23-Jul-2021: Chief Hydrographer receives Alexander Dalrymple Award

Vice Admiral Vinay Badhwar, AVSM, NM, Chief Hydrographer to the Govt. of India received the Alexander Dalrymple award from the British High Commissioner, Mr. Alex Ellis at a presentation ceremony held at the High Commissioner’s residence today at New Delhi. Vice Admiral Vinay Badhwar was conferred with the prestigious award in 2019 but the award ceremony was delayed due to the ongoing pandemic. The Alexander Dalrymple award has been named after the first hydrographer of the Admiralty and was instituted in 2006.

The Admiral has been awarded the Alexander Dalrymple award in recognition of his unparalleled dedication, professionalism and leadership in the disciplines of hydrography and nautical cartography, not only as the Chief Hydrographer to the Government of India but throughout the Indian Ocean region. The Admiral’s unrelenting enthusiasm in continuing the skills and output across the Indian Ocean has increased safety, security, economic sustainability and development and environment protection for the whole region.

The Chief Hydrographer during the presentation ceremony stated that “Our Prime Minister’s vision of SAGAR - Security And Growth for All in the Region along with the push from United Nations for sustainability of our oceans, has been the driving force for the Hydrographic Department in extending all possible assistance including capacity building to littorals in the Indian Ocean Region and I have been fortunate in leading this department towards these goals. I also thank the UKHO Executive Committee for recognising this effort.”

9-Jan-2021: Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards-2021

The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA) is the highest honour conferred on overseas Indians. PBSA is conferred by the Hon’ble President of India as part of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention on Non-Resident Indians, Persons of Indian Origin or an organization/institution established and run by the Non-Resident Indians or Persons of Indian Origin in recognition of their outstanding achievements both in India and abroad.

The 16th edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Convention was held virtually on 9th January 2021. The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards were conferred by the Hon’ble President at the PBD Convention in the valedictory session of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebrations. 

A Jury-cum-Awards Committee, with Hon’ble Vice-President as the Chairman and Hon’ble External Affairs Minister as the Vice-Chair and other distinguished members from various walks of life considered the nominations for the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards, 2021 and unanimously selected the awardees. The awardees represent the vibrant excellence achieved by our diaspora in various fields. Several countries have been represented for the first time among the awardees. Dr. Mukesh Aghi, one of the awardees and President & CEO of US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, delivered the acceptance speech on behalf of the awardees. 

The list of the awardees is as follows:

S. No.

Name

Country

Field

1

NGO Cultural Diversity for Peaceful Future

Armenia

Promoting Indian Culture

2

Dr. Rajani Chandra D’Mello

Azerbaijan

Medicine

3

Mr. Baburajan Vava Kalluparambil Gopalan

Bahrain

Community Service

4

Mrs. Jamal Ahmad

Botswana

Business

5

Mr. Janakiraman Ravikumar

Cameroon

Closer ties with India

6

H.E. Mr. Eugene Rhuggenaath

Curacao (The Netherlands)

Public Service

7

Mr. Debashish Chaudhuri

Czech Republic

Art and Culture

8

Mr. Mohammed Husein Hasanali Sardharwala

Ethiopia

Business

9

Sai Prema Foundation

Fiji

Community Service

10

Dr. Balasubramanian Ramani

Germany

Education

11

Mr. Lal Lokumal Chellaram

Hong Kong

Community Service

12

Dr. (Prof.) Muralidhar Miryala

Japan

Science & Technology

13

Mr. Rajib Shaw

Japan

Education

14

Mr. Salil Panigrahi

Maldives

Tourism

15

Dr. Ravi Prakash Singh

Mexico

Science & Technology

16

Hon. Ms. Priyanca Radhakrishnan

New Zealand

Public Service

17

Indian Cultural Association (ICA)

Nigeria

Community Service

18

Dr. Mohan Thomas Lazarus Pakalomattom

Qatar

Medicine

19

Mr. Jean Regis Ramsamy

Reunion (France)

Media & Community Service

20

Mr. Siddeek Ahmed

Saudi Arabia

Business

21

Dr. Anil Kumar Chotalal Mithani

Sudan

Medicine

22

H.E. Mr. Chandrikapersad Santokhi

Suriname

Public Service

23

Dr. Shachi Gurumayun

Switzerland

Bio-tech Agronomy

24

Mr. Vashdev Tikamdas Purswani

Thailand

Business

25

Mr. Resham Singh Sandhu

UK

Public Service

26

Mr. Arvind Phukan

USA

Environment Technology

27

Ms. Nilu Gupta

USA

Promoting Indian Culture

28

Federation of Indian Associations NY, NJ & CT

USA

Community Service

29

Dr. Sudhakar Jonnalagadda

USA

Medicine

30

Dr. Mukesh Aghi

USA/ Singapore

Business

21-Dec-2020: United States confers 'Legion of Merit' award on Prime Minister Narendra Modi

The President of the United States of America conferred the highest decoration, The Legion of Merit, Degree Chief Commander, to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 21 December 2020. The award is in recognition of the Prime Minister’s steadfast leadership and vision for India's emergence as a global power, and exemplary contribution made by him for the advancement of the India-United States strategic partnership and promoting global peace and prosperity.

The Legion of Merit, in the highest degree of the Chief Commander, is a prestigious award conferred by the President of the United States, typically upon Heads of State or Heads of Government of other countries.

The award was received on behalf of the Prime Minister by the Ambassador of India to the United States Taranjit Singh Sandhu. At the ceremony, The Legion of Merit, Degree Chief Commander, was also awarded to the Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison, and former Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe.