Awards & Honours - Current Affairs for December, 2016

Jnanpith Selection Board on 23rd Dec 2016 conferred the 52nd Jnanpith Award on modern Bengali poet Shankha Ghosh.

Board chaired by scholar and writer Prof. Namwar Singh announced this.The award returned to Bengal after a gap of 20 years.

Before Ghosh, Bengali fiction writer and social activities Mahasweta Devi won the award in 1996.

Born in 1932, Shankha Ghosh is a prolific poet, critic and academician.

He is an authority on Tagore, whose poetic idiom and experiments with various poetic forms mark his greatness as a creative talent. His poems do not have polemics.

Murkho Baro, Samajik Noy and Baborer Prarthana are some of his classic creations while Dinguli Raatguli and Nihita Patalchaya are among those creations which have inspired modern poetry.

Poems have been translated into many Indian languages including Hindi, Punjabi, Assamese and Malayalam.

He has translated his work into foreign languages as well.

He was a recipient of many awards including Narsingh Das Puraskar, Sahitya Akademi Award and Saraswati Samman.

Know About Jnanpith Award

• One of the most prestigious awards in literature.
• Sanskrit words Jnan Pith means seat of knowledge.
• Award was set up by the Bharatiya Jnanpith Trust in 1961.
• Award was given to Indian citizens who write in one of 22 languages mentioned in Schedule VIII of the Indian Constitution.
• The 51st Jnanpith Award was conferred on renowned Gujarati writer Dr Raghuveer Chaudhari.

Sahitya Akademi on 21st Dec 2016 announced the Sahitya Akademi award for 2016 in 24 different languages.

8 books of poetry, 7 short story compendiums, 5 books of novel, two books of criticism, one book of essay and a book of play have won the awards for 2016.

The awards were recommended by jury members and approved by the Executive Board of the Sahitya Akademi under the Chairmanship of Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari, President of the Akademi.

Sahitya Akademi

• Abbreviation: SA
• Formation: March 12, 1954
• Headquarters: Rabindra Bhawan, Delhi
• Location: New Delhi, India
• President: Dr. Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari
• Parent organisation: Ministry of Culture, Government of India
• Sahitya Akademi award was established in 1954.
• The plaque awarded by the Akademi was designed by Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray.

The awardees of Sahitya Akademi 2016 awards are:



Author	Title of books	Genre	Language
Jnan Pujari	Meghmalar Bhraman	Poetry	Assamese
Nrisinghaprasad Badhuri	Mahabharater Astadahi	Essay	Bengali
Anju (Anjali Narzary)	Ang Maboroi Dong Dasong	Poetry	Bodo
Chhatrapal	Cheta	Short Story	Dogri
Jerry Pinto	Em and the big Hoom	Novel	English
Kamal Vora	Anekek	Poetry	Gujarati
Nand Javeri	Akhar Katha	Poetry	Sindhi
Vannadhasan	Oru Siru Isai	Short Story	Tamil
Papineni Sivasankar	Rajanigandha	Poetry	Telugu
Nizam Siddiqui	Mabad-e-Jadidiat Se Naye Ahed Ki Takhliqiyat Tak	Criticism	Urdu
Nasira Sharma	Paarijat	Novel	Hindi
Gobinda Chandra	Majhi Nalha	Poetry	Santali
Sitanath Acharya	Kavyanirjhari	Poetry	Sanskrit
Bulaki Sharma	Murdjat Ar Dujee Kahaniyan	Short Story	Rajasthani
Swarajbir	Masia Di Raat	Play	Punjabi
Boluwaru Mohammad Kunhi	Swatantryada Ota	Novel	Kannada
Aziz Hajini	Aane Khane	Criticism	Kashmiri
Edwin J.F. D’souza	Kale Bhangar	Novel	Konkani
Shyam Darihare	Barki Kaki at Hotmail Dot Com	Short Story	Maithili
Prabha Varma	Shyamamadhavan	Poetry	Malayalam
Moirangthem Rajen	Cheptharaba Eshingpun	Short Story	Manipuri
Paramita Satpathy	Prapti	Short Story	Odia
Gita Upadhyay	Janmabhumi Mero Swadesh	Novel	Nepali
Asaram Lomate	Aalok	Short Story	Marathi

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare won gold in the Web Ratna category at a recently concluded Digital India awards 2016 awarded by MeitY to promote more innovative e-governance initiatives by the government entities.

