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Award and Prizes: July 2010

Award and Prizes: July 2010

Award and Prizes: July 2010

Perelman rejects award

‡ After taking a three-month timeout, 's math whizz Grigori Perelman has finally turned down a $1,000,000 prize he won for having solved a century-old puzzle.

‡ The Clay Mathematics Institute (CMI) in March awarded its Millennium Prize of $1 million to the reclusive mathematician for proving the 106-year-old Poincaré conjecture, a theorem about the nature of multidimensional space.

‡ The eccentric Russian genius said the decision to give him the prize was unfair, as U.S. mathematician Richard Hamilton of equally contributed to the proof. Dr. Perelman used a technique developed by Dr. Hamilton, to solve the Poincare conjecture.

‡ In 2006, Dr. Perelman refused to accept the Fields Medal, which is considered equal to the Nobel Prize . announces Ustad Yuva Puraskars for 2009

‡ The Sangeet Natak Akademi has announced the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskars for 2009.

‡ These are awarded to artistes ³who have shown/demonstrated conspicuous talent in the fields of music, dance and drama.´

Young outstanding practitioners up to the age of 35 are eligible for the annual Puraskar. the following are the recipients of the Puraskar for 2009:

Music:-

Omkar Shrikant Dadarkar ± Hindustani vocal; Murad Ali ± Hindustani instrumental ± sarangi; Sanjeev Shankar and Ashwani Shankar (joint award) ± Hindustani instrumental ± shehnai; C.S. Sajeev ± Carnatic vocal; Mysore A. Chandan Kumar ± Carnatic instrumental ± flute; V. Balaji ± Carnatic instrumental ± mridangam; Anil Srinivasan ± creative and experimental music; and Moirangthem Meina Singh other major traditions of music ± Nata Sankirtana of Manipur.

Dance:-

Ragini Chander Shekar ± ; Monisa Nayak ± ; Hanglem Indu Devi ± Manipuri; Chinta Balakrishna ± ; Lingaraj Pradhan ± ; Menaka P.P. Bora ± ; Manjula B. Murthy ± Mohiniattam; Swamimalai K. Suresh (music for dance) ± Bharatanatyam nattuvangam and vocal.

Theatre:-

Abanti Chakraborty and Sukracharya Rabha ± direction; Mukta Vasant Barve, Palani Murugan and Teekam Chandra Joshi ± acting; Milind Srivastava ± allied theatre arts ± lighting; Juhi Babbar ± allied theatre arts ± costumes; and S. Gobi ± (major traditions of theatre) ± of .

Traditional/folk/tribal dance/music/theatre and puppetry:

Reshma Musale ± Lavani and Tamasha, ; K. Nellai Manikandan ± , Tamil Nadu; Zohmingliana ± tribal dance and music, Mizoram; Takhellambam Shyamkanhai Singh ± Wari Leeba, Manipur; Sooraj Nambiar ± Koodiyattam, Kerala; Shahjan Ahmad Bhagat ± Bhand Pather, Jammu and Kashmir; Nazia Sayeed ± Odissi music, Orissa; and Lala Bhat ± Kathputli, .

Paid news' interferes with concept of free, fair and objective press:

‡ President Pratibha Patil said the recent phenomenon of µpaid news' could distort news and this interfered with the concept of a free, fair and objective press.

‡ Speaking after presenting the 4th Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards, the President delved into the history and relevance of the Indian media and the challenges it faced in today's constantly changing world.

‡ The awards were given to 29 categories, comprising political reporting, business, sports, environmental and entertainment journalism, investigative journalism and on-the-spot reporting.

‡ Siddharth Varadarajan, chief of the Delhi Bureau of TheHindu, was selected for the Journalist of the Year award in the Print Category for his extensive reportage on the -U.S. nuclear deal, the placing of India's civil nuclear reactors under the International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards and the exemption granted to India by the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

‡ , Editor-in-Chief of , was selected for Journalist of the Year in the Broadcast Category.

‡ Harish Damodaran of Business Line won the award for the Best Non-Fiction Book in English for his work, ³India's New Capitalists.´

‡ Indian Express Editor-in-Chief announced a new award category for ³Journalism of Courage.´ It was given posthumously to Indian Express correspondent Vijay Pratap Singh, who died of the injuries he sustained in a bomb blast in on July 12.

‡ Tilak award for Sheila Dikshit

‡ This year's Lokmanya Tilak Award will be given to Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

‡ This was announced by president of the Lokmanya Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust, Deepak Tilak,. The award is given every year by the trust. It consists of a gold medal, a memento, a citation and Rs.1 lakh. The ceremony will take place on August 1 at the Tilak Smarak Mandir on the occasion of the 89th death anniversary of Lokmanya Tilak. The award was established in 1983.

‡ The award is being given to Ms. Dikshit in recognition of her contribution to politics, Mr. Tilak said.

Konkani litterateur presented 2006

‡ Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar presenting the prestigious Jnanpith Award to octogenarian Konkani litterateur Ravindra Kelekar.

‡ The 42nd Jnanpith Award for 2006 carried a citation, shawl, srifal, a bronze idol of Vagdevi Saraswati and a cash prize of Rs. 7 lakh . ‡ Ms. Kumar congratulated Mr. Kelekar and said that his literature reflected culture, principles of non-violence and Buddha's teachings.

Pattnaik wins Sand Sculpture Championship for 5th time ‡ Renowned Indian sand artist has won the first prize at the 8th International Sand Sculpture Championship in Berlin for his sculpture that showcased the effects of global warming.

‡ Pattnaik's sculpture that had a crying tree trunk and three monkeys saying, ³You 't listen, You don't talk, You don't see, Don't put heads on sand, act now,´ won the maximum votes.

Jaipur's Jantar Mantar inscribed in the World Heritage List

‡ The Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is now a World Heritage Monument. The 34th session of the World Heritage Committee, presently underway in Brasilia, has inscribed Jantar Mantar in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's World Heritage List. Thirty-three countries across the world had submitted 32 sites for consideration this year.

‡ The UNESCO website observes that these structures µdesigned for the observation of astronomical positions with the naked eye, embody several architectural and instrumental innovations. ' ‡ Located outside the city palace, this large stone observatory with its many instruments was built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II in the 18th century. It is one of the one of the four existing astronomical observatories in India. The others are located in , Delhi and Ujjain. The fifth one built in Mathura is not extant. The Samrat Yantra in Jaipur is one of the largest sundials in the world, with its gnomon raising about 73 feet above its base.

‡ India had also submitted the Matheran Light Railway line for consideration as an extension of the Mountain Railways of India, which includes the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Nilgiri railway and Kalka-Shimla Railway that are already inscribed as heritage sites.

‡ The other international sites added to the list this year include, 11 Australian convict sites, the palace ensemble at ad-Dir'iyah in Saudi Arabia, Tabriz historic bazaar complex in Iran and the natural site of the Central Highlands in Sri Lanka . ‡ So far, about 890 properties are included in the list for their ³outstanding universal value.´ The committee also oversees the disbursement of about $4 million annually from the World Heritage Fund.

KCHR, British Museum share award

‡ The British Museum and the Thiruvananthapuram-based Kerala Council for Historical Research (KCHR) have been jointly awarded this year's international partnership award by the British Academy.

