January

An Indian-origin woman, named Krishna Arora is all set to figure in the prestigious list of people who have received the Order of Australia Medal (OAM).85-year old Krishna Arora, who has been running a community service was selected for this year's awards for her contribution to the Indian community. Arora, also popularly known as 'Auntieji', runs a hotline tele service offering cooking tips. She has also been teaching Asian cooking to Australians for two years at one of the Community Centre in Western suburb of Victoria. The other Indian-origin women who had earlier received the honour include Joyce Westrip (2000), Mala Mehta (2006) and Vettath Rajkumar (2009).In November last year, iconic Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar was also conferred with the prestigious award.

Lalji Singh, scientist and Vice-Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University, has been selected for the prestigious Dr. Y. Nayudamma Memorial Award for 2012 for his outstanding contribution to life sciences, particularly in establishing DNA fingerprinting as a tool of both fundamental research and crime detection, and for trying to unravel the puzzle of human evolution in relation to the Andaman-Nicobar tribes.Dr. Y. Nayudamma Memorial Trust Founder P. Vishnu Murthy stated in a press release that the award would be presented by Assembly Speaker Nadendla Manohar at a function to be held in Tenali, A.P on February 16. On the occasion, Dr. Lalji Singh would deliver the 21st Dr. Y. Nayudamma Memorial Lecture on the theme Mystery of Our Origins.He joins the galaxy of awardees such as Rajendra Pawar, V. Shanta, V.K. Saraswat, T. Ramasami, A. Sivathanu Pillai, Nori Dattatreyudu, Sam Pitroda, G. Madhavan Nair, Kota Harinarayana, V. K. Aatre, R. Chidambaram, R.A. Mashelkar, J. S. Bajaj, K. Kasturi Rangan, Verghese Kurien, S.Z. Qasim, M.G.K. Menon and M. S. Swaminathan, to mention a few.He was earlier Director of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad. The award was instituted in 1986 to honour persons who made significant contributions to the development of science and technology, in commemoration of the distinguished scientist and renowned leather technologist Dr. Nayudamma.

U.S President Barack Obama on 2 February presented the prestigious National Medal of Technology and Innovation to eminent Indian American Rangaswamy Srinivasan for his groundbreaking work with laser. Rangaswamy received the award along with Samuel Blum and James Wynne, for the pioneering discovery of excimer laser ablative photodecomposition of human and animal tissue, laying the foundation for PRK and LASIK laser refractive surgical techniques that have revolutionised vision enhancement. At a glittering function held on 2 February at the White House, Obama presented National Medal of Science to 12 eminent scientists while 10 extraordinary inventors received 2011 National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the highest honors bestowed by the United States Government upon scientists, engineers, and inventors. Established by statute in 1980, the National Medal of Technology and Innovation was first awarded in 1985 and is administered for the White House by the US Department of Commerce Patent and Trademark Office. In 1981, Srinivasan discovered that an ultraviolet excimer laser could etch living tissue in a precise manner with no thermal damage to the surrounding area. He named the phenomenon Ablative Photodecomposition (APD), which later revolutionized eye surgery. Inducted into the US Inventor Hall of Fame in 2002, Srinivasan has spent 30 years at IBMs T J Watson Research Center. He received both bachelors and masters degrees in science from the University of Madras, in 1949 and 1950. He earned doctorate in physical chemistry at the University of Southern California in 1956. He currently holds 21 US patents.

The Visakhapatnam district of A.P. has bagged the prestigious award in recognition of effective and successful implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh gave the award to District Collector V Seshadri at a function held in Krishi Bhavan in New Delhi on 3 february. Various awards were given in seven categories to different States and Visakhapatnam has been selected from Andhra Pradesh in the area of MGNREGS. The scheme is aimed at providing work for 100 days to agriculture workers. One Ramanamma, a Dalit woman from Ramachandrapalem village of Kotavuratla mandal, who had completed 100 days of work, was one among three Dalits who had aired their opinion about this welfare programme. Union Minister Jairam Ramesh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi were present at the function.

