President Pranab Mukherjee Conferred Pravasi Bharatiya Samman AwardsPresident Pranab Mukherjee conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards on 9 January during the 12th edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD). Peace activist Ela Gandhi, who is a grand-daughter of Mahatma Gandhi, was among the 13 non-resident Indians (NRIs), persons of Indian origin (PIOs) and organizations honoured with the prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards. Ela Gandhi was given the award for public service and for enhancing India’s image and for promoting ties between India and South Africa. Lisa Maria Singh is the first member of Australian Parliament of South Asian descent and has held several ministerial portfolios in the past.  She is a senator from Tasmania. Singh was given the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman for public service and fostering friendly relations between India and Australia. Ramkrishna Mission, serving in Fiji since 1937, was honoured for community service and philanthropic activities and enhancing India’s prestige abroad.

Three Security Personnel Selected For ‘ Kirti Chakra ‘ AwardThree personnel of the armed forces have been selected for the year 2014 ‘ Kirti Chakra’ award , the second highest peace time gallantry award, for their acts of bravery on the Line of Control (LoC), anti-maoist operation and relief operation in flood-hit Uttarakhand, respectively. The three are among 368 gallantry award winners this year including 10 Shaurya Chakra awardees.

Indian-American Wins Top US Teaching AwardIndia-born Meera Chandrasekhar, professor of physics and astronomy and Curator’s Teaching Professor of Physics at the University of Missouri, has on 18 January won Baylor University’s ” 2014 Robert Foster Cherry Award ” for Great Teaching.

Mohinder Singh , Radhakrishnan Selected For Communal Harmony AwardsNational Communal Harmony Award for Mohinder Singh for his work done in restoring peace after the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and noted academician N Radhakrishnan for his promotion of Gandhian values were announced on 25 January. Singh, along with Gandhian Radhakrishnan of Kerala, have been selected for the coveted award in the individual category while the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai has been selected in the organisation category.

Sachin Tendulkar and CNR Rao Received Bharat RatnaRenowned scientist C.N.R. Rao and former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar were on 4 February conferred the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of the country for exceptional contribution in any field of human endeavour.The award was presented by President Pranab Mukherjee at a brief ceremony in the historic Durbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Malala Nominated For ‘Children’s Nobel Prize’Pakistani teenage rights activist Malala Yousafzai is among three persons nominated for an award known as the “Children’s Nobel Prize”.Malala Yousafzai has been nominated for the

2014 World’s Children’s Prize with John Wood from the US and Nepalese child rights worker Indira Ranamagar.

VV Dongre and Guocheng Zhang Won International Gandhi Award 2013Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India on 15 February presented the International Gandhi Award for the year 2013 to Dr. Vijaykumar Vinayak Dongre (VV Dongre) and Prof. Guocheng Zhang at Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi. They were awarded for making outstanding contributions in the field of leprosy to eradicate the disease through treatment, training and research.

Sikkim Won National Tourism Award 2012-13Sikkim has been declared as best state in the country in implementation of Rural Tourism Projects by Ministry of Tourism Govt of India .Union Minister for Human Resource Development Dr. Shashi Tharoor,presented the National Tourism Award 2012-13 to Sikkim tourism minister Sh Bhim Dhungel in a function at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on 18 February.

86th Annual Academy Oscar Awards 2014The 86th Annual Academy Oscar Awards 2014, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the actors, technical achievements, and films of 2013 and took place on 2 March  2014, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles.List of Winners at 86th annual Academy Awards :-Best Picture :- “12 Years a Slave.”Best Actor :- Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club.”Best Actress :- Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine.”Best Supporting Actor :- Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club.”Best Supporting Actress :- Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave.”Best Directing :- Alfonso Cuaron, “Gravity.”Best Foreign Language Film :- “The Great Beauty,” Italy.Best Adapted Screenplay :- John Ridley, “12 Years a Slave.”Best Original Screenplay :- Spike Jonze, “Her.”Best Animated Feature Film :- “Frozen.”Production Design :- “The Great Gatsby.”Best Cinematography :- “Gravity.”Best Sound Mixing :- “Gravity.”Best Sound Editing :- “Gravity.”Best Original Score :- “Gravity,” Steven Price.Best Original Song :- “Let It Go” from “Frozen.”Best Costume :- “The Great Gatsby.”Best Makeup and Hairstyling :- “Dallas Buyers Club.”Best Animated Short Film :- “Mr. Hublot.”Best Documentary Feature :- “20 Feet from Stardom.”Best Documentary (short subject) :- “The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life.”Best Film Editing :- “Gravity.”Best Live Action Short Film :- “Helium.”Best Visual Effects :- “Gravity.”

