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Awards and Honours

Awards and Honours

1 Fast-Track EPFO Batch-2021

EPFO-CRASH COURSE

Awards & Honours

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2 Fast-Track EPFO Batch-2021 Awards and Honours Indian activist gets U.S’ International Anti-corruption Champions Award About Anjali Bhardwaj • She is a 48-year-old activist who is also the founder of ‘Satark Nagrik Sangathan (SNS)’. • SNS is a citizens’ group that promote transparency and accountability in government and also encourage the active participation of citizens. • She has also served as an active member in the “Right to Information Movement” in . • She is a convener of National Campaign for People’s’ Right to Information. • This campaign resulted into establishment of an anti-corruption ombudsman and Whistleblowers’ Protection Act.

Hyderabad- 2020 Tree City of the World • The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Arbor Day Foundation have recently recognized Hyderabad as a 2020 Tree City of World. • Hyderabad was selected for the recognition following its commitment to grow and maintain the urban forests. Highlights • This recognition was a testament for city’s sustained and institutional efforts of planting, nurturing and celebrating trees. • It also marks the development of the urban and peri-urban forestry actions, projects besides the strategic planning & commitment of building healthy city. • Other cities which were recognised by the organisation includes 120 cities from across 63 countries. • Most of the cities were from , , Australia and Canada.

UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) • It is a specialized agency of United Nations.

3 Fast-Track EPFO Batch-2021 • FAO leads the international efforts of defeating hunger and improving the nutrition security as well as the food security. • The organisation was founded by UN in October 1945. • It is headquartered in Rome, Italy. It has its regional and field offices around the 130 countries. • FAO coordinate with the governments and development agencies to improve and develop the agriculture, fisheries, forestry, land resources and water resources.

Theodore Baskaran won Sanctuary Lifetime Service Award 2020 • S. Theodore Baskaran who is a writer, a historian, a naturalist and an activist has won the Sanctuary Lifetime Service Award, 2020. • The award was instituted by the Sanctuary Nature Foundation. Why he won the award? • Theodore Baskaran was chosen for the award in the light of his dedication to the wildlife conservation. • He won the award for his writing prowess in English and Tamil. About S. Theodore Baskaran • He was born in 1940 in . • He is an Indian film historian and a wildlife conservationist. • He is prolific in Tamil. His Tamil works include Vaanil Parakkum Pullelam and Kal Mel Nadandha Kaalam.

Nari Shakti Puraskar • are conferred every year on the occasion of International Women’s Day. • The award is conferred by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. • The Nari Shakti Puruskar is awarded to individuals or groups or NGOs or institutions. • The award encourages the women to participate in decision making roles, skill development in traditional and non-traditional sectors among the women.

4 Fast-Track EPFO Batch-2021 Who are eligible for the award? • As per the Guidelines any individual of at least 25 years of age and institutions that have worked in the relevant field for at least 5 years are eligible to apply. International Women’s Day • The day is celebrated on the March 8, every year across the world. • United Nations started celebrating the day in the year 1977. • The UN theme for International Women’s Day for the year 2021 is “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world”. • The hashtag for the day will be #IWD2021 and #InternationalWomensDay

Padma Awards 2021 On the evening of 72nd Republic Day, India has honored 119 people from diverse field with the Padma Awards. Highlights • These awards are conferred by the at ceremonial functions at Rashtrapati Bhawan.. • It also includes 10 persons from the category of Foreigners or NRI or PIO or OCI,16 Posthumous awardees and 1 transgender awardee. • Shri Ram Vilas Paswan was conferred the award (Posthumous) in Public Affairs category. Padma Awards • It is one of the highest civilian Awards of the country. • This award is given in three categories namely, the , and . • It is given in various disciplines and fields of activities including the art, public affairs, social work, Trade and industry, science and engineering, medicine, literature, education, sports and civil service. Padma Vibhushan • It is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India.

5 Fast-Track EPFO Batch-2021 • The award was Instituted on January 2, 1954. • This award is given for the “exceptional and distinguished service”. • It does not differentiate between race, occupation, position, or sex. • The award is given for the exceptional and distinguished service. • Satyendra Nath Bose, Zakir Hussain, Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher, Nand Lal Bose were among the first recipient of the award in 1954. • In the year 2021, this award was given to: 1. Shri Shinzo Abe – Public Affairs – 2. Shri S P Balasubramaniam (Posthumous) – Art – Tamil Nadu 3. Shri Sudarshan Sahoo – Art – 4. Belle Monappa Hegde – Medicine – 5. Shri B. B. Lal Others – Archaeology – 6. Shri Narinder Singh Kapany (Posthumous) – Science and Engineering – United States of America 7. Maulana Wahiduddin Khan – Others – Spiritualism – Delhi Padma Bhushan • It is the third-highest civilian award in India. • The award is preceded by the & Padma Vibhushan while followed by the Padma Shri. Padma Shri • It is the fourth-highest civilian award of India after Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan.