A Taiwanese tycoon with business interests in mainland China said on 29 January, he is funding what local media call Asia's Nobel Prizes for outstanding achievements in natural and social sciences. Ruentex Group head Samuel Yin announced the establishment of the Tang Prize Foundation with an initial endowment of $103 million. The 618-907 AD Tang Dynasty is revered by Chinese for its cultural and scientific achievements. The prizes will be awarded every other year to international leaders in biopharmaceutical science, sustainable development, the study of China and the rule of law. Yin said he decided on those fields because the 118-year-old Nobels do not cover them, and they have intrinsic importance for humanity. The prizes will be awarded starting next year. Winners will receive $1.7 million, compared to $1.2 million that comes with a Nobel Prize. The Tang Prize winners will be nominated and screened by special committees set up by the Academia Sinica, Taiwan's most prestigious research organization.

Senior Indian diplomat D. Bala Venkatesh Varma, a key member of the negotiating team that saw the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal through from the first agreement of July 2005 down to the Additional Protocol in 2010, was given the first S.K. Singh award “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen India's position in the global nuclear order” by UPA chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi at a high-profile function held in New Delhi on 4 January. The award for excellence in the Indian Foreign Service is named after the former foreign secretary and Governor, Shailendra Kumar Singh, a diplomat widely respected within the IFS community for his acumen, professionalism and leadership. Mr. Varma was selected as the first recipient of the prestigious award by a top-drawer jury consisting of Vice President Hamid Ansari, National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai, Ms Gandhi and Congress M.P. Rahul Gandhi.

58th Idea Filmfare Awards were given away on 20 January 2013 at YRF Studio, Andheri. At the 58th Idea Filmfare Awards, Barfi!, the much-acclaimed film grabbed seven awards while, Kahaani bagged five awards. The award for the Best Actor was given to Ranbir Kapoor for his deaf-mute performance in Barfi! Vidya Balan, on the other hand was adjudged as the Best Actress for Kahaani. Barfi! was awarded with the Best Film award, while Kahaani’s director Sujoy Ghosh won the Black Lady for the Best Director. The lifetime achievement award was given away to Yash Chopra posthumously. Yash Chopra’s wife Pamela collected this award on his behalf.
The other awards are-
Critics’ Award for Best Actor: Irrfan Khan for Paan Singh Tomar (Director: Tigmanshu Dhulia)
Critics’ Award for Best Film: Gangs of Wasseypur (Director: Anurag Singh Kashyap )
Critics’ Award for Best Actor (Female): Richa Chadda for Gangs of Wasseypur
Best Lyricist: Gulzar for Challa (Jab Tak Hai Jaan: Director Yash Chopra)
Best Music Director: Pritam for Barfi!
Best Background Score: Pritam for Barfi!
Best Production Design: Rajat Podar for Barfi!
Best Playback (Female): Shalmali Kholgade for the song ‘Pareshaan’
Best Playback (Male): Ayushmann Khurrana for the song ‘Pani da Rang’
Lifetime Achievement Award -Yash Chopra
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female): Anushka Sharma (Jab Tak Hai Jaan)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male): Annu Kapoor (Vicky Donor)

Charles Wright, professor emeritus of the English department’s Creative writing programme in the University of Virginia’s college of Arts and Sciences, has won the 2013 Bollingen Prize for American Poetry. Wright taught at U.Va. for almost 30 years, retiring in 2011, and is one of America’s most celebrated poets. The Bollingen Prize in American Poetry is among the most prestigious prizes given to American writers. Established by Paul Mellon in 1949, it is awarded biennially by the Yale University Library to an American poet for the best book published during the previous two years or for lifetime achievement in poetry. The prize includes a cash award of $150,000.The judges awarded Wright the Bollingen Prize for his 2011 book, “Bye-and-Bye: Selected Late Poems,” describing it as “an extended meditation in which we sense ‘splinters of the divine’ in the phenomena and cyclic changes of the natural world, and in the elusive reaches of memory, myth, and history.”

