Golden Globes Awards

69th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. The award ceremony was hosted by British comedian, Ricky Gervais, who hosted the show for the
second consecutive year. The Golden Globe Awards are sponsored by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to recognise excellence in film, television both domestic and foreign. The Artist,
the French-made black-and-white silent movie about Hollywood in the '20s, directed by Michel Hazanavicius won three awards at the 69th annual Golden Globes Awards including statues for best comedy or musical and best actor comedy or musical for Jean Dujardin. The Descendants directed by Alexander Payne won for best drama. George Clooney won the Golden Globe in the category of Best actor-drama for his performance in the film- The Descendants. Meryl Streep's turn as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady earned her the best actress drama award and her eighth Golden Globe. Other acting winners were Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer and Octavia Spencer, and Martin Scorsese earned the directing honor for Hugo. Michelle Williams won for actress in a musical or comedy as Marilyn Monroe in My Week With Marilyn, 52 years after Monroe's win for the same prize at the Globes for Some Like It Hot. Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin won for best animated film, and the Iranian tale A Separation was named the foreign-language winner.

List of Winners of the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards is as follows:

• Best Picture: Drama: The Descendants

• Best Actor: Drama: George Clooney (The Descendants)

• Best Actress: Drama- Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)

• Best supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer (Beginners)

• Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer (The Help)

•  Best Screenplay: Midnight in Paris (Woody Allen)

• Best Picture: Comedy or Musical- The Artist

• Best Actor: Comedy or Musical- Jean Dujardin (The Artist)

• Best Actress: Comedy or Musical- Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn)

• Best Director: Martin Scorsese (Hugo)

• Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation (Iran)

• Best Animated Film: The Adventures of Tintin

• Best Original Score: Ludovic Bource, The Artist

Padma Awards for the Year 2012

The Padma awards for the year 2012 were announced on the eve of India’s 63rd Republic Day. The President approved 109 awards including one duo case (counted as one) and 14 in the category of Foreigners/ NRIs/ PIOs/ Posthumous. The Padma Awards 2012 comprise 5 Padma Vibhushan, 27 Padma Bhushan and 77 Padma Shri Awards. There are 19 ladies among the awardees. The late cartoonist Mario Miranda and the late musician Bhupen Hazarika were amongst the five people awarded the Padma Vibhushan. Dharmendra and Shabana Azmi were confirmed for Padma Bhushan along
with 25 more awardees. India’s highest civilian awards, Padma Awards are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The Awards are given in all disciplines/ fields of activities, art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc. Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service, Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of high order and Padma Shri for distinguished service in any field. The  awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year. The awards are conferred by the President of India at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhawan around March/ April. The list of winners for Padma Awards 2012 in the three different categories is as follows:

Mallikarjun Mansur Award

Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan was presented the Mallikarjun Mansur award in recognition of his achievements on 3 January 2012. He has enthralled audience worldwide with his unique style of playing the instrument with his finger nails. Khan is the first north Indian artiste to have performed in honour of saint composer Thyagaraja at his birth place at Thiruvaiyur in Tamil Nadu. He is also a recipient of many awards like Sangeet Natak academy award, Tansen Award, UNESCO Award,  UNICEF National Ambassadorship and International Music Forum Award. The award, instituted by the Karnataka
government, carries a cash prize of Rs one lakh and a citation. Vocalist Kishori Amonkar, Pandit Jasraj and Dr Balamuralikrishna were the earlier recipients of the award.

Ashoka Chakra

President of India Pratibha Devisingh Patil conferred the Ashoka Chakra on Lt. Navdeep Singh (posthumous) on the occasion of the 63rd Republic Day Parade 2012 in New Delhi. Lt. Navdeep Singh was awarded the Ashoka Chakra for single-handedly eliminating four infiltrating terrorists on 20 August 20 2011. Lieutenant Navdeep Singh was Ghatak Platoon Commander of 15 Maratha Light Infantry deployed in the High Altitude Area near the Line of Control. On receiving information  about the infiltration of a group of terrorists he laid an ambush at the appropriate spot. When the terrorists were spotted, the ambush was sprung by the officer himself. An exchange of intense fire ensued. the officer eliminated three terrorists at close range. On seeing another terrorist approaching their position, he swiftly changed his firing position. While doing so, he got hit by a bullet on his head. Further, displaying utmost bravery and comradeship, he pulled an injured fellow-soldier to safety and kept firing till he became unconscious due to excessive blood loss.

