BCCIs Lifetime Achievement Award

♦ Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar will be honoured with the BCCI's Lifetime Achievement Award on 31 January 2025.

♦ Tendulkar will be the 31st recipient of the award, which was instituted in 1994 in honour of India's first captain Col. C K Nayudu.

♦ In 2023, the lifetime honour was conferred to former India head coach and all-rounder Ravi Shastri and wicket-keeping great Farokh Engineer.

♦ Tendulkar played 664 international games for India, holds the record for the highest number of Test and ODI runs in cricket history. He amassed 15,921 runs in Tests and a staggering 18,426 runs in ODIs.

♦ Tendulkar also holds the record for the most appearances in both formats, with 200 Test matches and 463 ODIs to his name.

♦ Tendulkar was a pivotal member of India’s 2011 World Cup-winning team, marking his record sixth and final appearance in the tournament.

♦ Jasprit Bumrah and Smriti Mandhana have been named as the best men’s and women's international cricketers, respectively, at the BCCI Awards 2025.

♦ Started in 2006-07, the BCCI Awards is an annual felicitation ceremony, where the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the country’s governing body for the sport, honours standout performers from the preceding years.

Gallantry awards to 93 Armed Forces and Central Armed Police Forces personnel

♦  President Droupadi Murmu has approved Gallantry awards to 93 Armed Forces and Central Armed Police Forces personnel, including 11 posthumous, on the eve of 76th Republic Day. These include two Kirti Chakras, including one posthumous, 14 Shaurya Chakras, including three posthumous, one Bar to Sena Medal (Gallantry), 66 Sena Medals, including seven posthumous, two Nao Sena Medal (Gallantry) and eight Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry).
♦  Kirti Chakra has been awarded to Major Manjit and Naik Dilwar Khan(posthumous). Kirti Chakra is awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the field of battle.

British Citizen Award

♦ Dr. Anuradha Uppaluri, a resident of Moseley , Birmingham was recognized with the prestigious British Citizen Award (BCA) for 2025. This honor, bestowed upon her at the Palace of Westminster, celebrates her extraordinary contributions to raising awareness about autism and her substantial fundraising efforts for autism-related charities in the UK. In 2024, Dr. Uppaluri founded Bridging Brains CIC, a non-profit organization aimed at empowering families with special needs children.

♦ The British Citizen Award is part of the People's Honour Awards, announced annually by the British government. It recognizes individuals who demonstrate selfless and sustained civic leadership, highlighting heroes who strengthen the fabric of society across the United Kingdom. 

Padma Awards

♦ The Central government announced the recipients of the coveted Padma Awards on 25 January 2025. These one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The Awards are given in various disciplines/ fields of activities, viz.- art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc. 

♦ ‘Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; ‘Padma Bhushan’ for distinguished service of high order and ‘Padma Shri’ for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year.

♦ For the year 2025, the President has approved conferment of 139 Padma Awards including1 duo case (in a duo case, the Award is counted as one). The list comprises 7 Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri Awards. 23of the awardees are women and the list also includes 10 persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and13 Posthumous awardees.

Padma Vibhushan:

Padma Bhushan:

Padma Shri (113)

Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar-2025

♦ The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) was selected for the Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar-2025, in the Institutional Category, for its excellent work in disaster management.

♦ The Union government instituted the award to recognise and honour contributions and selfless service rendered by individuals and organisations in India in disaster management. 

♦ The award is announced every year on January 23, the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. It carries a cash prize of Rs.51 lakh and a certificate in case of an institution and Rs 5 lakh and a certificate in case of an individual.

♦ Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) was established in 1999, Hyderabad, Telangana. It is integral to India’s disaster management strategy, specialising in early alerts for ocean-related hazards.

♦ The INCOIS received the Geospatial World Excellence in Maritime Services Award in 2024 and the Disaster Risk Reduction Excellence Award in 2021.

Oscars 2025

♦ Indian short film Anuja secured a nomination in the Best Short Film (Live Action) category for the Oscars 2025. Anuja is directed by Adam J. Graves and Suchitra Mattai. Anuja follows a nine-year-old girl who, alongside her sister Palak, faces a life-changing opportunity that tests their bond and mirrors the struggles of girls worldwide. 

♦ The other short films to make it to the final nominations list are A Lien, The Last Ranger, I’m Not a Robot, and The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent.

National Sports Awards 2024

President Droupadi Murmu conferred the National Sports Awards 2024 at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on 17 January 2025. World Chess Champion D. Gukesh, double medalist at the Paris Olympics Manu Bhaker, Men’s Hockey Team Captain Harmanpreet Singh, and gold medalist at the Paris Paralympics Praveen Kumar were honoured with the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award.

