Awards, Honours & Persons in News Current Affairs MCQs

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Lionel Messi was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joe Biden, the highest civilian honor in the U.S. Messi is the first Argentine and first male soccer player to receive this award. He could not attend the ceremony due to prior commitments, sending a letter expressing gratitude. The award recognizes significant contributions to society, world peace, or public welfare. Messi was honored for being the most decorated soccer player and his philanthropic work through the Leo Messi Foundation and as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

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Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad has been awarded the prestigious Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar for 2025 in the Institutional Category. This award recognizes INCOIS’s significant contributions to disaster management in India, particularly in tsunami early warning, cyclone forecasting, and coastal risk mitigation. INCOIS operates the Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC), recognized globally by UNESCO. The organization has developed innovative tools like SARAT and SynOPS to enhance disaster response capabilities. This award highlights India’s advancements in disaster management and the crucial role of institutions like INCOIS in safeguarding lives and livelihoods.

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Hariman Sharma, a farmer from Himachal Pradesh, received the Padma Shri for revolutionizing apple farming. He developed HRMN-99, a self-pollinating, low-chilling apple variety that grows in tropical and sub-tropical regions. HRMN-99 thrives in temperatures of 40-45°C, expanding apple cultivation across 29 Indian states and UTs. Sharma’s journey began in 1998 when he planted discarded apple seeds in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh. His work was validated by the National Innovation Foundation (NIF) in 2012. The variety benefits farmers nationwide, especially in the North-East, where 100,000+ saplings have been planted.

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Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha received the Maharaja Hari Singh Award in Reforms and Planning at a grand ceremony in Jammu. The event was organized by Gulistan News Network as part of the Maharaja Hari Singh Peace and Harmony Award 2024-25 celebrations. The award recognized LG Sinha’s contributions to reforms and planning in Jammu and Kashmir. He paid tributes to Maharaja Hari Singh, highlighting his role in J&K’s integration with India. He also honored Pandit Prem Nath Dogra, Pandit Girdhari Lal Dogra, and Shri Devender Singh Rana for their dedication to public welfare. Maharaja Hari Singh was praised as a key architect of modern Jammu and Kashmir for his revolutionary reforms.

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Doordarshan received an award for its voter awareness campaign during the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. It won in the Electronic Media category for its special series “Chunav Ka Parv Desh Ka Garv”. The initiative helped educate first-time voters and strengthened India’s democratic process. President Droupadi Murmu presented the award to Doordarshan’s Director-General Kanchan Prasad on Republic Day 2025. The award recognizes Doordarshan’s commitment to responsible media outreach across India.

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Greg Bell was an American long jumper who won an Olympic gold medal in 1956. He was born in Terre Haute, Indiana on November 7, 1930 and died on January 25, 2025. Bell was the world’s top men’s long jumper in the 1950s.  He jumped 8.10 meters in 1957, which was only 3 centimeters off the world record set by Jesse Owens in 1935.  Bell was inducted into the Indiana University Hall of Fame and the U.S. National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1988.

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Latika Katt, a renowned Indian sculptor, passed away at 76 in Jaipur. She was known for larger-than-life sculptures, public busts, and capturing nature’s organic forms. Her works include a 20-ft bronze sculpture of Jawaharlal Nehru at Jawahar Bhawan, Delhi. She experimented with terracotta, papier-mâché, stone, and bronze over five decades. She won the Beijing Art Biennale Award (2010) for Makarsankranti Nahan at Dashaswamedh Ghat.

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NTPC Ltd. won the Forward Faster Sustainability Award 2025 in the Water Resilience category. The award was presented by UN Global Compact Network India (UN GCNI) in Chennai on February 13. NTPC was recognized for its water conservation and sustainable water management initiatives. The award aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). NTPC follows Reduce, Reuse & Recycle principles and uses advanced wastewater treatment. It promotes clean water access, restores water bodies, and raises conservation awareness. The company sets industry benchmarks in water efficiency and sustainability.

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Vishvaa Rajakumar, a 20-year-old Indian student, won the Memory League World Championship 2025. He memorized 80 random numbers in 13.50 seconds and 30 images in 8.40 seconds. The Memory League World Championship is a top-level online memory competition. Rajakumar, ranked No. 1 with a score of 5,000, studies at Manakula Vinayagar Institute of Technology, Puducherry. He credits hydration for improving memory speed and clarity. His goal is to become a memory trainer and establish a memory institute in India.

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Renowned Odissi maestro Mayadhar Raut, known as the “Father of Odissi dance,” passed away on February 22, 2025, at age 92 in Delhi. He was awarded the Padma Shri for his contributions to Indian classical dance. Raut played a key role in the revival and codification of Odissi dance in the 1950s. His work on Sanchari Bhava, Mudra Viniyoga, and Rasa Theory helped structure Odissi as a classical dance form.