CogX Awards • CogX is a Global Leadership Summit held annually in London. • MyGov is the world’s largest citizen engagement platform. • It facilitates two-ways communication between the Government and Citizen and facilitates participatory governance in India.

6 Fast-Track EPFO Batch-2021 • MyGov, JioHaptik Technologies Limited and WhatsApp team collaborated to develop AI enabled MyGov Corona Helpdesk. • AI enabled MyGov Corona Helpdesk bagged two awards under categories of Best Innovation for Covid-19 - Society and People’s Choice Covid-19 Overall Winner.

International Emmy Awards 2020 • Indian web series Delhi Crime on Netflix has won the best drama series award at the 48th International Emmy Awards 2020. • It was based on 2012- Delhi Gang Rape. • The event was held virtually for the first time in the history of International Emmy Awards due to the pandemic. • Another Indian show on prime ‘Four More Shots Please’ and actor Arjun Mathur from ‘Made in Heaven’ also made their way for the nominations in the respective categories of International Emmy Awards but did not win.

WORLD SOIL DAY AWARD 2020 - 5TH DECEMBER • Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has won prestigious International King Bhumibol World Soil Day Award for 2020 on World Soil Day. • ICAR has been conferred for its commitment to raise awareness about healthy soil addressing soil erosion under motto ‘Stop soil erosion, save our future’, taken in 2019. • Award is presented by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2021 • The award is formerly known as the National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement. • This is Highest Civilian Honour in India that is given to the exceptional achievers under the age of 18. • A child must be an Indian Citizen and reside in India in order to get the award.

7 Fast-Track EPFO Batch-2021 • The Ministry of Women and Child Development has instituted the purashkar in the 1996. • This purashkar recognizes the children with exceptional abilities and outstanding status in fields including the arts, culture, academics, research, social service, design, innovation and sports. • The President of India confreres the award in the week preceding the Republic Day.

Health Ministry Kayakalp Awards • The Kayakalp Awards are presented by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare annually to the health facilities with the highest standards of sanitation and hygiene. • Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research was awarded the second prize • AIIMS Bhubaneswar has received the best central government hospital under Category B of the Kayakalp Awards for cleanliness for the third consecutive time. • Category B holds hospitals with less than thousand beds. • The Rairangpur Sub Divisional Hospital of Mayurbhanj district was felicitated as the best Sub- divisional hospital community health centre category. • The scheme aims to incentivize public health care facilities that show high performance in following protocols, infection control, cleanliness and sanitation.

Digital India Awards, 2020: Bihar wins in Pandemic category • The Chief Minister Secretariat of Bihar, National Informatics Centre and the Disaster Management Department have been jointly chosen as winners in “Pandemic Category” in Digital India Awards, 2020. • Bihar was selected under the Pandemic Category for its financial assistance to more than 21 lakhs of stranded workers outside Bihar. • The assistance was provided through “Bihar Sahayata Mobile App”. • The Bihar Government provided Rs 1000 to workers coming from outside to Bihar and also to persons stuck in other states.

8 Fast-Track EPFO Batch-2021 • The Digital India Awards are presented by President Ram Nath Kovind every year. • The categories in Digital India Awards are as follows: o Innovation in Pandemic-Innovative digital solution to enable the citizens to undertake various activities with ease during the time pandemic in areas such as health, education, travel, communication, etc. o Excellence in Digital Governance: Department of Government that has comprehensive digital presence and has displayed high level of Intra Department Integration.

National Startup Awards 2021 • The National Startup Awards are presented recognising outstanding startups and ecosystem enablers. • The 2021 awards are to cover flagship schemes launched by through innovations. • The awards are part of Startup India. • The National Startup Awards carry 5 lakh rupees of cash money. • It is provided in 15 categories namely travel, transport, space, security, Industry 4.0, Health and Wellness etc • The startup entity should be recognised by DPIIT. • The Incubator should be structured as an independent entity. It should be operational at least for two years. It should have graduated at least fifteen startups. • Startup Incubator are non-profit organizations that help entrepreneurs grow their business. They are often associated with universities and business schools.

LEGION OF MERIT- TO INDIAN PRIME MINISTER • The President of United States conferred the Legion of Merit to Prime Minister . • The award was received by the Ambassador of India to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu on behalf of the Prime Minister. About Legion of Merit

9 Fast-Track EPFO Batch-2021 • The Legion of Merit is a military award of the United States. • It is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements, loyalty. • It is issued to the eight uniformed services of the United States and also to the Heads of foreign Governments. • It is one of the two United States military decorations that is issued as a neck let. The other is Medal of Honour. • Neck let is a type of decoration designed to be worn and displayed around the neck of the person. • The Legion of Merit is the seventh in the order of precedence of all the United States military awards.

