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• The Best Feature Film award was shared by the films Deool (Marathi) produced by Abhijeet Gholap & directed by Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni and Byari (Byari language) produced by T.H. Althaf Hussain & directed by Suveeram.

• The Best Actor was given to Girish Kulkarni for the film Deool (Marathi) and Best Actress to Vidya Balan for the film The Dirty Picture (Hindi).

• Chillar Party (Hindi) won Best Children Film.

• The book titled R.D. Burman – The Man, The Music written by Anirudha Bhattacharjee & Balaji Vittal won the Swarna Kamal for the Best Writing on Cinema category. Manoj Barpujari from Assam has been awarded Best Film Critic.

• Wang Shu of China won the Pritzker prize of this year, which can be called Nobel in Architecture.

April

• Bollywood actor Mithun Chakravarti received the PC Chandra lifetime achievement award in Kolkata on 29 April 2102. West Bengal Governor MK Narayan conferred the award upon the actor.

• Noted Tamil writer Ashokamitran, was declared as the recipient of the 6th NTR National Literary Award. The award is scheduled to be presented on 28 May 2012. The writer was born in Secunderabad and was closest to Telugu culture, language and people. Thanneer was his most popular novel. Chairperson of NTR Vignan Trust Nandamuri Lakshmi Parvati made the announcement. The previous award winners are Kannada writer S.L. Bhyrappa, A. Somasundar(Telugu), Sachidanandan (Malayalam), Mahasweta Devi and Gnanpith awardee C. Narayana Reddy.s

• Chairperson of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) Shanta Sinha is to be honoured with the Yudhvir Memorial Foundation Award 2012.The award, instituted in the memory of freedom fighter, journalist and founder of the daily Hindi Milap , Yudhvir, will be given away on April 30, his birth anniversary. Shanta Sinha is being given the award for her pioneering and innovative role in protecting/promoting child rights.

• The 2012 Pulitzer Prize was announced on 16 April 2012. The Associated Press won a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting for documenting the New York Police Department's spying on Muslims. A second Pulitzer for investigative reporting was given to The Seattle Times for a series about accidental methadone overdoses among patients with chronic pain. The New York Times won two Pulitzers, for explanatory and international reporting. The Pulitzers are given out annually by Columbia University on the recommendation of a board of journalists and others.

May

• The Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama received the 1.7 million dollar Templeton Prize on 14 May 2012 for his role in promoting links between spirituality and science. The award was conferred at a ceremony in St. Paul's Cathedral, London.

• Miss India World Vinya Mishra and Yesteryear actress Sushma Seth were awarded with Kalpana Chawla excellence award on 6 May 2012 at Mavlankar Auditorium, New Delhi. The award was instituted by PECOBA

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(Punjab Engineering College Chandigarh Old Boys Association) .Kalpana Chawla was an alumnus of this College and got her degree in aeronautical engineering in 1982 from this college.

• Vice President of India Hamid Ansari conferred the 59th National Film Awards across various categories upon the winners at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on 4 May 2012. Ansari also presented the Dadasaheb Phalke award, highest honour in Indian cinema to Veteran Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee. The best feature film award was shared by Marathi film Deool and Kannada movie Byari. Best director award went to Gurvinder Singh for his Punjabi film Anhe Ghorey Da Daan. Chillar Party was adjudged the best children's film. Marathi actor Girish Kulkarni and bollywood actress Vidya Balan got the best male and female actor awards. Kumararaja Thiagarajan won the Indira Gandhi Award for best debut film of a director for Aaranyakandam.

June

• Aung San Suu Kyi has finally received her honourary degree from Oxford University. The leader of Myanmar's opposition is being honoured on 20 june at the university's Encaenia ceremony, in which it presents honourary degrees to distinguished people.Suu Kyi, who is making her first visits outside of her native country in 24 years, was awarded the honourary doctorate in civil law in 1993 but was unable to collect it under house arrest in Myanmar.She studied philosophy, politics and economics at St. Hugh's College in Oxford between 1964 and 1967.

• Bulu Imam of Jharkhand and Binayak Sen of Chhattisgarh has been invited to receive the Gandhi Foundation International Peace award 2011 at a function to be organized at the House of Lords in the UK on June 12.While individual letter of invitation has been sent to both of them, the citation released by the Gandhi Foundation on its website reads that the duo have been selected for the international peace award for their humanitarian work and their practice of non-violence. The Foundation honours individuals or groups annually based on their work in the field of promoting or practising Gandhian philosophy. Hazaribag-based Bulu Imam has been selected for the award in the wake of his non-violent approach in protesting coal mining and environmental damage to Upper Damodar Valley (Karnapura) because of open cast coal mines.

• Israeli scientist Daniel Hillel won the World Food Prize 2012 on 13 June 2012. The work and motivation of Daniel Hillel built the bridge between the divisions and to promote peace and understanding in the Middle East by advancing a breakthrough achievement. His works contributed to agriculture-dominated economies. He applied the method of micro-irrigation, which maximizes the efficiency of water usage in agriculture. World Food Prize is an international award. This award recognizes the importance of water for agricultural purposes. Dr. Hillel will be formally presented with the cash prize of 250000 dollar award in October 2012 at United States. The World Food Prize award is chaired by M.S. Swaminathan. He is Indian agricultural scientist Professor and the first World Food Prize laureate.

• Sachin Tendulkar was conferred upon the Wisden India Outstanding Achievement award for completing a century of 100 international hundreds, in Dubai on 11 June 2012. Tendulkar was presented a trophy at an event organised by FidelisWorld. Tendulakar achieved the incredible feat while playing against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup in March 2012. He has total 49 One-Day International centuries and 51 Test centuries to his credit.

July

• Vandana Shiva to receive Fukuoka Prize in Japan this year: The Government of Japan on 23 July 2012 decided to honour renowned Indian Environmentalist Vandana Shiva with Fukuoka Prize 2012. She enlightens people about the ideas for the love of nature. She is the director of The Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology. Dr. Shiva is the founder of Navdanya, an NGO which was established in the

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year 1991. She commenced her work in the field of conservation of traditionally used seeds, organic farming and fair trade. In 1993, she had received Right Livelihood Award that is known as the Alternative Nobel Prize. Fukuoka Prize is the prestigious award and given to those people who contribute to the academy, arts and culture in Asia. Earlier, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Padma Subrahmanyam, Romila Thapar and Ashis Nandy were the famous personalities who were honoured by this award. She penned several books including, Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability and Peace, The Violence of the Green Revolution, Monocultures of the Mind: Perspectives on Biodiversity and Biotechnology, and Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and Survival in India. She also set up an international college for sustainable living in the year 2001.

• Magasaysay award for TN activist Kulandei Francis: Indian social activist Kulandei Francis, who gave up being a priest to devote himself entirely to social work in Tamil Nadu, is among the six individuals from across Asia who has been chosen for the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Awards for 2012. Kulandei Francis is being recognised for "his visionary zeal, his profound faith in community energies, and his sustained programmes in pursuing the holistic economic empowerment of thousands of women and their families in rural India. The others chosen for the prizes, announced by the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) in Manila today, are Ms Chen Shu-Chu from Taiwan, Mr Romulo Davide from the Phillipines, Ms Syeda Rizwana Hasan of Bangladesh, Mr Yang Saing Koma of Cambodia and Mr Ambrosius Ruwindrijarto from Indonesia. Established in 1957, the Award is Asia's highest honor and is widely regarded as the region's equivalent of the Nobel Prize. It celebrates the memory and leadership example of the third Philippine President, and is given every year to individuals or organizations in Asia who manifest the same sense of selfless service that ruled the life of the late and beloved Filipino leader.

• Sridevi Vedula Sarma gets US Prez award: US President Barack Obama has named four Indian-American scientists among 96 researchers as recipients of the prestigious presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers on 23, July. The awards bestowed on Sridevi Vedula Sarma, Pawan Sinha, Parag A. Pathak and Biju Parekkadan is the highest honour given by the US Government to science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers. Established in 1996, the awardees are selected for their pursuit of innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology and their commitment to community service as demonstrated through scientific leadership, public education, or community outreach

• Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik won double Gold medal at Spain: Indian Sand Artist Sudarshan Pattnaik(Orissa) won People's Choice Gold Medal Award in Moscow on 18 July 2012. It was the Second World Sand Sculpture Championship. He sculpted the copy of the face of The Showman of the Millennium Raj Kapoor, while the theme of the competition was WORLD CINEMA. Sudarshan Pattnaik had also won Berlin World Championship 2008. He had also won his first Prize in Copenhagen Sand Sculpture Championship in Denmark. He also won two gold medals and a trophy in Solo International Sand Sculpture contest 2012.

• Manipal University has bagged the Golden Peacock Environment Management Award for 2012. Karan Singh conferred the award at the 14th World Congress on environment management in Delhi on 8 july. Dr Ramdas M Pai, chairman, Manipal Education and Medical Group earlier had received Golden Peacock Lifetime Achievement Award for 2011 in recognition of his contribution in fields of education and healthcare on January 22, 2012.A jury chaired by Justice PN Bhagwati, former CJI and member, UN Human Rights Commission selected Manipal University for the award.

• Tata Sons chairman Ratan Tata has been awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the prestigious Rockefeller Foundation in New york on 27 june for innovation in philanthropy.Tata was honored by the foundation for incorporating public good into the business model of the Tata Group.

August

• Aditi Mukherjee, a Delhi based scientist, won the prestigious Norman Borlaug Award in Field Research and Application. Mukherjee was picked for the award for her work in transforming access to water for thousands of farmers in West Bengal. The award will be formally presented to Mukherji on 17 October 2012 in Des Moines, Iowa, US. Mukherji, 37, is a senior researcher at the Delhi office of the International Water Management Institute

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(IWMI). The international award is conferred by the World Food Prize Foundation, which was started by Norman Borlogue, the father of Green Revolution in India. The award carries 10000 dollar cash prize. The Borlaug Award is restricted to scientists under 40.

• The Castrol awards for cricketing excellence honoured the players, as Ajit Wadekar, who bagged the lifetime achievement award, and Unmukt Chand, who topped the ‘Junior cricketer’ category. The other awards are- Indian cricketer of the year — M.S. Dhoni, special award for- Yuvraj Singh. Test-cricketer-of-the-year award - Rahul Dravid , while the limited-over category honours went to Suresh Raina and Sachin Tendulkar took the batsman-of-the-year trophy and the best bowler award - R. Ashwin. Other awards: Performance in the World Cup: Yuvraj Singh; 100th hundred: Tendulkar; Extraordinary double century in ODIs: Virender Sehwag; Performance under pressure: Gautam Gambhir (World Cup final); Stand-out performance under pressure: Virat Kohli.

• Physics professor of Johns Hopkins University, Charles L Bennett, was awarded with the Gruber Cosmology Prize 2012 in Beijing at the opening ceremony of the 28th Conference of the International Astronomical Union on 22 August 2012. This award was given to him acknowledging his immense contribution to the world of physics. Bennett, a prominent physicist, led a 26-member team that worked on NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe. The findings of the study helped astronomers refine their understanding of the age, shape and makeup of the universe.

• Dr PKB Patnaik has bagged the Damien-Dutton Award for 2012. He is now working as the State Leprosy Officer , Odisha. Dr Patnaik has been selected for the award in recognition of his more than 25 years of concern and dedication to the victims of leprosy in India and for his direct involvement in making the multi-drug therapy available to the people affected by leprosy and goal to eliminate leprosy from the State, which has been achieved. The Damien-Dutton Society for Leprosy AID INC was founded in the year 1944 by the Staff Sgt Howard E Crouch, Medical Corps US Army.Dr Patnaik is also Honorary Secretary, Hind Kustha Nivaran Sangh, Odisha State Branch appointed by the Governor since 1996.

• In a rare honour, eminent Urdu litterateur, Padmabhushan award winner, Professor Gopi Chand Narang’s(81) name figured in the list of civilian honours announced by Pakistan on the eve of its Independence Day. Prof. Narang has been conferred Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence), the third highest civilian honour bestowed by the nation.The legendary writer Saadat Hasan Manto ( Nishan-i-Imtiaz ), ghazal maestro Mehdi Hassan ( Nishan-i- Imtiaz ) and eminent poet Josh Malihabadi ( Hilal-i-Imtiaz ) are also figured in the list of award winners. In the past, former Prime Minister Morarji Desai and matinee idol Dilip Kumar have been bestowed Pakistan's highest civilian honour, Nishan-i-Imtiaz .The investiture ceremony will take place in Pakistan on March 23, 2013, Pakistan's Republic Day.

• Ashok Sen, an Indian physicist currently on the faculty of an Allahabad-based research institute has become a proud recipient of USD three million (about Rs 16.75 crore) cash prize instituted by Russian entrepreneur Yuri Milner for researchers in the discipline. Ashoke Sen, a professor in Physics faculty of the Harishchandra Research Institute, situated at the city outskirts and funded by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), received the news on, that he was selected for the inaugural group of nine recipients of the Fundamental Physics Prize this year when he was abroad last week. Sen, 56, who is known for his research on the 'String Theory', is an alumni of the prestigious Presidency College at Kolkata and IIT- Kanpur. He has been associated with premier US-based institutes like Fermilab and Stanford Linear Accelerator Centre, besides the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research at Mumbai. Sen had received the Padma Shri in 2001, besides being honoured with a number of prizes like the International Centre for Theoretical Physics Prize (1989), S S Bhatnagar Award (1994). He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1998. Yuri Milner is said to have himself studied Physics at the under-graduate level before dropping out of college and making billions by investing in companies like Facebook. According to the Fundamental Physics Prize Foundation's website, Sen was chosen "for uncovering striking evidence of strong-weak duality in certain super- symmetric string theories and gauge theories, opening the path for the realisation that all string theories are different limits of the same underlying theory".