‡ The award, which carries a grant of £30,000, is aimed at promoting research collaboration between two partner-institutions, one Indian and one British.

‡ The research proposal, titled ³Indian Ocean Trade: the Archaeology of Technology,´ by Roberta Tomber of the British Museum and P.J. Cherian of the KCHR, was based on major archaeological research work at the Pattanam site in central Kerala carried out over the last four seasons.

‡ Professor Cherian is the Director of the KCHR and of the Pattanam excavations, while noted historian K.N. Panikkar is the Chairman of the KCHR. The self-governing and independent British Academy is the 's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. Established by Royal Charter in 1902, it has fellowship of over 800 scholars.

Leelavathi Award for Simon Lehna Singh

‡ Well-known physicist-turned author, journalist and television producer of Indian origin Simon Lehna Singh has been selected by the International Mathematical Union for the Leelavathi Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to public outreach in mathematics.

‡ Named after the immortal mathematical treatise of the great Indian mathematician Bhaskaracharya, the award carries a cash prize of Rs.10 lakh and a citation.

‡ It will be presented at the closing ceremony of the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM), which will be held in Hyderabad from August 19 to 27.

National Film Awards revamped

‡ In a bid to give regional language films a bigger chance to bag the spotlight at the , the government has decided to introduce a two-tier selection system.

‡ The decision has been taken on the basis of recommendations submitted by an expert committee headed by filmmaker .

‡ Five regional panels will be constituted to select the best films in their own areas, following which a central jury will make the final award decision. The northern region will include films in English, Punjabi, Dogri, , Bhojpuri, Rajasthani and central Indian languages, while the western region will consist of films made in Marathi, , Gujarati and Konkani.

‡ The southern part of the country has been divided into two regions, of which one will include Tamil and Malayalam films, while another will consist of films made in Kannada, Telegu and Tulu. Films made in Bengali, Assamese, Oriya and the dialects spoken in the northeastern part of the country will all be included in the Eastern region.

‡ The central jury will have a chairperson and ten other members, of which half will be the chairs of the regional juries.

‡ All screenings will be held in Delhi.

E.C.G. Sudarshan shares Dirac Medal with Italian

‡ An Indian-American professor at the University of Texas, Austin, has won the prestigious Dirac Medal for his contribution to the understanding of theoretical physics.

‡ Ennackal Chandy George Sudarshan, 78, shares the Dirac 2010 with Italian physicist Nicola Cabibbo.

‡ Professor Sudarshan's contributions to theoretical physics include the discovery of the V-A theory of weak interactions, which opened the way for full description of the unified electroweak theory.

‡ The Dirac Medal of ICTP is awarded by the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) on renowned physicist P.A.M Dirac's birthday ² August 8. It was first awarded in 1985. The winners also receive a prize of $5,000.

‡ One of the criteria that the recipients must qualify is that they should not have won a Nobel prize, the Fields Medal or the Wolf Foundation prize till the Dirac Medal was conferred on them.

‡ Both Professor Cabibbo and Professor Sudarshan were passed over by the Nobel committee earlier. The Italian physicist in 2008 and Professor Sudarshan in 1979 and 2005.

‡ The ICTP was set up by Pakistani-born physicist in 1964 to foster advanced studies and research in physics and mathematics, especially in developing countries.

Major Jyotin Singh awarded Ashok Chakra posthumously

‡ Major Laishram Jyotin Singh, who sacrificed his life in the February terror attack in Kabul this year, has been awarded the Ashok Chakra, the highest peacetime gallantry award announced , the eve of 64th Independence Day.

‡ The Ministry of Defence also announced the posthumously to Captain Davinder Singh Jass and Superintendent of Police Vinod Kumar Choubey.

‡ It is probably the first time that the Ashok Chakra has been awarded to an officer for an act of bravery while on a foreign land.

‡ Major Jyotin Singh, 38, from Manipur, was commissioned in the Army Medical Corps in 2003 and selected to serve on deputation to the Indian Medical Mission in Kabul, .

BEL staffer gets Shram Ratna award

‡ Nagaraja, Senior Technical Assistant of the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), , has been chosen for the Shram Ratna for 2008, the country's highest award given by the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

‡ The award carries a cash prize of Rs.2 lakh and a ³Sanad´ (citation).

‡ The Ministry also awarded Shram Bhushan to four persons, Shram Vir/Shram Veerangana to 17 and Shram Shree/Shram Devi Awards to 30 persons. The Shram awardees include two women . ‡ The Prime Minister's Shram Awards is being given to altogether 52 workers employed in the departmental undertakings and public sector undertakings of the Central/State governments and private sector units employing 500 or more workers.

‡ The awards are in recognition of their distinguished performances, innovative abilities, outstanding contributions in the field of productivity and exhibition of exceptional courage and presence of mind.

Parliamentarians must work to meet people's expectations´

‡ With disruptions in Parliament apparently weighing heavily on her mind, President Pratibha Patil said its functioning must meet an ³exacting standard´ to set an example for the rest of the World . ‡ Ms. Patil was speaking after conferring the Outstanding Parliamentarian Awards to the former Union Minister, Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi; senior leader Mohan Singh; and Bharatiya Janata Party leader for the years 2007, 2008 and 2009 respectively.

Modern Family,' µMad Men' sweep the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards

‡ µMad Men,' a dark period drama set in the 60's New York, and comedy series µModern Family,' a mockumentary about three families, won the top honours at the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards . ‡ µMad Men' won the Emmy for best television drama for the third time in a row, while µModern Family' took home the trophy for outstanding comedy at the awards presented.\

‡ µTop Chef,' hosted by Indian model Padma Lakshmi, won the Emmy for outstanding reality series, beating off competition from µThe Amazing Race,' which has been winning in the category for the past seven years.

AWARDS AND PRIZES: September 2010

The Hindu, Saregama to institute M.S. Subbulakshmi award

‡ The Hindu and Saregama India will institute µThe Hindu Saregama M.S. Subbulakshmi Award' at a function titled µRemembering MS Amma'.

‡ The award, in the name of the legendary musician, will be presented annually to a promising Carnatic vocalist.

Irom Sharmila honoured with

‡ Irom Sharmila ² who has been observing a fast-unto-death since November 4, 2000, demanding the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act ² was given the Rabindranath Tagore Award-2010

‡ The award, instituted by the Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM), carries Rs.51 lakh in cash, a gold medal, a citation and a shawl.

Somewhere wins Golden Lion in Venic

‡ Sofia Coppola's Somewhere, the tale of an actor who sees the emptiness of his existence through the eyes of his child, walked away with the top Golden Lion prize at the Venice film festival.

‡ The jury, headed by director Quentin Tarantino, unanimously chose Ms. Coppola's film as the best movie at the 11-day annual festival.

MTV awards agog for Lady Gaga

‡ Flamboyant diva Lady Gaga's Bad Romance won best video at the MTV awards, sealing her reputation as the larger-than-life queen of the pop scene . ‡ The Video of the Year gong was one of eight MTV Moonmen for Lady Gaga (24) who, true to form, changed from elaborate dress to elaborate dress throughout the ceremony in Los Angeles.

Best Feature Film Award: Kutty Srank

‡ National honour:A still from µPazhassi Raja,' which fetched the best audiography award for and the best background score award for Ilayaraja.

