Awards - General Knowledge Questions

Correct Answer :   Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has become the first Indian Prime Minister to have been conferred with the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, France's highest civilian and military honour, by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Mr. Modi received the honour at the Elysee Palace here on Thursday, July 13, 2023, and joined the ranks of other prominent world leaders such as the former president of South Africa Nelson Mandela, King Charles - the then Prince of Wales, former Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former Secretary General of the United Nations, among others.

He also joined the French National Day (July 14) celebrations as the Guest of Honour.

Other awardees : Nelson Mandela, King Charles, Angela Merkel, Boutros Boutros-Ghali

The Prime Minister, who is in France for a two-day official visit, was accorded a red-carpet welcome as he arrived here on Thursday. He will join President Macron for the French National Day celebrations on Friday as the Guest of Honour.

A warm gesture embodying the spirit of 🇮🇳-🇫🇷 partnership.

PM @narendramodi conferred with the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, the highest award in France by President @EmmanuelMacron. pic.twitter.com/OyiHCHMDX2

— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) July 13, 2023

“A warm gesture embodying the spirit of partnership. PM @narendramodi conferred with the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, the highest award in France by President @EmmanuelMacron," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.

"Prime Minister thanked President Macron for this singular honour on behalf of the people of India,” the MEA said in a statement..

Source : The Hindu

Correct Answer :   Jammu & Kashmir Bank

Jammu & Kashmir Bank has been felicitated for The Best Performance in CASA-India (1st Runner up in Small Bank Category) at ICC Emerging Asia Banking Conclave & Awards 2022.

The event saw participation of scores of Banks from India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka & Mayanmar.  
 
Bank’s Branch Manager Goa received the award at a grand function organized by Indian Chamber of Commerce in Goa on 8th July 2023.
 
Speaking on the development, Bank's MD&CEO Baldev Prakash described the award as acknowledgement of Bank's efforts to consolidate the fundamentals of the Bank through a prestigious international platform.
 
Notably, PwC India (PricewaterhouseCoopers), Indian chapter of one of the biggest multinational professional services network, was the Process Reviewer for these Awards.
 
Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group headquartered in Calcutta, is proactive in BFSI segment across BIMSTEC (The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation). There are seven member countries in the BIMSTEC organization- five being from South Asia i.e., Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka and two from Southeast Asia i.e., Myanmar and Thailand.

Source : Crosstownnews

Correct Answer :   Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be honoured with the Lokmanya Tilak National Award in Pune on August 1, 2023.

Organisers said that the award recognizes his supreme leadership under which India has climbed the ladder of progress.

What is Lokmanya Tilak National Award?

1. On August 1, the 103rd death anniversary of Lokmanya Tilak, the Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust (Hind Swaraj Sangh) will confer the prestigious Lokmanya Tilak National Award upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

2. This esteemed award is presented annually by the Trust on the occasion of Lokmanya Tilak's death anniversary. Lokmanya Tilak was a prominent figure in India's freedom struggle during the early 20th century.

3. Bal Gangadhar Tilak was a passionate advocate for Indian self-rule (Swarajya) and played a crucial role in mobilising the masses.

4. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been chosen as the 41st recipient of this award, which includes a memento and citation, in recognition of his exceptional leadership and his efforts in fostering a sense of patriotism among citizens, the trust says.

5. In the previous year, the Lokmanya Tilak National Award was conferred upon senior scientist Tessy Thomas, popularly known as India's "missile woman." She served as the project director for Agni-4 and Agni-5 missile systems, making significant contributions to the country's defence capabilities.
List of recipients of the Loknayak Award

List of some of the individuals who have been conferred the Loknayak Award :

1. Indira Gandhi

2. Atal Bihari Vajpayee

3. Sharad Pawar

4. Rahul Bajaj

5. Cyrus Poonawalla

6. Manmohan Singh

They have received the Loknayak Award in previous years for their selfless contributions to the nation's development.

This year (2023) marks the 41st year of the award..

Source : Hindustan Times

Correct Answer :   Justine Henin

The International Tennis Federation has awarded Justine Henin its highest honor, the Philippe Chatrier Award 2023.