• A Chennai-based development organisation, Hand in Hand India, is among the five winners of this year’s World Environment Day Challenge organised by the UN for inspiring environmental action. Hand in Hand India brought together over 500 volunteers to create a colourful 10,000 square foot rangoli carpet depicting 10

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environmental themes. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) had challenged people across the world to pledge an environmental activity in connection with this year’s World Environment Day, which was observed on June 5.

• Renowned social worker D.R. Mehta was selected for the 20th Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavna Award on 4 August. Congress treasurer Motilal Vora, who is member secretary of Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award Committee, said in a statement that the award was given to Mehta for "his outstanding contribution towards the promotion of communal harmony, peace and goodwill". The award, given on the birth anniversary of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, carries a citation and a cash award of Rs.5 lakh. Mehta is founder of Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS), a Jaipur-based NGO that helps the physically challenged, particularly the poor, by providing devices such as artificial limbs and callipers. Former recipients of the award include Mother Teresa, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Lata Mangeshkar, Sunil Dutt, S.N. Subbarao and Dilip Kumar.

• India born internationally acclaimed NRI Heart Surgeon and Research Scientist from the famed Harvard University, Dr Mukesh Hariawala, has been unanimously selected by the National Healthcare jury to be honored with the prestigious 'India's Most Admired Surgeon 2012 Award'. The glittering ceremony to be held at Mumbai's Hilton Hotel on 21st September, will have in attendance top dignitaries from government, celluloid personalities, industrialists and eminent public figures, led by Maharashtra Governor Shri K. Sankaranarayanan.

September

• Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on 19 september has received prestigious Congressional Gold Medal, a rare honour bestowed to any foreign leader by the US administration.The National League for Democracy leader also met President Barack Obama on a day when the US lifted additional sanctions on Myanmar. In her Congressional Gold Medal acceptance speech Suu Kyi said it has always been her opinion that democracy offers the best balance between freedom and security for all of them.

• Noted Tamil scholar A A Manavalan was on 18 september,in New Delhi, conferred with the prestigious Saraswati Samman for his work 'Irama Kathaiyum Iramayakalyum', a comparative study of epic Ramayana written in 48 languages.Corporate Affairs and Power Minister M Veerappa Moily presented a citation plaque, a memento and a cheque of Rs 7.5 lakh to Manavalan at a function organised by K K Birla Foundation.

• Liberty Medal awarded to Muhammad Ali, the Boxing Champion : The boxing Champion, Muhammad Ali who retired from the game in the year 1981 was honored with Liberty Medal in Philadelphia on 13 September 2012. The boxer who has been battling with Parkinson disease for the past 30 years was awarded with the honor for his contribution towards the humanitarian causes like religious freedom and civil rights. National Constitution Center of the United States administers the Liberty Medal and presents the honor of this medal to the leaders who fight in pursuit of freedom. Muhammad Ali, who was born as Cassius Marcellus Clay changed his name to be Muhammad Ali after converting himself into Isalm in the year 1964. He won the world heavyweight title three times and is nicknamed as The Greatest. In the year 1999, BBC crowned Ali, with the title; Sports Personality of the Century and Sports illustrated crowned him with the title of Sportsman of the century

• Renowned poet and film-maker Gulzar has been nominated for the 27th Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration. Congress President Sonia Gandhi will give away the 27th Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration to the 75-year-old lyricist and writer in recognition of his yeoman work in promoting and preserving spirit of national integration in the country.The Award consists of a citation and cash of Rs 5 lakh. Before Gulzar, some of the other film personalities, who received the award are director Shyam Benegal, lyricist Javed Akhtar, music composer A R Rahman and writer Mahashweta Devi. The award instituted in the name of late Indira Gandhi is given in recognition to outstanding contribution to this cause by individuals or institutions. Former Presidents A P J Abdul Kalam and Shankar Dayal Sharma, Late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, late Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, the former head of Ramkrishna Math and Mission Swami Ranganathananda, musician M S Subulakshmi, Aruna Asaf Ali, P N Haksar, Acharya Shree Tulsi Ji, Bishambar Nath Paride and Natwar Thakkar are among the other awardees.

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• Ebrahim Alkazi, the grand old man of Indian theatre has been conferred France’s highest cultural award for his contribution in nurturing and presenting modern theatre in India and preserving the treasures of photography and other art forms for posterity. Alkazi, was awarded Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) on 28 September, in New Delhi by the French government who hailed him as “the universal man” for his patronage of fine arts and culture. French Ambassador to India Francois Richier recalled Alkazi’s association with France and his contribution in preserving and enduring the bonds between the two countries through his works and through the Alkazi Foundation of the Arts. The award is given to writers, filmmakers, musicians and other artists and persons who have distinguished themselves in the field of art, culture and literature or for their contribution to the influence of arts in France and throughout the world.

• Afghan human rights activist and former Minister Sima Samar (55) on 28 September won the Swedish Right Livelihood Award .A medical doctor by training, Ms. Samar fled to Pakistan in 1984. She returned in 2001 to become the first Minister of Women’s Affairs and in 2002 was named the head of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, which she still leads. Ms. Samar shares the award with American political theorist Gene Sharp (84) and an organisation campaigning for an end to British arms exports.

• Pieta the South Korean Film won Golden Lion Venice Top Prize: The Golden Lion Prize for best movie was given to the South Korean Movie, Pieta directed by Kim Ki-duk at the 69th Venice Film Festival on 8 September 2012. The Master by Paul Thomas Anderson walked off with two major awards namely, Special Jury Award and Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix. Pieta is the brutal story about a debt collector with a habit of crippling those, who were unable to pay his debt. The brutality stops at a certain point of time, when he meets a woman who claims to be his mother.

• Ten scientists bag India Citation Awards Ten senior scientists, including theoretical physicists Thanu Padmanabhan and Varun Sahni and environmental scientist Vinod Kumar Garg, were on 12 September honoured with the India Citation Awards instituted by Thomson Reuters. The other awardees are Anunay Samanta (physical chemistry and photochemistry), Murali Sastry (nanobiotechnology), Rabin Banerjee and Sandip Trivedi (both theoretical physics and cosmology), Umesh Waghmare (applied physics and materials science, computational methods). Sarit Kumar Das (mechanical engineering, heat transfer) Velayutham Murugesan (physical, organic and environmental chemistry) were also among the awardees. The awardees were selected on the basis of their highly cited research papers written over a decade between 2002-2011. Indian scientists who had previously been recognised at Thomson Reuters awards in 2004, 2006 and 2009 were not considered for selection. While Samanta is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Hyderabad, Sastry is the Director of India Innovation Centre of DSM India Private Limited. Banerjee is a Senior Professor, Department of Theoretical Sciences, S N Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences. Trivedi teaches Theoretical Physics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. While Das is the Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT-Madras, Padmanabhan is a Research Scientist at Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA). Waghmare is the Professor, Theoretical Science Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR). Sahni is a Professor at IUCAA. Murugesan is the Professor of Chemistry (Eminence) at Anna University and Garg is an Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology, Hisar

• Liberty Medal awarded to Muhammad Ali, the Boxing Champion : The boxing Champion, Muhammad Ali who retired from the game in the year 1981 was honored with Liberty Medal in Philadelphia on 13 September 2012. The boxer who has been battling with Parkinson disease for the past 30 years was awarded with the honor for his contribution towards the humanitarian causes like religious freedom and civil rights. National Constitution Center of the United States administers the Liberty Medal and presents the honor of this medal to the leaders who fight in pursuit of freedom. Muhammad Ali, who was born as Cassius Marcellus Clay changed his name to be Muhammad Ali after converting himself into Isalm in the year 1964. He won the world heavyweight title three times and is nicknamed as The Greatest. In the year 1999, BBC crowned Ali, with the title; Sports Personality serious of the Century and Sports illustrated crowned him with the title of Sportsman of the century.

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• Andhra Pradesh State Literacy Mission Authority (SLMA) received three National Level Awards for its excellent work in the State. The Authority has received awards for its work in Vizianagaram district and one gram panchayat P Yeleru of Anantapur district. Andhra Pradesh is the only State which received the Saakshar Bharat Award in the entire Country. The Awards comprising a trophy and a certificate which will be given by the Vice-President of India Hamid Ansari on the occasion of International Literacy Day to be celebrated on September 8 at Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. The National Literacy Mission Authority has instituted Saakshar Bharat Awards to encourage the institutions working in the field of the literacy and Skill Development and the awards are presented on International Literacy Day on 8th of September every year. In Andhra Pradesh, Saakshar Bharat programme is being implemented in 19 districts where female literacy is less than 50 per cent. The overall literacy rate of Andhra Pradesh is 67.44 per cent as per 2011 census. Under Saakshar Bharat Programme, so far 37 lakh non-literates were enrolled and about 33 lakh non-literates were made literate. Thus, the literacy rate among adults in the age group of 15+ above will be around 72 per cent which is nearer to the National Average.

• Author Siddhartha Deb has been named among the winners of the 2012 PEN Awards, considered the most comprehensive literary awards programme in the US, for his non-fiction work on India, which is described as a "gripping analysis" of the country and an "important book" of current times. Deb's book The Beautiful and the Damned: A Portrait of the New India won the PEN Open Book Award, which carries a $5000 cash reward "for an exceptional work of literature by an author of colour. "Deb's book chronicles varying lives in contemporary India, including that of highly paid call centre workers, an entertainment mogul and the tragedy of the farmer suicides.

• K.C Abraham, the Managing Director of Kunnath Pharmaceuticals and the producer of world famous Musli Power X-tra has won the Switzerland Business Excellence Award 2012 on 8 September 2012 at Zurich, Switzerland. He got shortlisted for the award because of his visionary leadership skill, hard working nature and dedication.

• The University of Petroleum and Energy Studies on 5 September 2012, on the occasion of teacher’s day felicitated Dr. AN Purohit with siksha ratna award. Dr. Purohit is a former vice-chancellor of HNB Garhwal University. Dr Purohit has widely worked in the Himalayan belt, particularly in Uttarakhand, on specific subject of plant physiology, ecophysiology of trees and the environment.He was awarded Padmashree in 1997 by the President.

October

• Lionel Messi, the Barcelonean forward footballer on 29 October 2012 won Golden Boot Award. Messi won the award in recognition to his record 50 goals scored in the Europe’s domestic football league in the last session. To win the award he scored 4 more goals than Cristiano Ronaldo, the Spanish league star. This is the second Golden Boot award for Messi, as he won his first Golden Boot Award in the year 2010 after scoring 34 goals during Argentina International to help Barcelona win the league title. He is also in the list of the favorites to win the 2012 Ballon d’Or for the World’s best player.

• Famous Lyricist and well known poet Gulzar on 31 October 2012 awarded with Indira Gandhi National Integration Award by congress President Sonia Gandhi. The award was given on the eve of 28th death anniversary of the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who was assassinated on 31 October 1984.Earlier, Gulzar was awarded Sahitya Akademi Award in 2002 and the Padma Bhushan in 2004 for his contribution to the arts.

• The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on 29 September 2012 awarded the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) President Award for 2012 for its outstanding contribution to the development of human resources, society and economy of India and also for promoting mutual understanding between India and Japan.It is the ninth edition of the JICA awards which in the past has been given mostly to Japanese organisation such as research institutions, non-government organisations and medical organisations. JICA and DMRC have been associated since the beginning of the Delhi Metro construction in 1998 in the National Capital Region.

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• Indian Oil's Mathura Refinery was awarded the Platinum Award in the 13th Annual Greentech Environment Awards. The award was felicitated on 31 October 2012.Mathura Refinery was awarded in regard to the company's outstanding achievements and contribution to apt implementation of environmental friendly technologies and methodologies.Greentech Awards is a key component that values the need of environmental management in business sustainability.

• Indian Oil's Mathura Refinery was awarded the Platinum Award in the 13th Annual Greentech Environment Awards. The award was felicitated on 31 October 2012. Mathura Refinery was awarded in regard to the company's outstanding achievements and contribution to apt implementation of environmental friendly technologies and methodologies. Greentech Awards is a key component that values the need of environmental management in business sustainability.

• The Sujoy Ghosh directorial venture “Kahaani”, has been named as the best film at the film festival held in Labassa. The festival, that was partnered with Indian High commission and organized by Fiji National University and Film Fiji, had opened with the screening of Kahaani.While Raj Kumar Hirani received the ‘Best Director’ award for 3 Idiots, a special Jury Best Film award went to Kumavatara.

• Prof. Venkatesh Raghavan was honored with the 2012 Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software during the inaugural session of the FOSS4G-India 2012 conference held in Hyderabad, India. The award was presented by Ravi Kumar and Vundavallu Aruna Kumar, Member of Parliament. Venkatesh's dedication to FOSS4G and his community work around the world, promoting open source geospatial, is second to none. He has been involved in OSGeo since the foundation was formed in 2006. The Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software is awarded annually by OSGeo to individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the GFOSS community. Recipients of the award will have contributed significantly through their activities to advance open source ideals in the geospatial realm. Sol Katz was an early pioneer of GFOSS and left behind a large body of work in the form of applications, format specifications, and utilities. In the early 80's, Sol assisted in the development of a public domain GIS package called MOSS (Map Overlay and Statistical System). This software was arguably the first open source GIS software in the world.

• India’s leading strategic thinker and analyst Brahma Chellaney has won the 2012 Asia Society Bernard Schwartz Book Award for his recently published “Water: Asia’s New Battleground” book. Chellaney will be honoured and presented with a $20,000 prize at a special event to be held at Asia Society’s headquarters in New York City on January 23. Established in 2009, the Asia Society Bernard Schwartz Book Award is the only award that recognises non-fiction books for their outstanding contributions to the understanding of contemporary Asia or US-Asia relations, as well as potential policy impacts relating to the region.

• Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy has been conferred with the 2012 Hoover Medal in recognition of his philanthropic activities in India. Former US Presidents Herbert Hoover, Dwight Eisenhower and James Earl Carter are among some of the prominent recipients of this annual award established in 1930 to recognise great, unselfish and non-technical services by the engineers to humanity.Murthy was awarded with the award on October 2 at the Global Humanitarian Technology Conference in Seattle.The 70th recipient of the award, Murthy was recognised for establishing a foundation that forges outstanding improvements in healthcare, social rehabilitation, rural uplift and education following his formation of Infosys, an innovative company that provides business consulting, technology, and engineering services in over 30 countries.In 2008, former Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam had received this award.

• Musa Sayeed’s Valley of Saints bagged the special jury award in the international competition section at the 14th Mumbai Film Festival that concluded on 25 October. Mr. Sayeed dedicated the film to the people of Kashmir who inspired him to make the movie. Veteran actor Waheeda Rehman was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award. In the international competition category for first feature films, the award went to Aquí Y Alla (Here And There) directed by Antonio Mendes Esparza. It also won the award for best direction. The jury award for technical excellence went to Pankaj Kumar for Ship of Theseus directed by Anand Gandhi.In the newly introduced competition section for Indian feature films, Miss Lovely directed by Ashim Ahluwalia bagged the best film award, while Shahid , directed by Hansal Mehta, based on the real-life story of lawyer and human rights activist Shahid Azmi who was killed in Mumbai, was the runner-up.Another special jury award was given to Manjeet Singh for

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Mumbai Cha Raja . The Mumbai Young Critics chose Beasts of the Southern Wild , directed by Benh Zeitlin, as the best film, while Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt was selected winner of the Audience Choice Award.

• Narendra Kumar the IPS officer who was brutally killed by illegal mining mafia in Madhya Pradesh and many other Security Personnel who had laid down their life for fighting against Maoists and anti Social element on 20 October 2012 was awarded with Singham Bravery Awards. The awards were handed over to the family members of the police officers by reel life 'Singham' Ajay Devgan,who is also the brand ambassador of Maharashtra police ,actor Sunil Shetty and former CRPF Director General K Vijay Kumar. Besides Narendra Kumar, the award was posthumously presented to Surinder Singh, Narinder Singh Ranjeet Singh, Prakash S Meena, K C Meena, Tanveer Singh and Sanjeev Kumar.Marking the occasion, Ajay Devgn and Rohit Shetty, were also bestowed with 'Pride of Nation' awards.The Singham Bravery Award was organised by the All India Anti Terrorist Front (AIATF) and were held on the occasion of National Police Day 2012 to felicitate those who had risked - some had even sacrificed their lives in the line of duty.

• President Felicitates Rashtrapati Bhavan Medical Officer Major Surendra Poonia for Winning Seven Medals at 33rd World Medical Games. The President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee felicitated Major Dr. Surendra Poonia, VSM at Rashtrapati Bhavan on October 6, 2012 for winning seven medals (two Gold Medals and five Silver Medals) at 33rd World Medical and Health Games held in Antalya, Turkey from July 7 to 15, 2012. Major Poonia won two gold medals in Powerlifting and 800 meters race and five Silver medals in 400 meters race, 1500 meters race, 5000 meters race, cross country race and Pentathlon. This year Major Poonia was awarded by ‘Vishisht Seva Medal’ by the President of India for his outstanding performance in sports for year 2011. He is also a qualified paratrooper (123 jumps) and has served in Para Special forces earlier in J&K and in Jodhpur.

• Charu Udaya, Vinayak Bagare, Keertan Kumar and Sanjay Kumar on 18 October, received the India Biodiversity awards for sustained efforts to conserve forests and natural resources at the global biodiversity summit. They represented Pir Jahania Jungle Suraksha Samithi, Odisha; Shankarpur Village Gram Panchayat, Maharashtra; Van Utthan Sansthan from Rajasthan and the Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala, respectively. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is partnering the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests in supporting these awards. The award carries Rs one lakh, a citation and recognises good practices in India, from community-run institutions, local self-governance bodies, joint forest management committees and protected area management agencies. Veerle Vandeweerd, UNDP Director, Environment and Energy Group, New York, told that at the ceremony, UNDP currently works in 146 countries, managing 512 projects on ecosystems and biodiversity with $1.6 billion in funding from the Global Environment Facility and other sources and co-financing of $3.5 billion.

• British Writer Hilary Mantel on 16 October 2012 won the prestigious literary prize, the Booker Prize for her novel “Bring up the Bodies”, the second in a historical trilogy set during the reign of King Henry VIII. Hilary Mantel had earlier won the Booker prize in 2009 for "Wolf Hall," the first novel in the trilogy. Hilary Mantel is the third author to win the prize twice, alongside South-African-born J.M. Coetzee and Australian Peter Carey. With this she also became the first British author, and the first woman, to achieve a double Booker Prize. The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe.

• Reliance Industries Ltd’s (RIL) SEZ refinery at Jamnagar has won the ‘Globe of Honour Award’ for excellence in environmental management. The award is given by the British Safety Council, London. This is the first time that a Reliance Industries’ manufacturing site has been bestowed with such a coveted award. The award will be presented at a celebratory luncheon at Mansion House in the City of London on November 23. The British Safety Council is a global health, safety and environmental charity. For over 50 years, the British Safety Council has been a champion of workplace health and safety.

• Alvin Roth and Lloyd Shapley of America were awarded the Nobel economics prize on 15 October 2012 for their work in market design and matching theory. The award was cited to the economist by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for the theory of stable allocations and the practice of market design. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awards the 8 million crown ($1.2 million) prize, called their work an outstanding example of economic engineering. The two economists were working independently on the same research project.

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Lloyd Shapley used game theory to study matching models, and Alvin Roth built on them to make real-world changes to existing markets, including school choice and organ transplants, Alvin Roth is a professor at Harvard and Lloyd Shapley teaches at the University of California in Los Angeles

• Mo Yan, the Chinese writer won 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature on 11 October 2012. The Swedish Academy of Stockholm praised the Chinese writer for the writer called his hallucinatory realism. The writer combines the folk stories, modern events and the history in his works. He is the first Chinese writer in the 111 years of Nobel history to become a Nobel Prize winner. Before him, Gao Xingjiana a French citizen born in China won a Nobel in literature in 2000.Mo Yan will receive the prize medal and the prize amount of more than 1 million $ on 10 December 2012, the death anniversary of the prize founder, Alfred Nobel.

• Max India founder and Vodafone Chairman Analjit Singh has been given this year's Golden Peacock Award for personal leadership and his contribution to society. Eric Pickles, Former Prime Minister of Sweden and Co-Chair of the World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development, presented the award at the third 'Global Conference on Sustainability' in London on 11 October.

• The Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) has won the coveted U.N.-India Biodiversity Governance award instituted by the Government of India and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the best managed protected area of the country. The award was announced at the venue of the Conference of Parties to Convention on Biological Diversity in Hyderabad on 17 October. Sanjayankumar, deputy director of the reserve, and Hydros Meeran, chairman of the Periyar East Eco Development Committees’ Confederation, received the award. The award carries a purse of Rs.50, 000 and a citation.

• The PTR, first tiger reserve in the State, is home to 35 tigers. The reserve, which is spread over an area of 925 sq km, is also one of the best known eco-tourism centres of the country which is visited by around seven lakh people annually. The park supports a wide range of wildlife, including tigers and elephants. It is also one of the elephant reserves of the country. The reserve had earlier bagged recognition as one of the best tiger reserves of the State. The National Tiger Conservation Authority had bestowed the best tourism regulated park award on the PTR last year.

• 11th Economist Crossword Book Award was declared on 18 October 2012 at Mumbai. The Folded Earth and A Free Man-a nonfiction book, written by Anuradha Roy and Aman Sethi respectively were declared among winners of the 11th Economist Crossword Book Award. The Folded Earth was declared winner in English Indian Fiction Category, whereas, A Free Man won the award in the English Non-Fiction Category for 2011.

• Few more books that won awards in different categories were English Translation by Arunava Sinha of a book on short stories, 17 written by Anita Agnihotri and The Araya Woman written by Naayan and Translated by Catherine Thankamma were declared joint winners of the award for Indian Language Translation and the Incredible Banker written by Ravi Subramanian fetched the Popular Award

• Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, renowned Burmese opposition leader and chairperson of the National League for Democracy in Burma, received an honorary doctorate from the University of San Francisco on 29 september,2012 in recognition for her years of extraordinary work giving voice to the marginalized and strength for the oppressed. In December 2007, the University honored the Buddhist monks of Burma at a commencement ceremony with an honorary doctorate for their courage, compassion, and commitment in seeking to protect the human and democratic rights of the Burmese people in the face of a harshly brutal military dictatorship. It was this proven commitment to social justice that led the local Burmese community to select USF as the venue location for this historic visit by the 67-year-old Nobel laureate, who spent 15 years under house arrest for opposing military rule. This trip to the United States marks her first return since she worked at the United Nations in New York City from 1969 to 1971.

• The Government of Spain has conferred on 11 October, the Great Cross of Civil merit on Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Minister of New and Renewable Energy. This is the highest possible honour accorded by the Spanish Government to somebody who is not Head of State or Government. Dr. Abdullah has been honoured for his efforts to promote sustainable economic development through the promotion of renewable energy. The honour was received by Dr. Abdullah from Mr. Gustavo de Aristegui, the ambassador of Spain in a function in the Spanish

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Embassy. Dr. Abdullah thanked the Spanish Government for conferring this honour on him. He accepted it on behalf of the people of India and hoped that one day he would be able to see his vision of every India household electrified become a reality. Spain is the 4th largest producer of wind generated power and is top-ranked worldwide in terms of photovoltaic solar power capacity. The Solar Platform of Almeria (PSA), run under the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness is considered one of the largest and best R&D facilities for Concentrating Solar Power Technologies (CSP Technologies). The Order of Spanish Civil Merit was created by Queen Isabel II in the XIX century to honour Spaniards and foreign citizens with exceptional qualities who have performed great services for their communities and contributed to a better understanding between nations.

• 11 exceptional personalities including, Flutist Hariprasad Chaurasia, santoor player Shivkumar Sharma, sarod player Amjad Ali Khan and Manipuri dance guru Rajkumar Singhajit Singh were conferred the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships by President Pranab Mukherjee on 9 October in New Delhi. They receive a purse of money of Rs.3 lakh and a citation. Other fellows include mridangam player Umayalpuram Kasiviswanatha Sivaraman, Kalamandalam Gopi (kathakali artist), Padma Subrahmanyam (Bharatnatyam dancer), Chandrasekhar Basavanneppa Kambara (Kannada poet, playwright and folklorist) and Manipuri theatre personality Heisnam Kanhailal. Currently, the Sangeet Natak Akademi has 40 living fellows. Altogether, 36 artists received the Akademi awards for their contribution to performing arts and music.

• The European Union won the Nobel Peace Prize-2012. In this regard the Norwegian Nobel Committee praised the 27-nation EU for rebuilding after World War Two and for its role in spreading stability to former communist countries after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989."The union and its forerunners have for over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe," Nobel Committee president Thorbjoern Jagland said in Oslo. The prize, worth $1.2 million, will be presented in Oslo on December 10.Giving the award to an organization is not unprecedented. Something called the International Peace Bureau won all the way back in 1910, and other past recipients include the International Red Cross, Doctors With Borders, and UNICEF.

• Chinese writer Mo Yan won the 2012 Nobel prize for literature on 11 October, for works which combine "hallucinatory realism" with folk tales, history and contemporary life grounded in his native land. The prize, awarded by the Swedish Academy, is worth 8 million kronas ($1.2 million).Mo, who grew up in Gaomi in Shandong province in the northeast of the country and whose parents were farmers, sets his works mainly in China.

• Two Chennai-based auto component makers, Lucas-TVS and Rane (Madras), have bagged the Deming Grand Prize for quality excellence. The coveted prize (originally established as the Japan Quality Medal) is given by the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers. Lucas-TVS and Rane (Madras) now join an elite group of 25 companies worldwide, including three companies from India (Wabco TVS, M&M Farm Equipment and Rane TRW), which have won this honour for excellence in total quality management (TQM). The Deming Grand Prize is given to companies for TQM approach in business processes with a focus on customer orientation, improvement and employee involvement. Lucas-TVS, which make auto electricals, launched the TQM movement in 1998; it secured the Deming Application Prize in 2004 for its TQM commitment and appreciation. The Deming Grand Prize is the next higher level of award. Rane (Madras), which makes steering and suspension systems, had earlier won the Deming Application Prize in 2007.

• The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Physics for 2012 to Serge Haroche, College de France and Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris, France and David J. Wineland, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and University of Colorado Boulder, CO, USA "for ground-breaking experimental methods that enable measuring and manipulation of individual quantum systems". Serge Haroche and David J. Wineland have independently invented and developed methods for measuring and manipulating individual particles while preserving their quantum-mechanical nature, in ways that were previously thought unattainable.

• The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has on 8 October, decided to award The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2012 jointly to John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent. The Nobel Prize recognizes two scientists who discovered that mature, specialised cells can be reprogrammed to become immature cells capable of developing into all tissues of the body. Their findings have revolutionised our understanding of how cells and organisms develop. John B. Gurdon

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discovered in 1962 that the specialisation of cells is reversible. Shinya Yamanaka discovered more than 40 years later, in 2006, how intact mature cells in mice could be reprogrammed to become immature stem cells. Surprisingly, by introducing only a few genes, he could reprogram mature cells to become pluripotent stem cells, i.e. immature cells that are able to develop into all types of cells in the body. These groundbreaking discoveries have completely changed our view of the development and cellular specialisation.

