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Awards

1. Major Abhilasha Barak Receives UN Peacekeeping Honour

Context : An Indian Army officer was globally recognized for championing women’s empowerment and inclusive peacekeeping during her West Asia deployment

Key Highlights:

• Award: 2025 United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year.
• Awardee: Major Abhilasha Barak (the first woman combat helicopter pilot of the Indian Army).
• Issuing Authority: United Nations Department of Peace Operations.
• Presenter: UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the UN Headquarters in New York.
• Key Achievement: Conducted 539 gender-focused field activities supporting over 5,000 local women and launched an AI-driven platform for reporting gender-based violence.

About the Award:

• Established in 2016 by the UN Office of Military Affairs.
• Recognizes individual military personnel actively advancing the principles of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security.

2. Twelve Lawmakers Selected for Sansad Ratna Awards

Context: Civil society awards were announced honoring top-performing lawmakers and parliamentary panels for outstanding legislative transparency, accountability, and active performance. 

Key Highlights:

• Award: Sansad Ratna Awards 
• Awardees: 12 Members of Parliament (10 Lok Sabha and 2 Rajya Sabha) along with 4 Parliamentary Standing Committees.
• Issuing Authority: Prime Point Foundation (Chennai-based NGO) alongside Pre-Legislative Research (PRS).
• Core Parameters: Judged on house attendance, total questions raised, active debates joined, and private member bills introduced.
• State Performance: Maharashtra dominated the individual honors with five separate MPs receiving the distinction.

About the Award:

• Instituted in 2010 based on a structural recommendation from former President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
• Commemorates outstanding democratic representation and legislative oversight from individual parliamentarians.
• The upcoming 2026 ceremony scheduled in New Delhi will mark the presentation of its 150th cumulative honor.

3. President Confers First Phase of 2026 Padma Awards

Context: The President presented the nation’s highest civilian honors at the Civil Investiture Ceremony, recognizing individuals for exceptional lifetime contributions across public affairs, science, sports, and social work. 

Key Highlights:

• Award: Padma Awards 2026 (First Investiture Phase).
• Presenter: President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
• Volume Presented: 66 out of 131 approved total honors (comprising 2 Padma Vibhushan, 6 Padma Bhushan, and 58 Padma Shri).

About:

• Initially instituted in 1954 by the Government of India.
• Formally announced annually on the eve of Republic Day.
• Structurally classified into three hierarchical tiers based on the degree of distinguished service rendered.

Key Recipients

Padma Vibhushan Recipients (2026)

Padma Bhushan Recipients (2026)

Karnataka Recipients (Padma Awards 2026)

Key Padma Shri Recipients

4. UN Posthumously Honours Two Indian Peacekeepers

Context: The United Nations posthumously honored two fallen Indian peacekeepers for their ultimate sacrifice, highlighting India’s role as the second-largest troop contributor to global peacekeeping. 

Key Highlights:

• Award: Dag Hammarskjöld Medal, presented globally during the International Day of UN Peacekeepers ceremony.
• Awardees: Lance Havildar Harbhajan Singh and Naib Subedar Sujit Kumar Pradhan (both awarded posthumously).
• Issuing Authority: United Nations, with the physical medals formally presented by UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
• Service Deployments: Harbhajan Singh served with MONUSCO in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, while Sujit Kumar Pradhan served with UNMISS in South Sudan.

5. Indian Institutions Win WHO Tobacco Control Awards

Context: The WHO has honored Indian institutions for exceptional policy interventions and legislative efforts in tobacco control, recognizing their strategic success in reducing consumption and promoting cessation services. 

Key Highlights:

• Award mechanism : World No Tobacco Day Awards 2026, formally categorized across six global operational regions.
• Issuing Authority: The World Health Organization (WHO).
• Director-General Special Award: Conferred upon Dr. Shaya Mohsin Zindani, the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Yemen.
• Indian Awardee (State Level): The Principal Health Secretary of the Medical and Health Department, Government of Rajasthan (Jaipur).
• Indian Awardees (Central Level): The ICMR-National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research, alongside the national Department of Health Research.

6. Indian Students Win Earth Prize for Microplastic Innovation

Context: A youth-led, low-cost water filtration technology using agricultural waste has been recognized for its effectiveness in removing microplastics, providing a scalable solution for underserved rural populations. 

