, Clean Liquid Fuels, and Multi-component Adsorption.

o The Award was instituted by Elsevier in the year 2006.

• WCCB got Asia Environment Enforcement Award

o On 21 November 2018, the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) has got
the 'Asia Environment Enforcement Award 2018'.

o It was awarded for its work in combating trans-boundary environmental

crimes.

o This is the 2nd time in a row that the awards are being given by UN
Environment to India.

o WCCB is a statutory body under the Environment Ministry to combat

organised wildlife crime in the country.

• Mexico's highest honour given to Prof. Ganguly

o Professor S.P. Ganguly has been awarded the 'Mexican Order of the Aztec
Eagle' on 20 November 2018.

o The award is the highest civilian honour given to a foreigner by Mexico.

o The award was in recognition of his outstanding work in the study of the
Spanish language and Mexican culture.

o He headed the Centre for Spanish and Latin American Studies at the
Jawaharlal Nehru University.

• 'Tata Literature Awards 2018' announced

63 | P a g e
 o Anuradha Roy and James Crabtree are among the winners of the 'Tata
Literature Live Awards 2018'.

o Harper Collins India was named publisher of the year 2018.

o Veteran journalist and writer Mark Tully won the Lifetime Achievement
Award.

o Renowned poet Jayanta Mahapatra was named the poet laureate for 2018.

• Amitabh Bachchan received Sayaji Ratna Award

o Amitabh Bachchan was awarded the third Sayaji Ratna Award on 20

November 2018.

o The award was established in the memory of erstwhile Baroda ruler

Sayajirao Gaekwad III.

o The Baroda Management Association had instituted the award to mark the
150th birth anniversary of the ruler in 2013.

o Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy and noted industrialist Ratan

Tata have been given the award earlier.

• Ustad Amjad Ali Khan given a lifetime award

o Sarod master, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan was presented the 'Sumitra Charat
Ram Award for Lifetime Achievement' on 17 November 2018.

o He was awarded for his immense contribution to the enrichment and

promotion of the Indian classical music.

o The award was presented to him by former diplomat Lalit Mansingh.

o He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2001.

• CSE won Indira Gandhi peace prize

o 'Centre for Science and Environment' (CSE) has won Indira Gandhi Prize
for Peace, Disarmament and Development 2018.

o The award is conferred by Indira Gandhi Trust every year on the late
Indira Gandhi's birth anniversary.
64 | P a g e
 o The international jury for the awards was headed by former President
Pranab Mukherjee.

• FSSAI sets up ‘Eat Right’ awards

o Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has instituted the
'Eat Right Awards'.

o The award has been instituted for food related start-ups to reward
innovation and promote entrepreneurship in the area of food safety and
applied nutrition.

o A jury of eminent professionals and experts in the food sector will select
the winners.

• AIM & UNICEF announced Young Champions Awards

o The NITI Aayog's Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and UNICEF have
announced 'UNICEF – Atal Tinkering Labs Young Champions Awards' on
14 November 2018.

o The awards were presented to the top six most innovative solutions from
across the country, which was shortlisted through the Atal Tinkering
Marathon.

o AIM and UNICEF have also launched a 72-hour 'Tinkering Hackathon'

from 14 to 17 November 2018.

• Dr. Martha received lifetime achievement award

o Late Dr Martha Farrell has been honoured with the 'Lifetime Achievement
Award' at the 6th Indian Social Work Congress in New Delhi on 13
November 2018.

o Dr Martha is being recognised for her lifelong work towards gender

equality, women's empowerment and prevention of sexual harassment at
workplace.

o In 1991, she co-founded the NGO named Creative Learning for Change.

• UASG conferred award to Rajasthan CM

65 | P a g e
 o Universal Acceptance Steering Group (UASG) conferred 'Universal
Acceptance Thought Leader Award' to Rajasthan Chief Minister
Vasundhara Raje on 13 November 2018.

o She was awarded for 'Rajmail project' that enables access to the email
address to people in the state in local script.

o The technology for the project was developed by Rajasthan based firm
'Data XGen Technologies'.