• The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2012 to Robert J. Lefkowitz Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA and Brian K. Kobilka Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA “for studies of G-protein–coupled receptors". Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka are awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for groundbreaking discoveries that reveal the inner workings of an important family of such receptors: G-protein–coupled receptors. The Prize amount of SEK 8 million, to be shared equally between the Laureates. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, founded in 1739, is an independent organization whose overall objective is to promote the sciences and strengthen their influence in society. The Academy takes special responsibility for the natural sciences and mathematics, but endeavours to promote the exchange of ideas between various disciplines.

• 2011 Nandi Awards winners list: The Nandi Awards for the year 2011 was announced 13 October by the chairman of the jury committee, cinematographer S Gopal Reddy. While Mahesh Babu won the Best Actor (Male) for his act in the superhit Dookudu, Nayanthara walked away with the Best Actor (Female) for her role as Sita in Sri Rama Rajyam, which also won the Best Film award. Nagarjuna's Rajanna came second. N Shankar won the Best Director for the film, Jai Bolo Telangana, which also won the Sarojini Devi Award for a Film on National Integration. Gaddar was adjudged the Best Singer for his rendition of Poru Telangana in the critically acclaimed film. While Lakshmi Manchu was declared the Best Actor in a Negative Role for Anaganaga O Dheerudu, Prakash Raj and Sujatha Reddy were declared the Best Supporting Actors for their roles in Dookudu and Inkennalu respectively. .

• Complete List of Nandi Awards - 2011 1. Best Film - Sri Rama Rajyam Second Best Film - Rajanna Third Best Film - Virodhi 2. Best Director - N Shankar (Jai Bolo Telangana) 3. Best Actor - Mahesh Babu (Dookudu) 4. Best Actress - Nayanthara (Sri Rama Rajyam) 5. Best Supporting Actor - Prakash Raj (Dookudu) 6. Best Supporting Actress - Sujatha Reddy (Inkennallu) 7. Best Character Actor - Gandhi (Rajanna) 8. Best Comedian (Actor ) - M S Narayana (Dookudu) 9. Best Comedian (Actress) - Ratnasagar (Karalu Miriyalu) 10. Best Villain - Lakshmi Manchu (Anaganaga O Dheerudu) 11. Best Cinematographer - Raju (Sri Rama Rajyam) 12. Best Music Director - Ilayaraja (Sri Rama Rajyam) 13. Best Editor - M R Varma (Dookudu) 14. Best Art Director - S Ravinder (Rajanna) 15. Best Screenplay - Srinu Vaitla (Dookudu) 16. Best Story Writer - Raj Madiraju (Rushi) 17. Best Dialogues - Neelakanta (Virodhi)

• President Pranab Mukherjee on 5 October participated in the occasion of the presentation of Federation of Indian Export Organisation’s Niryat Shree and Niryat Bandhu awards ceremony in New Delhi. He urged exporters to focus on products of high export intensity, which currently have low penetration abroad, and said India had been a part of global efforts to restore growth and reform financial systems. The President gave away 52 awards — 46 Niryat Shree Awards to exporters for their performance in 12 categories, which cover agriculture, plantation products; chemicals, drugs, pharma and allied products; engineering; gems and jewellery, handicrafts, carpets; textiles, leather, service providers; and 6 Niryat Bandhu Awards to Export Promotion Councils and

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Banks for their support to the exporting community. Among the Niryat Shree awardees who were presented a gold trophy was MIOT Hospitals Limited for being the highest foreign exchange earner in the country among all service providers. The award was received by company chairperson Mallika Mohandas. Reliance Industries too was awarded a gold trophy for earning the highest foreign exchange. PC Jewellers was awarded a silver trophy in the Gems and Jewellery category. In the Niryat Bandhu category for banks, the winners were Canara Bank (gold trophy) followed by Bank of India (silver) and Punjab National Bank (bronze).

• ISRO Scientist Tessy Thomas Conferred with Lal Bahadur Shastri Award:

President Pranab Mukherjee on 1 October 2012 conferred the prestigious Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award 2012 to ISRO scientist Tessy Thomas at an award function in Rashtrapati Bhawan. The award was given on the eve of Birth anniversary of Former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shashtri. Tessy Thomas 48 years old is the Key Scientist for Agni-V in Defence Research and Development Organisation Hyderabad. She is the first woman scientist to head a missile project in India. Tessy Thomas was an associate Project director (mission) for Agni-I, II and III systems. She was associated with the Agni Programme since their developmental stages. She has designed the guidance scheme for long-range missile systems, which is used in all Agni missiles. Presently, she is the Project Director of Agni -IV, which is a major project with state of the art technologies. The Agni-IV was successfully flight tested on 15th November, 2011.

November

• AP Genco on 29 November, has bagged ‘India Power Award’ of the Council of Power Utilities again for 2011-12 for overall performance in generation activity during the year. This is the fourth time that the utility, which has an installed capacity of 8,924 MW, bagged this award in the past five years. The award was presented to APGenco MD K. Vijayanand at a function in Delhi.

• Coromandel International Ltd has conferred the ‘Borlaug Award’ for 2012 on two Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) scientists. The award has been given to K.V. Prabhu and Ashok Kumar Singh for their contribution to basmati rice research and development. A five-member jury headed by M.S. Swaminathan, Father of the Green Revolution in India, has named these scientists for the award. Coromandel has instituted the award in 1972 to honour Nobel Laureate Norman E. Borlaug. The award is given in recognition of outstanding research and contribution in the field of agriculture, environment and extension by Indian scientists. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh, a gold medal and a citation. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, presented the award to the winners in New Delhi on November 28.

• Tumkur University(Karnataka) will confer Honorary Distinguished Professorship on His Holiness The Dalai Lama on 27th November 2012 during the inauguration of International Conference on YOGA IN EDUCATION at Tumkur University.Dalailama will inaugurate the international conference on November 27 and deliver a talk on “Human approach to World Peace”. Besides, Tumkur University and Sara Jey Monastic University will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

• Gaddar presented Midde Ramulu Award - Midde Ramulu Award for 2011 was presented to the balladeer Gaddar in Vemulawada in Karimnagar district on 25 November. The award was instituted to perpetuate the memory of internationally acclaimed Oggu artist Midde Ramulu by his family. At an impressive function in C Narayana Reddy Kalamandir at Vemulawada, Gaddar received the award. Speaking on the occasion, Gaddar said he never accepted awards but made an exception in this case as he felt it privilege to receive such an award named after internationally renowned artist.

• ‘Anhey Ghore Da Daan’ got Golden Peacock Award at IFFI Panaji: Punjabi film 'Anhey Ghore Da Daan' (Alms for a Blind Horse) won the Golden Peacock award for best film at the 43rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Panaji on 30 November. The National Film Development Corporation movie (NFDC), adapted from a novel by Gurdial Singh and directed by Gurvinder Singh, was one of the 15 films in the international competition section vying for a cash prize of Rs four million. The Silver Peacock award for best director went

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to Kyu-hwan Jeon for South Korean film 'The Weight'. Anjali Patil won the best actress Silver Peacock for her role in Tamil-Sinhalese film 'With You Without You' while Marcin Dorocinski was named the best actor for Polish film 'Rose'. A special jury Silver Peacock award was given to Lucy Mulloy for Spanish film 'Una Noche'. Filmmaker Mira Nair was given a special peacock and a Centenary Film Award for her new Hollywood movie, 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist', which was the 11-day festival's closing film.

• The President of India Pranab Mukherjee conferred the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development on H.E. Mr. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, former President of the Federative Republic of Brazil at a function organized in Rashtrapati Bhavan on November 22, 2012. The President described former President of Brazil as an outstanding champion of the developing world. The Prize has been awarded to His Excellency President Lula of Brazil for his outstanding contribution to the cause of eliminating hunger and promoting inclusive growth in Brazil, for his advocacy of stronger ties among the developing economies and for his signal contribution to the cause of the India-Brazil partnership. The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development is awarded annually to a person or organization without any distinction of nationality, race or religion, in recognition of creative efforts towards enlarging the scope of freedom and enriching the human spirit. It consists of an award of Rs. 2.5 million and a trophy with a citation. Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson, Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh also addressed the gathering on the occasion.

• The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on 23rd November, 2012 gave away Rashtrakavi Ramdhari Singh ‘Dinkar’ Sahitya Ratna Samman to 21 prominent writers and social workers at a function organized in Rashtrapati Bhavan. On the occasion, the President recalled the contribution of Shri Ramdhari Singh ‘Dinkar’ in the freedom struggle and his service to Hindi literature. He also called upon the Indian writers to bring international laurels to the country through their writings.

• Malala Yousafzai, on 19 November 2012 was awarded by World Peace and Prosperity Foundation for her bravery and commitment to education for girls in adverse conditions in Swat, Pakistan.She was shot in the head by Taliban, and had become the face of Pakistan’s struggle against the Taliban. She is now being treated and on the road to recovery at a Queen Elizabeth Hospital, England. The Deputy High Commissioner of Pakistan to the UK, S Zulfiqar Gardezi received the award on her behalf at the Cholmondeley Room of the House of Lords.The other recipients of award included a Bishop of London, a distinguished British Muslim Psychiatrist, a distinguished Turkish academic and MP, and eight year old Josh Altman, European Chess Bronze medalist. On 9 October 2012 Malala Yousafzai, was shot in the head and neck by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) while she was returning home. She was attacked for speaking up against the Taliban and advocating girls' education.

• Indian-born, Autar Kaw, a University of South Florida (USF) mechanical engineering professor has been named a 2012 US Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. This annual award is conferred on exceptional academicians for their ability to engage and influence students. According to USF news and a press statement, Kaw, who was an early adopter of new technologies and social media to teach complex mathematical calculations, was feted on November 15, 2012 in events at the National Press Club and the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC. He is one of four professors - selected from more than 300 nominees - to receive the award that is considered the nation's highest honor for undergraduate teaching. Kaw was selected in the category of Outstanding Doctoral and Research Universities Professor of the Year.Kaw, who has been associated with USF for over 25 years was lauded for his innovative work in using technology and social media to reach tens of thousands of students around the world studying to be engineers.Kaw has dedicated his career to eliminating one of the most significant obstacles to engineering students being successful by providing students everywhere free access to supplemental lessons.Kaw is a fellow in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and a member of the American Society of Engineering Education. In 2011, he was awarded the National Outstanding Teaching Medal from the American Society for Engineering Education. A prolific writer, he has authored four text books and scores of academic articles.Born in India, Kaw received his bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science in India, Pilani and his master's and PhD in Engineering Mechanics from Clemson University

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• The Government of India has named President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia as the recipient of the 2012 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development.The announcement of the Prize came on November 19, the birth anniversary of the late Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, who was assassinated 28 years ago, in 1984. The 2012 Prize was awarded to President Sirleaf, an international jury said, “for serving as an example and an inspiration to many a woman in Africa and beyond; for ensuring the return of peace, democracy, development, security and order in Liberia; and for her strong interest in the consolidation and improvement of Liberia’s relations with India since her first election as President in 2005 and her re-election in 2011.”

• Hyderabad based social activist, Dr Syed Mazher Hussain, has been selected by the Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA), for the ACHA South Asian Peace Star Award for 2012, according to Pritam K. Rohilla, Executive Director of ACHA. A press release 19 November said that, Dr Syed Mazher Hussain, is an indefatigable campaigner for peace within his own society as well as between societies of South Asia. The association, based in USA, honours persons for their work, in fostering peace, communal harmony and human rights, particularly in South Asia, biennially. Dr Hussain, who is the executive director of Hyderabad-based Confederation of Voluntary Associations (COVA), is also a member of many national international organisations, working in the fields of communal harmony, community empowerment, disaster-relief projects and Nuclear Disarmament etc. Currently he is working on setting up the Center for Peoples Foreign Policy in South Asia and the International Center for Applied Peace Studies. The other activists selected for the award are, Lajja Shankar Herdenia from Bhopal, Pramod Sharma from Chandigarh and Sheema Kermani of Pakistan. Eminent communal harmony and human rights personalities, Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer, Dr. Ram Puniyani, Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi, and Jatin Desai, were some of the recipients of ACHA award in the previous years

• Jnanpith awardee and noted writer Dr C Narayana Reddy has been selected for the Potti Sriramulu Telugu University’s Visishta Puraskar award for the year 2012. Reddy will be presented the ward during the university’s foundation day celebrations at Hyderabad on December 2. Speaking to the media on 22 November Telugu varsity vice-chancellor Prof. Elluri Siva Reddy said the award carries a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh and a citation, adding that the cash award, which was Rs 50,000 earlier, has been increased to Rs 1 lakh this time. He also announced that 12 more eminent Telugu personalities from various fields like literature and fine arts will also be conferred with the Potti Sriramulu Telugu University Pratibha Puraskar on the occasion. Each award carries a cash prize of Rs 50,000 and a citation. Deputy Chief minister C Damodara Raja Narasimha will present all the awards during the 27th Foundation Day celebrartions of the university on December 2, said Elluri Siva Reddy. It may be noted that the Potti Sriramulu Telugu University Visishta Puraskar award was introduced by Dr C Narayana Reddy in 1991 when he was the vice-chancellor of the Telugu varsity.

• The Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari presented the “Moortidevi Award for 2010” to eminent Urdu scholar Prof. Gopi Chand Narang for his outstanding work ‘Urdu Ghazal aur Hindustani Zehan wa Tehzeeb” at a function organized by Bhartiya Jnanpith in New Delhi on 12 november. Ansari said that Prof. Narang revived Urdu language in our country through his writings and he is one of the foremost theorist, literary critic and Urdu scholar of our country. His perceptive writings have helped Urdu criticism becoming more contemporary. It is befitting that his long academic life of excellence has been felicitated by conferring the Moortidevi award on him.

