Indira Gandhi peace prize awarded to Sir David Attenborough

Sir David Attenborough, who is a naturalist and broadcaster, will be awarded the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for the year 2019. An international jury chaired by former President Pranab Mukherjee selected him for the 2019 prize. He was selected for the prize because he spent a lifetime of doing research to reveal wonders of natural world to people. His work was diverted towards awakening the humans about the need to preserve and protect biodiversity of the planet and to live in a sustainable way with all life. He was also advocated for stopping a plague on Earth.

 Who Else was selected for the award?

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (85) was selected Indira Gandhi Prize for peace, disarmament and development. He was selected based on his leadership in the country between 2004 and 2014 and for enhancing India’s stature globally. An international jury chaired by former President Pranab Mukherjee chosen him unanimously for the award.

Previous Recipients

Earlier, Rajiv Gandhi (1991), M S Swaminathan (1999), Kofi Annan (2003), Angel Merkel (2013), Indian Space Research Organization (2014) and UN High Commission for Refugee  (2015), Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (2017) and Centre for Science and Environment (2018) have been awarded the peace prize.

Indira Gandhi Peace Prize

It is an annual prestigious award which has been named after former prime minister Indira Gandhi. It is conferred every year by Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust since 1986, The prize consists of a citation and a monetary award of Rs.25 lakh.  It recognises excellent efforts by individuals or organisations which are working towards creating a new international economic order, towards promoting international peace and development besides ensuring that scientific discoveries are used for the good of humanity and enhancing the scope of the freedom.

Month: Current Affairs - September, 2020