Current Affairs September 2019 - Awards

1 - President Kovind honoured with National order of Merit, highest award of Republic of Guinea

President Ram Nath Kovind has been awarded with the “National order of Merit” by the President of Guinea, Alpha Condé. He was awarded for his exceptional contribution to the advancement of overall relations and development of mutual cooperation between India and Guinea and for promoting friendship and partnership between the people of both the countries.

This is the highest award of Republic of Guinea. Indian President announced a new Line of Credit of US$ 170 million for Water Supply Project of Conakry city, the capital of Republic of Guinea.

2 - Railways adjudged as the Best Ministries for implementation of Swachhata Action Plan for 2018-19

The Indian Railways was awarded as the best ministry for implementation of Swachhata action plan for 2018-19. The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CST) Mumbai received the best Swachh iconic Place award under the Swachh Bharat Mission initiative.

Jodhpur, Jaipur & Tirupati were ranked as the three best stations as per Cleanliness Ranking Survey for 2018. Indian Railways had spent about 3000 Crore Rupees on cleanliness drives on its various properties during 2018-19.

3 - Recipients of Visitor’s Awards 2019 announced by President’s Secretariat

4 - Pawan Munjal to be honoured with Asia Pacific Golf Hall of Fame

Managing Director and Chairman of Hero MotoCorp, Pawan Munjal will be inducted into the 2019 Asia Pacific Golf Hall of Fame. He will be inducted for his support to “Golf” in India and around the world.

Munjal joins legendary players such as Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and other leading personalities such as David Chu, the founder of Mission Hills golf resort, to have been bestowed with the highest honour in the Asia Pacific golf industry. Hero Motocorp is sponsor and co-host of tournaments like 'Hero World Challenge', Indian Open for men and Women's Indian Open.

5 - Former England captains Andrew Strauss, Geoffrey Boycott receive knighthoods

Former England cricket captains Andrew Strauss and Geoffrey Boycott have been given knighthoods in former Prime Minister Theresa May’s resignation honours list. Boycott and Strauss both received the honour for their services to sport after outstanding careers for England.

Strauss played 100 tests for England from 2004-12, scoring more than 7,000 runs at an average of 40.91. Boycott played in 108 tests from 1964-82 and scored 8,114 runs at an average of 47.72.

6 - Odia writer Pradeep Dash won Sarala Puraskar award 2019

Noted Odia writer Pradeep Dash will be conferred with the 40^th edition of prestigious Sarala Puraskar for his poetry work Charu Chibar O Charjya. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh and a citation.

Pandit Harmohan Khuntia will be awarded 'Ila Panda Sangeet Samman' and Lalat Mohan Patnaik will receive 'Ila Panda Chitrakala Samman'. They will receive a cash award of Rs 1,50,000 each along with citations. Sarala Puraskar is recognised as the foremost literary award of Odisha. This award is one of the finest contributions of impact to glorify Odia literature.

7 - Royal Society honour for Cipla chairman Yusuf Hamied

Cipla chairman Yusuf Hamied has been elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society, U.K. for his service to the cause of science. Dr. Hamied has been instrumental in the growth and development, implementation and adoption of science in indigenous pharma industry in India.

Dr. Hamied graduated with honours from Cambridge University in 1957 and continued a Ph.D in 1960 under the tutelage of Nobel Laureate Alexander Todd. The Society is a Fellowship of the world’s most eminent scientists and is the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence.

8 - 76^th Venice International Film Festival Awards announced

Todd Phillips’ dark comic book film Joker won the Golden Lion Award for best film at the 76^th Venice International Film Festival. 'An officer and a Spy' by Roman Polanski won the Silver Lion - Grand Jury Prize. Roy Anderson won the Silver Lion award for best director for 'About Endlessness'.

Winners in other categories

9 - Five Indian women police officers honoured by United Nations

Five Indian women police officers were honoured by the United Nations (UN) for their commendable services in UN mission and for upholding the UN mandate of protection of civilians in conflict-ridden South Sudan. The women officers are engaged in community policing, administrative, operational duties and capacity building of local authorities.

