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CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR I.A.S. (PRE.) 2011

Classical Tamil Award for Aska Parpola Y.V. Reddy and nonagenarian artiste Zohra Segal were honoured with the , the country’s • Asko Parpola, leading authority on the Indus script second highest civilian awards at a glittering and Professor Emeritus of Indology in the University ceremony at the . of Helsinki, Finland, has been chosen for the Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi Classical Tamil Award for 2009. • Cricketer ’s ‘’ , boxer , leading actor of • Professor Parpola receive a cash prize of Rs. 10 lakh, a yesteryear , sound technician and Oscar Award citation and a memento during the World Classical winner and car racer Narain Tamil Conference held in in June. Karthikeyan were among those conferred with the Srimanta award for Borgohain and Sharmila . • The Ashoka Hall reverberated with applause as actor • The Assam government has decided to confer the walked up to to receive his Padma Shri coveted Srimanta Sankaradeva Award to noted at the function attended by Vice-President Hamid journalist and writer Homen Borgohain for the year Ansari, Prime Minister and other 2007 in recognition of his significant contribution to guests. Painter , former Cabinet journalism and literature and noted actor Sharmila Secretary and a current Planning Commission member Tagore in the fields of art and culture for the year B.K. Chaturvedi, (civil service), 2008. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would present educationists and G.P. Chopra were the awards at a function in the city tentatively fixed honoured with the . for April 23, said an official release . • Other Padma Bhushan awardees were: cardiologist Padma awards given to Chatwal, B.M. Hegde, nuclear scientist , historian • President Pratibha Patil confers Padma awards in New Bipin Chandra, exponent , . The awardees are (PADMA VIBHUSAN): Zohra panchavadya exponent Kuzhur Narayana Marar, Segal, Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman and Dr. Y.V. Reddy versatile artiste , banker N. Vaghul, (PADMA BHUSHAN): Ilaiyaraaja, Mallika V. Sarabhai, eye specialist Noshir Minoo Shroff, music composer Dr. N.M. Shroff, B.K. Chaturvedi, Sant Singh Chatwal, Shrinivas Khale, player Bipin Chandra and Professor B.M. Hegde (PADMA and practitioner E.T. Narayanan Mooss. SHRI) Srinivasan, Resul Pookutty, actor Rekha, • Nemai Ghosh, , music exponent , R.V. Achrekar, Narayan Karthikeyan and actor Saif Ali environment activist Ranjit Bhargava, TVS Motor Khan. Company Chairman , businessmen Irshad Mirza, Kapil (trade and industry), • Non-Resident Indian hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal, founder of Nirma Karsanbhai Patel were among those music composer Ilaiyaraaja and businessman Vindi Banga were conferred the Padma Bhushan awards by who received the Padma Shri. President Pratibha Patil. C’wealth award for Rana Dasgupta • Noted exponent Umayalpuram K. • British-Indian author Rana Dasgupta won the Sivaraman, former Reserve Bank of Governor Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for 2010 for his epic

