Current Affairs February 2016 - Awards

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News 1 - Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar selected for the K Veeramani Award for Social Justice.

Bihar’s Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar was selected on January 29, 2016 for the prestigious K Veeramani Award for Social Justice 2015. The award is given for his contribution towards social justice in Bihar as Chief Minister. This award is organized by Periyar International, a Chicago-based voluntary organization. However, the date and venue of the award function have not been mentioned yet. The award is instituted in Dr. K. Veeramani's name to accept and flourish his initiatives in creating an awareness on social equality and respect for human dignity in India.

News 2 - 'Titli' bags the prestigious French Critic Award.

Kanu Behl directed 'Titli' has won the Best First Foreign Film Award from the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics (FSCC) 2016 on February 02, 2016. The award was offered in Paris. The FSCC declares four prestigious prizes for Best French Film, Best First Foreign Film, Best International Film and Best Short Film annually. 'Titli', the film was co-produced by Dibakar Banerjee Productions Pvt. Ltd and Aditya Chopra’s Yash Raj Films. Ranvir Shorey, Amit Sial, Shashank Arora, Lalit Behl and Shivani Raghuvanshi are in the lead roles in this film.

News 3 - Bhimsen Joshi Award goes to Sarangi Maestro Pandit Ram Narayan.

Sarangi Maestro, Pandit Ram Narayan has been chosen for the Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Classical Music Award 2015-2016. The announcement was made by Maharashtra's Cultural Affairs Minister, Vinod Tawde on February 03, 2016. Pandit Ram Narayan achieved India's second highest civilian honor, the Padma Vibhushan, in 2005. The award, finalised by a committee of top music artistes and exponents, comprises Rs.5 lakhs in cash, a trophy and a citation.

News 4 - Kerala's all women taxi cab service gets Chief Minister's Award for Innovation in Public Policy.

Kerala's all women taxi cab service, India's first 24x7 taxi network for women has won the prestigious Chief Minister's Award for Innovation in Public Policy 2014. ‘She-Taxi' has been lauded for its unique model and the ability to be replicated in all cities. It won the award in the developmental interventions category, announced on February 04, 2016. The venture is run by women under an autonomous institution, The Gender Park.

News 5 - PM Shram Awards for the Year 2014 Announced.

The Government of India has announced the Prime Ministers Shram Awards for the year 2014 on February 09, 2016. It will be awarded to 54 workers employed in the Departmental Undertakings and Public Sector. This year, nine nominations for the Shram Bhushan Award, nineteen nominations for Shram Vir/Shram Veerangana and twenty-six nominations for Shram Shree/Shram Devi Awards have been selected. These include 36 workers from the public sector and 18 workers from the private sector.

News 6 - Anirban Lahiri wins Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of the Year award.

India's Anirban Lahiri has been voted on February 12, 2016 as the Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of Year by fans in an online poll. Lahiri reinforced his stature as one of the global game’s rising young stars with a spectacular season to remember in 2015.

Lahiri triumphed at the Maybank Malaysian and Indian Open before finishing fifth at the PGA Championship last year. He also became the first Indian to feature at The Presidents Cup and ended the year by winning the Asian Tour Order of Merit title and finishing in 40^th place in the world rankings.

News 7 - Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2015 goes to Vinita and Nilesh Gupta.

Lupin CEO, Vinita Gupta and Managing Director, Nilesh Gupta have been chosen the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2015 on February 11, 2016. The winners will now represent India at the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year Award (WEOY) in Monte Carlo from 7-12^th June 2016. The awards were presented by Shri Nitin Gadkari, the Honourable Union Minister for Road Transport, and Highways, and Shipping, who was the Chief Guest at the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards’ Banquet here today.

News 8 - Lionel Messi Named La Liga Player of the Month.

FC Barcelona striker, Lionel Andres Messi has been named Liga BBVA Player of the Month for January on February 12, 2016. The award is offered from 2013-14 Primera División season, but the five-times Ballon d’Or winner has won it for the first time. Messi, 28, was recognised after an opening month to 2016 in which he scored six times in five league games, including key goals at Malaga and at home to Atletico Madrid as Barca took control of the title race.

News 9 - International Federation of the Phonographic Industry names Adele best-selling artist.