Other Gallantry Awards

Besides the President also approved the award of three Kirti Chakra. Lt. Col. Kamaldeep Singh (Rajputana Rifles / 18TH Battalion the Rashtriya Rifles), Capt. Ashutosh Kumar (5th Battalion the Rajputana Rifles) and Lt. Sushil Khajuria (Army Service Corps / 18th battalion The Grenadiers) were the three Kirti Chakra awardees. Of the three, Lt. Khajuria was conferred the award posthumously for his gallantry
during an encounter with terrorists in the Kupwara region of Jammu and Kashmir. Sixteen persons were awarded the Shaurya Chakra, the nation’s thirdhighest gallantry award in peacetime. While most of the Shaurya Chakra awardees are Armymen, the awardees also include a Jammu and Kashmir Special Police Officer (SPO) Barket Ali, who was conferred the award posthumously. President Pratibha Patil approved conferring of 368 gallantry awards, including 28 Param Vishisht Seva Medals and 45 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals. The Army’s additional directorgeneral (public information) Maj. Gen. S.L. Narasimhan was awarded an Ati Vishisht Seva Medal for his leadership in relief and rescue efforts in the wake of the Sikkim earthquake in 2010.

Award for excellence in Indian Foreign Service

D Bala Venkatesh Verma, Joint Secretary Disarmament in the Ministry  of External Affairs was conferred with the first S K Singh Award for excellence in the Indian Foreign Service on 6 January 2012. The award was presented to him by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi in recognition of his extradordinary efforts to strengthen India's position during the Indo-US nuclear deal. 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 to the Additional Protocol in 2010. Varma, a 1988 batch officer
of the foreign service, is an expert in nuclear matters and is currently posted as Joint Secretary (Disarmament and International Security Affairs) at the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi. Following the adoption of the NSG's decision in September 2008, Verma played a crucial role in ensuring that the text of an Additional Protocol was finalised to India's satisfaction. Also, Varma's negotiating skills were
applied in concluding the India-specific Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA. 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. 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.

V. Shantaram Life Time Achievement Award

Veteran environmental filmmaker Mike Pandey was honoured with the prestigious V. Shantaram Life Time Achievement Award at the Mumbai International Film Festival 2012 on 3 February 2012. The award was presented by Maharashtra Governor K. Sankaranarayanan. He received the award for his documentaries on wildlife conservation and environment. Mike Pandey is one of India’s foremost wildlife and environmental filmmakers. He hasd won over 300 national and international awards. His list of films include Shores of Silence, The Last Migration, Broken Wings and The Timeless Traveller.
The award carries a citation, a trophy and a cash prize of Rs.5 lakh. It was instituted in 1996 in memory of the legendary filmmaker V. Shantaram. The award is given with an objective to recognise the multi-faceted contributions of an Indian for the documentary film movement.

Ramnath Goenka Awards for Excellence in Journalism

Ramnath Goenka Awards for Excellence in Journalism 2012 was held at Taj Palace, New Delhi on 16 January 2012. Vice President of India, Hamid ansari was the graced the occasion as Chief Guest. 30 awards in total were given away for outstanding work done in print and broadcast media in various categories. The Pioneer’s J Gopikrishnan and CNBC-TV18’s Udayan Mukherjee were adjudged Journalist of the Year at the 5th Ramnath Goenka Awards for Excellence in Journalism. At the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards 2012, CNN-IBN bagged three prestigious awards in
various categories. Journalists Anubha Bhonsle, Preeti Singh and Arijit Sen of CNN-IBN were honoured with the prominent award. Anubha Bhonsle won the Best Political Reporter award for her show
Paisa Power Politics exposing the relationship between those who fight elections and those who fund it. Preeti  Singh won Best on the spot Reporter of the year for her coverage of the flood affected areas inside the Karnool district of Andhra Pradesh. Arijit Sen was awarded the Best reporter from North East for his reports on fake encounters in Manipur and the plight of people caught between militants
and the state. The Prakash Kardaley Memorial Award for Civic Journalism went to Tripti Lahiri of Tehelka. The Indian Express’ Raghav Ohri bagged the Priya Chandrasekhar Memorial Award for Excellence in Editing, while Daksh Panwar of The Indian Express won the Sanjiv Sinha Memorial Award for Excellence in Editing. The award celebrates the values that stand for good journalism: excellence
& enterprise, courage & fairness. The awards will cover the entire gamut of Indian media, Print & Broadcast, in English & Indian languages. The Ramnath Goenka foundation was set up in 1992 in the memory of late Ramnath Goenka, founder of The Indian Express, freedom fighter and doyen of Indian  journalism, to encourage and propagate high-quality, objective journalism. The Awards aim to celebrate excellence in journalism, recognize courage and commitment and showcase outstanding contributions and individuals every year.

