Awards & Honours - Current Affairs for November, 2017

Alloy Steels Plant (ASP) of the Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) today received the "BEST PERFORMANCE VENDOR - 2017" award from Ordnance Factory, Medak (OF-M) for indigenization, development and supply of import substitute steel plates. The steel plates in two categories, for which SAIL received the award, were supplied by Durgapur-based ASP, the special steels plant of SAIL. The award was received by Shri AK Patra, DGM I/c (Research & Control Lab.)/ SAIL-ASP, at the Ordnance Factory's Vendors' meet held in Medak. Plates made with two special-grade varieties of low- and medium-carbon steels developed at SAIL-ASP as import substitutes were supplied to OF-M for meeting the specific property requirements of defence applications, such as muzzle brake for cannons/barrels installed in infantry fighting amphibious vehicles and their bottom parts. Muzzle brake is a component that is fitted on top of the cannon or barrel that redirects propellant gases to counter recoil and unwanted rising of the barrel/cannon during rapid fire. Apart from meeting stringent chemical properties, the plates developed by SAIL-ASP also excel in matching physical attributes of plates like excellent surface finish and formability along with meeting the specified properties as stipulated in heat-treated conditions. SAIL-ASP: Know More

• SAIL-ASP has a diverse product portfolio of over 400 grades catering to critical end-use by strategic sectors such as Defence, Railways, Automobiles, Power plants and heavy engineering & manufacturing industries.
• For Defence applications, the plant manufactures high impact-resistant steels (armour-grade steels) and customized steels for naval applications.
• SAIL-ASP also has capability for manufacturing a variety of stainless steels products also.
• SAIL is pioneering the 'Make in India' campaign by producing world-class steel products in various categories and partnering the Make in Steel - Make in India vision of the Ministry of Steel.
• SAIL steel has been used in various prestigious national projects like the Dhola-Sadiya bridge, Sardar Sarovar Dam, Metro projects in various cities, Chenani-Nashri tunnel, Pamban railway sea bridge, Bandra-Worli sea link, etc.
• The company is increasing the share of value-added products in its product-mix to meet specific requirements of customers.

The third Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Distinguished Indologist Award for the year 2017 was awarded to Professor Hiroshi Marui of Japan. He was presented with this award by President Ram Nath Kovind at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. Indology is academic study of history, cultures, languages and literature of India and is a subset of Asian studies. Professor Marui had spent over 40 years working on Indian philosophy and Buddhist studies. His many acclaimed publications and research papers are considered a final authority on several subjects the world over. As President of the Japanese Association of Indian and Buddhist Studies, he has made a significant contribution to Indology in Japan.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (85) was selected Indira Gandhi Prize for peace, disarmament and development for his leadership of the country between 2004 and 2014 and for enhancing India's stature globally. He was unanimously chosen for the award by an international jury chaired by former President Pranab Mukherjee. Manmohan Singh: Know More

• Manmohan Singh born 26 September 1932
• The first Sikh in office, Singh was also the first prime minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to be re-elected after completing a full five-year term.
• Born in Gah (now in Punjab, Pakistan), Singh's family migrated to India during its partition in 1947. After obtaining his doctorate in economics from Oxford, Singh worked for the United Nations during 1966-69.
• He subsequently began his bureaucratic career when Lalit Narayan Mishra hired him as an advisor in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• Over the 70s, 80s and 90s, Singh held several key posts in the Government of India, such as Chief Economic Advisor (1972-76), Reserve Bank governor (1982-85) and Planning Commission head (1985-87) besides FM and Leader of Opposition.

