Current Affairs November 2016 - Awards

News 1 - Korean Writer and Director Im Kwon Taek (Im Kwa Teek) awarded Lifetime Achievement Award

The 47^th edition of IFFI honored internationally acclaimed Korean Writer and Director Im Kwon Taek (Im Kwa Teek) with the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ and a cash price of Rs. 10 lacs.

In his career span of five decades, he has directed more than 100 films and has been honored with a number of awards, including Best Director Award at Cannes Film Festival, 2002 for his movie Chihwaseon (chhihwasaion).

The festival honored award winning and acclaimed singer, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, with the Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality of the Year 2016, for his contribution to Indian Cinema.

News 2 - PM gives away Ramnath Goenka Awards for Excellence in Journalism

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, gave away the Ramnath Goenka Awards for excellence in journalism.

The honor acknowledged journalists across 28 categories in print, broadcast and online journalism in English, Hindi and various regional languages.

Major winners:

News 3 - Army Chief presented President’s Colors to 2 battalions of Mahar regiment

Chief of Army Staff General Dalbir Singh Suhag presented President’s Colors to 20^th and 21^st battalions of Mahar regiment in Sagar during the Regiment’s 75^th anniversary programme.

The Mahar Regiment was raised on October 1, 1941 and it is the only all India all class infantry regiment of the army. Mahar Regiment has 9 Battle Honors, 12 Theatre Honors, 8 COAS Unit Citations, 19 GOC-in-C Unit Appreciations and scores of gallantry awards to its credit.

News 4 - Indian researcher bagged the German Green Talent award

29-year-old student of National University of Singapore ‘Shamik Chowdhury’ was honored with the German Green Talent Award, by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. He was among the list of 25 young researchers who have been honored with the award for their innovative green ideas.

Shamik Chowdhury aims to create green technologies based on renewable feedstocks to promote a sustainable city life and he researched on uniting urban sustainability, resource efficiency, cleaner production and eco-innovation.

News 5 - Eight scientists were honored with Saudi Arabia Water Prize

Eight scientists were honored with Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water by Saudi Arabia, at a ceremony held in New York.

It is held once in 2 years for promoting scientists and researchers who creatively help in reducing water scarcity issues.

List of Winners:

• Creativity Prize: The team of Dr. Rita Colwell (University of Maryland at College Park), Dr. Shafiqul Islam (Tufts University, USA) and Dr. Peter J. Webster (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA).

• Surface Water Prize: Dr. Gary Parker (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA).

• Groundwater Prize: Dr. Tissa H. Illangasekare (Colorado School of Mines, USA).

• Alternative Water Resources Prize: The team of Dr. Rong Wang & Dr. Anthony G. Fane (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore).

• Water Management and Protection Prize: Dr. Daniel P. Loucks – (Cornell University, USA).

News 6 - Shri Rajnath Singh felicitated winners at AMCDRR Film Awards ceremony

Winners of the short film competition were felicitated during the Closing ceremony of the Asian Ministerial Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) 2016.

'The Resilient Ones from the East of Indonesia', won under the category DRR for Development. 'I Play, I Learn and I am Safe', Live & Learn's entry from Vietnam, won the prize under Positive human impact on DRR.

Ms. Meghna Chawla received the prize for the film 'The Catalysts of Change Adapting to Changing Weather in Ladakh (India)' under the category 'Adapting to Climate Change'.

News 7 - President presented Dr APJ Abdul Kalam IGNITE awards to winners

President Pranab Mukherjee gave away awards to winners of the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam IGNITE 2016 Competition in New Delhi. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam IGNITE 2016 competition -is a national competition of original technological ideas and innovations by children up to class 12 or those out of school up to the age of 17 years.

It is organized by National Innovation Foundation every year to promote creativity and originality among children. Overall, 55,089 submissions of students from 458 districts of all the states & Union Territories of India were received during the IGNITE 16 competition.