‡ Kutty Srank, a Malayalam drama starring Mammooty, expressing the different perspectives of three women about the man in their lives, was the biggest winner at the National Film Awards for 2009, sweeping the best feature film award as well as four other categories.

‡ . the best popular film 3 Idiots, the best film on national integration Delhi-6, best film on social issues Well Done Abba and the best debut film Lahore.

‡ bagged his third award for best actor, this time for his role as a dying 13-year old in Paa. \³. ‡ The best actress award went to Chatterjee for her role in the Bengali film Abohoman, which also won the best direction prize for Rituparna Ghosh.

‡ The best film award in the non-feature category was shared by The Postman and Bilal.

‡ Malayalam films managed to pick up 10 awards in the feature categories, with Oscar winner Resul Pookutty winning an award for best audiography in Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja. Music director Ilayaraja bagged the best background score award for the same film. The only Tamil film to capture the spotlight was Pasanga, which bagged awards for its child actors and screenplay dialogues, as well as in its own language category.

Award in the name of the µQueen of Song'

‡ Young Carnatic vocalists will now have another strong reason to strive for excellence ² an award in the name of the µqueen of song'. µThe Hindu Saregama M.S. Subbulakshmi Award', was instituted

Pallav Bagla to get David Perlman

‡ Indian journalist Pallav Bagla has been selected for the David Perlman Award for Excellence in Science Journalism given annually by the American Geophysical Union (AGU). This is the first time an Indian has been selected for this honour . ‡ The recognition is for Mr. Bagla's articles on the impact of climate change on Himalayan Glaciers

Pride of India Award given to U.K.'s first Asian judge

‡ Sir Mota Singh, the United Kingdom's first Sikh and Asian judge, knighted by Queen Elizabeth II earlier this year, received the µPride of India Award' 2009, instituted by the India International Foundation (IIF).

‡ Indian High Commissioner Nalin Surie presented the trophy at the 6th annual awards of the Foundation in the presence of a distinguished gathering, including non-resident Indian industrialist Lord Swraj Paul.

Manmohan has built partnership: U.S

‡ A top official described Prime Minister as ³a man of uncommon decency and grace´ who led the way in building Indo-U.S. partnership, as he presented the leader the 2010 World Statesman Award.

Malayalam, Urdu writers claim Jnanpith award

‡ Malayalam litterateur O.N.V. Kurup and Urdu poet Akhlaq Khan Shahryar were chosen for the Jnanpith Award for 2007 and 2008 respectively. The selection board chaired by Oriya writer and Jnanpith winner made the choices for the top literary awards.

Peepli Live is India's official entry for Oscars

‡ Peepli Live, the Hindi film produced by actor , will be India's official entry to this year's Academy Awards (Oscar) in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

‡ Announcing this by selection committee chairman K.S. Sethumadhavan

3 women chosen for Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize

‡ For the first time three women figure in the list of nine scientists chosen for the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize 2010.

‡ The awards were announced at a function to mark the foundation day of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.

‡ The award for S&T Innovations for Rural Development 2009 will go to the Indian Oil Corporation's Research and Development Centre in Faridabad.

‡ CSIR Director-General Samir Brahmachari said the award carries a cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh, a citation and a plaque and will be presented by the Prime Minister later this year.

‡ The awardees for Biological Sciences are Sanjeev Galande of the National Centre for Cell Science, Pune and Shubha Tole of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, .

Pratibha presents Sangeet Natak Akademi fellowships, awards

‡ Six eminent personalities were conferred Akademi Fellowships for 2009 and 33 artists received the Akademi awards.

‡ The highest honour of Akademi Fellowship (Akademi Ratna) was conferred on Lalgudi G. Jayaraman, Shreeram Lagoo, Yamini Krishnamurti, Kamlesh Dutt Tripathi and . They received Rs. 3 lakh besides a citation and a shawl. The eminent representatives from the fields of music, dance and theatre honoured with the award received Rs.1 lakh.

AWARDS OCTOBER 2010

Social activist gets Lal Bahadur Shastri award

‡ President Pratibha Patil presented the prestigious Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration, Academia and Management to Aruna Roy, social and political activist, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan . ‡ The award carries a prize of Rs. 5 lakh, a plaque and a citation stating that the award was conferred on Ms. Roy for her ³arduous journey and dedication towards the issue of the common man.´

‡ It noted that the most significant of Ms. Roy's efforts had been the campaigns for transparency and the people's right to information, which began in the early 1990s, and, more recently, the right to work campaign . ‡ ³These [two] broad-based collective campaigns helped ensure the passage of the Right to Information law and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act [now the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act] by Parliament in 2005.´

‡ Instituted by the Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management with a view to upholding the vision of the late Prime Minister, each year the award honours an Indian, residing either in the country or abroad, who is an exceptionally outstanding and distinguished business leader, management practitioner, public administrator, education or institution builder, for his or her sustained individual contributions and achievements of high professional order and excellence.

Nobel for ³test-tube baby´ creator

‡ Robert Edwards, the British scientist whose pioneering research with his late colleague Patrick Steptoe led to the birth of the world's first ³test-tube baby'' in 1978, has won this year's Nobel Prize for medicine. ‡ The Nobel Assembly at Sweden's Karolinska Institute, which awarded the prize worth ten million Swedish Kronor, described his work as ³a milestone of modern medicine.´

‡ ³His work has made possible the treatment of infertility, a medical condition that affects a large proportion of humanity including more than 10% of couples worldwide,´ it said in a statement.

Physics Nobel for groundbreaking work on wonder material

‡ A day after winning the Nobel Prize for Medicine, two scientists in Britain struck it ³rich´ again at Stockholm when Russian-born Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov of Manchester University were named joint winners of this year's Nobel Prize for Physics for their ³groundbreaking´ work on experiments with graphene, a new form of carbon with immense possibilities.

‡ At 36, Professor Novoselov, a British-Russian citizen, has been the youngest physicist since 1973 to win a Nobel, a committee official said.

‡ Highlighting the significance of their work, the Prize committee said graphene could be put to a number of practical uses.

‡ ³Since it is practically transparent and a good conductor, graphene could be used for producing transparent touchscreens, light panels and maybe even solar cells,´ it said.

‡ The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences hailed graphene for its glittering potential in computers, home gadgets and transport.

‡ This novel form of carbon comprises a single layer of atoms arranged in a honeycombshaped lattice. Just one atom thick, it is the world's thinnest and strongest nano-material, almost transparent and able to conduct electricity and heat.

3 win Nobel for inventing chemical tool

‡ American Richard Heck and Japanese researchers Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki won the 2010 Nobel Prize in chemistry for developing a chemical method that has allowed scientists to test cancer drugs and make thinner computer screens.

‡ The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said the award honors their development of palladium-catalyzed cross couplings in organic systems.

‡ The academy called that one of the most sophisticated tools available to chemists today, and one that is used by researchers worldwide and in commercial production of pharmaceuticals and molecules used to make electronics.

‡ The awards were established by Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel -- the inventor of dynamite -- and are always handed out on Dec. 10, the anniversary of his death in 1896.

