Awards, Honours & Persons in News Current Affairs MCQs

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Eminent Hindi poet and writer Vinod Kumar Shukla from Chhattisgarh has been selected for the 59th Jnanpith Award 2024. He is the first from Chhattisgarh and the 12th Hindi writer to receive this prestigious award. The 58th Jnanpith Award 2023 was awarded to Jagadguru Rambhadracharyaji for Sanskrit and Gulzar for Urdu. The Bharatiya Jnanpith Trust administers the Jnanpith and Moorti Devi Awards. The first Jnanpith Award was given to Malayalam writer G. S. Kurup. Vinod Kumar Shukla, born in Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh, is 88 years old and studied Krishi Vigyan in Jabalpur. His first poetry collection “Lagbhag Jai Hind” was published in 1971.

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The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) was held on 22nd March 2025 in New Delhi. Elections for the post of Chairman and Governing Council members were conducted successfully. Shri. Ashok Singh Thakur was elected as Chairman for a 3-year term. INTACH, India’s premier heritage conservation organisation, was established on 27th January 1984. It is a national registered Society under the Societies Registration Act (1860). INTACH works to conserve heritage, environment, and intangible culture while providing financial and technical expertise. The INTACH Charter, adopted in 2004, is being revised for interdisciplinary heritage conservation.

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Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik became the first Indian to receive the Fred Darrington Sand Master Award for excellence in sand art. The award was presented at the Sandworld 2025 International Sand Art Festival in Dorset, England, marking the 100th birth anniversary of British sculptor Fred Darrington. To celebrate, Pattnaik made a 10-foot-high sand sculpture of Lord Ganesha with the message of “World Peace”. A Padma Shri awardee from Odisha, he has taken part in over 65 international sand art events, gaining global fame for his spiritual and social themes. The Sandworld exhibition at Lodmoor Park features global artists using only sand and water to craft giant sculptures.

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Padmashree Ram Sahay Pandey, who recently passed away, was a renowned figure associated with the Rai folk dance of the Bundelkhand region. Pandey dedicated his life to promoting and preserving the Rai folk dance, a tradition that was once stigmatized. He is credited with bringing respectability to the art form and taking it from the heart of Bundelkhand to international platforms. The Rai dance is a traditional folk dance from the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2022 for his contributions to the preservation and promotion of Rai dance.

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President Droupadi Murmu was honoured with the “Key of Honour” and made an honorary citizen of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, on 7 April 2025. The award was presented by Carlos Moedas, Mayor of Lisbon, at the historic Câmara Municipal de Lisboa. This honour marks deepening ties between India and Portugal and acknowledges her role in promoting global friendship. President Murmu is on a two-nation official visit to Portugal and Slovakia from 7 to 10 April 2025.

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Renowned Kathak dancer Kumudini Lakhia passed away at the age of 94, leaving behind a legacy of innovation in Indian classical dance. Kathak, derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Katha’, means ‘story’, and is a classical dance form traditionally focused on mythological storytelling. Kumudini Lakhia transformed Kathak from a solo narrative form to a group ensemble, introducing contemporary and non-narrative elements. She received the Padma Shri (1987), Padma Bhushan (2010), and Padma Vibhushan (2024) for her contributions to Indian dance.

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Recently, the National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) received the Udyog Vikas Award at the Udyog Vikas event organized by Janmabhumi Daily in Kerala. The National Industrial Corridor Development Programme (NICDP) is India’s major infrastructure project aimed at developing new industrial cities as Smart Cities with next-generation technologies. The NICDC acts as the nodal agency responsible for managing the entire programme and ensuring seamless execution. The NICDP focuses on attracting investments from both large industries and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to boost industrial growth. It supports the government’s vision of achieving $2 trillion in exports by the year 2030.

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The Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying recently awarded the first-ever Aqua Insurance to beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Kisan Samridhi Yojana (PM-MKSSY). PM-MKSSY, a sub-scheme of the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, provides comprehensive aquaculture insurance. The mobile application VyAS-NAV was also launched for digital data collection for the 5th Marine Fisheries Census. The Aqua Insurance aims to provide financial support to small and marginalized fisheries farmers. Beneficiaries include registered aquafarmers, firms, cooperatives, and Fish Farmer Producer Organizations (FFPOs). The insurance covers one crop cycle.

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The Pulitzer Prizes 2025 were recently announced by the Pulitzer Prize Board to honor excellence in journalism and the arts. The Pulitzer Prize is considered the most prestigious award in journalism in the United States. It was established in the year 1917 and is administered by Columbia University. The award is overseen by the Pulitzer Prize Board, which consists of judges appointed by Columbia University. The prize is named after Joseph Pulitzer, a famous newspaper publisher who left funds in his will to create the School of Journalism and the Pulitzer Prize.

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Bhuwan Ribhu became the first Indian lawyer to receive the Medal of Honour from the World Jurist Association, a global legal recognition. The award acknowledges his lifelong legal work against child labour, trafficking, child marriage, and sexual abuse. He is the founder of Just Rights for Children (JRC), a global legal network with over 250 partner organisations in India, Nepal, Kenya, and the United States of America (USA). Bhuwan Ribhu has led more than 60 Public Interest Litigations (PILs) related to child rights in Indian courts. He was key in getting the Supreme Court of India to adopt the United Nations (UN) Protocol definition of trafficking. His efforts helped classify trafficking as a criminal offence in Indian law. He also ensured that First Information Reports (FIRs) became mandatory for missing children. He played a major role in banning child labour in hazardous occupations.