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Award and Prizes

tale Solo set in Communist and post-Communist • Artists from 11 countries, including India, the United Bulgaria. Australian Glenda Guest’s Siddon Rock was States, Russia, UK, Italy and the Czech Republic, took adjudged the Best First Book at the award’s grand part in the championship, which was held in Moscow finale ceremony. for the second time. IIFA goes to • Mr. Pattnaik sends messages to the public through his sculptures by creating awareness campaigns. He • made an appearance at a glittering also runs a sand art school at the Puri Beach in Orissa. function to mark the media awareness of the 11th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA), held from wins Japanese prize June 3 to 5. • Social activist Ela Bhatt (76) received the Niwano • Besides the IIFA function, the event witness a 20-20 Peace Prize for 2010 for her contribution to the uplift match between film industry stars and Asian of poor women in India. cricketers. • “My story and philosophy can be said in three words – women, work and peace,” she said after receiving • Sri Lanka was chosen from among countries such as the award, which included a certificate, a medal and South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Australia and prize money worth about $2,15,390. South Korea. • She established the Self-Employed Women’s • IIFA started in 2000, with the first ceremony held in Association (SEWA) in 1972. London at the Millennium Dome. With the aim to take • It now has over 1.2 million members. Indian cinema worldwide, the ceremony in the past has been held in countries like , Singapore, • In 1974, she formed the SEWA cooperative bank, The Netherlands, UAE, England, Thailand and twice which now reaches out to around three million women. in South Africa. • The Tokyo-based foundation has been awarding the Bengali novel shortlisted for Independent prize every year since 1983, as an initiative to recognise the significant contribution of an individual Foreign Fiction prize to inter-religious understanding and cooperation leading to world peace. Known as a “gentle • Nearly 50 years after it was first written in 1962, Bengali revolutionary”, Ms. Bhatt was also a novelist Mani Sankar Mukherjee’s book, member. She has received a number of awards Chowringhee, has been shortlisted for one of the including the Ramon Magsaysay Award and France’s Independent Foreign Fiction prize for 2010 — the first Legion d’honneur. time that an Indian work has accomplished the feat. Thai wins Palme d’Or at Cannes • One of the most popular works in Bengali literature in the 1960s, Chowringhee, is about a myriad of • Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul won the characters that people a popular hotel, Shahjahan, in Palme d’Or top prize at the for a the city’s Champs-Elysees of the times, as seen from surreal reincarnation tale, Uncle Boonmee who can the eyes of a clerk who works there. recall his past lives. • Spanish actor Javier Bardem, who plays a terminally- Sand artist Pattnaik wins gold in Russia ill hustler in Biutiful by Mexico’s Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, shared the best actor award with Italy’s Elio • Celebrated Indian sand artist has Germano. won the ‘People’s Choice’ Gold Medal at the second World Sand Sculpture Championship in Moscow for • And France’s Juliette Binoche was named best actress his sculpture of legendary actor Raj for her role as an unhappy antiques dealer in Certified Kapoor. copy by Iran’s Abbas Kiarostami. Spelling champ’s victory hat-trick for Indian- • The theme of this year’s championship was ‘World cinema’ and the artists were required to give their Americans vision of famous movies from famous directors with • The Scripps National Spelling Bee in the United States famous actors in their sand creations. was — for the third consecutive year and for the eighth time in the last 11 years — won by an Indian- • Artists from Iceland won the ‘Jury Choice’ and American, Anamika Veeramani of North Royalton, ‘Sculptor Choice’ prizes in the championship. Ohio.

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CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR I.A.S. (PRE.) 2011

• Anamika won after nine nerve-wracking rounds, • The degree was conferred on him at a traditional, culminating in her correctly spelling ‘stromuhr,’ a formal ceremony presided over by the Duke of device used to measure blood flow velocity. She Edinburgh, Prince Philip, who is also the Chancellor fought her way through earlier rounds successfully of the university. spelling words like ‘foggara,’ ‘osteomyelitis,’ ‘mirin,’ ‘nahcolite,’ ‘epiphysis,’ and, in the penultimate round, Sachin Tendulkar get honorary Group ‘juvia,’ a term for a Brazilian nut. rank of IAF Green award • Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar was conferred with the honorary rank of Group Captain of the Indian Air • The former President, A.P.J.Abdul Kalam, presented Force, in pursuance of a provision in the armed forces the Paryavaran Puraskar-2008 to to grant such ranks to eminent personalities. Sadguru of , during World Environment Day function in . • The Air Force feels that Tendulkar’s association with it will motivate the younger generation to join it and Orange for Kingsolver serve the country. Till date the Air Force has granted honorary ranks to 21 persons, including noted • A novelist, regarded as a “traitor” by the American industrialists and aviation enthusiasts such as J.R.D. right for her criticism of the country’s foreign policy Tata and Vijaipat Singhania. and her outspoken comments after the 9/11 attacks, is the surprise winner of this year’s Orange Prize for • As per the IAF records, the former ruler of Jawhar, a fiction, Britain’s highly-regarded literary honour for princely state in , Yashwant Rao women writers . Patangshah Vikramshah Mukane, was the first person • Barbara Kingsolver’s The Lacuna, the story of an to be granted the honorary rank of Flight Lieutenant American writer who becomes a victim of anti- on September 30, 1944. communist McCarthyist witch-hunt, won the £30,000 • The list includes rulers of a number of erstwhile prize beating six contenders including Hilary Mantel’s princely states. J.R.D. Tata was first made an acclaimed Booker prize-winner Wolf Hall. honorary Group Captain in 1948. He was later • Ms. Kingsolver (55), a strong critic of colonialism promoted as Air Commodore in October 1966 and and evangelism, was attacked by the American Right finally made the honorary Air Vice Marshal in 1974. for opposing the Iraq invasion and the post-9/11 • Singhania was the last to be granted the honorary “jingoistic” mood in her country. She was branded a rank in October 1990 after having flown solo in a “traitor” after she reportedly said the American flag micro-light aircraft from London to for had come to symbolise “intimidation, violence, 22 days in 1988. bigotry”. Perelman rejects award Indian-origin boy wins BBC contest • After taking a three-month timeout, Russia’s math • Indian-origin maths whizz Arjun Rajyagor has been whizz Grigori Perelman has finally turned down a adjudged the first winner of BBC’s Junior Apprentice, $1,000,000 prize he won for having solved a - a show in which contestants compete in tasks to prove old puzzle. themselves worthy of a prize that will help them up the career ladder. • The Clay Mathematics Institute (CMI) in March • Mr. Rajyagor (17) beat finalists Zoe Plummer, Tim awarded its Millennium Prize of $1 million to the Ankers and Kirsty Cleaver after a final task to market reclusive mathematician for proving the 106-year- bottled water. Mr. Rajyagor won £25,000 to launch old Poincaré conjecture, a theorem about the nature his business career. of multidimensional space. Cambridge honour for • The eccentric Russian genius said the decision to give him the prize was unfair, as U.S. mathematician • Ratan Tata, Chairman of the of Companies, Richard Hamilton of Columbia University equally has been made an Honorary Doctor of Law by the contributed to the proof. Dr. Perelman used a in recognition of his technique developed by Dr. Hamilton, to solve the business achievements and philanthropic work. Poincare conjecture.

