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Jan 26, 2023KnownewsThe Government of India has announced the list of Padma Award winners for the year 2023. The Padma Awards are one of India’s highest civilian honors held annually on the eve of Republic Day. The awards are presented in three categories: Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and outstanding service), Padma Bhushan (distinguished service of a higher order) and Padma Shri (distinguished service). The award is intended to recognize achievement in any field of activity or discipline involving an element of public service.Padma Awards, which were established in the year 1954, are announced every year on the occasion of Republic Day, except for short breaks in the years 1978 and 1979 and 1993 to 1997.This year’s list consists of 10 names from science and technology. Shir Srinivas Varadhan is awarded the highest civilian honor Padma Vibhushan. Shri Deepak Dhar received Padma Bhushan, while eight people received Padma Shri in science and engineering.Laureates1. Padma VibhushanShri Srinivas Varadhan – Science & Technology – United States of America2. Padma BhushanShri Deepak Dhar – Science and Engineering – Maharashtra3. Padma ShriShri Khadar Valli Dudekula – Science and Engineering – KarnatakaShri Modadugu Vijay Gupta – Science and Engineering – TelanganaShri Ganesh Nagappa Krishnarajanagara – Science and Engineering – Andhra PradeshShri Arvind Kumar – Science and Engineering – Uttar Pradeshprof. (Dr.) Mahendra Pal – Science & Engineering – GujaratShri Bakshi Ram – Science and Engineering – HaryanaMs. Sujatha Ramdorai – Science and Engineering – CanadaShri Abbareddy Nageswara Rao – Science and Engineering – Andhra Pradesh

Taking a photo this past August 28 during the Sunhak Peace Prize Award Ceremony, in the picture are the founder of the Sunhak Peace Prize, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon (far left), laureate President Anote Tong (second to right), laureate Dr. Modadugu V. Gupta (third to right), Committee Chairman Dr. Il-Sik Hong (far right).Last August 28, the Sunhak Peace Prize Ceremony was held at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas in Seoul, Korea. President of Kiribati, H.E. Anote Tong, and Indian fisheries scientist, Dr. Modadugu V. Gupta, were selected as the inaugural laureates of the Sunhak Peace Prize which was established to promote world peace and human development.“I accept this prestigious award with the sincere hope that all who are here today and the world as a whole, have indeed taken heed of my people’s plight, my people’s fate. For their sake, let us do what is right for them.” - from the Acceptance Speech by President Anote Tong“This award gives me the added energy to pursue my life goals of contributing to a peaceful society through alleviation of hunger and poverty. I pay homage to Reverend Dr. Sun Myung Moon for the ideals he stood for and his vision of one global peaceful family. Let us all work together to bring his ideas to reality.” - from the Acceptance Speach of Dr. Modadugu V. GuptaOver 1,000 VIPs in attendanceTotal prize money 1 million US dollarsThe Sunhak Peace Prize was established to inherit the vision of Rev. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon and perpetuate their legacy by recognizing individuals who have willingly sacrificed themselves for peace and awards 1 million US dollars, the highest amount for a single prize in the world. The co-recipients received a cash prize of $500,000 each.Including the founder of the Sunhak Peace Prize Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, Chairman of the Sunhak Peace Prize Foundation Sun Jin Moon, and Korean National Assembly Speaker Ui Hwa Chung, approximately 1,000 delegates and VIPs, representatives of politics, academia, business, and religion came from across the world to attend the Ceremony.Committee Chairman Il-Sik Hong said, “The present generation has been given a historical calling for it to let go of its greed and selfishness, and transcend race, nation, ideals, and religion in order to create a peaceful civilization based on love for humanity,” and added, “Under the banner of ‘One Global Family, Making the World Better for Future Generations,’ The Sunhak Peace Prize will go beyond the limits of civilizations that humanity has constructed until now and create a new peaceful civilization based on love for humanity.”The audience was touched by the beautiful harmony of Soprano vocalist Su-mi Jo and the Little Angels chorus.After the ceremony, the laureates gave a special lecture during an international conference called “World Summit 2015.” It provided an opportunity for the attendees to address the issues of climate change and food insecurity.On June 8, the Sunhak Peace Prize Committee announced their first laureates at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., United States. The awardees are President of Kiribati H.E. Anote Tong, who raised the awareness of the international community on the serious impacts of climate change, and Indian fisheries scientist Dr. Modadugu Gupta who led relief efforts for the poor and the future food crises with a revolutionary method of aquaculture that produced enormous results.During the past year, 182 candidates from 66 countries were recommended to the Sunhak Peace Prize Committee by their nominators from around the world. Through complex evaluations and a scrupulous field researching process, President Anote Tong and Dr. Modadugu V. Gupta were selected as the inaugural dual laureates. They were recognized for their sacrificial efforts to find solutions to climate change and the looming food crisis which are the agenda of the Sunhak Peace Prize.To find solutions to climate change and the looming food crisisThey devoted themselvesAnote Tong was elected as the fifth President of the Southern Pacific island country of Kiribati and is currently serving the final year of his third term. During his tenure, he has made efforts to raise awareness of crises facing low-lying Pacific small island states due to climate change and has been urging for international cooperation.In 2010, Pres. Tong hosted the Tarawa Climate Change Conference (TCCC) and enacted the Ambo Declaration. Representatives of the world powers including China and vulnerable states participated in the conference. The main concerns there were agreeing to the 18 points of the Declaration, and urging concrete actions to find solutions to climate change. Developed countries who attended the 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Mexico, promised their strong support to climate-vulnerable countries like Kiribati.Pres. Tong has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his achievements and received the Peter Benchley Ocean Award and Hillary Award in 2012 for climate equity.The co-recipient Indian fisheries scientist Dr. Modadugu V. Gupta pioneered the Blue Revolution through developing innovative aquaculture techniques as an alternative solution to the future food crisis. Dr. Gupta known as the ‘Saint of the Poor’ taught aquaculture methods to the extremely poor in Southeast Asia and Africa. He improved their nutritional status and cultivated a miracle of self-sufficiency. He also drastically changed the social status and rights of women. The World Food Prize, known as the Nobel Prize for agriculture, congratulated his awarding on their official website.[Original Article]

