Important Current Affairs December 2017 Capsule with PDF Awards & Honours Pratibha Gai get top royal honour o Scientist Pratibha Laxman Gai has been named for damehood, the female equivalent of knighthood, for "services to chemical sciences and technology". o She is the fourth Indian-origin woman conferred with the honour since it was instituted in 1917. o Gai has patented inventions in the fields of hydrocarbon catalysis/polymers, electronic ceramics, Piezoelectrics & nanocoatings for polymers & food. K S Chitra bags 'Harivarasanam' Award o Veteran singer K S Chitra has been selected for prestigious 'Harivarasanam' award 2017, instituted by the Kerala government. o Chitra has been selected for the award in recognition of her contribution to propagate the spirit of secularism and universal brotherhood. o The award carrying a cash prize of Rs one lakh, citation and plaque would be presented at a function on January 14, 2018. Mamang Dai wins Sahitya Akademi Award o Authors Mamang Dai & Ramesh Kuntal Megh have won this year's Sahitya Akademi award for their work The Black Hill, a novel, and Vishw Mithak Sarit Sagar, a literary criticism, in English and Hindi respectively. 1 | P a g e o Sahitya Akademi announced its annual Sahitya Akademi Awards in 24 languages. o The award in the form of a casket containing an engraved copper-plaque, a shawl and a cheque of Rs 1 lakh. Ramnath Goenka Excellence Awards o The 12th edition of the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards were presented. o The awards, which come with a trophy and a reward of Rs 1 lakh to each of the winners, recognise courage and commitment and showcase the outstanding contributions of journalists from across the country. o Total 25 persons were awarded in different categories. Aakarshi won U-17 & U-19 Singles Titles o India’s top-ranked junior shuttler Aakarshi Kashyap won U-17 and U-19 singles titles at Badminton junior Nationals in Guwahati, Assam. o In Under-17 category, 16-year-old from Bhilai defeated Malvika Bansod in the final. o In under 19 categories final, Kashyap has beaten Vaidehi Choudhari. Tata Steel Joda Mine gets Award o Joda East Iron Mine (JEIM) of Tata Steel has been honoured with the prestigious Golden Peacock Innovation Management Award for the year 2017. o They won the award for driving innovation in mines. o Golden Peacock Awards Secretariat receives over 1,000 entries per year for various awards, from over 25 countries worldwide. Mo Farah Wins BBC's Award o World 10,000m champion Sir Mo Farah has been voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2017. o The 34-year-old, a four-time Olympic champion, won his third successive world 10,000m gold medal in London in August. o He becomes the first long-distance runner to win the Sports Personality award since Paula Radcliffe in 2002. Satheesh Reddy won National Design Award o G. Satheesh Reddy, Scientific Adviser to Raksha Mantri and Director General, Missiles and Strategic Systems, has been conferred with the prestigious National Design Award. o He has bagged this award for his significant national contribution towards indigenous design. o He has also developed diversified missile systems, guided weapons, avionics technologies. BBC Overseas Sports Personality of Year o Roger Federer has been voted the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year for a record fourth time after an astonishing season during which he picked up 2 more Grand Slam titles. o Federer previously won the award in 2004, 2006 and 2007. Muhammad Ali and Usain Bolt have each won it three times. o Federer is only the second person after Ali to retain the BBC prize. Joy Goswami to get 31st Moortidevi Award o Eminent Bengali poet Joy Goswami will be given the 31st Moortidevi Award for the year 2017. o Committee, headed by poet and scholar Satya Vrat Shastri, unanimously decided to confer the award upon Goswami for his poetry collection titled Du Dondo Phowara Matro. o It is the first time the award will be given to a Bengali poet. Jitesh Singh Deo bags Mr India title o Jitesh Singh Deo has bagged the title of Peter England Mr India 2017. Deo will now represent India at Mr World 2020. 