15 NRIs Awarded with Pravasi Bharatiya Samman 2015

Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari presented the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards 2015 to 15 prominent Non-Resident Indians (NRI’s). The awards were presented on the concluding day of 13th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas at Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The recipients were – Mala Mehta, Australia ; Donald Rabindernauth Ramotar, Guyana ; Dr. Rajaram Sanjaya, Mexico ; Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, New Zealand ; Rajmal Parakh, Oman ; Duraikannu Karunakaran, Seychelles ; Essop Goolam Pahad, South Africa ; Shah Bharatkumar Jayantilal, UAE ; Ashraf Palarakunnummal, UAE ; Mahendra Nanji Mehta, Uganda ; Prof. Nathu Ram Puri ; Lord Raj Loomba, Britain ; Satyanarayana Nadella, USA ; Dr. Lulla Kamlesh, US ; Dr.Nandini Tandon, USA.

ISRO Mars Orbiter Mission Team Won Space Pioneer Award – 2015The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) Team of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on 12 January won the 2015 Space Pioneer Award in the Science and Engineering category. The Mars Orbiter Mission team is located in Bangalore and is headed by Mylswamy Annadurai. This prestigious award is be given by the National Space Society (NSS), an American educational and scientific organization.

Kamal Kishore Goyanka Selected For Vyas Samman 2014Well-known Hindi scholar and writer Dr. Kamal Kishore Goenka was on 13 January chosen for Vyas samman 2014. He has been chosen for this award for his research work ‘Premchand Kee Kahaniyo Kaa Kaalkramanusar Adhyayan’. It was published in 2012. This award is instituted by the K.K. Birla Foundation. It was started in 1991.

Jammu and Kashmir Won National E-Governance Award 2014-15Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has been selected for National e-Governance award 2014-15 for its best district level initiative in the country.J&K state has been selected on 16 January for this award by Department of Administrative Reforms for its e-Panchayat project.

Padma Awards 2015 AnnouncedThe President of India Pranab Mukherjee on 25 January approved the conferment of Padma Awards 2015 to 104 person this year. The list of the awardees comprises of 9 Padma Vibhushan, 20 Padma Bhushan and 75 Padma Shri. The list also features 17 women as awardees and includes 17 persons from the category of foreigners, NRIs, PIOs and 4 Posthumous awardees.Padma Awards are one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, conferred in three categories – Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri – and given in various disciplines.

Padma Vibhushan1. LK Advani- Public Affairs- Gujarat2. Amitabh Bachchan- Art- Maharashtra

3. Prakash Singh Badal- Public Affairs- Punjab4. Dr D Veerendra Heggade- Social Work- Karnataka5. Mohammad Yusuf Khan alias Dilip Kumar- Art- Maharashtra6. Jagadguru Ramanandacharya Swami Rambhadracharya- Others- Uttar Pradesh7. Prof Malur Ramaswamy Srinivasan- Science and Engineering- Tamil Nadu8. Kottayan K. Venugopal- Public Affairs- Delhi9. Karim Al Hussaini Aga Khan (Foreigner)- Trade and Industry- France/UK

Padma Bhushan :-1. Jahnu Barua- Art- Assam2. Dr Vijay Bhatkar- Science and Engineering- Maharashtra3. Shri Swapan Dasgupta- Literature and Education- Delhi4. Swami Satyamitranand Giri- Others- Uttar Pradesh5. N Gopalaswami- Civil Service- Tamil Nadu6. Dr Subhash C Kashyap- Public Affairs- Delhi7. Dr (Pandit) Gokulotsavji Maharaj- Art- Madhya Pradesh8. Dr Ambrish Mithal- Medicine – Delhi9. Sudha Ragunathan- Art- Tamil Nadu10. Shri Harish Salve- Public Affairs- Delhi11. Dr Ashok Seth- Medicine- Delhi12. Rajat Sharma- Literature and Education- Delhi13. Satpal- Sports- Delhi14. Shivakumara Swami- Others- Karnataka15. Dr Kharag Singh Valdiya- Science and Engineering- Karnataka16. Prof Manjul Bhargava (NRI/PIO)- Science and Engineering- USA17. David Frawley (Vamadeva) (Foreigner)- Others- USA18. Bill Gates (Foreigner)- Social Work- USA19. Melinda Gates (Foreigner)- Social Work- USA20. Saichiro Misumi (Foreigner)- Others- Japan

