Gandhi Peace Prize to Chandi Prasad Bhatt

July 15, 2014 No comments

President Pranab Mukherjee presented Gandhi Peace Prize for 2013 to noted
environmentalist and pioneer of the Chipko movement Chandi Prasad Bhatt for his
contribution towards the environment and society through Gandhian philosophy.
The honor puts Bhatt in the elite club of personalities that includes the likes of Nelson
Mandela and Desmond Tutu, who were earlier bestowed with the prestigious prize.
Gandhi Peace Prize is an award that is conferred upon individuals and organizations for their
contributions towards social, economic and political transformation through peace and other
Gandhian methods.
Chandi Prasad Bhatt:
Born: June 23, 1934, in Chamoli, Uttarakhand
Key Contributions: He was one of the founders of Chipko movement, adopted non-
violence in preventing deforestation in the Garhwal Himalayas by embracing trees to prevent
them from being felled during the early 70s. The movement later spread throughout the
country.
Awards and Honors: He was awarded the Raman Magsaysay Award for Community
Leadership in 1982. In 2005, he was conferred the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian
award in the country. In 2014, he was honored with the prestigious Gandhi Peace Prize for
2013.
France confers Officer of the Legion of Honor upon
actor Shahrukh Khan
June 26, 2014 No comments
France will confer the honor Officer of the Legion of Honour upon Indian actor
Shahrukh Khan for his contribution to Cinema.
Officier de la Legion dHonneur (Officer of the Legion of Honour) is the highest award
among Civilians and Military conferred by France upon French citizen as well as
foreigners.
Shahrukh Khan is the second Bollywood actor after Amitabh Bachchan to be bestowed with
Legion of Honour. Amitabh Bachchan received the honour in 2007.
Other Indian luminaries who have been decorated with France highest honor are Lata
Mangeshkar and Satyajit Ray.
Previously, Shahrukh Khan was honored with Officier dans lOrdre des Arts et des Lettres
(Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters) by the Government of France in 2007. The
Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri in 2005.
Canadas York University confers honorary doctorate
upon Ratan Tata
June 22, 2014 No comments
Canadas prestigious York University bestowed Ratan Tata with an honorary doctor of
laws degree for his pursuit of innovation and role in promoting corporate social
responsibility.
The chairman emeritus of Tata Sons is viewed as one of the great architects of modern India
and one of the great global visionaries in business. He has become an international icon of
corporate social responsibility and now he heads the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, the Sir Ratan
Tata Trust and other smaller trusts which together hold 66% shares in the holding company
Tata Sons.
Pen Pinter prize to novelist Salman Rushdie
June 21, 2014 No comments
Eminent novelist Salman Rushdie (67), author of Midnights Children and The Satanic
Verses, has been named the winner of Pen Pinter prize for 2014. The award was instituted in
2009 by writers charity English Pen in memory of British writer Harold Pinter.The prize will
be presented on October 9, 2014 at an event at the British Library in London.
Rushdie went into hiding in 1989 after The Satanic Verses triggered extensive protests by
Muslims and a fatwa was released from Irans Ayatollah Khomeini.
He was conferred Knighthood in 2007 contributions to literature. His other noted books
include Haroun and the Sea of Stories and The Moors Last Sigh.
Jnanpith Award 2013 to Hindi poet Kedarnath Singh
June 20, 2014 No comments
Renowned Hindi poet Kedarnath Singh (80) has been named the recipient of the prestigious
Jnanpith Award for 2013. The award includes Rs 11 lakh and a citation.
Born in Balia, UP, Singh has also penned essays and stories and Abhi bilkul abhi and
Yahan se dekho are among his high-flying works. Singh is the 10
th
Hindi writer to get the
award and joins the class of Sumitra Nandan Pant, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar among others.
Immunotherapists from US and Japan win the inaugural
Tang Prize
June 20, 2014 No comments
Immunologists Dr James Allison of the US and Dr Tasuku Honjo of Japan were named joint
recipients of the inaugural Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science for their discoveries that
have helped advance immunotherapy and has brought new ray of hope that many types of
cancers can be cured.
Prized Discoveries of Allison and Honjo
Dr Honjo:
Discovered PD-1 in 1992, an inhibitor of the T cell, a type of lymphocyte that plays a pivotal
role in cell-mediated immunity. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved
the antibodies against PD-1 as an investigational drug and are being developed as a cancer
treatment.
One such antibody is likely to be launched in year 2015 for treatment of non-small-cell lung
cancer which is considered to significantly change the approach towards lung cancer
treatment.
Dr Allison:
In 1995, Allison became the first researcher to identify cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4
(CTLA-4), a protein receptor that down-regulates the immune system.
CTLA-4 is found on the surface of T cells, which lead cellular immune attacks on antigens.
Allison developed an antibody that blocks CTLA-4 activity. This antibody has been shown to
have potential to help fight various types of tumors in mice.
The study led to the development of a monoclonal antibody drug that was approved by the
FDA in 2011 to treat melanoma. The therapy and a regimen combining anti-CTLA-4 and
anti-PD-1 have been shown to significantly improve long-term survival rates of cancer
patients.
The Tang Prize:
A Taiwanese entrepreneur Samuel Yin Established instituted the Tang Prize in 2012 to award
leaders in four fields:
Sustainable development
biopharmaceutical science
Sinology
The rule of law.
Up to 3 awardees in each category can share a cash prize of NT$40 million and a research
grant of up to NT$10 million.
World Food Prize 2014 to India-born scientist Sanjaya
Rajaram
June 19, 2014 No comments
Sanjaya Rajaram, an India-born plant scientist, has been chosen for the World Food Prize
2014 for scientific research that led to a stupendous increase in world wheat production.
However, farm activists in the country criticised the prize as mere a public relations stunt by
big agri-food companies who fund it.
Sanjaya Rajaram, a citizen of Mexico, took over Nobel Laureate Norman Borlaug as head of
the wheat breeding program at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
(CIMMYT) in Mexico, where he worked for 33 years. The World Food Prize acknowledges
his contribution to the breeding technologies which have made significant impact in
providing more nutritious food around the world and assuaging world hunger.