News 8 - 2016 Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation Awards conferred

Mumbai hosted 39^th Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation Awards for the year 2016. Jamnalal Bajaj Award is given for promoting Gandhian values and social development.

Cash prize of 10 lakh rupees, a citation and a trophy was presented to 4 awardees. Vrikshamitra founder Mohan Hirabai Hiralal for his work on village empowerment, BonBehari Vishnu Nimbkar (founder of Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute) for application of science and technology for rural development, Nannapaneni Manga Devi (founder of trust) for development and welfare of women and children and Sheikh Rached Ghannouchi (president of Tunisia's Ennahdha Party).

News 9 - Journalist Hadi Abdullah bagged journalist category 2016 RSF-TV5 Monde Press Freedom Prize

World's top press awards RSF-TV5 Monde Press Freedom Prize is given by Reporters without Borders (RSF) to brave journalists and reporters. 2016 RSF-TV5 Monde Press Freedom Prize in journalist category was honored to Syrian journalist Hadi Abdullah who undoubtedly entered into danger zones, where no other Western journalists are willing to go, to film and interview civilians.

Other recipients were 64Tianwang in media category as its reporters take great risks to cover protests and news, Li Tingyu, two Chinese citizen journalists in citizen journalist category for systematically documenting strikes and demonstrations throughout China.

News 10 - Professor Raj Bisaria honored with 2015-16 Kalidas Samman

Padma Shri awardee and theatre personalist ‘Prof Raj Bisaria’ was honored with prestigious 'Kalidas Samman' national award for 2015-16 for his achievement in theatre by Madhya Pradesh government. It is an annual award constituted by Madhya Pradesh in 1980.

He is famous for his artistic blend of the East and the West and the traditional and the modern. Bisaria is founder of Bhartendu Academy of Dramatic Arts. The Press Trust of India calls Prof. Bisaria as the father of the modern theatre in North India.

News 11 - President of India gave away National Child Awards

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presented the National Child Awards on the occasion of Children’s Day (November 14, 2016) at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The National Child Awards include National Child Awards for Exceptional Achievement to give recognition to children with exceptional abilities and outstanding achievement in various fields such as academics, culture, arts, sports, music, etc; National Awards for Child Welfare to institutions and individuals for their outstanding performance in the field of child development and welfare; and Rajiv Gandhi Manav Seva Awards to individuals for their outstanding contribution towards service for children.

News 12 - UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence

In 1995, to mark the United Nations Year for Tolerance and the 125^th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, UNESCO created the UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence which rewards significant activities in the scientific, artistic, cultural or communication fields aimed at the promotion of a spirit of tolerance and non-violence.

The prize is awarded every two years on the International Day for Tolerance. The 2016 winner is the Federal Research and Methodological Center for Tolerance Psychology and Education (Tolerance Center) of Russia.

News 13 - Indian-origin Imtiaz Sooliman gets Global Citizen Award

Indian-origin humanitarian, Imtiaz Sooliman, was awarded the prestigious Global Citizen Award for his “innovative and visionary” contribution to the global community. He founded the Gift of the Givers Foundation.

He was honored at the end of the 10^th annual Global Residence and Citizenship Conference in London. The award consists a speciallymade commemorative medal, an award certificate and a USD 50,000.

He has also been honored with the National Orders from the President of South Africa.

News 14 - TCS Awarded ‘2016 Digital Innovator of the Year’ by GE Digital

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has been named as the ‘2016 Digital Innovator of the Year’ in the Ecosystem Excellence award category at GE’s Minds + Machines event in San Francisco, California.

The award recognizes TCS’ innovation and excellence in developing the TCS Digital Store. The TCS Digital Store contains more than 150 solutions, including TCS Plant Operations for real time analytics in a manufacturing plant, Environmental Health and Safety Analytics for industrial facilities, and Engine Telematics for tracking and logistics.

News 15 - Pt Hari Prasad Chourasia honored with lifetime achievement award for classical music

Renowned flautist Pt Hari Prasad Chourasia was conferred this year’s Sumitra Charat Ram Award for lifetime achievement in the field of Indian classical music. The award carries a purse, citation, shawl and a silver plaque.