President Anote Tong of Kiribati and Dr. Modadugu. V. Gupta of India were selected as winners of the Sunhak Peace Prize, which is given to individuals who have significantly contributed toward the peace and well-being of future generations.The Award ceremony was held today at the Grand Intercontinental Hotel in Seoul.One of the winners, President Anote Tong was recognized for his work in raising awareness on the severity of climate change to the international community as President of Kiribati, an Oceania island nation vulnerable to the climate crisis.The joint Winner, Dr. Gupta. a fishery scientist of India was recognized for his work in developing aqua farming technology as an alternative for food crisis, and for widely disseminating the new technology in deprived areas.Each of The winners was awarded a prize of five hundred million won and a medal.

Noted Indian agriculture scientist Dr. Modadugu Vijay Gupta, who has done pioneering work in aquaculture in India, Bangladesh and several Southeast Asian countries, was on Friday awarded the first Sunhak Peace Prize which he shared with the President of Kiribati Islands. Gupta, 76, shared the USD 1 million prize with President of Kiribati Islands Anote Tong at a glittering function in Seoul, which was attended by invitees from all over the world.  Tong, 63, the head of the Pacific Ocean island nation which is facing dire prospects of being engulfed by rising sea waters by 2050, was chosen for the award for his dogged fight to end carbon emissions which are spelling doom for small island nations. Billed as an alternative to the Nobel Peace Prize, the awards were presented by South Korean religious leader Dr Hak Ja Han Moon, the wife of late Rev Sun Myung Moon, who instituted the awards to recognise and highlight the work of individuals making big efforts for the betterment of the people.[Original Article]http://www.indiatimes.com/news/world/noted-indian-scientist-honoured-with-first-sunhak-peace-prize-for-exemplary-work-in-aquaculture-244658.htmla

SEOUL - Kiribati President Anote Tong has become one of two winners of a major new international peace award conferred in Seoul on Friday for his efforts to highlight the impacts of sea-level rise on his atoll nation.President Tong, 63, was awarded the inaugural Sunhak Peace Prize along with Indian fisheries scientist Modagadu V Gupta. Mr Gupta is noted for his research, which resulted in significant increase in fish production and laid the foundation for the Blue Revolution, a possible solution said to address a potential food crisis.The event was attended by more than 1000 delegates from the around the world as well as Pacific dignitaries.The event was the highlight of the Third World Summit on Peace, Security and Human Development taking place at the Intercontinental Hotel in Seoul.In his acceptance speech, laureate President Tong paid a special tribute to the late founder of the Sunhak Peace Organisation, Dr Sun Myung Moon, for his lifelong commitment working to achieve universal peace for all under the slogan \"one family under God\".\"I am honoured to receive this award and looking back the last 12 years to the challenges there were since being elected into power in 2003, my people had placed their hopes in me to guide them to a safe and secure future and to ensure that their voices were heard on issues they raised in the international arena,\" he said.For his part, fellow laureate Gupta urged global leaders to invest more heavily in aquaculture to address the rapidly growing challenge of hunger in developing countries.\"It has been estimated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations that to meet the demand of increasing population by 2050, we need to increase food production by 60 percent globally, by 90 percent to 100 percent in developing countries,\" he told the audience, according to remarks prepared for delivery.[Original Article]http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=320040