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
Commonly called by its Spanish acronym CIMMYT (Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento
de Maz y Trigo) is a non-profit research and training institution dedicated to both the
development of improved varieties of wheat and maize, and introducing better agricultural
practices to farmers, thus bettering their livelihoods.
CIMMYT is one of the 15 non-profit, research and training institutions affiliated with the
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).
Queen Elizabeth confers Knighthood upon Indian-origin
physicist Prof. Tejinder Virdee
June 15, 2014 No comments
Professor Tejinder Virdee, a noted Indian-origin physicist known for his work for the
Large Hadron Collider, was conferred an honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II in
recognition to his contribution to the field of science.
Prof. Virdee of Imperial College London was named a Knight Bachelor for his services to
science in the Queens Birthday Honours List. Professor Virdee contribution in the Compact
Muon Solenoid (CMS) Experiment is considered his most remarkable service to science.
The CMS experiment, at the Large Hadron Collider, CERN, Geneva, has delivered
significant results in particle physics, including the landmark discovery of the Higgs Boson,
or the God particle, a particle that renders mass to other particles.
Bharat Ratna JRD Tata award conferred upon
Somasundaram
June 11, 2014 No comments
Member of Air Navigation Services of Airports Authority of India (AAI), Somasundaram,
has been conferred upon the esteemed Bharat Ratna JRD Tata Award 2013 instituted by
Aeronautical Society of India (ASI). He has made significant contributions not only in
improving ANS infrastructure in the country for enhancing safety, efficiency and capacity of
the airspace but also towards smooth ATM and global coordination.
The ASI has been presenting annual national awards in recognition and appreciation of
distinguished contribution and outstanding achievements made in the field of aeronautics and
airspace sciences. The ASI gives Bharat Ratna JRD Tata Award to an individual who has
made outstanding contributions in the field of civil aviation.
Anand Mahindra first Indian to be honoured with
Harvard Medal
June 2, 2014 No comments
Mahindra Group Chairman Anand G Mahindra became the first Indian to be
honoured with the prestigious Harvard Medal for his dedication, generosity and
service to the university. In 1977, Mahindra is an alumnus of the HarvardUniversity. He
graduated with Honours (Magna Cum Laude) from Harvard College, Cambridge,
Massachusetts. He completed his MBA from the Harvard Business School, Boston,
Massachusetts in 1981.
Mahindra is the Co-founder of the Harvard Business School (HBS) Association of India and
he is also a instituting member of the universitys South Asia Institute (SAI), the HBS India
Research Center, and the SAI field office in Mumbai, India. In 2010, Mahindra made a gift of
$10 million to the Humanities Centre which was then renamed the Mahindra Humanities
Center in honor of his mother, Indira Mahindra.
UN posthumously honors 8 Indian soldiers among 106 UN
peacekeepers
June 1, 2014 No comments
The UN honored 106 peacekeepers, including 8 Indian soldiers, who lost their lives in
various UN peacekeeping operations on the occasion of the International Day of UN
Peacekeepers on May 30.
Indian Army United Nations peacekeeping missions
India has been the leading troop UN Peace Keeping Missions since its commencement. Up to
now India has participated in 43 UN Peacekeeping missions with an involvement surpassing
1,60,000 troops and a noteworthy number of police personnel having been positioned. In
2014, India is the 3rd largest Troop Contributor [TCC] with 7,860 personnel positioned with
10 UN Peacekeeping Missions, of which 995 are police personnel including the first Female
Formed Police Unit under the United Nations.Recently, Indian Peacekeepers were
applauded by the UN for their works in checking a massacre in the South Sudan.
Past UN Peace Keeping Missions of the Indian Army
Indian Armed forces contributions to the United Nations Peacekeeping Missions since
1950:-
Korea (195054)
Indo-China (195470)
Middle East (195667)
Congo (196064) (ONUC)
Cambodia (1992-1993)
Mozambique (199294) (ONUMOZ)
Somalia (199394) (UNITAF & UNOSOM II)
Rwanda (199496) (UNAMIR)
Angola (1989-1999) (UNAVEM)
Sierra Leone (1999-2001) (UNAMSIL)
Ethiopia-Eritrea (200608) (UNMEE)
Current UN Peace Keeping Missions of the Indian Army
The Indian Armed Forces are currently undertaking the following UN Missions:-
Lebanon (UNIFIL) (Since Dec 1998)
Congo (MONUSCO) (Since January 2005)
Sudan and South Sudan (UNMIS/UNMISS) (Since April 2005)
Golan Heights (UNDOF) (Since February 2006)
Ivory Coast (UNOCI) (Since April 2004)
Haiti (MINUSTAH) (Since December 1997)
Liberia (UNMIL) (Since April 2007)
Vishwanath Tripathi awarded Vyas Samman
May 29, 2014 No comments
Noted Hindi author Vishwanath Tripathi awarded the prestigious Vyas Samman for the
year 2013. He was awarded for his memoir Vyomkesh Darvesh, a biolgraphy of noted
Hindi scholar Acharya Hazari Prasad Dwivedi. Vyomkesh Darvesh is a biographical
criticism and its speciality is that the personality (Hazari Prasad Dwivedi) that it describes,
has been written about by his own student in his (Dwivedis) own style.
Vyas Samman is an annual literary award instituted in 1991 by the K K Birla Foundation
which carries an amount of Rs 2.5 lakh and is given to an outstanding literary work in Hindi
published during the last 10 years.
Fact Box: Special Olympics World Winter Games
February 13, 2013 No comments
India bagged 46 Medals in 2013 Special Olympics World Winter Games in
Pyeongchang (South Korea)
India clinched record 46 medals in the 2013 Pyeongchang Special Olympics World Winter
Games. The games were organized at Pyeongchang and Gangneung in South Korea. Indias
medal tally includes 13 gold, 17 silver and 16 bronze from mentally-challenged. The medal
tally of India doubled from World Winter Games 2009.
About 2013 Special Olympics World Winter Games held at South Korea:
Held at Pyeongchang and Gangneung in South Korea it
was 11
th
event of its kind.
The mascots were Ra, In and Bow.
The event witnessed participation of 2200 athletes from more than 120 countries.
Athletes competed in 8 categories of sports- alpine skiing, cross-country skiing,
snowboarding, snowshoeing, figure skating, short track speed skating, floor hockey
and floorball.