Indian Author Pankaj Mishra Won Windham Campbell Literature PrizeAward-winning Indian author Pankaj Mishra is among eight writers from seven countries who have won a $1,50,000 Yale University prize each in recognition of their literary achievements.Essayist and novelist Mishra has been selected on 9 March for the prestigious Windham Campbell Literature prize in the non-fiction category.

German Honours Three Indians with Cross of the Order of MeritGermany has conferred three Indians with its ‘Cross of the Order of Merit’ award for their contribution in strengthening Indo-German relations over the past decades.The awards were bestowed on Anand Singh Bawa, Kalyan Sachdev and Syed Hasnain by German Ambassador Michael Steiner in New Delhi at a function on 11 March.

Tomas Halik Won 2014 Templeton PrizeTomas Halik, a Roman Catholic priest and philosopher, onetime Czech political activist and an advocate for religious freedom and interfaith dialogue, won the 2014 Templeton Prize on 13 March for religious and spiritual progress.The prize, valued at about $1.8 million, is one of the largest awards given annually to a single individual. Founded in 1972.

Veteran Film Lyricist and Director Gulzar Selected For Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2013Veteran film lyricist, director, screen writer, producer and poet Gulzar has been conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2013. He is the 45th Dada Saheb Phalke Award Winner.The ministry of information and broadcasting announced on 12 April. The Dadsaheb Phalke award is India’s highest award for an individual for their contribution towards Indian cinema. It is annually given by the Government of India.He was born in 1934 in Punjab in pre-independence India. Sampooran Singh Kalra was his original name and he took the pen name of ‘Gulzar Deenvi’ after becoming an author.

61st National Film AwardsThe 61st National Film Awards for 2013 was announced in New Delhi on 16 April by the Directorate of Film Festivals.’ Ship of Theseus ‘ directed by Anand Gandhi has won the Golden Lotus for Best Feature Film. The Best Actor award is shared between Shahid star Rajkummar Rao and Malayalam actor Suraj Venjaramudu. Geetanjali Thapa won Best Actress for Liar’s Dice.Following is the listing of Winners for important Categories :-* Best Feature Film – ‘ Ship of Theseus ’ (Anand Gandhi)* Best Director – Hansal Mehta for ‘ Shahid ’* Best Actor – Raj Kumar for ‘ Shahid ‘ in hindi and Suraj Venjaramoodu for ‘ Perariyathavar ‘ in Malyalam* Best Actress – Geetanjali Thapa for Hindi film ‘ Liar’s Dice ’* Best Non Feature Film – ‘ Rangbhoomi ’ (Hindi film by Kamal Swaroop)* Best Film on Social Issues – ‘ Tuhya Dharma Koncha ’ (Marathi)* Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration – ‘ Thalaimuraigal ’

(Tamil)* Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film – Nagraj Manjule for ‘ Fandry ’ (Marathi)* Best Non Feature Film on Social Issues – ‘ Gulabi Gang ’* Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment – “ Bhaag Milka Bhaag ’ (Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra)

Indian-American Rajendra Singh Named White House’s Solar Champions Of ChangeIndian-American professor Rajendra Singh was on 18 April named by the White House as the ‘Solar Champions of Change’ in recognition of his immense contribution towards developing alternate source of energy and promoting solar deployment in residential, commercial and industrial sectors.

Indian Activist Honoured with Goldman Environmental Prize – 2014Indian environment activist Ramesh Agrawal has on 28 April won the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize 2014 for helping villagers fight coal mining in Chhattisgarh and success in shutting down one of the largest planned coal mines in the area.

Indian Scientist Ravinder Dahiya Won British Research FellowshipRavinder Dahiya, an Indian scientist in Britain,  has been granted a prestigious fellowship worth 1,068,000 pounds (around $1.8 million) on 2 May by a top British agency that funds research in engineering and the physical sciences.

Two Indian-American Chefs Won James Beard Food Awards – 2014Two Indian-origin chefs Vikram Sunderam and Vishwesh Bhatt have been conferred with the prestigious James Beard Food Awards for 2014, considered as the Oscars of the US food and beverage industry. Sunderam and Bhatt  were awarded the Best Chef in the Mid-Atlantic and Best Chef in South respectively. The James Beard Food Awards, which were presented during a ceremony at the Lincoln Centre at the James Beard Foundation’s annual awards ceremony in New York on 5 May, are widely considered the top honours in American cooking.

Six Indo-Americans Felicitated with Ellis Island Medal of HonorSix Indian Americans have been felicitated on 10 May with the prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor for the year 2014.The Ellis Island Medals of Honor by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organization is given annually to US citizens who have distinguished themselves within their own ethnic groups while exemplifying the values of the American way of life. Among the recipients of the award are Yash Paul Soi , Narpat Bhandari , Samir Desai , Arun Kumar Pramanik , Ketki Sharadkumar Shah , Abdul M Suleman, were also felicitated with the prestigious award.

Winter Sleep Won Palme d’Or Award At 67th Cannes Film FestivalWinter Sleep, a film by Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, was honoured with Palme d’Or Award at the 67th Cannes Film Festival held in Cannes from 16 May to 25 May 2014. Julianne Moore won the Best Actress prize for ‘ Maps to the Stars ‘, while ‘ Turner’ star Timothy Spall was named Best Actor.

RGIA gets ACI awardThe Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), operated and managed by GMR Group, has become the first Indian airport to be awarded the ‘ACI Director General’s Roll of Excellence’ accolade. The award recognises the airport’s ranking among the world’s top three airports for five consecutive years in the ACI Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey.

IGI Named World’s Second Best Airport For Service QualityIndira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) of Delhi was ranked as second best airport in the world in service quality among airports that handle 25 to 40 million passengers per annum (MPPA). For this achievement, IGI received Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Award by Airport Council International (ACI) in South Korea. IGI received the ASQ award for third time in row. Apart from this, IGI was placed at sixth position among the best airport in the world against fourth in 2013.

Indian-Origin Physicist Tejinder Virdee Awarded Honorary KnighthoodIndian-origin physicist Tejinder Virdee has been awarded with an honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II on 14 June. He was awarded for his work on the Higgs Boson theory. Professor Virdee is one of the creators of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) Experiment. The CMS experiment is a part of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva.

Noted Hindi Poet Kedar Nath Singh Selected For Jnanpith Award – 2013Noted Hindi poet Kedarnath Singh on 20 June 2014 was chosen for the prestigious Jnanpith award for 2013. He is the 10th Hindi writer to receive the honour and joins the likes of Sumitra Nandan Pant, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar among others. He will be the recipient of 49th Jnanpith award.

Shah Rukh Khan Received ‘Knight Of The Legion Of Honor’Bollywood Actor Shah Rukh Khan was conferred with top French civilian award “Knight of the Legion of Honor” (National Order of the Legion of Honour) on 1 July for his outstanding contribution to cultural diversity across the world.

Indian Mathematician Named Joint Winner Of ‘ 2014 George Polya Prize ‘Nikhil Srivastava, a young Indian mathematician, on 10 July became the first joint winner of the prestigious ‘ 2014 George Polya Prize ‘ for finding a solution to a problem that had eluded mathematicians for more than half a century.

Environmentalist Chandi Prasad Bhatt Received Gandhi Peace Prize – 2013Eminent Gandhian and environmentalist Chandi Prasad Bhatt on 15 July was awarded with the prestigious Gandhi Peace prize for 2013. He was awarded by the President of India Pranab Mukherjee at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.

2014 Ramon Magsaysay Awards AnnouncedThe prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Awards for year 2014 were announced on 31 July  and it included six winners. Education is a big theme in this year’s awards, with two individuals who have dedicated their lives to educating indigenous communities – a Filipino and an Indonesian – and a Pakistani organization that builds schools for girls, among the 6 awardees. The 2014 Awardees are:-i) Saur Marlina Manurung (Indonesia)ii) Randy Halasan (The Philippines)iii) Hu Shuli (China) iv) Omara Khan Masoudi (Afghanistan)v) Wang Canfa (China)vi) The Citizen Foundation (Pakistan)

Jaitley, Karan Singh, Sharad Yadav Conferred with ‘Outstanding Parliamentarian Awards ‘Finance Minister Arun Jaitley ( for 2010), Congress leader Karan Singh (2011) and JD(U) President Sharad Yadav (2012) are conferred with ‘Outstanding Parliamentarian Awards’ by the President Pranab Mukherjee on 12 August in New Delhi. The awards were given for their invaluable contribution in discharge of their parliamentary duties.

