AWARDS FEBRUARY 2014

AWARDS FEBRUARY 2014

• The Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 2013 has been awarded to eminent Gandhian and environmentalist, Chandi Prasad Bhatt. The Jury for the Prize met under the Chairmanship of the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh on 18th February 2014 and decided upon his name.
  Chandi Prasad Bhatt, born in 1934, is a noted Gandhian environmentalist and social activist. He was one of the pioneers of the Chipko movement for which he was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1982. He is also a recipient of the Padma Bhushan in 2005. One of India’s first modern environmentalists, today he is known for his work on subaltern social ecology.
  
• Chennai-born M. Madan Babu, attached to the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, U.K., on 23 February won the Protein Society’s Protein Science Young Investigator Award for 2014. He is the first LMB scientist to win this award. The award recognizes an important contribution to the study of proteins by a scientist still in the early stages of an independent career. The Society represents a global community of researchers dedicated to the understanding of proteins. A media release from the MRC Laboratory noted that Dr. Madan is being recognized specifically for his contributions to the understanding of the principles of regulation in biological systems, especially in the fields of intrinsically disordered proteins and gene regulation. He was appointed in 2006 as one of the youngest independent group leaders in the Structural Studies Division at the LMB. He currently heads the group on Regulatory Genomics and Systems Biology. Dr. Madan took his B. Tech from Anna University in Chennai in 2001.
  
• German Chancellor Angela Merkel received Israel's highest civilian honor on 25 February for her "unwavering commitment" to the country. President Shimon Peres awarded Merkel with the Presidential Medal of Distinction in a ceremony at the President's Residence in Jerusalem.Merkel was given the award – comparable to France's Legion d'Honneur or Washington's Presidential Medal of Freedom – for "standing by" Israel and her fight against anti-Semitism and racism. Past recipients of the medal include U.S. President Barack Obama, former U.S. president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Henry Kissinger, as well as Israel Philharmonic Orchestra director Zubin Mehta and Holocaust survivor and human rights activist Elie Wiesel.Merkel received the award during her visit to Israel with fellow government members.
  
• Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin on 25 February, presented the prestigious 'Order of Friendship' award to BrahMos chief A Sivathanu Pillai for his contribution towards Indo-Russian friendship. The award, the highest Russian honour bestowed on foreign citizens, was conferred on Pillai by the President of Russian Federation Vladimir Putin for his great contribution towards strengthening of friendship and cooperation between India and Russia.During the award ceremony, Pillai briefed the Russain Deputy Prime Minister on the latest achievements and progress the joint venture has made in the recent years. Pillai thanked the Russian Government for the trust bestowed on the joint venture .BrahMos Aerospace is a successful joint venture between India and Russia. Both the governments recently agreed to continue their partnership in the BrahMos missile programme by extending the Inter-Governmental Agreement for an indefinite period.
  
• Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India on 15 February 2014 presented the International Gandhi Award for the year 2013 to Dr. Vijaykumar Vinayak Dongre (VV Dongre) and Prof. Guocheng Zhang at Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi.They were awarded for making outstanding contributions in the field of leprosy to eradicate the disease through treatment, training and research.
  • The International Gandhi Award was instituted by the Gandhi Memorial Leprosy Foundation that was established in 1950 to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi’s service and scientific approach towards leprosy.
  • It recognizes the commendable contributions of individuals and institutions in ameliorating the quality of life of people afflicted with leprosy.
  • Every alternate year, two awards are given to individuals/institutions for making outstanding contribution in the field of leprosy.
  
  
• Killa, a Marathi film on 17 February 2014 won the Crystal Bear, for the best film award by the Children’s jury in Generation Kplus section at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival. The film has been directed by Avinash Arun. The jury in its citation for the award to the film said that the film deals with the universal conflict of migration and how it impacts the lives of people, especially children made them want to discover India. In the entire history in Berlinale, Killa is the third Marathi film to be selected and is the first Indian film to win this award.
  