What is Special Olympics ?
They are the worlds largest sports organization for
children and adults with intellectual disabilities,
providing year-round training and competitions to
more than 4 million athletes in 170 countries.
Special Olympics World Games are held alternatively between summer and winter
games. Special Olympics World Games are held every two years.
1968 First International Special Olympics Summer Games held at Soldier Field in
Chicago.
1971 US Olympic Committee gave the Special Olympics official approval to use
the name Olympics
2011 Games held at Athens, Greece
2013 Games held at Pyeongchang, South Korea
2015 Games to be held at Los Angeles, California
2017 Games to be held at Graz and Schladming, Austria

British physicist Stuart Parkin awarded prestigious
Millennium technology prize
April 13, 2014 No comments
UK-born physicist Stuart Parkin won the Millennium technology prize 2014.
Parkin won this prize for his breakthrough in magnetic disk drive storage capacity.
Parkins ground-breaking contribution to the science and application of spintronic materials
has led to an abnormal expansion in the capacity to store digital information. Parkin
employed the process of Giant Magneto-Resistance (GMR) to produce enormously sensitive
devices that can detect tiny magnetic fields, harbingering the epoch of cloud computing. In
magnetic disk drives information is stored as bits (0s and 1s) mapped by regions of the disk
magnetized differently. Thus, if the detector is more sensitive, then the magnetic regions and
fields need to be more smaller to store the information, which implies more data can be put
on to a hard disk drive all in digital form. This discovery led to 1,000-fold betterment in the
storage capacity of magnetic disk drives with cost remaining almost same.
The foundation behind this award has made services like Facebook, Google, Amazon, etc.
possible.
Giant Magneto-Resistance (GMR) and Parkins accomplishment:
Giant Magneto-Resistance (GMR) was separately discovered by physicists Albert Fert and
Peter Grnberg in the late 1980s and in 2007 they shared the Nobel Prize for physics for their
work on GMR. The phenomenon develops when atomically thin layers of magnetic and non-
magnetic materials are piled on top of each other. In a plain organization, a non-magnetic
layer (typically copper) is sandwiched amid two magnetic layers which act like bar magnets
pointing either north or south. On inducing a current in this sandwich, electrons pass through
the layers. The degree of interference they go through is dissimilar and depends upon an
intrinsic quantum mechanical property of them called Spin, which can be adjusted to the
direction of the bar magnet or against it. Electrons which have a spin in one direction will
travel in a freer manner. Thus, the flow of the current can be checked by the proportional
placement of the bar magnets of the top and bottom layers. This phenomenon is called Giant
Magneto-Resistance (GMR), as its value is much larger than the MR value received from
anisotropic MR that come out from normal ferromagnetic materials.
Parkins accomplishment was to prepare a device based on such Spintronic effects in
which tiny magnetic fields from magnetized regions (that store data within the disk drive) can
rotate the direction of magnetization in one of the layers of the sandwich. This outcome is a
sensor that quickly goes through large alterations in resistance as it reads the disk drive.

Gulzar selected for Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2013
April 12, 2014 No comments
The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting announced that the
Veteran poet and film lyricist Gulzar (real name: Sampooran Singh Kalra) has been chosen
for the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2013. Sampooran Singh Kalras pen name
is Gulzar. Dadasaheb Phalke Award is Indias highest award in cinema, conferred annually
by the government for outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian
cinema.
Awards: Padma Bhushan (2004), Sahitya Akademi Award (2002), Academy Award (2008 -
Shared with Music Director A. R. Rahman for Jai Ho from film Slumdog Millionaire). He
has won 20 Filmfare Awards.
SC awarded compensation for sewer deaths since 1993
March 29, 2014 No comments
The Supreme Court of India awarded a compensation of Rs.10 lakh each for the families of
all the manual scavengers who have died in sewerage work since 1993 and also criminalized
entering sewer lines without safety gear.
The Chief Justice P. Sathasivam bench stated that Sewer deathsentering sewer lines
without safety gear should be made a crime even in emergency situations.
Identify the families of all the persons who have died in sewerage work (manholes, septic
tanks) since 1993 and award compensation of Rs.10 lakh for each such death to the family
members.
Ordered all the state governments and UnionTerritories to fully implement legislation for
eradicating manual scavenging and take action against violators, while issuing directions for
education, employment and rehabilitation of affected people.
As per the relevant scheme of the Central or state governments, the children of manual
scavengers should be entitled to scholarships.
The people who were employed as scavengers be alloted residential plot or ready-built
house or financial assistance for house construction according to their eligibility and
willingness,
At least one member of their family shall be given training in livelihood skill and be paid
monthly stipend.
At least one adult member shall be given subsidy and concessional loan for taking up an
alternative occupation on sustainable basis.
The Indian Railways is the largest employer of manual scavengers. It should take time
bound strategy to end manual scavenging on the tracks and persons released from manual
scavenging should not have to cross hurdles to receive what is their legitimate due under
the law.
Note: Manual scavenging is a term used for the practice of physically removing human
excrement from dry toilets with bare hands, brooms and metal scrappers. About 95% of the
manual scavengers are dalits who clean the so-called night soil, mostly from the toilets of the
upper castes.
Japanese architect Mr. Shigeru Ban won the Pritzker
Architecture Prize 2014
March 27, 2014 No comments
The Japanese architecture, Mr. Shigeru Ban (56) won the Pritzker Architecture Prize 2014
for his unique approach in using materials viz. paper tubes, bamboo and shipping containers.
About Mr. Shigeru Ban
Known for his creative and inexpensive designs for disaster relief shelters.
Purpose: To build an inexpensive and easy-to-construct-and- dismantle structures.
Designed a range of buildings to help victims of natural disasters and refugees in places viz.
Rwanda, Turkey, India, China, Haiti,Japan, etc.
Uses cardboard tubes to make temporary housing in disaster zones.
Notable work: the seven-storied wooden office-building in Zurich, and the church made of
cardboard tubes and colour glasses in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Pritzker Architecture Prize
Establish: 1979.
Awarded for: A career of achievement in the art of architecture.
Sponsor: Hyatt Foundation.
Prize: $100,000, a citation and a bronze medallion.