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Award and Prizes

• In 2006, Dr. Perelman refused to accept the Fields Paid news’ interferes with concept of free, fair Medal, which is considered equal to the Nobel and objective press: Pratibha Patil Prize. • President Pratibha Patil said the recent phenomenon of ‘paid news’ could distort news and this interfered announces Ustad with the concept of a free, fair and objective press. Yuva Puraskars for 2009 • Speaking after presenting the 4th Ramnath Goenka • The Sangeet Natak Akademi has announced the Excellence in Journalism Awards, the President delved Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskars for 2009. into the history and relevance of the Indian media and the challenges it faced in today’s constantly • These are awarded to artistes “who have shown/ changing world. demonstrated conspicuous talent in the fields of music, dance and drama.” • The awards were given to 29 categories, comprising political reporting, business, sports, environmental Young outstanding practitioners up to the age of and entertainment journalism, investigative 35 are eligible for the annual Puraskar. the journalism and on-the-spot reporting. following are the recipients of the Puraskar for 2009: • Siddharth Varadarajan, chief of the Delhi Bureau of Music:- TheHindu, was selected for the Journalist of the Year award in the Print Category for his extensive Omkar Shrikant Dadarkar – Hindustani vocal; reportage on the India-U.S. nuclear deal, the placing Murad Ali – Hindustani instrumental –sarangi; of India’s civil nuclear reactors under the Sanjeev Shankar and AshwaniShankar (joint award) International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards and the exemption granted to India by the Nuclear – Hindustaniinstrumental – shehnai; C.S. Sajeev – Suppliers Group. Carnatic vocal; A. Chandan Kumar – Carnatic • Arnab Goswami, Editor-in-Chief of Times Now, was instrumental – flute; V. Balaji - Carnatic selected for Journalist of the Year in the Broadcast instrumental – mridangam; Anil Srinivasan – Category. creative and experimental music; and • Harish Damodaran of won Moirangthem Meina Singh other majortraditions of the award for the Best Non-Fiction Book in English for his work, “India’s New Capitalists.” music – Sankirtana of . Dance:- • Indian Express Editor-in-Chief announced a new award category for “Journalism of Ragini Chander Shekar – ; Monisa Nayak – Kathak; Hanglem Indu Devi – Courage.” It was given posthumously to Indian Manipuri; Chinta Balakrishna – ; Express correspondent Pratap Singh, who died Lingaraj Pradhan – ; Menaka P.P. Bora – of the injuries he sustained in a bomb blast in ; Manjula B. Murthy – Mohiniattam; Allahabad on July 12. Swamimalai K. Suresh (music for dance) – Bharatanatyam nattuvangam and vocal. Tilak award for Sheila Dikshit Theatre:- • This year’s Lokmanya Tilak Award given to Delhi Abanti and Sukracharya Rabha – Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. direction; Mukta Vasant Barve, Palani Murugan and Teekam Chandra Joshi – acting; Milind Srivastava – allied • This was announced by president of the Lokmanya theatre arts – lighting; Juhi Babbar – allied theatre arts – costumes; and S. Gobi – (major traditions of theatre) – Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust, Deepak Tilak,. The award of . is given every year by the trust. It consists of a gold medal, a memento, a citation and Rs.1 lakh. The Traditional/folk/tribal dance/music/theatre and puppetry:- ceremony will take place on August 1 at the Tilak Smarak Mandir on the occasion of the 89th death Reshma Musale – Lavani and Tamasha, ; K. anniversary of Lokmanya Tilak. The award was Nellai Manikandan – folk dance, Tamil Nadu; Zohmingliana – tribal dance and music, Mizoram; Takhellambam established in 1983. Shyamkanhai Singh – Wari Leeba, Manipur; Sooraj Nambiar – Koodiyattam, Kerala; Shahjan Ahmad Bhagat • The award is being given to Ms. Dikshit in – Bhand Pather, Jammu and Kashmir; Nazia Sayeed – recognition of her contribution to politic M Tilak Odissi music, Orissa; and Lala Bhat – Kathputli, . said.