• Dr. M. Veerappa Moily, Minister of Environment & Forests conferred the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar-2010 awards in New Delhi on 19 February. Two awards “organization” category and three awards under “individual” were given away; The Details of awardees are as follows:
  The 21st Battalion, the Jat Regiment of the prestigious Indian Army was conferred the Puraskar in recognition of its outstanding contribution to environmental conservation, afforestation and awareness in various districts of Assam, particularly in deforested and flood-affected areas of Dhubri district. Under its ‘Go Green’ Mission, for instance, 300 soldiers of the regiment also planted4,47,874 tree saplings in an area of 140 hectares at Dhubri, Assam in 24 hours on 12-13th June 2009.
  The Joygopalpur Gram Vikas Kendra, set up by a few youth of Joygopalpur Village, Basanti Island, South Sunderbans, was awarded the Puraskar in recognition of its outstanding contribution to environmental protection, regeneration and awareness in the region.
  Dr. Anil Sharma is presently the Director of ‘SATHI’, an NGO which he set up in 1992 for social development as well as environmental up gradation of the Ghinni-Ghad region of Sirmour District, Himachal Pradesh, through which he implements various programmes for environmental conservation and restoration of degraded ecosystems. Kartick Satyanarayanan, New Delhi, co-founder and Chairperson of a NGO, the ‘Wildlife SOS India’, established in 1998, was conferred the Puraskar in recognition of his outstanding contribution to wildlife protection, awareness and environmental conservation. Dr. N. Ramesh, an Engineer in Puducherry Pollution Control Committee, was awarded in recognition of his contribution to environmental protection and awareness.
  
• This apex National Award in the field of environment was instituted by the Ministry, in the year 1987 in memory of the late Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi to give recognition to those having made or having the potential to make a measurable and major impact in the protection of the environment. Along with the cash prize, the Awardees were given a Silver Lotus Trophy, a Scroll and a Citation. The Awardees were selected by the 7-member Environmental Prize Committee headed by the Hon’ble Vice President of India from among a total of 97 nominations received by the Ministry.
  
• Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have been jointly given the award for the First Prize in the category of “Best State/UT: Comprehensive Development of Tourism.” The second and third prizes in this category have gone to Kerala and Gujarat respectively. Jammu & Kashmir was awarded in the category of Best State/UT under the North-East and J&K Region. Kumbh Mela, Allahabad, UP won the prize for the Best Civic Management of a tourist destination in Category ‘A’ city. The Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Mr. Hugh & Ms. Colleen Gantzer, who are an Indian, writer-photographer, husband-and-wife team. They launched the first travel column in a national daily in India in August, 1977.The best Tourism Film Award went to M.P. State Tourism Development Corporation TV Commercial “Rang Hai”. Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad was awarded for the Best Airport (Class ‘X’ cities). Department of Tourism, Govt. of Kerala was awarded for Most Innovative use of Information Technology/Website/Portal. Bangalore city Railway Station was awarded for Best Tourist Friendly Railway Station. Andhra Pradesh won the prize for best Film Promotion-friendly State. The National Tourism Awards are given annually by the Ministry of Tourism to felicitate outstanding work both in the public sector and the private sector under different fields associated with tourism.
  
• The President inaugurated the World Congress of Agro Forestry in New Delhi on 10 February. President in this congress emphasized the immense promise of agro forestry in enhancing productivity of land in sustainable manner. He also called for greater research in this field. The President gave away Krishi Karman Awards to states excelling in different aspects of food production. He also presented World Agro forestry Congress awards to two Indian children. Progressive farmers from different States were also given awards. The President presented Krishi Karman Awards to Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, Meghalaya and agriculture Ministers of other nine States for excellence in food grain production. For total food grain production, Madhya Pradesh gets the award in large category (food grain production more than 10 million tones), Odisha in medium category (food grain production 1 to 10 million tones) and Manipur in small category (food grain production less than 1 million tones). In individual food grain crops, Chhattisgarh gets the award for rice, Bihar for wheat, Jharkhandfor pulses and Andhra Pradesh for coarse cereals. Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura get commendation prizes for total food grain production. Maharashtra gets commendation prize for rice, Assam for pulses and Punjab and Haryana for rice and wheat.
  