One of the winners of a major new international peace award on Friday urged global leaders to invest more heavily in aquaculture to address the rapidly growing challenge of hunger in developing countries.In accepting the first-ever Sunhak Peace Prize, Indian fisheries scientist Dr. M. Vijay Gupta told a prestigious gathering of leaders in Seoul, South Korea, that hunger already affects 800 million people worldwide and that number could rise sharply absent significant improvements in food production in developing countries.Mr. Gupta was selected as one of two winners of the 2015 prize, worth $1 million, for creating an aquaculture system tailored to poor, rural populations in Asia, Africa and the Pacific. His methods have allowed communities to feed themselves and empower women by teaching them how to raise and harvest the fish.He told the award ceremony audience that expanding the aquaculture movement — known in global circles as the Blue Revolution — was essential to meeting the future food demands of the world.The second winner of the prize, Anote Tong, is the president of the tiny Pacific island of Kiribati, which scientists predict one day may be erased by rising ocean waters blamed on climate change.According to remarks prepared for his acceptance speech, Mr. Tong urged global leaders to take more rapid action to address climate change.Sunhak Peace Prize Committee Chairman Dr. Il Sik Hong told the audience that unlike other prizes that celebrate past accomplishment the new award was designed to lean into the future, seeking to highlight solutions for the world’s most pressing challenges.“It does not confine the concept of peace to just the present or the past, but extends it well into the future to open new horizons of peace,” he said. “This also serves to awaken our moral responsibility as to the reason why we need to prepare peace for future generations.”

Preparation NotesThe news Indian Scientist awarded the first Sunhak Peace Prize is important in International Affairs. The news is important for candidates appearing in competitive exams, the candidates should take note of the personality, event and the criteria for the award the works of Dr. Modadugu Vijay Gupta, and President of Kiribati Islands in respective fields should also be taken note by candidates.Noted Indian biologist Dr. Modadugu Vijay Gupta, who has done pioneering work in aquaculture in India, Bangladesh and several Southeast Asian countries, was awarded the first Sunhak Peace Prize which he shared with the President of Kiribati Islands in Seoul the capital of South Korea.Gupta, 76, shared the USD 1 million prize with the President of Kiribati Islands Anote Tong at a function which was attended by invitees from all over the world.Tong, 63, the head of the Pacific Ocean island nation which is facing dire prospects of being engulfed by rising sea waters by 2050, was chosen for the award for his dogged fight to end the carbon emissions which are spelling doom for small island nations.[Original Article]http://www.prepsure.com/news/first-sunhak-peace-prize-awarded-to-indian-scientist/

An article written by Dr. Modadugu V. Gupta, one of the inaugural laureate of the Sunhak Peace PrizeEfforts to reduce malnutrition have resulted in 200 million fewer hungry people worldwide since 1990. But 805 million people still deal with chronic hunger every day. In the fight against poverty and malnutrition, smart nations have found success by developing self-sufficient food sources, promoting economic growth and engaging women in business enterprises.A leading example is Bangladesh, which used this formula to cut chronic hunger by more than half since 2000, according to the United Nations. The U.N. also says that Bangladesh has reduced the number of underweight children by 25 percent.Just four decades ago, Bangladesh was a newly formed, impoverished nation facing high levels of extreme hunger when floods and famine destroyed what few resources it had. With desperately high demand, imported food grew scarce and 1.5 million people died from famine and sickness. Those terrible times forced Bangladesh to take action to increase its food security and self-sufficiency.In the 1980s, Bangladesh started to build small-farm irrigation systems, increasing rice production and, most important, developing cutting-edge aquaculture practices. It also identified more than 1 million abandoned ponds, roadside canals, ditches and seasonally flooded pools as potential sources of fish production. Bangladesh, it turned out, was full of small bodies of water – some as small as a backyard swimming pool – that had the potential to become mini-fish-factories, churning out protein and income.By helping local residents develop effective aquaculture techniques, Bangladesh now has more than 500,000 previously unused seasonal ponds teeming with fish. These farms helped boost Bangladesh’s fish yields eight-fold in just the first year. Fish production grew at a 300 percent rate during the 1990s.[See the original article]http://thediplomat.com/2015/08/governments-need-to-spend-more-on-fish-farming/