Award for Rahman, Ramakrishna Mission Ashram

‡ Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman and the Ramakrishna Mission Ashram, located in Chhattisgarh's Narainpur, have jointly won the 25th Award for National Integration for the year 2009 for their services in promoting and preserving national Integration . ‡ The award, which consists of a citation and Rs.2.5 lakh, will be presented by Congress president Sonia Gandhi at Teen Murti House on October 31, the death anniversary of the former Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi.

‡ The award was instituted by the Congress in 1985 to recognise distinguished persons for outstanding contributions to the cause of national integration

Literature Nobel for Mario Vargas Llosa

‡ Mario Vargas Llosa (74), celebrated Peruvian-Spanish author and one of the most renowned novelists of his generation, has won the Nobel Prize for Literature ³for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual's resistance, revolt, and defeat´.

‡ Works: His other profoundly influential novel was The Feast of the Goat (2000). This major work was again a political thriller and was loosely based on the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic between 1930 and 1961. Other well known works include Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (1977), The War of the End of the World, (1981) and, more recently, Death in the Andes (1993). \ ‡ This last novel ² focussing on deaths associated with the militant Shining Path group ² also reflected some of Mr. Llosa's concern for the plight of the downtrodden. In Death in the Andes, Mr. Llosa situated violence ³in the context of an older world where life is brutal and in a society which is on the very fringe of the modern world´.

Peace Nobel for Chinese activist

‡ Jailed Chinese political activist Liu Xiaobo, 54, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, a decision the Chinese government has criticised as ³a blasphemy.´

‡ The Norwegian Nobel Committee said the award went to Mr. Liu, who is in prison for his calls for political reform, ³for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China.´

‡ ³Prerequisitefor fraternity´

‡ ³The Norwegian Nobel Committee has long believed that there is a close connection between human rights and peace,´ it said in a statement . ‡ ³Such rights are a prerequisite for the fraternity between nations of which Alfred Nobel wrote in his will.´

Guinness record: 50,300 saplings planted in an hour

‡ The µcold desert' of Leh entered the Guinness Book of World Records after 50,300 saplings were planted at a village in less than an hour by 9,000 volunteers under a drive supported by Buddhist monks to mark the µgreen' Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

‡ The earlier record was held by Peru, where 40,000 saplings were planted in 60 minutes by 8,000 volunteers.

3 share Economics Nobel

‡ Peter Diamond and Dale Mortensen of the United States and British-Cypriot Christopher Pissarides won the 2010 Nobel Economics Prize for work on why supply and demand do not always meet in the labour market and elsewhere.

‡ The prize highlights one aspect of a policymaking problem which has bedevilled governments of advanced countries since the oil shocks of the : high unemployment which has risen even higher because of the global economic crisis. The jury lauded the trio ³for their analysis of markets with search frictions´, which helps explain how unemployment, job vacancies, and wages are affected by regulation and economic policy.

‡ According to traditional theory, labour markets should work on their own, with jobseekers finding available jobs, thus creating balance.

‡ The three Nobel laureates, however, help show with their model ² the Diamond- Mortensen-Pissarides, or DMP model ² that markets do not always work in this way.

‡ Owing to small glitches, buyers may find it difficult to find sellers and job-seekers may not find the employers looking to fill a position.

‡ For instance, a small cost faced by employers looking for labour may mean they decide not to take on workers even though they need them.

‡ The trio's model helps explain why unemployment persists and proves stubbornly resistant even when economic circumstances improve. It also helps identify areas for government policy action, pinpointing for instance what governments can do to improve employment and prevent long-term unemployment through training.

‡ Last year, Elinor Ostrom ² the first woman to ever win such a prize ² and Oliver Williamson of the United States won the Economics Prize for their work on the organisation of cooperation in economic governance.

Cambridge confers Honorary Fellow of Trinity Hall on Aiyar ‡ Exactly 47 years after he left Cambridge University, Mr. Aiyar returned to be made an Honorary Fellow of Trinity Hall, his alma mater, in recognition of his contribution to the ³diplomatic and political life of the world's greatest democracy.´

‡ He joins the ranks of figures such as renowned scientist Stephen Hawking.

Man Booker Prize throws up surprise winner ‡ British writer and journalist Howard Jacobson's novel The Finkler Question, a semiautobiographical comic take on Jewish identity, is the surprise winner of this year's Man Booker Prize.

‡ It was not the unanimous choice of the jury and, in the end, two of the five judges voted against it.

‡ Manchester-born Mr. Jacobson, who lives in , beat two of the bookies' favourites ² Tom McCarthy's C and Emma Donoghue's Room ² to win the £50,000 prize.

‡ Mr. Jacobson's previously longlisted novels are Kalooki Nights and Who's Sorry Now?

SASTRA Ramanujan Prize for Wei Zhang of Harvard

‡ The 2010 SASTRA Ramanujan Prize will be awarded to Wei Zhang, a Benjamin Pierce Instructor at the Department of Mathematics, , United States.

‡ According to a release from the Shanmugha Arts, Sciences, Technology, Research Academy (SASTRA) University, Dr. Zhang was the unanimous choice of the SASTRA Ramanujan Prize Committee, comprising a panel of international experts, chaired by University of Florida's Professor Krishnaswami Alladi, for making a profound influence at the young age of 29 in a wide range of areas in mathematics.

‡ Established in 2005, this annual prize is for outstanding contributions by very young mathematicians in areas influenced by Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. The age limit for the prize has been set at 32 because Ramanujan achieved so much in his brief life of 32 years.

‡ The $10,000 prize will be awarded at the International Conference on Number Theory and Automorphic Forms at SASTRA University in Kumbakonam, on December 22, Ramanujan's birthday. Dr. Wei has made far-reaching contributions by himself, and in collaboration with others, to a broad range of areas in mathematics, including number theory, automorphic forms, L-functions, trace formulas, representation theory and algebraic geometry, the release said.

PM wants pace of developing scientific knowledge quickened ‡ Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called for quickening the pace of developing scientific knowledge and application relevant to the needs of developing countries, while cautioning against the development path followed by the industrialised nations.

‡ Inaugurating the 21st general meeting of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS), he said the challenges that the developing countries faced were similar, whether in combating tropical diseases or transforming agriculture or tackling natural disasters. ³These problems of under-development do not receive adequate attention in the advanced industrialised countries. Nor should we expect others to solve our problems for us.´

‡ He paid homage to Pakistani Nobel Laureate Prof. Abdus Salam, who was the founder of the TWAS (renamed now as the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World). ‡ Earlier, Dr. Singh presented the Ernesto Illy Trieste Science Prize, which carries a cash prize of $1,00,000, to renowned energy expert Jose Goldemberg of Brazil and the India Science Prize, with a cash award of Rs. 25 lakh, to eminent statistician Prof. C.R. Rao.

Cinema has a stake in societal stability' ‡ President Pratibha Patil presented the to D. Ramanaidu at the 57th National Film Awards-2009 ceremony at the Vigyan Bhavan.

‡ Dr. Ramanaidu holds the Guinness Record for producing the highest number of films in his career spanning over four decades. His repertoire includes 134 films in almost all major Indian languages and even English. Born in Andhra Pradesh, Dr. Ramanaidu started as a character actor and made his debut as producer of Ramudu Bheemudu in 1963.

