Current Affairs - Awards and Honours

India-born author Nandini Das won the British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding in 2023 for her debut book, 'Courting India: England, Mughal India, and the Origins of Empire.' This remarkable work, hailed as the “true origin story of Britain and India told through England’s first diplomatic mission to the Mughal courts,” secured the top spot this year at a ceremony held at the British Academy in London.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) announced the 2023 Champions of the Earth, honouring a city mayor, a non-profit foundation, a social enterprise, a government initiative and a research council for their innovative solutions and transformative action to tackle plastic pollution. Since its inception in 2005, the annual Champions of the Earth award has been given to trailblazers at the forefront of efforts to protect people and the planet. It is the UN’s highest environmental honour.

Vihaan Talya Vikas, a 10-year-old prodigy from Bengaluru, secured the top prize in the '10 years and under' category at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year (WPY) competition, a renowned photography competition.

Nita Ambani received the 2023 USISPF Global Leadership Award for Philanthropy and Corporate Social Responsibility for her philanthropic work through the Reliance Foundation.

US President Joe Biden awarded the prestigious White House National Medal for Technology and Innovation to Ashok Gadgil and the National Medal of Science to Subra Suresh. Ashok Gadgil is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. He is known for his work on developing sustainable technologies, including the Berkeley-Gadgil straw rocket stove and the Berkeley-Darfur Stove. Subra Suresh is the Vannevar Bush Professor of Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is known for his work on materials science and engineering, including his research on developing new materials for medical devices and implants.