Speaker of the Knesset Medal on Modi

♦ Israel Parliament (Knesset) conferred the ‘Speaker of the Knesset Medal’ on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 25 February 2026.

♦ This is the highest honour of the Knesset.

♦ The Indian Prime Minister is the first leader to receive this medal.

♦ The medal was conferred in recognition of PM Modi’s exceptional contribution through his personal leadership to strengthen strategic relations between India and Israel.

♦ In 2018, PM Narendra Modi was conferred the Grand Collar of the State of Palestine in 2018, which is the highest Palestinian honour for foreign leaders.

UNESCO

♦ The 475 year old Our Lady of Grace Cathedral in Vasai, Maharashtra has won the Award of Merit at the 2025 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. The announcement was made in Bangkok, marking global recognition for a remarkable community-funded restoration project. 

♦ Built in the 16th century, the stone structure, built without cement, has weathered centuries of wear and tear to emerge stronger and immensely beautiful. The cost of the restoration was approximately Rs.4.5 crore, and the local population contributed with an open heart.

Global Teacher Prize 2026

♦ Indian teacher Rouble Nagi received the Global Teacher Prize 2026 during the World Government Summit on 5 February 2026, winning the one million dollar award presented by GEMS Education in its tenth edition. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, presented the Global Teacher Prize 2026 to Rouble Nagi.

♦ Nagi was honoured in recognition of her efforts to transform neglected walls into interactive educational murals that teach reading, writing, and arithmetic, alongside key concepts related to public health and environmental awareness. Over the past two decades, she has helped integrate more than one million children into formal education by employing art as an educational tool. She was selected from more than 5,000 nominations and applications received from 139 countries.

♦ Through her foundation, the Rouble Nagi Art Foundation, she established more than 800 educational centres across India, providing safe and inspiring spaces in over 100 low-income communities and villages. These centres enable out-of-school children to begin structured learning and gradually return to formal education, while supporting enrolled students through remedial education programmes, psychosocial support, and creative activities.

♦ The Global Teacher Prize, presented by GEMS Education and organised by the Varkey Foundation in collaboration with UNESCO during the World Government Summit, honours exceptional educators for their outstanding contributions to the teaching profession.

Crafoord Prize

♦ Indian-origin climate scientist Veerabhadran Ramanathan has been awarded the 2026 Crafoord Prize in Geosciences by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Often described as the “Nobel of Geosciences,” the prize recognises Ramanathan's decades of research on super-pollutants and atmospheric brown clouds, which have reshaped understanding of global warming.

♦ Ramanathan made a landmark discovery in 1975 while working at NASA: chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), widely used in aerosols and refrigeration, trap heat in the atmosphere up to 10,000 times more effectively than carbon dioxide.

♦ Born in Madurai and raised in Chennai, Ramanathan began his career as an engineer in a refrigerator factory in Secunderabad, where he first handled CFCs.

♦ His Indian roots informed his work in the Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX), which identified atmospheric brown clouds over South Asia.

♦ The Crafoord Prize carries a cash award of 8 million Swedish kronor (approximately $900,000) and a gold medal. The award will be presented during Crafoord Days in Stockholm and Lund in May 2026.