February, 2014

Sahitya Academy Awards Announced for the year 2013

The Sahitya Akademi Awards 2013 was announced on 18 December 2013 by Sahitya Akademi. Poetry writers have dominated the awards announced in 2013. Eight books of poetry, four of essays, three of novels, two each of short stories and travelogues, one each of autobiography, memoirs and play have won the Sahitya Akademi Award 2013. The awards were recommended by jury members, who represent 22 Indian languages and
approved by the Executive Board of the Sahitya Akademi that met under the Chairmanship of Dr. Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari, President of the Sahitya Akademi. Assamese and Gujarati language awards will be declared
later on. The books were selected on the basis of recommendations made by a Jury of three members in the concerned languages in accordance with the procedure laid down for the purpose . According to the procedure, the Executive Board declared the Awards on the basis of unanimous selections made by the Jurors or selection made on the basis of majority vote. The Awards relate to books first published during the three years immediately preceding the year of Award (i.e., between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2011). The Award in the form of a casket containing an engraved copperplaque, a shawl and a cheque of 100000 rupees will be presented to the authors of these books at a special function to be held on 11 March 2014 at New Delhi during the Festival of Letters organized by Sahitya Akademi.

Winning poets of these awards were:

• Javed Akhtar for poetry Lava in Urdu language
• Namdev Tarachandani in Sindhi language for poetry Mansh-Nagari
• Arjun Charan Hembram for poetry Chanda Bonga in Santali language
• Radhakant Thakur for poetry Chaladuravani in Sanskrit
• Ambika Dutt for poetry Aanthyoi Nahi Din Hal in Rajasthani
• Sitaram Sapolia for poetry Doha Satsai in Dogri
• Anil Boro for poetry Delphini Onthai Mwdai Arg Gubun Gubun Khonthai in Bodo
• Subodh Sarkar for poetry Dwaipayan Hrader Dhare in Bengali

Sahitya Akademi

The Sahitya Akademi was formally inaugurated by the Government of India on 12 March 1954. As a national organization it is responsible to work for the development of Indian letters and to set the literary standards in all the Indian languages. It functions as an autonomous organization. It was registered as a society on 7 January 1956, under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.

eASIA Award 2013

Directorate General of Foreign Trade’s e-BRC project has won the 2013 eASIA Award under Trade Facilitation category. The award was announced by Asia Pacific Council for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (AFACT) in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on 29 November 2013.

About e-BRC Project

electronic Bank Realization Certificate (e-BRC) project was launched on 5 June 2012, to electronically transmit foreign exchange realization details on exports from the respective banks to Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). The project has created an integrated platform for receipt, processing and subsequent use of all Bank Realization related information by exporters, banks, central and state government departments. It was
made mandatory with effect from 17 August 2012.

The Bank Realization Certificate is required for discharge of export obligation and to claim incentives under Foreign Trade Policy. Earlier, this certificate was issued by banks manually. BRC is also used by state government departments for refund of VAT.

About the Award

The award is administered by Asia Pacific Council for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (AFACT). Its principal focus is to facilitate international transactions, through the simplification and harmonization of procedures and information flows, and so contribute to the growth of global commerce. AFACT aims to support in the Asia Pacific region and its adjacent countries and economies policies and activities, especially those promoted by United Nations Center for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT), dedicates to stimulate, improve and promote the ability of business, trade and administrative organizations, to exchange products and relevant services effectively through the simplification and harmonization of processes, procedures and information flows in a non-political environment

US Presidential Early Career Award

Two Indian Americans are among 102 scientists who received the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers. The awards were given by President Barack Obama on 23 December 2013. The Indian – American who received the award are Dr. Karunesh Ganguly of San Francisco and Dr. Hardeep Singh of Houston. They will receive their awards at a Washington, DC, ceremony in the coming year.  The award is categorized as the highest US honour for young professionals in these fields. Dr. Karunesh Ganguly’s research was aimed towards the development of novel therapies for patients with chronic neurological deficits following  stroke or other forms of brain injury. Dr. Hardeep Singh’s research involved detecting, understanding and reducing missed and delayed diagnosis in the outpatient setting, as well as in using health information technology to achive safe and effective health care.