• Six professors won Infosys Prize 2018 - II

o Kavita Singh was awarded in the field of Humanities.

o Roop Mallik was awarded in the field of Life Sciences.

o Nalini Anantharaman was awarded in the field of Mathematical Sciences.

o SK Satheesh was awarded in the field of Physical Sciences.

o Sendhil Mullainathan was awarded in the field of Social Sciences

• Six professors won Infosys Prize 2018 - I

o Six eminent professors have been awarded the 'Infosys Prize 2018' across
different categories of science and research.

o The prize has been constituted by the 'Infosys Science Foundation' (ISF).

o The annual award includes a pure gold medal, a citation and a prize purse
worth US$ 100,000.

o Navakanta Bhat was awarded in the field of Engineering and Computer

Science.

• Dr Debabhuson won the 'Munin Barkotoki Award'

o Dr Debabhuson Borah won the prestigious 'Munin Barkotoki Literary

Award 2018' on 12 November 2018.

o He won the award for his book on literary criticism titled 'Nirbochon'.

66 | P a g e
 o The award carries a cash prize of Rs 50,000 along with a citation and a
plaque.

o The award was named after the renowned writer, critic, and journalist
Munin Barkotoki.

• Swati won 'Press Freedom Award for Courage'

o Journalist Swati Chaturvedi has won the 2018 Press Freedom Award for
Courage on 8 November 2018.

o She won the award for her book, 'I am a Troll: Inside The Secret World of
The BJP's Digital Army'.

o The award ceremony was organised by the UK chapter of Paris-based

Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) or Reporters Without Borders in London.

• Ladakh restoration project wins UNESCO award

o 'The LAMO Center' in Jammu and Kashmir's Ladakh region has won an
UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation on 9
November 2018.

o It was chosen for its systematic restoration of an aristocratic house in

Ladakh.

o It won in the category of 'Award of Distinction' under UNESCO Asia-

Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.

• Anand conferred with 'Global Education Award'

o Mathematician and Super 30 founder Anand Kumar was conferred with

‘Global Education Award’ in Dubai on 8 November 2018.

o He was awarded for his 'pioneering' contributions to the field of education

and illuminating the lives of many talented students.

o The award was presented by ‘Malabar Gold & Diamonds’, a flagship

company of Malabar Group, a leading Indian business conglomerate.

• France's highest civilian honour conferred

67 | P a g e
 o Jawahar Lal Sarin was conferred with France's highest civilian honour by
French Ambassador to India Alexandre Ziegler on 9 November 2018.

o He was given France's highest civilian honour 'Knight of the Legion of

Honour'.

o He was awarded for his outstanding contribution to enhancing Indo-

French cultural cooperation and promoting the French language.

• Namrata Ahuja bagged IPI-India Award

o The prestigious 2018 IPI India Award for excellence in journalism has
been given to Namrata Ahuja of 'The Week' magazine.

o She received the award for her exclusive story on Naga underground
camps.

o The award comprises a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh, a trophy and a citation.

o The International Press Institute (IPI) is a forum of editors, publishers

and senior executives of newspapers and magazines.

• Jayant Sawarkar to get Maha lifetime award

o Noted Marathi actor Jayant Sawarkar will be honoured with the

Maharashtra government's 'Natvarya Prabhakar Panshikar Lifetime
Achievement' award in the field of theatre.

o The 'Sangeetacharya Annasaheb Kirloskar Lifetime Achievement' award

will be given to tabla artist Vinayak Thorat.

o Both awards comprise cash prizes of Rs 5 lakh, citation and memento

each.

• Anupam Kher got 'Distinguished Fellow' award

o Anupam Kher was honoured as a 'Distinguished Fellow' by IndiaGlobal - a

leading think-tank that works on issues concerning non-resident Indians.

o The actor was given a fellowship on November 3, 2018 at the 3rd

IndiaGlobal Summit.

