Awards, Honours & Persons in News Current Affairs MCQs

Notes:
India won 4 gold medals and 1 silver medal at the 18th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) 2025 held in Mumbai from August 15–21. The event hosted 288 students from 63 countries. Indian gold medalists are Aarush Mishra (Bengaluru), Banibrata Majee (Delhi), Panini (Patna) and Akshat Srivastava (Kolkata). Sumant Gupta (Gurugram) won the silver medal. Iran emerged as the top performer with all five members winning gold medals. The event was organized by the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR)

Notes:
Ajay Singh was re-elected as Boxing Federation of India (BFI) president for a third consecutive term on August 21, 2025. Singh defeated Olympian boxer Jaslal Pradhan with 40 votes against 26 in Gurugram. Pramod Kumar elected as Secretary-General and Pon Baskaran as Treasurer. Election was overseen by Justice (Retd) Rajesh Tandon and Fairuz Mohammed, WB (World Boxing) representative. Ajay Singh prioritized grassroots development, empowering junior and youth athletes, and strengthening India’s international boxing presence.

Notes:
New Development Bank (NDB), established by BRICS nations—Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa—appointed Dr. Rajiv Ranjan as Vice President and Chief Risk Officer for a five-year term. Ranjan started his career at Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 1989 and was Executive Director and Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member since May 2022. NDB finances India’s infrastructure projects in transport, clean energy, water, sanitation, environmental protection, and digital infrastructure. India holds the largest NDB project portfolio in BRICS at $7.5 billion, second only to China.

Notes:
The 2025 Aga Khan Award for Architecture winners were announced on September 2, 2025, with the award ceremony held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The seven winning projects, including Khudi Bari in Bangladesh and Vision Pakistan, were selected from a shortlist of 19 projects and address themes like community resilience and climate-responsive design. For the 2025 award cycle, India did not have any projects on the final shortlist. The Aga Khan Foundation and Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) continue to be active in India. In 2024, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture partnered with the Archaeological Survey of India to develop a modern sunken museum at the 16th-century Humayun’s Tomb Complex in Delhi.

Notes:
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.

Notes:
Gram Panchayats were conferred National Awards for e-Governance (NAeG) 2025 under a new category for grassroots digital service delivery. Awards were presented during the 28th National Conference on e-Governance (NCeG) in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Gold Award won by Rohini Gram Panchayat, Dhule District, Maharashtra – Sarpanch Dr. Anandrao Pawara. Silver Award won by West Majlishpur Gram Panchayat, West Tripura District, Tripura – Sarpanch Smt. Anita Deb Das. Jury Awards won by Palsana Gram Panchayat, Surat District, Gujarat – Sarpanch Shri Pravinbhai Parshottambhai Ahir, and Suakati Gram Panchayat, Kendujhar District, Odisha – Sarpanch Smt. Kautuka Naik. Awards include trophies, certificates, and financial incentives (Rs.10 lakh for Gold, Rs.5 lakh for Silver).

Notes:
The 31st Dr. M.S. Swaminathan Award for Environmental Protection was held by Rotary Club of Madras East (RCME). The award honours individuals, NGOs, or companies contributing to environmental protection and awareness. First award went to Sahaja Samrudha, Mysore, for conserving traditional farming practices, paddy varieties, millets, and indigenous crop biodiversity. Second award given to Veerappan, 60-year-old Irular fisherman from Kalaignar Nagar, for mud crab and fish propagation, and training college students in aquaculture.

Notes:
The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi for discovering how the immune system decides what to attack or protect. The prize was announced on 6 October 2025 at the Nobel Assembly, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. The research focuses on peripheral immune tolerance, which involves immune components outside the central nervous system (CNS). They identified regulatory T (Treg) cells, which prevent the immune system from attacking the body itself. Their work explained how autoimmune diseases develop and confirmed Treg cell function. Sakaguchi previously won the Canada Gairdner Award (2015) for the same discovery.

Notes:
Recently, U.S.-based scientists John Clarke, Michel Devoret, and John Martinis won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics for experiments that demonstrated quantum physics in action. Their work in the mid-1980s used superconducting electronic circuits to show that quantum mechanical properties could be applied on a macroscopic scale. The discoveries underpin modern quantum technology, including quantum cryptography, quantum computers, and quantum sensors. The prize is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and includes 11 million Swedish crowns ($1.2 million).

Notes:
On October 9, 2025, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the Nobel Prize in Literature 2025 for László Krasznahorkai, a Hungarian author. He was awarded for his compelling and visionary works that explore art amidst apocalyptic terror. Born in 1954 near the Romanian border, he rose to fame with his first novel ‘Sátántangó’ (1985; English 2012). His latest work, ‘Herscht 07769’ (2025), portrays social unrest in a small town in Thüringen, Germany, blending violence and beauty. The Nobel Prize carries a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor (~₹1.03 crore) and will be presented on December 10, 2025. Last year, the Literature Nobel was awarded to Han Kang, South Korea.