The award is given to individuals who have excelled in field of Indian classical dance and music or other disciplines of Indian art and culture, including theatre during last 15 years.

He has received several other prestigious awards like Sangeet Natak Academy (1984), Padma Bhushan (1992), Yash Bharati Sanman (1994), Padma Vibhushan (2000), Dinanath Mangeshkar Award (2000) etc.

News 16 - Akshaya Mukul awarded Shakti Bhatt Prize 2016

Senior journalist Akshaya Mukul was awarded the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize for his book "Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India". The book was published by Harper Collins.

Mukul had also won the Ramnath Goenka award for the book in the non-fiction category.

Other authors on the shortlist were Manu S. Pillai for "The Ivory Throne", Madhu Gurung for "The Keeper of Memories", Sophia Khan for "Yasmeen", Nisid Hajari for "Midnight's Furies" and Kanishk Tharoor for "Swimmer Among the Stars".

News 17 - ‘Allama’ nominated as Indian Entry for ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Medal

At 47^th IFFI, ‘Allama’, a film by the national award winning director T.S. Nagabharana, about the journey of a 12^th century metaphysician, will compete for the International Council for Film, Television and Audio-visual Communication (ICFT) UNESCO Gandhi Medal.

ICFT Paris in collaboration with UNESCO will award the film that best reflects the Gandhi ideals of peace, tolerance and non-violence, a prestigious Gandhi Medal and Certificate. This competition section shall have eight films including ‘Allama’ that will compete to receive the prestigious ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Medal.

News 18 - 2016 CPJ International Press Freedom Award conferred to Malini Subramaniam

International Press Freedom Awards 2016 was conferred to veteran journalist Malini Subramaniam for her brave reporting from the Naxal-infested Bastar area and her commitment towards free press. Other recipients were Mahmoud Abou Zeid from Egypt, Can Dündar from Turkey and Oscar Martinezfrom El Salvador.

The CPJ honored these four journalists as “they have risked their freedom and their lives to report and informed their societies and the global community about critical news events.”

News 19 - President Barack Obama awards his final Presidential Medals of Freedom

President Obama gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 21 artists, sports figures, scientists and philanthropists. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the Nation’s highest civilian honor presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.

Notable medal recipients included comedian and talkshow host Ellen DeGeneres, actor Tom Hanks and musicians Diana Ross and Bruce Springsteen, Actor Robert De Niro, Bill and Melinda Gates and Michael Jordan.

News 20 - Al Nahyan granted prestigious Mother Teresa International Award

UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, was awarded the prestigious Mother Teresa International Award by the Mumbai-based NGO Harmony Foundation for his contribution in promoting peace and stability in the West Asia.

The Mother Teresa Awards are conferred on individuals and organizations that promote peace, social justice and equality. Key recipients of the award are Malala Yousufzai (Nobel laureate of Pakistan), Dalai Lama (Nobel laureate and Tibetan leader).

News 21 - Mary Kom to receive Legends Award

Olympic bronze-medalist and a five-time world champion, M C Mary Kom, will receive the Legends Award from the International Boxing Association (AIBA) on its 70^th anniversary December 20.

The celebrated Indian boxer is also a multipletime Asian champion and was named an AIBA brand ambassador during the World Championships earlier this year. She has been honored with Padma Bhusan, Arjuna Award, Padma Shree and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award.

News 22 - Manoj Bajpayee won 10^th Asia Pacific Screen Award in Best Actor Category

Indian actor Manoj Bajpayee has won the best performance award by an actor at the 10^th Asia Pacific Screen Awards beating Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Nawazuddin was awarded a Special Mention in the same category.

Bajpayee won the award for his performance as Professor Siras in "Aligarh" directed by Hansal Mehta. Aligarh is a powerful and personal drama based on true events. Nawazuddin won the award for his role in "Raman Raghav 2.0".