Indian-origin Professor Manjul Bhargava Won ‘Nobel Prize of Maths ‘Two Indian-origin professors have won global prizes in the field of mathematics with one of them being awarded the Fields Medal, known as the “Nobel Prize of mathematics”. Manjul Bhargava won the Fields Medal while Subhash Khot won the Rolf Nevanlinna Prize, awarded by the International Mathematical Union (IMU), at the International Congress of Mathematicians 2014 held in Seoul on 13 August.

Army Major Mukund Varadarajan Honoured with Ashok ChakraIndia’s highest peacetime gallantry award ‘Ashoka Chakra’ has been awarded posthumously to Major Mukund Varadarajan of 44th Battalion of the Rastriya Rifles (22 Rajput). 55 gallantry awards (peacetime) were announced on the eve of 68th Independence Day on 14 August 2014. There have been one Ashoka Chakra, 12 Shaurya Chakras, 39 Sena Medal, one Nao Sena Medal and two Vayu Sena Medal this year.

Pakistani Journalist Asma Shirazi Won 2014 Peter Mackler AwardAsma Shirazi, Pakistan’s first female war correspondent and host of popular TV talk shows, was named 2014 Winner of Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism on 22 August. Shirazi is the second woman to win the award since its creation in 2008, after Honduran radio news editor Karla Rivas won in 2011.

South Africa-based Organization Awarded The Gandhi PrizeA South Africa-based outfit involved in conflict resolution has been awarded the Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Reconciliation and Peace for its efforts in promoting peace and addressing disputes globally. Graca Machel, chairperson of The African Centre for Constructive Resolution of Disputes’s (Accord) Board of Trustees and former First Lady when her late husband Nelson Mandela was President, accepted the award on behalf of the institution at the Annual Gandhi Awards Celebration, hosted by the Gandhi Development Trust in Durban.

MS University Chancellor Mrunalinidevi Conferred with Best Manager AwardDr Mrunalinidevi Puar, Chancellor of Maharaja Sayajirao University, has been conferred with the “Best Manager” award by the Oxford Summit of Leaders (Science and Education) in UK on 2 September.

Indian Scientist Kamal Bawa Won Midori Prize In Biodiversity 2014Indian scientist Kamal Bawa, an eminent professor of biology at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, has won the prestigious Midori Prize in Biodiversity 2014 for his research that included climate change in the Himalayas.

Snowden and Rusbridger Won Sweden’s ‘Alternative Nobel PrizeNSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and Guardian editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger on 24 September won Right Livelihood Award. The award was shared between the two.The Right Livelihood Award is also known as Alternative Nobel prize of Sweden.

Indian American Thomas Won US National Medal of ScienceThomas Kailath, a Pune educated Indian-American engineering professor at Stanford University, is one of the recipients of the US National Medal of Science announced by President Barack Obama on 3 October.

Nobel Prize Winners 2014 AnnouncedThe Nobel Prize winners of 2014 in the different categories were announced in the month of October 2014. Nobel Prizes are announced by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences every year in the memory of Alfred Nobel.The categories were the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, the Nobel Prize in Physics, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences, The Nobel Literature Prize and The Nobel Peace Prize.The Nobel Prize Winners of 2014 in the different categories were as follows:-

* Physiology (or) Medicine :-  U.S.-British scientist John O’Keefe and Norwegian couple May-Britt Moser, Edvard Moser won the 2014 Nobel Prize in Medicine for discovering the “inner Global Positioning System (GPS)” that helps the brain navigate through the world.

* Physics :- Three Japanese-born researchers Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura won the 2014 Nobel Prize for Physics. They were honoured for inventing efficient blue Light-Emitting Diodes(LED) lamps that worked as a bright and energy-saving white light sources.

* Chemistry :- American scientists Eric Betzig and William Moerner and Germany’s Stefan Hell won the 2014 Nobel prize for chemistry. The trio of Betzig, Moerner and Hell were conferred for their contribution in the area of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy which helped in bringing optical microscopy into the nano-dimension.

* Literature:- The Nobel Prize in Literature 2014 was awarded to French author Patrick Modiano for the art of memory with which he has evoked the most ungraspable human destinies and uncovered the life-world of the occupation. He is the 14th French writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize in literature (one, Jean Paul-Sartre, declined to accept it).

* Peace :- Indian children’s rights activist Kailash Satyarthi and Pakistani child education activist Malala Yousafzai have been jointly awarded the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.

