Correct Answer :   FICCI

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the largest and oldest apex business organisation in India, has awarded the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking top honours in the 'Smart Mobility' category for BEST's transformation towards progressive mobility, an official statement from the BEST said on Tuesday (30th May 2023).

Reason : Pioneering efforts in adopting green and sustainable practices.

It said that the BEST has been working on their transformation for 2 years, as below:

1. 10.000 Electric Buses - Convert the entire fleet to electric and grow it to 10,000 buses to meet global standards. The fleet will double from 3,219 to 7,000 by 2023 and grow to 10,000 by 2026.

2. 100 per cent Renewable Energy - The entire fleet will be powered by renewable solar energy. The 700 MW of solar energy needed for this has already been procured. In addition, 330 public EV charging points are also being set up to encourage citizens to migrate to electric vehicles.

3. Digital Tickets on NCMC and BEST Chalo App - BEST's digital tickets initiative has been India's most successful ever. The app offers mobile tickets, passes, live tracking and live seat status, and is used by 1 in 3 bus passengers daily. BEST has also launched India's first National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) ever launched by any city/state bus utility.

4. 100 per cent Digital Buses - BEST operates India's first 100 per cent digital buses where passengers use the BEST mobile app or card to 'tap-in' and 'tap-out' themselves.

5. Premium Buses - BEST launched India's first app-based premium city bus services with specially designed luxury buses. These buses connect business and residential hubs, and operate 'Airport Express Buses' to improve connectivity to Mumbai airport, India's second-largest airport

6. First And Last Mile Services - BEST is the world's first bus transport undertaking to introduce e-scooters at bus stops for last mile connectivity. 1,000 e-scooters have already been deployed at 200 points, and this will grow to 5,000 e-scooters in 2023.

7. Mobility-As-A-Service (MaaS) - The entire passenger experience has been digitised. All these services are available on a single platform on the BEST Chalo App, to ensure seamless and hassle-free door-to-door journeys. BEST is the first in India to implement MaaS philosophy.

Results- 55 per cent increase in ridership, path to financial sustainability..

Source : mid-day

Correct Answer :   Damodar Mauzo

Governor of Goa, P S Sreedharan Pillai has presented the 57th Jnanpith Award, the country's highest literary honor, to Goan writer Damodar Mauzo.

25 books have been published in Konkani and one in English.

Many of his books have also been translated into different languages.

In 1983, he has conferred the Sahitya Akademi Award for his novel 'Karmelin'.

He is the second Goan to receive the Jnanpith Award, after Ravindra Kelekar, who received the award in 2008..

Source : Mathrubhumi

Correct Answer :   Hrithik Roshan and Alia Bhatt

Hrithik Roshan won the award for Best Actor in a Leading Role (male) at the International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) 2023 held on Saturday (27th May 2023) in Abu Dhabi.

* Alia Bhatt also won the award for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Female) for her role in the movie Gangubai Kathiawadi. for her role in the film Gangubai Kathiawadi.

* While Alia was not present at the ceremony, producer Jayantilal Gada accepted the award on her behalf.

* Veteran actor Kamal Haasan was conferred the Outstanding Achievement in Indian Cinema award. Another veteran actor Anil Kapoor has presented the award for Performance In A Supporting Role (male) for the movie Jug Jugg Jeeyo.

* Meanwhile, Brahmastra : Part One - Shiva was adjudged the best film of the year. The film won many other awards at the event, including Best Playback Singer (Female) - Shreya Ghoshal, Best Playback Singer (Male) - Arijit Singh and Best Supporting Actor (Female) - Mouni Roy.

R. Madhavan won the award for best director for his film Rocketry: The Nambi Effect. Meanwhile, Drishyam 2 won the award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

* Late actor Irrfan Khan's son Babil Khan won the award for Best Debut (male) for his performance in the movie Qala. Babil shared the award with Santanu Maheshwari for his performance in Gangubai Kathiawadi. The award for Best Debut (Female) was presented to Khushali Kumar for her performance in the movie Dhoka Around the Corner.

Here's a list of all the award winners at IIFA 2023 :

* Best Film: Drishyam 2

* Best Director: R Madhavan for Rocketry: The Nambi Effect

* Best Actor in a Leading Role (Female): Alia Bhatt for Gangubai Kathiawadi

* Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male): Hrithik Roshan for Vikram Vedha

* Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female): Mouni Roy for Brahmastra: Part One - Shiva

* Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male): Anil Kapoor for Jugg Jugg Jeeyo

* Outstanding Achievement for Fashion in Cinema: Manish Malhotra

* Outstanding Achievement in Indian Cinema: Kamal Haasan

* Best Adapted Story: Aamil Keeyan Khan and Abhishek Pathak for Drishyam 2

* Best Original Story: Perveez Sheikh and Jasmeet Reen for Darlings

* Outstanding Achievement in Regional Cinema: Marathi film Ved directed by Riteish Deshmukh

