Awards, Honours & Persons in News Current Affairs MCQs

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Jayshree Vencatesan, co-founder of Care Earth Trust, is the first Indian to receive the Ramsar award for ‘Wetland Wise Use.’ She is among 12 women changemakers in wetlands, recognized by the Ramsar secretariat in Geneva. She has dedicated decades to conserving India’s wetlands, especially Chennai’s Pallikaranai Marsh. She leads an all-women research team and mentors future conservationists. She dedicates her award to her late father and advocates for women’s technical roles in wetland management. She stresses persistence in conservation efforts despite bureaucratic challenges. The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands is a global treaty for wetland conservation.

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Telangana won the Best National Performance Award in NAAT (Nucleic Acid Amplification Test) testing under the 100-Day ‘TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan’ campaign. The award was presented by Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda on World TB Day in New Delhi. Telangana achieved over 100% screening in nine TB-affected districts, identifying over 4,600 new TB cases.

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The Abel Prize for mathematics was awarded to Japanese mathematician Masaki Kashiwara. He is a specialist in algebraic analysis, representation theory, and sheaf theory. The 78-year-old was honoured for his work on D-modules and crystal bases. D-modules introduced a new way to study linear differential equations. The prize is named after Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel. It was created by Norway’s government to compensate for the lack of a Nobel Prize in mathematics.

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Nikhil Singhal, Founder of Vigor Media Worldwide and President of the Noida High Rise Federation, received the Uttar Pradesh Anmol Ratan Award for his outstanding work in public relations and strategic communication. The award was presented by Shri Akhilesh Yadav, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, during a grand ceremony on March 31, 2025, at the Taj Lucknow, organized by the Tapasya Foundation Trust. The event gathered leading figures from media, corporate communications, and governance, recognizing Singhal’s role in transforming the public relations (PR) industry with innovative and impactful strategies.

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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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The government has revamped the National Security Advisory Board (NSAB) after the Pahalgam terror attack, appointing former intelligence chief Alok Joshi as chairman. National Security Advisory Board (NSAB) is an advisory body under the National Security Council (NSC) structure. It is chaired by the Prime Minister, supported by the National Security Advisor (NSA) and the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS). Established in 1998 after the Pokhran-II nuclear tests, it institutionalized India’s national security framework. The NSAB provides non-partisan strategic inputs on national security issues but is not a decision-making body. It reports to the NSCS and includes experts from various sectors.

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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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Banu Mushtaq, an Indian writer, lawyer, and activist, became the first author writing in Kannada to win the International Booker prize 2025. She won for her short story collection Heart Lamp. Heart Lamp is the first short story collection to win the £50,000 prize. The International Booker Prize began in 2005 as the Man Booker International Prize. It is awarded annually for a single book translated into English and published in the UK or Ireland. Its goal is to encourage reading quality fiction from non-English languages. The prize promotes global fiction among English-speaking readers, covering novels and short story collections.

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Sub Inspector Geeta Samota has become the first personnel from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to climb Mount Everest in the 56-year history of the force. She reached the summit of the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest, which stands at 8,849 metres, on Monday. This achievement marks a proud moment of courage and strength for both the CISF and the nation. Geeta is from Chak village in Sikar district, Rajasthan, and started her journey as a hockey player during college. She joined CISF in 2011 and is currently posted at the Udaipur airport unit.

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Recently, the President of India appointed Shri T. Rabi Sankar, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as a part-time member of the 16th Finance Commission (XVIFC). He will serve either till the Commission submits its report or until 31st October 2025, whichever comes earlier. His appointment follows the resignation of Shri Ajay Narayan Jha, a full-time member, due to personal reasons. The 16th Finance Commission (XVIFC) was formed on 31st December 2023.