Green Globe Award

Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan received a Green Globe for Outstanding Efforts by a Celebrity for his efforts toward a greener future at the fourth edition of the Panasonic Green Globe Foundation Awards on 2 february 2012. He received the award from Hollywood actor and former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger. The award is conferred to honour the efforts of organisations and individuals fighting climate change through their work in environment preservation and regeneration. The Terminator star, Schwarzenegger was the guest of honour at the event. This was the first time that Arnie, as fans fondly call him, visited India. During his visit Schwarzenegger also attended the daylong Delhi Sustainable Development Summit presided over by the Indian Prime Minister.

Pride of India Award

Visiting union minister for labour and employment Mallikarjun Kharge was presented with Pride of India award by the Indian-American community in Washington on 1 February 2012. He was honoured with the award for his over four decades of public service. The award was presented jointly by the Indian American Friendship Council (IAFC) and India Association of North Texas (IANT) at a reception hosted in honour of the visiting union minister,  Kharge in Dallas. In his address, Kharge provided an update on various bilateral memoranda on items of mutual interest, such as mining safety, employment,
social security and said that India's GDP is poised to grow at a faster pace than most of the nations.

DSC Prize for South Asia Literature

Singapore-based Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka was awarded the DSC Prize for South Asia Literature 2012, at the Jaipur Literature Festival in Rajasthan on 21 January 2012. Karunatilka won $50,000 for his book Chinaman. The novel explores cricket as a metaphor to uncover a lost life and a lost history. The title of the novel, published by Random House, refers to a left-arm unorthodox spinner in cricket, often described as the chinaman. The legend of a Sri Lankan bowler Pradeep Sivanathan Mathew and the sport of cricket form the crux of this book. The jury for the 2012 $ 50,000 prize included
renowned literary figures Dr Alastair Niven, Dr Fakrul Alam, Faiza S Khan and Marie Brenner. The prize was instituted in January 2010 to celebrate writing that highlights the South Asian region, its people,
culture and diaspora. Envisioned as a unique and prestigious award, the award recognizes theliterary works of authors across the globe writing on South Asia. DSC Prize for South Asia Literature 2011 was to HM Naqvi for his debut novel Home Boy (HarperCollins India).

Infosys Prize

Six researchers from five science streams were honoured with the Infosys Prize-2011 by the former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in  Bangalore on 9 January 2012. The prize winners include Kalyanmoy Deb, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur (engineering and computer science); Imran Siddiqi, scientist, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad (life sciences); Kannan Soundarajan, director, Mathematics Research Centre, Stanford University, U.S. (mathematical sciences); Sriram Ramaswamy, Professor, Centre for Condensed Matter Theory, Indian Institute of Sciences–Bangalore (physical sciences); Raghuram G. Rajan, Charles M. Harper Faculty Fellow at the  University of Chicago's Booth School of Business (social sciences-economics); and Pratap Bhanu Mehta, president and chief executive of the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi (social sciencespolitical science and international relations). President of the Board of Trustees of Infosys Science Foundation, T.V. Mohandas Pai, announced on the occasion that a new award category in humanities would be introduced from 2012. It would cover philosophy, history, archaeology, linguistics and literary sciences. The Infosys Prize, into its third year,  carries a cash component of Rs. 50 lakh, a gold medallion and a citation. The Infosys Prize is amongst the highest in terms of money given for any award in India.The noted scientists were selected by the Foundation trustees and the eminent jury panels comprising Nobel laureate Amartya Sen for Social Sciences, Shrinivas Kulkarni (physical sciences), Pradeep K. Khosla (engineering and computer science), S.R. Varadhan (mathematical sciences) and Inder Verma (life sciences). The Foundation is funded by a corpus of Rs.100 crore (Rs.10 billion), contributed by the trustees and an annual grant from the global software major.

Mahatma Gandhi International Award

Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama was presented the Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Peace and Reconciliation on 4 January 2011,  the fourth day of the ten-day Kalachakra initiations. The grand daughter of Mahatma Gandhi, Ila Gandhi, presented the award, instituted in 2003, to the Dalai Lama at the Kalachakra ground. Ila Gandhi, who is based in South Africa, is chairman of the Gandhi Development Trust that gives the award. The Dalai Lama was supposed to have received the award in October 2011 as part of a much anticipated visit to South Africa. The visit however had to be called off following a five-week wait for a visa to be issued. Former recipients of the Mahatma Gandhi International Award include Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, South African leader Nelson Mandela and Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere.