UNESCO awards Rambagh Gate & Ramparts project highest honor, Award of Excellence for inclusivity & access to broader community
UNESCO has awarded the resilient urban revitalisation of Rambagh Gate and Ramparts in Punjab, as well as the heritage conservation projects related to Haryana’s Church of Epiphany and Delhi’s Bikaner House. The Rambagh Gate and Ramparts project received the highest honor, the ‘Award of Excellence,’ for its inclusivity and access to the broader community. Three projects, including the Church of Epiphany and Bikaner House, received an ‘Award of Merit. ‘ The UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation recognize the efforts of individuals and organizations in restoring and conserving structures of heritage value. Twelve projects from China, India, and Nepal were acknowledged by the awards jury this year. Three projects – the Fanling Golf Course in Hong Kong SAR, China; Dongguan Garden Residences in Yangzhou, China; and Karnikara Mandapam at Kunnamangalam Bhagawati Temple, Kerala, India – garnered an ‘Award of Distinction’ each.
UNESCO:
- Formation: 16 November 1945
- Headquarters: Paris, France
- Director-General: Audrey Azoulay
IREDA CMD Pradip Kumar Das bagged ‘CMD of the Year’ award
Shri Pradip Kumar Das, Chairman and managing Director of Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA), has been bestowed with the esteemed “CMD of the Year” award under the Mini-Ratna category at the 13th PSE Excellence Awards, hosted by the Indian Chamber of Commerce in New Delhi. This prestigious recognition marks the second consecutive financial year in which Shri Pradip Kumar Das has received this accolade.
IREDA:
- Headquarters: India
- Founded: 1987
Sahitya Akademi awards for 2023 announced
Sahitya Akademi has announced its annual Sahitya Akademi Award 2023 in 24 Languages. Nine books of poetry, six novels, five short story collections, three essays and one literary study have won the Sahitya Akademi Awards this year. Tamil author Rajasekaran has been chosen for his novel Neervazhi Padooum, Telugu writer Patanjali Sastry for his short story collection and Malayalam litterateur EV Ramakrishnan for his literary study Malayala Novelinte Deshakalangal. The authors who will receive the honour for their poetry collections include Vijay Verma in Dogri, Vinod Joshi in Gujarati, and Ashutosh Parida in Odia. The authors who have been chosen for their short stories include Pranavjyoti Deka in Assamese, Nandeswar Daimary in Bodo, and Taraceen Baskey in Santali. Sanjeev will get Sahitya Akademi Award for his Hindi novel Mujhe Pahachaano and Neelam Saran Gour will get the award for her English Novel Requiem in Raga Janki. The award, in the form of a casket containing anengraved copper-plaque, a shawl, and one lakh rupees will be presented at the award presentation function on 12th March next year. The awards relate to books first published during the five years immediately preceding the year of award, that is between January 2017 and 31st December, 2021.
National Sports Awards announced; Shuttlers Chirag Shetty and Satwik Sai Raj Rankireddy to get Khel Ratna Award
The Government announced the National Sports Awards 2023. Badminton players Chirag C Shetty and Satwik Sai Raj Rankireddy will be honoured with the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. Twentysix sportspersons will receive the Arjuna Awards.
Dronacharya Award:
Wrestling coach Lalit Kumar, Chess coach R. B. Ramesh, Para Athletics coach Mahaveer Prasad Saini, Hockey coach Shivendra Singh and Mallakhamb coach Ganesh Prabhakar Devrukhkar will be honoured with the Dronacharya Award in the regular category. Golf coach Jaskirat Singh Grewal, Kabaddi coach Bhaskaran E and Table Tennis coach Jayanta Kumar Pushilal will be honoured with the Dronacharya Award in the lifetime category. Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports and Games, will be given to Manjusha Kanwar for Badminton, Vineet Kumar Sharma for Hockey and Kavitha Selvaraj for Kabaddi.
ATP Awards: Jan-Lennard Struff Wins Comeback Player Of The Year
Jan-Lennard Struff was named Comeback Player of the Year in the 2023 ATP Awards after overcoming injury to catapult from No. 167 in the ATP Rankings to a career-high No. 21. Struff was nominated in the Comeback category alongside three other players who have overcome injury to re-establish themselves as a major force on Tour — Dominik Koepfer, Gael Monfils and Alexander Zverev. Struff started the season outside the Top 150 but soared after standout ATP Masters 1000 results. He reached the quarterfinals in Monte-Carlo before he became the first lucky loser in history to reach a Masters 1000 final at the Mutua Madrid Open.
Sinner Voted Fans’ Favourite In 2023 ATP Awards:
Jannik Sinner has capped his career-best ATP Tour season in style after being voted the Fans’ Favourite singles player in the ATP Awards. Sinner, who won Newcomer of the Year in 2019, has been nominated for two player-voted ATP Awards this season: Most Improved Player of the Year and the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award. Roger Federer won the Fans’ Favourite award a record 19 times. Spaniard Rafael Nadal won the award for the first time in his career last year. The announcement of Sinner’s win comes a day after Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev were named the Fans’ Favourite doubles team.
Former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki- Moon honored with Lifetime Achievement Award at The Power of One Award 2023 ceremony
In the United States, former United Nations Secretary- General Ban Ki-Moon was honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award at The Power of One Award 2023 ceremony, organised by the Diwali Foundation USA. The awards are granted to selfless individuals for their help to form a peaceful and secure world for all. They are hailed as the ‘Oscars of diplomacy’.