‡ Amid rousing reception, Amitabh Bachchan walked away with the award for the best actor for his portrayal of a 13-year-old schoolboy in the Hindi film Paa. This is the fourth national award for Mr. Bachchan, who first bagged it for his role in , followed by one for Agneepath and more recently for Black.

‡ His onscreen father in Paa and son in real life went up with director R. Balki to collect the award for the Best Hindi Film Paa.

‡ The Dutt Award for the best feature film on national integration for Delhi 6 was collected by director and producer .

‡ This year's award list included several new categories based on the recommendations of the expert committee set up under filmmaker Shyam Benegal.

‡ Kutty Srank (Malayalam) won the top honour for the best feature film. It also bagged award in four other categories ² best cinematography, best screenplay, best costume and a special jury recognition, which it shared with the Hindi film Kaminey and the Malayalam film Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja.

‡ In the special jury award category for the best director, Shaji N. Karun was presented the Swarna Kamal. For the best popular film providing wholesome entertainment, the Swarna Kamal went to 3 Idiots (Hindi) directed by Raj Kumar Hirani.

‡ A Rajat Kamal, the award for the best film on social issues, was bagged by Well done Abba (Hindi) directed by Shyam Benegal; in the best children's film category the award was shared by Putaani Party (Kannada) and Keshu (Malayalam).

‡ The Swarna Kamal for the best direction was given to for Abohoman (Bengali), and Ananya Chatterjee won the best actress for the same film.

‡ Farooque Sheikh bagged the Rajat Kamal for the best supporting actor for Lahore, and Paa fetched the award to Arundhati Naag in the best supporting actress category.

‡ The award for the best child artist went to D.S. Kishore and Sreeraam for their portrayal as µAnbukkarasu' and µJeeva' in Pasanga (Tamil). The Rajat Kamal for the best Tamil film was won by Pasanga.

‡ Rupam Islam and Neelanjana were presented with the awards for best male and female playback singers, while cameraperson Anjuli Shukla walked away with the best cinematography award for Kutty Srank. She is the first woman to win the award in this category.

‡ A thunderous applause greeted Aasna Alam, a visually challenged girl, for her role in the Malayalam film Kelkkunnundo. Nikita Bhagat won the special mention for her debut film Vilay posthumously.

‡ The award for the best music direction (songs) was presented to for Dev D (Hindi) and for the best background score (a new category) to Ilayaraja. The special jury award was shared by Kaminey, Kutty Srank and Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja. In the nonfeature film category, The Postman directed by M. Manohar, and Bilal by Sourav Sarangi won the Swarna Kamal.

‡ The Swarna Kamal for the best film critic was presented to C.S. Venkiteswaran (Malayalam).

Indian wins U.S. award for EVM security work

‡ The San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a leading civil liberties group, will confer the 2010 Pioneer Award on researcher Hari Prasad, who was recently released on bail after having been jailed for his security work on electronic voting machines.

Microsoft sets Limca record

‡ The fall of a chip sets off a cascading effect. As the chips lined up in formations fall, a wave is created and vibrant colour pattern emerges. It was not a mean task at Microsoft's Hyderabad Centre. The falling chips made a dazzling display of the logo of Windows 7, the operating system made available on October 22 last year.

‡ This was the way a team of 22 Microsoft employees celebrated the first anniversary of the general availability of Windows 7 and the effort enabled Microsoft storm into the Limca Book of Records for the first ever dominoes display of its kind in India. The Microsoft Dominoes effect required 7,000 wooden dominoes, each weighting 12 gm and placed barely 0.2 inches apart sidewise and 0.5 inches lengthwise to create the logo.

Winners of Infosys Prize 2010 announced

‡ The Infosys Science Foundation, established by Infosys Technologies Ltd., announced the winners in the five categories of the Infosys Prize 2010.

‡ The prize for excellence in Mathematical Sciences was awarded to Chandrashekhar Khare, Professor of Mathematics at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He won the prize for his ³fundamental contribution´ to number theory, particularly the solution he found for the Serre conjecture, stated the citation of the jury, headed by Srinivasa S.R. Varadhan, Professor of Mathematics, and Frank J. Gould, Professor of Science at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University.

‡ Professor at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, Sandip Trivedi, won the prize in the Physical Sciences category for ³finding an ingenious way´ to solve two of the most outstanding puzzles of superstring theory ² what is the origin of dark energy and why there is no mass-less scalar particle ² simultaneously.

Nonagenarians among four Jamnalal Bajaj awardees

‡ President Pratibha Patil presented the Jamnalal Bajaj Awards for 2010 for outstanding contributions in social development.

‡ Chewang Norphel, a 74-year-old civil engineer from Ladakh, was presented the award for application of science and technology for rural development. His µartificial glacier' has helped farmers in the dry and difficult region of Ladakh get water supply in April and May ² the most crucial period of sowing.

‡ Chunibhai Vaidya, a nonagenarian from Ahmedabad, was given the award for outstanding contribution in the field of constructive work. The oldest living Gandhian, Mr. Vaidya has been active in many movements in and Rajasthan for betterment of the poor and the marginalised. He has also authored several books.

‡ The award for development and welfare of women and children was given to Shakuntala Choudhary, a nonagenarian from Assam.

‡ The award for promoting Gandhian values outside India was given to Lia Diskin from Brazil. .The winners were chosen from 124 nominations across the world.

Finance Minister of Asia award for Pranab

‡ Finance Minister has won this year's µFinance Minister of the Year for Asia' award. This award is based on nominations from public and private sector economists, analysts, bankers, investors and other experts.

‡ The award is from µEmerging Markets', the daily newspaper of record for the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

‡ It may be recalled that Mr. Mukherjee was rated one of the best Finance Minister in the world in 1984 as well, the statement said.

Award and Prizes: November 2010

Award for Super30 founder

‡ Super30 founder and mathematician has been selected for the Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad Shiksha Puraskar, one of the top awards in Bihar, in recognition of his contribution to education.

Environment award for Indian

‡ Washington: Rajesh Shah of Bangalore has been honoured with the prestigious 2010 Intel Environment Award for his efforts to solve global safe drinking water and sanitation crises.

Three Indian art forms on UNESCO's heritage list

‡ The UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) inscribes three Indian performing-art forms, the Mudiyettu, a ritual theatre of Kerala; the , a tradition from eastern India; and the Kalbelia folk songs and dances of Rajasthan in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This annual list, unlike the World Heritage list that focuses on monuments and natural sites, spotlights performing art forms of outstanding value and are vulnerable due to lack of support.

‡ The Mudiyettu, the ritual dance drama annually performed after the harvest of summer crops in Kerala, is more than 250 years old. This art form involves elaborate drawings on floors, masks made of areca nut fronds and playing of drums. What was once well patronised, now has only three traditional families of regular performers.

‡ The Chhau dance, known for its crafted masks and mock combat movements, is prevalent in the tribal parts of Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal. The economic backwardness of the area, an extensive survey by the Sangeet Natak Akademi reveals, has had a negative impact on the artists of the Chhau and their art. Similarly, the Kalbeli community of snake charmers from Rajasthan are also impacted. As a result, their songs and dances, which are characterised by movements and music that evoke serpents, are affected and are in need of support.

