Awards, Honours & Persons in News Current Affairs MCQs

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Kovalam beach in Chengalpattu district, Tamil Nadu, received the International Blue Flag certification for the fifth consecutive year in 2025-26. The certification is awarded by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), Denmark, and promotes sustainable tourism and responsible coastal management. Blue Flag recognition is based on 33 criteria, including water quality, environmental education, safety, waste management, cleanliness, and eco-friendly infrastructure. Kovalam beach first received the certification on September 21, 2021, becoming Tamil Nadu’s first Blue Flag beach.

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Hollywood actor Tom Cruise received the Academy Honorary Award, also known as the honorary Oscar, at the 16th Governors Awards in Hollywood, California. The 63-year-old, a four-time Oscar nominee, was honoured by filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñárritu, who is collaborating with him on a 2026 film.

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Velamala Simmanna has been selected for the Lok Nayak Foundation (LNF) Literary Award 2025. He has written over 100 books and is a former Head of Department of Telugu at Andhra University. The award carries a cash prize of 2 lakh rupees and will be given on 18 January 2026. The award is presented every year by the Lok Nayak Foundation. It commemorates the death anniversaries of N. T. Rama Rao and Harivansh Rai Bachchan.

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Kumari Kamala, early child prodigy of Indian cinema and Bharatanatyam dancer, died in the United States at 91. She performed worldwide and inspired many dancers, though very little documentation of her work exists. Kamala trained under Guru Vazhuvoor Ramiah Pillai, mastering nritta (pure dance) with grace and abhinaya (expression) with poetry. She collaborated closely with musicians like S. Rajeswari and learned music from Vidwan Ramnad Krishnan. She influenced seven decades of Bharatanatyam and respected tradition and the Thanjavur Quartet.

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People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has named award-winning Bollywood actor Raveena Tandon as its 2025 Person of the Year for her commitment to a meat-free lifestyle, wildlife protection, and advocacy for animal welfare. Earlier in 2025, she partnered with PETA India to donate a life-sized mechanical elephant to Karnataka’s Thousand Pillars Jain Temple, recognizing the temple’s decision not to own or hire live elephants. She has championed humane education through PETA India’s Compassionate Citizen programme, which fosters empathy in young learners toward animals.

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UN Environment Programme (UNEP) awarded IAS officer Supriya Sahu the 2025 UN Champions of the Earth award in the Inspiration and Action category. She was honoured for her long-standing leadership in plastic reduction, wildlife conservation, and especially sustainable cooling. Her key initiative, Tamil Nadu’s Cool Roof Project, lowered indoor temperatures by 5–8°C using high Solar Reflective Index paint, offering a low-cost cooling solution. UNEP called it a game changer for cities facing extreme heat, showing scalable climate action.

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Retired Indian Administrative Service officer Raj Kumar Goyal was sworn in as the Chief Information Commissioner of the Central Information Commission. President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Raj Kumar Goyal is a 1990-batch Indian Administrative Service officer. He retired as Secretary in the Department of Justice under the Ministry of Law and Justice. He also served as Secretary for Border Management in the Ministry of Home Affairs. He succeeded Heeralal Samariya as Chief Information Commissioner. His appointment was made under Section 12 of the Right to Information Act, 2005, and took effect from December 15.

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President Droupadi Murmu felicitated winners of the National Energy Conservation Awards (NECA) 2025 and the National Painting Competition on Energy Conservation 2025 in New Delhi. In the Best Performing State Awards for energy efficiency 2025, Karnataka won the first prize in Group 1, Andhra Pradesh secured the first prize in Group 2, Kerala was awarded first prize in Group 3, Assam achieved the first position in Group 4, and Chandigarh won the first prize in Group 5. In the National Painting Competition on Energy Conservation 2025, Anuj Prince from Ambala was awarded the first prize in Group A, while Soumya Jeet Malik from Odisha emerged as the winner in Group B.

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Sai Jadhav, at 23, became the first woman officer to graduate from the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, breaking a 93-year tradition since its opening in 1932. More than 67,000 cadets have graduated from IMA until now; Sai is the first woman to do so. Sai has been commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Territorial Army, the first woman from IMA to join through this route. She will make history again in June 2026 during the IMA parade at Chetwode Building, symbolizing institutional change.

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An Indian team, Photonics Odyssey from Chennai, won the Most Inspirational Award at NASA’s 2025 International Space Apps Challenge for their satellite internet concept. The team proposed a sovereign, phased-array satellite internet infrastructure aimed at expanding broadband access in remote regions of India. The project is designed to reduce dependency on ground infrastructure and connect over 700 million people in India who currently lack broadband access.