Questions on famous personalities, awards and achievements are asked every year in the General Knowledge section of the AISSEE (Sainik School) and RMS entrance exams. This study guide brings together the most important national and international names in the news in 2026, with a quick revision table at the end.
1. Prominent National Leaders & Historical Figures in the News
C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji): President Droupadi Murmu unveiled a statue of Indian freedom fighter and statesman C. Rajagopalachari in the central courtyard of Rashtrapati Bhavan, replacing the bust of British architect Edwin Lutyens. He led the 1930 Salt Satyagraha from Trichy to Vedaranyam and was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1958 for his Tamil retelling of the Ramayana (Chakravarti Thirumagan).
Pingali Venkayya: Tributes were paid on the 150th birth anniversary of Pingali Venkayya, the designer of India's National Flag. He presented the initial draft of the national flag (featuring red and green bands) to Mahatma Gandhi at the 1921 Bezwada (Vijayawada) Congress session.
Utkalmani Pandit Gopabandhu Das: A statue of Gopabandhu Das (1877–1928), reverently called 'Utkalmani' (Jewel of Odisha), was unveiled in New Delhi. He established the Muktakash School (Van Vidyalaya) at Satyabadi and founded The Samaj newspaper in 1919 to spread nationalist ideas.
Rani Velu Nachiyar: Nation-wide tributes commemorated Rani Velu Nachiyar, the 18th-century queen of Sivaganga, as the first Indian queen to actively oppose British colonial rule. She allied with Hyder Ali, established the first trained women's army, and deployed the first human bomb in military history.
Rani Avanti Bai Lodhi: A statue of Rani Avanti Bai Lodhi (1831–1858), the queen-regent of Ramgarh (Madhya Pradesh), was unveiled in Lucknow. She led an army of 4,000 soldiers against British forces in the Battle of Kheri during the 1857 War of Independence.
Saratchandra Chattopadhyay: Homage was paid to legendary Bengali writer Saratchandra Chattopadhyay (1876–1938) on his 150th birth anniversary. Known for his social realism and essays on women's rights (Narir Mulya), his iconic literary works include Devdas, Parineeta, Pather Dabi and Srikanta.
Jagadguru Basaveshwara (Basavanna): Homage was offered to the 12th-century statesman, philosopher and Lingayat saint Jagadguru Basaveshwara on Basava Jayanthi. He composed social reform poetry known as Vachanas, rejected caste and gender discrimination, and founded the Anubhava Mantapa (hall of spiritual experience).
Sant Guru Ravidas: The 650th birth anniversary year of the 14th-century mystic poet and Bhakti Movement saint Sant Guru Ravidas was celebrated through the Samarasya Sankalp Abhiyan. Born in Varanasi in 1377 C.E., 41 of his devotional hymns are preserved in the sacred Sikh scripture, the Adi Granth.
Dr. Mahendralal Sircar: The Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS) in Kolkata commemorated 150 years of its establishment. Founded in 1876 by Dr. Mahendralal Sircar, it is Asia's first Indian-established research institute, where Sir C. V. Raman conducted his Nobel Prize-winning research on the Raman Effect.
2. Global Figures & International Leaders
Balendra Shah: At age 35, structural engineer and politician Balendra Shah (Balen) was sworn in as Nepal's youngest Prime Minister following widespread youth-led democratic movements.
Nabil Fahmy: Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy was officially approved by the League of Arab States to serve as its next Secretary-General starting 1 July 2026, succeeding Ahmed Aboul Gheit.
Graça Machel: Mozambican human rights advocate and humanitarian Graça Machel was selected for the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2025 for her extensive global work in children's education, nutrition and economic empowerment.
Ramon Magsaysay Award 2026 Laureates:
Tommy Koh (Singapore): Recognised for championing international law and presiding over the UN conference that adopted UNCLOS in 1982.
Bo Kyi (Myanmar): Awarded for his lifelong advocacy and resistance against human rights violations in Myanmar.
Runa Khan (Bangladesh): Honoured for founding "Friendship Bangladesh" to deliver healthcare, education and climate resilience to marginalised riverine communities.
3. Key International Achievements & Global Awards
Global Teacher Prize 2026: Indian teacher Rouble Nagi won the $1 million Global Teacher Prize at the World Government Summit in Dubai for integrating over one million children into formal education using art and 'living walls of learning'.
Agricola Medal (FAO): Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred the Agricola Medal — the highest honour of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director-General — in Rome for outstanding contributions to global food security and sustainable agriculture.
