General Awareness

AWARDS AND HONOURS - August 2020

Aug 2020

Jun 19, 2022

Slumdog Millionaire Author, Noted Diplomat Awarded Honorary Degree in Canada

Celebrated author and retired diplomat Vikas Swarup was honoured with an honorary doctor of letters by the University of Guelph in the province of Ontario.
Swarup was recognised not just for his literary output, but also for his work as a diplomat. He was high-profile spokesperson for India's Ministry of External Affairs before arriving in Canada in 2017 as the country's High Commissioner to Ottawa. He remained in the post till 2019 before returning to New Delhi. He retired in 2021.
Swarup is better known globally for his novel Q&A, which was turned into the film, Slumdog Millionaire. As a release from the University noted, published in 2005, and written in two months while he was posted in London earlier, his "first novel won several international awards and was short-listed for the Best First Book by the Commonwealth Writer's Prize. It has since been published in more than 40 languages.

Jun 14, 2022

Angelo Mathews and Tuba Hassan Crowned ICC Players of the Month for May

The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced that Sri Lanka's batting star Angelo Mathews and Pakistan's debutante spin sensation Tuba Hassan were voted the ICC Men's and Women's Players of the Month for May 2022.
Mathews was selected the stand-out male player after piling on runs over the course of his side's impressive ICC World Test Championship series victory against Bangladesh. Mathews becomes the first Sri Lankan player to be named the Player of the Month since its inception in January 2021, scooping the award ahead of fellow nominees Asitha Fernando (Sri Lanka), and Mushfiqur Rahim (Bangladesh).
On the other hand, Hassan was awarded the honour after enjoying significant success with the ball during her debut international series. The 21-year-old leg spinner was instrumental in restricting scores set by opponents Sri Lanka in the three-game T20I series in Pakistan, where she captured the Player of the Series award, taking five wickets at an average of 8.8 and an economy rate of 3.66.

Maharashtra Governor Presents Honorary Doctorate to industrialist Ratan Tata

Industrialist and philanthropist, Ratan Tata was presented with Honorary Doctor of Literature by Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at Raj Bhavan Mumbai. The Honorary doctorate was presented to Mr. Ratan at the First Special Convocation of the HSNC University. The Governor said the honour for Ratan Tata is in effect the honour of the entire Tata family and Tata Group.
The HSNC University is a Cluster university comprising existing colleges from the Mumbai vicinity, namely, H.R. College , Kishinchand Chellaram College (KC College), and Bombay Teachers' Training College (BTTI) as the constituent colleges with HSNC Board as its parent body.

Jun 13, 2022

PGI's Resource Centre for Tobacco Control, Chandigarh Awarded by WHO

The World Health Organisation awarded the Resource Centre for Tobacco Control (e-RCTC) of the Department of Community Medicine and School of Public Health at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh with the Regional Director Special Recognition Award. The Resource Centre for Tobacco Control provides information related to tobacco control in India, including circulars and orders, policies and legislations, multidisciplinary publications.
Besides being a resource hub, the centre achieved heights in capacity building by organising more than 50 workshops and webinars for around 3,500 program managers and academicians. The Resource Center for Tobacco Control, a joint initiative of the PGIMER and the UNION-SEA, was set up in 2018 by 25 organisations working over tobacco control in India with an aim to showcase tobacco control initiatives.

Rashtriya Puruskar Portal

Several Ministries or Departments or Agencies of Government of India instituted various civilian awards, for recognising people who have made exceptional contribution and excelled in their fields.
A common 'Rashtriya Puruskar Portal' was developed by Government, to invite nominations for various awards, in order to bring all the Awards of different Ministries or Departments or Agencies under one digital platform. This portal will help in ensuring transparency and public partnership (Jan Bhagidari).
The Rashtriya Puruskar Portal was created with the aim of facilitating citizens to nominate individuals or organisations for various Awards constituted by Government of India.

Second Edition of the DSDP Excellence Awards Held in New Delhi

The 2nd edition of the Awards for Excellence in District Skill Development Planning, DSDP, was held in New Delhi, with the top 30 districts in the area being recognised for their unique best practises in skill development. The top three districts in the competition were Rajkot in Gujarat, Cachar in Assam, and Satara in Maharashtra. District Collectors, District Magistrates, and other officials from 30 states attended the award ceremony to share their views and experiences, as well as to exhibit the skill development work that respective districts had done at the grassroots level.
Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan asked the District Collectors, District Magistrates and other officials to carry out demand-mapping of the skilled workforce and drive awareness about skill development initiatives at the local level.

Jun 10, 2022

Grammys Add Five New Categories, Including Songwriter of the Year

The Grammys adds a special song for social change award and five new categories including songwriter of the year, giving the Recording Academy an avenue to honour music's best composer. The academy announced that the new non-classical songwriter category will recognise one individual who was the "most prolific" non-performing and non-producing songwriter for a body of new work during an eligibility year. The category is taking a different approach than song of the year, which awards the songwriter or songwriters who wrote the lyrics or melodies to one song.
The new category is another huge step for songwriters. In 2022, a rule update allowed that any songwriter, producer, engineer or featured artist on an album nominated for album of the year could ultimately earn a nomination.

Jun 07, 2022

Indian American Harini Logan Wins 2022 Spelling Bee Champion

Indian American girl, Harini Logan from Texas won the 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee. She has spelled 21 words correctly to win the prestigious 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee and defeated Vikram Raju in a marathon.
Prize money was USD 50,000 cash prize and Scripps Cup trophy on top of awards from Merriam-Webster and Encyclopedia Britannica. She is the fifth Scripps champion to be coached by Grace Walters.

Indian Railways Awarded by the UIC International Sustainable Railway Awards (ISRA)

Indian Railways observed World Environment Day in an appropriate and befitting manner keeping in line with the theme of this year's World Environment Day. In a gala ceremony in Berlin, Indian Railways was awarded by the UIC International Sustainable Railway Awards (ISRA) in the category of "Best use of Zero-Carbon Technology" for feeding Solar Energy directly to 25 KV AC Traction System.
Railways is an environmental friendly means of bulk transportation. For environment protection, Railways has been continuously taking major initiatives that have positive impact on the environment by way of reducing pollution/GHG emissions, promoting resources and energy efficiency and contributing to sustainability.

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