Padma Shri :-

1. Dr Manjula Anagani- Medicine- Telangana2. S Arunan- Science and Engineering- Karnataka3. Kanyakumari Avasarala- Art- Tamil Nadu4. Dr Bettina Sharada Baumer- Literature and Education- Jammu and Kashmir5. Naresh Bedi- Art- Delhi6. Ashok Bhagat- Social Work- Jharkhand7. Sanjay Leela Bhansali- Art- Maharashtra8. Dr Lakshmi Nandan Bora- Literature and Education- Assam9. Dr Gyan Chaturvedi- Literature and Education- Madhya Pradesh10. Prof (Dr) Yogesh Kumar Chawla- Medicine- Chandigarh11. Jayakumari Chikkala- Medicine- Delhi12. Bibek Debroy- Literature and Education- Delhi13. Dr Sarungbam Bimola Kumari Devi- Medicine- Manipur14. Dr Ashok Gulati- Public Affairs- Delhi15. Dr Randeep Guleria- Medicine- Delhi16. Dr KP Haridas- Medicine- Kerala17. Rahul Jain- Art- Delhi18. Ravindra Jain- Art- Maharashtra

19. Dr Sunil Jogi- Literature and Education- Delhi20. Prasoon Joshi- Art- Maharashtra21. Dr Prafulla Kar- Art- Odisha22. Saba Anjum- Sports- Chhattisgarh23. Ushakiran Khan- Literature and Education- Bihar24. Dr Rajesh Kotecha- Medicine- Rajasthan25. Prof Alka Kriplani- Medicine Delhi26. Dr Harsh Kumar- Medicine- Delhi27. Narayana Purushothama Mallaya- Literature & Education- Kerala28. Lambert Mascarenhas- Literature and Education- Goa29. Dr Janak Palta McGilligan- Social Work- Madhya Pradesh30. Veerendra Raj Mehta- Social Work- Delhi31. Tarak Mehta- Art- Gujarat32. Neil Herbert Nongkynrih (Art), Meghalaya33. Chewang Norphel- Others- Jammu and Kashmir34. TV Mohandas Pai- Trade and Industry- Karnataka35. Dr Tejas Patel- Medicine- Gujarat36. Jadav Molai Peyang- Others- Assam37. Bimla Poddar- Others- Uttar Pradesh38. Dr N Prabhakar- Science and Engg- Delhi39. Dr Prahalada- Science and Engg- Maharashtra40. Dr Narendra Prasad- Medicine- Bihar41. Ram Bahadur Rai- Literature and Education- Delhi42. Mithali Raj- Sports- Telangana43. PV Rajaraman- Civil Service- Tamil Nadu44. Prof JS Rajput- Literature and Education- Uttar Pradesh45. Kota Srinivasa Rao- Art- Andhra Pradesh46. Prof Bimal Roy- Literature and Education- West Bengal47. Shekhar Sen- Art- Maharashtra48. Gunvant Shah- Literature and Education- Gujarat49. Brahmdev Sharma- Literature and Education- Delhi50. Manu Sharma- Literature and Education- Uttar Pradesh51. Prof Yog Raj Sharma- Medicine- Delhi52. Vasant Shastri- Science and Engg- Karnataka53. SK Shivkumar- Science and Engg- Karnataka54. PV Sindhu- Sports- Telangana55. Sardara Singh- Sports- Haryana56. Arunima Sinha-Sports- Uttar Pradesh57. Mahesh Raj Soni- Art- Rajasthan58. Dr Nikhil Tandon- Medicine- Delhi59. H Thegtse Rinpoche- Social Work- Arunachal Pradesh60. Dr Hargovind Laxmishanker Trivedi- Medicine- Gujarat61. Huang Baosheng- Others- China62. Prof Jacques Blamont- Science and Engg- France63. Late Syedna Mohammad Burhanuddin- Others- Maharashtra (Posthumous)64. Jean-Claude Carriere- Literature and Education – France65. Dr Nandrajan ‘Raj’ Chetty- Literature and Education- France66. George L Hart- Others- USA67. Jagat Guru Amrta Suryananda Maha Raja- Others- Portugal68. Late Meetha Lal Mehta- Social Work- Rajasthan (Posthumous)