The Digital India awards earlier called the Web Ratna awards are under the National Portal of India.

The Web Ratna award felicitates a Ministry or Government Department which has web presence and displays accountability in terms of quantity, quality, spectrum of coverage and innovation ascertaining user satisfaction.

Level of convenience provided to citizens for services, usability and accessibility are also accessed.

Website of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare conforms the UUU trilogy. It is totally bilingual and is accessible to all, including visually challenged users.

Website complies with mandatory requirements of guidelines for Indian Government Websites.

Search has been facilitated using GoI Search as Service available at http://searchservice.nic.in.

A CMS keeps the website regularly updated. Both the website and CMS are security audited.

It is compliant with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG-2.0). Social Media has also been integrated with the website.

In the Exemplary Online Service Category, Platinum Award was bagged by VYAS- Varnij Yakar Automation System for Department of Commercial Taxes, UP, followed by E-permit, Commercial tax department, Gujarat and One Stop Clearance System, Punjab Bureau of Investment Promotion winning the Gold and Silver award respectively.

In the Open Data Champion Category, Platinum Award was won by Office of the Registrar General, India. The Health and Family Welfare and Directorate of Marketing & Inspection won the Gold Award. The Silver award was bagged by the Rajya Sabha and National Crime Records Bureau.

For Most Innovative Citizen Engagement, MyGov won the Platinum Award. Online Management, Monitoring and Accounting System (OMMAS) for Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana (PMGSY) won the Gold Award. The Silver Award was won by Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation. The Jury Choice was given to IT Initiatives of Simhasth Kumbh, Ujjain.

In the Outstanding Digital Initiative by Local Body Platinum Award was bagged by Surat Municipal Corporation, followed by Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation and Web and Mobile based Integrated Complaint Logging and Resolution Tracking System - Madurai Corporation winning the Gold and Silver award respectively.

The Jury Choice was given e-NagarSewaUP – Electronic Workflow based Reform for ULBs in Uttar Pradesh.

For Best Mobile App, Citizen Cop Mobile App Chattisgarh won the Platinum Award. Mid-Day Meal Mobile App, Himachal Pradesh won the Gold Award. The Silver Award was won by GARV - GrameenVidyutikaran App Ministry of Power.

For Web Ratna - Ministry / Department category, the Platinum was bagged by Ministry of Human Resource Development, Gold by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and Silver by Ministry of External Affairs.

For Web Ratna - State/ UT category the Platinum award has been won by Rajasthan followed by Tamil Nadu and Haryana in the Gold and Silver section respectively. For Web Ratna - District category the Platinum award has been won by Website of Collectorate, North Goa, followed by e-Governance friendly website & Initiatives of District Kupwara, J&K and district administration Udham Singh Nagar website, Uttarakhand in the Gold and Silver section respectively.

A Compendium for Digital India Awards 2016 was also released on this occasion. A comprehensive government services portal was also launched.

Digital India Awards

• “Digital India” has its axiom of “Minimum Government and Maximum Governance”.
• National Informatics Centre (NIC), under the ambit of India Portal (http://india.gov.in) organised the first edition of Digital India Awards.
• Recognises the noteworthy and sustainable initiatives in the realm of e-Governance for better delivery of information and services.

Categories:


• Exemplary Online Service,
• Open Data Champion,
• Most Innovative Citizen Engagement,
• Outstanding Digital Initiative by Local body,
• Best Mobile App, Web Ratna – Ministry/ Department,
• Web Ratna – State/ UT, Web Ratna-District.