President has approved the conferment of 108 Padma Awards. These comprise 4 Padma Vibhushan, 24 Padma Bhushan and 80 Padma Shri Awards. 24 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 11 persons in the category of Foreigners, NRIs, PIOs and Posthumous awardees. Padma Awards, the country’s highest civilian awards, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The awards are announced on Republic Day every year. The awards are conferred by the President of India at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhawan sometime around March/ April.

Padma Vibhushan

Sl No. Name Discipline State/ Domicile
1. Shri Raghunath Mohapatra Art Orissa
2. Shri S. Haider Raza Art Delhi
3. Prof. Yash Pal Science and Engineering Uttar Pradesh
4. Prof. Roddam Narasimha Science and Engineering Karnataka
Padma Bhushan
Sl No. Name Discipline State/ Domicile
1. Dr. Ramanaidu Daggubati Art Andhra Pradesh
2. Smt. Sreeramamurthy Janaki Art Tamil Nadu
3. Dr. (Smt.) Kanak Rele Art Maharashtra
4. Smt. Sharmila Tagore Art Delhi
5. Dr. (Smt.) Saroja Vaidyanathan Art Delhi
6. Shri Abdul Rashid Khan Art West Bengal
7. Late Rajesh Khanna Art Maharashtra
8. Late Jaspal Singh Bhatti Art Punjab
9. Shri Shivajirao Girdhar Patil Public Affairs Maharashtra
10. Dr. Apathukatha Sivathanu Pillai Science and Engineering Delhi
11. Dr. Vijay Kumar Saraswat Science and Engineering Delhi
12. Dr. Ashoke Sen Science and Engineering Uttar Pradesh
13. Dr. B.N. Suresh Science and Engineering Karnataka
14. Prof. Satya N. Atluri Science and Engineering USA
15. Prof. Jogesh Chandra Pati Science and Engineering USA
16. Shri Ramamurthy Thyagarajan Trade and Industry Tamil Nadu
17. Shri Adi Burjor Godrej Trade and Industry Maharashtra
18. Dr. Nandkishore Shamrao Laud Medicine Maharashtra
19. Shri Mangesh Padgaonkar Literature & Education Maharashtra
20. Prof. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak Literature & Education USA
21. Shri Hemendra Singh Panwar Civil Service Madhya Pradesh
22. Dr. Maharaj Kishan Bhan Civil Service Delhi
23. Shri Rahul Dravid Sports Karnataka
24. Ms. H. Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom Sports Manipur
Padma Shri
Sl No. Name Discipline State/ Domicile
1. Shri Gajam Anjaiah Art Andhra Pradesh
2. Swami G.C.D. Bharti alias Bharati Bandhu Art Chhattisgarh
3. Ms. B. Jayashree Art Karnataka
4. Smt. Sridevi Kapoor Art Maharashtra
5. Shri Kailash Chandra Meher Art Orissa
6. Shri Brahmdeo Ram Pandit Art Maharashtra
7. Shri Vishwanath Dinkar Patekar alias Nana Patekar Art Maharashtra
8. Shri Rekandar Nageswara Rao alias Surabhi Babji Art Andhra Pradesh
9. Shri Lakshmi Narayana Sathiraju Art Tamil Nadu
10. Smt. Jaymala Shiledar Art Maharashtra
11. Shri Suresh Dattatray Talwalkar Art Maharashtra
12. Shri P. Madhavan Nair alias Madhu Art Kerala
13. Shri Apurba Kishore Bir Art Maharashtra
14. Shri Ghanakanta Bora Borbayan Art Assam
15. Smt. Hilda Mit Lepcha Art Sikkim
16. Smt. Sudha Malhotra Art Maharashtra
17. Shri Ghulam Mohammad Saznawaz Art Jammu and Kashmir
18. Shri Ramesh Gopaldas Sippy Art Maharashtra
19. Ms. Mahrukh Tarapor Art Maharashtra
20. Shri Balwant Thakur Art Jammu & Kashmir
21. Shri Puran Das Baul Art West Bengal