69. Tripti Mukherjee- Art- USA70. Dr Dattatreyudu Nori- Medicine- USA71. Dr Raghu Rama Pillarisetti (Medicine), USA72. Dr Saumitra Rawat- Medicine- UK73. Prof Annette Schmiedchen (Literature and Education), Germany74. Late Pran Kumar Sharma alias Pran- Art- Delhi (Posthumous)75. Late R Vasudevan- Civil Service- Tamil Nadu (Posthumous

Eminent Marathi Writer Bhalchandra Nemade Selected For Jnanpith Award 2014Eminent Marathi writer Bhalchandra Nemade on 6 February  was chosen for the Jnanpith Award 2014 by the Jnanpith Selection Board. He is the 4th Marathi writer to receive the honour and is the 50th recipient of Jnanpith award.His novel Kosala (Cocoon) published in 1963 was not only instrumental in changing the dimensions of the Marathi novel, but also the world of Marathi fiction was transformed with its advent.

57th Annual Grammy AwardsThe 57th Annual Grammy Awards were held on 8 February at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. In all, 83 Grammy Awards were presented at the function.* Two Indians — Ricky Kej and Neela Vaswani — took home a Grammy Award each. Neela Vasvani won the trophy in the Best Children’s Album category for “I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up For Education And Changed The World (Malala Yousafzai)”. She had narrated the audio version of the book. On the other hand Ricky Kej’s collaboration in the album “Winds Of Samsara” won the Best New Age Album trophy. He had teamed up with South African musician Wouter Kellerman for the album, which symbolises peace and harmony.* Beck Hansen’s album “Morning Phase” won the Best Album of the Year Award while the song “Stay With Me” featuring James Napier, William Phillips & Sam Smith won Best Song of the Year Award and Best Record of the Year Award.

Amartya Sen Won John Maynard Keynes PrizeEconomist and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has won the newly instituted Charleston-EFG John Maynard Keynes Prize 2015 on 10 February.With this, Professor Sen will receive 7500 British pounds to commission a work of art and will give the annual Charleston-EFG Keynes Lecture at the Charleston Festival in the United Kingdom. This year’s lecture is scheduled for 23 May 2015 and it will be on The Economic Consequences of Austerity.

87th Annual Academy Oscar Awards 2015The 87th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) was held on 23 February at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles.The Academy Awards (commonly referred as Oscars) were presented in twenty four categories. They are :-* Best Actor – Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything).* Best Actress – Julianne Moore (Still Alice).* Best Supporting Actor – J. K. Simmons (Whiplash).

* Best Supporting Actress – Patricia Arquette (Boyhood).* Best Director – Alejandro G. Iñárritu for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).* Best Original Screenplay – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).* Best Adapted Screenplay – The Imitation Game.* Best Original Song – Glory (Selma).* Best Original Score – The Grand Budapest Hotel.* Best Production Design - The Grand Budapest Hotel.* Best Editing – Whiplash.* Best Cinematography – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).* Best Sound Editing – American Sniper.* Best Sound Mixing – Whiplash.* Best Foreign Language Film – Ida (Poland).* Best Documentary Feature – CitizenFour.* Best Documentary Short Subject – Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1.* Best Live Action Short Film – The Phone Call.* Best Visual Effects – Interstellar.* Best Animated Feature Film – Big Hero 6.* Best Animated Short Film – Feast.* Best Makeup and Hairstyling – The Grand Budapest Hotel.* Best Costume Design – The Grand Budapest Hotel.* Most awards – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (Both received 4 awards).* Most nominations in 87th Academy Awards – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (both 9 nominations)

Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba Won Mo Ibrahim PrizeHifikepunye Pohamba, outgoing Namibian President, on 2 March won the Mo Ibrahim prize for achievement in African leadership for year 2014.Pohamba served as Namibian President two terms. For first time he was elected in 2004 and again in 2009. The award is named after Mo Ibrahim, a British-Sudanese mobile communications entrepreneur and philanthropist, who had made billions of fortune from investing in Africa.

Veerappa Moily Selected For Saraswati Samman 2014Former Union minister and senior Congress leader M Veerappa Moily was on 9 March selected for the prestigious Saraswati Samman for 2014 for his famous Kannada poem ‘Ramayana Mahanveshanam’. Divided into five volumes, Ramayana Mahanveshanam was first published in 2007 in Kannada. Later the poem was translated into English, Hindi, Telugu and Tamil.

Activist Rajendra Singh Won Stockholm Water Prize – 2015Rajendra Singh, an eminent environment activist, has been conferred the prestigious Stockholm Water Prize 2015 for his innovative water restoration efforts and extraordinary courage to empower communities in Indian villages. He is popularly known as Water Man of India.

Shashi Kapoor Selected For ‘Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2014′Veteran actor and film producer Shashi Kapoor has been named for the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award 2014. He is the 46th winner of the honour, conferred by the government for outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian Cinema. The 2014 Dadasaheb Phalke award to Shashi Kapoor made him the third member of Kapoor family to receive the award after Prithviraj Kapoor and Raj Kapoor.

62nd National Film Awards 2014The 62nd National Film Awards for year 2014 was announced on 24 March 2015. Court  directed by Chaitanya Tamhane was selected as the Best feature film. Mary Kom (Hindi) directed by Omung Kumar was selected as the Best Popular film providing wholesome entertainment. The 62nd National Film Awards in the various categories are as follows:-* Best Actor – Vijay for Nanu Avanalla Avalu (Kannada).* Best Actress – Kangana Ranaut for Queen (Hindi).* Best Direction -Srijit Mukherji, Director of Chotushkone (Bengali).* Best Hindi Film – Queen* Best Children’s Film - Kaakkaa Muttai (Tamil) and Elizabeth Ekadashi (Marathi).* Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director  – Aditya Vikram Sengupta for Asha Jaoar Majhe (Bengali).* Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration – Chotoder Chobi (Bengali) directed by Kaushik Ganguly.

Subadhra Devi Named For 2015 International Achievement AwardDr Subadhra Devi Rai, an Indian-origin Singaporean nurse, on 2 April 2015 was named for the 2015 International Achievement Award by the Florence Nightingale International Foundation (FNIF) of the International Council of Nurses.

Adonis Won 2015 Kumaran Asan World Prize For PoetryParis- based Syrian-Lebanese Arab poet Adonis has been chosen for 2015 Kumaran Asan World Prize for poetry, instituted by the Kumaran Asan Memorial Association to honour poets of international stature and introduce them to Indian readers. Adonis was born as Ali Ahmad Said Esber in Western Syria in 1930. Since 1985, he had settled in Paris, France.

Susanta Lahiri Awarded Hevesy Medal Award 2015Professor Susanta Lahiri was awarded prestigious the Hevesy Medal Award 2015. The award was presented to him for his outstanding contributions in heavy ion induced radioisotope production, converter targets, tracer packet technique and green chemistry.

Satya Nadella Honoured with the White House ‘Champion of Change’AwardMicrosoft’s Indian-origin CEO Satya Nadella was honoured with the White House

Champions of Change on 16 April. He is one of the 12 local Champions of Change who were honoured for their exemplary leadership. Champions of Change honour is given to those who support working families and help make change in their companies or communities.

