Awards, Honours & Persons in News Current Affairs MCQs

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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.

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Sikkim-made feature film ‘Numahangma’ has been selected for the 2nd Nepal Indigenous Film Festival (NIFF) 2026. The festival is scheduled to be held in London, United Kingdom, on 27 September 2026. The 90-minute film is directed by Niyara Subba and produced by H.M. Subba. The film is based on the real-life journey and experiences of H.M. Subba. It portrays a woman’s struggles, family responsibilities, perseverance and journey towards success.

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Karim Maredia, an Indian-American agricultural scientist born in Gujarat, has been named the Borlaug CAST Communication Award recipient for 2026. The award is given by the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST), based in Iowa, USA. It honours the legacy of Norman Borlaug, Nobel laureate and pioneer of the Green Revolution. Maredia is a Professor, Associate Dean and Director of the World Agriculture Centre at Michigan State University. He joined Michigan State University in 1989, after working at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Mexico.

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PM Shri Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV), Ukhrul-1, Manipur emerged as the national winner of the 27th National Youth Parliament Competition, 2025–26 for JNVs. The school represented the Shillong Region. The prize distribution ceremony was held at GMC Balayogi Auditorium, Parliament Library Building, New Delhi. The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs has been organising Youth Parliament competitions for JNVs for around 30 years. The 27th edition was conducted during 2025–26 among 100 JNVs across eight Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti regions.

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IPS officer Sanjukta Parashar has been appointed as the first woman Inspector General (IG) of CoBRA. CoBRA is the specialised jungle warfare commando unit of the CRPF. CoBRA was raised by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in 2008–09. It was established mainly to tackle Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) and insurgency. The force operates in areas affected by Naxalism and insurgency, including parts of the Northeast.

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Arunachal Pradesh has received the D. S. Mahajan Excellence Award 2025–26 for Best State in Scout & Guide Fellowship. The award was conferred by the Indian Scout & Guide Fellowship (ISGF). It was presented during the 36th General Assembly of ISGF held in Kannur, Kerala. The award recognises Arunachal Pradesh’s contribution towards promoting friendship, service, discipline and fellowship through Scouting and Guiding.

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Vice-President C. P. Radhakrishnan released the book Vishwasanchar Hindutva Ka at Uprashtrapathi Bhawan. The book has been published by Saptahik Vivek, a publication established in 1948 with a long association with Maharashtra’s social, cultural and public life. The release comes as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in Nagpur in 1925, completes its centenary. The book provides an opportunity to examine the history, ideas, working methods and evolution of the RSS. The book explores how Indian cultural ideas and heritage have travelled across the world, interacted with other societies and acquired new meanings.

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Chandra Shekhar Sain, a terracotta and visual artist from Rajasthan, has been selected by the Lalit Kala Akademi for National Akademi Award 2026. He received the award at the 65th National Exhibition of Art, 2026. His award-winning terracotta work is titled “My Entire World-I.” He is the only artist from Rajasthan among this year’s awardees.

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Recently, India won 4 Gold and 1 Silver medal at the 19th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) 2026 held in Hanoi, Vietnam, from 25 September to 5 October 2026. All 5 Indian participants won medals. Pranjal Dixit, Sumant Gupta, Akshat Srivastava and Arnav Sehrawat won gold medals and Harshil Amitkumar Patel won silver medal. India jointly secured 3rd position with Vietnam (guest team), behind Iran and South Korea, which won five Gold medals each.

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Francis Halzen, a distinguished professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics for his pioneering contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the detection of high-energy cosmic neutrinos. His visionary work led to the construction of the world’s largest neutrino detector at the South Pole. This breakthrough opened a new window into astronomy, enabling scientists to trace high-energy cosmic rays back to their sources, such as active galactic nuclei, using neutrinos as cosmic messengers instead of light.