22. Shri Rajendra Tikku Art Jammu & Kashmir
23. Shri Pablo Bartholomew Art Delhi
24. Shri S. Shakir Ali Art Rajasthan
25. Sh. S.K.M Maeilanandhan Social Work Tamil Nadu
26. Ms. Nileema Mishra Social Work Maharashtra
27. Ms. Reema Nanavati Social Work Gujarat
28. Ms. Jharna Dhara Chowdhury Social Work Bangladesh
29. Late Dr. Ram Krishan Social Work Uttar Pradesh
30. Late Manju Bharat Ram Social Work Delhi
31. Prof. Mustansir Barma Science and Engineering Maharashtra
32. Shri Avinash Chander Science and Engineering Delhi
33. Prof. Sanjay Govind Dhande Science and Engineering Uttar Pradesh
34. Prof. (Dr.) Sankar Kumar Pal Science and Engineering West Bengal
35. Prof. Deepak B. Phatak Science and Engineering Maharashtra
36. Dr. Mudundi Ramakrishna Raju Science and Engineering Andhra Pradesh
37. Prof. Ajay K. Sood Science and Engineering Karnataka
38. Prof. Krishnaswamy Vijayraghavan Science and Engineering Karnataka
39. Dr. Manindra Agrawal Science and Engineering Uttar Pradesh
40. Dr. Jayaraman Gowrishankar Science and Engineering Andhra Pradesh
41. Prof. Sharad Pandurang Kale Science and Engineering Maharashtra
42. Smt. Vandana Luthra Trade and Industry Delhi
43. Ms. Rajshree Pathy Trade and Industry Tamil Nadu
44. Shri Hemendra Prasad Barooah Trade and Industry Assam
45. Shri Milind Kamble Trade and Industry Maharashtra
46. Ms. Kalpana Saroj Trade and Industry Maharashtra
47. Dr. Sudarshan K. Aggarwal Medicine Delhi
48. Dr. C. Venkata S. Ram alias Chitta Venkata Sundara Ram Medicine Andhra Pradesh
49. Dr. Rajendra Achyut Badwe Medicine Maharashtra
50. Dr. Taraprasad Das Medicine Orissa
51. Prof. (Dr.) T.V. Devarajan Medicine Tamil Nadu
52. Prof. (Dr.) Saroj Chooramani Gopal Medicine Uttar Pradesh
53. Dr. Pramod Kumar Julka Medicine Delhi
54. Dr. Gulshan Rai Khatri Medicine Delhi
55. Dr. Ganesh Kumar Mani Medicine Delhi
56. Dr. Amit Prabhakar Maydeo Medicine Maharashtra
57. Dr. Sundaram Natarajan Medicine Maharashtra
58. Prof. Krishna Chandra Chunekar Medicine Uttar Pradesh
59. Dr. Vishwa Kumar Gupta Medicine Delhi
60. Prof. (Capt.) Dr. Mohammad Sharaf-e-Alam Literature & Education Bihar
61. Dr. Radhika Herzberger Literature & Education Andhra Pradesh
62. Shri J. Malsawma Literature & Education Mizoram
63. Shri Devendra Patel Literature & Education Gujarat
64. Dr. Rama Kant Shukla Literature & Education Delhi
65. Prof. Akhtarul Wasey Literature & Education Delhi
66. Prof. Anvita Abbi Literature & Education Delhi
67. Shri Nida Fazli Literature & Education Madhya Pradesh
68. Shri Surender Kumar Sharma Literature & Education Delhi
69. Dr. Jagdish Prasad Singh Literature & Education Bihar
70. Late Shaukat Riaz Kapoor Alias Salik Lakhnawi Literature & Education West Bengal
71. Prof. Noboru Karashima Literature & Education Japan
72. Shri Christopher Pinney Literature & Education UK
73. Smt. Premlata Agrawal Sports Jharkhand
74. Shri Yogeshwar Dutt Sports Haryana
75. Shri Hosanagara Nagarajegowda Girisha Sports Karnataka
76. Subedar Major Vijay Kumar Sports Himachal Pradesh
77. Shri Ngangom Dingko Singh Sports Maharashtra
78. Naib Subedar Bajrang Lal Takhar Sports Rajasthan
79. Ms. Ritu Kumar Fashion Designing Delhi
80. Dr. Ravindra Singh Bisht Archaeology Uttar Pradesh