68 | P a g e
 o The event was held at the prestigious MIT Sloan School of Management in
Boston, and was facilitated by MIT Sloan India Business Club.

• Ram Mohan Roy award for N. Ram

o Veteran journalist and The Hindu Publishing Group Chairman N. Ram has
been chosen for the prestigious Raja Ram Mohan Roy Award 2018.

o The award is presented by the Press Council of India (PCI) for his
outstanding contribution to journalism.

o Ruby Sarkar, the chief correspondent of Deshbandhu, and Rajesh

Parshuram Joshte of Daily Pudhari, have been named joint winners for
‘Rural Journalism’.

• Lilima Minz received 'Ekalabya Puraskar'

o Woman Hockey player Lilima Minz was honoured with the prestigious
'Ekalabya Puraskar' on 4 November 2018.

o She was part of the squad that represented the country in the 2016
summer Olympics.

o The award comprises a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh along with a citation.

o The Ekalabya Puraskar has been instituted by 'IMPaCT', the social wing of
the Indian Metals and Ferro Alloys.

• Mukundan selected for 'Ezhuthachan award'

o Noted Malayalam novelist and short story writer M Mukundan has been
selected for the Kerala government's highest literary award 'Ezhuthachan
Puraskaram' for 2018.

o The award, named after Ezhuthachan, the father of Malayalam literature,

carries a cash prize of Rs five lakh and a citation.

o 'Kesavante Vilapangal' and "Delhi Gadhakal" are among his popular

works.

• Couple honoured with 'Roy M Huffington Award'

69 | P a g e
 o Marie and Vijay Goradia received the 'Roy M Huffington Award' for 2018
in the US.

o They were awarded for making significant contributions to the areas of

literacy, education and healthcare in India.

o The Huffington Award is the highest honour granted by the Asia Society
Texas Centre (ASTC).

o Vijay Goradia is the founder and Chairman of Vinmar International.

• Punjab Police bagged CCTNS award

o The Punjab Police bagged the Union Home Ministry's 'Crime and Criminal
Tracking Network and Systems' (CCTNS) award on 31 October 2018.

o They were awarded for the development of the Digital Criminal

Intelligence Gazette and the generation of the State Crime Record Bureau
(SCRB) reports.

o CCTNS was launched in 2018 to keep digitised records of FIRs and

information on crimes and criminals.

December 2018
• Chamba SP conferred 'Champion of Change' award
o Chamba's Superintendent of Police Monika Bhutunguru was conferred with
the 'Champion of Change' award by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on 27
December 2018.
o She was awarded for her immense contribution, exemplary work and
bringing a significant change in the Chamba district.
o The award selection jury was led by former Chief Justice of India K G
Balakrishna.
• Govt institutes 'Aapda Prabandhan Puraskaar'
o The government of India has instituted the 'Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda
Prabandhan Puraskaar'.

