Awards & Honours - Current Affairs for January, 2017

A Keshav Krishna, a scientist at the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) has been selected for the National Geoscience Award for 2016.

The award given by the Union Ministry of Mines is in recognition of his work in the field of geo-environmental studies.

Krishna is presently involved in studies on:

• Environmental risk assessment related heavy metal contamination in soil,
• Sediments and water in industrial areas,
• Abandoned mine sites and their interactions with the environmental pollutants.

Besides him, chief scientist at the NGRI N Purnachandra Rao was also selected for National Geoscience Award in the field of Geophysics.

The National Geoscience Awards was previously known as the National Mineral Awards.

It was was instituted by the Ministry of Mines in 1966, to honour individuals and teams of scientists for their extraordinary achievements in geosciences.

Dr. A. Keshav Krishna obtained B.Sc degree from Osmania University.

He also got an M.Sc degree from Andhra University and Ph.D from Osmania University.

Dr. Keshav is presently working as Scientist in Geochemistry research group and has 16 years of research experience in Environmental Geochemistry specialization.

His research work pertains to contributions in the field of Applied Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Applied Geochemistry, and Environmental Geochemistry in soil, water management and related environmental pollution and risk assessment studies.

Three Indian origin persons were awarded this highest civilian honor for contribution in medicine and work towards the community.

Purushottam Sawrikar, a Sydney-based medical practitioner, received Order of Australia medal for the year 2017.

This was announced on the Australia Day in General division category for his service to medicine, and to the Indian community.

Sawrikar was a former president of Australian Indian Medical Graduates Association.

He has also founded a community radio called Akashwani Sydney.

Makhan Singh Khangure from Perth was given the award for his for significant service to medicine in the field of neuroradiology.

He was also awarded for contribution to education, and to a range of professional medical associations.

Vijay Kumar, a nuclear medicine specialist and a researcher, was given the award for his significant service to medical research in the disciplines of nuclear medicine and biology, to professional organisations, and to the community.

Kumar, a founding member of Sydney Tamil Sangam Association, was also awarded Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Award in 2007 and 2014.

The 68th Republic Day was the first outing for a MSDE tableau.

MSDE tableau was created to highlight efforts in imparting the best of skill development to the people of India.

The credit for this novel idea to represent MSDE at the Republic Day parade goes to the Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy.

The Skill India Tableau was an effort to showcase Skill India program’s initiatives.

MSDE made an effort to display flagship programs like Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna (PKKVY), Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra (PMKK) and ITIs.

The Central Industrial Security Force's (CISF) Republic-Day contingent, which on 28th Jan 2017 was adjudged the "best marching contingent.”

This is the fifth time that the CISF contingent has been adjudged as the best, the earlier occasions being in 2007, 2008, 2013 and 2015.

CISF director-general O P Singh on Saturday congratulated the contingent for its "excellent performance and for bringing proud moments to the organisation".

The Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MoSDE) has instituted the “National Entrepreneurship Awards.”

This award is to encourage a culture of entrepreneurship across the nation.

These awards aim to recognise and honour young entrepreneurs.

It also acknowledges their entrepreneurship ecosystem builders for their outstanding efforts in the field of entrepreneurship development.

The awards also seek to highlight models of excellence for youth of India and encourage them to take entrepreneurship as a preferred career option.

The first Award Ceremony will take place on 30th January 2017.

Through it, awards will be given in 11 categories.

Arunachal Pradesh's Havildar Hangpan Dada laid down his life in Kashmir, neutralising 3 infiltrators in Kashmir's Naugam sector in 2016.

He was posthumously awarded the Ashok Chakra on 26th Jan 2017. His widow Chasen Lowang received the highest peacetime military decoration from the country from President Pranab Mukherjee.

On May 26, 2016, Dada as Sabu post commander of 35 Rashtriya Rifles with his team sought to block 5 infiltrators at 12,500 feet in Naugam. He shot two terorrists down before singlehandedly combating the other two and preventing the infiltration.

