Awards, Honours & Persons in News Current Affairs MCQs

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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.

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President Draupadi Murmu recently presented the 58th Jnanpith Award to Sanskrit scholar Jagadguru Rambhadracharya and poet-lyricist Gulzar at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi. Jagadguru Rambhadracharya, despite being blind, has made great contributions to Sanskrit and Hindi literature by memorizing texts like ‘Ramcharitmanas’ and the ‘Gita’. Gulzar is a famous poet, songwriter, and Oscar and Grammy winner, known for his work in literature, cinema, and television. The Jnanpith Award is India’s highest literary honour, established in 1961 by the Bharatiya Jnanpith Trust. It is given to writers working in the languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution and in English. The award includes ₹11 lakh, a bronze statue of Goddess Saraswati, and a citation. The first award was given in 1965 to Malayalam poet G. Sankara Kurup for ‘Odakkuzhal’.

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India has received the Certificate of Elimination of Trachoma as a Public Health Problem from the World Health Organisation (WHO) during the 78th World Health Assembly in Geneva. This marks a major success for India’s long-term efforts in disease elimination and preventive healthcare. WHO had earlier confirmed on October 8th that India had met the criteria for elimination of Trachoma as a public health issue. India is now the third country in the Southeast Asia region to achieve this milestone. The National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment (NPCBVI) played a key role in tackling Trachoma. Since 2019, NPCBVI has used a special WHO format to collect Trachoma case data from all districts. A National Trachomatous Trichiasis survey was carried out in 200 endemic districts between 2021 and 2024, as required by WHO.

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Indian-origin rapper and singer-songwriter Raja Kumari won an American Music Award (AMA) 2025. She was nominated at the 51st AMA held in Los Angeles for the song from Arcane League of Legends: Season 2. This made her the first Indian-origin musician ever nominated for an AMA. The song Renegade (We Never Run) was a collaboration with Stefflon Don and Jarina de Marco. It was nominated under the Favourite Soundtrack category. She was chosen for the song as the film character is Indian, and she represents Indian culture with powerful music.

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Former German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was elected President of the 80th session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on June 2. She won the secret ballot with 167 votes, while 14 countries chose to abstain. Baerbock is the first woman from the Western European group and the fifth woman overall to lead the UN General Assembly. The 80th session begins on September 9, 2025, and will focus on global crises and reforms like the UN80 initiative and choosing the next Secretary-General before 2026.

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The Swedish startup NitroCapt won the 2025 Food Planet Prize for their innovative green fertilizer technology. This technology uses plasma and renewable energy to extract nitrogen from the air, eliminating the need for fossil fuels in fertilizer production. The $2 million prize, awarded by the Curt Bergfors Foundation, will help NitroCapt scale up its operations and further disrupt the global nitrogen fertilizer industry.

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Recently, the Indian literary world was shocked as the JCB Prize for Literature has been officially discontinued. The award, worth Rs 25 lakh for the best fiction work by an Indian author, ended with no future editions planned. It was established in 2018 by JCB India. The prize promoted Indian fiction and translations, awarding five out of seven winners for translated works in languages like Malayalam, Tamil, and Urdu. The JCB Prize, though short-lived, made a strong impact on regional literature and India’s literary ecosystem.

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Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on a five-nation tour, was awarded Ghana’s highest civilian honour, the Officer of the Order of the Star of Ghana. This is the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Ghana in over 30 years. With this, PM Modi has now received top civilian honours from 24 countries, the highest for any Indian leader. PM Modi dedicated this award to 1.4 billion Indians, especially the youth, cultural heritage, and diversity.

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Recently, Sub Lieutenant Aastha Poonia became the first woman to enter the fighter stream of Naval Aviation, marking a historic first for the Indian Navy. She was awarded the prestigious Wings of Gold along with Lieutenant Atul Kumar Dhull at INS Dega, Visakhapatnam. Her induction into the fighter stream breaks barriers and opens doors for more women in frontline combat aviation. This highlights the Indian Navy’s commitment to gender inclusivity and promoting Nari Shakti, meaning women empowerment.

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Recently, Kasaragod district won the Fisheries Department Excellence Award 2025 under the Popular Fish Farming Project in Kerala. It was declared the best district for achievements in the fisheries sector. The award is part of the annual State Farmer Awards to honour aquaculture excellence. Kasaragod earlier won the Matsya Karshaka Award and Best Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) Award in 2023. Its District Panchayat was the first in India to declare a tree, flower, and bird as district biodiversity symbols.