1. Manushi Chhillar Wins Femina Miss India World 2017 Title.

Manushi Chillar has won the title of Femina Miss India 2017 at the grand finale ceremony of the event in Mumbai on Sunday. Manushi Chillar belongs to Haryana and did her schooling from Delhi and graduation from a college in Sonipat.

Manushi Chillar won the crown of Femina Miss India 2017 by beating 29 other contestants from different states of India. It was for the first time that all contestants wore an Indian dress during a round at the final ceremony of the much talked about beauty pageant.

There were a total of 30 participants who participated for the crown of Femina Miss India 2017. Participants were from all states of India.

Mentors were: Neha Dhupia, Dipannita Sharma, Waluscha De Sousa and Parvathy Omanakuttan.

The final round at Femina Miss World 2017 was judged by Bollywood stars like Arjun Rampal and Bipasha Basu. Fashion designer Manish Malhotra, Vidyut Jammwal, Abhishek Kapoor, Ileana D’Cruz, also had a role to play. Stephanie Del Valle, winner of Femina Miss India 2016 was also among the judges who choose Manushi Chhillar from Haryana as the winner of Femina Miss India 2017.

Femina Miss India 2017 Winners:

• The crown of Miss India World has been bagged by Miss Haryana – Manushi Chillar.
  
• First runner up = Miss J&K – Sana Dua.
  
• Second runner up = Miss Bihar – Priyanka Kumari.

2. Doon girl Bhumika Sharma wins Miss World title in bodybuilding championship.

Dehradun’s Bhumika Sharma gained maximum points in three categories – individual posing, body posing and fall in that eventually bagged her the Miss World title and the gold medal at the world championship in Venice last week.

“The Indian squad had 27 members. I was the lone woman bodybuilder. I gained enough points in all the three rounds and made the country proud,” Bhumika told HT’s sister publication Hindi Hindustan.

The championship drew 50 competitors from different countries.

But bodybuilding wasn’t her original choice. Her parents - Hansa Manral Sharma the head coach of the India women’s weightlifting team and Vishwavijay Sharma, a businessman - wanted her to become a shooter but fate had something else in store for her.

During a shooting event in New Delhi three years ago, a chance meeting with a bodybuilding coach changed the life of the 21-year-old.

She left shooting, opted for bodybuilding and began to win medals regularly.

As an only child it was not easy for Bhumika to convince parents to let her go for bodybuilding. After initial reluctance, her parents finally gave her the nod to continue her passion. Her mother keeps a tab on her schedule and shares tips from time to time. And her coach, Bhupendra Sharma ensures she remains impressive.

She follows a punishing schedule at the gym for up to seven hours a day. Bhumika has now set her sights on the Miss Universe title for bodybuilding. Bhumika is the only woman bodybuilder from Uttarakhand who has made mark in the national /international arena.

“I am preparing hard for Miss Universe Championship to be held in December this year” she told the newspaper.

Organised by National Amateur Body-Builders’ Association (NABBA) of United Kingdom, bodybuilders from 60 countries will participate for the Miss and Mr Universe titles.

3.  Ankit Kawatra bags Queen’s Young Leaders Award for 2017.

 

1. Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute bags PM’s Yoga Award.

PM’s Yoga Award was instituted at the 2nd International Day of Yoga celebrations at Chandigarh by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

Prime Minister had instituted the award for promoting the ancient Indian spiritual discipline. The Ministry of AYUSH framed guidelines for the awards and constituted two committees, namely, screening committee (for preliminary evaluation) and evaluation committee (Jury). 

The Institute has been selected from among 85 nominations and 15 more recommended by the Screening Committee. The Award was recommended by an Evaluation Committee (Jury) under the Chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary. 

Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute has worked to spread Yoga both domestically and internationally over a period of four decades. It has also published a number of books on yoga which has been translated into multiple languages.

2. Indian agricultural microbiologist Shrihari Chandraghatgi conferred the Ministry of Environment Award for 2017 in Japan.

Indian agricultural microbiologist Shrihari Chandraghatgi has been conferred the Ministry of Environment Award for 2017 in Japan for developing cutting edge technologies to address burning environmental problems.

Chandraghatgi, who is President and CEO of EcoCycle Corporation, is the first foreigner to be given the Ministry of Environment Award, the highest award in environmental sector in Japan, a company release said.

The Ministry of Environment Award is the highest honour given in the environmental sector every year jointly by the Ministry of Environment, Japan, National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), Japan and The Nikkan Kogyo Shinbun (a media group).

The award was given away recently by State Minister of Environment, Japan, Seki Yoshihiro, at a ceremony at Kasumegaseki, Tokyo.

Chandraghatgi, hailing from Siddapura in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, has been residing in Tokyo for almost two decades. He has over a dozen patents against his name. These patented technologies have been applied over 400 sites in Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, India, China and the US, the release said.

 3. West Bengal Honoured with UN Public Service Award.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has received the highest prize in United Nations Public Service Award for the state government’s Kanyashree Prakalpa (Girl Child) scheme in The Hague, Netherlands. 

Kanyashree Prakalpa scheme of West Bengal came first among the 552 project nominations received by the UN from 62 countries. 

West Bengal has been awarded in the Asia-Pacific group for the category: ‘Reaching the Poorest and Most Vulnerable through Inclusive Services and Participation‘.

4. Nisha Dutt bags Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Nisha Dutt, Chief Executive Officer of Intellecap has become the first Indian woman leader to have been honoured with the “Social Entrepreneur of the Year” award at The 7th Asian Awards in London. 

Nisha Dutt has been honoured in recognition of her work in making Intellecap a globally known enterprise that focuses on social capital. Her key contribution lies in integrating technology with challenges of healthcare, financial services, incubation and conceptualising programs such as Innovations Labs.

The previous winners of the award include Ratan Tata, Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Asha Bhosle, Zayn Malik etc. In the Social Entrepreneur category, Professor Muhammad Yunus, Masa Kogure and Vikram Patel have been honoured with the award in the past.

1. Israeli Author David Grossman wins Man Booker International Prize. 

Israeli author David Grossman has won the Man Booker International Prize for his novel “A Horse Walks Into a Bar“. David Grossman has become the first Israeli author to win the Man Booker International Prize. 

He will share the £50,000 ($64,000) award money with his translator Jessica Cohen. David Grossman has also won other international awards. David Grossman’s 1986 novel “See Under: Love” is hailed as a masterpiece of his work which revolved around Holocaust and the generation of Jews that followed. 

Other important works of David Grossman includes The Yellow Wind, To the End of the Land. His works have been translated into over 30 languages. He is also a recipient of France’s Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1998. 

David Grossman is one among the seven noted writers who appealed the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to sanction the Syrian government over its actions in 2011.