Major Abup J Manjali of the Rashtriya Rifles has been awarded the Kirti Chakra on this Republic Day for the exhibition of exceptional valor in counter- terrorist operations in Jammu and Kashmir. Manjali is the only soldier to be awarded the second- highest peacetime gallantry award Kirti Chakra on this Republic Day. Major Abup J Manjali of the Rashtriya Rifles was selected for the award of Kirti Chakra for his extraordinary bravery efforts in counter- terrorist operations in Jammu and Kashmir. Major Manjali will be awarded on 26 January 2013. Shaurya Chakra, on the other hand, is being given away to Major Sandeep Kumar of 13 Sikh Regiment for his bravery act in Northeast area.

Noted Indian scientist Dr CNR Rao has been conferred with China's top science award for his important contributions in boosting China-India scientific cooperation. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) on 24 January, gave its 2012 Award for International Scientific Cooperation to three scientists from India, Germany, and Russia. Rao, 79, founder of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research ( JNCASR), Bangalore, shared the 2012 award with Herbert Jaeckle of Germany's Max Planck Society and Russian space physicist GA Zherebtsov. The awards are given every year by the CAS, which is China's top academic and research institution for natural sciences. It has so far honoured 17 international scientists for their contributions in China-foreign research cooperation, since the prize was instituted in 2007.Rao has won various prestigious awards. He is currently the head of the scientific advisory council to the Indian Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 15 January, presented the lifetime achievement awards for the scientists in the field of Atomic energy to R.B. Grover, who played a key role in negotiating the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal, K. Balaramamoorthy, who developed non-destructive testing techniques, mathematician R. Balasubramanian, and S.K. Sikka, a key player in the nuclear tests of 1974 and 1998. Presenting the lifetime achievement awards of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to four of its veteran scientists at a brief ceremony at his residence, Dr. Singh noted that the Department worked in “one of the most complex, sophisticated and challenging areas of science, technology and engineering.” He appreciated its scientists for working with unfailing commitment, dedication and skill, despite decades of facing international technology denial regimes. He urged the DAE to ensure that it continued to attract the best scientific minds among the younger generations and expressed hope that its scientists would continue to be guided by the basic goal of directing scientific activities to bring about an improvement in people’s quality of life .Dr. Singh paid special tributes to nuclear scientist and Principal Scientific Advisor to the government, R. Chidamabaram for “guiding India’s atomic energy programme with such great distinction” and said his [Dr. Chidambaram’s] life and work were a source of inspiration for all scientists and technologies in the country.

President Pranab Mukherjee on 15 January, presented Krishi Karman Awards to eight States for their achievements in food grains production in 2011-12. Ten States were given commendation awards. Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Manipur and Nagaland received the awards for special contribution to total food grains production. Bihar received the award for contribution to production and productivity of rice, Haryana for wheat, Jharkhand for pulses and Uttar Pradesh for coarse cereals. Punjab, Uttarakhand, Assam, West Bengal, Tripura, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh received commendation awards. The awards were received by Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Manipur and Agriculture Ministers/ Agriculture Secretaries of other States. For the first time one female and one male farmer from the eight award winning States were also given awards for their outstanding performance. Krishi Karman Awards were instituted in 2010-11 for recognizing the meritorious efforts of States in food grain production. The awards are given to best performing States in two broad sets, one for the total food grain production and the other for individual food grain crops of rice, wheat, pulses and coarse cereals. States for total food grains category are further divided into three categories based on total food grain production capacity of the State.