• The year 2012 winner of one of the biggest awards in international education is Madhav Chavan - who has provided an education for millions of impoverished families in India. Dr Chavan has won the WISE Prize, which has been likened to a "Nobel prize for education". The award, announced on 13 November, at the WISE summit in Qatar, recognises his education work in the slums of Mumbai. The international award, which comes with a prize of $500,000 (£314,000), recognises Dr Chavan's efforts to provide lessons in literacy and numeracy for disadvantaged children and adults in India.

• Renowned literary critic and educator Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak was awarded the prestigious Kyoto Prize in Kyoto on 12 November.Instituted by the Inamori Foundation, the prize honours those who have contributed significantly to the scientific, cultural and spiritual betterment of mankind.Ms. Spivak, professor at Columbia University in the U.S., won the award in the Arts and Philosophy category for her “deep thinking on

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humanities against intellectual colonialism in relation to globalisation”. U.S. computer scientist Ivan Sutherland, regarded as a father of computer graphics, won the Advanced Technology Prize while Japanese molecular biologist Yoshinori Ohsumi was awarded the Basic Sciences Prize.Each laureate received a diploma, a 20K gold Kyoto Prize medal and a cash gift of ¥50 million ($630,000).

• Dr.Bhuma Vengamma- Director and Vice-Chancellor of Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS), Tirupati, has been nominated as a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, in recognition of her outstanding academic contribution and research work.The college that has an impressive membership of 10,000 fellows and has members in 91 countries covering 56 medical specialties, recognised her efforts in taking medicine to the community level, as Dr. Vengamma is known for having conducted camps for epilepsy patients regularly since 1999, in which an average of 450 patients are treated every month.

• Minister for Information, Public Relations, Cinematography and Film Division Corporation D K Aruna on 12 November announced Nandi television film awards for 68 wings in nine categories for the year 2011. She announced that Naa Bhoomi of Doordarshan Kendra (DDK), produced by Sailaja Suman and directed by S S Sai, had been selected as the first best tele film. The film gets the Golden Nandi. She said that the producer would get Golden Nandi award with a cash prize of Rs 30,000. Jogini of DDK, produced and directed by V V Rao and M Rambabu respectively, had been selected as the second best tele film and the film producer would get silver Nandi for it. K Vinod Kumar of HMTV was selected as ‘best male TV news anchor’ and S Lakshmi Kalyani of TV-5 as ‘best female TV news reader’. Announcing the awards, Aruna said that the government constituted Nandi Television Film Awards Committee for the selection for television films produced and telecast during the year 2011. She said that the committee, headed by television actor Vinod Bala and other members, viewed all the entries and gave their recommendations. She said that the committee had formulated well laid out modalities and schedules for screening. She said that the committee received 128 entries and selected the best for the awards. .

• Awards Tele Films- Naa Bhoomi (DDK), First and Jogini (DDK), Second. TV Features - Adurs (ETV)- First and Brahmamokate (SVBC)- Second. TV Mega Serials- Nayana (SVBC), First and Pancha Tantram (ETV), Second. TV Daily Serials- Pasupu Kunkuma (Zee TV), First and Mamatala Kovela (Gemini TV), Second. T V Children’s Films - Cheyutha Nivvandi (Gemini TV),First and Shankar (DDK), Second, TV Documentary Films- Keshlapur Nagoba Jatara (SVBC),First and Kavita Kalanidhi Kapilavai Lingamurthy (DDK), Second. TV Social Relevant Films-O Chitteemma Katha (TV-5), First and Kalushya Nivarana-Mana Bhadhyatha (DDK),Second. T V Educational Films- Telugu Prasasthi (RTV), First and Bharthuhari-Enugu Laxmana Kavi (SIET). Individual Awards and Technicians – Best Director-G Anila Kumar for Manasu Mamata (ETV), Achyut Award for Best Leading Actor to Subhaleka Sudhakar for Manasu Mamata (ETV), Best Leading Actress to R Pallavi for Bharyamani (ETV), Best Supporting Actor to K Jayaram for Aadadhe Aadharam (ETV), Best Supporting Actress to Madhumani for Jogini (DDK), Best Comedian Actor to Ramajan for Chudu Chudu Thamasha (ETV), Best Comedian Actress to Srilakshmi for Nene Mee Alludu (ETV), Best Villain to Lavanya Lahari for Anthapuram (ETV), Best Child Actor to Master Naresh Chandra for Pasupu Kunkuma (Zee TV), Best Child Actress to Baby Anusha and Baby P Divija for Anna Chellellu (Maa TV), Best First Film of a director to K Sambasiva Rao for Adugu (TV-1), Best Screenplay Writer to P Bhavani Prasad for Dharani (DDK). Best Story Writer to late CH Suman for Mamatha (ETV).

• Andhra Pradesh has bagged four NABARD awards (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) for Rural Innovation at a function held in New Delhi recently. Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram presented awards to the winners. In academic and research institutions category, LV Prasad Eye Institute of Hyderabad received an award for developing an in-house software called Electronic Medical Record (EMR). It contains digitised case papers of 85,000 patients that have been networked, enabling easy access to doctors and students. In NGO/Trust category, Society for Energy, Environment and Development (SEED) head professor M Ramakrishna Rao who integrated solar energy applications with food processing technologies using solar dryers was awarded. Smart Aqua Solutions was adjudged as winner for developing water and waste water treatment and purification system on the concept of ‘Community Water Centre’. The runner up was Ch Mallesham of Nalgonda district

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who developed ‘Asu Machine’ which automated the process of spreading 10.5 km of silk thread around 41 steel pins for making a Pochampally saree in one and half hour.

• Tapeswaram laddu enters Guinness World Records. The Laddu that was displayed at the Rajahmundry Pushkar Ghat during Ganesh Chathurthi, celebrated by Rajahmundry Ganesh Utsava Committee, won the Guinness World Record for the heaviest Laddu. It had been prepared by the Bhaktanjaneya Sweets organisation at Tapeswaram that is famous for its Madata Khaja, a typical Andhra sweet. The Laddu weighing 6,559 kg was prepared on the order of the Utsav Committee that was established by late former minister Jakkampudi Rammohan Rao and displayed during the Ganesh festival.

• The President Pranab Mukhrji presented Dr. Durgabai Deshmukh Awards for Women’s Development for the years 2005, 2006 and 2007 on November 5, 2012 at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The President of India called for concerted efforts by Government, private and voluntary sectors for the development of the weaker and vulnerable sections of our society. The eighth Award for 2005 was jointly given to Mizoram Hmeithai (Widows) Association and People’s Forum, Bhubaneswar. The Mizoram Hmeithai (Widows) Association has been working to bring succour and relief to thousands of widows and destitute women and hundreds of abandoned orphan children. The People’s Forum, Bhubaneswar was awarded for its landmark services in the rescue and rehabilitation of hundreds of mentally ill women and for its exemplary work with women in distress. The ninth Award for the year 2006 was awarded to Sumangali Seva Ashram of Bangalore. The main activities of the Sumangali Seva Ashram are care, education and development of deserted, orphan and needy children and socio-economic opportunities for development of women. Snehalaya of Ahmednagar was awarded the tenth Award for the year 2007 for its landmark work in the rehabilitation of women of red light areas and other destitute women.

• The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on 9 November, conferred 20 Shilp Guru Awards, 18 Sant Kabir Awards along with 74 National Awards to master craftspersons and master weavers at a function in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. Speaking on the occasion, President Pranab Mukherjee congratulated all the awardees for their “contribution in preserving, promoting and enriching the traditional and cultural heritage of our country.” Shilp Guru awards are conferred to legendary master craftspersons of Handicrafts whose work and dedication have contributed not only to the preservation of rich and diverse craft heritage of the country, but also to the resurgence of handicrafts sector as a whole. Each Award consists of one mounted gold coin, one shawl, Certificate and a Tamrapatra. In addition, financial assistance to the extent of Rs. 6 lakh is also given to each selected Awardee to innovate and create five new products of high level of excellence, high aesthetic value and high quality befitting the stature of the Guru. Sant Kabir Award is conferred on such outstanding weaver who has made valuable contribution in keeping alive the handloom heritage and also for his dedication in building up the linkages between the past, present and future through dissemination of knowledge on traditional skills and designs. Each Sant Kabir Award consists of one mounted gold coin, one shawl, certificate and a Tamrapatra. In addition, financial assistance to the extent of Rs. 6 lakh is also given to each selected awardee to innovate and create ten new products of high level of excellence, high aesthetic value and high quality. National Awards to Master Craftspersons and master weavers were introduced in 1965 and the award comprises of a cash prize of Rs.1 lakh, a certificate, Tamrapatra and an Angavastram.

• Indian Oil's Mathura Refinery was awarded the Platinum Award in the 13th Annual Greentech Environment Awards. The award was felicitated on 31 October 2012.Mathura Refinery was awarded in regard to the company's outstanding achievements and contribution to apt implementation of environmental friendly technologies and methodologies.Greentech Awards is a key component that values the need of environmental management in business sustainability.

• Cisco Systems on 7 November, awarded George P. Johnson (GPJ), the number one ranked event and experience agency, its prestigious Innovation Award for design and activation of the brand's experiential activities worldwide. GPJ representatives were on hand at Cisco's Annual Supplier Days to accept the award held at the technology leaders' headquarters in San Jose.

• Dr Charnjit Singh Atwal, Speaker of Punjab Legislative Assembly, has been presented with Asian Guild's 'Special International Award' for contribution to primary education in his state. Lord Tarsem

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King, Chairman of the Asian Guild presented the award to Atwal, a former Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha, at the Asian Guild Annual Awards Dinner 2012 at the House of Lords ,London. The citation said that Atwal's project 'Adopt a Primary school Teacher' is now a success story in Punjab and it is now being adopted by other states of India. The Asian Guild's 'European Airline Award 2012' went Dr Temel Kotil, CEO & President of Turkish Airlines. The Asian Guild's "Food Award 2012" was bagged by Tony Deep Wouhra, MBE, Chairman East End Food Plc and the Asian Guild's "Enterprise and Innovation in Industries Award 2012" went to Stewart Towe, Group Managing Director and chairman of Hadley Industries Holdings Ltd who helped the company to grow from 1 million pounds annual turnover in 1970s to over 100 million pounds annual turnover in 2012. Lord King announced that "The Yash Chopra Film School in UK" would be started as a tribute to the famous producer, director of Bollywood movies who passed away late last month. Yash Chopra was the first Fellow of the Asian Guild.

• Dr Lokeswara Rao from Star Hospitals in Hyderabad had been nominated to the prestigious Techno College Award for his immense contribution in the development of an innovative and a breakthrough technique for bypass surgery.A new surgical technique in coronary artery bypass grafting surgery which reduces sterna wound infection using modified pedicle bilateral internal thoracic artery harvest technique and the patented device MASP (mammary artery surgical platform) has been developed by Dr Lokeswara Rao Sajja. Currently Dr Rao is working as a Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon in Star Hospitals.Having recognized for his immense contributions in the development of a breakthrough device and operating technique for bypass surgery, Dr Rao’s name has been confirmed nominated for the prestigious award of EACTS for the year 2012. Dr Rao is expected to leave to Spain to participate in the 26th Annual meeting of the European Association of Cardio Thoracic Surgery (EACTS) which is to be held in Barcelona from 27 to 31 October. Dr Sajja is also expected to give a paper presentation on “Analysis of thirty-day outcomes of off-pump versus on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting: a large cohort study” which is the only scientific study conducted from India that is being discussed in the prestigious forum.Every year the Techno-College in Barcelona in Spain invites applications from surgeons, engineers, innovators, researchers and scientists active in the field of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery to apply for The Techno-College Innovation Award. Techno College Innovation Award of European Association for Cardiothoracic Surgery is awarded annually to one of the surgeons, engineers, innovators, researchers and scientists active in the field of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.The main aim of this award is to recognize and promote technological breakthroughs in all areas related to thoracic and cardiovascular research in particular for new surgical methods or devices. Innovations can be in the form of patents, inventions, new products, ideas or services.

• Banker and New York based- author Ruchir Sharma was awarded the Tata Literature Live! First Book Award for his Breakout Nations: In Pursuit of the Next Economic Miracles at the Mumbai Litfest on 5 November. The authors shortlisted included Nilanjana Roy (The Wildings), Sudha Shah (The King in Exile), Sudheendra Kulkarni (Music of the Spinning Wheel), Naresh Fernandes (Mahal Foxtrot), Ruchir Sharma (Breakout Nations) and Aman Sethi (A Free Man) whose books were all introduced by journalist and jury member Dileep Padgaonkar. Mr. Sharma is the Managing Director and Head of the Emerging Markets Equity team at Morgan Stanley Investment Management and has been a long-time contributing editor with Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The New York Times and Foreign Affairs. Mr. Sharma has also been writing a regular column on global financial markets since 1991.

• National level NSCI Safety Awards, 2011 for organisations in manufacturing, construction and MSME sectors were on 7 November presented by the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Govt. of India, K. Suresh in New Delhi. Speaking on the occasion Mr. Suresh lauded the role of National Safety Council (NSC) for maintaining and implementing effective occupational safety & health management systems. National Safety Council (NSC), an autonomous organisation in the field of Occupational Safety and Health, set up by the MOL&E, has been operating the awards scheme since 1998. These Awards are given to recognize factories, construction sites and MSMEs for establishing and implementing effective occupational safety & health management systems and achieving outstanding performance during the assessment period. The assessment period for the Award year 2011 for the organisations in manufacturing & MSME sectors was three years, from 2008 to 2010 and for construction establishments one year – 2010. In manufacturing sector, the 1st level award, Sarva Shreshtha Suraksha Puraskar, which carries a Golden Trophy and Certificate is won by the Kakrapar Atomic Power Station of Nuclear Power Corporation Ltd. located at Anumala, Tapi, Gujarat under Group C of the awards scheme covering Power Generation – Thermal/Hydel/Nuclear Power Plants of the

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awards scheme. The construction division of Lanco Infratech Ltd, Pathadih, Korba, Chhatisgarh has bagged the Sarva Shreshtha Suraksha Puraskar in the construction sector for their project – Lanco Amarkantak Power Ltd; Unit 3 & 4. In MSME sector Nobel Synthetics Pvt. Ltd, Navi Mumbai is the winner of the Sarva Shreshtha Suraksha Puraskar.