The ninth edition of the Infosys prizes was announced on 15th Nov in Bengaluru. Scientists and professionals from the research field were named by a jury which included Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, former Chief Economist Kaushik Basu and geneticist Inder Verma. Among the winners was Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay, director, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata for engineering and computer science. Her discoveries include genetic marking for breast cancer and the role of white blood cells in Alzheimer's disease. Ananya J. Kabir, Professor of English at Kings College, London was awarded the prize for humanities. Upinder Singh Bhalla from National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) got it for life sciences. His contribution includes research on the brain's computational machinery. Ritabrata Munshi from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, was named for mathematical sciences, and Yamuna Krishnan, from the Department of Chemistry at University of Chicago was chosen for physical sciences for her work in the fledgling field of DNA architecture. In the category of social sciences, Lawrence Liang, from School of Law, Ambedkar University in Delhi and the co-founder of Alternative Law Forum was named for "creative scholarship" on law and society. The prizes will be given to the six winners on January 10, 2018 in Bengaluru. Nobel laureate Kip Thorne will felicitate the awardees with prize money worth INR 65 lakh each and a 22-Carat gold medallion. The Infosys Science Foundation was formed by the trustees of the software company, Infosys, in 2009 to encourage "basic science research."

It's a feature the city has always flaunted with pride, but now, it has got international recognition. Chennai has been included in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network for its rich musical tradition. A total of 64 cities from 44 countries have joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, the organisation's website said. They join a network at the frontline of UNESCO's efforts to foster innovation and creativity as key drivers for a more sustainable and inclusive urban development. Gastronomy, music, crafts and folk art, media arts, design, film and literature are the seven fields of creativity highlighted by the network, which now has a total of 180 cities in 72 countries. Jaipur and Varanasi are the other Indian cities that feature on the list.

The Sri Ranganathaswamy temple at Srirangam has bagged an award of merit from Unesco for protecting and conserving cultural heritage, thus becoming the first temple from Tamil Nadu to grab the prestigious honour from the UN body. The traditional method of renovating temple premises as well as re-establishment of rainwater harvesting and the historic drainage system in preventing flooding are the two key parameters that earned the temple the award. Launched in 2000, Unesco Asia-Pacific awards for cultural heritage conservation programme is aimed at acknowledging the efforts taken to restore and conserve historical structures without affecting their heritage value in the region comprising 48 countries. Unesco had invited applications earlier this year to submit conservation projects either taken up by individuals or in public-private partnership model in the last 10 years for the awards. HR&CE sources said that the temple had received the international recognition for the INR 20 crore (from HR&CE and donors) renovation project taken up prior to a consecration ceremony in November 2015, especially without affecting its centuries' old architectural design. There were 43 applications from 10 countries for the 2017 Unesco Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. Mumbai's Christ Church and Royal Bombay Opera House were the other monuments in India that received the Award of Merit this year. UNESCO merit awards: Know More

• The awards are classified under four categories -- Award of Excellence, Awards of Distinction, Awards of Merit and Award for New Design in Heritage Context.
• They are being given to encourage the efforts of all stakeholders and the public in conserving and promoting monuments and religious institutes with rich heritage in the Asia-Pacific region.
• A jury comprising nine international heritage conservation experts reviewed the documentation of the conservation project taken up by Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple management.

Famous Indian playwright and veteran actor Girish Karnad will be honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award at the upcoming Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest which is stated to begin from November 16. A recipient of Jnanpith, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri awards, Karnad left his acting impact on several films and theatre shows. Some of his critically acclaimed Bollywood movies are "Nishaant", "Manthan", "Swami", "Pukar", "Iqbal" and "Dor". Karnad made his screen debut in Kannada movie "Samskara" that won the first President's Golden Lotus Award for Kannada cinema. He is also remembered for his role of Swami's father in the TV series "Malgudi Days" based on R.K.Narayan's books. He also served as director of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, the National Academy of the Performing Arts.

Veteran Bollywood actor Anupam Kher on 29th Oct received Pramod Mahajan Smriti Award in Pune. The actor was recently appointed as Chairman of Film and Television Institute of India, Being awarded along with Shayra Banu, who is UN ambassador for HeforShe was also a massive honour. Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar presented the awards. Pramod Mahajan Smriti Award was instituted by Pune-based organization ‘Muktachhand’ in memory of Late former Union Minister Pramod Mahajan.