National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) of Ministry of Women and Child Development has been conferred the Skoch Silver and Skoch Order-of Merit award.

The award was received by NCPCR Chairperson Smt. Stuti Kacker.

The two awards were received by NCPCR for applying technology to develop an electronic drop box, POCSO e-Box for registering complaints on Child Sexual Abuse.

Speaking on the occasion, Smt. Kacker said that everybody should stand up against Child Sexual Abuse, a heinous crime that leaves permanent scars on the psyche of the child.

The competition saw more than 3000 participants and NCPCR’s project, POCSO e-box was considered among the top 30 entries.

About POCSO e-box

• Unique endeavour by NCPCR.
• Receives complaint of Child Sexual Abuse directly from the victim.
• Maintains confidentiality of the civcim.
• A short film in the e-box assures the victim not to feel bad, helpless or confused.
• Study in 2007 by Ministry of WCD found 53% of children surveyed have faced one or another form of sexual abuse during their lifetime.

Puerto Rico’s Stephanie Del Valle was crowned Miss World 2016 at the 66th edition of the event held at MGM National Harbour, Maryland in the US on 18th Dec 2016.

A total of 117 contestants were competing from countries across the globe.

Stephanie Del Valle beat runners up Miss Dominican Republic Yaritza Reyes and Miss Indonesia Natasha Mannuela.

Other contestants in the top 5 included Miss Philippines Catriona Elisa Gray and Miss Kenya Evelyn Njambi.

19-year-old Dev Valle became the second Puerto Rican to hold the title since the start of the competition in 1951.

The first Puerto Rican to win the title was Wilnelia Merced in the 1970s.

Miss India Priyadarshini Chatterjee fell out of the race after making it to the top 20.

20-year-old Chatterjee was the first from NE region to represent India at the World pageant.

Other winners:

• Miss Mongolia, Bayartsetseg Altangerel: Talent challenge
• Miss Philippines Catriona Gray: Multimedia challenge
• Miss Indonesia Natasha Mannuela: Beauty with a Purpose title.
• Miss Cook Islands, Natalia Short: Sports challenge
• Miss China PR, Jing Kong: Top Model competition

The country to have the maximum number of winners is Venezuela with 6 Miss World titles, followed by India and the UK with 5 wins and then South Africa, US, Iceland, Sweden and Jamaica all of whom are tied with 3 wins each.

The last Indian to have won the Miss World Crown was Priyanka Chopra in 2000.

Prior to that, it was Yukta Mookhey in 1999 and Diana Hayden in 1997.

The first Indian to win this title was Reita Faria in 1966.

India also won the crown in 1994 when Aishwarya Rai won.

Know More About Miss World Pageant

• Oldest surviving major international beauty pageant.
• Created by: Eric Morley
• Established: 1951 in UK.
• Co chaired by Julia Morley since 2000.

The Indian Council of Food and Agriculture on 15th Dec 2016 presented the Global Agriculture Leadership Award 2016 to Chairman Emeritus TATA Group, Ratan Tata in Mumbai.

Tata was conferred with the prestigious award for his positive role in turning the TATA Group into a global phenomenon during his 20 years as Chairman.

The Leadership Awards Jury was chaired by Prof. MS Swaminathan, pioneer of India’s Green Revolution.

The Indian Council of Food and Agriculture was launched as an apex body as a:

• Think tank
• Policy research
• Trade facilitation
• Development catalyst
• Monitoring centre for food and agriculture sector
• The body also serves as a global platform for partnerships.
• It also focuses on agri-entrepreneurs and farmers and connects them with market opportunities.

Know More About Ratan Tata

• Current posts held: Chairman Emeritus TATA Group, Interim Chairman TATA Sons Indian businessman, investor and philanthropist.
• Served as chairman of TATA Group from 1991-2012.
• Conferred with Padma Bhushan in 2000.
• Conferred Padma Vibhushan in 2008.