• Anand Kumar, founder of Super 30, a free coaching centre which trains children from poor families for entry into the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology, has added another feather to his cap. People magazine of the Time magazine group carries, in the Indian edition's latest issue, a detailed feature on the work of Anand Kumar, listing him as a "People's Hero". The magazine usually features celebrities and film stars. This is a rare occasion when a teacher has been profiled. The People magazine feature details how Anand Kumar, working almost alone for over a decade, has helped 263 children from poor families to make it into the prestigious IITs. Time magazine has earlier described Super 30 as the "best of Asia", while Newsweek had listed the school as one of the world's four innovative schools. Europe's Focus magazine paid tribute to Kumar's ability to unleash hidden talent, while London's Monocle listed him among the 20 top teachers of the world.Discovery Channel, which made an hour-long documentary on Anand Kumar and Super 30, described it as a "revolutionary experiment to bring about social change". Only days ago, the University of Tokyo had entered into an agreement with Super 30, to sponsor the studies of one child from the school at the university.

• Former Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister of India, Babu Jagjivan Ram was Posthumously awarded with the” Friends of Liberation War Honour” by the Government of Bangladesh for his contribution in the 1971 War. The award was received by Babuji's grandson, Anshul Avijit at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka. Anshul Avijit, is a journalist and academician and also the son of Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Meira Kumar.Babu Jagjivan Ram as the Defence Minister of India in 1971, helped in liberation of Bangladesh. He assured that the war for liberation of Bangladesh ended in the remarkably short time of 13 days.

• The Aishwarya Rai on 1 November 2012 was conferred with the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) by the French Ambassador to India François Richier. She was conferred with the award for the contributions made by her to Indian and World Cinema and the developments in Indo-French cooperation in art, culture and the most important one, Cinema. Late Habib Tanvir, Nandita Das, Raghu Rai, Shahrukh Khan, and Upamanyu Chatterjee are few more Indians who had been conferred with this prestigious French award.

• Veteran Bollywood actress Sharmila Tagore was Awarded with an Honorary Doctorate of Arts for her outstanding contribution to Indian cinema by the Edinburgh Napier University. At present, she is a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF that is working for literacy, maternal health and AIDS-related issues and is also an active spokesperson for Indian Children Child Rights and YOU (CRY). The University stressed its strong links with India and Indian Culture and pointed out that to promote and establish a relationship with Indian culture, philosophy, education, art and literature it has created a Scottish Center for Tagore Studies (ScoTs), which highlights the legacy of Rabindranath Tagore the first Asian, who won a Nobel Prize for Literature in the Year 1913. This study center is first of its kind in United Kingdom.

• Amitabh Bachchan, was awarded as the ‘Best Television Host’ for the popular game show ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ by People’s Choice Award of Colors Television channel. Amitabh is presently hosting Season 6 of Kaun Banega Crorepati, which is being aired on Sony channel. The first appearance of Amitabh Bachchan on Indian television is marked with Kaun Banega Crorepati,(KBC) which first aired in the year 2000.Amitabh Bachchan, the 70-year-old Indian Bollywood megastar had previously won the Indian Telly Awards, BIG Television Awards, The Global Indian Film and TV Honours among major award by television channel.

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December

• The General Council of Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi on 21 December 2012 declared N. Rajam, T.H. Vinayakram and Ratan Thiyam as the three eminent personalities in the field of Arts, as Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellows (Akademi Ratna). At present, there exist only 40 fellows of the Sangeet Natak Akademi. Thirty Six persons from field of Music, Theater, Puppetry and Dance were also elected for the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar) 2012. Nine eminent artists are from the field of Music and they are Mysore M. Nagaraja, (Violin) and K.V. Prasad (Mridangam) for Carnatic Instrumental Music, Sabir Khan (Tabla) and Bahauddin Dagar (Rudra Veena) for Hindustani Instrumental Music, O.S. Thyagarajan for Carnatic Vocal Music, Rajashekhar Mansur and Ajay Pohankar for Hindustani Vocal Music, Illayaraja for Creative and Experimental Music and Bhai Balbir Singh Ragi (Gurbani) for other major traditions of music.Nine Artists were also selected for the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards in the field of Dance and they are Vijay Shankar (Kathak), Priyadarsini Govind (Bharatanatyam), Vedantam Ramalinga Sastry (Kuchipudi), Painkulam Damodara Chakyar (Kutiyattam), Vazhengada Vijayan (Kathakali),Sharmila Biswas (Odissi), Jai Narayan Samal (Chhau), Jwala Prasad (Music for Dance) and Aditi Mangaldas (Creative & Experimental Dance). Eight artists from the Theatre world were also selected for the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards 2012 namely Tripurari Sharma and Waman Kendre for Direction, Arjun Deo Charan for Playwriting, Parvesh Sethi, Murari Roychoudhury for Theatre Music, Nirmal Rishi and Purisai Kannappa Sambandan for Acting and Ghulam Rasool Bhagat for Major Traditions of Theatre (Bhand Pather).Eight more artists were selected for making the contributions in other folk/traditional/dance/tribal music/ theatre and puppetry for the Akademi Awards.Nandini Ramani and Arun Kakade would be awarded with the Akademi Award 2012 for their Overall Contribution/Scholarship in Performing Arts.The Akademi Award has been conferred on people since 1952 and the Akademi Fellow honour has been conferred since 1954.

• Renowned Oriya novelist, Pratibha Ray on 27 December 2012 selected for the prestigious Jnanpith award for the year 2011 for her contribution to the field of Indian literature. Pratibha Ray is the first Oriya woman and fourth Oriya writer to get the coveted award. Earlier Gopinath Mohanty (1973), Sachidananda Routray (1986) and Sitakant Mohapatra (1993) were conferred the honour.The award carries a cash prize of 7 lakh rupees, a citation and a bronze statuette of Godess Saraswati. Ray's Shilapadma in 1983 won her the Orissa Sahitya Academy Award, 1985, while Yajnaseni (1984) got her the Moorti Devi Award in 1991 and Sarala Award in 1990. Ray has 20 novels, 24 short stories, 10 travelogues, two poetry collections and a number of essays to her credit.

• Emirati poet Shihab Ghanem became the first Emirati and Arab to win the Tagore Peace Prize.Tagore Peace Prize is instituted by the Indian government to commemorate the birth anniversary of India’s poet, philosopher and Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore.Ghanem was awarded the accolade in recognition of his creative literary and translation works, both in Arabic and English, and for promoting human understanding and values of love and peace Tagore had advocated.The award is given to one person every two years. Ghanem was chosen due to the promotion of the human values of love and peace via his poetic works. Ghanem had written 31 Arabic poems and 36 English poems and had published 45 books mainly in Arabic verse.

• Booker-nominated Jeet Thayil and Bengali novelist Subrata Mukhopadhyaya were among 24 authors selected for this year's(2012) Sahitya Akademi Awards, which was dominated by poets. Twelve of the 24 awards went to works of poets, which included K Sachitandandan (Malayalam - 'Marannu Vacha Vazhikal'), late Bal Krishna 'Bhaura' (Dogri - 'Tim-Tim Karde Tare') and Makhan Lal Kanwal (Kashmiri - 'Yath Aangnaz Manz'). Thayil, whose novel 'Narcopolis' was shortlisted for Booker Prize, was selected for his poetry collection 'These Errors are Correct' in English category. The Akademi said 12 books of poetry, six short story collections, four novels and one each of autobiography and criticism were selected for the awards this year, two of them posthumously. Among the poets, other winners are Guneswar Musahary (Bodo -- Boro Khonthai), Chandrakant Devtale (Hindi -- Pathar Fenk Raha Hoon), H S Shivaprakash (Kannada -- Mabbina Haage Kabniveyassi), Kashinath Shamba Lolienkar (Konkani -- Kavyasutra) and Darsan Buttar (Punjabi -- Maha Kambani). Aaidan Singh Bhatti (Rajasthani -- Aankh Hinye Ra Hariyal Sapana), Ramji Thakkura (Sanskrit - Laghupadhyaprhbandhatrayi) and Krishna Kumar Toor (Urdu -- Ghurfa-I-Ghalib) are the other poets who were selected for the award. Assamese writer Chandana Goswami was selected for her novel 'Patkair Ioare More Desh' while Mukhopadhyaya was selected for his fiction 'Birasan'. Other novelists are Jodha C Sanasam

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(Manipuri -- Mathou Kanba DNA) and D Selvaraj (Tamil -- Thol). In Gujarati, Chandrakant Topiwala's critical study 'Gujarati Sakshibhasya' was selected for the award while in Maithili Shefalika Verma's autobiography 'Kist-Kist Jeewan' won the award. Six short story collections also won the award. Jayant Pawar's Marathi collection 'Phoenixchya Rakhetun Uthala Mor', Uday Thulung's Ekantvas (Nepali), Gourahari Das's Kanta O' Anyanya Galpa (Odia), Gangadhar Hansda's Banchaw Akan Goj Hor (Santali), Late Indra Vaswani's Miteea Khaan Miteea Taaeen (Sindi) and Peddibhotla Subbaramaiah Peddibhotia Subbaramaiah Kathalu Vol 1 (Telugu) were the winners in this category.

• Organisers of the Recording Academy announced on 13 December 2012 that Pandit Ravi Shankar, the sitar maestro would be honoured with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously. Pandit Ravi Shankar would become first Indian to receive the prestigious award. The award would be presented at 55th Grammy Awards ceremony on 10 February 2013 in Los Angeles. Pandit Ravi Shankar is a three-time Grammy Award winner.Apart from Pandit Ravi Shankar, others who would be receiving the lifetime achievement Grammy award are Temptations, Carole King, Patti Page, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Glenn Gould and Charlie Haden.

• Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has received the BrandLaureate Legendary Award on 13 december, for his contribution to the Hindi film industry, and for being India's foremost brand ambassador in Malaysia.The BrandLaureate Legendary Award has been earlier given to the likes of former South African president Nelson Mandela, Nobel Laureate Mohammad Yunus, Indian businessman Ratan Tata, late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, Facebook CEO Marck Zuckerburg and F1 ace Michael Schumacher.The 47-year-old was in Malaysia to attend the birthday party of Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohammad. The actor was honoured by the Asia Pacific Brands Foundation, and received the award from Robert Loh, founder of Lord's Tailor, KK Johan, president, The BrandLaureate, and Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohammad.

• Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has been selected for the K Karunakaran Foundation award for excellence in administration. The award, instituted in memory of veteran Congress leader and former Kerala Chief minister K Karunakaran, carries Rs 1 lakh and citation. The award would be presented to Chidambaram by Vice- President Hamid Ansari at the Constitution Club in New Delhi on December 13.

• Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) was conferred the prestigious Web Ratna 2012, Golden Icon Award for Innovative use of Technology. The DAVP Website (http:/davp.nic.in/) has enabled a complete change from the manual mode to the online mode where the media plans are made and released for the end users. The website with several user friendly features is the only advertising agency in the country which releases its designs, Release orders, payments online. The Project was headed by A P Frank Noronha, DG, DAVP.The Kerala Chief Minister's website (www.keralacm.gov.in) has bagged the Icon of Excellence Web Ratna gold medal award .P T Chacko, Press Secretary to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, received the award from Communication and IT Minister Kapil Sibal.The award was given to honour the initiatives taken by Oomen Chandy to leverage the use of ICT to seek the active participation of the public in the process of governance, says the reportBihar received the Silver Icon Web Ratna Award 2012 for its public grievance redressal website. The Web Ratna awards, constituted by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, acknowledges exemplary initiatives/practices in the realm of e-governance. In order to promote more innovative e-governance initiatives, the Web Ratna Awards have been instituted under the ambit of the National Portal of India.

• Renowned film actress and Bharatanatyam exponent Hema Malini has been selected for the prestigious Bharat Muni Samman this year for outstanding contribution to the field of art and culture.Named after the author of Natyashastra Bharat Muni, the award has been instituted by organisation Kalingayana Touryatrikam.The award is to be presented to Hema Malini for her contribution towards promotion of Indian arts and entertainment on December 18, the concluding day of the three-day Bharat Muni Festival scheduled to be held in Bhubaneswar.Hema Malini, 64, will be the fifth recipient of the award. The earlier recipients are Thankamani Kutty, Pandit Birju Maharaj, Pandit Jasraj and Ratan Thiyam.

• The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee, presented the 11 National Energy Conservation Awards – 2012 to Indian Railways, the highest ever by any Indian industry, for the remarkable achievements by its Zonal Railways in Energy Conservation initiatives during the year 2012, at a function in New Delhi on 14 december.In order to intensify the energy conservation initiatives, Ministry of Power has instituted “National

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Energy Conservation Award” which is given on National Energy Conservation Day on December 14 every year. These awards are given to 11 major category (like Railways, hospitals, office buildings, industry, power plant etc.) covering 35 different subsectors of large and medium scale industries mainly on the basis of improvement in specific energy and energy conservation initiatives. Chairman, Railway Board, Vinay Mittal, Member Electrical, Kul Bhushan and other Railway officials were present among others on the occasion.Awards for the above including Railways category are decided by ‘Award Evaluation Committee’ under Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) based on approved evaluation criteria.

• Two $3,000,000 special physics prizes have been awarded to Stephen Hawking and to seven scientists who led the effort to discover a Higgs-like particle at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. The Fundamental Physics Prize Foundation, backed by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner announced the awards on 11 December, saying that Hawking is honored for his discovery of Hawking radiation from black holes “and his deep contributions to quantum gravity and quantum aspects of the early universe,” and that the prize money for the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, is being shared among a scientist who administered the building of the $10 billion Large Hadron Collider and six physicists who directed two teams of 3,000 scientists each.The $3 million Fundamental Physics Prize is awarded annually by the nonprofit Fundamental Physics Prize Foundation to recognize “transformative advances in the field.” The Foundation said the seven were being honored “for their leadership role in the scientific endeavor that led to the discovery of the new Higgs-like particle by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider.” They will share the $3 million prize equally.

• Noted classical singers Rajan and Sajan Mishra have been conferred on 15 december,with the prestigious National Tansen Samman for 2011-12. The award, which carries Rs 2 lakh in cash and a citation, was presented to the vocalist-brothers by Gwalior Mayor Samiksha Gupta at the Tansen Samaroh . Speaking on the occasion, Rajan said though he was a recipient of Padma Bhushan, the country's third highest civilian award, it was a big honour to get the Tansen Samman as it is considered a prestigious prize in the the music world. The Tansen Samaroh is being organised from December 14 to 17 by the Madhyapradesh State Government's Ustad Alauddin Khan Sangeet Evam Kala Akademi and Madhya Pradesh Sanskriti Parishad. Rajan-Sajan's father Hanuman Prasad Mishra is one of the past recipients of the Madhya Pradesh Government-sponsored award.

• Mo Yan awarded 2012 Nobel Prize for literature Chinese writer Mo Yan was awarded 2012 Nobel Prize for literature at Stockholm Concert Hall 10 December. The Nobel Prize Award Ceremony for 2012 started with the Swedish royal anthem "The King's Song." Mo Yan, dressed in black tailcoat, went slowly up to his seat on the stage with the other Nobel Prize winners. Marcus Storch, chairman of the Board of Nobel Foundation first addressed the ceremony and welcomed the winners for attending the ceremony in Sweden. King of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf awarded Mo Yan the Nobel diploma, medal and a document confirming the prize amount after a representative of the Nobel Prize jury in literature introduced the achievement of Mo Yan in literature. Thereafter, the orchestra presented a part of the "Aladdin Suite" called "Chinese Dance". 2012 Nobel Prize laureates in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology, Medicine and Economics also received their awards from the King. Since 1901, the Nobel Prizes have been traditionally presented to the laureates Dec 10, the death anniversary of Alfred Nobel.

• Rcognising the role it played in promoting India as a tourism destination, especially Puducherry and Munnar (Kerala), the film Life of Pi has been given two awards by the tourism ministry. Announcing the awards on 1 december, tourism minister Chiranjeevi said these would be given Ang Lee, director of the film Life of Pi and Yann Martel, writer of the Booker prize winning book of the same name. The minister expressed hope that this will go a long way in encouraging film producers from abroad to shoot films in India. Every year, the ministry recognises various stakeholders, including film makers and writers for their contribution in promoting India tourism by conferring the national tourism awards.The ministry has identified 'film tourism' as a niche tourism product and has requested state governments and union territory administrations to recognise the potential of film tourism and constitute special bodies/cells to facilitate filming in their respective states/union territories.In February this year, the ministry had signed a MoU with ministry of information & broadcasting as a major initiative to promote the 'Incredible India' campaign and had made Indian cinema a sub brand of the campaign at various international film festivals.

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• President of India Pranab Mukherjee will give away awards for cooperative excellence on 8 december. National Cooperative Development Corporation has been conferring “NCDC Award for Cooperative Excellence” once every two years since 2002 to the best Primary Society from each State/UT. The award consists of Rs.50,000/- as cash prize, trophy and a certificate of citation. In addition, from this year onwards, NCDC has also instituted three National Level Awards for Primary Cooperative Societies, one each from cooperatively developed States, cooperatively under-developed States and cooperatively least developed States. The National Award consists of Rs.1.00 lakh as cash prize, trophy and a certificate of citation. National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) is a statutory Corporation set up under an Act of Parliament in 1963 to plan, promote and finance programmes through cooperatives for the production, processing, marketing, storage, export and import of agricultural produce and other notified services. This year’s recipients of National Level Awards are Dakhin Rampur Gaon Panchayat Samabay Samity Ltd., Distt. Kamrup, Assam under Cooperatively Least Developed States category; Mulukanoor Women’s Cooperative Dairy Vishwandapuri, Distt. Karimnagar, Andhra Pradesh under Cooperatively Under-developed States category; and Samarth Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Ltd., Ankushnagar, Distt. Jalna, Maharashtra under Cooperatively Developed States category. Besides these, 24 other cooperatives from different states of the country are the winners of State Level Awards.

• Seven men and women and six organisations were honoured with the 12 th NCPEDP-Shell Helen Keller Awards 2012 on 2 December, for their contributions towards improving the lives of disabled persons or serving as role models and a source of inspiration for everyone. The International Day of People with Disability is celebrated on December 3. Among the winners in the category for “Role Model Disabled Persons” were Abdul Sajeed Ali, president, Chaitanya Vikulangula Hakkula Vedika; Ketan Kothari, Regional Programme Development Advisor, Social Inclusion, Sight Savers (Royal Commonwealth Society for the Blind); Radhika Chand, assistant, Art and Craft Department for Special Section, Vasant Valley School; and Sangeeta Gala, chairperson, National Foundation of Deaf Women.Abdul Sajeed Ali was awarded for his efforts to ensure that the Andhra Pradesh government provided employment for the disabled under the 100-days' job guarantee scheme. Ketan Kothari is credited with ushering in systemic changes to help visually-impaired people have access to the printed word. Radhika Chand, a person with Down Syndrome is an artist and school teacher. Sangeeta Gala, who is hearing-impaired, is an associate director to filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

• The awardees in the category of “Role Model Supporters” were Ishita Sanyal, Founder and Director, Turning Point, for promoting employment of mentally-ill people, and R. Hari, General Manager (Human Resources), for making his company, Lemon Tree Hotels Pvt. Ltd, an inclusive workplace. This category of awards is given to non-disabled persons from within the disability sector or outside who have contributed substantially to the cause of promoting employment opportunities for disabled people over an extended period of time.

• Five organisations have been awarded the “Role Model Companies/ NGOs/ Institutions” category award. They are Aegis Ltd., EuroAble (An Eureka Forbes Initiative), Lemon Tree Hotels Pvt. Ltd., Sun ITES Consulting Pvt. Ltd., Wipro Ltd. These five organisations have been credited with sharing the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People’s vision on disabled rights and “through their policies and practices demonstrated their belief in equal rights and gainful employment for persons with disabilities”. Accenture Services Pvt. Ltd. has been awarded a special mention in this category.The awards, instituted in 1999, were presented by External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid.

Awards – 2012

228

Persons – 2012

January

• C. Jagannatha Rao- Senior congress leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh died of a heart attack in Secunderabad on 23 January 2012. Jagannatha Rao served as deputy Chief Minister in the Cabinet of Bhavanam Venkatram in 1982.

• Laura Dekker- the 16 year old dutch girl, on 21 January 2012 became the youngest sailor to complete a solo circumnavigation of the world.

• Siddharth Varadarajan –succeded N. Ram as the Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of The Hindu, Business Line , Frontline , and Sportstar.

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229

• Pankaj Pachauri- Senior television journalist, Managing Editor of NDTV was appointed as Communication Advisor in the Prime Minister’s Office , as Harish Khare resigned as media advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.He has been given the rank of additional secretary.

• Homai Vyarawala- India’s first woman photojournalist, died on 15 January 2012 in Vadodara, Gujarat. She was the only professional woman photojournalist between 1939 and 1970. She was awarded Padma Vibhushan in 2011 in recognition of her contribution as a photo-journalist.

• Nikhat Kazmi- noted film critic died on 20 January 2012 at 53. She reviewed films for the newspaper Times of India. She had also written books on Bollywood - Ire in the Soul: Bollywood's Angry Years and The Dream Merchants of Bollywood.

• Pro. Parvin Sinclair - Pro-Vice Chancellor, IGNOU, was appointed as the Director of National Council of Educational Research & Training (NCERT) on 25 December 2011.

• M.P. Muralidharan-has taken as the 19th Director-General of the Indian Coast Guard in place of Vice-Admiral Anil Chopra.

February

• Whitney Houston -Singer and actress died ,on 11 February 2012 in a Beverly Hills hotel room California. She was the winner of six Grammy Awards including record of the year for “ I Will Always Love You “ and album of the year for The Bodyguard. Houston was the only artist to have seven consecutive No. 1 singles on Billboard magazine’s pop chart.

• Anthony Shadid -New York Times’ forign correspondent and a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, died in eastern Syria on 16 February 2012 after having suffered a severe asthma attack. He has been covered nearly two decades of Middle East conflict and turmoil.At the time of his death, Shadid was on a reporting inside Syria.

• Akhlaq Mohammad Khan -Renowned Urdu poet and noted lyricist of Umrao Jaan, passed away in Aligarh on 13 February 2012. Khan who wrote under the pen name Shahryar had received the Jnanpith Award for 2008.

• Yingluck Shinawatra- Prime Minister of Thailand, visited India on24-26 January 2012. She was the chief guest for the 63rd Republic Day Ceremony. The visit took place in the backdrop of 65th anniversary of India-Thailand bilateral diplomatic relations.

• Taslima Nasrin -After a gap of about 18 years, Taslima Nasrin's book, Nirbasan(seventh volume of her autobiography) was launched on 1 february in Bangladesh.

• Preet Bharara- Eminent Indian-American attorney, has made it to the cover of the prestigious Time magazine for his crusade against Wall Street corruption and irregularities including insider trading. "This man is busting Wall Street" Bharar's picture appeared in the 3 rd february edition of Time magazine.

March

• Shyamala Gopinath-Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) on 29 March 2012 appointed Shyamala Gopinath as the Chairperson of the Advisory Board on Bank, Commercial and Financial Frauds. Gopinath, a former Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor, will hold the position for two years, effective from 26 March 2012. The Board is part of the organisational set-up of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is providing the required investigative and secretarial services, along with necessary funds, by the RBI.

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• Nansy Powell-The US Senate on 30 March 2012 confirmed career diplomat Nancy Powell as ambassador to India. The position had remained vacant for the past year following the resignation of Timothy Roemer. Powell had previously served as US envoy in Pakistan and Nepal and currently holds the prestigious rank of career ambassador.

• JOACHIM GAUCK - Former East German pro-democracy activist Joachim Gauck was elected as Germany's new President, on 18 March 2012. He succeeded Christian Wulff.

• ABD-RABBUH MANSOUR HADI - became the President of Yemen, on 27 February 2012. Hadi, a General People's Congress party leader replaced Ali Abdullah Saleh to the position.

• Akhilesh Yadav(38)- Akhilesh was sworn in as the 33 rd Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh on 15 March 2012. He was administered the oath by the UP Governor B L Joshi .Akhilesh, son of Samajawadi Party chief, Mulayam Singh Yadav, is the youngest chief minister of the state ever. Samajwadi Party bagged a record 224 seats in a 403-member house which is highest in its history. Vijay Bahuiguna-Vijay Bahuguna of Congress, on 13 March 2012, sworn in as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. Bahuguna, a Congress MP from Tehri Gadhwal, is the seventh Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.Bahuguna is a former high court justice. He served as the judge of Bombay and Allahabad high court. Bahuguna is first former High Court judge to become a state’s chief minister.

• Prakash Singh Badal -of Shiromani Akali Dal, sworn in as the 31st Chief Minister of Punjab on 14 March 2012. Badal, 85, became the chief minister of the state for record fifth time.He first became the chief minister of Punjab in 1969. At the age of 42, he was the youngest Chief Minister of Punjab.

• BIKRAM SINGH - Union Government announced that he would be the next chief of the Army.

• Justice H S Bedi -The Supreme Court of India on 2 March 2012 appointed its former judge, as the chairman of the monitoring authority which will investigate the case of 22 alleged fake encounter killings in Gujarat between 2002 and 2006. The monitoring authority will submit its interim report within three months.

• S.Narasingarao-He was appointed as the Chairman of the Coal India Ltd. He is presently working as the CMD of Singareni Collieries.

• Chandra Bahadur Dangi- A 72-year-old Nepali claims to be the world's shortest man at 56 centimetres (22 inches) in height, entered the Guinness World Records.

April

• B.V. Vanchoo - Vanchoo was appointed the Governor of Goa on 28 April 2012. A 1976-batch IPS officer from West Bengal cadre, Wanchoo retired as the head of the Special Protection Group on 31 October 2011.Former Madhya Pradesh Minister and ex-MP Aziz Qureshi was named as the next Governor of Uttarakhand, replacing Margaret Alva who is set to assume the charge of Rajasthan Governor for the rest of her term.

• Goolam E. Vahanvati- President Pratibha Patil on 30 April 2012 re-appointed Goolam E. Vahanvati Attorney-General for two more years with effect from 8 June 2012. Vahanvati was appointed to the post of Attorney-General in 2009 for three years.

• Achla Sachdev -Yesteryear Bollywood actress, died in Pune on 29 April 2012. Born in Peshawar, Sachdev made her film debut with Fashionable Wife (1938). Her most memorable role was in the 1965 blockbuster Waqt. She was also a part of films like Prem Pujari, Mera Naam Joker, Hare Rama Hare Krishna and Andaz. She worked in more than 100 films. She also acted in English language films like the Mark Robson film Nine Hours to Rama (1963) and Merchant Ivory film, The Householder (1963).

