Current Affairs May 2020 - Awards

1 - IIT Madras professor T Pradeep, chosen for Nikkei Asia Prizes 2020

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-Madras) Professor T Pradeep has been chosen for the Nikkei Asia Prizes 2020 in ‘Science and Technology’ category. He was awarded for his pioneering work in nanotechnology-based water purification.

Prof T Pradeep’s nanotechnology-enabled water filters have helped to deliver clean water for at a cost of just 2 paisa per litre in India. The Nikkei Asia Prizes are conferred to those individuals who have contributed to the region’s sustainable development.

2 - Manipuri Doctor Thangjam Dhabali Singh conferred 'Order of Rising Sun' by Japan

Manipuri doctor Thangjam Dhabali Singh has been conferred with the 'Order of Rising Sun' by the Japanese government for his efforts in promoting a better understanding of Japan in India and bringing the two nations closer. Dr Singh is the founder of Manipur Tourism Forum (MTF).

The 'Order of the Rising Sun' is conferred on persons with achievements in international relations, promotion of Japanese culture, environmental preservation, welfare or achievements in their fields. It was constituted by Japanese Emperor Meiji in 1875.

3 - JNCASR Professor elected as International Honorary Member to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Professor Shobhana Narasimhan from the Theoretical Sciences Unit (TSU) at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) has been elected as an International Honorary Member to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The American Academy of Arts and Sciences honours scholars and leaders who have distinguished themselves in the sciences, arts, humanities and public life.

Prof Narasimhan heads the Computational Nanoscience group at JNCASR. She has done significant work on the rational design of nanomaterials, examining how the lowering of dimensionality and reduction of size affect material properties.

4 - IIT Bombay Professor Saurabh Lodha received Young Career Award in Nano Science & Technology 2020

Professor Saurabh Lodha of IIT Bombay has received the Young Career Award in Nano Science & Technology for the year 2020 instituted by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India. He was honoured for his pioneering contributions in the development of logic transistor technologies beyond silicon and nano-electronic devices based on two-dimensional Van der Waals materials.

Prof. Lodha has developed new materials and processes to improve the thermal stability and reliability of the heart of the transistor- its thin (1-2 nm) gate dielectric, to lower the resistance of metal contacts to the transistor.

5 - Three Indian journalists won Pulitzer Prize 2020 in feature photography

Three Indian photojournalists - Dar Yasin, Mukhtar Khan, and Channi Anand of the Associated Press (AP) were awarded the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in the field of feature photography for capturing life in Kashmir after the scrapping of Article 370. Yasin and Khan are based in the Kashmir valley and Anand in Jammu.

The 2020 Pulitzer Prize in the field of Investigative Reporting was given to Brian M. Rosenthal of The New York Times. The award is named after newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer.

6 - Pulitzer Prize 2020 in the field of Books, Drama and Music

7 - Ida B. Wells honoured with Special Pulitzer Prize Citation

African American journalist and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells received the Pulitzer Prize 2020 with Special Citation for her outstanding and courageous reporting on the horrific and vicious violence against African Americans during the era of lynching. The citation comes with a bequest by the Pulitzer Prize board of at least $50,000 in support of her mission.

Wells was a journalist and publisher in the late 1800s and later helped found civil rights and women’s suffrage groups. Wells passed away in 1931.

8 - Marcus Wallenberg Prize 2020

Joseph J. Landsberg, Richard H. Waring and Nicholas C. Coops jointly won the 2020 Marcus Wallenberg Prize for a model to predict forest growth in a changing climate. Satellite imagery offers the possibility to scale up the model to show how different environmental conditions affect the world’s forests.

Professors Joseph J. Landsberg, from Australia, and Richard H. Waring, from the USA, developed a model for forest growth that was based on simple plant physiological principles such as access to light, water, and nutrients. Professor Nicholas C. Coops added advanced satellite imagery analysis to the model.

9 - Russian President Putin honoured Kim Jong Un with commemorative WWII Medal

Russian President Vladimir Putin has honoured North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with a commemorative World War II medal to mark the 75th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany. The medal was awarded to Kim for the role he played in safeguarding the memories of Soviet soldiers who died in the territory of North Korea.

Soviet troops helped drive Japanese forces out of the Korean peninsula in the final stages of WWII. The Soviet Union also played the main role in installing Kim Jong Un's grandfather, Kim Il Sung, as the first leader of the nascent Communist state in 1948.

10 - Startup India-Animal Husbandry Grand Challenge Awards

11 - Bengaluru airport voted as best regional airport in India & Central Asia

The Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru has won this year’s SKYTRAX Award for Best Regional Airport in India and Central Asia. The airport was voted by customers for the third time in four years at the 2020 World Airport Awards.

The World Airport Awards are the most prestigious accolades for the airport industry. The Awards are based on the World Airport Survey questionnaires completed by over 100 nationalities of airport customers during the 6-month survey period.

12 - Sania Mirza becomes first Indian to win Fed Cup Heart Award

Sania Mirza became the first Indian to win the Fed Cup Heart Award for her successful return to the court post motherhood. Sania won the award for Asia/Oceania zone. Anett Kontaveit (Estonia) emerged victorious from Europe/Africa and Fernanda Contreras Gomez from the Americas region.

The Fed Cup Heart Award is an International Tennis Federation (ITF) initiative that was established in 2009 to recognise those Fed Cup players who represent their countries with distinction, show exceptional courage on court and demonstrate outstanding commitment to the ideals of the competition.

13 - Deutsche Welle Freedom of Speech Award 2020

The Deutsche Welle Freedom of Speech Award 2020 was announced and it honored 17 journalists from 14 countries for their reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic. India's Siddharth Varadarajan was one of the recipients of the award. He is one of the founding editors of non-profit online newspage The Wire.

Some of the other key winners are Mohammad Mosaed of Iran, Darvinson Rojas of Venezuela, Elena Milashina of Russia, Sergej Sazuk of Belarus, Blaž Zgaga of Slovenia, Ana Lalic of Serbia, Beatific Gumbwanda of Zimbabwe, David Musisi Karyankolo of Uganda, Nurcan Baysal and İsmet Çiğit of Turkey.

14 - V. Admiral G.M. Hiranandani Memorial Rolling Trophy 2020

Lieutenant Commander Akshay Kumar of the Anti-Submarine Warfare School of the Southern Naval Command in Kochi was awarded the Vice Admiral G.M. Hiranandani Memorial Rolling Trophy for the year 2020. The trophy was instituted in the year 2013 for the officer performing best in Tactics during the year-long Warfare Specialisation Course.

Book prizes were awarded by Vice Admiral A.K. Chawla, Flag Officer Commanding-in-chief (FOC-in-C) of the SNC to Lieutenant Commander Anshu Bhau for standing second and to Lieutenant Commander Kuldeep Tyagi for the third position.

15 - Vice Admiral Vinay Badhwar won UK award for hydrography

Vice Admiral Vinay Badhwar has been honoured with the 2019 Alexander Dalrymple Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Indian hydrography and across the wider Indian Ocean region. Vice Admiral Vinay Badhwar is the National Hydrographer to the Government of India.

The award was presented by the UK Ministry of Defence-sponsored UKHO. Vice Admiral Badhwar has extensive hydrographic surveying experience that includes work in the Gulfs of Kutch and Khambhat, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.