70. Who received Vyas Samman 2017 for the Hindi work Dukham Sukham?
[RRB ALP — 2018]
(A) Namita Gokhale
(B) Meena Kandasamy
(C) Jhumpa Lahiri
(D) Mamta Kalia
Answer: (D) Mamta Kalia
Explanation: Hindi author Mamta Kalia was recognised for the novel Dukham Sukham. Vyas Samman is an award specifically for Hindi literary works and is conferred by the K. K. Birla Foundation.
69. The Emmy Awards honour achievement in which industry?
[RRB Group D — 2018]
(A) Television
(B) Music
(C) Literature
(D) Cinema
Answer: (A) Television
Explanation: The Emmy Awards recognise excellence in television programming and production. They are broadly comparable to the Oscars for cinema, the Grammys for music and the Tonys for theatre, but each has a distinct field.
68. Who received the Balzan Prize 2017 for work on women and agriculture in India?
[WBCS Prelims — 2018]
(A) Ela Bhatt
(B) Medha Patkar
(C) Amartya Sen
(D) Bina Agarwal
Answer: (D) Bina Agarwal
Explanation: Economist Bina Agarwal received the Balzan Prize for her research on gender relations and agriculture. Her scholarship highlights women’s property and land rights and their importance to economic independence.
67. Who received the ICCR Distinguished Indologist Award connected with 2017?
[WBCS Prelims — 2018]
(A) Sheldon Pollock
(B) Wendy Doniger
(C) Michael Witzel
(D) Hiroshi Marui
Answer: (D) Hiroshi Marui
Explanation: Japanese scholar Hiroshi Marui was recognised for contributions to Indology. The Indian Council for Cultural Relations promotes academic and cultural connections with other countries, and the award honours scholarship on Indian civilisation.
66. Who was the Nobel Prize in Literature recipient for 2017?
[WBCS Prelims — 2018]
(A) Patrick Modiano
(B) Olga Tokarczuk
(C) Kazuo Ishiguro
(D) Bob Dylan
Answer: (C) Kazuo Ishiguro
Explanation: British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro won the 2017 Literature Nobel. His fiction includes The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go. The Swedish Academy awards this Nobel honour independently of the Booker Prize.
65. Which filmmaker received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2016?
[UPSC CAPF — 2017]
(A) Gulzar
(B) K. Viswanath
(C) Manoj Kumar
(D) Shashi Kapoor
Answer: (B) K. Viswanath
Explanation: Telugu director K. Viswanath received the honour for 2016. His films, including Sankarabharanam and Sagara Sangamam, are particularly associated with music, classical arts and social themes.
64. Which film brought Akshay Kumar the Best Actor National Film Award at the 64th awards?
[UPSC CAPF — 2017]
(A) Mukti Bhawan
(B) Rustom
(C) Airlift
(D) Naam Shabana
Answer: (B) Rustom
Explanation: Akshay Kumar won for his performance as a naval officer in Rustom. The 64th National Film Awards were announced in 2017 and honoured the preceding cinema year, making the distinction between award edition and film-release year important.
63. Which novel won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction?
[UPSC CAPF — 2017]
(A) The Underground Railroad
(B) The Sympathizer
(C) The Goldfinch
(D) All the Light We Cannot See
Answer: (A) The Underground Railroad
Explanation: Colson Whitehead won the 2017 Pulitzer for The Underground Railroad. The novel follows an enslaved girl escaping from a plantation in the American South. Its historical theme uses an imaginative literal depiction of the escape network.
62. Which author won the 2015 Mailer Prize for Lifetime Achievement?
[WBCS Prelims — 2017]
(A) Vikram Seth
(B) Salman Rushdie
(C) Amitav Ghosh
(D) Arundhati Roy
Answer: (B) Salman Rushdie
Explanation: Salman Rushdie was honoured for an extensive literary career including Midnight’s Children. The Mailer Prize, named in memory of Norman Mailer, differs from the Booker Prize that Rushdie received earlier.
61. Who received the UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award linked to 2015?
[WBCS Prelims — 2017]
(A) Malala Yousafzai
(B) Aqeela Asifi
(C) Zainab Salbi
(D) Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
Answer: (B) Aqeela Asifi
Explanation: Aqeela Asifi was recognised for her work educating Afghan refugee girls in Pakistan. The UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award honours extraordinary service to displaced people, reflecting humanitarian work rather than literary distinction.