Key Highlights:

• Award: The Earth Prize 2026 (Global Winners Category).
• Awardees: Indian teenage innovators Vivaan Chhawchharia, Ariana Agarwal, and Avyana Mehta.
• Key Achievement: Developed “Plas-Stick,” a sustainable and biodegradable filtration material derived from tamarind seed powder.

About the Award:

• The Earth Prize is an international environmental sustainability competition exclusively designed to empower teenage students and young innovators.
• It provides crucial mentorship, global recognition, and operational support to scale practical solutions combating climate change and ecological pollution.

7. Indian Farmer Valluvan Honoured as UN Soil Farmer Hero

Context: A grassroots Indian agroforestry model was globally recognized for reversing soil degradation and boosting smallholder livelihoods through climate-resilient crop diversification. 

Key Highlights:

• Award: Soil Farmer Hero recognition.
• Issuing Authority: United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO).
• Awardee: Valluvan, an agriculturalist from the Pollachi district of Tamil Nadu.
• Key Achievement: Successfully transitioned a single-crop farm into a diverse 14-crop agroforestry enterprise, increasing soil organic carbon levels from 0.5 percent to 1.56 percent.

8. PAI and e-Jagriti Win National e-Governance Awards

Context: The Union government recognized two pioneering digital frameworks for modernizing public administration through AI integration, data-driven rural governance, and accelerated consumer dispute resolution. 

Key Highlights:

• Event & Authority: Conferred by the DARPG at the 29th National Conference on e-Governance in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
• Gold Awardee: Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI), developed by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.
• PAI Achievement: Successfully evaluated the structural governance performance of over 2.6 lakh Gram Panchayats utilizing comprehensive data analytics.
• Silver Awardee: e-Jagriti Platform, developed by the Department of Consumer Affairs.
• e-Jagriti Achievement: Integrated four legacy grievance systems using AI, achieving a 90.75 percent disposal rate by resolving over 2.07 lakh consumer disputes.

National e-Governance Awards 2026: Platform Comparison

About the Framework:

• The awards are conferred annually to encourage the innovative application of digital technology in delivering citizen-centric public services.
• The 2026 summit operated under the central theme: “Viksit Bharat 2047: AI-Enabled, Data-Driven and Secure Digital Governance.”

9. Lionel Messi Wins Princess of Asturias Sports Award

Context: The Spanish crown has honored a global athlete for combining athletic excellence with impactful philanthropy, specifically for leveraging their platform to champion educational access and pediatric healthcare. 

Key Highlights:

• Award: 2026 Princess of Asturias Award for Sports, marking the first time an individual footballer received this honor.
• Awardee: Argentine national football team captain and eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi.
• Issuing Authority: The Princess of Asturias Foundation, with the formal presentation scheduled in Oviedo, Spain.
• Key Achievement: Recognized for his historic 47-title athletic career alongside extensive charitable work through the Leo Messi Foundation.

10. Sudarsan Pattnaik Wins Russia Grand Sand Master Cup

Context: The international artistic community has honored an Indian sculptor for using visual art to advocate for environmental conservation, showcasing indigenous talent on a major global platform for climate awareness. 

Key Highlights:

• Award: Russia Grand Sand Master Cup 2026.
• Awardee: Padma Shri recipient and renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik (Odisha).
• Venue: II International Festival of Sand Sculpture, Russia.
• Presenter: Festival General Director Alena Aleksandrovna.
• Key Achievement: Became the first Indian to secure this title, recognized for crafting a three-metre-high sculpture depicting the dual themes of environmental degradation and afforestation to highlight Global Warming.

11. PM Modi Receives Slovakia’s Highest National Award

Context: Slovakia has conferred its highest state decoration, the Order of the White Double Cross, First Class, upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a special ceremony in Bratislava.

Key Highlights

• The Presenter: Presented by Slovak President Peter Pellegrini during PM Modi’s historic visit (the first by an Indian Prime Minister since Slovakia’s independence).
• Global Tally: This marks the 33rd international honor bestowed upon PM Modi by a foreign nation.
• Diplomatic Dedication: PM Modi dedicated the prestigious recognition to the 1.4 billion citizens of India and the enduring friendship between the two nations.

About the Award

• Premier State Honor: Established in 1993 following the nation’s independence, it is the premier civilian decoration awarded by the Slovak Republic.
• Core Symbolism: Takes its name from the white double cross, a historic symbol that forms the centerpiece of Slovakia’s national emblem.
• Eligibility: Conferred primarily upon foreign citizens and global dignitaries for exceptional contributions to developing friendly bilateral relations and advancing international cooperation with Slovakia.

