Current Affairs - Awards and Honours

Bangalore will host the award ceremony of the Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize 2026 on December 12, 2026, as part of the Bangalore Literature Festival. The New India Foundation (NIF) established this annual literary award in 2018 to recognise outstanding non-fiction books focusing on modern and contemporary India. Five books, all published in 2025, have been shortlisted for the 2026 edition. Their subjects include the Indian Constitution, economic development, the history of partition, diplomat K. M. Panikkar and classical singer Arun Kashalkar. The winning author will receive a cash prize of ₹15 lakh.

Ashoke Sen received the 2026 Oskar Klein Medal in recognition of his pioneering contributions to string theory, becoming the first Indian physicist to receive this international honour. He serves as the ICTS-Infosys Madhava Chair Professor at the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS), part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Bengaluru. His significant research contributions include S-duality, the precise counting of black-hole entropy, and the development of string field theory. Sen has also received prestigious Indian honours, including the Padma Shri in 2001 and the Padma Bhushan in 2013, along with the inaugural Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics in 2012.

Ashoke Sen is a renowned Indian theoretical physicist who received the Oskar Klein Medal in 2026, becoming the first Indian physicist to receive this prestigious international honour. He is recognised for his pioneering contributions to string theory, particularly S-duality, black-hole entropy counting, and string field theory. Sen serves as the ICTS-Infosys Madhava Chair Professor at the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences in Bengaluru. The Oskar Klein Medal is an annual physics award named after Swedish theoretical physicist Oskar Klein. Established in 1988, it recognises outstanding contributions to physics and is associated with Stockholm University and the Nobel Committee for Physics of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

Sunil Kumar has been approved as the next Chairman of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC). The approval was conveyed through an order dated 21 October 2026, following a proposal from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and a recommendation by the Search-cum-Selection Committee. Kumar is currently serving as an Executive Director at ONGC. He is expected to assume charge on or after 7 December 2026, succeeding Arun Kumar Singh. His tenure is scheduled to continue until his superannuation on 31 December 2028, followed by a contractual engagement, subject to the prescribed terms.

Sudha Yadav was sworn in as the Governor of Karnataka in October 2026 at Raj Bhavan in Bengaluru, following her appointment by President Droupadi Murmu. The oath of office and secrecy was administered by Vibhu Bakhru, Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court. She succeeded Thaawarchand Gehlot, whose tenure as governor had concluded. Before this appointment, Sudha Yadav served as a member of the National Commission for Backwards Classes (NCBC) from 2019 to 2022. She also served as a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha, representing the Mahendragarh constituency in Haryana. The Governor's oath or affirmation is prescribed under Article 159 of the Indian Constitution.