Henin won seven Grand Slam singles titles, an Olympic gold medal, and was part of Belgium's team that won the Fed Cup now called the Billie Jean King Cup in 2001.

The award, named after the former ITF president, was introduced in 1996 and recognizes people who have made significant contributions to the sport on and off the court.

She was one of the best players of her generation on the court and since retirement has made a significant and ongoing contribution to our sport at all levels, ITF president David Haggerty said Saturday (8th July 2023).

The 41-year-old Henin has established a successful academy in Belgium and a charitable foundation that helps provide sporting opportunities for children with disabilities.

The award will be presented Saturday at the ITF World Champions Awards at London's Victoria and Albert Museum...

Source : Business Standard

Correct Answer :   Michael Rosen

British children’s writer and performance poet Michael Rosen, 77, has been awarded the prestigious PEN Pinter Prize 2023, given to a writer from the UK, Ireland and the Commonwealth whose work is committed to a fearless exposition of truth about contemporary life.

Chair of English PEN, Ruth Borthwick, said, “Michael Rosen is one of our most tenacious and fearless writers. He is one of our most significant contemporary poets writing for young people. In over 140 books, he has championed a way of writing for children which reflects their everyday worlds, using humour and wordplay to validate their imaginative ways of thinking and being, and which has informed his succinct interventions into the lifeless way that children are taught literacy in schools…”

Who is Michael Rosen?
Rosen was the sixth British Children’s Laureate between 2007 and 2009 and is known for making poetry accessible to children through his work and performances. His themes are often social, political and ethical. In On the Move: Poems about Migration (2020), for instance, a book of poems divided into four segments, Rosen explores contemporary and historical migrations through his family’s personal experience and from a global perspective on the ongoing migration drive across Europe.

He is among the first poets who visited schools extensively across the UK and even overseas, talking about poetry and literature and the ways it can help us see the world around us with humour and empathy. “Michael Rosen has a rare, invaluable gift: the ability to address the most serious matters of life in a spirit of joy, humour and hope. Fearless in holding power to account, his work is nevertheless a lesson in humanity, and how in times of vulnerability we may discover the best version of ourselves,” said Amber Massie-Blomfield, another jury member of this year’s PEN Pinter prize.

Born to an educationalist father and a teacher mother, Rosen grew up around books. His parents’ activism and their eclectic circle of friends that included literary figures such as the critic Wayne Clayson Booth and poet and theosophist Beatrice Hastings (pen name of Emily Alice Haigh) had a profound influence on him. Rosen knew early on that he wanted to write — his first attempt at writing satirical poems about people he knew came when he was merely 12.

Afterwards, a year at Middlesex Hospital Medical School later, he moved to Wadham College in Oxford to study English. It was there that he realised that he also had a flair for acting. It would be the stepping stone towards a career in performance poetry. After starting off his career as a playwright with the play Backbone, Rosen worked at the BBC for a while till his left-leaning socialist views led him to go freelance in 1972.

Rosen’s first book of children’s poems, Mind Your Own Business, came out in 1974. At present, he is a professor of children’s literature at Goldsmiths, University of London..

Source : Indian Express

Correct Answer :   Rajindar Singh Dhatt

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on 28 June 2023 honoured Rajindar Singh Dhatt with a Points of Light award at a UK-India Week reception at 10 Downing Street.

According to Downing Street, the Points of Light award recognise outstanding people whose service is making a difference in their communities and whose stories can inspire others towards innovative solutions to social challenges in their own communities and beyond.

Dhatt was one of the last surviving Sikh soldiers who fought in World War II.

Dhatt aged 101 was recognised for his service and work running the 'Undivided Indian Ex-Servicemen's Association' to help bring together British Indian war veterans.

UK-India Week 2023 : PM Rishi Sunak welcomes leaders to celebrate. In Pics

He was born in pre-Partition India in 1921 and fought with the Allied forces during the British colonial period. He is based in Hounslow in southwest London since 1963.

“It is an immense honour to receive this recognition from the Prime Minister, to whom I would like to extend my deepest appreciation for acknowledging the importance and impact of the 'Undivided Indian Ex-Servicemen's Association'," said Dhatt as quoted by PTI.

While hosting a special reception to celebrate India Global Forum’s UK-India Week 2023 in the garden of 10 Downing Street in London, Sunak said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and he agrees that there is a huge potential to step up bilateral trade ties.

Business. Innovation. Culture. And of course... cricket🏏

The UK and India share so much.

Tonight, in #UKIndiaWeek, Prime Minister @RishiSunak welcomed business leaders to Downing Street, celebrating their work in bringing our nations even closer together 🇬🇧🤝🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/gcQQcPb3Wu

— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) June 28, 2023

Correct Answer :   Dr. K. Venugopal

Dr. K. Venugopal, chief consultant in respiratory medicine at General Hospital, Alappuzha, has been selected for an award instituted by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) to commemorate National Doctors’ Day on July 1, 2023.

A statement issued by the IMA recently noted that Dr. Venugopal was selected under the category of community service.

He will receive the award at a function to be held at IMA headquarters in New Delhi on July 1, 2023 at 4 p.m.

Correct Answer :   Priya AS

The prestigious Kendra Sahitya Akademi Bal Sahitya Puraskar - 2023 (award for children's literature) in Malayalam language has been bestowed upon Priya AS for her book 'Perumazhayathe Kunjithalukal'.

Ganesh Puthur bagged the Yuva Puraskar, 2023 (Malayalam) for his collection of poems titled 'Achante Alamara'.

'Perumazhayathe Kunjithalukal', set amidst the backdrop of the devastating 2018 floods, has been published by Purna Publications. Notably, the book has also been honoured with the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Best Children's Literature.

The book was featured in the ‘Sammanapothi’ series, edited by Dr K Sreekumar.

Meanwhile, Puthur's poem 'Achante Alamara' was first published in Mathrubhumi weekly.

Bal Sahitya Puraskar consists of a cash prize of Rs 50,000 and an engraved copper plaque. Similarly, Yuva Puraskar award consists of a cash prize of Rs 50,000 and an engraved copper plaque.

Source : Mathrubhumi

Correct Answer :   NTPC

NTPC Ltd., India’s largest power generator, has been recognized by Team Marksmen as the "Most Preferred Workplace of 2023-24."

* This esteemed award acknowledges NTPC’s outstanding performance in several key areas, highlighting the organization’s commitment to organizational purpose, employee centricity, growth, recognition and rewards, intrapreneurial culture, work-life balance, diversity, equality and inclusion, safety, and trust.

* NTPC’s dedication to achieving excellence in human resource development is evident through its continuous process improvement, engagement initiatives, and learning and development opportunities.

* The organization’s progressive approach, prioritizing “People before PLF” (Plant Load Factor), has significantly contributed to making NTPC a preferred workplace.

* This recognition adds to NTPC’s collection of accolades as one of India’s Best Employers over the years.

Receiving the Prestigious Award : Sital Kumar, CEO (UPL) & ED (HR) of NTPC, along with other NTPC officials, proudly accepted the distinguished recognition on behalf of the organization. The award ceremony was conducted by Team Marksmen in association with India Today and Business Standard, following a comprehensive consumer study conducted across the industry.

Excellence in People Practices : NTPC’s consistent success in receiving these awards serves as a testament to its exemplary people practices, placing it on par with the best companies worldwide. The company’s unwavering focus on organizational purpose, employee well-being, growth opportunities, recognition and rewards, fostering an intrapreneurial culture, work-life balance, diversity and inclusion, safety measures, and building trust has set a benchmark for others to follow.

Correct Answer :   IndiGo

IndiGo has won a top award as the Best Low-Cost Airline in India and South Asia at the prestigious 2023 Skytrax World Airline Awards, held at the Paris Air Show.

* It is the thirteenth time that IndiGo has won this award as the Best Low-Cost Airline in India and South Asia.

* Recently, IndiGo has placed a firm order for 500 Airbus A320 Family aircraft, which will provide IndiGo with a further steady stream of deliveries between 2030 and 2035..

Source : Goindigo