Lance Havildar Vareshang of Sabu Post recalled how Dada motivated them to look for terrorists.

Born on oct 2, 1979 in Tirap district, AP in Borduria village, he was a brave and courageous soldier who died protecting his nation.

Dada joined the 3rd battalion of the Parachute Regiment on October, 28, 1997.

In 2005, he was transferred to the Assam Regimental Centre.

On January 24, 2008, he joined the 4th battalion of Assam Regiment.

He then requested a transfer to an RR battalion engaged in J&K operations.

He was posted to 35 RR in May 2016.

Rashtriya Rifles: Know More

• The Rashtriya Rifles or RR (Hindi: राष्ट्रीय राइफल्स) is a branch of the Indian Army.
• It is under the authority of the Indian Ministry of Defence.
• A counter-insurgency/anti-terrorist force made up of soldiers deputed from other parts of the Indian Army.
• These personnel receive special incentives while serving in the Rashtriya Rifles.
• One half of the RR come from the Indian Army's infantry, and one half from the rest of the Indian Army.
• The force is deployed in J&K.

Major Sandeep Kumar, Captain Manik Sharma and Naik Arvind Singh from the Rashtriya Rifles were awarded the Sena Medal for gunning down dreaded terrorist Burhan Wani.

The July 8 operation in 2016 saw the three army personnel show restraint and courage in neutralising Sartaj Aziz and 2 other militants in Bumdoora village: Burhan Wani and Pervaiz Ahmad Lashkari.

The government on 25^th Jan 2017 announced Padma awards to citizens of the country. This is in recognition of their distinguished contribution in various spheres.

These awards are conferred by the President of India.

It is bestowed at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March/ April every year.

This year the President of India has approved conferment of Padma Awards to 89 persons as per the list below.

The list comprises of 7 Padma Vibhushan, 7 Padma Bhushan and 75 Padma Shri Awardees.

19 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 5 persons from the category of foreigners, NRIs, PIOs and 6 posthumous awardees.
PADMA VIBHUSHAN

Name	Field	State
Shri K J Yesudas	Art-Music	Kerala
Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev	Spiritualism	Tamil Nadu
Shri Sharad Pawar	Public Affairs	Maharashtra
Shri Murli Manohar Joshi	Public Affairs	Uttar Pradesh
Prof. Udipi Ramachandra Rao	Science & Engineering	Karnataka
Late Shri Sunder Lal Patwa (Posthumous)	Public Affairs	Madhya Pradesh
Late Shri PA Sangma(Posthumous)	Public Affairs	Meghalaya

Padma Bhushan

Name	Field	State
Shri Vishwa Mohan Bhatt	Art-Music	Rajasthan
Prof. (Dr.) Devi Prasad Dwivedi	Literature & Education	Uttar Pradesh
Shri Tehemton Udwadia	Medicine	Maharashtra
Shri Ratna Sundar Maharaj	Others-Spiritualism	Gujarat
Swami Niranjana Nanda Saraswati	Others-Yoga	Bihar
H.R.H. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn (Foreigner)	Literature & Education	Thailand
Late Shri Cho Ramaswamy (Posthumous)	Literature & Education - Journalism	Tamil Nadu