Note: Mr. Ban would be the seventh Japanese architect to receive the prize when it is given
away on June 13, 2014 in Amsterdam.
Kirti Chakra gallantry awards 2014
March 25, 2014 No comments
The President of India, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee presented gallantry awards to defense
personnel for their distinguished services at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
Kirti Chakra awards: Lt Commander Abhilash Tomy, Major Mahesh Kumar and Wing
Commander Darryl Castelino.
Wing Commander Darryl Castelino: Awarded posthumously for his role in operation Rahat
in Uttarakhand where his chopper crashed with 20 personnel on board after he had helped
in rescuing lives of more than 80 people.
Major Mahesh Kumar (Punjab Regiment): Awarded for his gallant acts in counter-
insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir where he killed 4 terrorists in three separate
incidents.
Caption Abhilash Tomy: Awarded for completing world voyage on his sail ship non-stop and
without any external support in 151 days.
Param Vishist seva medals (15): Lt Gen Ashok Singh of Infantary, Air Marshal Jaswinder
Singh Chauhan of Air Force and Vice Admiral Niranjan Kumar Nadella, etc.
Two Uttam Yudh seva medals and 10 Shaurya Chakra awards were also conferred to
the defence personnel.
Note: Kirti Chakra is the second highest peace time gallantry award i.e. awarded for
valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the field of battle.
Gyan Correa bagged the Gollapudi Srinivas National
Award 2013
March 24, 2014 No comments
The debutant director of Gujarati movie The Good Road, Mr. Gyan Correa has been
selected for the 17th Gollapudi Srinivas National Award 2013. The award would be presented
to the winners on August 12, 2014 in Chennai.
Gollapudi Srinivas National Award
Instituted in memory of late Gollapudi Srinivasa, who died while directing his first film Prema
Pustakam (Book of Love) on August 12, 1992.
Cash Prize: Rs.1.50 lakh and a memento.
Note: Gujarati movie The Good Roadis the first ever Gujarati film selected to represent
India at the Oscars and also won the Best Gujarati film award at the 60th National Film
Award.
Indian Journalist Mr. Shubranshu Choudhary won
Google Digital Activism Award 2014 for regional news
service
March 24, 2014 No comments
Indian Journalist Mr. Shubhranshu Choudhary won the Google Digital Activism Award
2014 in Barbican Centre in London for his work in using mobile phones to bring local news
to remote Indian regions in their native language i.e. known by CGNet Swara (Voice of
Chhattisgarh).
CGNet Swara (Voice of Chhattisgarh)
A mobile-phone service that allows Indian citizens to report on local issues as well as listen
to other reports in their language using basic or feature phones.
Empowers tribals in Chhattisgarh and connects them to the world outside by using various
digital means.
Voice-based portal freely accessible via mobile phone.
Launched as part of the Knight International Journalism Fellowships, a programme of the
International Centre for Journalists.
About Mr. Choudhary
A Knight International Journalism Fellow.
Founded a hyper local mobile news platform CGNet Swara in 2004 in Chhattisgarh state.
Previously, worked with BBC and Guardian and was also a reporter at the Hindi-daily
Deshbandhu.
Note: The Google Digital Activism Award is a part of the Index Freedom of Expression
Awards, organized by London-based international organisation Index on Censorship,
recognises the bravest journalists, artists and activists from around the world in four diverse
categories: advocacy, arts, digital activism and journalism.
G D Birla award for scientific research 2013: Physicist
Prof. Rajesh Gopakumar
March 24, 2014 No comments
Physicist Prof. Rajesh Gopakumar (46) to be honoured with 23rd G D Birla award for
scientific research for 2013. At present, Mr. Gopakumar working as a theoritical physicist at
Harish Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad and has made important contributions on topics
in quantum field theory and string theory.
About G D Birla award for scientific research
Established: 1991 K K Birla Foundation to recognise significant scientific research
undertaken by Indian scientists below the age of 50, working in India.
Cash Prize: Rs. 1.5 lakh and a citation.
Ekhon Nedekha Nadir Xipaare- Assamese thriller film
bagged Audience Choice Award 2014 in North Carolina
film festival
March 23, 2014 No comments
The Assamese thriller movie, Ekhon Nedekha Nadir Xipaare (also known as As the river
flows) bagged the Audience Choice Award 2014 in North Carolina film festival.

The film has also been selected for the upcoming 14th annual New York Indian Film Festival
North Americas oldest and most prestigious destination for feature films, documentaries,
and shorts from and about the Indian subcontinent to be held from May 5-10, 2014.
About the Assamese movie Ekhon Nedekha Nadir Xipaare
Writer & Director: Bidyut Kotoky.
Produced by: National Film Development Corporation of India.
Starring Actors: Sanjay Suri, Bidita Bag, Victor Banerjee, Nakul Vaid, Raj Zutshi, Naved Aslam
and Preeti Jhangiani.
Inspired by the kidnapping of activist Sanjoy Ghosh, who was first abducted in 1997 from the
island Majuli in Assam supposed to be by the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and
subsequently killed.
The movie is a socio-political Assamese thriller set in the river island of Majuli.
ESPNcricinfo Awards 2013: Sachin Tendulkar-
Cricketer of the Generation
March 21, 2014 No comments
Indian Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has been voted the cricketer of the
generation by a 50-member jury of current and former cricketers and journalists. The award
is meant to honour the most outstanding cricketer between the years 1993 and 2013.
The award ceremony was organized in Mumbai to also mark the 20th anniversary
celebrations for the cricket website.
Winners of ESPNcricinfo Award 2013
Test batting award: Shikhar Dhawan (India) for his rollicking 187 on debut against Australia
in Mohali in 2013.
ODI bowling award: Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) (he won in the same category for 2009).
Test bowling title: Mitchell Johnson (Australia).
Debutant of the Year (new category): Mohammed Shami (India) who took 17 wickets in his
four Tests in 2013, and 30 ODI wickets.
Contribution to Cricket Award: Mr. Tarak Sinha (head coach of the Sonnet Cricket Club in
Delhi).
Cricket for Good award: Rahul Dravid (India) for his mentorship of junior and paralympic
athletes in India in his association with the GoSports Foundation.
Statsguru Award: South Africans AB de Villiers (South Africa) and Dale Steyn (South Africa).