• The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee has received Rotary’s highest award - “Award of Honour”, a recognition for Heads of countries or governments who have rendered unique service to the humanity and served the country and its people upholding values reflected in Rotary’s motto “Service Above Self”. The award was presented by Mr. Ron Burton, President of Rotary International at Rashtrapati Bhavan on February 11, 2014.Mr. Ron Burton conveyed greetings and admiration of Rotarians across the world to Mukherjee for the leadership he has provided and the country’s victory over Polio.
  
• The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee presented the International Gandhi Award for the year 2013 to Dr. Vijaykumar Vinayak Dongre and Prof. Guocheng Zhang for making outstanding contribution in the field of leprosy on February 15, 2014 at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. The President extended his heartiest congratulations to the recipients of the International Gandhi Award for Leprosy– Prof. Guocheng Zhang and Dr. V. V. Dongre who have both dedicated several decades of their lives to eradicating leprosy through treatment, training and research. The International Gandhi Award was instituted by the Gandhi Memorial Leprosy Foundation to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi’s service and scientific approach towards leprosy. The two awards are given every alternate year to individuals/institutions for making outstanding contribution in the field of leprosy.
  
• Bangladesh’s Kamar Ahmad Simon’s documentary Are You Listening? won the Golden Conch Award on 9 February 2014 at the Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films (MIFF). The documentary was awarded the Golden Conch Award as the Best Documentary Award. Are You Listening? is a 90 minutes documentary that is a set in the coastal belt of Bangladesh. The documentary reveals the alarming effects of climate change and deftly captures the fighting spirit of a community and their will to survive, which is a powerful and beautifully photographed film. The award comprised of the Golden Conch trophy and 5,00,000 rupees cash prize of which 3,00,000 rupees for the Director (Kamar Ahmad Simon) and 2,00,000 rupees for the producer (Sara Afreen).
  
• The Vice President M. Hamid Ansari presented the 26th “Moorti Devi Award” to Haraprasad Das, one of the most influential contemporary poet and thinker in Odia Literature at a function organized in New Delhi on 4 February. The award consists of a Citation and a cash prize of Rs. 4 Lakhs. Addressing on the occasion, the Vice President said that Haraprasad Das is amongst the most versatile literary figures in contemporary Indian literature and his versatility and prolificacy can be gauged from his creations. He opined that Bharatiya Jnanpith and the distinguished jury, chaired by Dr. Veerappa Moily deserve full credit for an excellent choice for the Award. Besides his literary genius, Haraprasad Das has been a distinguished Civil Servant. He also served as an expert on several UN Bodies, for around 10 years. He has published until now thirteen volumes of poetry, four volumes of literary criticism and critical thought, one volume of ethnic history, one book of fiction and three works of translation.
  
• The Vice President M. Hamid Ansari presented an “Amazing Indian Award” instituted by Times Now channel to Arunima Sinha, a brave girl who scaled Mount Everest despite being physically challenged, at a function held in New Delhi on 6 February.
  
• Vishwanath Tripathi (82), the eminent Hindi writer has been selected for the prestigious Vyas Samman for the year 2013. He has been chosen for his memoir 'Vyomkesh Darvesh' that is a biography of the noted Hindi scholar Acharya Hazari Prasad Dwivedi. Tripathi has around 20 publications by his name that includes memoirs, novel and poetry collection. Surya Prasad Dikshit, the Hindi litterateur headed the selection committee for the award. The Vyas Samman 2012 was given to Hindi litterateur Narendra Kohli for his historical novel Na Bhooto Na Bhavishyati published in 2004 that is based on Swami Vivekananda and the era he belonged. Vyas Samman was instituted by the K.K. Birla Foundation in 1991 and is awarded annually in recognition of the Hindi literary work published in past 10 years in genres like plays, novels, poetry, short stories, critiques and others. The award carries Rs 2.5 lakh and a citation and a plaque.
  
• Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who survived after being shot in her head by Taliban was nominated for the World Children’s Prize in Sweden for championing education rights for girls on 6 February 2014. The World Children's Prize (WCP) is also known as the Children's Nobel Prize and was founded in 2000 with an aim to raise awareness of children's rights in 60,000 schools in 110 countries through educational programs. Malala in 2013 was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her crusade for the right of all children to an education. She has been nominated for the 2014 award for her courageous and dangerous fight for girls’ right to education.