Padma Shri

Name	Field	State
Smt. Basanti Bisht	Art-Music	Uttarakhand
Shri Chemanchery Kunhiraman Nair	Art-Dance	Kerala
Smt. Aruna Mohanty	Art-Dance	Odisha
Smt. Bharathi Vishnuvardhan	Art-Cinema	Karnataka
Shri Sadhu Meher	Art-Cinema	Odisha
Shri T K Murthy	Art-Music	Tamil Nadu
Shri Laishram Birendrakumar Singh	Art-Music	Manipur
Shri Krishna Ram Chaudhary	Art-Music	Uttar Pradesh
Smt. Baoa Devi	Art-Painting	Bihar
Shri Tilak Gitai	Art-Painting	Rajasthan
Dr. Prof. Aekka Yadagiri Rao	Art-Sculpture	Telangana
Shri Jitendra Haripal	Art-Music	Odisha
Shri Kailash Kher	Art-Music	Maharashtra
Smt. Parassala B Ponnammal	Art-Music	Kerala
Smt. Sukri Bommagowda	Art-Music	Karnataka
Shri Mukund Nayak	Art-Music	Jharkhand
Shri Purushottam Upadhyay	Art-Music	Gujarat
Smt. Anuradha Paudwal	Art-Music	Maharashtra
Shri Wareppa Naba Nil	Art-Theatre	Manipur
Shri Tripuraneni Hanuman Chowdary	Civil Service	Telangana
Shri T.K. Viswanathan	Civil Service	Haryana
Shri Kanwal Sibal	Civil Service	Delhi
Shri Birkha Bahadur Limboo Muringla	Literature & Education	Sikkim
Smt. Eli Ahmed	Literature & Education	Assam
Dr. Narendra Kohli	Literature & Education	Delhi
Prof. G. Venkatasubbiah	Literature & Education	Karnataka
Shri Akkitham Achyuthan Namboothiri	Literature & Education	Kerala
Shri Kashi Nath Pandita	Literature & Education	Jammu & Kashmir
Shri Chamu Krishna Shastry	Literature & Education	Delhi
Shri Harihar Kripalu Tripathi	Literature & Education	Uttar Pradesh
Shri Michel Danino	Literature & Education	Tamil Nadu
Shri Punam Suri	Literature & Education	Delhi
Shri VG Patel	Literature & Education	Gujarat
Smt. V Koteswaramma	Literature & Education	Andhra Pradesh
Shri Balbir Dutt	Literature & Education-Journalism	Jharkhand
Smt. Bhawana Somaaya	Literature & Education-Journalism	Maharashtra
Shri Vishnu Pandya	Literature & Education-Journalism	Gujarat
Dr. Subroto Das	Medicine	Gujarat
Dr. (Smt.) Bhakti Yadav	Medicine	Madhya Pradesh
Dr. Mohammed Abdul Waheed	Medicine	Telangana
Dr. Madan Madhav Godbole	Medicine	Uttar Pradesh
Dr. Devendra Dayabhai Patel	Medicine	Gujarat
Prof. Harkishan Singh	Medicine	Chandigarh
Dr. Mukut Minz	Medicine	Chandigarh
Shri Arun Kumar Sharma	Others-Archaeology	Chhattisgarh
Shri Sanjeev Kapoor	Others-Culinary	Maharashtra
Smt. Meenakshi Amma	Others-Martial Art	Kerala
Shri Genabhai Dargabhai Patel	Others-Agriculture	Gujarat
Shri Chandrakant Pithawa	Science & Engineering	Telangana
Prof. Ajoy Kumar Ray	Science & Engineering	West Bengal
Shri Chintakindi Mallesham	Science & Engineering	Andhra Pradesh
Shri Jitendra Nath Goswami	Science & Engineering	Assam
Shri Daripalli Ramaiah	Social Work	Telangana
Shri Girish Bhardwaj	Social Work	Karnataka
Shri Karimul Hak	Social Work	West Bengal
Shri Bipin Ganatra	Social Work	West Bengal
Smt. Nivedita Raghunath Bhide	Social work	Tamil Nadu
Shri Appasaheb Dharmadhikari	Social Work	Maharashtra
Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal	Social Work	Punjab
Shri Virat Kohli	Cricket	Delhi
Shri Shekar Naik	Cricket	Karnataka
Shri Vikasa Gowda	Discus Throw	Karnataka
Smt. Deepa Malik	Athletics	Haryana
Shri Mariyappan Thangavelu	Athletics	Tamil Nadu
Smt. Dipa Karmakar	Gymnastics	Tripura
Shri P R Shreejesh	Hockey	Kerala
Smt. Sakshi Malik	Wrestling	Haryana
Shri Mohan Reddy Venkatrama Bodanapu	Trade & Industry	Telangana
Shri Imrat Khan(NRI/PIO)	Art-Music	USA
Shri Anant Agarwal(NRI/PIO)	Literature & Education	USA