North African Couscous in UNESCO Cultural Heritage List • The Couscous, the Berber dish was recently added to the Intangible Cultural Heritage List. • The Couscous has joined Singapore’s Hawker culture, Baudima dance of Zambia and wine horse of Spain into the UNESCO list of Intangible Heritage. • It is a processed grain product that is made from little balls of Durum wheat or semolina flour. • It is a Berber dish. It is a staple food of Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania and Libya. • The Berbers are ethnic group living in West Africa and North Africa. • The Budima dance of Zambia is the warrior dance that is performed by the Wee people. • Currently, the following are included in Heritage of India: o Kalamkari-It has been included under the Traditional Craftmanship. o Oggukatha: Traditional Folk Thetre-This has been included under the domain of Performing Arts. Tolu Bommalatta-It is one of the shadow puppet theatre traditions of India o Traditions associated with Funerals of Idu Mishimi tribes Songs of Shaman o Sowma-Rigpa: a healing practice Lores and Rituals of Nocte Deere Yameng

10 Fast-Track EPFO Batch-2021 o Sattriya Music Khol o Jun Beel Mela Ankiya Nat

11 Fast-Track EPFO Batch-2021

12 Fast-Track EPFO Batch-2021 Golden Peacock Environment Management • Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has been awarded with the Golden Peacock Environment Management award for the year 2020 in the steel sector. • The award was given for its efforts in adopting various environmental measures like upgrading pollution control facilities, treatment and recirculation of wastewater from individual units and outfalls, enhancement in green cover and efficient solid waste management. • SAIL has received the award for two consecutive years. About the Golden Peacock Environment Management Award • Golden Peacock Environment Management Award is a prestigious award that was instituted by the World Environment Foundation in 1998. • The award encourages the corporates to enhance their environmental performances.

UNEP's 2020 Young Champions of the Earth Award • The United Nations Environment Programme named seven Environmentalists as its Young Champions of the Earth. o Nzambi Matee of . He is a material engineer and is receiving the award for producing low-cost construction materials from recycled plastic waste and sand. o Xiaoyuan Ren of China tests and records quality of groundwater in rural China. o Vidyut Mohan of India is the co-founder of Takachar. He has built affordable and portable biomass upgrading equipment. o Lefteris Arapakis of Greece trains, empowers and incentivises local fishing community to collect plastic from sea. • The Young Champions of the Earth prize is awarded every year to 7 entrepreneurs under the age of 30. These entrepreneurs should have bold ideas for sustainable environmental change. • The Young Champions award aims to inspire more young people to get closer to the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030)

13 Fast-Track EPFO Batch-2021 UNESCO PRIZE ON CREATIVE ECONOMY • UNESCO is to launch an international prize in the creative economy field in the name of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. • 2021 has been declared as ‘International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development’ by UNESCO. About UNESCO Prize on Creative Economy • The prize will create knowledge sharing mechanism by communicating the best practice in developing creative entrepreneurship. • The prize will be 50,000 USD and is to be given once in every two years. • The award will recognise exceptional initiatives taken by cultural workers and organizations in the development of creative economy. What is Creative Economy? • Creative economy is an economic system in which value is based on use of creative imagination rather than the traditional factors of land, capital and labor. • The concept was given by John Howkins in 2001. • This form of economy occurs only when the creativity of the person becomes a major source of value and main cause of transaction. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman • He is also called the “Father of ”. • He was the first President of Bangladesh. • He also served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh from April 17, 1971 till his assassination on August 15, 1975.

Ramanujan Prize for Mathematicians • Brazilian mathematician, Carolina Araujo has been conferred with ‘2020 Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians’ for her significant work in algebraic geometry. • It is given every year to young mathematicians who conducts outstanding research in developing nation. • Her work area focuses on birational geometry, which aims to classify and describe the structure of algebraic varieties.

14 Fast-Track EPFO Batch-2021 • In India, 22nd December is celebrated as National Mathematics Day in the memory of Srinivasa Ramanujan

United Nations Investment Promotion Award, 2020. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) recently declared “Invest India” as the winner of the United Nations Investment Promotion Award, 2020. • The award recognizes outstanding achievements of investment promotion agencies spread all over the world. Background • This award helps India’s innovation helped to control the spread of COVID-19 in the country. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development • The UNCTAD deals with trade, investment and development issues. • It was established in 1964. • It releases reports such as Trade and Development Report and World Investment Report. World Investment Report, 2020 • The report was released by UNCTAD in June 2020. • According to the report, the FDI flows decreased by 40% in 2020 as compared to 2019. • For the first time, the global FDI flows will be below 1 trillion USD since 2005.