70 | P a g e
 o The award will be given to recognise the excellent work done by individuals
and institutions in the field of disaster management.
o If the awardee is an institution, it will be given a cash prize of Rs 51 lakh.
o If the awardee is an individual, the person will receive a cash prize of Rs 5
lakh.
• Champions of Change award given to Manipur CM
o Manipur's Chief Minister N Biren Singh was conferred with the 'Champions
of Change' award by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on 26 December
2018.
o He was awarded for his exemplary leadership in bringing about
transformation in governance in the northeastern state.
o The award selection jury was led by former Chief Justice of India K G
Balakrishna and former Supreme Court judge Sudha Mishra.
• Swachch Bharat Grand Challenge Award announced
o As part of the Swachhta Pakhwada held from 1 to 15 November 2018,
Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) organised a
'Swachch Bharat Grand Challenge'.
o This was organised to reward innovative solutions by DIPP recognized
Start-ups in the country.
o Four areas of sanitation, waste management, water and wastewater
management, and air management were selected for the grand challenge.
• Sitarist Manju Mehta gets 'Tansen Samman'
o Sitar player Manju Mehta was conferred with the 'Tansen Samman' for 2018
by the Madhya Pradesh government
o The award was given for her contribution in the field of music.
o She was given a cash award of Rs 2 lakh and a memento.
o She was presented with the award at the inaugural ceremony of the Tansen
Music Festival on 25 December 2018.
71 | P a g e
 • 'Rafi Award' conferred to Laxmikant & Usha
o The 'Mohammed Rafi Award 2018' was given to late music composer
Laxmikant Shantaram Kudalkar and playback singer Usha Timothy.
o Laxmikant was given the Mohammed Rafi Lifetime Achievement Award
consisting of 1 lakh rupees and a trophy.
o Usha Timothy was honoured with the award and 51,000 rupees.
o The awards were instituted by the NGO Spandan Arts.
• Railways bags Energy Conservation Awards
o The Railways has bagged 17 awards at the ‘National Energy Conservation
awards 2018' on 14 December 2018.
o It participated in three categories: Railway stations, hospitals, and
institutions.
o Under ‘transport’ category, railways obtained 10 awards for the sub-sector
railway station.
o Under ‘building’ category, it bagged three awards for sub-sector Railway
hospitals.
• Suresh Prabhu conferred with Skoch Award 2018
o Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu was conferred the 'Skoch
Golden Jubilee Challenger Award 2018' on 22 December 2018.
o He was awarded for his contribution to reforms, particularly in the power
sector reforms.
o The Skoch Challenger Awards are the highest independently instituted
civilian honours.
• 40 workers selected for PM Shram Awards 2017
o On 20 December 2018, the Government of India has decided to confer the
Prime Minister’s Shram Awards for the year 2017 to be awarded to 40
workers.
72 | P a g e
 o They are employed in the Departmental Undertakings & Public Sector
Undertakings of the Central and State Governments and Private Sector
Units.
o The awards are in recognition of their distinguished performances in the
field of productivity.
• Handicrafts Export Awards announced
o Union Minister of Textiles, Smriti Irani, presented awards to handicrafts
exporters for their outstanding performance in exports for the year 2015-16
& 2016-17 on 19 December 2018.
o The awards for outstanding performance of handicrafts exports were given
under different categories to 136 exporters.
o 70 awards were given for the year 2015-16 and 66 awards were distributed
for the year 2016-17.
• 'Period. End of Sentence' in Oscars
o 'Period. End of Sentence' has made it to the Oscar shortlist in the
Documentary Short Subject category.
o The film is about women in India fighting against the deeply rooted stigma
of menstruation and delving upon the work of real-life ‘Pad Man’
Arunachalam Muruganantham.
o India’s entry for the Foreign Language Film Category, 'Village Rockstars' is
out of the Oscar list.
• Jeff Bridges will be awarded 'Cecil B deMille'
o Veteran actor Jeff Bridges will receive the 'Cecil B DeMille' award 2018 at
the 76th annual Golden Globe Awards.
o The 'Cecil B DeMille' award is given annually to a talented individual who
has made a lasting impact on the world of entertainment.
o Bridges' first Golden Globe nomination came in 1984 for best actor in
'Starman'.
73 | P a g e
 • French govt. honours producer Ashok Amritraj
o Film producer Ashok Amritraj was honoured with the 'French Knight of the
National Order of Merit' on 14 December 2018.
o Mr Amritraj has been the producer of Hollywood films such as Ghost Rider:
Spirit of Vengeance with Nicholas Cage and 99 Homes starring Andrew
Garfield.
o He was awarded for his contribution to the world of cinema and Indo-
French film industry.
• Women Transforming India Awards 2018
o Government think-tank NITI Aayog will organise the 3rd edition of the
'Women Transforming India Awards' 2018 on 16 December 2018.
o It will also launch the upgraded portal of the Women Entrepreneurship
Platform.
o Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu will present the awards and launch the
portal.
o The awards were instituted to recognise and celebrate stories of exemplary
women from across India.
• Amitav Ghosh honoured with 'Jnanpith Award'
o Noted English writer Amitav Ghosh has been honoured with the 'Jnanpith
Award' 2018 for outstanding contribution towards literature.
o The decision was taken in a meeting of Jnanpith Selection Board chaired by
eminent novelist, scholar and Jnanpith laureate Pratibha Ray.
o He is known for a series of novels such as 'The Shadow Lines', 'The Glass
Palace', and 'The Hungry Tide'.
• Tata Steel won the Prime Minister's Trophy
o Private steel major Tata Steel Limited won the Prime Minister's Trophy for
the 'Best Performing Integrated Steel Plant' in the country for 2016-17.
74 | P a g e
 o It also won the award for 2014-15 and 2015-16.
o It was the fourth consecutive year when the company was honoured with
this award.
o The award has been instituted to recognize the outstanding performance of
integrated steel plants in the country.
• 'Doordarshan Mahila Kisan' Awards launched
o Prasar Bharati Chairman Dr A Surya Prakash launched 'Doordarshan
Mahila Kisan' Awards programme on DD Kisan Channel in New Delhi on
14 December 2018.
o The award is an effort to bring the stories of struggle and success of women
farmers in front of the country.
o The women farmers have been selected by the Indian Council of
Agricultural Research (ICAR)
• 8 parliamentarians awarded by M Venkaiah Naidu
o Eight parliamentarians were honoured by Vice-President M Venkaiah
Naidu for their contribution in strengthening parliamentary democracy on
13 December 2018.
o Rajya Sabha MP Sharad Pawar and veteran leader Murli Manohar Joshi got
the 'Lifetime Achievement' award.
o Ghulam Nabi Azad and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey were selected for the 'Best
Parliamentarians' award 2018.
• Iranian Film 'Dark Room' won an award at IFFK
o Iranian movie 'Dark Room' bagged the 'Suvarna Chakoram' (The Golden
Crow Pheasant) award in the 23rd edition of the International Film Festival
of Kerala (IIFK) on 13 December 2018.
o The movie revolves around the efforts of the parents of a boy to identify the
abusers of their child.