Presidential Early Career Award

Initiated by President Clinton in 1996 and coordinated by the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the awards are the highest honors given by the U.S. on young scientists, researchers and engineers.

ET Lifetime Achievement Award 2013

Wipro Chairman Azim Premji, 68, won the Economic Times Lifetime Achievement Award 2013 for his role in creating India’s third-largest software exporter and also for the impressive scale of his philanthropy. The
2013 ET Awards for Corporate Excellence were given in Mumbai on 9 December 2013.

The ET Awards were decided by a jury headed by Anshu Jain, co- CEO of Deutsche Bank. The theme of the awards was Governance.

Last year’s ET Award winners

• Business Leader of the year: Anil Agarwal
• Corporate Citizen of the year: Aditya Birla Group
• Entrepreneur of the year: Devi Prasad Shetty
• Global Indian of the year: Anshu Jain
• Policy Change Agent of the year: Sam Pitroda
• Company of the year: HDFC Bank
• Emerging Company of the year: Jubilant FoodWorks
• Lifetime Achievement Award: PRS Oberoi

Itihas Ratna award

Eminent historian Bipan Chandra on 17 December 2013 was awarded Itihas Ratna from Asiatic Society Bihar. The award was given to Bipan Chandra on his 86th birthday. He was honoured by O.P. Jaiswal, the Secretary of the Asiatic Society of Bihar in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Campus, New Delhi. Bipan Chandra is the fourth historian to be honoured with the Itihas Ratna by the society.

The three others, who have been honoured with the Itihas Ratna are:

• Ram Sharan Sharma, who was awarded on 19 November 2010
• Irfan Habib was awarded on 9 September 2011
• J S Grewal awarded on 9 September 2012

About Bipan Chandra

• The Rise and Growth of Economic Economic Nationalism, is one of his known and one of the earliest books
• He served the Indian History Congress as its Sectional President and then as the General President in 1985
• He has been a Chairperson of the centre for historical studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi
• In 1993, he became a member of the University Grants Commission
• From 2004-2012, he has served National Book Trust, New Delhi as its Chairperson
• He was at the forefront of the communist struggle in India since independence
• He is an Indian historian and has specialized in economic and political history of modern India
• He was born in 1928 in KangraValley of Himachal Pradesh IFFI Award 2013

East Timor film ‘Beatriz’s War’ bagged Golden Peacock award for Best Film at the 44th International Film Festival of India at Panaji, Goa on 30 November 2013. The film, directed by Bety Reis and Luigi Acquisto, is a passionate story of one woman’s conviction to remain true to the man she loves. The award carries a Golden Peacock, a certificate and a Cash Prize of 40 lakh Rupees. Indian Director Kaushik Ganguli bags the award for Best Director for his Bengali film ‘Apur Panchali’. The award carries a Silver Peacock, a certificate and a cash prize of 15 lakh Rupees. Special Jury Award went to Turkish film ‘Thou Gild’st The Even’, directed by
Onur Unlu. The award carries a Silver Peacock, a certificate and a cash prize of 15 lakh rupees. Best Actor (Male) award went to Alon Moni Aboutboul for his performance in Israeli movie ‘A Place in Heaven’. The award carries a Silver Peacock, a certificate and a cash prize of 10 lakh rupees. Best Actor (Female) award was presented to Boczarska Magdalena for her excellent performance in Polish film ‘In Hiding’. The Award carries a Silver Peacock, a certificate and a cash prize of 10 lakh Rupees. The Special Centenary Award was given to Bengali film ‘Meghe Dhaka Tara’, directed by Kamaleshwar Mukherjee. The award carries a Silver Peacock, a certificate and a cash prize of 10 lakh Rupees.

