Awards – Easy Level – GK Questions

Q: Who was the first person to receive the Bharat Ratna posthumously?

Lal Bahadur Shastri (1966) – Lal Bahadur Shastri, India's second Prime Minister, died in Tashkent on 11 January 1966 after signing the Tashkent Declaration ending the 1965 India-Pakistan War. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna the same year, making him the first posthumous recipient. The rules originally did not allow posthumous awards; an amendment in 1966 made this possible.

Q: Han Kang won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature. Which country is she from, and what is a notable fact about her prize?

South Korea — she was the first Korean and first South Korean woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature – Han Kang is a South Korean author whose novels The Vegetarian and Human Acts brought her international recognition. The 2024 Nobel made her the first Korean writer of any nationality to receive the prize in Literature.

Q: Which Japanese organisation won the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize?

Nihon Hidankyo – Nihon Hidankyo — a confederation of atomic bomb survivors (hibakusha) from Hiroshima and Nagasaki — won the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize. Founded in 1956, the organisation has spent nearly seven decades giving personal testimony about the human consequences of nuclear weapons, contributing to the international norm against their use.

Q: India observes National Science Day on 28 February every year. Which Nobel laureate and which discovery does this date commemorate?

C.V. Raman — the Raman Effect, observed on 28 February 1928 – C.V. Raman first documented the inelastic scattering of light (the Raman Effect) on 28 February 1928 at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Calcutta. India declared 28 February as National Science Day in 1987 to mark this discovery. Raman received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930.

Q: Rabindranath Tagore received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 for which work?

Gitanjali – Tagore received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 for Gitanjali — a collection of devotional poems he translated into English prose himself during a voyage to England in 1912. The Swedish Academy described the verse as profoundly sensitive and fresh. He was the first Asian person to win a Nobel Prize of any kind.

Q: Han Kang, winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature, is from which country?

South Korea – Han Kang is a South Korean author. She won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life. Her internationally known works include The Vegetarian and Human Acts.

Q: Who won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, and which country are they from?

María Corina Machado — Venezuela – María Corina Machado of Venezuela won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her tireless work promoting democratic rights and for unifying a divided political opposition around the demand for free elections and a peaceful transition from authoritarian rule. The Norwegian Nobel Committee called her "one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times."

Q: The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for foundational work that enabled which technology?

Machine learning / artificial neural networks – John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton won the 2024 Physics Nobel for discoveries that enabled machine learning through artificial neural networks. Hinton, sometimes called the "godfather of AI," left Google in 2023 to speak openly about the risks of the technology he helped create.

Q: Which organisation won the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, and which country does it belong to?

Nihon Hidankyo — Japan – Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese organisation of atomic bomb survivors (hibakusha) from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, won the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize. Founded in 1956, they have spent nearly seven decades giving personal testimony about the devastation caused by nuclear weapons, contributing to the global nuclear taboo.

Q: Jessie Buckley won Best Actress at the 98th Academy Awards for her role in which film?

Hamnet – Jessie Buckley won the Best Actress Oscar for her role as Agnes, William Shakespeare's partner, in Hamnet. Her win made her the first Irish woman ever to take the Best Actress Oscar.