‡ It makes it obligatory on the various governments (132 of them) who have ratified the UNESCO's Convention for Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and who nominate heritage elements, to ensure that necessary measures, including legal and financial, are undertaken to safeguard them. On its part, the UNESCO would facilitate international cooperation, provide financial assistance and extend support for studies, provision of experts, training and creation of infrastructure.

‡ This year, the UNESCO received 54 nominations for the Representative List. The subsidiary body, after reviewing them advised seven nominations to be withdrawn, rejected one and recommended the rest for the inscription. Six nominations were received for the Urgent Safeguarding List of which two were withdrawn, one was rejected and three were recommended for inscription. All the three nominations proposed by India for the Representative List were recommended. ‡ The Fifth Session of the UNESCO Inter-governmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, that is under way in Nairobi, accepted this recommendation. So far, about eight Indian heritage elements, including these three, have been inscribed in the representative list.

IPI India award for

‡ Weekly magazine Tehelka has been selected for the IPI India Award for Excellence in Journalism, 2010, for outstanding journalistic work.

‡ The award, comprising a cash prize of Rs. 2 lakh, a trophy and a citation, will be presented next month.

Augment exports to Latin America: Scindia

‡ Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jyotiraditya Scindia has emphasised the need for a shift in export from northern hemisphere to southern hemisphere in line with south-south cooperation. He said that while advanced nations would show an import growth of around 0.9-1 per cent in future, developing economies would exhibit an import growth between 4.5 and 5 per cent.

‡ Mr. Scindia was speaking at a function organised by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations to present the Niryat Shree and the Niryat Bandhu awards 2008-09. The awards honour outstanding exporters, export promotion councils, commodity boards, export development authorities, banks and other agencies.

‡ Reliance Industries bagged the highest foreign exchange earner Niryat Shree award followed by Hyundai Motors India and Bajaj Auto. The Niryat Bandhu gold trophy was bagged by Bank of India, silver by and bronze by Punjab National Bank.

Mukesh Ambani bags Global Vision Award

‡ Billionaire businessman and Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has received the Global Vision Award instituted by the Asia Society for helping to promote understanding between Asians and Americans.

Indira for Lula

‡ Outgoing Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been selected for the for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2010, according to a news release from the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust.

‡ Mr. Lula was selected for the award by an international jury, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, mainly for promoting strong ties among the developing countries, promoting inclusive growth and for his contribution to the cause of India-Brazil partnership.

Over 300 films to be screened at IFFI

‡ Over 300 movies from 61 countries will be screened over the next 10 days at the 41st International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2010, to be inaugurated by Railway MinisterMamata Banerjee . ‡ Producer-director will be the chief guest and actor Ajay Devgan, the guest of honour. Film stars from India and abroad will be present at the festival.

‡ From this year, three Indian films will make it to the International competition category.

Walesa to accept Nobel for Liu Xiaobo

‡ Warsaw: Polish Nobel Peace Prize winner Lech Walesa offered on Monday to accept this year's award on behalf of the jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo.

Aga Khan Award for 5 projects

‡ Projects as diverse as a textile factory in Turkey, a school built on a bridge in China and a wetlands project in Saudi Arabia are among the winners of the 2010 Aga Khan Award for Architecture, according to a statement.

‡ India too figured in this year's list of nominees for the 11th cycle of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture which were given at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar. The entry from India, µPalmyra House' in Alibag, near Mumbai, owned by industrialist Anand and Anuradha Mahindra, and designed by Mumbai-based architect Bijoy Jain, is included in the 19 nominees from across the world.

‡ The Aga Khan Award for Architecture was established in 1977 by His Highness the Aga Khan, to enhance the understanding and appreciation of Islamic culture as expressed through architecture.

‡ The Award is organised on the basis of a three-year cycle and is governed by a Steering Committee chaired by the Aga Khan. Prizes totaling up to $500,000 ² constituting the largest architectural award in the world ² are presented every three years to projects.

Bopanna, Qureshi get award

‡ Their message of µStop War Start Tennis' fetched Indian Davis Cupper Rohan Bopanna and his Pakistani partner Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Of The Year award during the ATP World Tour Finals.

‡ The two players have been playing with the message of µStop War Start Tennis' for quite some time on the Tour and in Grand Slams.

‡ They rose to prominence by reaching the final of the US Open where they ended runnersup to the legendary Mike and Bob Bryan.

‡ While Qureshi has received this award in the past as well when he teamed up with Israel's Amir Hadad in 2002, it's a first for Bopanna.

Award and Prizes: December 2010

Gautam Ghosh's film bags Golden Peacock Award

‡ Bengali filmmaker Gautam Ghosh's film ³Moner Manush´(The Quest), an Indo-Bangladesh joint production, bagged the coveted Golden Peacock Award for the Best Film at the 41st International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2010.

Silver Peacock Award

‡ The Silver Peacock Award for the Best Director went to Susanne Bier of Denmark for her film µIn a Better World.' µJust Another Love Story' from India and µThe Boy' from were the joint winners of the Special Jury Award. ‡ The Best Actor Award of Rs.10 lakh went to the Turkish actor Guven Kirac for his role in the film µThe Crossing' while the Best Actress Award was won by Magdalena Boczarska of Poland for her role in µLittle Rose.'

$100,000 award for Indian NGO

‡ An Indian NGO, Manav Seva Sansthan (MSS), was given a $100,000 award for its work among disadvantaged communities.

‡ The prize, given by the United Kingdom-based international charity organisation, The STARS Foundation, specifically recognised the MSS campaign against child-trafficking along the India-Nepal border.

NTPC bags best financial performance award

‡ NTPChas bagged PSU excellence award 2010. Arup Roy Choudhury, CMD, and A. K. Singhal, Director (Finance),NTPC, received the award at a summit in recently. Vilasrao Deshmukh, Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, presented the award to NTPC in the Best Financial Performance category.

‡ The PSU Excellence Awards were organised under the aegis of Department of Public Enterprises, Indian Chamber of Commerce and Deloitte.

India's Nicole Faria is Miss Earth 2010

‡ India's Nicole Faria has been crowned Miss Earth Talent 2010 after beating 17 other contestants at a talent competition in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.

‡ Vietnam's representative Luu Thi Diem Huong was voted among the top five contestants with her performance of folk dances that are inspired by traditional dances in the northern, central and southern region of the country.

Liu awarded Peace Nobel

‡ In the centrepiece of a simple, moving ceremony watched by an audience of 1,000 people, among them Norway¶s king and queen and a clutch of fellow Chinese dissidents, the chairman of the Nobel committee, Thorbjoern Jagland, placed the citation and medal on a simple, blue upholstered seat on a small row of chairs to the right of the hall¶s stage.

‡ It is the first time since 1936, when the German journalist and pacifist Carl von Ossietzky was stopped by Nazi authorities from travelling to Oslo, that the peace prize has been awarded in this way. On three other occasions -- Aung San Suu Kyi in 1991, Lech Walesa in 1983 and Andrei Sakharov in 1975 -- family members have had to collect the prize instead.

‡ While Liu was jailed for 11 years last year for subversion, his wife remains under house arrest, meaning no one could collect the award for him.

‡ The decision to award the prize to Liu, a former university academic radicalised by the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest -- Mr. Jagland said the award was ³dedicated to the lost souls of 4 June´.

