Latest Current Affairs - Important Awards & Honors 2017

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'IBA-Banking Technology' awards

• The Karnataka bank was the winner in 'Best financial inclusion initiatives (small bank)' category, and was runner-up in 'Best use of digital and channels technology (small bank)' category.
• About the award : IBA-Banking Technology award recognizes and rewards individuals, professionals and banks who have recorded noteworthy technology and business benefits in 2016

e-Gov award

• Under the State category, Rajasthan and Telangana emerged Winners of Excellence while the Award of Recognition went to Odisha and Nagaland this year (2017).
• About the award : Instituted by the Computer Society of India's (CSI) Special Interest Group with sponsorship from Nihilent Technologies, these awards help recognize the efforts of eGovernance practitioners from across central and state departments, projects and in district administrative units as well. 

'Sportsman of the Year' award

• World's 'greatest' sprinter Usain Bolt pipped the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James to win the 'Sportsman of the Year' trophy for a fourth time. Simone Biles clinched the 'Sportswoman of the Year. 
• Michael Phelps bagged the 'Comeback of the Year' award.
• Formula One champion Nico Roseberg claimed the 'Breakthrough of the Year' award. In other categories, Italy's Beatrice Vio clinched the disability award. Olympic refugee team won the Laureus Sport for Good award. 

Grammy Awards 2017

• Indian tabla player Sandeep Das was part of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble "Sing Me Home" which won the Grammy in the World Music category that also included sitarist Anoushka Shankar's 'Land of Gold'.
• British singer Adele has won top awards at Grammys and she walked away with major prizes--Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.
• Adele won in all the five categories that she was nominated for including Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album, triumphing over Beyonce, who was the front-runner in the race. 
• The late David Bowie's performance on his song Blackstar won him Grammys for best rock performance and best rock song. Solange, Beyonce's little sister, won the best rhythm and blues performance for Cranes in the Sky. 
• The best country song performance nod went to Maren Morris for My Church. 
• Yo-Yo Ma's "Sing Me Home" features tunes composed by different global artists as it examines the ever-changing idea of home. 

HR Trendsletter of the Year Award

• R Mohan Das, Director Coal India Limited was conferred the 'HR Trendsletter of the Year' award by Fore-Top Rankers Awards for Excellence in recognition of his setting bench-marks in recruitment, training, CSR and Performance management System in CIL.

Order of the British Empire

• England Test captain Alastair Cook has been honoured with Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE). He was awarded the CBE at the Buckingham Palace by Prince Charles. 
• He is the only England player to have scored over 10,000 nine in Tests and has also led England in the most number of Tests.

BAFTA 2017

• The Director Damien Chazelle's musical "Le La Land" has taken 5 trophies at the 70th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) cere-mony at Royal Albert Hall, London. 
• "La La Land", which also won Chazelle the best director, took five prizes including best picture and best actress for Emma Stone. 
• Viola Davis won the best-supporting-actress prize for "Fences". 
• British-Indian star Dev Patel got recognition for his role in "Lion", getting award for best supporting actor.

'Entrepreneur of the year' award

• Vivek Chaand Sehgal of Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd (MSSL) has been awarded the Entrepreneur of the Year 2016 award by assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services firm EY. 
• Infosys Co-founder Mandan Nilekani was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) - the Aadhaar initiative. 
• Note : Sehgal will now represent India at the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Monte Carlo from June 7 to 11, 2017. 

Oscar Awards 2017 

• The showbiz fairy tale "La La Land" has won leading six awards at the 89th Oscar Academy Awards. "La La Land" won awards for best actress Emma Stone, its jazz-infused songs and its Director, Damien Chazelle.
• The coming-of-age drama "Moonlight' won the best picture award. 
• Casey Affleck took the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in "Manchester by the Sea".
• Mahershala Ali won the Oscar for best sup-porting actor in "Moonlight". 
• Viola Davis won for best supporting actress for her role in "Fences". 
• Iranian Film 'The Salesman' Wins Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.
• The award for best documentary feature went to "O.J. Made in America".
• The Syrian war documentary "The White Helmets" has won the short documentary Academy Award. 
• Note : Indian actor Om Puri, "Star Wars" actress Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds and Bill Paxton were among late stars, who were remembered and honoured at the Oscars. 

National innovation Foundation award

• Meghalaya's root-bridge has been nominated for the prestigious National Innovation Foundation award for grassroots innovations and outstanding traditional knowledge. It is a community-driven innovation by forest dwellers in the southern slopes of of the state. 
• The recognition is not for any single community, but for all communities who are engaged in growing living root bridges which have simplified bridge construction across rivers and streams.

CK Nayudu Hoyudu lifetime Achievement Award

• Former left-arm spinners Rajinder Goel and Padmakar Shivalkar will receive the CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award this season. The BCCI has also decided to institute the Lifetime Achievement Award for Women with India first Test captain Shanta Rangaswamy being the inaugural recipient of the honour. 
• Note : The winners were chosen by a three-per-son jury comprising the pair of Ramachandra Guha and Diana Edulji (both of them sit on the Supreme Court-appointed committee of administrators that presently supervises the BCCI) along with senior journalist N Ram. 

Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) Chairman's Order of Merit 

• GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd, which operates Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, has won the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) Chairman's Order of Merit for Its focus on environmental sustainability and becoming the first airport in Asia Pacific to become carbon neutral. 
• Note : Airports Council International (ACI) has certified Hyderabad International Airport with Level 3+ Neutrality under its Airport Carbon Accreditation programme.

Israeliu Prize

• Renowned Indian-origin British sculptor Anish Kapoor was honoured with the prestigious $1 million 2017 Genesis Prize by Israel for his utmost contribution for Jewish community. The 62-year-old Anish was chosen by the prize committee headed by Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky. 
• However, the money received by the innovative artist would be contributed by him to help the Syrian refugees and expand Jewish engagement in the global effort to reduce the refugee crisis. 

Shared by Shravan Varma Gadhiraju

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