Sachin Tendulkar was presented the Wisden India Outstanding Achievement Award

India’s Batting great Sachin Tendulkar was conferred upon the Wisden India Outstanding Achievement award for completing a century of 100 international hundreds, in Dubai on 11 June 2012. The legendary batsman was presented a trophy at an event organised by FidelisWorld. The trophy was made from crystal, it resembles a cricket ball resting on the open pages of a book.
Tendulakar achieved the incredible feat while playing against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup in March 2012. The batting genius has total 49 One-Day International centuries and 51 Test centuries to his credit.
Tendulkar, while receiving the award spoke on range of aspects of his career, like his favourite innings, the match-winning fourth innings hundred against England at Chennai in December 2008, balancing play and personal life, and the influence that his late father had in shaping his career.

Miss India World Vinya Mishra awarded with Kalpana Chawla Excellence Award

Yesteryear actress Sushma Seth and Miss India World Vinya Mishra were awarded with Kalpana Chawla excellence award on 6 May 2012 at Mavlankar Auditorium, New Delhi. The other awardees included Padmabhushan kuchipudi and bharatnatyam dancer Swapnasundari, IPS Officer Shalini Singh, who had won the police medal for meritorious service in 2012 and jewellery designer Puneeta Trikha.

The award instituted by PECOBA (Punjab Engineering College Chandigarh Old Boys Association was conferred by late astronaut's father Banarsi Lal Chawla Chawla. The awards are being given every year in the memory of Kalpana, who died in Space Shuttle Columbia disaster on 1 February 2003.

The Function was organized by PECOBA (Punjab Engineering College Chandigarh Old Boys Association). Kalpana Chawla was an alumnus of this College and got her degree in aeronautical engineering in 1982 from this college.

Report placed India on Fifth Position in the List of Countries affected from Cyber Crime

India, according to a report published by the Security and Defence Agenda (SDA) and McAfee on 6 May 2012, ranked fifth in the list of countries affected of cyber crime. The report, ‘Cyber Security: The Vexed Question of Global Rules’, rated the Internet privacy in the country as low. Brussels-based SDA spoke to leading global security experts to ensure that findings would offer useful recommendations and actions.

At the Cyber Security Summit which concluded in Bangalore on 4 May 2012, officials from the National Security Committee claimed that the government is firstly looking at capacity building that will lead to the draft of the national cyber security policy which is currently under discussion.

The report mentioned that India knows the repercussions of cyber crime which directly affects the reputation of the country as a safe investment or business place. The report also expressed concern over lack of a single operator to effectively control Internet, telecom and power sectors.

Tamil writer Ashokamitran declared Recipient of the 6 NTR National Literary Award

Noted Tamil writer Ashokamitran, known for his novel Thanneer and other works was declared the recipient of the 6 NTR National Literary Award on 4 May 2012. The award is scheduled to be presented on 28 May 2012. The writer was born in Secunderabad and was closest to Telugu culture, language and people.

The announcement was made by chairperson of NTR Vignan Trust Nandamuri Lakshmi Parvati who recalled how the award was established and began with Kannada writer S.L. Bhyrappa, A. Somasundaram (Telugu), Sachidanandan (Malayalam), Mahasweta Devi and Gnanpith awardee C. Narayana Reddy.

The jury comprised writer Volga, Professor N. Krupanandam of the University of Hyderabad and litterateur Ketu Vishwanatha Reddy. Ashokamitran's name was finalised unanimously, considering the number of his works that were translated in other languages and their relevance to Telugu.

Mithun Chakravarti received the PC Chandra Lifetime Achievement Award

Bollywood actor Mithun Chakravarti received the PC Chandra lifetime achievement award in Kolkata on 29 April 2102. West Bengal Governor MK Narayan conferred the award upon the iconic Bengali actor. The award  was comprised a memento, citation and five lakh rupees cash.
Mithun has bagged the national award thrice - for Mrigaya (1976), Tahader Katha (1996) and Swami Vivekananda (1998). PC Chandra group has also felicitated stalwarts like the late Ustad Bismillah Khan, Sunil Gavaskar and P T Usha in the past.

BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) won British Safety Award

BSES Yamuna Power limited (BPYL) won the prestigious 54th British International Safety Award. BYPL has been selected for this award given the steps taken by it for the safety of its over 11 lakh consumers and safety and health of its employees. The list of award winners was announced in London in the last week of March 2012. The award will be presented in May 2012. BPYL is the first Indian discom to be selected for this award.

BYPL distributes power to an area spread over 200 sq kms with a population density of 5953 per sq km. It’s 11.9lakh customers are spread over 14 districts across Central and East areas of Delhi including Chandni Chowk, Daryaganj,  Shankar Road, Patel Nagar, G T Road,Paharganj, Karkardooma, Krishna Nagar, Mayur Vihar, Yamuna Vihar, Laxmi Nagar, Nand Nagri and Karawal Nagar.

Laureus Awards, 2012

Serbian tennis giant Novak Djokovic and Kenyan distance runner Vivian Cheruiyot have been named as the best Sportsman and Sportswoman of the year, respectively, while the glory of best Team went to reigning Champions League football holders FC Barcelona.

Djokovic, the first player representing Serbia to win a Grand Slam singles title, is also the youngest player to reach the semi-finals of all four Grand Slams in the open era, at the age of 24.

Cheruiyot was considered one of the greatest distance runners of this generation. She picked up gold medals of both 5,000 and 10,000 metres at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.

Barcelona, under coach Pep Guardiola, was winner of the Champions League and the Spanish League in the 2010/11 season. It was the fourth time the team was nominated for the Laureus but won it for the first time.

Oscar Awards, 2012

Best Film: Thomas Langmann for “The Artist”. The film is the first silent film to win the award since the World War I saga “Wings” was named outstanding picture at the first Oscars in 1929.
Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius for “The Artist”.
Best Actress: Meryl Streep for “The Iron Lady”. This was her third Oscar.
Best Actor: Jean Dujardin, for “The Artist”.
Best Actor in a supporting role: Christopher Plummer for “Beginners”. He is 82 years old and wins his first Oscar.
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer for “The Help”.
Best Foreign Language Film: Asghar Farhadi for Iranian film “A Separation”, which became the first Iranian film ever to win an Oscar.
Short film Animated: William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg for “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”.
Short Film (Live Action): George and Oorlagh George for “The Shore”.
Original Screenplay: Woody Allen for “Midnight in Paris”. This was his first Oscar in last 25 years.
Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash for “The Descendants”. Best Original Song: Bret McKenzie from “Man or Muppet”.
Best Original Score: Ludovic Bource for “The Artist”.
Best Visual Effects: Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann and Alex Henning for “Hugo”.
Best Animated feature film: Gore Verbinski for “Rango”.
Best Documentary: T.J. Martin, Dan Lindsay and Rich Middlemas for “Undefeated”.
Best Makeup: Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland for “The Iron Lady”.
Best Costume Design: Mark Bridges for “The Artist”.
Art Direction: Dante Ferretti (Production Design); Francesca Lo Schiavo (Set Decoration) for “Hugo”.
Best Cinematography: Robert Richardson for “Hugo”.

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy, 2010-11

Punjabi University, Patiala has won the trophy defeating arch rivals GNDU, Amritsar. The coveted sports trophy has been awarded to the university for the fourth time as it had earned the maximum number of medals in the All-India Inter-University championships and registered the best overall performance in individual and team events held in one calendar year.

National Tourism Award

In a nod to the active interest that States have taken in developing tourism, Madhya Pradesh and Sikkim swept the National Tourism Award ceremony with the maximum number of awards. While Madhya Pradesh got four awards, including best State for tourism infrastructure and best tourism film, Sikkim got the award for tourism infrastructure in the north-east and best State for the Clean India campaign.

Besides Madhya Pradesh and Sikkim, Rajasthan and Kerala also bagged the awards. Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Hyderabad was adjudged the best airport and New Delhi Railway Station got the award for best tourist-friendly station in the country.

Business Standard awards for Corporate Excellence

CEO of the Year: Rajiv Bajaj, MD & CEO of Bajaj Auto
Company of the Year: Cognizant
Star MNC: Nestle India
Star SME: Jubilant FoodWorks
Star PSU: National Mineral Development Corporation

Grammy Awards, 2012

Song of the Year: “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth
Pop Solo Performance: “Someone Like You” by Adele
Pop Performance by a Duo or Group: “Body and Soul” by Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse
Pop Vocal Album: “21” by Adele
Alternative Album: “Bon Iver” by Bon Iver
Rock Song: “Walk” by Foo Fighters
Rock Album: “Wasting Light” by Foo Fighters
Rock Performance: “Walk” by Foo Fighters
Hard Rock/Metal Performance: “White Limo” by Foo Fighters
R&B Album: “F.A.M.E.” by Chris Brown
R&B Song: “Fool For You” by Cee Lo Green, Melanie Hallim and Jack Splash
R&B Performance: “Is This Love” by Corrine Bailey Rae
Rap Album: “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” by Kanye West
Rap Performance: “Otis” by Jay-Z and Kanye West
Rap Song: “All of the Lights” by Jeff Bhasker, Stacy Ferguson, Malik Jones, Warren Trotter and Kanye West
World Music Album: “Tassili” by Tinariwen
Country Solo Performance: “Mean” by Taylor Swift
Country Album: “Own the Night” by Lady Antebellum
Country Performance by a Duo or Group: “Barton Hollow” by The Civil Wars
Country Song: “Mean” by Taylor Swift
Jazz Vocal Album: “The Mosaic Project” by Terri Lyne Carrington and various artists
Jazz Instrumental Album: “Forever” by Corea, Clark and White
Historical Album: “Band on the Run” by Paul McCartney

President to Present National Tourism Awards

The Ministry of Tourism has introduced three new category of Awards from this year as apart of National Tourism Awards. In an attempt to encourage States and Union Territories to put into place effective mechanisms for maintaining cleanliness at tourist destinations, a new Category of award for “The Best State : Campaign Clean India” has been introduced. In addition two new categories of awards for the “Best Heritage City” and “Best Heritage Walk” have also been introduced. The President Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil will give away these awards on February 29,2012 in New Delhi.

The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India annually presents National Tourism Awards to various segments of the travel, tourism and hospitality industry. These awards are presented to State Governments / Union Territories, classified hotels, heritage hotels, approved travel agents, tour operators and tourist transport operators, individuals and other private organizations in recognition of their performance in their respective fields and also to encourage healthy competition with an aim to promote tourism. The National Tourism Awards have over the years emerged as a prestigious recognition of achievements in the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors.

Tourism is dynamic industry and every year, the categories of awards are reviewed with new categories being added to recognize excellence in diverse fields, in accordance with the requirements of changing times. In the year 2010, a new category of Awards was introduced for “Best Civic Management of a Tourist Destination in India”. This award was introduced to encourage eco-friendly practices by various civic bodies in cities / towns / villages for the maintenance and upkeep of tourist sites / parks, etc.

Amongst the important awards conferred each year are the Awards for the Best States / UTS for the Comprehensive Development of Tourism; Inbound Tour Operators and Travel Agents judged on the basis of their Foreign Exchange Earnings; Domestic Tour Operators and Tourist Transport Operators with high turnovers; Hotels in different categories, including Heritage Hotels, Chefs; Best Rural Tourism Project; Best Responsible Tourism Project; Innovative & Unique Tourism Projects; Best Airport, Railway Station and Convention Centres; Best Heritage City and Heritage Walk; Best Overseas. Tour Operators for India from different Regions; Best Tourism Film, Website/Portal, Publicity Material; amongst others.