Karan Thapar wins Asian Television award again

‡ The Asian Television award for the Best Current Affairs Presenter was presented to Karan Thapar of the CNN-IBN at a glittering ceremony in .

‡ This is the fifth time that Mr. Thapar is winning the Best Current Affairs Presenter Award in the 15-year history of the Asian Television awards. He won the award in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007.

Ghana daily bags award for excellence

‡ The New Crusading Guide, a daily newspaper from Ghana in West , has been named the winner of Rajasthan Patrika Group's K.C. Kulish International Award for Excellence in Print Media Journalism 2009. The daily has been chosen on the basis of a series of reports on Ghana's Madhouse and Chinese sex mafia.

‡ The award, set up in the name of the Patrika founder, carries a cash component of 11,000 US dollars and a trophy. The theme for this year's award was ³Inclusive development´. Besides the main award, seven merit awards also have been announced.

SCOPE awards presented

‡ Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addressed the chief executives of public sector enterprises (PSEs) and presented the µSCOPE Awards' for excellence and outstanding contribution to public sector management and µMOU Awards' for excellence in performance for the year 2008-09.

‡ The SCOPE (Standing Conference of Public Enterprises) excellence award in the individual category was conferred on NTPC Chairman & Managing Director Arup Roy Choudhury as outstanding chief executive while Coal India Limited (CIL) Chairman P. S. Bhattacharyya was presented the µSpecial Award of the Jury'.

Veerendra Kumar, Nanjil Nadan among winners

‡ The former Union Minister, M.P. Veerendra Kumar is among the 22 who have won this year's Sahitya Akademi awards for the best works in literature. Mr. Kumar has won the award for his travelogue µHaimavathabhuvil' in Malayalam.

‡ The other winners include eight poets, four novelists and three short story writers.

‡ The winning poets are: Arun Sakhardande [Konkani], Vanita [Punjabi], Mithila Prasad Tripathi [Sanskrit], [Urdu], Laxman Dubey [Sindhi], Mangat Badal [Rajasthani], Aurobindo Uzir [Bodo] and Gopi Narayan Pradhan [Nepali].

‡ The novelists are Esther David [English], Bani Basu [Bengali], Dhirendra Mehta [Gujarati] and M.Borkanya [Manipuri].

‡ Under the category of short stories, Nanjil Nadan [Tamil], [Hindi] and Manoj [Dogri] have been chosen for the award.

‡ Among others, Rahamat Tarikere [Kannada], Ashok R.Kelkar [Marathi], Basher Bashir [Kashmiri] have won the awards for best books of criticism, Pathani Pattnaik [Oriya] under the category of µautobiographies' and Bhogle Soren [Santali] under µplays.'

‡ Secretary of the Akademi, Agrahara Murthy, said the winners in Maithili and Telugu would be declared soon.

‡ The awards are in the form of caskets containing an engraved copper plaque, a shawl and a cheque for Rs. One lakh.

Saikat Dutta, Vinita Kamte among RTI award winners

‡ Saikat Dutta of The Outlook magazine and Vinita Kamte, wife of killed Mumbai police officer Ashok Kamte, are among the seven winners of this year's National RTI Awards, announced by the Public Cause Research Foundation.

‡ The foundation also organised a ceremony to honour the 10 RTI activists who were killed this year.

‡ The awards were decided by a jury consisting, among others, of Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy; the former Chief Justice of India, J.S. Verma; journalist-editor Trehan; and the former Chief Election Commissioner, J.M. Lyngdoh.

‡ Mr. Dutta received the Best RTI Journalist Award for using the Right to Information Act to expose a Rs.2,500-crore scam in the export of rice.

‡ Ms. Kamte used the Act to ferret out information and documents relating to the November 26, 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, in which her husband and two other police officers were killed. Ms. Kamte proved through the documents that her husband died, not because of ³foolishness,´ as suggested in official quarters, but because of the inefficient handling of the situation by the State government.

Harvard professor receives SASTRA-Ramanujan Award

‡ Professor Wei Zhang, a Benjamin Pierce Instructor at the Department of Mathematics, Harvard University, received the SASTRA-Ramanujan Award, instituted by the Shanmugha Arts Science Technology and Research Academy (SASTRA) University to encourage path-breaking research in Ramanujan Mathematics for 2010.

‡ Lakshmi Narayanan, Senior Professor, Raman Research Institute, Bangalore, presented the award, carrying a prize of $10,000 and a citation, at the International Conference on Number Theory and Automorphic Forms at SASTRA's Srinivasa Ramanujan Centre.

Lifetime Grammys for Julie Andrews, Dolly Parton

‡ Sound of Music star Julie Andrews, country singer Dolly Parton and jazz drummer Roy Haynes will be honoured with lifetime achievement Grammy awards next year for their artistic contribution to the recording medium.

‡ The artists will receive their golden gramophones at an event in Los Angeles on February 12, 2011 a day before the 53rd annual Grammy Awards ceremony.

‡ The 75-year-old Ms. Andrews is best remembered for her roles in 1960s musicals like Sound of Music and Mary Poppins, for which she won a Grammy award. Ms. Parton (64) is known as the ³Queen of Country Music´ with 25 number-one singles. She has received seven Grammy Awards and a total of 45 Grammy Award nominations

Swaminathan conferred CNN-IBN Lifetime Achievement Award

‡ Veteran agricultural scientist M. S. Swaminathan has been conferred the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award for his ³outstanding leadership in the field of agriculture that has contributed to ensuring food security for millions of Indians.´

‡ Special Achievement awards went to the Chamber Choir and the Indian Women's Relay Team of , Sini Jose, Ashwini Akkunji, .

‡ J. Gopikrishnan, journalist, who was instrumental in exposing the 2G spectrum scam, was honoured with the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2010 ± Special Achievement Award.

AWARDS JANUARY 2011 and Prizes: January 2011 SAIL chief gets µIcon of the year' award

‡ C. S. Verma, Chairman, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), received the µIcon of the year' award of the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India (ICWAI) .R. Bandyopadhyay, Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, presented the award on the inaugural day of the 52nd National Convention of ICWAI. The award honours professionals who have been a role model for the profession by achieving success in the business enterprises that they have been involved with in the capacity of Chairman and Managing Direc

Manmohan says knowledge, not army might, determines a nation's strength

‡ Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said making education a fundamental right was one of the special achievements of his government.

‡ Acknowledging the importance of private institutions like the Infosys Science Foundation that had a large role to play in generating funds to reward excellence, Dr. Singh said: ³The strength of a nation is no longer determined by the might of its army. It comes from the quality of collective knowledge, the productivity of its working people, the creativity of its entrepreneurs and the dedication of its professionals.´

‡ The Infosys Prize 2010 was presented for outstanding achievements in scientific research. The awards were in five categories ² Mathematical Sciences, Physical Sciences, Engineering and Computer Science, Life Sciences and Social Sciences. The prize in each category comprises a 24-karat gold medallion, a citation expounding the laureate's work and Rs. 50 lakh in cash (tax free).

‡ The Infosys Science Foundation was set up in February 2009 by the management of Infosys. The corpus has increased from Rs. 45 crore to Rs. 100 crore with about half the amount coming from the management of Infosys.