12. Jainendra K. Jain Wins Wolf Prize in Physics

Context: Indian-American physicist Jainendra K. Jain has been awarded the prestigious 2026 Wolf Prize in Physics, making him the first scientist of Indian origin to win the honor.

Key Highlights

• The Breakthrough: Recognized for his seminal discovery of composite fermions, a fundamental breakthrough that successfully explained the fractional quantum Hall effect in condensed matter physics.
• Academic Affiliation: He currently serves as the Evan Pugh University Professor and Eberly Chair in Physics at Pennsylvania State University.
• Global Distinction: Joins an elite roster of past physics laureates that includes monumental figures like Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein.

About the Award

• Prestige Level: Established in 1978 by the Israel-based Wolf Foundation, it is widely regarded as the most prestigious award in physics after the Nobel Prize.
• Core Mandate: Awarded annually to living scientists and artists for outstanding achievements that advance humanity across six fields: Agriculture, Chemistry, Mathematics, Medicine, Physics, and the Arts.

The Prize: Laureates receive a certificate and a monetary award of $100,000, presented during an official ceremony at the Knesset (Israel’s Parliament) in Jerusalem.

13. Two Indian Women Win Whitley Awards (Green Oscars) 2026

Context: Two trailblazing Indian conservationists, Parveen Shaikh and Dr. Barkha Subba, have been honoured with the prestigious 2026 Whitley Awards—popularly known as the ‘Green Oscars’—during a special ceremony at the Royal Geographical Society in London.

Key Highlights

• Parveen Shaikh: A scientist with the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), she was recognized for her ‘Guardians of the Skimmer’ initiative. Her community-led project along the Chambal River has trained locals to protect vulnerable nesting colonies, helping the endangered Indian Skimmer bird population rebound from 400 to nearly 1,000.

• Barkha Subba: Working with the Federation of Societies for Environmental Protection (FOSEP), she was awarded for her efforts to conserve the rare Himalayan Salamander (often called a “living fossil”) in the Darjeeling Himalayas. Her work involves restoring drying wetlands, engaging tea estate workers, and screening for deadly amphibian fungal diseases.

• The Prize: Presented by Princess Anne, the award provides each winner with international visibility and a crucial project funding grant of £50,000 to scale up their grassroots conservation operations.

About the Award

• Establishing Body: Administered and funded by the UK-based Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN).
• Core Mandate: The ‘Green Oscars’ are designed to champion grassroots conservation leaders across the Global South who successfully combine scientific research with local community engagement to bring about ecological healing.
• Global Recognition: Alongside the two Indians, four other conservationists from Indonesia (Gold Award), Zimbabwe, Ghana, and Cameroon were also celebrated for their ecological impact this year.

Appointments

1. Raghav Chadha Appointed Rajya Sabha Petitions Committee Chairman

Raghav Chadha has been officially nominated as the Chairman of the reconstituted Committee on Petitions by Rajya Sabha Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan. Effective May 20, 2026, he will lead the 10-member parliamentary standing panel responsible for examining public grievances and legislative matters.

2. Five New Supreme Court Judges Appointed

Justices Sheel Nagu, Shree Chandrashekhar, Sanjeev Sachdeva, Arun Palli, and Senior Advocate V. Mohana have been appointed as Supreme Court Judges under Article 124(2) following the Collegium’s recommendation. This raises the active bench strength to 37, with V. Mohana becoming only the second woman in history to be directly elevated from the Bar to the apex court.

3. Prashant Lokhande Named CBSE Chairperson

Prashant Sitaram Lokhande, a 2001-batch AGMUT cadre IAS officer, has been appointed as the Chairperson of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), taking charge on June 2, 2026. He succeeds Rahul Singh, while Varun Bhardwaj, a 2008-batch IIS officer, joins as Secretary to succeed Himanshu Gupta amid governance updates for the digital On-Screen Marking system.

4. Vipul Appointed Ambassador to Saudi Arabia

Vipul, a 1998-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, has been officially designated as India’s next Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, taking charge in June 2026. He transitions from his previous posting as India’s Ambassador to Qatar to oversee bilateral strategic, defense, and energy cooperation in the Gulf region.