75 | P a g e
 o 'The Dark Room' will get a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh, which will be shared
with the producer.
• Jharkhand gets 'Krishi Karman' award
o Jharkhand has been selected for the 'Krishi Karman' award in the rice
category from the Union Ministry of Agriculture on 13 December 2018.
o The award to be given away in February 2019 carries a cash prize of Rs 2
crore and a citation.
o Each farmer would be given a cash award of Rs 2 lakh along with citation.
• UN honoured Indian startup 'HelpUsGreen'
o Uttar Pradesh-based 'HelpUsGreen' named startup has been honoured by
the UN.
o The startup works to clean up the mighty river Ganga by recycling
thousands of tonnes of floral waste from temples.
o 'HelpUsGreen' has come up with the world's first profitable solution to the
monumental temple waste problem: 'flowercycling'.
• Mary Kom honoured with highest civilian title
o Manipur Government honoured MC Mary Kom with the title
'Meethoileima' (par excellent queen) in Imphal on 11 December 2018.
o She was honoured with the title 'Meethoileima' for winning the sixth gold
medal in the World Boxing Championship 2018.
o On the occasion, state's Chief Minister N. Biren Singh handed over a cheque
of ten lakh rupees to her.
• Shyam Sundar won the Sahitya Akademi Award
o Shyam Sundar Besra has been conferred the 'Sahitya Akademi Award 2018'
on 5 December 2018.
o He has been awarded for his novel 'Marom' in Santhali language.
o The novel highlights the situation emerged after the two main industrial
development of the Santhal area after Independence.