• JIM YONG KING- The World Bank on 16 April 2012 appointed Korean-born American health expert Jim Yong Kim as its new president. He succeeded Robert Zoellick as the head of World Bank.

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• NKP SALVE- Former BCCI president and former Union Minister and former BCCI president, NKP Salve passed away on 1 April 2012 in New Delhi. He had been the president of the BCCI when India won the World Cup in 1983. He had joined the central cabinet in 1982 under Indira leadership.

May

• General Bikram Singh- assumed the charge as the 25th Chief of the Indian Army. He succeeded General V K Singh whose 26-month tenure came to end on 31 May 2012.He will remain at the top position for next two years and three months. Prior to his appointment to the top post, General Bikram served as commanding officer of the Eastern Army Command.

• SHAH RUKH KHAN-The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) on 18 May 2012 banned Kolkata Knight Rider’s co-owner and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan from entering the Wankhede Stadium for five years. He was banned for misbehaving with its officials and violating its rules.

• J.M. AYRAULT (62)-A moderate Socialist, took over as the France’s new Prime Minister on 16 May 2012.

• RAHUL KHULLAR-The Union Government appointed Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar as the new chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for a three-year term on 13 May 2012. He replaced J S Sarma, whose tenure ended on 14 May 2012.

• Vladimir Putin- On 7 may took his oath of office to become Russian president for a historic third time at a glittering ceremony inside the Kremlin. He officially took over from outgoing President Dmitry Medvedev.

• Justice Dalveer Bhandari-Justice Bhandari, the judge of the Indian Supreme Court, was elected to the position of Judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). He will have six-year tenure. He is eligible for re-election for a second term of nine years at the end of the present term. He is going to retire in September 2012, as a judge of the Supreme Court to assume the new charge.

• Vidya balan - Union Rural development Ministry of India on 4 May 2012 elected bollywood actor Vidya Balan as the brand ambassador for improving the state of sanitation in the country. Vidyabalan in her new role will spread awareness about the need of sanitation among the people.

• Vikram Singh- Indian-American Vikram Singh, an expert on Afghanistan and Pakistan was appointed to an important position of Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for South and South East Asia at the Pentagon.

• Pranab Mukherji-Union Finance Minister of India on 4 May 2012 was elected as Chair of the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Board of Governors. India will host the 46th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank in New Delhi in 2013. Its head quartered at Manila.

June

• B.K.Roy Burman- An anthropologist and social scientist, died on 26 June 2012. He served as Director of the Tribal Research Institute. Prof. Burman served as the chairman of numerous international, national and State-level committees. He was associated with non-government organizations and worked for the Scheduled Tribes. In addition, he had worked as the chairman of the Futorology Commission of the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences. He chaired the Union Planning Commission’s Study Group on Land Holding Systems of Tribals and the Union Home Ministry’s Committee on Forest and Tribals Backward Classes Unit.

Persons – 2012

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• Shankar Singh Vaghela-Former Gujarat chief minister, on 13 June took over as the chairman of India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), the PSU under tourism ministry. With Vaghela's appointment, ITDC Chairman and Managing Director Lalit Panwar becomes Vice Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the PSU.ITDC offers accommodation, catering, transport, duty free shopping, entertainment, publicity, consultancy, manpower training as well as hospitality education.

• Alok Misra- Bank of India chairperson and managing director Alok Misra has been elected as the chairperson of The Indian Banks Association (IBA) for the current fiscal. The heads of Punjab National Bank KR Kamath, JP Dua of Allahabad Bank and Chanda Kochhar of ICICI Bank have been elected as deputy chairman, while Pratip Chaudhuri of SBI is the honorary secretary of the association for 2012-13.

• Srikanth Sri Srinivasan- currently serving as principal deputy solicitor general in the Obama administration was nominated on June 11 by the president to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia widely considered to be the second-most important court in the nation. Srinivasan is the Principal Deputy Solicitor General of the United States. He is a highly-respected appellate advocate who has spent a distinguished career litigating before the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Courts of Appeals, both on behalf of the United States and in private practice.

• Mitra Dutta- a distinguished Indian-American engineer-physicist, who has studied at Guwahati and Delhi universities, has been named vice chancellor for research at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

• Shekhar Basu-He was appointed as the Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) on 19 June 2012. Basu, who earlier served as the Chief Executive of Nuclear Recycle Board of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Trombay succeeded Ratan Kumar Sinha on the top position. Sinha was appointed as the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission on 30 April 2012. Basu was the Project Director of the Plutonium Recycling Project at Kalpakkam, which built India's first indigenous Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) which is powered by enriched uranium.

• Abid Hussain-Former Indian ambassador to US Abid Hussain died at the age of 85 in London on 21 June 2012. Hussain, a member of Indian Administrative Service (IAS), was one of those very few officers who served the Indian Foreign Service despite not being the member of the coveted service. In 1988, Hussain was awarded with Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award given by the Indian Government.

• Radha Vinod Raju- the founding director of National Investigation Agency (NIA) died at the age of 62 on 21 June 2012. Raju also headed the special investigation team (SIT) which probed the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991. The SIT headed by him, held LTTE culprit of the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. National Investigation Agency (NIA), the counter terrorism law enforcement agency of India, was founded on 31 December 2008. The agency was founded amidst the growing incidents of terror attacks in India.

• Dipankar Mukherjee- National Secretary of Centre of Indian Trade Union (CITU), passed away on 18 June 2012 in New Delhi at the age of 69. Dipankar Mukherjee was born in June 1943 at Calcutta in West Bengal. Mukharjee joined CITU as its full time member in 1991 and actively participated in trade union movement since then. He was elected National Secretary of CITU in 2003 and represented CITU in various forums. Centre of Indian Trade Union (CITU) is one of India’s largest associations of workers. Founded in 1970, the union is politically associated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

• Nik Wallend-American Stuntman Nik Wallenda became the first person to walk across Niagara Falls on a tightrope on 15 June 2012. Wallenda took more than 25 minutes to complete his 1800-feet long precarious journey. No person in the past 100 years has accomplished this much dare act. Wallenda started the walk from the U.S. side of the falls and finished it to the Canadian side. The waterfalls of Niagara falls are located on the Niagara river which connect two of the five great lakes. Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Collectively the waterfalls called the Niagra falls. The falls consist of three different water falls, the American falls, the Bridal Veil Falls in America and the Canadian Horseshoe falls in Canada. The Niagara Falls marks the international border between USA and Canada.

Persons – 2012

233

• Fatou Bensounda-Gambian lawyer Fatou Bensouda was sworn in on 15 June 2012 as the International Criminal Court's new chief prosecutor. Bensouda was elected for a nine-year term.Born on 31 January 1961 in Gambia, Bensouda is the first woman and the first African to be appointed as the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, which is investigating 15 cases in seven countries, all of them African. Bensouda is the recipient of the ICJ International Jurists Award (2009), which was conferred on her by President of India Pratibha Devisingh Patil. Bensouda was given this award for her contributions to criminal law both at the national and International level.

• Mehdi Hassan - Pakistani ghazal maestro Mehdi Hassan died in Karachi on 13 June 2012 following a prolonged illness. Born into a family of traditional musicians on 18 July 1927 in Luna in Rajasthan, Mehdi Hassan had migrated to Pakistan with his family in 1947 at the time of partition. He had been presented with numerous honours including Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, Pride of Performance and Hilal-e-Imtiaz by the Government of Pakistan, Saigal Award in India and Gorkha Dakshina Bahu by the Government of Nepal. Once dubbed as the voice of God by Lata Mangeshkar, Hassan had a huge fan following both in India and Pakistan.

• Vice Admiral D.K.Joshi-Government of India on 5 June 2012 nominated Vice Admiral Devender Kumar Joshi as the new Navy chief. Joshi will assume the charge after Admiral Nirmal Verma retires on 31 August 2012. Joshi, 58 is currently the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command.DK Joshi has been awarded the Param Vishist Seva Medal, the Ati Vishist Seva medal, Yudh Seva Medal, Nau Sena Medal and the Vishist Seva Medal.

• V.S.Sampath-President Pratibha Patil appointed senior-most Election Commissioner Veeravalli Sundaram Sampath as the 18th Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India. He replaced S.Y. Quraishi on the constitutional position, whose term as the CEC is coming to an end on 10 June 2012.Born at Vellore in Tamil Nadu on 16 January 1950; VS Sampath joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1973 as the officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre. He took over as Election Commissioner on 21 April 2009. He will carry out his term till 16 January 2015 — either for six years in the Commission or till the age of 65, whichever comes earlier. H.S. Brahma is the other Election Commissioner. The other Election Commissioner is yet to be appointed by the President.

• Justice M. B. Lokur –Justice Lokur took the oath as the Supreme Court judge on 4 June 2012. Prior to his elevation to the apex court he was serving as the chief justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court. The joining of Justice Lokur has taken the total number of the apex court judge to 26, which is still five short of the total strength of 31 judges.In one of his landmark verdicts as chief justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, Justice Lokur had voided the Union government’s decision to provide 4.5 percent reservation in educational institutions and government jobs for Muslims within the existing reservation quota.

July

• ANNA HAZARE- Social activist Anna Hazare joined the indefinite fast being observed by his team members at Jantar Mantar ,New Delhi on 29 July, energising the anti-corruption movement and bringing the crowds back to the venue.As promised, on the fourth day of the fast by Team Anna members and 350 others, Mr. Hazare joined the agitation, despite his “failing health. ”Mr Hazare said in this context, “We want an effective Lokpal Bill,but till such time that the Union Ministers charged with corruption occupy office, we know that an effective and independent Lokpal will not come into being.

• Vempati Chinna Satyam- Renowned Kuchipudi exponent, passed away in Chennai on 29 July. Among the personalities who learnt the dance form from him are Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, film actors Hema Malini and Prabha, dancers Shobha Naidu and Manju Bhargavi and Union Minister D. Purandeswari. He established the Kuchipudi Art Academy in Chennai in 1963, where he composed and choreographed more than 180 solo items and 15 dance dramas. He also choreographed Telugu superstar N.T. Rama Rao in the film,

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‘Narthanasala.’ He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1956. He was also made a Fellow of the Sangeet Natak Akademy.

• Champion R.Sangma- The outlawed Garo National Liberation Army’s (GNLA) chief, Champion R. Sangma, was arrested 30 July along the India-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya. Champion, whose outfit to be fighting for a separate Garoland, was arrested from Umkrem Pyrwdiwah area in East Khasi Hills district.

• Mr. Vijayaraghavan (64)-well knon journalist, died in Pune on 31 July. He had worked in several newspapers in different parts of the country, including Financial Express, Business Standard, Indian Express and Indian Express -Mumbai. He was one of the architects of “Business Line” when The Hindu group started it.

• Sudarshan Desai (68)- Eminent Kannada novelist and the author of over 100 novels, died at Dharwad on 31 July. He has written more than 85 detective novels and 35 social novels.Some of his popular works are Haladi Chelu , Ashwamedha , Manasa Sarovara. Mr. Desai won the National Teacher’s award and Rajyotsava award.

• Rajkeshwur Purryag is Mauritius fifth President: Rajkeshwur Purryag became the fifth president of Mauritius on 21 July. His predecessor Anerood Jugnauth resigned in March following open conflict with Prime Minister Navin Chandra Ramgoolam. The row erupted when the leader of the opposition Paul Berenger announced the creation of an opposition alliance headed by Mr. Jugnauth.Mr. Ramgoolam asked Mr. Jugnauth to either deny the statement by the opposition, or — in the case of confirmation — to resign, arguing that his new role was incompatible with a position as head of state.

• Johan Atta Mills passes away: JOHN ATTA MILLS(68)-President of Ghana, died on 24 July 2012. He won international praise for a stable model democracy in Africa. He reputed for his economic policies and good governance. However, John Dramani Mahama (53) succeeded John Atta Mills

• Captain Lakshmi Sahgal passes away: Captain Lakshmi Sehgal, who was part of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose's Indian National Army, died on 23rd July in Knapur, following a brief illness. Sehgal (97), breathed her last at a private hospital at 11.20am, her daughter and noted CPM leader Subhashini Ali said. Sehgal, who was ill for some time, was admitted to the hospital on July 19 after she suffered a heart attack at her residence in Civil Lines area here. She was kept on life support system. She was very active during the Independence movement and had commanded the 'Rani of Jhansi Regiment' of the INA formed by Bose. A doctor by profession, Sehgal was working as a medical practitioner and a social worker. She was awarded Padma Vibhushan in 1998.

• Sally Ride, First US Woman to travel into Space, passed away: Sally Ride, the first US woman to travel into space died in La Jolla, California on 23 July 2012. She was 61. She was suffering from pancreatic cancer. Ride fired the imagination of millions of women across the world when she set off for space in the US space shuttle Challenger in June 1983. Sally Ride was, however, not the first woman to travel into space, as Valentina Tereshkova of erstwhile USSR had visited space in June 1963. Born on 26 May 1951 at Los Angeles, California, Ride received her Masters degree in Physics from Stanford University. Subsequently, she joined NASA in 1978. Ride went on her first space shuttle mission on board the Challenger in 1983. She was only 32 when she first travelled into space, making her the youngest person in America at the time to go into space. Her second space visit occurred in 1984, also aboard the Challenger. She spent a total of more than 343 hours in space.

• Rupert Murdoch Resigned as the Director of the NI Group: Rupert Murdoch an eighty one year old founder of the News Corporation, resigned. He resigned from his directorship from a string of companies, namely the director of the NI Group, the Times Newspaper Holdings, and Newscorp Investments in Britain. He is a known name in the industry of media and known as the ‘media mogul’. After more than a year of scandal in his own British news paper empire, the sustained criminality led to an influential parliamentary committee in May 2012 to describe Murdoch as unfit to run a major company, resulting finally into his resignation. Murdoch has now moved to the United States of America.