Awards, Honours & Persons in News Current Affairs MCQs

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi received the Honorary Order of Freedom of Barbados award. The award recognizes his strategic leadership and assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is one of the highest national honors of Barbados, given for significant contributions to the country or international relations.

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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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Gold Mercury International awarded the Gold Mercury Award 2025 to Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama. The award recognizes his efforts in promoting peace, compassion, and sustainability. The Dalai Lama urged world leaders to unite for global peace, cooperation, and environmental protection. He emphasized non-violence, wisdom, and environmental harmony as key values. Rooted in Buddhist philosophy, he advocates for all living beings and ecological balance. He remains a global symbol of non-violence and a strong voice for Tibetan rights and environmental conservation.

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) won the Digital Transformation Award 2025 from Central Banking, London for its digital initiatives Sarthi and Pravaah. Sarthi, launched in January 2023, digitized RBI’s internal workflows, improving document sharing, record management, and data analysis for 13,500 employees across 40+ locations. Pravaah, launched in May 2024, digitized 70+ regulatory applications, enhancing efficiency and transparency with real-time tracking. Pravaah increased monthly applications by 80%, reducing delays from paper-based systems. Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised RBI’s achievement, calling it a milestone in India’s financial digital transformation.

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Prasar Bharati received the Hockey India Jaman Lal Sharma Award 2024 for promoting and broadcasting hockey. The award was given at the Hockey India 7th Annual Awards 2024 in New Delhi. Hockey India honored the 1975 World Cup-winning squad with the Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award and ₹50 lakh. Savita Punia and Harmanpreet Singh won the Balbir Singh Sr. Award for Player of the Year 2024.

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Veteran sculptor Ram Sutar has been selected for the Maharashtra Bhushan 2024, the highest civilian award of Maharashtra. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced the award on March 20, 2025, in the state legislative assembly. A committee led by the Chief Minister unanimously chose him for the honor. Ram Sutar, a gold medalist from J.J. School of Art, Mumbai, is a master of bronze sculpting. He designed the Statue of Unity, a 182m tall statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in Kevadia, Gujarat. He created the seated Mahatma Gandhi statue in India’s Parliament and Gandhi busts in 450+ cities worldwide. His 108-ft statue of Kempa Gowda stands at Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru. Previously, he received the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2016 for his contributions to art.

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The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) was held on 22nd March 2025 in New Delhi. Elections for the post of Chairman and Governing Council members were conducted successfully. Shri. Ashok Singh Thakur was elected as Chairman for a 3-year term. INTACH, India’s premier heritage conservation organisation, was established on 27th January 1984. It is a national registered Society under the Societies Registration Act (1860). INTACH works to conserve heritage, environment, and intangible culture while providing financial and technical expertise. The INTACH Charter, adopted in 2004, is being revised for interdisciplinary heritage 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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Renowned Kathak dancer Kumudini Lakhia passed away at the age of 94, leaving behind a legacy of innovation in Indian classical dance. Kathak, derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Katha’, means ‘story’, and is a classical dance form traditionally focused on mythological storytelling. Kumudini Lakhia transformed Kathak from a solo narrative form to a group ensemble, introducing contemporary and non-narrative elements. She received the Padma Shri (1987), Padma Bhushan (2010), and Padma Vibhushan (2024) for her contributions to Indian dance.

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Daripalli Ramaiah (1937-2025), a famous environmentalist from Reddipalli village, Telangana, passed away recently. He was locally known as ‘Chetla Ramaiah’ or Vanajeevi (forest dweller). He was honored with the Padma Shri in 2017 for his significant contributions to environmental conservation. Ramaiah was a strong advocate for social forestry, having planted over 1 crore saplings in his lifetime. He was known as the “tree-man”, often wearing a green board to promote tree conservation. His awards include the Seva Award (1995), Vanamitra Award (2005), and National Innovations and Outstanding Traditional Knowledge Award (2015).