* Economics :- French economist Jean Tirole won the 2014 Economics Nobel Prize for his analysis of market power and regulation.It was the second Nobel Prize for a French national this year after author Patrick Modiano won the literature award.

Australian Author Richard Flanagan Won 2014 Man Booker PrizeAustralian author Richard Flanagan was on 15 October awarded the 2014 Man Booker Prize for his wartime novel “The Narrow Road to the Deep North”. The novel narrates story of a love and war during the construction of the Thailand Burma Death Railway in World War II. Flanagan is the third Australian to win the prize after Thomas Keneally and Peter Carey.

Malala Won 2014 World’s Children PrizeMalala Yousafzai of Pakistan won the 2014 World’s Children Prize on 29 October 2014 after a global vote involving millions of children. She received the prize at a ceremony in Mariestad near Stockholm. World Children’s prize was created in 2000 and is run by the World’s Children’s Prize Foundation (WCPF), based in Mariefred, Sweden.

Manmohan Singh Received Japan’s Top National AwardFormer Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was conferred with the “Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers” Award on 5 November. The “Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers” is perceived as the second highest civilian award of Japan after “Order of the Chrysanthemum”. The award was presented to Manmohan Singh by Japanese Emperor Akihito at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. He was given this award for his

“significant contribution to the enhancement of relations and promotion of friendship” between Japan and India. He became the first Indian to receive this prestigious award.

West Bengal’s Darjeeling Zoo Selected For Earth Heroes Award 2014The Darjeeling Zoo or the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park was on 1 November selected for the prestigious International Award The Earth Heroes Award 2014. It has become the first zoo in India. It has competed with 300 zoos across the world. Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park  is largest high altitude zoo of India. It is located in West Bengal.The Earth Heroes award is annually awarded by the Royal Bank of Scotland in collaboration with the Government of United Kingdom.

Neha Gupta Received International Children’s Peace Prize 2014Indian-American student Neha Gupta has won the 2014 International Children’s Peace Prize Award for her exceptional work to raise money for underprivileged children around the world. Nobel Peace Laureate Desmond Tutu the patron of the Dutch children’s rights organization presented her with the award on 18 November in The Hague, Netherlands. She is the first American to be awarded with this prize.

ISRO selected For Indira Gandhi Prize For Peace – 2014Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has been selected for the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2014 in recognition of its path-breaking achievements including the Mars Orbiter Mission and contribution in strengthening international cooperation in peaceful use of outer space. ISRO was selected for the award by a jury chaired by Vice President Hamid Ansari on 19 November 2014.

Narendra Modi Named The Straits Times ‘Asian Of The Year 2014′Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on 5 December named ‘Asian of the Year 2014’ for being a development-focused leader by editors of Singapore’s leading daily, The Straits Times. Last year’s award was shared by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and China’s President Xi Jinping.

Time Magazine Named Ebola Fighters As ‘Person of the Year 2014′The countless doctors, nurses and caregivers at the forefront of battling one of the worst ever outbreaks of the deadly Ebola virus, were on 10 December collectively named as Time magazine’s 2014 ‘Person of the Year’. The ‘Ebola fighters’ have been awarded for their tireless acts of courage and mercy and for risking, persisting, sacrificing and saving.

Fidel Castro Awarded China’s Confucius Peace Prize – 2014Cuba’s former leader Fidel Castro has been awarded the Confucius Peace Prize -2014, China’s alternative to the Nobel. He did not attend the Confucius Peace Prize award

ceremony on 9 December. A Cuban exchange student accepted the award on his behalf. The Confucius Peace prize was established in 2009 as an eastern alternative to the Nobel Peace Prize following the proposal of Chinese businessman Lui Zhiqin.

Atal Bihari Vajpee and Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya To Be Awarded Bharat RatnaThe Union Government on 24 December 2014 made announcement to award the Bharat Ratna, country’s highest civilian honour to Former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, and educationist and social reformer Madan Mohan Malviya(posthumously). The announcement coincides with Vajpayee’s birthday on December 25 which the government has already declared as ‘Good Governance Day’. Malviya is the 11th person to receive the award posthumously, while Vajpayee is the sixth Prime Minister to receive the award. Till now 43 people have been honoured with the Bharat Ratna. Educationist Madan Mohan Malviya and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee are the 44th and 45th distinguished personalities who have been conferred with country’s highest civilian award. In 2013, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and scientist C N R Rao were awarded Bharat Ratna for their contribution in their respective fields