Sword of Honour Award

Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), Hyderabad awarded the Sword of Honour for safety management in London in the second week of December 2013. Rajiv Gandhi International Airport Ltd is operated by GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL) and it is first airport in India to receive this award. The airport received award in recognition of its effective implementation of occupational health and safety management systems from the British Safety Council for health and safety works at the airport. The Sword of Honour is considered to be Oscar of the Safety World. The Organization has achieved 5-star certification in the
British Safety Council’s audit Programme.

Dubai International Film Festival Award

Irrfan Khan on 13 December 2013 won the best actor award for his brilliant performance in his film The Lunchbox at the 10th edition of Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF). Ritesh Batra, the Writer-Director of the film The Lunchbox, got a special mention for screenplay for the film in the same category. Irrfan won the award in the Muhr Asia Africa Feature Category. Dubai International Film Festival was held from 6 December to 14 December 2013. The jury at the DIFF was headed by renowned filmmaker Shekhar Kapur.

The 2013 other Award winners were

• Apart from this, Ilo Ilo – the story of a Filipina maid from Singapore bagged the Best Picture Prize, whereas its star, Yeo Yann Yann won the Best Actress Award.
• Sandeep Ray won the best director award for his Bengali language film Shirno Bahu or the Thin Arms, which revolves around an ailing octogenarian woman in the Muhr Asia Africa shorts category
• The Palestinian work, Omar, won the top Muhr Arab Feature Prize. Omar, which was opened in the current 10th edition of the Festival, but also played at Cannes in May and Toronto in September. Omar is also Palestine’s submission for the Foreign Language Oscar. The movie is a thriller and talks about the relationship between a young Palestinian and a hardcore Israeli agent. Its didirector Hany Abu Assad was adjudged the best helmer
• In the Muhr Arab Feature Prize category, Yasmine Raees won Best Actress Award for the buzz-worthy Egyptian movie, Factory Girl – a work about the nation’s stifling social mores.
• Hassan Badid was declared the Best Actor for his performance in Morocco’s They are the Dogs
• Among the documentaries, Salma El Tarzi, a Egyptian filmmaker bagged the Best Director trophy for Underground on the Surface, while the Best Documentary spot was filled by Karim Amer’s The Square
• Emirates NBD People’s Choice Award: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee for American film Frozen and Amal Al-Agroobi for The Brain That Sings (UAE)

India Pride Award

IRCON International Limited on 20 December 2013 has been awarded the prestigious India Pride Awards for Excellence in Central PSUs in India Image Enhancement. The award was received by Mohan Tiwari, the CMD of IRCON from M.M. Pallam Raju, the Union Minister for Human Resources Development.

About IRCON 

IRCON International Limited is a government company that was incorporated by the Central Government (Ministry of Railways) under the Companies Act, 1956 on 28 April 1976 originally under the name Indian Railway Construction Company Limited. It is a leading turnkey construction company in the public sector known for its quality, commitment and consistency in terms of Performance. IRCON has widespread operations in several
States in India and in other countries like Malaysia, Nepal, Bangladesh, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, U.K. Algeria, Sri Lanka and others. The Company has earned total foreign exchange of 2117 crore rupees in the last five years. IRCON has so far completed over 100 projects in more than 20 countries.

KMC-INTACH Heritage Award 2013

The 103-year-old Park Mansions on Kolkata’s upscale Park Street was given the prestigious heritage award for the restoration of its colonial era structure. The KMC-INTACH Heritage Award 2013 was given to the Park Mansions by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage. The heritage property was restored at a cost of more than 10 crore rupees to its original glory in 2010, the centennial year of the building. It is owned by the Karan Paul led Apeejay Surendra Group. The building was constructed in 1910 for both residential and commercial use and it is spread over more than 5 bighas. The
architecture is a mixture of Victorian and Indo-Saracen styles with a bulbous dome on the roof, British-style interiors with a touch of Indian architectural style on the facade. The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural
Heritage (INTACH) is a nonprofit organization set up in 1984 to involve its members in protecting and conserving India’s vast natural, built and cultural heritage.

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