President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee has approved award of 398 Gallantry and other defence decorations to armed forces:

• Two Kirti Chakras,
• 12 Shaurya Chakras,
• Three Bar to Sena Medal (Gallantry),
• 91 Sena Medal (Gallantry),
• Two Nao Sena Medal (Gallantry),
• Four Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry),
• 29 Param Vishisht Seva Medal,
• Five Uttam Yudh Seva Medal,
• Two Bar to Ati Vishisht Seva Medal,
• 49 Ati Vishisht Seva Medal,
• 14 Yudh Seva Medal,
• Four Bar to Sena Medal (Devotion to Duty),
• 36 Sena Medal (Devotion to Duty),
• Eight Nao Sena Medal (Devotion to Duty),
• 14 Vayu Sena Medal (Devotion to Duty),
• Four Bar to Vishisht Seva Medal and
• 119 Vishisht Seva Medal.

Three Tatrakshak Medal (Gallantry) have been awarded to Commandant Anwar Khan, Pardeep, U/NVK(ME) and Sandeep, U/NVK(QA).

One President’s Tatrakshak Medal (Distinguished Service) has been awarded to Inspector General Virender Singh Pathania, TM.

Three Tatrakshak Medal (Meritorious Service) have been awarded to Deputy Inspector General Satyajit Krishnaji Vaidya, Deputy Inspector General Shajen Kurian and Commandant Jashbir Singh Randhaawaa.

Besides these, 44 personnel from Army and others have also been awarded ‘Mention-in-Despatches’ by the Government, which include:

• Four for ‘Operation Meghdoot’,
• 32 for ‘Operation Rakshak’,
• Five for ‘Operation Rhino’,
• Two for ‘Operation Orchid’ and
• One for ‘Operation Hifazat’

Two of the greatest top order Aussie batsmen David Boon and Matthew Hayden have been inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame.

Australia's female Don Bradman, Betty Wilson became the second female cricketer to be inducted into the Hall of Fame too.

Boon played 107 tests from 1984 to 1996 and scored 7422 runs at 3.65 s an opener and No.3 player.

He featured in 181 ODIs. Since retirement, he has served as an administrator, selector and ICC match referee.

Player of the match in the 1987 World Cup Final against England, he ended his career in 1999 with more than 23,000 first class runs.

Hayden played 103 Tests from 1994-2009. With 8625 runs at 50.73, he is fifth on the list of all time test run scorers in Australia.

Hayden also secured 380 against Zimbabwe at the WACA in 2003– this was the highest test score by any player till Brian Lara with 400 in 2004.

Wilson is the second women cricketer to be included, after 2014 inductee Belinda Clark. Wilson died in 2010 at age 88, averaging 57.46 in test matches during the 40s and 50s. She took 68 wickets with an average of 11.80.

She was the first player of either gender to score 10 wickets in the test and a century in 1958. In 1960, Alan Davidson was the first man to match this feat. Wilson became the first woman player to also take a test hat-trick.

Boon, Hayden and Wilson will be inducted into the Allan Border Medal ceremony in Sydney on 23rd Jan 2017.

This takes number of inductees to 46 since inception in 1996.

Hall of Fame inductees

• Belinda Clark
• Alan Davidson
• George Giffen
• Adam Gilchrist
• Bill Woodfull
• Betty Wilson
• Steve Waugh
• Mark Waugh
• Shane Warne
• Doug Walters
• Charlie Turner
• Victor Trumper
• Hugh Trumble
• Jeff Thomson
• Mark Taylor
• Fred Spofforth
• Bob Simpson
• Clarrie Grimmett
• Wally Grout
• Neil Harvey
• Lindsay Hassett
• Matthew Hayden
• Ian Healy
• Clem Hill
• Bill Lawry
• Dennis Lillee
• Jack Ryder
• Bill Ponsford
• Bill O'Reilly
• Monty Noble
• Ray Lindwall
• Charles Macartney
• Rod Marsh
• Stan McCabe
• Glenn McGrath
• Graham McKenzie
• Keith Miller
• Arthur Morris
• Ian Chappell
• Greg Chappell
• Sir Donald Bradman
• Allan Border
• David Boon
• John Blackham
• Richie Benaud
• Warwick Armstrong

ISKCON’s Govardhan eco village located in Wada taluka in Thane district (Maharashtra) was conferred the UNWTO Award for Innovation in the category of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO).