3 | P a g e o The first runner up was Abhi Khajuria and the second runner up was Pavan Rao. 16 contestants from across the country were competing for the title. o The winners were felicitated by actor Kangana Ranaut. Cannes to honour Piyush & Prasoon Pandey o Cannes International Festival of Creativity is set to honour Piyush & Prasoon Pandey with Cannes Lions' Lifetime Achievement Award. o The Lion of St. Mark is the highest honour that Cannes International Festival of Creativity bestows on creative geniuses within the communications industry. o Pandey brothers are not only the 1st Asians to win the award, but are also the 1st from WPP to be awarded Lakshmi to Receive 'Power Of One' Award o 6 top diplomats, including an India's Lakshmi Puri, have been felicitated with Diwali "Power of One" award at the UN headquarters o They have been felicitated for their contribution to help form a more "perfect, peaceful and secure world". o The awards were presented on the occasion of the first anniversary of the US Postal Service's issuing of a forever Diwali stamp last year. Finest Education Minister Award' o Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia was awarded the 'Finest Education Minister' award by former President Pranab Mukherjee. o He was presented the award at a national convention on education, The Fifth Estate, organised by an educational think tank. o Apart from being the Education Minister, Sisodia also holds the Deputy Chief Minister portfolio of the Delhi government. PC receives Mother Teresa Memorial award o Priyanka Chopra has been honoured with this year's Mother Teresa Memorial award for social justice. o She received the award for her contribution towards lending support to social causes, such as her recent visit to Syria, where she met and interacted with refugee children. o She is also UNICEF's Goodwill Ambassador and is known for supporting various philanthropic activities. Bhave to get Kalamaharshi Baburao Award o Noted Marathi filmmaker Sumitra Bhave will be honoured with the Kalamaharshi Baburao Painter Sanman, instituted by the Kolhapur International Film Festival. o Sumitra is a filmmaker working predominantly in Marathi cinema and Marathi theatre. o Bhave along with Sukthankar have made 14 feature films, more than 50 short films, and 4 TV serials. Mamta Kalia to get the 27th Vyas Samman o Eminent Hindi writer Mamta Kalia will be honoured with literary award Vyas Samman for year 2017 for her novel "Dukkham Sukkham". o Kalia is known for her works in Hindi and English including "Beghar", "Janch Abhi Jaari Hai", "Nirmohi", and "Bolne Wali Aurat". o Vyas Samman is given to a Hindi literary work published in the past 10 years. DanTDM named richest YouTuber of 2017 o According to Forbes magazine, DanTDM has been named as the highest- earning YouTuber of 2017, making £12.3m this year. o He's got more than 16 million subscribers & has had more than 10 billion views of all his videos. o His earnings this year come in at $16.5 million, $1 million more than the 2nd person on the list, Evan Fong. o He started off making videos of himself playing Minecraft & Pokemon. 5 | P a g e Kanchanmala Pande wins Gold o Visually impaired swimmer Kanchanmala Pande scripted history as she became the 1st Indian to win gold at World Para Swimming Championship, taking place in Mexico. o Pande stood 1st in the in 200 meters medley event in the S-11 category. o She was selected in the Indian squad on basis of her excellent performance at IDM Berlin Para-Swimming Championship at Berlin. Best Asian Film at Australian Gala o Aamir Khan-starrer Dangal has been named the Best Asian Film at 7th Australian Academy of Cinema & Television Arts Awards. o Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, Dangal is a biographical sports drama film featuring Fatima Sana Shaikh, Sanya Malhotra, Zaira Wasim. o It is inspired by lives of Phogat family members, telling the story of Mahavir Phogat who trains his daughters to become world-class wrestlers Kumbh Mela Intangible Cultural Heritage o Kumbh Mela, the largest congregation of pilgrims, has been listed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage under UNESCO. o Intergovernmental Committee for Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage inscribed Kumbh Mela at its 12th session in South Korea. o The festival, held in Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain & Nasik, represents a syncretic set of rituals related to worship & cleansing in holy rivers. 2nd best UNESCO world heritage site o The Taj Mahal in Agra, is the second best UNESCO world heritage site in the world, according to a new survey. o With over 8 million visitors per year, the monument of love built by mughal emperor Shah Jahan is rated after Cambodia's Angkor Wat. o Conducted by online travel portal TripAdvisor, the survey lists the UNESCO Cultural & Natural heritage sites best rated by travellers around the globe Sexiest Asian Woman o The Quantico star, Priyanka Chopra has topped a list of '50 Sexiest Asian Women’ compiled by London-based weekly newspaper Eastern Eye for a record-breaking fifth time. o She reclaimed the top slot from Deepika Padukone, who had been voted the sexiest Asian in 2016. Padukone is ranked third this year. o Deepika (3), Alia Bhatt (4) and Pakistani actor Mahira Khan rounded off the top five. Books & Authors Ramendra Kumar felicitated in Sri Lanka o Noted writer Ramendra Kumar, whose stories feature in Sri Lankan text books, has been felicitated in the neighbouring country for his contribution to children's literature.