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) named Adele as the best-selling artist of 2015 on February 08, 2016. The British ballad singer broke many records with her single "Hello". Her latest album "25" broke records for first-week sales in the United States and Britain. IFPI, which stands for the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, presents its annual award based on an artist's physical and digital sales as well as streaming, although the group does not release figures.

News 10 - Eight scientists win UNESCO Medals.

Professor Lei Jiang - China, Professor Isamu Akasaki - Japan, Professor Philippe Pernod - France, Academician Gennady Krasnikov - Russia, Professor Nicholas Kotov - US, Professor Igor Ashurbeyli - Russia, Dr Mikhail Dubina - Russia and Dr Natalya Mikhaylova – Russia have been honoured with UNESCO medals for their contribution to the development of nanoscience and nanotechnologies on February 09, 2016. Established in 2010 is an initiative of the International Commission responsible for developing the Nanoscience and Nanotechnologies theme for the Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS).

News 11 - Karnataka's mobile-one governance project wins’ gold at the m-governance awards.

On February 11, 2016, in the fourth World Government Summit, Karnataka's flagship mobile-one governance project won gold at the m-governance awards in Dubai. This award was instituted for the first time at the Summit and India also won it for first time. This award, instituted for the first time at the Summit, has been given to India just ahead of the state visit by Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi & Deputy Supreme Commander of UAE. Armed Forces.

News 12 - Asif Kapadia's Amy wins BAFTA for Best Documentary.

The acclaimed documentary "Amy", which is based on the life of late singer Amy Winehouse, on February 15, 2016 won the prize for Best Documentary at the 2016 BAFTA. Directed by Indo-British filmmaker, Asif Kapadia, this film depicts the life of the troubled singer, who died in 2011 at a very young age. Kapadia’s Oscar nominated film beat “Cartel Land”, “He Named Me Malala”, “Listen to Me Marlon” and “Sherpa” to win this honor.

The filmmaker in his acceptance speech paid tribute to the tragic star, who died in 2011 at the age of 27, following a battle with drug and alcohol.

News 13 - Vidya Balan Awarded with the Pride of Kerala Award.

Bollywood actress, Vidya Balan has been awarded on February 14, 2016 with the 'Pride of Kerala' award by the World Malayalee Council and Kairali TV. National Award-winning actress, Vidya Balan is from Kerala. She is 38 years old. The National award-winning actress has starred in films like “Parineeta”, “Paa”, “No One Killed Jessica”, “The Dirty Picture” and “Kahaani”. Balan will be next seen in Sujoy Ghosh-produced “TE3N”, which also stars Amitabh Bachchan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. She is also part of the sequel of “Kahaani”, which is one of her favorite movies as well.

News 14 - Tata Steel wins TIME's Best in Class for Manufacturing Award.

US agency, Time Inc. has announced on February 13, 2016 the winners of the inaugural TIME India awards, honoring leaders for manufacturing excellence in India. Tata Steel has been bestowed with the ‘Best in class manufacturing’ award at the Time India Awards held at the National Sports Council of India in Mumbai during the Make in India Week. McKinsey & Company is the knowledge partner for these awards. Hero MotoCorp was named the manufacturing innovator of the year, while Yogesh and Rajesh Agrawal of Ajanta Pharma Limited were declared winners of the TIME India Young Maker of the Year.

News 15 - Manish Arora Awarded Knight of the Legion Honor.

It was announced on February 17, 2016 that Fashion Designer, Manish Arora will be conferred with the Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honor), France's highest civilian award. This award is offered for creations and significant contribution to the fashion world as well as his longstanding ties with France. Created in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, the Legion of Honour is the highest civilian award given by the French Republic for outstanding service, regardless of the nationality of the recipients.

News 16 - Warren Richardson Wins World Press Photo Contest of 2015.

The jury of the 59^th annual World Press Photo Contest has selected on February 18, 2016 an image by Australian Photographer, Warren Richardson as the World Press Photo of the Year 2015. Richardson is currently based in Budapest, Hungary. He is a freelance photographer. The premier award, the World Press Photo of the Year, carries a cash prize of 10,000 euros. In addition, Canon will present the winning photographer with the recently launched Canon EOS-1D X Mark II camera and lens kit.

News 17 - Karnataka Bank bags IBSA Banking Technology Award.