US Secretary of State John Kerry was on 11 December 2016 honoured as the Officer of the Legion of Honour, the highest French civilian distinction for his contribution in peace effort.

Kerry received the award from the French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault following the high level talks on Syria’s war by both the sides.

Kerry has visited France countless times as Secretary of State for high-level diplomatic meetings on Syria, Ukraine and other hotspots.

Some of the American recipients include Generals Dwight D Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur, Admiral Michael Mullen and the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Know About the French Legion of Honour

• Order of distinction.
• Established: May 1802
• Established by: Napoleon Bonaparte
• Highest decoration of France.
• Divided into 5 categories: Knight, Officer, Commander, Grand Officer and Grand Cross.
• Highest degree is Grand Master.
• There are 93,000 Legion of Honour recipients at present.

President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee honoured 9 Shilp Gurus and 19 National Awardees for the year 2015.

The main objective of the awards is to give recognition to masters for their excellence in craftsmanship and valuable contribution to Indian Handicrafts.

Growth in handicraft exports at 16 percent in 2015-16 is an indication of the importance this sector is assuming in India’s export basket.

Proactive steps are needed to realise the full potential of this sector.

Promotion of products in both domestic and international markets would expand its geographic reach, achieve economies of scale and make production more viable.

Policy support will be necessary to evolve profitable market linkages and ensure easier access to bank credit.

Other Initiatives for Craftspersons are:

• “Pehchan”
• Aadhar linked national database
• National artisans portal
• Creating Common Facilities Centre

About Shilp Guru and National Award


• Shilp Guru Award consists of a gold coin, Rs. 2,00,000/- in cash, a Tamrapatra, an Angavastram and a certificate.
• National Award consists of Rs. 1,00,000/- in cash, a Tamrapatra, an Angavastram and a certificate. The Shilp Guru Awards, National Awards and National Merit Certificate are awarded to a craftsperson only once in a lifetime.
• The awards are to encourage master craftspersons to maintain excellence in craftsmanship.
• The aim is also to keep traditions alive.

List of Awardees

Awardee	Art	State	Region
1. K Siva Prasada Reddy	Kalamkari Painting	Andhra Pradesh	Southern Region
2. Irshad Hussain Farooqi	Calligraphy in wood carving	Delhi
3. Rajender Parshad Bondwal	Sandal Wood Carving	Haryana	Northern Region
4. Khatri Abdul Razak Mohmed	Ajrakh Hand Block Printing	Gujarat	Western Region
5. Abdul Raouf	Bidri Craft	Karnataka	Southern Region
6. Girish Kumar Rajsoni	Thewa Craft	Madhya Pradesh	Western Region
7. Pravakar Maharana	Stone Carving	Odisha	Eastern Region
8. Inder Singh Kudrat	Enamel of silver & Gold jewellery	Rajasthan	Northern Region
9. Hari Charan Das	Cane & Bamboo	Tripura	North Eastern Region

List of National Awardees for the year 2015

1. Punam Das	Mithila Painting	Bihar	Eastern Region
2. Ramrati	Terracotta	Delhi	Northern Region
3. Zameer Ahmed	Miniature Painting	Delhi	Northern Region
4. Mohd. Yaqoob	Metal Embossing	Delhi	Northern Region
5. Zahid Hussain Beig	Papier Machie	Jammu & Kashmir	Northern Region
6. M Ramamurthy	Wood Carving	Karnataka	Southern Region
7. Laxmidhar Subudhhi	Palmleaf Engraving	Odisha	Eastern Region
8. Biswanath Swain	Palm Leaf Engraving & Painting	Odisha	Eastern Region
9. Jashobanti Meher	Natural Fiber Craft	Odisha	Eastern Region
10. Abdul Ghani	Block Printing	Rajasthan	Northern Region
11. Vasudev Sharma	Miniature Painting	Rajasthan	Northern Region
12. Jugal Kishor Chandel	Miniature Painting	Rajasthan	Northern Region
13. Roop Kishor Soni	Silver Engraving	Rajasthan	Northern Region
14. Akoju Venkateshwarlu	Silver Filigree	Telangana	Southern Region
15. Munna Lal Soni	Metal Craft	Uttar Pradesh	Central Region
16. Israr Ahmed	Bone Carving	Uttar Pradesh	Central Region
17. Kunjbihari Singh	Gulabi Meenakari	Uttar Pradesh	Central Region
18. Sohit Kumar Prajapati	Black Pottery	Uttar Pradesh	Central Region
19. Shri Haradhan Das	Copper Engraving	West Bengal	Eastern Region