The award was presented to the village for taking innovative measures of ’sustainable tourism’ in country at the annual UN World Tourism Organisation

(UNWTO) Awards for Excellence and Innovation in Tourism held at Madrid in Spain on 20th Jan.

This is for the first time India has won such recognition from the UN in the NGO sector.

13^th UNWTO Awards Winners

UNWTO Ulysses Prize for Excellence in the Creation and Dissemination of Knowledge

• Awardee of the category: Geoffrey Wall

UNWTO Award for Innovation in Public Policy and Governance

• Innovative use of e-tourism - Egypt´s strategy 2020, Advisory Council of the Tourism Ministry, Egypt
• Invat.Tur, Valencia Region Tourism Board, Spain
• Social progress index in tourism destinations in Costa Rica, Instituto Costarricense de Turismo, Costa Rica
• Strategies for development of sustainable tourism in Guanajuato, Guanajuato Ministry of Tourism, Mexico

UNWTO Award for Innovation in Enterprises

• Adding Color to lives, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, Belgium
• Ecobnb: The community of sustainable tourism, Ecobnb, Italy

UNWTO Award for Innovation in Non-Governmental Organizations

• Culture heritage: Tools for sustainability of a World Heritage Site, Petra National Trust, Jordan
• A Sustainable Tourism Supply Chain, Fundación Tropicalia, Dominican Republic
• Govardhan Eco Village - Eco Tourism as a Catalyst for Rural Development, Govardhan Eco Village, India

UNWTO Award for Innovation in Research and Technology

• Carmacal carbon calculator for travel packages, Dutch Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (ANVR), The Netherlands
• Encyclopedia of tourism, Ulysses Foundation, Spain
• Tourism 4.0, Turismo de Portugal IP, Portugal

UNWTO Ethics Award

• Awardee of the category: ILUNION HOTELS

Jacob Polley has won the 2016 TS Eliot prize with Jackself. This is a collection described by the judges as “a firework of a book”.

The loosely autobiographical poems use the “Jack” of nursery rhymes. It then harnesses a local legend to tell the story of a childhood in rural Cumbria.

Polley emerged as winner of the UK’s richest poetry prize at a ceremony on 16th Jan 2017 evening at the Wallace Collection gallery in London.

The book was chosen from a 10-strong shortlist including the winner of the 2015 Forward prize, Vahni Capildeo, and previous TS Eliot prize winner Alice Oswald.

It is third time lucky for the Carlisle born-poet, who was first shortlisted for his debut collection The Brink in 2003. Then again, he was shortlisted with The Havocs in 2012.

Born in 1975, Polley was among 20 to be named the Next Generation of best British poets by the Poetry Book Society in 2004 on the strength of his first collection.

He has also written a novel, Talk of the Town, which won the 2010 Somerset Maugham award, and collaborated with director Ian Fenton on a short film, Keeping House.

He teaches at Newcastle University.

Polley is the 23rd winner of the prize, which carries a purse of £20,000.

It was founded by TS Eliot’s widow Valerie in 1993 and is now run by the TS Eliot Foundation.

It honored the best Indian films of 2016.

The ceremony was held on 14 January 2017 and was co-hosted by Kapil Sharma, Karan Johar and Shahrukh Khan.

Aamir Khan bagged the best actor honour, while his movie “Dangal” was adjudged as the best film at the 62nd Jio Filmfare Awards.

The best director award went to Nitesh Tiwari for “Dangal”, which is based on the life of Haryana wrestler Mahavir Phogat and his daughters.

