Current Affairs - Awards and Honours

Himanta Biswa Sarma was formally appointed as the Chief Minister of Assam by Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya under Article 164(1) of the Constitution. The appointment came after the NDA secured a strong majority in the 126-member Assam Legislative Assembly. The BJP emerged as the leading party with 82 seats, while its allies AGP and BPF also contributed to the coalition’s victory. This appointment marked an important political milestone, as Himanta Biswa Sarma became the first non-Congress leader in Assam to serve two consecutive terms as Chief Minister, further strengthening the NDA’s political presence in the state since 2016.

Professor Kuljeet Kaur Marhas was elected as a Fellow of The Meteoritical Society in 2026 for her exceptional contributions to planetary science and cosmochemistry. She became the first Indian woman to receive this prestigious recognition and only the third Indian scientist to achieve the honour after Devendra Lal and JN Goswami. Her research at the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad focuses on isotopes, pre-solar grains, Calcium-Aluminium-rich Inclusions, and extraterrestrial materials collected from missions such as Stardust, Hayabusa, and Apollo. Her scientific work has significantly advanced the understanding of the origin and evolution of the Solar System through sophisticated isotopic analysis techniques.

Priyanka Mittal of KRBL Limited was appointed as the Co-Chair of the Indian side of the Saudi-India Business Council (SIBC) by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). She will work alongside Dr. Siddeek Ahmed to strengthen corporate and trade relations between India and Saudi Arabia. KRBL Limited is widely recognised for its India Gate rice brand and for maintaining an integrated supply chain system. The SIBC serves as an important platform for enhancing bilateral economic cooperation, trade partnerships, and investment opportunities between the two countries, contributing to stronger commercial engagement and long-term business collaboration.

C. Joseph Vijay, the actor-turned-politician and founder of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on May 10, 2026. The oath-taking ceremony was held at Chennai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in the presence of political leaders, celebrities, alliance partners, and thousands of supporters. His victory marked a major political shift in Tamil Nadu, ending nearly six decades of dominance by the DMK and AIADMK parties. TVK emerged as the single largest party in the 2026 Assembly elections and formed the government with support from alliance partners, including Congress, CPI, CPI(M), VCK, and IUML.

Suvendu Adhikari became the first Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Chief Minister of West Bengal after taking oath on May 9, 2026. His appointment followed the BJP’s historic victory in the 2026 Assembly elections, where the party secured 207 seats in the 294-member Assembly, ending the Trinamool Congress’s 15-year rule. The swearing-in ceremony took place at Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior NDA leaders. Suvendu Adhikari had earlier joined the BJP in December 2020 after leaving the Trinamool Congress and later emerged as one of the party’s strongest leaders in West Bengal politics.