Two to get UN Global Climate Action Award at UN Climate Change Conference COP28
Two young people will be celebrated as winners of the UN Global Climate Action Awards during the UN Climate Change Conference COP28 in Dubai. Michelle Zarate Palomec of Mexico and Sebastian Mwaura of Kenya were selected from hundreds of applicants from 120 countries for their outstanding efforts to make their communities more sustainable, resilient and equitable places to live. Palomec (27) leads efforts within an organization to provide access to clean and sufficient water for highly marginalised indigenous communities in the state of Oaxaca, where water resources are scarce and water pollution accentuates social and gender inequalities. Mwaura (35) is the co-founder of Yna Kenya, whose primary objective is to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles by providing a robust charging network that is powered by renewable energy sources.
ESIC bags “ISSA Vision Zero 2023” Award at the 23rd World Congress
The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) bagged the “ISSA Vision Zero 2023” Award in the recently held 23rd World Congress on Safety and Health at Work in Sydney, Australia. “Vision Zero” is a transformational approach for prevention of accidents at work places integrating the three dimensions of safety, health and well-being at all levels of work.
ESIC
- Formed: 24 February 1952
- Headquarters: New Delhi
- Director General: Dr. Rajendra Kumar
ISRO scientist V R Lalithambika conferred with highest civilian French honour for space cooperation initiatives
A distinguished scientist at the Indian Space Research Organisation, whose interest in space programmes was triggered by the sounding rocket launches by the ISRO was conferred with a top French civilian honour. Lalithambika VR, 60, was conferred the ‘Légion d’Honneur’ for her engagement in space cooperation between France and India by the Ambassador of France to India, Thierry Mathou in Bengaluru. Note: Lalithambika is the second ISRO scientist after former ISRO chairman A S Kiran Kumar to be awarded the Legion d’Honneur of France for promoting Indo-French space cooperation. Kumar
Harry Brook and Nat Sciver Brunt win Bob Willis award
England’s Harry Brook has been awarded the Bob Willis Trophy at the 2023 Cricket Writers’ Club awards. Brook, 24, scooped the award for the overall cricketer of the year, just two years after winning the CWC’s Young Cricketer of the Year. All-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt picked up the Women’s Cricket Award for a second consecutive year. BBC broadcaster Kevin Howells was recognised with the Peter Smith Award. The Bob Willis Trophy, given to England’s men’s or women’s player of the year, was awarded to Brook off the back of 12 months that saw him play a key role for England across three formats. Former England opening batter Alex Lees was named the County Championship Player of the Year. Fast bowler Lauren Filer was named Emerging Cricketer of the Year. Sussex D40 batter Alfie Pyle is Disability Cricketer of the Year and Nicholas Brookes’ ‘An Island’s Eleven’ won the Derek Hodgson Book Award.was awarded the honour in 2019.
Filmfare OTT Awards 2023 announced
Alia bagged the best actor award in web original film (female) for Darlings, while Rajkummar Rao won best actor (male) award in the critics category for his Netflix film Monica O My Darling.
Other winners of Filmfare OTT Awards 2023:
- Best Series: Scoop
- Best Series, Critics’: Trial By Fire
- Best Director Series: Vikramaditya Motwane (Jubilee)
- Best Director, Critics’: Randeep Jha (Kohrra)
- Best Actor, Series (Male): Drama: Suvinder Vicky (Kohrra)
- Best Actor, Series (Male), Critics’: Drama: Vijay Varma (Dahaad)
- Best Actor, Series (Female): Drama: Rajshri Deshpande (Trial By Fire)
- Best Actor, Series (Female), Critics’: Drama: Karishma Tanna (Scoop), Sonakshi Sinha (Dahaad)
- Best Supporting Actor, Series (Male): Drama: Barun Sobti (Kohrra)
- Best Supporting Actor, Series (Female): Drama: Tillotama Shome (Delhi Crime Season 2)
- Best Actor, Series (Male): Comedy: Abhishek Banerjee (The Great Weddings Of Munnes)
- Best Actor, Series (Female): Comedy: Maanvi Gagroo (Tvf Tripling)
- Best Supporting Actor, Series (Male): Comedy: Arunabh Kumar (Tvf Pitchers S2)
- Best Supporting Actor, Series (Female): Comedy: Shernaz Patel (Tvf Tripling S3)
- Best Comedy (Series/Specials): Tvf Pitchers S2
- Best Non-Fiction Original, Series/Special: Cinema Marte Dum Tak
- Best Film, Web Original: Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai
- Best Director, Web Original Film: Apoorv Singh Karki (Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai)
- Best Actor, Web Original Film (Male): Manoj Bajpayee (Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai)
- Best Actor, Critics’ (Male): Film: Rajkummar Rao (Monica O My Darling)
- Best Actor, Web Original Film (Female): Alia Bhatt (Darlings)
- Best Actor, Critics’ (Female): Film: Sharmila Tagore (Gulmohar), Sanya Malhotra (Kathal)
- Best Supporting Actor, Web Original Film (Male): Suraj Sharma (Gulmohar)
- Best Supporting Actor, Web Original Film (Female): Amruta Subhash (Lust Stories 2), Shefali Shah (Darlings)
Irish writer Paul Lynch wins Booker Prize for novel ‘Prophet Song’
Irish writer Paul Lynch has won the 2023 Booker Prize for his novel ‘Prophet Song’, beating Londonbased Indian-origin author Chetna Maroo’s debut novel “Western Lane”, at a ceremony in London last night. Forty-six-year-old Lynch won for his novel presenting a dystopian vision of Ireland in the grips of totalitarianism, something the author describes as an attempt at radical empathy. Paul Lynch, who was previously the chief film critic of Ireland’s Sunday Tribune newspaper, said he wanted readers to understand totalitarianism by heightening the dystopia with the intense realism of his writing.
Booker Prize:
- Awarded for Best novel of the year written in English
- Presented by: Booker, McConnell Ltd (1969– 2001), Man Group (2002–2019), Crankstart (2019 onwards)
- Rewards: £50,000