Batsman of the Year, Best Test Batsman, and Most Consistent Batsman: AB de Villiers
(South Africa).
Bowler of the Year and the Best Test Bowler: Dale Steyn (South Africa).
Note: The ESPNcricinfo Awards 2013 recognized the best individual performances in
cricket, in Tests, ODIs and Twenty20. The winners are voted on by an independent jury of
former cricketers, commentators and ESPNcricinfos senior writers. This was the 7th edition
of the ESPNcricinfo Awards.
Presidents Standard and Colours Award to 112
Helicopter Unit & No. 4 Base Repair Depot
March 18, 2014 No comments
The President of India and the Supreme Commander of Indian defense forces, Mr. Pranab
Mukherjee awarded the prestigious Presidents Standard to 112 Helicopter Unit and
Presidents Colours to No. 4 Base Repair Depot of Indian Air Force at Kanpur, Uttar
Pradesh.
Winners:
Standard Award: Wing Commander Manish Sharma, Commanding Officer of 112 Helicopter
Unit.
Colour Award: Group Captain S Shrinivas Commanding Officer of 4 Base Repair Depot (BRD).
The Presidents Standard is awarded to operational Units and Colours are awarded to non-
flying formations based on their past record and achievements during peace as well as
hostilities.
The Bangalore-based 112 Helicopter Unit is a premier training establishment for pilots,
flight engineers and gunners. The Unit had been awarded with the two Vir Chakras, one
Yudh Seva Medal and two Vayusena Medals.
The 4 BRD specializes in repairing and overhauling turbo-jet aero engines. The 4 BRD has
been awarded with five Vishisht Seva Medals and numerous commendations.
Note:Presidents standard and colours Award is one of the greatest honors bestowed upon
an Air Force Unit or Squadron in recognition of exceptional service rendered by it to the
nation, both during war and in peace.
Mr. Pankaj Mishra: Indian author won Windham
Campbell Literature Prize 2014
March 12, 2014 No comments
Indian author Mr. Pankaj Mishra won the prestigious Donald Windham
Campbell Literature prize 2014 in the non-fiction category. The awards are announced by
The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at YaleUniversity.
Mr. Mishra Mishra is an Indian essayist, memoirist, travel writer and novelist whose work
expands our understanding of the encounter between Western and Non-western culture.
Besides the novel, The Romantics, he has published four works of non-ction: Butter
Chicken in Ludhiana: Travels in Small TownIndia, An End to Suering: the Buddha in the
World, Temptations of the West: How to Be Modern in India, Pakistan, Tibet, and Beyond
and From the Ruins of Empire: The Intellectuals Who Remade Asia.
2014 prizewinners of Donald Windham Campbell Literature Prize in
Fiction: Aminatta Forna (Sierra Leone), Nadeem Aslam (Pakistan), and Jim Crace (United
Kingdom);
Non-fiction: Pankaj Mishra (India) and John Vaillant (United States/Canada);
Drama: Kia Corthron (United States), Sam Holcroft (United Kingdom) and No lle Janaczewska
(Australia).
The winners in the three categories viz. fiction, non-fiction and drama will receive a citation
and an unrestricted award of $150,000 each in recognition of their achievements and to
support their ongoing work at a ceremony at Yale University on September 15, 2014.
Stree Shakti Puraskar 2013
March 11, 2014 No comments
The President of India, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee awarded Stree Shakti Puraskar to six
illustrious women on International Womens Day for their distinguished services for the
upliftment of women. The Government of India has instituted six national awards are known
as Stree Shakti Puraskar.
These awards are in the name of the following eminent women personalities in the Indian
history who are famous for their personal courage and integrity:- Rani Lakshmibai, Rani
Rudramma Devi, Kannagi, Rani Gaidinliu Zaliang, Rani Ahilyabai Holkar and Mata Jijabai.
Awardees are-
Rani Gaidinliu Zeliang Award: Dr. Vartika Nanda (Delhi) for creating awareness on womens
issues through media.
Rani Lakshmibai Award: Ms. Manasi Pradhan (Odisha) for her work in the field of womens
empowerment.
Rani Rudramma Devi Award: Dr. M Venkaiah (Andhra Pradesh) for her contribution in the
field of womens health.
Mata Jijabai Award: Ms. Bina Sheth Lashkari (Maharashtra) honored for her achievement in
the field of education and training
Kannagi Award: T Radha K Prashanti (Andhra Pradesh) for her achievement in the field of
providing support to orphans, visually impaired, handicapped and destitute women.
Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Award: Dr Seema Sakhare (Maharashtra) for her contribution in the
field of womens rights, gender issues, legal counseling and institutional support to women
and girls.
About Stree Shakti Puraskar
Category: Women Activism (Individual).
Objective: To recognize recognizes the spirit of courage of a women in difficult
circumstances, who has established this spirit of courage in her personal or professional life.
Instituted: 1991.
Awarded by Government of India.
Conferred by the President of India on occasion of International Womens Day i.e. 8th March
every year at New Delhi.
Cash award: Rs. 300,000.
Also recognizes pioneering contribution of an individual in empowering women and raising
womens issues.
Oscar Awards: 86th Academy Awards
March 6, 2014 No comments
The 86th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood,
Los Angeles.
Best Motion picture: 12 Years a Slave.
Best Director: Alfonso Cuarn (Gravity).
Best Actor: Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club).
Best Actress: Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club).
Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyongo (12 Years a Slave).
Best Writing Original Screenplay: Her by Spike Jonze.
Best Writing Adapted Screenplay: 12 Years a Slave by John Ridley.
Best Animated Feature Film: Frozen.
Best Foreign Language Film: The Great Beauty (Italy) in Italian Paolo Sorrentino
Best Documentary Feature: 20 Feet from Stardom.
Best Visual Effects: Gravity
Best Film Editing: Gravity.
Best Costume Design: The Great Gatsby.
Best Cinematography: Gravity.
Best Sound Mixing: Gravity.
Best Sound Editing: Gravity.
Most awards: Gravity (7).
Mr. Chandi Prasad Bhatt: Eminent Gandhian and
environmentalist selected for Gandhi Peace Prize 2013
March 5, 2014 No comments
The noted Gandhian and environmentalist, Mr. Chandi Prasad Bhatt selected for the Gandhi
Peace Prize for 2013.