The best actress title was won by Alia Bhatt for her performance in “Udta Punjab” while Sonam Kapoor bagged the critics choice award for “Neerja”.

The Ram Madhvani-directed biopic also bagged the critics award for best film.

Ashwini Iyer Tiwari took home the best debut director for “Nil Battey Sannata” which starred Swara Bhaskar in the lead.

The complete list of 62nd Jio Film fare Awards 2017.

Best Actor (Male)	Aamir Khan for ‘Dangal’
Best Actor (Female)	Alia Bhatt for ‘Udta Punjab’
Best Film	‘Dangal’
Best Director	Nitesh Tiwari for ‘Dangal’
Filmfare Critics Award for Best Film	‘Neerja’
Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor (Male)	Shahid Kapoor for ‘Udta Punjab’ and Manoj Bajpayee for ‘Aligarh’
Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor (Female)	Sonam Kapoor for ‘Neerja’
Best Actor (Male) in a short Film	Manoj Bajpayee for ‘Taandav’
Best short Film People’s Choice	Khamakha
Best Short Film (Fiction)	‘Chutney’
Best Short Film (Non-fiction)	‘Matitali Kusti’
Best Actor (Female) in a Short Film	Tisca Chopra for ‘Chutney’
Best Debut Director	Ashwini Iyer Tiwari for ‘Nil Battey Sannata’
Best Male Debut	Diljit Dosanjh for ‘Udta Punjab’
Best Female Debut	Ritika Singh for ‘Saala Khadoos’
Best Dialogue	Ritesh Shah for ‘Pink’
Best Screenplay	Shakun Batra and Ayesha Devitre Dhillon for ‘Kapoor & Sons (Since 1921)’
Best Story	Shakun Batra and Ayesha Devitre Dhillon for ‘Kapoor & Sons (Since 1921)’
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male)	Rishi Kapoor for ‘Kapoor & Sons (Since 1921)’
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female)	Shabana Azmi for ‘Neerja’
Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award	Shatrughan Sinha
Best Music Album	Pritam for ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’
Best Lyricist	Amitabh Bhattacharya for ‘Channa Mereya’ from ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’
Best Playback Singer (Male)	Arijit Singh for ‘Ae dil hai mushkil’ from ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’
Best Playback Singer (Female)	Neha Bhasin for ‘Jag Ghoomeya’ from ‘Sultan’
Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent	Amit Mishra for ‘Bulleya’ from ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’
Best Visual Effects	Red Chillies for ‘Fan’
Best Editing	Monisha Baldawa for ‘Neerja’
Best Costume	Payal Saluja for ‘Udta Punjab’
Best Action	Shyam Kaushal for ‘Dangal’

Siachen braveheart Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad, who was dubbed miracle man for surviving 6 days under huge ice and snow debris after an avalanche hit won the Sena medal.

The soldier lost his life to multiple organ failure following the miraculous survival, and was posthumously awarded the medal.

His wife Mahadevi Ashok Bilebal received the medal from Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat at Army Day parade.

A resident of village Betadur in Dharwad district of Karnataka, the Madras regiment soldier was pulled out alive from under 30 ft of ice-and-snow debris.

He lay buried for six days on the Siachen glacier.

He managed to stay alive for six days in minus 45 degree C temperature buried under ice and snow.

10 Army personnel, including Koppad, were were buried alive on February 3 in an avalanche. Siachen is the world's highest battlefield.

His death was deeply condoled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while the whole nation paid glowing tributes to the 33-year-old soldier.

He had served for 10 years in difficult and challenging areas out of his 13 years of service.

He had also served in the north-east in 2010-2012 where he participated in operations against NDFB and ULFA.

About the Siachen Avalanche 2016

• On 3 February 2016, an avalanche hit an Indian military base in northern Siachen Glacier.
• It trapped 10 soldiers, highlighting risks that soldiers face in manning the inhospitable terrain at heights of 21,000 feet.
• Indians soldiers battle extreme weather conditions on the world’s highest battlefield.
• On an average, India spends INR. 5 crore a day for maintaining troops on the glacier.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the 'The Nobel Prize' exhibition on 9^th Jan, 2017 at Science City in Ahmedabad.

