Awards, Honours & Persons in News Current Affairs MCQs

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The Shakti Bhatt Prize 2025 was awarded to debut author Zara Chowdhary for her memoir The Lucky Ones, about surviving the 2002 Gujarat riots. She will receive a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh with the award. This year marks the final Shakti Bhatt Prize, which started in 2008 to honour debut authors in memory of publisher Shakti Bhatt, who died in 2007. The prize celebrated South Asian literature from countries like India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, remaining independent and free from corporate sponsorship.

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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.

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Recently, Sonali Mishra was appointed as the first woman Director General (DG) of the Railway Protection Force (RPF). She is a 1993 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer from the Madhya Pradesh cadre. Her appointment was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. She will serve as DG, RPF till her superannuation on October 31, 2026. The RPF ensures the security of railway property and passengers. RPF was created by an Act of Parliament in 1957. It got the power to enquire, arrest, and prosecute in 1966. It was declared an armed force of the Union on September 20, 1985.

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Renowned economist and UK House of Lords member Lord Meghnad Desai passed away recently at age 85. He was born in 1940 in Vadodara, Gujarat as Meghnad Jagdishchandra Desai. He earned BA and MA in Economics from University of Mumbai and completed PhD from University of Pennsylvania in 1963. He authored over 200 academic papers and 8 books, including Marxian Economic Theory and The Rediscovery of India. He was a pioneer in Marxian economics, globalisation, and development economics. In 1991, he became the first Indian-origin Labour Party peer in the House of Lords.

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Former Governor Satya Pal Malik passed away on August 5, 2025, at the age of 79. He served as Governor of Jammu & Kashmir, Bihar, Goa, Odisha, and Meghalaya. He died at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi, due to multiple organ failure following sepsis, pneumonia, and chronic kidney disease. Malik began politics in the 1960s, influenced by Ram Manohar Lohia’s socialist ideology. He joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2004, became national vice-president in 2012. He belonged to the Jat community, originally from Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, with roots in Haryana. As J&K Governor, he oversaw the revocation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019.

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Hiromasa Urakawa, a 28-year-old Japanese boxer, died from brain injuries sustained in a fight in Tokyo. He was knocked out in the eighth round against Yoji Saito on August 2 and later died after surgery for subdural haematoma, a bleeding between the skull and brain. This comes after Shigetoshi Kotari also died from similar injuries in the same event at Korakuen Hall. The Japan Boxing Commission reduced all Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) title fights from 12 to 10 rounds. Urakawa is the third high-profile boxing death in 2025, after Irish boxer John Cooney’s death from intracranial haemorrhage in February.

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The Bibi Fatima Women’s Self-Help Group (SHG) from Dharwad district won the Equator Initiative Award 2025. The award is presented every two years by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under the Equator Initiative. It supports Indigenous Peoples and local communities in tackling land degradation, conserving biodiversity, and improving livelihoods. The award is often called the Nobel Prize for Biodiversity Conservation. Bibi Fatima SHG introduced millet-based mixed cropping on rainfed farms. They promoted climate-resilient farming, livestock rearing, horticulture, and popularised millets.

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The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying has opened nominations for the National Gopal Ratna Awards (NGRA) 2025. National Gopal Ratna Awards (NGRA) is one of the highest national honours in the livestock and dairy sector. It was launched in 2021 under the Rashtriya Gokul Mission. The awards encourage excellence among farmers, Dairy Cooperatives, Milk Producer Companies (MPCs), Dairy Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), and Artificial Insemination Technicians (AITs). The focus is on promoting indigenous cattle and buffalo breeds that are robust and vital for the economy.