ITLOS Judge Election: Eminent Indian jurist Bimal Patel, Member of the UN International Law Commission and Vice-Chancellor of Rashtriya Raksha University, was elected as a Judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in Germany.
First Indian FATF Vice President: Senior IAS officer and Union Culture Secretary Vivek Aggarwal became the first Indian appointed as Vice President of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for a term from July 2026 to June 2027.
Dirac Medal in Theoretical Physics: Theoretical physicist Deepak Dhar shared the 2026 ICTP Dirac Medal for developing the Abelian Sandpile Model of self-organised criticality in statistical physics.
COSPAR Vikram Sarabhai Medal: Astrophysicist Annapurni Subramaniam, Director of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), became the first Indian woman scientist to receive the prestigious COSPAR Vikram Sarabhai Medal for space research.
Fields Medal in Mathematics: Mathematician Hong Wang won the Fields Medal, becoming only the third woman in history to receive the highest global award in mathematics.
Pulitzer Prize 2026: Indian journalists Anand RK and Suparna Sharma (along with Natalie Obiko Pearson) won the Pulitzer Prize in Illustrated Reporting for "traPPed", an investigative series exposing international cybercrime networks.
World Junior Squash Championship Title: 18-year-old Anahat Singh created history by becoming the first Indian to win the World Junior Squash Championship, defeating Egypt's Ruqayya Salem without dropping a single game and breaking Egypt's 16-year monopoly.
FAO 100 Women Heroes in Agrifood Systems: Z T Lalrithangi from Mizoram was selected by the FAO among the global "100 Women Heroes" for successfully transforming strawberry cultivation into a sustainable rural livelihood.
4. Pioneering Women & Defence Achievements
UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award: Major Abhilasha Barak (serving with UNIFIL in Lebanon) became India's third peacekeeper to receive the UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award, following Major Suman Gawani (2019) and Major Radhika Sen (2023).
Highest-Ranking Non-Medical Woman Officer in Defence: Air Vice-Marshal Shakti Sharma became the first non-medical woman officer in the Indian Armed Forces to achieve the rank of Air Vice-Marshal.
Dr. M. S. Swaminathan Award for Environment Protection: Grassroots environmentalists P. Pechiyammal (for collecting marine plastic and "ghost gear") and Govindhammal (for promoting sustainable agriculture) from Tamil Nadu were conferred the 2026 award.
5. Major National Civilian, Literary & Adventure Honours
Jnanpith Award 2025: Renowned Tamil lyricist and author R. Vairamuthu was selected for the Jnanpith Award 2025, becoming the first litterateur to win the award specifically for Tamil poetry.
Saraswati Samman 2025: Author Ramkumar Mukhopadhyay was selected for the Saraswati Samman for his Bengali novel Hara Parbati Katha.
Sahitya Akademi Awards 2025: Former diplomat Navtej Sarna won the Sahitya Akademi Award in English for his novel Crimson Spring, while Mamta Kalia won in Hindi for her memoir Jeete Jee Allahabad.
Padma Shri in Art (Algoza): Rajasthani folk artist Taga Ram Bheel was conferred the Padma Shri for preserving the Thar Desert's rare double-flute woodwind instrument, the Algoza.
Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards 2024:
Lifetime Achievement: Shiv Prasad Chamoli
Land Adventure: Baljeet Kaur and Skalzang Rigzin
Water Adventure: Rimo Saha
6. Quick Revision Summary Table
Personality | Field / Role | Key Achievement / Award |
|---|---|---|
Rouble Nagi | Education & Art | Global Teacher Prize 2026 ($1M award in Dubai) |
Bimal Patel | International Law | Elected Judge of ITLOS |
Vivek Aggarwal | Financial Governance | First Indian Vice President of FATF |
Major Abhilasha Barak | UN Peacekeeping | UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year 2025 |
Deepak Dhar | Theoretical Physics | Dirac Medal 2026 (Abelian Sandpile Model) |
Annapurni Subramaniam | Astrophysics | First Indian woman scientist to win COSPAR Sarabhai Medal |
Anahat Singh | Sports (Squash) | First Indian World Junior Squash Champion |
R. Vairamuthu | Literature | Jnanpith Award 2025 (First for Tamil poetry) |
Navtej Sarna | Literature | Sahitya Akademi Award 2025 (Crimson Spring) |
Shiv Prasad Chamoli | Adventure | Tenzing Norgay Lifetime Achievement Award 2024 |
Practise with MCQs
Test yourself with our current affairs MCQs: Culture & Awards – February 2026, March 2026 and September 2026.
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