Awards, Honours & Persons in News Current Affairs MCQs

Notes:
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari conferred the Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak on 12 rat miners for their exceptional courage during the Silkyara Tunnel rescue operation in Uttarakhand. The award recognises their role in rescuing workers trapped after the Silkyara Tunnel collapse. The rat miners manually removed debris from a narrow passage after other engineering methods, including vertical drilling, were attempted, leading to the successful rescue of all trapped workers. Each awardee received the Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak, a certificate, a miniature medal, and a ₹2 lakh lump-sum cash award. The Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak is India’s highest civilian life-saving award, presented for conspicuous courage and self-sacrifice in saving human life.

Notes:
Prof. Karthikeyan Lanka of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay received the National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI) Young Scientist Platinum Jubilee Award 2026 in the Earth Sciences category. He is an Associate Professor at the Centre of Studies in Resources Engineering (CSRE) and is also associated with the Centre for Climate Studies at IIT Bombay. His research focuses on ecohydrology, satellite remote sensing, land-atmosphere interactions, soil moisture, the Indian monsoon, heatwaves, and agricultural droughts. His team develops algorithms using data from NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission to estimate soil moisture.

Notes:
Veteran Bengali filmmaker Raja Sen died at the age of 71 in Kolkata on August 16, 2026. He made his directorial debut with Damu (1996), which won the National Film Award for Best Children’s Film. He also directed films such as Desh, Debipaksha, Laboratory and Maya Mridanga, besides making documentaries on prominent cultural personalities.

Notes:
Parichha Dam, a 140-year-old dam in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, has been recognised by the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) as a World Heritage Irrigation Structure (WHIS). It will receive the WHIS Award-26 during the 26th ICID International Congress in Marseille, France, in October 2026. The dam is located on the Betwa River and is an important part of the Betwa Canal System serving the drought-prone Bundelkhand region.

Notes:
Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan released the book ‘Sankalp Se Siddhi Ka Modi Yug’, authored by Rajya Sabha MP Ghanshyam Tiwari, at Uprashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. The book traces India’s journey over the past 12 years and relates governance achievements to the vision of Viksit Bharat @ 2047. It connects contemporary governance with the ideas of Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore, K. B. Hedgewar, Veer Savarkar and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It highlights themes such as Rashtra Pratham, Integral Humanism, Antyodaya, women-led development, self-reliant Bharat and transparent governance.

Notes:
Air Vice Marshal Shakti Sharma made history by assuming charge as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Education), becoming the first woman non-medical officer to attain this two-star rank in the Indian Armed Forces. The rank of Air Vice Marshal is equivalent to Major General in the Indian Army and Rear Admiral in the Indian Navy. This landmark promotion highlights the growing leadership roles of women in non-medical branches of the Indian armed forces, such as the Education Branch, which handles curriculum administration and personnel development.

Notes:
India won 9 medals at the 19th International Earth Science Olympiad (IESO) 2026 held in Turin, Italy, its best-ever performance at the event. The four-member Indian team won 4 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals from August 20–27, 2026. The team comprised Saumik Mandal, Aaron Maiti, Riddhi Ranjan and Md Ehtesham Rizwi. The students competed in written and practical examinations, field investigation and Earth Science Project events. They were selected from around 17,000 participants and trained at Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda.

Notes:
Renowned Carnatic vocalist and musicologist S. R. Janakiraman passed away at the age of 98 in September 2026 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Popularly known as “SRJ”, he was born on 12 July 1928 in Lalgudi, Tamil Nadu. He learnt Carnatic music from renowned musicians including Tiger Varadachariar, Musiri Subrahmanya Iyer and Budalur Krishnamurthy Shastrigal. He made major contributions as a teacher, researcher and scholar and was associated with institutions such as the Music Academy, Chennai. He translated important Carnatic music texts, including Sangita Sampradaya Pradarsini, into English and authored works such as Raga Lakshanas and Ragas of Saramrta.

Notes:
Stanzin Tsangyang made history by becoming the first female officer from the high-altitude, remote Zanskar region of Ladakh to be commissioned into the Indian Army. She achieved this milestone after successfully completing her pre-commission training at the Officers Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai. The Zanskar region, located in the Kargil district, is known for its rugged terrain and extreme winter isolation. Her commissioning represents a significant step forward for women’s representation from the strategically important border regions of India in the armed forces.

Notes:
Sudhakar Dalela, India’s Secretary for Economic Relations, served as the country’s BRICS Sherpa during the 18th BRICS Summit held in New Delhi in September 2026. During the summit proceedings, Dalela clarified India’s official stance on financial integration, stating that there was no proposal under consideration for a common BRICS currency. Instead, India’s policy prioritizes bilateral trade frameworks, local currency settlement mechanisms, and interlinking national digital payment systems like the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to facilitate faster cross-border transactions and reduce dependence on third-party currencies.