Awards, Honours & Persons in News Current Affairs MCQs

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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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Recently, Sri Lankan author Vajra Chandrasekera won the 2025 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction worth $25,000 (around ₹22 lakh) for his novel “Rakesfall.” The prize honours writers who “imagine real grounds for hope” and is run by the Ursula K. Le Guin Foundation. Rakesfall, published by Tor Books in April 2025, follows two souls, Annelid and Leveret, meeting during the Sri Lankan Civil War and reconnecting across lifetimes. The book explores power, memory, and moral responsibility, exposing the greed and control of the powerful. Chandrasekera described it as a story about “late capitalism’s death drive” and the moral cost of looking away.

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Padma Shri awardee Sanjeev Kapoor was honoured as a Top Agri-Food Pioneer by the World Food Prize Foundation in Des Moines, Iowa, during the Borlaug Dialogue Week 2025. The event gathered global leaders, scientists, policymakers, and innovators to discuss food security, climate resilience, and nutrition. Kapoor was recognised for promoting healthy and sustainable eating, supporting Indian agriculture, and encouraging the use of local, nutrient-rich ingredients. He dedicated the honour to India’s farmers and culinary heritage, calling it a privilege to represent India on a global platform.

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The Union Health Ministry achieved three Guinness World Record titles under the Swasth Nari Sashakt Parivar Abhiyaan campaign. The campaign was conducted nationwide from 17th September to 2nd October 2025 during Poshan Maah. The records include the most people registered for a health care platform in one month. It also includes the most people signed up for a breast cancer screening online in one week. Another record was the most people signed up for vital signs screening online in one week at the state level. The campaign focuses on improving the health and nutrition of women, adolescent girls and children. The achievement highlights India’s success in combining digital health innovation and community participation.

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France’s oldest living Olympic champion, Charles Coste, passed away at the age of 101, marking the end of a golden era in Olympic history. Born on February 8, 1924, in Ollioules, France, he symbolized strength, dedication, and post-war recovery through sport. Coste won gold in team cycling at the 1948 London Olympics with teammates Pierre Adam, Serge Blusson, and Fernand Decanali, bringing pride to post-war France. In 1949, he triumphed in the Grand Prix des Nations, defeating Italy’s Fausto Coppi. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, just before his 100th birthday, he carried the Olympic torch, earning worldwide applause.

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Two Indian farmer-owned cooperatives — Amul and IFFCO — have been ranked as the world’s top cooperatives in the ICA World Cooperative Monitor 2025 released in Doha, Qatar. Amul (Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd) ranked number one, and Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) ranked number two globally. Rankings were based on GDP per capita performance by the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) headquartered in Brussels. The ICA, in partnership with EURICSE, analyses the global economic and social impact of cooperatives. The recognition coincides with the conclusion of the UN International Year of Cooperatives (IYC) 2025 in Doha.

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In November 2025, Dr. Sai Gautam Gopalakrishnan, Associate Professor of Materials Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, Karnataka, received the 3rd Manohar Parrikar Yuva Scientist Award. He was honored for his exceptional work in computational materials science and advanced modeling of complex alloys. His research contributes to sustainable technologies and industrial innovation. The award will be formally presented on 13th December 2025 at the Manohar Parrikar Vigyan Mahotsav, held at the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa.

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In November 2025, an eminent author Salman Rushdie was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Dayton Literary Peace Prize (DLPP) event held in Ohio, United States. The award recognized outstanding literary contribution and advocacy for freedom of expression, tolerance, and human dignity. The Dayton Literary Peace Prize celebrates writers who promote peace through literature, with separate awards for fiction, nonfiction, and lifetime achievement. The 2025 edition marked the 30th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Accords, which ended the Bosnian War.

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India mourns Padma Shri awardee Saalumarada Thimmakka, a globally respected environmentalist known for grassroots afforestation. She was born in Gubbi taluk, Tumakuru district, and later lived in Hulikal. Her life was marked by poverty and personal struggles, but she turned grief into environmental service. Starting in the 1950s, she and her husband Bikkala Chikkayya walked miles daily to water saplings and protected them using thorny branches. They planted mainly during monsoons, creating a green corridor that offers shade, supports birds and stabilises the local climate. Her work shaped Karnataka’s afforestation policies and inspired tree-planting movements across India.

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The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying recently announced winners of the National Gopal Ratna Awards (NGRA) 2025, highlighting current progress in India’s dairy sector. NGRA are the highest honours in the livestock and dairy sector and were launched under the Rashtriya Gokul Mission in 2021. They are given by the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. The awards promote excellence among farmers, Dairy Cooperative Societies (DCS), Milk Producer Companies (MPC), Dairy Farmer Producer Organizations (FPO) and Artificial Insemination Technicians (AIT).