Awards in Current Affairs August 2016
National Tourism Award 2014-15: Best Tourist Friendly Railway Station – Sawai Madhopur
The Sawai Madhopur railway station has won the National Tourism Award 2014-15 for being the best tourist friendly railway station. Previously, Sawai Madhopur railway station had also attained the distinction of being India’s first heritage railway station.
Syed Nayeemuddin – Mohun Bagan Ratna for 2016
Syed Nayeemuddin, the former India football team captain, has been conferred with the Mohun Bagan FC’s prestigious Mohun Bagan Ratna (jewel) for 2016. With this, he became the 16th recipient of the prestigious award, which is bestowed upon a person for making a seminal contribution to the success of the club. Nayeemuddin is the only athlete to won the Arjuna Award and Dronacharya Award for his contribution to football both as a player and coach.
Anita Gopalan – PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants, 2016
Anita Gopalan was awarded the 2016 PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants for her English translation of Hindi novel Simsim written by Geet Chaturvedi. Gopalan is the second Indian translator to be selected for the grant. She will be honoured at the 2017 PEN Literary Awards Ceremony in New York in February 2017.
About the grant
PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants were established by PEN American Centre in 2003. The Grants’ seeks to promote the reception and publication of translated world literature in English. They are awarded annually to a select number of literary translators based on quality of translation and importance of the original work as well as its originality.
N.Ramachandran – Olympic Order Award
President of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) N. Ramachandran was awarded the Olympic Order for his outstanding services to the Olympic movement. The award was formally bestowed upon him by the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach.
Olympic Order Award: It is the highest award of the Olympic Movement. It is awarded in recognition of efforts worthy of merit in the cause of sport. It was established in May 1975 as a successor to the Olympic Certificate by the International Olympic Committee.
Kamal Hassan – Chevalier de L’Ordre Arts et Lettres
Prominent film actor Kamal Haasan (61) has been selected by France for its prestigious Chevalier de L’Ordre Arts et Lettres. It is also known as Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters. He has been chosen for this prestigious award as a recognition of his high level artistic excellence and distinguished career achievements. He will be the second Tamil actor to be chosen for this award after the legendary actor Sivaji Ganesan.
Chevalier de L’Ordre Arts et Lettres: The award is part of French Government’s premier award “the Legion of Honour.” It is aimed at honouring artists and writers of world repute. The other recipients of the Chevalier Order from India include actors Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Nandita Das.
G. Satheesh Reddy – IEI-IEEE Award for Engineering Excellence-2015
Senior DRDO scientist Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy was awarded the first IEI-IEEE Award for Engineering Excellence-2015. He was bestowed with this award in recognition of his significant national contributions towards missiles and aerospace technologies.
IEI-IEEE Award: It has been constituted by the Institution of Engineers (India) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Asia Pacific region to mark IEI’s 50th anniversary.
2016 Ramon Magsaysay Award
Human rights activist Bezwada Wilson (50) and Carnatic musician Thodur Madabusi Krishna (40) are the two Indians among 2016 Ramon Magsaysay Award winners. Bezwada Wilson is a renowned campaigner against manual scavenging. Other winners of the Magsaysay award are Dompet Dhuafa from Indonesia, the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, Vientiane Rescue from Laos and Conchita Carpio Morales of the Philippines.
Bezwada Wilson is the founder of an organization called the Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA). He has been against the practice of manual scavenging for the past 30 years and has been instrumental in bringing down the number of manual scavengers.
Carnatic singer T.M. Krishna was chosen under the ‘Emergent Leadership’ category. He has been selected for bringing “social inclusiveness in culture.”
The Ramon Magsaysay Award
The annual award was established in April 1957. It was established by trustees of the New York City based Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Philippine government. The award is named after Philippines’ 3rd President Ramon Magsaysay. It is awarded annually to individuals or organizations from Asia region for their altruistic and philanthropic service. The Award carries a Medallion bearing the likeness of the late President Ramon Magsaysay, cash prize and a certificate.