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CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR I.A.S. (PRE.) 2011

Konkani litterateur Railways of India, which includes the Darjeeling presented Jnanpith Award 2006 Himalayan Railway, Nilgiri railway and Kalka- Railway that are already inscribed as heritage sites. • Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar presenting the • The other international sites added to the list this prestigious Jnanpith Award to octogenarian Konkani year include, 11 Australian convict sites, the palace litterateur Ravindra Kelekar. ensemble at ad-Dir’iyah in Saudi Arabia, Tabriz • The 42nd Jnanpith Award for 2006 carried a citation, historic bazaar complex in Iran and the natural site of shawl, srifal, a bronze idol of Vagdevi and the Central Highlands in Sri Lanka. a cash prize of Rs. 7 lakh. • So far, about 890 properties are included in the list for • Ms. Kumar congratulated Mr. Kelekar and said that their “outstanding universal value.” The committee his literature reflected culture, principles of non- also oversees the disbursement of about $4 million violence and Buddha’s teachings. annually from the World Heritage Fund. Pattnaik wins Sand Sculpture Championship KCHR, British Museum share award for 5th time • The British Museum and the Thiruvananthapuram- based Kerala Council for Historical Research (KCHR) • Renowned Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has have been jointly awarded this year’s international won the first prize at the 8th International Sand award by the British Academy. Sculpture Championship in Berlin for his sculpture that showcased the effects of global warming. • The award, which carries a grant of £30,000, is aimed at promoting research collaboration between two • Pattnaik’s sculpture that had a crying tree trunk and partner-institutions, one Indian and one British. three monkeys saying, “You don’t listen, You don’t talk, You don’t see, Don’t put heads on sand, act • The research proposal, titled “Indian Ocean Trade: now,” won the maximum votes. the Archaeology of Technology,” by Roberta Tomber of the British Museum and P.J. Cherian of the KCHR, Jaipur’s Jantar Mantar inscribed in the World was based on major archaeological research work at Heritage List the Pattanam site in central Kerala carried out over the last four seasons. • The Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is now a World Heritage Monument. The 34th session of the World Heritage • Professor Cherian is the Director of the KCHR and of Committee, presently underway in Brasilia, has the Pattanam excavations, while noted historian K.N. inscribed Jantar Mantar in the Panikkar is the Chairman of the KCHR. The self- Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s governing and independent British Academy is the World Heritage List. Thirty-three countries across United Kingdom’s national academy for the the world had submitted 32 sites for consideration humanities and the social sciences. Established by this year. Royal Charter in 1902, it has fellowship of over 800 scholars. • The UNESCO website observes that these structures ‘designed for the observation of astronomical Leelavathi Award for Simon Lehna Singh positions with the naked eye, embody several • Well-known physicist-turned author, journalist and architectural and instrumental innovations.’ television producer of Indian origin Simon Lehna • Located outside the city palace, this large stone Singh has been selected by the International observatory with its many instruments was built by Mathematical Union for the Leelavathi Award in Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II in the 18th century. It is recognition of his outstanding contribution to public one of the one of the four existing astronomical outreach in mathematics. observatories in India. The others are located in • Named after the immortal mathematical treatise of the , Delhi and Ujjain. The fifth one built in great Indian mathematician Bhaskaracharya, the Mathura is not extant. The Samrat Yantra in Jaipur is award carries a cash prize of Rs.10 lakh and a citation. one of the largest sundials in the world, with its gnomon raising about 73 feet above its base. • It will be presented at the closing ceremony of the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM), • India had also submitted the Matheran Light Railway which will be held in from August 19 to line for consideration as an extension of the Mountain 27.

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