5. New Executive Director for the World Bank

Neelkanth Mishra has been cleared by the Central Government for a three-year term as the Executive Director of the World Bank in Washington, D.C., beginning June 2026. Concurrently serving as the Chief Economist at Axis Bank, he succeeds Parameswaran Iyer to represent the South Asian constituency comprising India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka.

6. Saurabh Vijay Named CEO of IndiaAI Mission

Saurabh Vijay, a 1998-batch Maharashtra cadre IAS officer and current CEO of the UIDAI, has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the IndiaAI Mission. He will lead the ₹10,372 crore flagship technology initiative alongside MeitY Joint Secretary Sudeep Shrivastava, who assumes charge as the Mission’s Chief Operating Officer.

7. National Statistical Commission Restructured

The government has appointed former IIM Calcutta Director Dr. Saibal Chattopadhyay as the new Chairperson of the National Statistical Commission (NSC). He is joined by three new part-time members: Prof. Shubhabrata Das (IIM Bangalore), retired ISS officer Satyendra Bahadur Singh, and Dr. Madhavan Mukund (Director, Chennai Mathematical Institute).

8. Hitesh Joshi Appointed CMD of GIC Re

The government has appointed Hitesh Joshi as the new Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re). Joshi, who had been serving in an interim capacity since October 2025 following the retirement of N. Ramaswamy, will lead the state-owned reinsurer until his superannuation in September 2028.

9. Vivek Aggarwal Appointed FATF Vice President

Vivek Aggarwal, a senior Indian bureaucrat, has been appointed as the Vice President of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), making him the first Indian to hold this prestigious global position. Aggarwal, who has extensive experience in anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) frameworks, will help steer the international financial watchdog’s strategic policies and compliance evaluations.

10. Bimal Patel Elected Judge of ITLOS

Indian jurist Dr. Bimal N. Patel, Vice-Chancellor of Rashtriya Raksha University and member of the UN International Law Commission, has been elected as a Judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). He secured 115 out of 168 valid votes at the UN Headquarters to serve a nine-year term (2026–2035) on the Hamburg-based global maritime court.

11. Reappointment of Solicitor General of India

Senior Advocate Tushar Mehta has been reappointed as the Solicitor General of India (SGI) by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC). He secured a fresh three-year extension, effective from July 1, 2026, to continue serving as the second-highest law officer of the Union government representing the Centre in the Supreme Court.

Lakkundi

News-

• The Karnataka state government is actively pushing to permanently bring back over 150 rare antiquities from the ancient heritage town of Lakkundi that are currently housed at the National Museum in New Delhi.

Key Details of the Historic Repatriation Push

• The 1976 Handover: On October 16, 1976, local leaders K. Hebboor and T.K. Nayak formally handed over the artifacts to then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to guarantee their long-term preservation.
• The Priceless Collection: The repository reflects Karnataka’s medieval legacy and includes ancient weapons, inscriptions, manuscripts, jewelry, and gold and silver coins.
• The Proposed Destination: The state plans to display the returned treasures locally in Lakkundi (located in the Gadag district), which is currently being developed into one of India’s largest open-air museums.
• The UNESCO Strategy: The repatriation push strongly aligns with Karnataka’s intensified campaign to secure UNESCO World Heritage status for Lakkundi.

Additional Information – Lakkundi

• Location: Gadag district, Karnataka.
• Ancient Name: Lokkigundi.
• Dynasties: Kalyana Chalukyas (Western Chalukyas), Kalachuris, Seunas, and Hoysalas (10th–13th century).
• Economic Role: Major commercial hub; hosted a Tankashale (royal mint).
• Prehistoric Links: ASI excavations found Neolithic human habitation relics near Kote Veerabhadreshwar Temple.
• Gold Discovery: Treasure trove of ancient gold ornaments found during house construction.

Architecture Highlights

• Style: Kalyana Chalukya style—the bridge between Badami Chalukya and Hoysala styles (Vesara school).
• Material: Chloritic schist (soapstone), allowing intricate carving.
• Monuments:

1. Brahma Jinalaya: Oldest Jain shrine here, built by Queen Attimabbe (~1007 CE).
2. Kasi Visvesvara Temple: Most ornate double-shrine temple.

• Water Heritage: Over 101 historic stepped wells (Kalyanis), like Musukina Bavi.

Religious Significance

1. Pluralism: Co-existence of Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and Jainism.
2. Bhakti Movement: Associated with 12th-century Sharana saints (Ajaganna and Muktayakka) of the Virashaiva movement.