London-based Indian researcher Mahaveer Golechha has been selected for a prestigious award for his work on a drug to cure Alzheimer’s. The 27-year-old will be travelling in the month of February to San Francisco to receive the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation’s ‘Young Investigator Scholarship Award’ at the 7th Annual Drug Discovery for Neurodegeneration Conference .He has been recognised for his outstanding research on ‘naringin’, a bioflavonoid found in grape fruits and citrus fruits. In his study, he found that naringin possesses significant “anti-Alzheimer activity” and will form the basis of further research to develop as a cure for the degenerative disease related to old age, which worsens as its progresses and eventually leads to death. Alzheimer’s is a common form of dementia afflicting millions around the world and has no known cure at present. It is estimated that by 2025 at least 34 million people worldwide will be affected by the disease. Mahaveer is currently pursuing a Master’s in Health Policy, Planning and Financing at the London School of Economics (LSE) and was recently elected director of external relations of the LSE Students’ Union India Society.

Golden Globe Awards 2013: Argo Won Best Picture and Best Director Awards.
In the prestigious Golden Globe Awards 2013, the hostage-crisis movie Argo thrashed Lincoln to bag best picture as well as best director awards on 13 January 2013. Les Miserables, on the other hand won the awards in best musical or comedy category with the actors Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman winning one trophy each. The award-winning movie Argo is actually inspired by 1979 crisis US diplomats in Iran. In the category of Best Drama, other nominees were Django Unchained, Zero Dark Thirty as well as Life of Pi. Lincoln which was leading the race with a total of seven nominations took away just the trophy of best actor which was awarded to Daniel Day-Lewis for his role as the 16 President of US. However, the film might have better opportunities at Oscars where it is running first with 12 nominations. The Golden Globe Awards 2013 also did not stand with Life of Pi and the film only took home a single award, the best original score by Mychael Danna.
List of Golden Globe Awards 2013 Winners:
Best Motion Picture-Drama: Argo
Best Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy: Les Miserables
Best performance by an actor in a motion picture – Drama: Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)
Best performance by an actress in a motion picture – Drama: Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)
Best performance by an actor in a motion picture- Musical or Comedy: Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables)
Best performance by an actress in a motion picture- Musical or Comedy: Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)
Best Director: Ben Affleck (Argo)
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway
Best Television Series (Drama): Homeland
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series (Drama): Claire Danes (Homeland)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series (Drama): Damian Lewis (Homeland)
Best Screenplay: Adele - 'Skyfall' (Skyfall)
Best Television Series (Comedy or Musical): Girls
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series (Comedy or Musical): Lena Dunham (Girls)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series (Comedy or Musical): Don Cheadle (House of Lies)
Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Game Change
Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Julianne Moore (Game Change)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Kevin Costner (Hatfields & McCoys)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Ed Harris (Game Change)
Best Original Score: Life of Pi
Best Animated Feature Film: Brave
The other winners at the Golden Globe Awards 2013 were as follows:
Best Foreign Language Film: Amour (Austria, Les Films Du Losange, X Filme Creative Pool, Wega Film; Sony Pictures Classics)
Best Animated Feature Film: Brave
Best Original Song: Skyfall, Adele from Skyfall
Best Original Score: Mychael Danna, Life of Pi
Malala Yousafzai, 15, the schoolgirl from Pakistan shot by Taliban for campaigning girls’ education, on 9 January 2013 received France's Simone de Beauvoir Prize for Women's Freedom in Paris. Malala’s father Ziaudin Yousafzai received the honour on her behalf. The award is accompanied with 2.5 million Rupees honorarium. In the first week of January 2013, Malala Yousafzai got released from the British hospital. She is waiting for the reconstructive surgery to be performed on the skull. Malala was shot by the Taliban in her head after her school bus drove through Mingora town of Swat Valley of Pakistan.