Pilibhit Tiger Reserve receives TX2 International Award • The Pilibhit Tiger Reserve and the Forest Department bagged the first international award TX2. • The Pilibhit Tiger Reserve was awarded for doubling its number of tigers in four years. • The target set was to double the numbers in ten years. The target was set by the partners of the award in 2010. • The partners are Global Tiger Forum, United Nations Development Programme, Conservation Tiger Standards and Lion’s Share.

15 Fast-Track EPFO Batch-2021 • There are thirteen tiger range countries where the tigers still roam around freely. A male tiger will require 60 to 100 square kilometres and a tigress will require 20 square kilometres. • Of all the tigers in the world, the Siberian tigers have the largest range. Its territories span more than 10,000 square kilometres. • The tiger range countries are India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, China, Russia, Malaysia, Laos, , Myanmar, Vietnam and Nepal • Every year, the Global Tiger Day is celebrated on July 29. • According to the Tiger Census of India, there are 2,967 tigers in the country. • has the highest number of tigers followed by Karnataka and .

Booker Prize 2020 won by Douglas Stuart • The Booker Prize of the year 2020 was won by Douglas Stuart for his debut novel “Shuggie Bain”. • The Booker Prize is a literary prize awarded annually for the best novel. • The prize is awarded to novels written in English and published in Ireland or UK. It was formerly known as “Booker-McConnell Prize” (1969-2001) and Man Booker Prize (2002-2019). In 1997, • Arundati Roy of India won the Booker Prize for her Novel “The God of Small Things”. • It is awarded to books that are translated into English and published in United Kingdom. • The 2020 winner of International Booker Prize is Marieke Lucas Rjineveld for the book The Discomfort of Evening. • The most prestigious Indian Literary Awards are Gyanpeeth Award, Fellowship, , Vyas Samman, Saraswati Samman, etc.

Assam wins best state award in fisheries sector • received the best state award under the category of best hilly and North Eastern State in Fisheries. • The following were the other awards received o Odisha bagged the best state in marine state category

16 Fast-Track EPFO Batch-2021 o Uttar Pradesh won the best state award in Inland State category • India is the second largest producer of fish in the world. • India produces 13,7 million tonnes of fish annually. Of this, the inland fisheries constitutes 65% of the total fish production. • There are 23 minor and five major fishing harbours in India. The major harbours are Mangalore, , Kochi, Vishakhapatnam and Kolkata.

Education Minister inaugurated Lilavati Awards, 2020 On November 17, 2020, the Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokriyal ‘Nishank’ inaugurated the Lilavati to recognise the efforts of AICTE affiliated institutions based on the theme of women empowerment. • There are seven categories including literacy, self-defence, women entrepreneurship, legal awareness, women health and sanitation and hygiene. • The main objective of the awards is to create awareness in the issues such as sanitation, hygiene, health and nutrition using traditional Indian values. • Also, the awards aim to increase awareness in technology, literacy, employment, innovation, credit, skill development, natural resources utilisation, marketing and women rights. • The award has been named after the 12th book called “Lilavati”. The book was written by the mathematician Bhaskara II. • Lilavati was the daughter of Indian Mathematician Bhaskara II. • He was the leader is a cosmic observatory at Ujjain. • His major works are Siddhantha-Siromani, meaning Crown of Treaties. • This main work of the legend has been divided into four parts namely Lilavati, Grahaganita, Bijaganita and Goladhyaya. • He is known for his discovery of principles of differential calculus. • Bhaskara I was the seventh century Indian mathematician and astronomer. Who wrote numbers in Hindu Decimal System. • He also gave a unique rational approximation of the sine function.

National Water Awards Vice President Venkaiah Naidu announced the second National Water Awards.

17 Fast-Track EPFO Batch-2021 • Tamil Nadu won the first place followed by and at second and third places respectively. • bagged the top most position under the special category. • The National Water Awards in 2020 has included several categories to encourage stakeholders. These categories are o Best district in revival of river and water conservation. Best Village Panchayat o Best Urban Local Body Best Research o Best Education and awareness effort Best TV shows o Best Newspaper in , English and regional languages Best School o Best Institution o Best Industry (Large Scale and Medium scale) Water Warrior o Best NGO o Best Industry for CSR activities Best Water User Association.