Karnataka Bank Ltd. has won the IBA Banking Technology Award’ on February 18, 2016. It was offered in the category of ‘Best Risk and Fraud Management Initiative - Runner Up’. This award was announced as part of Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) Technology Conference, Expo and Awards 2016. Mahabaleshwara MS, Chief General Manager of the bank has received the award from HR Khan, Deputy Governor of RBI and Ashwani Kumar, Chairman of IBA in Mumbai.

News 18 - Indologist David Schulman wins Israel Prize for religious studies.

Renowned Indologist, Professor David Dean Shulman was awarded the Israel Prize for Religious Studies on February 15, 2016. Shulman is a professor of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. His groundbreaking research on the religion has received widespread acclaim. The 67-year-old Shulman is known to be active in a left—wing organisation, Ta’ayush, a joint Israeli—Palestinian initiative active in the south Hebron Hills. Professor Shulman has also made an important contribution towards research management and teaching in the Israeli universities.

News 19 - Malayalam Film ‘Ottal’ Wins Award at the Berlin Film Festival.

The National award winning Malayalam film, 'Ottal' has been named as the best children's film at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival on February 21, 2016. It was also honoured with the Crystal Bear award in the 'Generation KPlus' section. This film is directed by Jayaraj Rajasekharan Nair and is about the story of an old fisherman and his grandson. The movie is an adaptation of Anton Chekhov's short story 'Vanaka'. This is the third year in a row that Indian films have triumphed. Earlier winners were "Killa" 2014 and "Dhanak" 2015.

News 20 - Yes Bank receives the inaugural Green Bond Award in UK.

On February 23, 2016, Yes Bank received the inaugural Green Bond Award in UK. The award was organized by the Climate Bonds Initiative to recognize the 'Pioneers in Emerging Markets-India.' Yes Bank was recognized for its pioneering efforts in the Green Bonds market; including the highly successful issuance of India's first ever Green Infrastructure Bonds. The bank is gradually getting into the race as one of the leading private lender among other biggies of the banking sector.

News 21 - Global CSR Excellence & Leadership Award goes to GVK Biosciences.

GVK Biosciences bagged the Global CSR excellence & Leadership Award on February 25, 2016 in the category of Best Environment Friendly Project. The award was offered in recognition of its mega plantation drive conducted injury 2015. The global CSR awards are constituted by the World CSR Congress every year on the World CSR Day and are presented to companies who believe in the value of sustainable corporate social responsibility. GVK BIO has also tied up with the GHMC for watering and soil maintenance of the plants for the next 3 years.

News 22 - Ismail Mahomed Conferred Knighthood in France.

On February 23, 2016, Indian-origin playwright Ismail Mahomed was knighted by the French government. The Knight of the Order of Arts and Literature (The Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres) was awarded by French Ambassador Elisabet Barbier in Johannesburg. The Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) is an Order of France, established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture, and its supplementary status to the Ordre national du Mérite was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963.

News 23 - Tamil film Kanavu Variyam wins 2016 Remi Award.

On February 23, 2016 Tamil film Kanavu Variyam won the prestigious 2016 Remi Award in the United States. Directed and produced by a Chennai-based techie Arun Chidambaram and Karthik Chidambaram, the film deals with the incessant power cuts. The award will be handed over to Chidambaram during the 49th WorldFest Houston International Film Festival, where the movie will have its world premiere. WorldFest Houston International Film Festival will be conducted from April 8 to 17.

News 24 - Ex-DRDO Chairman Dr Avinash Chander receives Aryabhata Award 2013.

Former Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister and ex-DRDO chief, Dr Avinash Chander on 25 February 2016 received the prestigious Astronautical Society of India's Aryabhata Award 2013. The award is presented for outstanding lifetime contribution to the promotion of astronautics. The Aryabhata Award, named after the fifth century Indian astronomer and mathematician and also in commemoration of the first Indian Satellite, Aryabhata, is presented annually to an individual for outstanding lifetime contribution to the promotion of astronautics in India.

News 25 - Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Ranveer Singh to get Dinanath Mangeshkar Award.

Actor Ranveer Singh and filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali were on 26 February 2016 selected for Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar Award. This award will be bestowed upon them by Lata Mangeshkar at a function to be held in Pune. On April 24 every year, the Mangeshkars honor the finest artistes in India to commemorate Lataji’s father Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar’s death anniversary.