About Mr. Chandi Prasad Bhatt
Born:1934.
Indian Gandhian environmentalist and social activist.
Founder of the Dasholi Gram Swarajya Sangh in Gopeshwar, which later became the
mother organization to the Chipko Movement.
Known for his work on subaltern social ecology, and considered one of Indias first modern
environmentalist
One of the pioneers of the Chipko movement for which he was awarded the Raman
Magsaysay Award in 1982.
Awards: Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri, Green legend-Greenies Eco Award-2010, Raman
Magsaysay Award, etc.
Note: Gandhi Peace Prize is an award that is bestowed to individuals and organizations for
their contributions towards social, economic and political transformation through peace and
other Gandhian methods.
Indian-origin men win Heinz Awards in US
March 1, 2014 No comments
Indian-origin men, Professor Abraham Verghese and Mr. Sanjeev Arora are among the
five recipients who won the 19th Heinz awards 2013 and will be honored in Pittsburgh on
April 3, 2014. Each winner will receive a cash award of $250,000 each as well as a
medallion inscribed with an image of late US senator John Heinz.
19th Heinz Awards 2013: Category and its recipients
Arts and humanities Professor Abraham Verghese, a doctor and author based at Stanford
University Medical School, USA was given the award in recognition of his best-selling
authorship. In his first book, My Own Country, he wrote extensively about AIDS in rural
areas of Tennesse. He belongs to Kerala.
Public policy Dr. Sanjeev Arora, professor of medicine at the University of New Mexico in
Albuquerque, was recognized for revolutionizing community healthcare using video
conferencing technology. He belongs to Kota, Rajasthan.
Environment Professor Jonathan Foley, director of the Institute on the Environment at the
University of Minnesota where he has conducted research on the global environment and
how to improve the efficiency of food production.
Human condition Mr. Salman Khan, founder of online Khan Academy in Mountain View,
Calif., an educational nonprofit that offers free tutorials and exercises to students around
the world.
Technology, the economy and employment Leila Janah (an entrepreneur based in San
Francisco, USA) was honored for founding the nonprofits Samasource and SamaUSA that
uses an Internet to train and employ people in impoverished communities around the
world.
About Heinz Awards
Established in 1993 by Ms. Teresa Heinz, the chairwoman of the Heinz Family Foundation in
honor of her late husband, Senator H. John Heinz III, the Pennsylvania Republican.
Headquarters:Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (separate from the international food company).
Annually awarded by the Heinz Family Foundation.
The Heinz Awards celebrates the accomplishments and spirit of the Senator by recognizing
the extraordinary achievements of individuals in the areas of greatest importance to Senator
John Heinz, who died in a midair aircraft collision in 1991.
Awards recognize outstanding individuals for their contributions in five areas: Arts and
Humanities, Environment, Human Condition, Public Policy, and Technology, the Economy
and Employment.
Dr. Madan Babu won the Protein Science Young
Investigator Award for 2014
March 1, 2014 No comments
An Indian-born scientist, Dr. M Madan Babu won the Protein Science Young Investigator
Award for 2014 at Cambridge, UK. He got the award for his effort in the field of biological
system and to understand intrinsically disordered proteins and gene regulation clearly. MRC
Laboratory of Molecular Biology, CambridgeUK
He became the first scientist from MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology to won this award.
At present, Dr. Babu heads the group on Regulatory Genomics and Systems Biology at the
MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK.
About Protein Science Young Investigator Award
Recognizes an important contribution to the study of proteins by a scientist still in the early
stages of an independent career.
Given by the Protein Society.
The Society represents a global community of researchers dedicated to the understanding of
proteins.
Dr. VV Dongre and Prof. Guocheng Zhang bagged
International Gandhi Award 2013
February 21, 2014 No comments
The President of India, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee presented the International Gandhi Award for
the year 2013 to Dr. Vijaykumar Vinayak Dongre and Prof. Guocheng Zhang for making
outstanding contributions in the field of leprosy to eradicate the disease through treatment,
training and research at Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi.
International Gandhi Award
Instituted by the Gandhi Memorial Leprosy Foundation (GMLF) that was established in 1950
to commemorate Mahatma Gandhis service and scientific approach towards leprosy.
GMLF introduced the International Gandhi Award in 1986.
Recognizes the commendable contributions of individuals and institutions in ameliorating
the quality of life of people afflicted with leprosy.
The two awards are given every alternate year to individuals/institutions for making
outstanding contribution in the field of leprosy.
Note: Leprosy is an infectious disease that causes severe, disfiguring skin sores and nerve
damage in the arms and legs.
67th BAFTA Awards 2014
February 21, 2014 No comments
The 67th BritishAcademy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) held at the Royal Opera
House in London.
Winners of the 67th Annual BAFTA Awards
Best Film: 12 Years a Slave
Outstanding British Film: Gravity.
Best Director: Alfonso Cuarn (Gravity).
Best Actor: Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave).
Best Actress: Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine).
Best Supporting Actor: Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips).
Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle).
Best Original Screenplay: American Hustle.
Best Adapted Screenplay: Philomena.
Best Editing: Rush.
Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki (Gravity).
Best Production Design: The Great Gatsby.
Best Costume Design: The Great Gatsby.
Best Original Music: Gravity.
Best Makeup and Hair: American Hustle.
Best Sound: Gravity.
Best Visual Effects: Gravity.
Best Film Not in the English Language: The Great Beauty.
Best Animated Film: Frozen.
Best Documentary: The Act of Killing.
Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer: Kieran Evans.
Best British Short Film: Room 8.
Best British Short Animation: Sleeping with the Fishes.
The EE Rising Star Award: Will Poulter.
Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema: Peter Greenaway.
Most awards: Gravity (6).
About British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA)
Formed: 1947.
Headquarters: London.
Purpose: To supports, promotes and develops the art forms of the moving image film,
television and video games by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners
and benefiting the public.
Mr. Vishwanath Tripathi honored with the Vyas Samman
2013
February 15, 2014 No comments
The famous Hindi writer, Mr. Vishwanath Tripathi (82) honored by the prestigious Vyas
Samman 2013. He has been chosen for his memoir Vyomkesh Darvesh that is a biography
of the noted Hindi scholar Acharya Hazari Prasad Dwivedi.