‡ Professor Chandrashekhar Khare of the University of California, Los Angeles, got the award in the Mathematical Sciences category, in recognition of his fundamental contributions to the Number Theory particularly his solution of the Serre conjecture.

‡ Professor Sandip Trivedi of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research won the award in the Physical Sciences category for finding an ingenious way to solve two of the most outstanding puzzles of Superstring Theory simultaneously: What is the origin of dark energy of the universe? And why is there no massless scalar particle?

‡ Professor Ashutosh Sharma of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, won the award in the Engineering and Computer Science category for his fundamental contributions to mechanics, materials and manufacturing on small scale including self-organisation and instabilities, nanopatterning and functional multiscale interfaces.

‡ Chetan Chitnis of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology won the award in the Life Sciences category for his pioneering work in understanding the interactions of the malaria parasite and its host, leading to the development of a viable vaccine.

‡ The Social Sciences category award was jointly presented to Professor Amita Baviskar of the Institute of Economic Growth, in recognition of her contributions as an outstanding analyst of social and environmental movements in modern India, and Professor Nandini Sundar of the Delhi School of Economics, in recognition of her contributions as an outstanding analyst of social identities, including tribe and caste, and the politics of knowledge in modern India.

Bharat Jyoti Award for K.V. Raman

‡ Agricultural scientist K.V. Raman has been awarded the prestigious Bharat Jyoti Award of the India International Friendship Society for his contributions to science, technology and development.

‡ A former Chairman of the Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Dr. Raman was also Director of the B.V. Rao Centre for Sustainable Food Security at the -based M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation.

‡ The former Election Commissioner, G.V.G. Krishnamurthy, presented the award to Dr. Raman.

A.R. Rahman wins Critics' Choice award

‡ Music composer A.R. Rahman bagged the best original song trophy at the 16th Critics' Choice Awards for his number ³If I Rise´ in Danny Boyle's film 127 Hours. Written by Rollo Armstrong and American artiste Dido, the song was performed by Rahman and Dido. Boyle, who went on to score eight Oscars with his , collaborated with Rahman again for 127 Hours, a biopic on the life of mountain climber Aron Ralston.

‡ Rahman, however, lost the best score trophy to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who got it for their The Social Network.

‡ The movie on the life of the Facebook founder also bagged top honours for the best film, the best director and the best adapted screenplay.

Golden Globes ³likes´ Facebook film

‡ The Social Network, a film about Harvard-graduate Mark Zuckerberg's ultra-popular Facebook website, swept up four awards at the 2011 Golden Globe Awards, even denying Indian musical maestro A.R. Rahman a second win at the forum.

‡ Other notable winners included The Social Network, for Best Motion Picture; Colin Firth for best performance by an actor in The King's Speech; Natalie Portman for best performance by an actress in The Black Swan; The Kids are Alright, for best comedy or musical and Christian Bale for best actor in a supporting role in The Fighter. Paul Giamatti scooped up the laurel for Best Actor in a for his role in Barney's Version.

‡ The Golden Globe Awards are sponsored by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to recognise excellence in film, television both domestic and foreign. However, comedian and Awards Master of Ceremonies Ricky Gervais caused more than a chuckle when he lampooned the HFPA numerous times throughout the ceremony, ridiculing it in particular for its obscurity outside of the Awards.

‡ The annual ceremony and dinner at which the Golden Globes are presented marks the start of the Hollywood film industry's awards season, and it culminates in the annual Academy Awards, otherwise known as the Oscars.

Padma Vibhushan for Brajesh,

‡ Planning Commission Deputy Chairman , the former National Security Adviser, , Wipro chief , Telugu film celebrity A. Nageswara Rao, Art historian , India's first woman news photographer and the former Attorney-General, K. Parasaran, are among this year's 13 awardees. The Padma Vibhushan, which is India's second highest civilian honour, has been conferred posthumously on Gandhian and freedom fighter .

Rahman bags WEF Crystal Award

‡ Internationally renowned music composer A.R. Rahman was honoured with the Crystal Award of the World Economic Forum (WEF) at the opening ceremony of its annual meet being attended by 2,500 global leaders from the fields of business, government, art, culture and religion.

‡ Mr. Rahman, 44, received the award, given to outstanding artists who use their talent for social and charitable work.

AWARDS FEBRUARY 2011 and Prizes: February 2011 O.N.V. Kurup gets Jnanpith Award

‡ Presenting the 43rd Jnanpith Award to poet O.N.V. Kurup Dr. Singh said that ³appreciating Indian culture should involve the understanding, acknowledgement and recognition of all the different strands and hues of our composite cultural fabric.´

‡ Accepting the award, Prof. Kurup said though ³any poet who writes in a regional language is very much an Indian poet since his/her creative contributions merge into the common treasure stock of Indian poetry, unfortunately, the voice of the Indian bard does not often transcend the boundaries of his linguistic territory.´

Jayati Ghosh awarded ILO prize

‡ The International Labour Organisation's Decent Work Research Prize has been awarded to economist Jayati Ghosh and Professor Eve Landau.

‡ Dr. Ghosh, who teaches at the University, is honoured for her major contributions to the analysis of socio-economic relationships and policy instruments for the advancement of decent work.

‡ The prize carries a cash reward of $5,000.

‡ Dr. Ghosh has also been invited to make a presentation at a special ceremony to be held during the ILO's Governing Board session scheduled in Geneva for November.

JNU professor gets Pushkin Gold Medal for promotion of ties ‡ Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has awarded the prestigious Pushkin Gold Medal to Professor Arun Mohanty of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) for his contribution to studies on Russia and promotion of bilateral cultural ties and friendship.

‡ Prof. Mohanty graduated from the famed Moscow State University and spent 30 years of his life in Russia, teaching at Russian varsities and working at Russian and Indian newspapers.

‡ The Pushkin Gold Medal is the highest honorary award given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the promotion of the Russian language and culture. More than 10 Indian scholars and public figures have been awarded the medal since its institution in 1977.

Nayudamma award for Dr. Shanta

‡ V. Shanta, chairperson of the Cancer Institute, Adyar, Chennai, has been selected for the Y. Nayudamma Memorial Award for 2010.

‡ Dr. Shanta has been chosen ³in recognition of her tireless efforts for over five decades towards bringing solace to lakhs of men, women and children, afflicted with the dreaded disease in the country,´ P. Vishnu Murthy, founder and managing trustee of the Dr. Y. Nayudamma Memorial Trust, said in a release.

First woman officer to get gallantry award in Army

‡ Major Mitali Madhumita became the first woman officer to receive a gallantry award in the Army. She was honoured along with 21 Army personnel for acts of bravery and distinguished service at the military station during the South Western Command Investiture Ceremony.

‡ Major Madhumita became the first woman officer to get the Sena Medal (Gallantry).

Kalam inaugurates biotechnology meet

‡ The former President of India, A.P.J Abdul Kalam, inaugurated a one-day national conference on µBiotechnology and National Development: achievement and challenges' in Ranchi.

‡ During the inaugural ceremony, Mr. Kalam released a book dedicated to Professor A.B Prasad.

‡ The conference aims at creating a strong platform for research and development to achieve technological excellence in existing and next-generation devices and communication systems.

‡ After the opening ceremony, students discussed various issues related to infectious diseases, cancer biology and biotechnology.

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