Awards, Honours & Persons in News Current Affairs MCQs

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Former Prime Minister and economist Dr. Manmohan Singh was posthumously awarded the P V Narasimha Rao Memorial Award for Economics. The award honoured his pivotal role in India’s economic transformation and nation-building. The award was received on his behalf by his wife Gursharan Kaur in New Delhi last week. It was presented by Montek Singh Ahluwalia, former Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission. The award is instituted by the P V Narasimha Rao Memorial Foundation (PVNMF) to recognise outstanding contributions in economics.

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Recently, Muzaffarpur district of Bihar secured first rank in the INSPIRE Award Scheme of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India. A record 7,403 students submitted innovative ideas, surpassing Bengaluru Urban (7,306) and Bagalkot, Karnataka (6,826). Under INSPIRE, students from Class 6–10 get ₹10,000 to develop innovative models, later exhibited up to the National Level Exhibition (NLEPC). Selected top 60 ideas are displayed at Rashtrapati Bhavan, where the President honours students. Ideas must be novel, practical, socially useful, and eco-friendly, e.g., water conservation, renewable energy, pollution control, and assistive devices.

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Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud has authored his debut book “Why the Constitution Matters”. The book is published by Penguin Random House and reflects on the Indian Constitution and its contemporary relevance. Justice Chandrachud served as the 50th CJI of India from November 2022 to November 2024. The book simplifies complex constitutional principles for the common citizen and emphasizes the Constitution as the foundation of democracy, justice, and equality. Key themes include right to privacy, dissent, gender equality, environmental justice, and freedom of speech, central to his landmark judgments. It is a civic guide, not a legal treatise, encouraging citizens to engage with the Constitution actively.

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Senior Advocate R. Venkataramani was re-appointed as Attorney General (AG) of India on September 26, 2025 for two years, effective October 1, 2025. His present three-year term ends on September 30, 2025. He had succeeded K.K. Venugopal as AG on September 30, 2022. The Attorney General is a constitutional post appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Union Government. The Attorney General can appear in any court of India and advises the government on complex legal matters. His expertise covers constitutional law, indirect taxes, human rights, civil, criminal, consumer, and service laws.

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R. Arthur James, Professor and Chair, Department of Marine Science, Bharathidasan University (BDU), received the Tamil Nadu Government’s Scientist Award in Environmental Science 2022. The award was presented by Tamil Nadu State Council for Science and Technology (TANSA) at the Resource Centre for Tribal Development, Udhagamandalam. The award includes a cash prize of ₹50,000 and a citation. Govi. Chezhiaan, Minister for Higher Education, and M. P. Saminathan, Minister for Tamil Development, Information and Publicity, presented the award. Prof. James is recognized for pioneering research on natural nanomaterials, including antibiotic agents for wound healing and food preservatives from extremophilic micro-organisms.

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Recently, the President of India presented the MY Bharat–National Service Scheme (NSS) Awards for 2022–23 at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The award was instituted in 1993–94 by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The main objective is to honour youth for their exceptional work in social service, community development, and nation-building. The awards recognise and reward outstanding voluntary community service. They are given every year to NSS Volunteers, NSS Units, and Programme Officers for their exemplary contribution to society. The initiative highlights youth participation in building a responsible and service-oriented nation.

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The 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Susumu Kitagawa (Kyoto University), Richard Robson (University of Melbourne), and Omar M. Yaghi (University of California, Berkeley). They were recognised for the development of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), a novel molecular architecture. Metal–Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are porous crystals formed by metal ions as cornerstones linked with long organic (carbon-based) molecules, creating large cavities. These structures can capture/store specific substances, drive chemical reactions, and conduct electricity. Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded since 1901, with 195 individuals receiving it; only 8 women have won.

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Sunil Amrith, Indian-origin historian and Professor of History at Yale University, won the British Academy Book Prize 2025 for his book The Burning Earth: An Environmental History of the Last 500 Years. The prize awards £25,000 for outstanding non-fiction works in humanities and social sciences. Amrith was born in Kenya to South Indian parents, grew up in Singapore, and graduated from the University of Cambridge, England. The book explores 500 years of environmental history, linking human activity, colonisation, industrialisation, and settlement patterns to the current climate crisis.

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Dr. Eknath Vasant Chitnis, pioneering Indian space scientist, passed away on 22 October 2025 at age 100 in Pune, Maharashtra. He was born on 25 July 1925 in Kolhapur, Maharashtra. He received the Padma Bhushan in 1985 for his contributions to science and technology. He was a key architect of India’s early space programme and a close associate of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, founder of India’s space programme. He helped establish the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), which evolved into the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Dr. Chitnis was instrumental in selecting Thumba, Kerala, for India’s first rocket launch.

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Union Minister Rajnath Singh, Ministry of Defence (MoD), released the book Civil-Military Fusion as a Metric of National Power and Comprehensive Security in October 2025. Lieutenant General Raj Shukla (Retired) authored the book. The book release event was held at the United Service Institution of India (USI), New Delhi, Delhi. The book was published by Notion Press. The book focuses on evolving civil-military relations into Civil-Military Fusion (CMF) for deeper integration of civilian industry, academia, and defense technology. The book emphasizes asset-based thinking rather than deficit-based thinking.