Global Himalayan Expedition won the UN Global Climate Action Award • Indian organisation named Global Himalayan Expedition wins UN Global Climate Action Award for combating climate change amid COVID-19 pandemic. • GHE is a corporation that manages ‘Impacts Expeditions’ to the Himalayan villages in native areas. • GHE is an Indian corporation that strengths technology and tourism in order to support remote group gain solar energy. • GHE utilizes a portion of the charged expedition fee in funding the cost of transmission, hardware, training, and installation of village-scale solar micro-grids. The micro-grid network launched by the Global Himalayan Expedition is then owned and handle by the community. • At present, the corporation has solar electrified more than 131 villages in three regions of India. It has directly hit the lives of more than 60,000 villagers. • Exceeding 1,300 travellers from 60 various countries have also been a share of these expeditions. Above USD 1,14,000 has been produce in income for the villages by enhancing livelihood across homestay tourism. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change • Abbreviated as UNFCCC.

18 Fast-Track EPFO Batch-2021 • It is an international environmental pact addressing climate change, • It is informally known as the Earth Summit. • It happened in Rio de Janeiro from 3rd to 14th June 1992. • It came into force on 21 March 1994. • It established a Secretariat headquartered in Bonn. • The UNFCCC looks for the improvement of greenhouse gas concentrations in the aerospace at a level that would stop dangerous human-induced intrusion with the earth’s climate system.

International Solar Alliance Solar Awards • The third assembly of International Solar Alliance was held between October 14, 2020 and October 16, 2020. • World Resource Institute report was presented. • The report identified sources of funds, constraints and opportunities to scale up solar investments. • The ISA is working with the WRI to mobilize 1 trillion USD of resources by 2030. • This is being implemented under the “One Sun One World One Grid” initiative of International Solar Alliance. • For the first time, the following ISA Solar Awards were presented o Kalpana Chawla Awards . The award recognizes contributions of scientists working in the field of solar energy. o Visvesvaraya Award . to Japan in the Asia Pacific Region and to Netherlands in the Europe region o Diwakar Award . It is presented to the organizations that are working for the benefit of the physically challenged people and uses maximum solar energy. ISA • was launched jointly by India and in 2015 • The ISA aims to mobilize 1000 billion USD of investment and generate 1000 GW solar energy.

Nobel Prize for Economics, 2020

19 Fast-Track EPFO Batch-2021 • The Nobel Prize for Economics, 2020 was awarded to Paul R Milogrom and Robert B Wilson. • They were awarded for improvements to Auction Theory and also for inventing new auction formats. o It deals with how people research the properties of auction markets. o suited for auctions for privatization of public-sector companies or sale of electromagnetic spectrum. • The prize is also called Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. • By rule, nobel prize cannot be shared by more than three laureates. About Nobel Prize • Established in 1968 by a donation from the central bank of Sweden Sveriges Riksbank to the Nobel Foundation. • It is not one of the prizes that were established by Alfred Nobel in 1895.

Nobel Prize for Peace, 2020 • The Nobel Prize for Peace, 2020 has been awarded to the World Food Programme. • The WFP has been honoured with the prize for its role towards contributing better conditions for peace in conflict affected areasThe World Food Programme • Largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger and promoting food security. • The programme was established in 1963. • It aims to provide food aid in emergency situations and also build resilience for food security. • In 2017 building blocks program distributed money for food assistance. for Syrian refugees in Jordan. • In 2020, feeding war torn yemenis.

Nobel Prize 2020 • The Nobel Prize, 2020 was awarded to Louise Gluck for her poetry. • Louis Gluck is the second female poet to win the award. Olga received the prize in 2018.

20 Fast-Track EPFO Batch-2021 • The Nobel Prize is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is not awarded posthumously, that is after the death of a person. • The Nobel Prize may not be shared more than three individuals. • However, it can be awarded to organizations with more than three people.

Nobel Prize for Chemistry, 2020 • The Nobel Prize for Chemistry, 2020 has been awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A Doudna for Development of a method for Genome Editing. • The scientists had developed the Gene Editing Technique called “CRISPR-Cas9 Snipping Scissors”. • The researchers can change the DNA of animals using the Gene Editing Technique invented by the Nobel Laureates. • It has potentials to cure inherited diseases. • CRISPR-Cas9 is the Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats CRISPR Associated protein • It is used to change entire gentic code or edit DNA at particular locations. • Gene contains bio-information defining an individual. • It works as cut and paste mechanism on DNA Strands. • It is now used to modify disease causing genes in embryos. Nobel Prize for Physics, 2020 • The Nobel Prize, 2020 for Physics has been awarded to Andrea M Ghez, Roger Penrose and Reinhard Genzel for their research on black holes. • They discovered that Milky Way has a supermassive black hole at the centre. • So far, only three women have won Nobel Prize for Physics. o They were Marie Curie (1903), o Maria Goeppert- Mayer (1963) and o Donna Strickland (2018). • Marie Curie had also won Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2011 and is the only woman to win the prize in two categories. • The only Indian who has received Nobel Prize for Physics was Sir C V Raman in 1930. o He discovered the Raman Effect.