President of Kiribati Anote Tong and Dr. Modadugu Vijay Gupta have been selected as first dual laureates of the Sunhak Peace Prize which has $1 million US dollars prize. The Sunhak Peace Prize is established by the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon and his wife Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon. This award reflects her profound hope of continuing her husband’s legacy of peace and the Sunhak Peace Prize Committee (chairman Dr. Il-Sik Hong) annually selects the nominee. The award ceremony will be held this coming 28 August 2015 (Friday) in Seoul, Korea.The Committee held a press conference in Washington D.C., and announced, “We have selected His Excellency Anote Tong, President of Kiribati, for his efforts at the forefront of the climate crisis and Dr. Modadugu Vijay Gupta of India, for developing an alternative solution to the expected future food crisis.”President Anote Tong emphasized that his nation could be uninhabitable by the 2050s because of the rising sea levels caused by climate change, and urged the international communities to embark upon immediate and concrete action. He has been consecutively nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.The ‘Pioneer of Blue Revolution’ Dr. Modadugu Gupta developed innovative aquaculture methods, and miraculously gave the poor in Asia and Africa a way to earn their independence. [Source - http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2015/06/10/2015061000129.html ]

President of Kiribati Anote Tong and Dr. Modadugu Vijay Gupta have been selected as first dual laureates of the Sunhak Peace Prize.The Sunhak Peace Prize Committee (former president of Korea and chairman of the committee Dr. Il-Sik Hong) held a press conference announcing its inaugural Sunhak Peace Prize laureates on June 8 (Monday) in Washington D.C. The Sunhak Peace Prize was established by Rev. Sun Myung Moon and his wife Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon to search for individuals and organizations that have contributed to the peace and welfare of the future generations.As a dual laureate President Anote Tong dedicated himself to raising public awareness of the severe impacts of the climate crisis to the international community in order to address its impacts on his country of Kiribati, which is gradually being submerged due to rising sea-levels caused by climate change. The ‘Pioneer of Blue Revolution’ Dr. Modadugu Gupta developed innovative aquaculture methods, and miraculously gave the poor in Asia and Africa a way to earn their independence.The laureates will share $1 million US dollars prize. The award ceremony will be held this coming 28 August 2015 (Friday) in Seoul, Korea.[source - http://article.joins.com/news/article/article.asp?total_id=17990875&ctg= ]

The Sunhak Peace Prize was established by Rev. Sun Myung Moon and his wife Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon to search for individuals and organizations that have contributed to the peace and welfare of the future generations.President Anote Tong has been regarded for his great effort to bring about a consensus by the international community concerning climate peace and urge for cooperation for the rights of climate refugees.Pres. Tong has led the world’s largest marine protection and ocean management initiative even as his own country faces submergence within the next 30 years due to rising sea levels, and consecutively nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. He created the ‘Phoenix Islands Protected Area’ the largest existing marine World Heritage Site and helped organize the Pacific Oceanscape.Dr. Modadugu Gupta has been widely recognized for ‘developing innovative fish farming methods’ to address the food crisis of the poor, and known as the ‘Architect of the Blue Revolution’, and the ‘Saint of the Poor in Southeast Asia’. He successfully bred improved species of fishes such as ‘tilapia’ and ‘silver barb carp’ which he correctly identified would thrive in the Asian rural environment, and revolutionized the aquaculture industry with an explosive increase in production.In order to develop a regionally compatible method of aquaculture, he ignored threats to his life insisting on visiting war-torn conflict areas and continues to devoted himself to research, helping to spread his method of low-cost highly-efficient ‘IAA (Integrated Aquaculture-Agriculture).’Dr. Il-Sik Hong, Chairman of the Sunhak Peace Prize Committee said, “the Sunhak Peace Prize is a peace prize for the future generations.” and further added, “to address the climate and food crises, I am very pleased to award President Anote Tong and Dr. Modadugu V. Gupta as dual laureates of the first Sunhak Peace Prize. These two laureates are even now strongly committed to defend the future peace of humanity.”The Sunhak Peace Prize annually awards $1 million US dollars, the largest of any prize money in Korea. The award ceremony will be held this coming 28 August 2015 (Friday) in Seoul, Korea.[Source - http://sbscnbc.sbs.co.kr/read.jsp?pmArticleId=10000738833 ]