The Vyas Samman 2012 was given to Hindi litterateur Narendra Kohli for his historical novel
Na Bhooto Na Bhavishyati based on Swami Vivekananda.
Mr. Surya Prasad Dikshit was the selection committee head of Vyas Samman 2013.
Mr. Tripathi has around 20 publications by his name that includes memoirs, novel and
poetry collection.
Note: The Vyas Samman award instituted in 1991 by the K.K. Birla Foundation and the
award carries a prize of Rs. 2.5 lakh. It is one the most prestigious award of India that is
given every year to the poet or writer for their out standing contribution in the Hindi
language.
Ms. Arunima Sinha bagged Amazing Indian Award 2014
February 15, 2014 No comments
Ms Arunima Sinha bagged with Amazing Indian Award by the Vice President of India, Mr.
Hamid Ansari, for scaling Mount Everest despite being physically challenged.
Ms. Sinha is the first Indian amputee who scales the Mount Everest on May, 2013. She is a
former national volleyball and football player from Uttar Pradesh.
She lost her right leg in 2011 after being thrown off a moving train. Two years later she
stood on the peak of the Mount Everest with an artificial leg and an indomitable spirit to
achieve the unimaginable.
Note: The Amazing Indian Award was instituted by Times Now channel in September 2012.
TIMES NOW is Indias No. 1 English news channel that is devoted to providing pure and
relevant news to its viewers around the clock.
World Childrens Prize (Childrens Nobel Prize)
Nominees 2014: Malala, John Wood and Indira
Ranamagar
February 9, 2014 1 Comment
For the 2014
Worlds Childrens Prize, Pakistani teenage rights activist Malala Yousafzai, John Wood
from the USA and Nepalese child rights worker Indira Ranamagar are nominated for an
award also known as the Childrens Nobel Prize.
Ms. Malala Yousafzai nominated for her courageous and dangerous fight for girls right to
education. She started to speak out for girls rights at the age of 11, when the Taliban
banned girls from going to school in the SwatValley in Pakistan.
Mr. John Wood nominated for his 15-year fight for childrens right to education. John quit
his job as a manager at the Microsoft company to fulfil his dream: to fight poverty by giving
children all over the world the chance to go to school.
Ms. Indira Ramanagar nominated for her 20-year struggle for prisoners children in Nepal.
She has built up an organisation called Prisoners Assistance Nepal (PA), which has rescued
over a thousand children from cramped, dirty prisons.
Indira Ramanagar and Prisoners Assistance:
Run three childrens homes, two schools, and youth programs on organic agriculture, arts
and crafts, and more.
Support girls in villages to enable them to go to school. They are also given bikes, since they
often have a long journey to get to school.
Search for relatives and support them to take care of the children.
Make sure that children get a chance to visit their parents in prison.
Run programs allowing children to go to school during the day and stay with their mothers in
prison at night. They also educate mothers in prison up to Year 5 level and give them
vocational training.
Support prisoners who have been released, so that they can be reunited with their children.
Speak out for the weakest in society and fight for prisoners especially women and their
children to be treated in a fair and humane way.
About Worlds Childrens Prize (WCP)
Also known as the Childrens Nobel Prize
The worlds largest annual educational program teaching young people about the rights
of the child, democracy and global friendship.
Vision: A world where the rights of the child are universally respected and where every new
generation grows up as humane global citizens.
Mission: To catalyze the growth and development of a more humane global community
through an integrated global educational program, engaging a growing number of children
throughout the world.
The award programme, launched in 2000, is supported by 60,000 schools with 29.3 million
students in 109 countries and over 600 organisations.
Every year, three Child Rights Heroes are selected by the WCP Child Jury to be candidates
for the Worlds Childrens Prize for the Rights of the Child.
The annual program concludes with a Global Vote, where children work together to
choose their Child Rights Hero. Global Vote Days are held in schools around the world like
a democratic election.
The WCP Foundation is regulated by the Svensk Insamlingskontroll (Swedish Fundraising
Control), which protects the interests of donors and ensures that the funds raised are used
appropriately.
New Criteria for National Sports Awards (Rajiv Gandhi
Khel Ratna, Dronacharya and Dhyan Chand awards)
February 9, 2014 No comments
In order to bring more transparency and objectivity in the process for conferring the National
Sports Awards, the Union Sports Ministry has approved a set of rules to select candidates for
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Dronacharya and Dhyan Chand awards.
As per the new criteria for National sports awards:
90% weightage to medal winners of various international championships and sports events
of disciplines covered in Olympics ( Summer, Winter and Paralympics), Asian Games and
Commonwealth Games.
10% weightage will be given to the marks awarded by the selection committee for
assessment of the eligible sportspersons keeping in view factors like profile and standard of
the sports events in which he or she has won medals and qualities viz. leadership,
sportsmanship, team spirit, fair play, sense of discipline, etc.
Except for lifetime achievement awards, points for winning medals will be given to each
eligible sportsperson for his/her performance during the last four years.
Medal winners in the Olympics and Paralympics will automatically be considered for the
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna or Arjuna awards (depending on the type of medal won).
Reserved the right for not recommending the name of any deserving sportsperson as per the
given criteria for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna or Dhyan chand Award. In these particular cases,
the committee will have to justify its stance in writing.
For cricket and indigenous games (not included in Olympic / Asian Games / Commonwealth
Games disciplines), the selection committee will recommend the number of awards (not
exceeding two).
Names of not more than 2 Sportspersons ( 1 male and 1 female) and names of not more
than 2 coaches in case of Dronacharya award with highest marks will be considered.
Sports journalists, experts and commentators are included in the selection committees.
The salient features of the newly introduced criteria for Sports Awards are as follows :-
S.No: Criteria Rajiv Gandhi Khel
Ratna Award for
most outstanding
performance
Dronacharya
Award for
Outstanding
Coaches in
Sports
Dhyan chand
Award for life
time
achievement in
Sports
1. Weightage for the medals won in
Olympic Games (Summer, Winter
and Paralympics), Asian Games,
Commonwealth Games and
World Cup / World
Championships held once in 4
years.