21 Fast-Track EPFO Batch-2021 o It is the scattering of light particles by molecules in a medium. This occurs as the wavelength of light changes as it enters a medium.

Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, 2020 • The Nobel Prize for Medicine has been jointly awarded to Harvey J Alter, Charles M Rice and Michael Houhgton. • The scientists have been awarded for the discovery of Hepatitis C Virus. • In 2019, the Nobel Prize for Physiology for discovering how the body cells sense and react to low oxygen levels. The National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme • launched under National Health Mission to upgrade diagnosis and treatment for Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. • The main aim of the mission is to treat at least 3 lakh Hepatitis cases over a period of three years. • The virus spreads through blood-to-blood contact • Also, the virus can spread from a mother to her baby. • No vaccine has been discovered against Hepatitis C. There are vaccines for Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B. They are administered in India under Universal Immunization Programme. • No vaccine has been discovered against Hepatitis C.

Swachh Bharat Awards, 2020 • Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Skekhawat presented the Swachh Bharat Awards, 2020. • The awards were given under cleanliness categories and drinking water category. • The awards were presented under three categories namely Swachh Sundar Samudayik Shouchalaya, Gandagi Mukth Bharat and Samudayik Shouchalaya Abhiyan. • won the first prize under Swachh Sundar Samudayik Shouchalaya category at state level. o The Tirunelveli of Tamil Nadu got the first prize at district level • It is a national level campaign that aims to clean all cities, urban and rural areas.

22 Fast-Track EPFO Batch-2021 • It also creates awareness among people on proper sanitation and hygiene Swachh Bharat Mission Phase II. • This part of phase II focuses on open defecation free plus (ODF+). • This includes solid and liquid management. • This phase is to be implemented between 2020-21 and 2024-25. • The ODF+ will mainly focus on greywater management, fecal sludge management, plastic waste management and biodegradable solid waste management. • The phase will also continue to generate employment by creating infrastructure for compost pits, waste stabilisation ponds, soak pits, material recovery facilities.

Kerala wins United Nations Award for Control of Non-Communicable Diseases • won the United Nation Interagency Task Force Award for its outstanding performance in controlling non-communicable diseases related Sustainable Development Goals. • The award recognised achievements of the state during 2019 in the prevention and control of Non communicable Diseases and mental health. • The State was able to control the death rate of COVID-19 as it focused in Non- Communicable Diseases. • The scope of work of UNIATF was expanded to include “Non Communicable Diseases” related Sustainable Development Goals. o They are mental health, injuries, violence, environmental issues and nutrition issues. • India has launched the National Programme to control NCD. • The main NCDs in India are cancers, heart attacks, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes. • The 2030 Agenda of SDG includes a target of reducing number of premature deaths due to NCDs by one-third by 2030. • In India NCDs are closely related to poverty.

Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development • Sir David Attenborough, naturalist and broadcaster, will be awarded the Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development

23 Fast-Track EPFO Batch-2021 • He spent a lifetime of doing research to reveal wonders of natural towards awakening the humans about the need to preserve and protect biodiversity of the planet and to live in a sustainable way with all life. He was also advocated for stopping a plague on Earth. • Former Prime Minister (85) was selected for peace, disarmament and development. • He was selected based on his leadership in the country between 2004 and 2014 and for enhancing India’s stature globally. • It is an annual prestigious award which has been named after former prime minister Indira Gandhi. • It is conferred every year by Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust since 1986. • It recognises excellent efforts by individuals or organisations which are working towards creating a new international economic order, towards promoting international peace. , 2020 . • The recipients will only be able to join the award ceremony from their respective home states due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. • Introduced in the year 1976, the National Sports Awards include the Khel Ratna award, the award, , the Award, Maulana (MAKA) Trophy, and Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar • Selection of the awardees for the Khel Ratna Award Arjuna awards and all the other category of awards involves a committee constituted by the Sports Ministry • Other popular names among the list are, Former hockey captain Sardar Singh and Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag alongside Paralympic committee of India President Deepa Malik

VA Tech Wabag wins Global Water Award • Chennai based leading water technology Indian Multinational VA Tech Wabag Ltd. bagged the prestigious Global Water Award for its 45 million liters a day Tertiary Treatment Reverse Osmosis Plant at Koyambedu, Chennai.

24 Fast-Track EPFO Batch-2021 • The project caters to the municipal corporations by recycling water and thus helps urban water governance. • Chennai became the first Indian city to reuse more than 20% of its treated wastewater. • It is a process that seeks to improve the quality of the water by removing contaminants and undesirable components, for a specific end-use, usually drinking purpose.