76 | P a g e
 o He is the Chief Inspector of Ticket working in Asansol Division of Eastern
Railway.
• Best Woman Parliamentarian Award for Kanimozhi
o DMK MP Kanimozhi has been selected for the 'Best Woman
Parliamentarian Award' (Rajya Sabha) set up by Lokmat newspaper for
2018.
o A jury of eminent personalities headed by Murali Manohar Joshi selected
her for the award.
o The award will be presented to her by Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu on
13 December 2018.
• Imran won the Sanctuary Wildlife Service Award
o Conservationist Imran Siddiqui has been honoured with 'Sanctuary Wildlife
Service Award 2018' on 8 December 2018.
o He is the Assistant Director for Conservation Science at Wildlife
Conservation Society (WCS)-India that monitors tigers.
o The Sanctuary Wildlife Awards are organised annually by the Sanctuary
Nature Foundation.
• IIT-Mandi professor won Biotechnologist Award
o Rajanish Giri has been awarded the 'Innovative Young Biotechnologist
Award (IYBA) 2018'.
o He was selected for his proposed innovative idea on Zika virus Capsid
Folding and inhibitor discovery.
o He is the assistant professor from the Indian Institute of Technology-Mandi
(IIT-Mandi).
o The 'Innovative Young Biotechnologist Award' (IYBA) was instituted by the
Department of Biotechnology in 2005.

77 | P a g e
 • Rattan Lal won 'Glinka World Soil Prize 2018'
o Rattan Lal has won the 'Glinka World Soil Prize 2018' in a ceremony held at
the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) headquarters in Rome
on 6 December 2018.
o He was awarded for his outstanding contribution to sustainable soil
management and the protection of soil resources.
o The 'Glinka World Soil Prize' is considered the highest honour in the soil
science profession.
• MNRE conferred 'Skoch Award 2018'
o Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has been conferred the
'Skoch Award for National Significance 2018' in New Delhi on 7 December
2018.
o The award has been conferred on the Ministry considering its purpose and
critical role played in installing about 73 GW renewable energy capacity in
the country.
o The award was received by Ministry of New Renewable Energy Secretary
Anand Kumar.
• S. Ramakrishnan won Sahitya Akademi Award
o Tamil writer S. Ramakrishnan has won the 'Sahitya Akademi Award 2018'
on 5 December 2018.
o He has been awarded for his novel 'Sancharam'.
o The novel deals with the lives of nadhaswaram artistes.
o The Sahitya Akademi award is among the most prestigious literary honours
bestowed on writers for their works across genres and languages.
• G. Venkatasubbaiah got Bhasha Samman for South
o G. Venkatasubbaiah has been chosen for the Sahitya Akademi’s 'Bhasha
Samman' for South (2017) on 5 December 2018.
o The award has been given in recognition of his contribution to the field of
classical and medieval literature.
78 | P a g e
 o The other winners of 'Bhasha Samman': Yogendra Nath Sharma was
awarded for the North zone, Gagendra Nath Das for the East zone, and
Shailaja Bapat for the West zone.
• Delhi Minister Imran Hussain awarded by PETA
o Delhi environment minister Imran Hussain received 'Hero to Animals
Award' by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)-India on
2 December 2018.
o He received the award for banning the Chinese manjha, or the glass-coated
kite strings, across Delhi.
o Mr Hussain in July 2018 had called for a complete ban on the sale,
production, storage and import of the Chinese manjha.
• Abhinav Bindra won ISSF's 'Blue Cross' award
o On 30 November 2018, shooter Abhinav Bindra was conferred with the
'Blue Cross' by the International Shooting Sports Federation's (ISSF).
o It is the ISSF's highest award.
o He was awarded for his outstanding services as the Chairman of the
International Shooting Sports Federation's Athletes Committee.
o He won the gold medal in 10m air rifle event at the Beijing Olympics in
2008.

79 | P a g e