The Sunhak Peace Prize Committee held a press conference announcing its inaugural Sunhak Peace Prize laureates on June 8 (Monday) 12pm at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. His Excellency Anote Tong, President of Kiribati (63), and Dr. Modadugu Vijay Gupta, Indian fisheries scientist (76) have been selected as first dual laureates to receive the award. The Sunhak Peace Prize was established by Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, the wife of the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon and ‘Sunhak’ is the first letters of their names. This award reflects her profound hope of continuing her husband’s legacy of peace.As a dual laureate, Pres. Anote Tong has been regarded for his effort to protect marine ecosystems even as his own country faces submergence within the next 30 years due to rising sea levels, and consecutively nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. He improved global awareness of the severity of climate change and sought for action by the international community for its solution like the ‘Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA)’, the largest existing marine World Heritage Site. He also contributed greatly in building up awareness on the protection of human rights for climate refugees through the ‘migration with dignity’ program.Dr. Modadugu Gupta has been widely recognized for ‘developing innovative fish farming methods’ to address the food crisis of the poor, and known as the ‘Architect of the Blue Revolution’, and the ‘Saint of the Poor in Southeast Asia’. He successfully bred improved species of fishes such as ‘tilapia’ and ‘silver barb carp’ which he correctly identified would thrive in the Asian rural environment, and revolutionized the aquaculture industry with an explosive increase in production. Dr. Gupta’s advisory services have been taken advantage by a number of international organizations such as United States Agency for International Development (USAID).The laureates will share $1 million US dollars, the largest of any prize money awarded in Korea. The award ceremony will be held this coming 28 August 2015 (Friday) in Seoul, Korea.[Source - http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2015060989451]

President of Kiribati (62, left), and Dr. Modadugu Vijay Gupta, Indian fisheries scientist (75, right) have been selected as the first dual laureates to receive the Sunhak Peace Prize.“We are honored to announce that the first Sunhak Peace Prize will be presented to these two deserving individuals,” said Dr. Il-Sik Hong, former president of Korea University and chairman of the Sunhak Peace Prize Committee. “President Tong and Dr. Gupta are worthy Laureates because they have made the world a better and more peaceful place. Hunger, poverty, and climate change lead to global conflict and human suffering, and both men have devoted their lives to furthering peace by finding sustainable solutions to these pressing problems.”President Anote Tong emphasized that his nation could be uninhabitable by the 2050s because of the rising sea levels caused by climate change, and urged the international communities to embark upon immediate and concrete action. The Sunhak Peace Prize Committee said, “Furthermore, Pres. Tong is devoting a significant amount of his energy to defending the rights of his citizens through the ‘migration with dignity’ program, which is a vocational training initiative for local residents who are forced to leave their homes due to climate change so that they will not be treated as ‘refugees’ but as valuable members of the work-force. The other laureate Dr. Modadugu V. Gupta successfully bred improved species of fishes such as ‘tilapia’ and ‘silver barb carp’ which he correctly identified would thrive in the Asian rural environment, and revolutionized the aquaculture industry with an explosive increase in production.”‘Sunhak’ is the first letter of the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon and his wife Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon. The Sunhak Peace Prize was established to search for individuals and organizations that have contributed to the peace and welfare of future generations, in order to inspire a new civilization of peace, annually awarding up to US$1 million. The award ceremony will be held this coming 28 August 2015 (Friday) in Seoul, Korea.[Source - http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=201506092121025&code=100100]

WASHINGTON, June 8 (Yonhap) -- The president of the Central Pacific island nation of Kiribati and an Indian scientist were named the inaugural winners of a peace prize established by the wife of late Unification Church founder Moon Sun-myung, organizers said Monday.Kiribati President Anote Tong was selected for his role in the fight against climate change, while Indian biologist Modadugu Vijay Gupta was recognized for his development and dissemination of low-cost techniques for freshwater fish farming, organizers of the Sunhak Peace Prize said.\"Dr. Gupta and President Tong are worthy laureates because they have made the world a better and more peaceful place,\" said Hong Il-sik, president of the prize committee, in a statement. \"Hunger, poverty, and climate change lead to global conflict and human suffering, and both men have devoted their lives to furthering peace by finding sustainable solutions to these pressing problems.\"The prize was founded in 2013 by Han Hak-ja, the widow of the late Moon, \"to recognize individuals, who have willingly sacrificed themselves for peace, and praise them for their works,\" the organizers said.The winners will be given US$1 million in prize money.  The award ceremony is scheduled to take place on Aug. 28 in Seoul.[Source - http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2015/06/09/0301000000AEN20150609000200315.html]