The award-winners:

Arjuna Awards: Jyothi Yarraji (Athletics), Annu Rani (Athletics), Nitu (Boxing), Saweety (Boxing), Vantika Agrawal (Chess), Salima Tete (Hockey), Abhishek (Hockey), Sanjay (Hockey), Jarmanpreet Singh (Hockey), Sukhjeet Singh (Hockey), Rakesh Kumar (Para-Archery), Preeti Pal (Para-Athletics), Jeevanji Deepthi (Para-Athletics), Ajeet Singh (Para-Athletics), Sachin Sarjerao Khilari (Para-Athletics), Dharambir (Para-Athletics), Pranav Soorma (Para-Athletics), H Hokato Sema (Para-Athletics), Simran (Para-Athletics), Navdeep (Para-Athletics), Nitesh Kumar (Para-Badminton), Thulasimathi Murugesan (Para-Badminton), Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan (Para-Badminton), Manisha Ramadass (Para-Badminton), Kapil Parmar (Para-Judo), Mona Agarwal (Para-Shooting), Rubina Francis (Para-Shooting), Swapnil Suresh Kusale (Shooting), Sarabjot Singh (Shooting), Abhay Singh (Squash), Sajan Prakash (Swimming), Aman (Wrestling).

Arjuna Awards (Lifetime): Sucha Singh (Athletics), Murlikant Rajaram Petkar (Para-Swimming).

Dronacharya Award: Subhash Rana (Para-Shooting), Deepali Deshpande (Shooting), Sandeep Sangwan (Hockey, S Muralidharan (Badminton), Armando Agnelo Colaco (Football) Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar: Physical Education Foundation of India Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy for top-performing university in the Khelo India University Games: Chandigarh University, Lovely Professional University and Guru Nanak Dev University.

Tharman Shanmugaratnam

♦ Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam bestowed the country’s Honorary Citizen Award on former Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) head Tarun Das for his outstanding contribution to strengthening bilateral relations. 

♦ The Honorary Citizenship Award is the highest recognition by the Singapore government for a non-Singaporean. It is awarded to individuals who have made significant impact in fields such as business, science and technology, education, health, arts and culture, and community service.

Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award

♦ Dr. Syed Anwar Khursheed was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award 2025 on 10 January 2025.

♦ He is a distinguished Indian physician based in Saudi Arabia. This award is the highest recognition for overseas Indians by the Government of India.

♦ The award celebrates his remarkable contributions to healthcare, community welfare, and strengthening ties between India and Saudi Arabia.

♦ Dr. Khursheed has served in key roles, including three decades at King Faisal Hospital and a decade at the National Guard Hospital as a Royal Protocol Physician. 

♦ He founded the International Indian School in Taif, fostering academic excellence and cultural integration for Indian expatriates.

♦ Additionally, he has been instrumental in supporting underprivileged Indians through social and philanthropic initiatives, collaborating with organizations like the Gulbarga Welfare Society and MESCO.

♦ Dr Syed is also the of Vice President, Saudi-Indian Healthcare Forum under the patronage of Embassy of India, Riyadh, since its inception on 8th Jan 2021.

National Sports Awards 2024

♦ Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports announced the National Sports Awards 2024 on January 2. The awardees will receive their awards from the President of India at a specially organized function at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 17th January, 2025.

Full list of award winners

♦ Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2024: Gukesh D (Chess), Harmanpreet Singh (Hockey), Praveen Kumar (Para-Athletics), Manu Bhaker (Shooting).

♦ Arjuna Awards: Jyothi Yarraji (Athletics), Annu Rani (Athletics), Nitu (Boxing), Saweety (Boxing), Vantika Agrawal (Chess), Salima Tete (Hockey), Abhishek (Hockey), Sanjay (Hockey), Jarmanpreet Singh (Hockey), Sukhjeet Singh (Hockey), Rakesh Kumar (Para-Archery), Preeti Pal (Para-Athletics), Jeevanji Deepthi (Para-Athletics), Ajeet Singh (Para-Athletics), Sachin Sarjerao Khilari (Para-Athletics), Dharambir (Para-Athletics), Pranav Soorma (Para-Athletics), H Hokato Sema (Para-Athletics), Simran (Para-Athletics), Navdeep (Para-Athletics), Nitesh Kumar (Para-Badminton), Thulasimathi Murugesan (Para-Badminton), Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan (Para-Badminton), Manisha Ramadass (Para-Badminton), Kapil Parmar (Para-Judo), Mona Agarwal (Para-Shooting), Rubina Francis (Para-Shooting), Swapnil Suresh Kusale (Shooting), Sarabjot Singh (Shooting), Abhay Singh (Squash), Sajan Prakash (Swimming), Aman (Wrestling).

♦ Arjuna Awards (Lifetime): Sucha Singh (Athletics), Murlikant Rajaram Petkar (Para-Swimming).

♦ Dronacharya Award: Subhash Rana (Para-Shooting), Deepali Deshpande (Shooting), Sandeep Sangwan (Hockey). 

♦ Dronacharya Award (Lifetime): S Muralidharan (Badminton), Armando Agnelo Colaco (Football). 

♦ National Sports Awards are given every year to recognize and reward excellence in sports.

♦ ‘Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award’ is given for the spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over the period of the previous four years.

♦ ‘Arjuna Award for outstanding performance in Sports and Games’ is given for good performance over a period of the previous four years and for showing qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and a sense of discipline.

♦ Arjuna Award (Lifetime) is given to honour and motivate those sportspersons who have contributed to sports by their performance and continue to contribute to promotion of sports even after their retirement from active sporting career.

♦ ‘Dronacharya Award for outstanding coaches in Sports and Games’ is given to coaches for doing outstanding and meritorious work on a consistent basis and for enabling sportspersons to excel in International events.