CNR Rao Conferred with Japan’s Highest Civilian AwardEminent scientist C N R Rao was on 2 May conferred with Japan’s highest civilian award for his outstanding contributions to science and Indo-Japanese science coperation. The Emperor of Japan conferred the country’s highest award, the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, on the Bharat Ratna awardee.Rao is also the only Indian to be elected as a foreign member of the Japan Academy in Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research.

Mazen Darwish Honoured with World Press Freedom Prize 2015The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on 3 May presented the 2015 UNESCO-Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize to Syrian journalist and rights activist Mazen Darwish. The award was presented in Latvia on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day in recognition of the work he has carried out in Syria for more than ten year as a human rights defender and a journalist.

Pranab Mukherjee Presents Florence Nightingale Awards To 35 NursesPresident Pranab Mukherjee on 12 May conferred the National Florence Nightingale Awards to 35 nursing personnel from across the country on the occasion of International Nurses Day.The Florence Nightingale Award was established by the Union Health Ministry to honour the selfless services rendered by Nurses with devotion, sincerity, dedication and compassion.

Laszlo Krasznahorkai Won Man Booker International Prize 2015Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai has been announced as the winner of the sixth Man Booker International Prize 2015. He was announced the winner at an award ceremony at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London on 20 May 2015. The prize, worth £60,000, is awarded every two years for an achievement in fiction on the world stage. The Man International Booker Prize is awarded to a living author of any nationality who has published fiction either in English or in English translation

Bangladesh Conferred Award of Liberation War Honour On Atal Bihari VajpayeeFormer Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was conferred Award of of Bangladesh Liberation War Honour for his active role in the country independence struggle and consolidating India friendship with the Bangladesh.Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi received this award on behalf of Former PM from Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid at a ceremony at Bangabhaban, the President house on 7 June 2015.

Historian Ramachandra Guha Selected For Japan’s Fukuoka PrizeEminent Historian-writer Ramachandra Guha has been selected for Japan’s Fukuoka Prize 2015 in n the Academic category. Fukuoka Prize honours those who have made outstanding contributions to academia, arts and culture across Asia.

Sanjay Subrahmanyam Selected For Sangitha Kalanidhi Award 2015Renowned Carnatic singer Sanjay Subrahmanyan was on 21 June selected for Sangita Kalanidhi award for his outstanding achievements in Carnatic music.The Sangita Kalanidhi is the highest honour given to Carnatic musicians in India.

Ravi Shankar Conferred With Colombia’s Highest Civilian AwardIndian spiritual leader, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was on 25 June conferred with the Columbia’s highest civilian award Orden de la Democracia Simon Bolivar en el grado de cruz Caballero (Order of the Democracy Simon Bolivar) by Columbia. The award has been given in recognition to the spiritual leader’s contribution in spreading the message of peace in society, inter-mediation in war, reducing stress and combating violence through yoga and breathing exercises.

Sanjeev Galande Selected For G D Birla Award 2014Noted scientist Sanjeev Galande has been selected for the prestigious G D Birla award for2014. He was selected for his pioneering research in the field of epigenetics and molecular cell biology. The name was on 1 July announced by the K K Birla Foundation and he is the 24th recipient of the award.

Ravi Shankar Conferred with Peru’s Highest Award ‘Grand Officer’Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was on 1 July conferred with Peru’s one of the highest awards ‘Grand Officer’ for social work and mission to deliver peace through his foundation The Art of Living. Andean Parliament in Lima honoured Sri with the award titled “Medalla dela Integracion en el Grado de Gran Oficial”.

Indian-American Teacher Darshan Jain Named For US Presidential AwardDarshan Jain, an Indian American teacher was chosen for prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. He is one of the 108 teachers named by President Barack Obama as recipients of the prestigious award.

Indian-American Woman Sunita Viswanath Honoured with Champion of ChangeSunita Viswanath,an Indian-American woman has been with Champion of Change award by the White House of United States. Sunita Viswanath, the only Indian American to figure in the list, has been selected for her work to encourage Hindus to take care of the environ-ment.

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