Awards, Honours & Persons in News Current Affairs MCQs

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Recently, the Centre for Development of Telematics received the SKOCH Award 2025 at the 104th SKOCH Summit themed “Resourcing Viksit Bharat”. The award was given for its Cell Broadcast Solution, an indigenous disaster and emergency alert platform. The system integrates agencies like India Meteorological Department, Central Water Commission, Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services, Defence Geo-informatics Research Establishment, and Forest Survey of India. It delivers near real-time, geo-targeted, multilingual disaster alerts through mobile networks with approval from State and National Disaster Management Authorities.

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Vice President Dr C. P. Radhakrishnan launched the book Chalice of Ambrosia: Ram Janmabhoomi–Challenge and Response in New Delhi. The book is authored by Surendra Kumar Pachauri, a former secretary to the Government of India. Dr Radhakrishnan stated that Ram Mandir at Ayodhya represents a defining moment in India’s civilisational journey, where faith, law, and democracy converged. The 2019 Supreme Court verdict fulfilled the aspirations of millions and highlighted the strength of Indian democracy.

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Mozambican humanitarian and rights activist Graça Machel has been selected for the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2025. The award decision was made by an international jury chaired by former National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon. She was chosen for path-breaking work in education, health, nutrition, economic empowerment, and humanitarian action. The award carries a cash prize of ₹1 crore, a citation, and a trophy. She led a landmark United Nations (UN) study in the 1990s on the impact of armed conflict on children.

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Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla was conferred the Ashoka Chakra, India’s highest peacetime gallantry award, by President Droupadi Murmu during the 77th Republic Day celebrations at Kartavya Path. Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair will be awarded the Kirti Chakra. Shubhanshu Shukla travelled to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2025 as part of the Axiom-4 mission, becoming the second Indian in space after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma. The award recognises his exceptional courage, leadership, presence of mind and swift decision-making under demanding space mission conditions.

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Dr. Chandrakant Lahariya, former staff member of the World Health Organisation (WHO), has won the Wiley Research Heroes Prize 2025. He is the first and only Indian to receive this global honour so far. The award received over 2,000 nominations from across the world. He won in the category “Impact Beyond Academia”, recognising research that influences policy and society. Dr. Lahariya is among five researchers globally honoured this year for outstanding research and policy impact.

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Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), a Maharatna PSU and India’s largest public sector steel producer, has received the ‘Great Place to Work’ certification for February 2026–February 2027. This marks the third consecutive year SAIL has earned the prestigious recognition. The certification was awarded after a company-wide assessment by the Great Place to Work Institute, India, based on extensive employee feedback. SAIL recorded a significant improvement in its Trust Index score, reflecting growing employee confidence in leadership, policies, and work environment.

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Uttar Pradesh won the national award for Most Proactive State under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)–UDAN in the Non-Priority Area category. The award recognises states that are neither hill states nor in the North-East, highlighting UP’s aviation expansion under CM Yogi Adityanath. Air passenger numbers grew from 59.97 lakh in 2016 to 1.28 crore in 2024 and 1.55 crore in 2025. Air cargo volume increased from 5,895 metric tonnes in 2016 to 29,761 metric tonnes in 2025, a CAGR of 17.58% over nine years.

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Veerabhadran Ramanathan, an 81-year-old Indian-origin scientist, won the Crafoord Prize, called the “Nobel of Geosciences,” for his pioneering climate research. He grew up in southern India, studied engineering in Bengaluru, and moved to the United States for higher studies. Early work at a refrigeration company led him to study chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and their heat-trapping effect on the atmosphere. In 1975, his Science paper showed that a single CFC molecule could warm the planet as much as thousands of carbon dioxide molecules. His work contributed to the 1987 Montreal Protocol, banning CFCs and preventing further warming.

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Mumbai will host the Earthshot Prize 2026 in November, marking the first time the award comes to India. The Earthshot Prize was founded in 2020 by Prince William of Britain to promote global action to protect the planet. The announcement was made during Mumbai Climate Week. The award will honour 15 innovative environmental solutions. The five categories are Protect and Restore Nature, Clean Our Air, Revive Our Oceans, Build a Waste-Free World and Fix Our Climate.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred the ‘Speaker of the Knesset Medal’ by the Israeli Parliament, the highest honour of the Knesset. He is the first world leader to receive this medal, recognising his personal leadership in strengthening India-Israel strategic relations. In 2018, PM Modi had received the Grand Collar of the State of Palestine, the highest Palestinian honour for foreign leaders.