* Best Debut (Male): Shantanu Maheshwari for Gangubai Kathiawadi and Babil Khan for Qala

* Best Debut (Female): Khushali Kumar for Dhoka Around the Corner

* Best Playback Singer (Female): Shreya Ghoshal for the song Rasiya from Brahmastra: Part One - Shiva

* Best Playback Singer (Male): Arijit Singh for the song Kesariya from Brahmastra: Part One - Shiva

* Best Music Direction: Pritam for Brahmastra: Part One - Shiva

* Best Lyricist: Amitabh Bhattacharya for the song Kesarya from Brahmastra: Part One - Shiva

* Best Cinematography: Gangubai Kathiawadi

* Best Screenplay: Gangubai Kathiawadi

* Best Dialogue: Gangubai Kathiawadi

* Best Choreography for title track: Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2

* Best Sound Design: Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2

* Best Editing: Drishyam 2

* Best Special Effects (Visual): Brahmastra: Part one - Shiva

* Best Background Score: Vikram Vedha

* Best Sound Mixing: Monica O My Darling.

Source : Mint

Correct Answer :   Georgi Gospodinov

Georgi Gospodinov (Bulgarian writer) and Angela Rodel (translator) bagged the 2023 International Booker Prize for their book 'Time Shelter'.

* It is the first book originally written in Bulgarian to be nominated for the award.

* The prize has recognized fiction translated into English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland in the year leading up to the award.

* Prize money : 50,000 pounds (about $62,000) shared equally between the author and translator..

Source : India Times

Correct Answer :   Thalapathy Vijay

Thalapathy Vijay received the Best Actor Award at the Osaka Tamil International Film Festival 2023 held in Japan.

He was awarded for his performance in 'Master' (directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj), released in 2021

While Kangana Ranaut has bagged the Best Actress Award for her performance in Thalaivii.

Other winners :

* Best Tamil Film: Sarpatta Parambarai
* Best Director: Pa. Ranjith (Sarpatta Parambarai)
* Best Supporting Actor: K. Manikandan
* Best Supporting Actress: Lijomol Jose.

Source : News18

Correct Answer :   Chandigarh

Chandigarh has received the first rank in the best Urban Local Body category of the National Water Award 2022.

The Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation declared the 4th National Water Award in 2022.

The Ground Water Augmentation Awards and National Water Awards were launched in 2007.

Aim : To encourage all stakeholders for adopting innovative practices of groundwater augmentation through rainwater harvesting.

Source : The Print

Correct Answer :   Kamal Haasan

Veteran actor, Kamal Haasan will be honored with the Outstanding Achievement in Indian Cinema award at the 23rd IIFA Awards 2023, held in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

* Manish MalhotraHe was awarded various awards including Padma Shri (1990), Padma Bhushan (2014), and Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2016.

* Manish MalhotraWhile Ritesh Deshmukh and Genelia D'Souza will be honored with Outstanding Achievement in Regional Cinema.

* Manish Malhotra will also receive the Outstanding Achievement in Fashion in Cinema..

Source : Economic Times

Correct Answer :   Harrison Ford

Actor Harrison Ford was honored with the prestigious Palme D'Or award for lifetime achievement at the 76th Cannes Film Festival 2023.

* He received the award before the premiere of his film 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny'.

76th annual Cannes Film Festival :

* It is an annual film festival, held in Cannes France from 16 to 27 May 2023.

* The festival opened with Jeanne du Barry (directed by Maïwenn).

* The festival will close with Elemental directed by Peter Sohn.

Source : The Print

Correct Answer :   N Chandrasekaran

Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran was conferred with France's highest civilian honour- "Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur"- by French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna.

* The 59-year-old was conferred with the award for the role played by him in developing and fostering commercial links between India and France.

* Chandrasekaran was appointed the chairman of Tata Sons in 2017, taking over from Cyrus Mistry and in February 2022, was given a second-term in the role for another five years.

* In April, Ratan Tata was conferred with the highest civilian award of Australia-Order of Honour-by Australia's High Commissioner to India Barry O’Farrell..

Source : Money Control

Correct Answer :   Gauri

"Gauri", a documentary on journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh directed by Kavita Lankesh, has won the “Best Long Documentary Award” at the Montreal 2023 South Asian Film Festival.

* According to a release, the award’s citation read : “A brave and uncompromising pulse-taking of the current crisis in Indian politics, centered on the political assassination of Bengaluru-based journalist Gauri Lankesh in 2017. A “JQs” docu-thriller directed and narrated by Gauri’s sister, Kavita Lankesh.

* The documentary “All That Breathes”, which was an Oscar nominee, was also in competition and won the runner-up award.

* The documentary film “Gauri” has been commissioned by Free Press Unlimited, Amsterdam.

* The Free Press Unlimited mission stems from Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; This right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers..

Source : Bharat Times