90% 90%* 70%
2. Weightage to the marks given by
the Selection Committee for
assessment of the eligible
sportsperson / coach keeping in
view factors like profile and
standard of sports event in which
medal has been won
10% 10% 30%**
3. No. of awards to be given
normally in a year
1 award 5
(out of 5, 2 to
be given for
lifetime
contribution in
coaching)
3
* medals won by sportspersons trained by the coach under consideration for the award.
Marking criteria will not apply for the 2 awards to be given for lifetime contribution in
coaching. Selection committee will give its recommendations for such two coaches taking
into consideration the contribution made by them over a period of 20 years or more in terms
of producing outstanding sports-persons.
** includes marks for assessment for contribution made for promotion of sports after
retirement for active Sports career and for qualities like sportsmanship, leadership, and
sense of discipline.
President Pranab Mukherjee conferred Bharat Ratna on
Prof. C N R Rao and Sachin Tendulkar
February 8, 2014 No comments
President Pranab Mukherjee conferred the countrys highest
civilian honor Bharat Ratna on eminent scientist Prof C.N.R. Rao and cricket maestro Sachin
Tendulkar at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
Prof C.N.R.Rao is the third scientist after C V Raman and former President A P J Abdul Kalam,
to be awarded with the honor.
Sachin Tendulkar, who retired from international cricket last year, is the first sports-person
to be bestowed with the honor. He is also the first active sportsperson to become a Rajya
Sabha member last year.
Union Home Ministrys guidelines about Bharat Ratna:
Under the Constitution, the award cannot be used as a prefix or suffix to the recipient`s name.
Though the award winner can use mention as Awarded Bharat Ratna by the President or
Recipient of Bharat Ratna Award in their bio-data, letter head or visiting cards. The
recipient receives a Sanad (certificate) signed by the President and a medallion. It does not
carry any monetary grant.
Note: The Bharat Ratna has been conferred after a long gap with classical vocalist Pandit
Bhimsen Joshi being the last recipient in 2008.
Golden Globe Awards 2014: List of Winners of Motion
Pictures
January 15, 2014 No comments
The 71
st
Annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony was held at the Beverly Hills, California.
The winners of various awards are as follows -
Best Motion Picture Drama: 12 Years a Slave
Best Motion Picture Musical/Comedy: American Hustle
Best Director in Motion Picture-Drama: Alfonso Cuaron for Gravity
Best Actor in Motion Picture-Drama: Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyers Club
Best Actress in Motion Picture-Drama: Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine
Best Actor in Motion Picture or Musical or Comedy: Leonardo DiCaprio for The Wolf of Wall
Street
Best Actress in Motion Picture Musical or Comedy: Amy Adams for American Hustle
Best Actor in a Supporting role in Motion Picture: Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club
Best Actress in a Supporting role in Motion Picture: Jennifer Lawrence for American Hustle
Best Animated Film: Frozen
Best foreign language film: The Great Beauty (Italy)
PETAs Person of the Year: Dr Shashi Tharoor
January 3, 2014 No comments
The Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Dr. Shashi
Tharoor named as the Person of the Year by the animal rights body PETA (People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals) India for taking steps to advance animal protection. Mr.
Tharoor recommended the National Council for Teacher Education (NCERT) to ban the use
of animals, viz. for dissection, etc, in training teachers.
By his initiative, in 2012, the Ministry of Environment and Forests issued a directive
instructing all the institutes or establishments associated with teaching of medical, pharmacy
and other courses in life sciences to follow UGC guidelines for discontinuation of dissection
and animal experimentation in universities and colleges and introduce use of alternatives to
animal experimentation.
About People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) - India
Based in Mumbai, launched in January 2000.
Operates under the simple principle that animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on
or use for entertainment.
Focuses primarily on the areas in which the greatest numbers of animals suffer the most: in
the food and leather industries, laboratories and the entertainment industry.
Responsible for the ending of animal experiments by the West Bengal Board of Secondary
Education in 2008.
Miss Venezuela, Alyz Henrich crowned Miss Earth 2013
December 10, 2013 No comments
Miss Venezuela, Alyz Henrich was crowned Miss Earth 2013 title at a pageant
organized at Versailles Palace, Philippines. It is the second beauty pageant title for
Venezuela this year. In November 2013, Gabriela Isler, of the same nation was crowned Miss
Universe 2013. Indias contestant Shobita Dhulipala couldnt make it to the top 16 of the
event.
The Top 3 runners-up:
1. Miss Earth Fire 2013 Catharina Choi of Korea
2. Miss Earth water 2013 Punika Kulsoontornrut of Thailand
3. Miss Earth Air 2013 is Katia Wagner of Austria
About Miss Earth:
Miss Earth is an annual international beauty pageant promoting environmental awareness.
The contest held its maiden edition in 2001 to promote the preservation of the environment.
Nicole Faria, who won in 2010, is the first Indian contestant to have won the title.
Malala wins UN Human Rights Prize 2013
December 7, 2013 No comments
Pakistani teen activist Malala Yousafzai, who survived bullet-injury inflicted by the Taliban
for championing girls education has won the UN Human Rights Prize 2013.
The winners of the prestigious United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights for
2013 are -
Ms. Malala Yousafzai (student activist), Pakistan
Mr. Biram Dah Abeid (campaigner against slavery) from Mauritania
Ms. Hiljmnijeta Apuk (human rights activist and campaigner for rights of people with
disproportional restricted growth short stature) from Kosovo
Ms. Liisa Kauppinen of Finland President emeritus of the World Federation of the Deaf
Ms. Khadija Ryadi - former President of the Morocco Association for Human Rights
Mexicos Supreme Court of Justice the Constitutional Court
The twentieth anniversary of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the
Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action are also organized with the Award Ceremony
which would take place at United Nations Headquarters in New York on Human Rights
Day (December 10).
What is the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights?
An honorary award given to individuals and organizations in recognition of outstanding
achievement in human rights in every five years.
The Laureates who won this award later are Amnesty International, Jimmy Carter, Martin
Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Eleanor Roosevelt.
The Prize not only gives public recognition to the achievements of the recipients
themselves, but also sends a clear message to human rights defenders the world over that
the international community is grateful for, and supports, their tireless efforts to promote all
human rights for all.