Sep 2011 Awards

Eminent Hindi authors Amar Kant and Shrilal Shukla was chosen for India's highest literary honour Jnanpith Award for 2009, while renowned Kannada litterateur Chandrasekhar Kambar won it for 2010. Octogenarian Amar Kant is a leading author whose famous novel Inhin Hathiyaron Se earned him the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2007. Shukla is an eminent novelist and a satirist, whose works threw light on the falling moral values of the Indian society in the post-Independence era. His noted works include Raag Darbari, Makaan. In 2008, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan for his contribution to Indian literature and culture.Chandrasekhar Kambar who won the Jnanpith Award for is a novelist and playwright. His noted works include Takararinavaru, Saavirada Neralu. He is also recipient of the Sangeet Nataka Academy Award and the Sahitya Academy Award.

ONGC, Coal India (CIL) and NMDC were awarded by the government for best performance in different categories on 20 September. The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) Secretary, Bhaskar Chatterjee gave away the awards. Best financial performance award in Maharatna and Navaratna category was given to ONGC. In Miniratna category, the best financial performance award award has been given to Goa Shipyard. Good Corporate Governance award in Maharatna and Navaratna category was also given to ONGC. The company of the year award in Maharatna category was given to CIL. The same awards for the Navaratna category were given to NMDC and Oil India.

The 44th Jnanpith Award for 2008 was presented to renowned Urdu poet Professor Akhlaq Mohammad Khan Shahryar for his distinguished contribution in enriching Indian literature. He was presented the award by actor Amitabh Bachhan in a glittering ceremony organised by the Bharatiya Jnanpith in New Delhi on 18 September 2011.

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) on 28 September 2011 conferred the Rajiv Gandhi International Prize for Technology in Education and Development on the Azim Premji Foundation. The award instituted by the university in its silver jubilee year was presented to Azim Premji by Communications and Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal. According to IGNOU, the award comprising of Rs. five lakh cash and a citation is given to individual or institution that contributed significantly in education, particularly educational technology, for development in developing countries across the world.

Legendary playback singer Lata Mangeshkar was honoured with the first Hridaynath award for her contribution to Indian music on 28 September 2011. She was presented a cheque of Rs one lakh, a trophy by Amitabh Bachchan. The award has been instituted by Hridayesh Art, a Mumbai- based socio-cultural organisation in honour of Lata Mangeshkar’s brother, Hridaynath Mangeshkar.

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) on 26 September 2011 honoured 11 scientists with the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology for the year 2011.
The list of the awardees in the different categories are as follows:
Biological Sciences-Dr Amit Prakash Sharma (International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi) & Dr Rajan Sankaranarayanan (CSIR Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology, Hyderabad).
Chemical Sciences-Dr Balasubramanian Sundaram (Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore) & Dr Garikapati Narahari Sastry (CSIR Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad are some of them.

Three distinguished Indian Americans, 2 inventors and a researcher were named by US President Barack Obama on 27 September 2011 as recipients of National Medal of Science, and for Technology and Innovation. New York University’s Srinivasa SR Vardhan, Purdue University’s Rakesh Agarwal, and North Carolina State University’s B Jayant Baliga were the three Indians selected dozen to receive the National Medal of Science, and for Technology and Innovation, the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on scientists, engineers as well as inventors.