Salam, the first Muslim to win the prize for science, was a member of the Ahmadi sect, which is considered heretical by law in Pakistan.

Pakistan plans to rename a university centre for physicist Abdus Salam, its first Nobel laureate, after more than 30 years of all but disowning his achievements.

Salam, the first Muslim to win the prize for science, was a member of the Ahmadi sect, which is considered heretical by law in Pakistan, denounced by Muslim leader.

The office of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said it had given approval for the National Centre for Physics at the Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad, the capital, to be renamed after Salam.

About Abdus Salam

• Salam shared the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics with Sheldon Glashow and Steven Weinberg for helping to pave the way to the discovery of the “God particle.
• Salam was banned from lecturing at public universities during his lifetime, and even after winning the Nobel.
• In 1974, a Pakistani law declared Ahmadis as non-Muslims and in 1984, a new law made it possible to jail Ahmadis.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the clear winner for the online reader’s poll for TIME Person of the Year award 2016.

18 percent of the votes went to Modi which was two times more than percentage of yes votes for Barack Obama.

US President elect Donald Trump and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange got 7 percent votes each.

Indian elected head was ahead of US Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton who received 4 percent votes and fonder of FB, Mark Zuckerberg, who received 2 percent votes.

Modi won the top position in the list in 2014, securing 16 percent of the 5 million votes cast.

2014 was also the year he was elected Prime Minister of India.

The prestigious title is presented every year to an individual who has had the most impact on the news and world in the past year, regardless of whether the influence was positive or negative.

Last year the title had gone to the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel.

Kolkata, along with 10 other cities from across the globe, has been honoured with the best cities of the 2016 award in recognition of inspiring and innovative programs with regard to solid waste management.

Kolkata Solid Waste Management Improvement Project has attained 60-80 per cent depending on site segregation of waste at its source. Further waste integration occurring at transfer stations.

This was on occasion of the international summit of Mayors of million plus cities. Members from India apart from Kolkata are Mumbai, Chennai and New Delhi.

Kolkata is the only Indian city to attain this prestigious award.

It received the award during the C40 Mayors Summit held in Mexico City.

Project involves 100 percent door to door collection of solid waste, segregation and recycling by way of composting which is sold in the market.

Kolkata

• Formerly called Calcutta.
• Capital of India’s West Bengal state.
• Founded as an East India Company trading post.
• India’s capital under the British Raj from 1773-1911
• Known for its grand colonial architecture.

All India Football Federation won the AFC Developing Member Association of the Year Award at the Asian Football Confederation Annual FC Awards 2016 at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi.

AFC Vice President Ali Kafashian gave the award to AIFF President Praful Patel.

This award is given to the member association for the identification of its professional leadership and governance.

It also assesses Member Association’s exceptional contribution to the evolution and promotion of the game at all levels within the specific country.

FIFA is the international governing body of football which oversees these awards

Fédération Internationale de Football Association is the international governing body of association football, futsal and beach soccer.

It is responsible for the organisation of the major tournaments of football, namely the World Cup in 1930 and Women’s World Cup commenced in 1991.

FIFA

• Founded: 1904
• Headquarters: Zurich
• Membership: 211 national associations
• Member countries are one of 6 regional confederations into which the world is divided namely Africa, Asia, EU, North and Central America and Caribbean, Oceania and South America.