Renault Duster was awarded the Car of the Year Award 2013 by the automotive magazine Autocar India at the annual awards night on 9 January 2013 in Mumbai. Autocar India gave away 22 awards in all, in the two-wheeler as well as four-wheeler segment. Renault Duster grabbed three awards in all and these were SUV of the year 2013 viewer’s choice car of the year 2013 and overall Autocar car of the year 2013. In the meanwhile, Mahindra and Mahindra were awarded with the Manufacturer of the Year Award 2013 and Bajaj KTM 200 Duke bagged the Autocar Bike of the Year 2013 and viewers’ choice Bike of the Year 2013.

Ireland’s prestigious Tipperary International Peace Prize for 2012 was awarded on 3 January 2013 to Malala Yousafzai the teenage schoolgirl from Pakistan, who was shot by Taliban’s Gunman in October 2012.Malala, would be conferred with the award for her bravery, courage and determination to speak and support the cause of access to equal education for every child. With this award, Malala became the second Pakistani National to win the award. Before this, Lt. Benazir Bhutto was awarded with the same award in 2007. Malala was one among the five nominees, which included Sonia Gandhi, the Indian National Congress Party President and Hillary Clinton, the U.S. Secretary of State.

Well-known filmmaker Shyam Benegal has been chosen for the 8th annual Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR) national award by the ANR International foundation on 3 January at Hyderabad. The award carries a prize of Rs 5 lakh. Hemamalini, K Balachander, Lata Mangeshkar, Vyjayantimala Bali, Anjali Devi, Shabana Azmi and Dev Anand among others were recipients of this award earlier.

Professor Joseph Stiglitz , Noble Laureate in Economics received the degree of Doctor of Science from Andhra Pradesh Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan at the University of Hyderabad on 4 January.

Muthunayagam and Saraswat to be awarded with Aryabhatta Award by the ASI
The Astronautical Society of India (ASI) in the last week of December 2012 announced names of former secretary of the Department of Ocean Development, Dr. A.E. Muthunayagam and Dr. V.K. Saraswat, Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister for prestigious Aryabhatta Award for the year 2010 and 2011 respectively. The two have been selected for the achievement in rocketry. Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy an associate Director of Research Centre Imarat Hyderabad and P. Kunhikrishnan of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Thiruvananthapuram would receive ASI Awards for rocket and rocket related technologies for the year 2010 and 2011 respectively.

Scientist Venkatesh Mannar honoured with Order of Canada Award
Venkatesh Mannar a Channai-born Scientist of Indian Origin and President, Micronutrient Initiative, Canada was awarded with Canada’s Highest Civilian Award – the Order of Canada in the last week of December 2012. Mannar, a Graduate from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and a post graduate in chemical engineering from Northwestern University, US, was honoured with the award for his forty years long contribution working towards reduction of debilitating micronutrient deficiencies among the worlds most vulnerable.
Dr. P.R. Swarup conferred with EPC World Awards 2012 for Outstanding Contribution to HRD
Dr. P.R. Swarup, Director General, Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC) has been conferred with the EPC world Awards 2012 under the category Special Achievement Awards in the field of Human Resource Development for the Indian Construction & Infrastructure Industry. The award ceremony was held on 15th December 2012 at hotel The Ashok, New Delhi. EPC World Media Group has been presenting the award for the past three years to recognize the qualitative & quantitative performance, innovation and strategic initiatives of the companies, individuals & projects in the field of Infrastructure & Construction sector in India.

Ireland’s prestigious Tipperary International Peace Prize for 2012 awarded to Malala
Ireland’s prestigious Tipperary International Peace Prize for 2012 was awarded on 3 January 2013 to Malala Yousafzai the teenage schoolgirl from Pakistan, who was shot by Taliban’s Gunman in October 2012. Malala would be conferred with the award for her bravery, courage and determination to speak and support the cause of access to equal education for every child. With this award, Malala became the second Pakistani National to win the award. Before this, Lt. Benazir Bhutto was awarded with the same award in 2007. Malala was one among the five nominees, which included Sonia Gandhi, the Indian National Congress Party President and Hillary Clinton, the U.S. Secretary of State.