Union Home Minister’s Medals for Excellence in Investigation • Union Home Minister’s Medals for Excellence in Investigation for 2020 have been awarded to 121 police personnel, including 21 women police officers • This medal was constituted in 2018 by the Union Government. • Objective of the medals is to promote high professional standards of investigation of crime and to recognize such excellence in an investigation by the investigating officers. • These medals are awarded to officers in Central Investigation Agencies, state/UT police force investigating agencies in recognition of their outstanding service in the investigation. • The names for these medals are finalized by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs based on the recommendations made by the States / UTs and the central police organizations. • The awardees are given a scroll signed by the Union Home Minister along with the medal.

Defence Institute of Advanced Technology topped Smart India Hackathon-2020 • Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT) has won the first prize in the Smart India Hackathon 2020, • Awarded by the Defence Ministry for its product research and development. Defence Institute of Advanced Technology • It is a deemed university under the Department of Defence Research and Development. The Smart India Hackathon 2020

25 Fast-Track EPFO Batch-2021 • It is a 36-hour non-stop digital product building competition for software edition organized jointly by the Ministry of Human Resource Development and All India Council for Technical Education. Women Entrepreneurship and Empowerment Awards • The Women Entrepreneurship and Empowerment Awards have been announced. • The objective of the award is to recognize the efforts of the women in various spheres of life, especially the entrepreneurs. • It is an initiative that helps women from the college-going youth to the middle-aged housewives to take up the path of entrepreneurship to make it a viable, fulfilling career option. • Initiative supported and sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology. • Priyanka Prabhakar has been chosen for creating STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics based) toys and board games to engage young minds during the coronavirus lockdown.

Emmy Awards ceremony • The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards will be held virtually this year due to the COVID 19 pandemic situation. • It is an American award bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (ATAS) to recognize the excellent performances in the US primetime television programming. • This is known as the television’s equivalent to the Academy Awards for films, Grammy Awards for music and Tony Awards for theatre.

Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar • The Government of India has come out with awards to cater to disaster management. • Both individuals and institutions which are involved in this work can fill the nomination form for the awards. • Every year, the winners for the award are announced on the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose on January 23.

26 Fast-Track EPFO Batch-2021 • It is given in areas such as rescue operations, relief and mitigation of the disaster- related incidents, prevention, preparedness, rehabilitation, research and innovation in the field of disaster management. • The award has been designed in order to recognize the efforts of individuals and institutions working in this arena selflessly.

Ministry of Earth Sciences Announces Awards for Excellence in Earth System Science • The Ministry of Earth Sciences, announced the Awards for Excellence in Earth System Science. • The ministry recognized the eminent scientists and encouraged women and young researchers to participate in the mainstream of Earth System Science. • List of Awardees for 2020 o Lifetime Excellence Award: Prof. Ashok Sahni. o National Award for Ocean Science and Technology: Dr V. V. S. S. Sharma (National Institute of Oceanography) and Dr M. Ravichandran (National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, Goa) National Award for Atmospheric Science and Technology: Dr S. Suresh Babu (VSSC, Thiruvanthapuram) o National Award for Ocean Technology: Dr M.A. Atmanand o Young Researcher Award: Dr Indra Sekhar Sen (IIT Kanpur) and Dr Arvind Singh (Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad)

Indian-Origin Nurse Conferred with President’s Award in Singapore • An Indian-origin nurse, Kala Narayanasamy was chosen for the President’s Award for nurses. • It was given to the medical professionals for serving on the frontline during the COVID 19 pandemic. • Ms Narayanasamy is also associated with the modernization of nursing in Singapore What is the President’s Award? • The President’s Award by the Singapore Government recognizes the nurses who performed well contributing to patient care delivery, education, research and administration.

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Idris Alba Honoured with BAFTA Special Award • Actor Idris Alba has been bestowed with the BAFTA Special Award for his creative contribution to television. • He is very popular for playing the role of Stringer Bell in ‘The Wire’ • This is one of the highest awards presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).

BAFTA

• The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is an independent charity that supports, develops and promotes the art forms of the moving image, such as films, television and games in the UK. • Established in 1947, it is based in Piccadilly, London.

Lifetime Achievement Award to Ex-RBI Governor Rangarajan • The award was presented on the side lines of celebration of Statistics Day. • A Committee was set up under his chairmanship in 2012 to review the way poverty is estimated in India. • The Committee concluded that people spending below Rs 47 per day in cities would be considered as poor. • Today, poverty estimation is carried out by NITI Aayog. • The think tank calculates poverty level in India based on the data collected from National Sample Survey Office that operates under Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

K. Sanjita Chanu to receive • K. Sanjita Chanu will be awarded Arjuna Award for 2018 after she was cleared of doping charges by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF). • She was tested positive for testosteroneback in November 2017.

28 Fast-Track EPFO Batch-2021 • Khumukcham Sanjita Chanu has won Gold Medal in twice in 2014 (48 Kg category) and in 2018 (53 Kg category).

