RAMON
MAGSAYSAY AWARD - AWARDS
News: Assam-based oncologist among winners
of 2023 Ramon Magsaysay Award
What's
in the news?
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Oncologist Ravi Kannan, a recipient of
India’s fourth-highest civilian award Padma Shri and the director of Assam’s
Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (CCHRC), has been named one of the
four winners of the 2023 Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel
prize.
Key
takeaways:
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The other three members were Korvi
Rakshand from Bangladesh, Eugenio Lemos from Timor-Leste and Miriam
Coronel-Ferrer from the Philippines in addition to Dr Ravi Kannan R. from
India.
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The award carries a certificate, a
medallion bearing the likeness of the late President, and a cash prize of USD
50,000.
Ramsay
Magsaysay Award:
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It was launched in 1958.
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It recognises outstanding leadership and communitarian contributions in Asia.
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This year’s annual list of awardees was
announced last week. Shailaja was considered for the award for her performance
as state health minister from 2016 to 2021, a period which saw Kerala fight
against the Nipah virus and Covid-19.
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The Ramon Magsaysay Award was widely
considered to be Asia’s equivalent to
the Nobel Prize.
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In 1957, the Ramon Magsaysay award was set
up by trustees of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Philippine government
to carry forward Magsaysay’s legacy of service to the people, good governance,
and pragmatic idealism.
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In the six decades since 1958 - the first
year the Award was given out for over 300 organisations and individuals have
been recognised for their developmental endeavours crucial to Asia, and,
consequently, to the world.
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The award is given out every year on August 31, on Magsaysay’s birth
anniversary.
Six
categories:
The award was given under the
contribution of individuals towards six categories as follows.
Indians
on the list:
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Prominent Indians who have won the award
include Vinoba Bhave in 1958, Mother Teresa in 1962, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay
in 1966, Satyajit Ray in 1967, Mahasweta Devi in 1997. In recent years, Arvind Kejriwal (2006),
Anshu Gupta of Goonj (2015), human rights activist Bezwada Wilson (2016), and
journalist Ravish Kumar (2019) have won the award.