• Reena Yadav, Inspector, Chandigarh Police

• Gopika Jahagirdar, DSP, Maharashtra Police

• Bharati Samantray, DSP in the Ministry of Home Affairs

• Ragini Kumari, Inspector in the Ministry of Home Affairs

• Kamal Shekhawat, ASP, Rajasthan Police

10 - PM Hasina receives Dr Kalam Smriti International Excellence Award

Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, was conferred the Dr Kalam Smriti International Excellence Award 2019 in Dhaka for her vision of a peaceful and prosperous South Asia, free of tension, conflicts and terrorism. The award has been instituted in the memory of former Indian President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

This award is given every year to honour statesmen or leaders who have shown excellence in their fields to achieve the best for their countries. Earlier, the Presidents of the Maldives, Ghana and Mauritius received the prestigious award since its introduction in 2015.

11 - Bangladesh School project wins Aga Khan Architecture Award

Arcadia Education Project in South Kanarchor of Bangladesh, an innovative project for constructing a floating school for marginalised children in Bangladesh, has been awarded the prestigious Aga Khan Architecture Award 2019. The project involved construction of a school in an area which is under water during the monsoon months.

The architect of the project, Saif Ul Haque designed a school which remains on the ground during dry season and floats when the area is submerged in water during monsoon.

12 - Railway Board awarded with Eminent Engineers Award on 52^nd Engineers’ Day

The Union Minister for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey, awarded Shri Vinod Kumar Yadav, Chairman, Railway Board with Eminent Engineers Award. The award was presented at the special event to mark the 52^nd Engineers’ Day organised by the Institution of Engineers in New Delhi. He was awarded for his outstanding contributions in the field of engineering.

The theme of 52^nd Engineers’ Day was “Engineering for change”. Engineer's Day is observed in several countries on various dates of the year.

13 - Neena Gupta won two awards at Indian International Film Festival of Boston

Bollywood actor Neena Gupta won two awards at Indian International Film Festival of Boston. She won the Best Actress award for the film "The Last Color" while the film emerged victorious in Best Feature Film category.

"The Last Color" is the directorial debut of world-renowned chef Vikas Khanna. It deals with taboo surrounding widows in Vrindavan and Varanasi in India. The film’s first look was unveiled at the Cannes Film Festival.

14 - Agnes Kharshiing Gets Hrant Dink Award in Istanbul

Meghalaya’s Right to Information (RTI) activist Agnes Kharshiing was awarded the 11^th International Hrant Dink Award at the Lutfi Kirdar International Convention and Exhibition Centre, in Istanbul. Turkish human rights activist Nebahat AkkoA was also awarded the 11^th International Hrant Dink Award.

Kharshiing was assaulted by a group of 40 people for complaining against illegal mining and transport of coal in the East Jaintia Hills district. AkkoA has launched a comprehensive support centre for women in south-eastern Anatolia, Turkey’s most oppressive region for women.

15 - Documentary film based on life of Uttarakhand farmer nominated for Oscars

A documentary film based on life of a Uttarakhand farmer has been nominated for Oscars. The documentary film named Moti Bagh is based on the life of Vidyadutt, a farmer living in Pauri Garhwal region of the state who works towards sustaining himself in harsh conditions of the Himalayas.

The film had also won the 1^st prize at International short film festival in Kerala. It highlights the tough life of Holly terrains, unavailability of jobs and problems of migration from the state. The director of the film is Nirmal Chander Dandriyal.

16 - Shri Pralhad Joshi conferred the National Geoscience Awards

The National Geoscience Awards 2018 for outstanding contributions in the field of geosciences, mining and allied areas were presented by Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines, Shri Pralhad Joshi to 22 scientists. The National Geoscience Awards were given in 10 disciplines.

Prof. Syed Wajih Ahmad Naqvi, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), received the Award for Excellence for his significant global contributions in the field of aquatic biogeochemical research. Dr. Sohini Ganguly, of Goa University was conferred with the Young Scientist Award-2018 for her significant work in the fields of petrology, volcanology and geochemistry.