Asia’s Nobel Prize-Ramon Magsaysay Awards cancelled • Ramon Magsaysay awards are being cancelled due to COVID-19. • The award has been named after a popular Philippine president that died in a plane crash in 1957. • The award is considered as the Nobel Prize of Asia. • It was established in 1957 & is given in five categories namely journalism, government service, public service, literature and creative communication

Javed Akhtar: First Indian to receive Richard Dawkins Award • has become the first Indian to receive the Richard Dawkins award. • He is a renowned lyricist in the Indian film industry who raised voice on social media about the issues with Citizenship Amendment Act, public policy etc. • The award is presented by the Atheist Alliance of America to those individuals that come from the world of scholarship, science, education or environment and proclaim values of rationalism, secularism upholding scientific truth. • Richard Dawkins is an ethologist, author and an evolutionary biologist.

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw: EY World Entrepreneur of the year • Kiran Mazumdar Shaw was named the EY World Entrepreneur of the year 2020. • Kiran is the third Indian to win the award after Uday Kotak of Kotak Mahindra in 2014 and Narayana Murthy of Infosys in 2005. • Kiran founded Biocon, a bio-enzymes company, in 1978. • She is being presented with the award for her contribution in improving universal access to affordable life saving biosimilar medicines. • The Biosimilar medicine is an identical copy of an original product that was manufactured by another company. o They are allowed to be manufactured when the patent of the original product expires & help to bring down the prices of medicines greatly.

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Chak Hao Rice gets GI Tag • The Manipuri black rice variety called Chak Hao was recently given GI tag recognition. • Chak Hao is a black rice variety cultivated in Manipur. • It is an aromatic rice variety. • It is glutinous in nature and dark colored. • It requires long cooking time because of the high crude fibre content and the presence of bran layer. • It is reported to have medicinal value and is hence used in traditional medicine.

Kovilpatti Kadalai Mittai • Sweet candy, ‘kovilpatti kadalai mittai’, produced in the Kovilpatti region of Tamil Nadu, was given the GI tag. • This candy is made of groundnuts, jaggery and dyed coconut wisps. It is manufactured in Kovilpatti region in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu. • GI tagging was introduced to protect products that are unique to a region in India, through registration. o GI tagging was introduced by the Geographical Indications of Goods Act, 1999. o It is administered by the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (Registrar of Geographical Indications). • The Saffron cultivated in the Kashmir valley has received Geographical Indication Tag. It is to be noted that three other products such as Gorakhpur Teracotta, Kovilpatti Kadalai Mittai and Black rice of Manipur also received GI tag recently. • The colour of the saffron is unique due to the high quantity of crocin. It has a rich flavour because of safranal and the bitterness is due to the presence of picrocrocin. • The Saffron is available in three types namely o Lachha Saffrin that is simply separated from the flower and dried without processing. o Mongra from the flower, dried and processed traditionally. o The Guchhi Saffron that is dried and packed loosely in air tight containers, joined together in a bundle with a red thread. named ambassador of WWF India

30 Fast-Track EPFO Batch-2021 • Chess legend Viswanathan Anand was named the ambassador of World Wide Fund India for its environment education programme. • The environment education programme undertakes initiatives to reach out to youth, school children and citizens in the country. • The main aim of the programme is to create problem solvers, critical thinkers and environmentally conscious individuals. • The WWF is an international NGO that was founded in 1961.

Abel Prize, 2020 • The Norwegian Academy of Science is to award the Abel Prize 2020 to mathematicians Hillel Frustenberg and Gregory Margulis. • They are being honoured for their work towards probability and dynamics in number theory, combinatorics and Group Theory. • The Abel Prize is a Norwegian prize that is being presented annually by the King of . Every Abel Prize recipient is awarded with 7.5 million Norwegian Kroner.

Satyarup Siddhanta enters ‘Limca Book of Records’ for conquering highest volcanoes • The Indian Mountaineer Satyarup Siddhanta entered ‘Limca Book of Records’after he became the first Indian to climb the highest volcanoes in the world of all the 7 continents. • He already holds Guinness Book of World Records, India Book of Records, Asia Book of Records, British Book of records and Champion Book of Records. • Volcanoes of 7 continents o Mt Kilimanjaro, Africa (5,895 m) o Mount Elbrus, Europe (5,642 m) o Mt Pico de Orizaba, North America (5,636 m) Mt Giluwe, Australia (4,367 m) o Mt Sidley, Antarctica (4,285 m) o Mt Ojos del Salado, South America (6,893 m) Mt Damavand, Asia (5,610 m) • The Limca Book of Records is considered second to the World Guinness Book of Records. .

31 Fast-Track EPFO Batch-2021 All the best JAI HIND

Class explanation- mind map

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