Democrat leader Hillary Clinton honoured singer Katy Perry with the Audrey Hepburn Humanitarian Award at the UNICEF Gala.

Clinton made an appearance at the UNICEF Annual Snowflake Ball to give the award to Perry.

Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (Katy Perry) was born in Oct 1984. She is an American singer and songwriter.

After singing in church during her childhood, she first pursued a career in gospel music. Perry signed with Red Hill Records and released her debut studio lamb Katy Hudson under her birth name in 2001.

She has since then carved a successful career for herself in music since then.

UNICEF - United National Children’s Fund

• Created by UNGA
• This is a UN program.
• Date of creation: 11th December 1946
• Headquarters: New York City
• Objective: Humanitarian and developmental assistance to children and mothers in developing nations.
• CEO: Anthony Lake
• President: Sven Jürgenson
• Founders: Herbert Hoover, Maurice Pate

Award winning Indian teen environmentalist Kehkashan Basu has held that ecologists should not lose hope, despite the scepticism of leaders such as Donald Trump regarding climate change.

Ms. Basu born to Indian parents living in Dubai also shared optimism for environmental activism at the Hague where she was awarded the prestigious International Children’s Peace Prize.

She was honoured for her child-run organisation Green Hope based in the UAE which now has more than thousand volunteers in 10 nations across the globe.

The teen founded Green Hope at the age of 12 and within 4 years, she managed to execute several successful environmental projects.

This includes planting 5,000 trees in Colombia, France, Mexico, Nepal, Oman and the US. Aside from planting trees, Green Hope also cleans up mangrove swamps around the UAE.

Ms Basu’s work drew attention to the threats facing fragile coastal forests.

Mangroves are considered vital to coral reefs and fisheries and serve as an important buffer for coastal cities against rising sea levels and storm surges.

These species are facing deforestation rates 3-5 times higher than the average global forest loss.

Ms. Basu was inspired by her grandmother’s rooftop garden in Kolkata.

She received the prize from 2006 Nobel Peace laureate and anti poverty campaigner and founder of Grameen Bank, Muhammad Yunus.

About the International Children’s Peace Prize

• The prize is annually awarded to a child who fights courageously for children’s rights.
• Organising authority: KidsRights
• Prize award: 100000 euro or USD 106,000 investment for projects in winner’s home country.

Past winners:


• Pakistani education campaigner Malala Yousafzai (also the prize’s first recipient)
• Nkosi Johnson, South African campaigner who worked for children suffering from HIV-AIDS

12 eminent personalities were honoured with the Yash Bharti Award 2016 in Lucknow, UP on Dec 1, 2016.

• With this, the total of 77 people have received the award.
• The Yash Bharti Award is the highest award of the state of Uttar Pradesh; it was constituted by the Mulayam Singh Yadav government

List of Awardees


• Lt. Gen (Retd.) AK Singh
• Dr Manzur Hasan (cardiologist)
• Atul Tiwari (film writer)
• Dr. Deen Muhammad Deen (Hindi literary figure)
• Suhas LY: DM of Azamgarh (he also won gold medal in Beijing Paralympics)
• Dr. Abbas Raza Naiyyar (HOD, Dept of Urdu, Lucknow University)
• Murad Ali Khan (trap shooter)
• Naseeruddin Shah (actor)
• Archana Satish (anchor)
• Shikha Dwivedi (anchor)
• Rachna Govil (sports)
• Pramod Kumar Choudhary (activisit)

About the Yash Bharti Awards


• Instituted by Mulayam Singh Yadav Government in 1994.
• The award carries a cash prize of INR 11 lakhs, a citation and a shawl.
• The award was temporarily discontinued by the BSP government from 2007 to 2013.

Conferred by the UP government for excellence in:


• Literature
• Fine Arts
• Folk and classical music
• Sports