17 - Centre institutes National Unity award named after Sardar Patel

The Centre has instituted the highest civilian award for contribution to the unity and integrity of India, in the name of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The award will be announced on the occasion of the National Unity Day on the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel on 31^st of October.

The award seeks to recognize notable and inspiring contributions to promote the cause of national unity and integrity and to reinforce the value of a strong and united India.

18 - Prime Minister Modi received "Global Goalkeeper" award for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred the "Global Goalkeeper" award by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by his government. Over 11 crore toilets were built in the country in the last five years. The campaign was launched by the Modi government during its first term on October 2, 2014.

The Global Goalkeeper Award celebrates a political leader who has "demonstrated their commitment to the Global Goals through impactful work in their country and/or globally."

19 - Amitabh Bachchan named for Dada Sahab Phalke award

Veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan has been named for the prestigious Dada Sahab Phalke award for his outstanding contribution to the film industry. In a career spanning five decades, Amitabh Bachchan has acted in nearly 200 movies, and is a four-time National Film Award winner.

The award is conferred by the Government for outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian Cinema. The award comprises of a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus) medallion, a shawl and a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh.

20 - President Kovind conferred National Service Scheme Awards 2017-18

President Ram Nath Kovind felicitated 41 people with the prestigious National Service Scheme awards 2017-18 in recognition of their exemplary and commendable social service. NSS programme coordinators A Lakhmi Prabha of Tamil Nadu and K Ramesh Reddy from Andhra Pradesh were awarded the first and second programme coordinator awards respectively.

NSS, a Central Sector Scheme, was launched in 1969 with the primary objective of developing the personality and character of the student, youth through voluntary community service.

21 - International Emmy Awards 2019

The key winners of the 71^st Emmy Awards

22 - 20^th Edition of IIFA Awards 2019

The 20^th Edition of NEXA International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA Awards) for 2019 was held at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Indoor Stadium, Mumbai, Maharashtra.

The list of key winners

23 - Kerala Tourism bagged 3 PATA gold awards

Kerala Tourism was bestowed three prestigious Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold awards. The awards were given during the PATA Travel Mart 2019 at Nur-Sultan (Astana) in Kazakhstan.

While the three gold awards included one for an ethnic food restaurant run by women at Kumarakom in Kottayam under Responsible Tourism Mission (RTM), two other gold awards were for an advertisement campaign of Kerala Tourism — Come Out and Play — and for its website (www.keralatourism.org).

24 - Bangla PM Hasina honoured with 'Vaccine Hero' award

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been conferred with the prestigious 'Vaccine Hero' award. Hasina was applauded for the success in immunisation in Bangladesh, especially for her role in eliminating polio and curtailing diphtheria, Hepatitis-B and rubella.

Hasina hoped to reach the target of 'vaccines for all' in the country well ahead of 2030. Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI), a Switzerland-based organisation, works to save the lives of millions of children globally by providing vaccines to them.

25 - Ravish Kumar received first Gauri Lankesh Memorial Award

Senior journalist and Ramon Magsaysay awardee Ravish Kumar received the first Gauri Lankesh Memorial Award by the Gauri Lankesh Memorial Trust for his sharp news analysis and uncompromising secular stance.

Three books were launched at the event titled ‘Delhi Nota’ by senior journalist D Umapathi, Ravish Kumar’s ‘Free Voices’ translated as ‘Maatige Enu Kadime’, and ‘Neera Nade’ by Prof. Vinaya Okkunda.

26 - Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awards 2019 presented by President

President of India, Mr Ram Nath Kovind, announced the winners of the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awards 2019, the highest multidisciplinary science awards in India.

27 - Payal Jangid became the first Indian to receive the Changemaker Award 2019

Rajasthan state’s 17-year-old Payal Jangid became the first Indian to receive the Changemaker Award by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation at the Goalkeepers Global Goals Awards held in New York, for her continuous efforts towards the abolition of child marriage in her Hinsla village. Payal became an advocate against child labour as well as child marriage and has successfully made her village a child-friendly village (Bal Mitra Gram).

Goalkeepers Global Goals Awards honors young activists, campaigners, and innovators across the globe for sparking change, as per the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.