'The Nobel Prize: Ideas Changing the World' contains several original artefacts, both from Alfred Nobel himself and from a number of Nobel Laureates

The exhibition is open to public till February 13 free of charge.

It is a part of Nobel Prize Series India 2017, an extensive programme of events taking place with the participation of nine Nobel Laureates

A symposium will also be held in connection with Vibrant Gujarat, as well as inspirational meetings such as Q&A sessions, lectures and roundtables in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Delhi and Gandhinagar

Students will be able to interact with the Laureates at universities such as IISC Bangalore, NCBS Bangalore, IIT Delhi, IIT Gandhinagar, Gujarat University and M S University Vadodara.

It is the first-of-its-kind conclave of Nobel laureates to be held in India.

It has been organised by Nobel Media and coordinated by the Department of Biotechnology.

Nine Nobel laureates are attending it and interact with students of Indian Universities. Read more

The Nobel Prize Series, India 2017 will feature a 5-week long Science Exhibition being set up by the Nobel Foundation, with exhibits from the Nobel Museum, Stockholm, Sweden.

About Alfred Nobel

• Born: 21 October 1833, Stockholm, Sweden
• Died: 10 December 1896, Sanremo, Italy
• Nationality: Swedish
• Awards: John Fritz Medal

74th Annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony was conducted at Beverly Hills California in the US on 8th Jan 2016.

These are annual awards to honour the best Motion Pictures and American Television actors and productions.

This year (2016), romantic musical comedy La La Land won in 7 categories including top award of best musical or comedy.

Veteran actress Meryl Streep won the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award.

La La Land featuring Emma Stone and Ryan Goslin won in every category it was nominated for- Best musical

• Best comedy
• Best director
• Best screenplay
• Best score
• Best song

Moonlight was named the best drama film while Casey Affeck and Isabelle Hupper won the other prizes. British actors enjoyed a golden night in TV categories. Two British series The Night Manager and The Crown won the awards.

Affleck was named best actor in film drama for his role in Manchester By The Sea. French star Huppert beat contenders Natalie Portman who played Jackie Kennedy in Jackie. Hupper won the award for the performance in thriller Elle.

Viola Davis was named best supporting film actress for a role she played in Broadway six years back.

British actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson was named as best supporting actor for role in Nocturnal Animals.

Zootopia was named best animated feature film at the ceremony on 8th Jan 2016.

The Golden Globe Awards are run by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. They honour the best in TV and film from the past year.

Attracted by the Zee Jaipur Literature Festival’s international reputation, writers come from across the world will take part in the 5 day celebration of literature including 2016 winner Paul Beatty. Beatty is the first and only American to have been awarded the prestigious prize.

A second Man Booker awardee Alan Hollinghurst, author of five novels, including The Swimming-Pool Library and The Line of Beauty, which won the Man Booker Prize in 2004 will also be part of the festival.

Other noted writers include International Man Booker prize nominated Indonesian writer Eka Kurniawan, Aussie author Richard Flanagan awarded Man Booker Prize in 2014 for The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Mei Fong who is believed to be the first Malaysian to win a Pulitzer.

Australian Sebastian Smee who won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2011 will also participate along with famous Hindi writer Hari Ram Meena has written eight books in Hindi, including collections of poems, travelogues and the novel Dhuni Tape Teer and Naseem Shafaie a noted Kashmir litterateur.

Also part of the event is S.L. Bhyrappa who has been the bestselling novelist in Kannada for the past 50 years. A facsimile of the Magnta Carta will also be displayed at the festival.

Know More About Magna Carta

• Magna Carta Libertatum (the Great Charter of Liberties), is a charter.
• It was agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on June 15, 1215.
• It still forms an important symbol of liberty today, often cited by politicians and campaigners.
• It is held in great respect by the British and American legal communities.