Nobel Foundation increases the amount for Nobel Prize from this year

The Nobel Foundation has announced an increase in the award amount for 2023 Nobel Prizes from 1 million kronor (USD 90,000) to 11 million kronor (USD 986,270, which is approximately Rs 8,19,49,519. According to the Nobel Foundation, the amount has been increased to compensate for the depreciation of the Swedish currency.

Sweden, struggling with high inflation, has seen a rapid depreciation of its currency, touching an all-time low against the euro and the US dollar.

The currency of Sweden is Krona SEK. Kronor is the plural form of Krona.

Prize money for Nobel winners 

Initially, the prize amount was 150,782 kronor per category, which was later increased to 10 million krono. The Prize amount was later reduced to 8 million kronor in 2012 and was again gradually raised to 10 million kronor in 2020.

About Alfred Noble 

• Alfred Nobel was born in the Swedish capital city of Stockholm on October 21, 1833. He was an entrepreneur and successful industrialist with a business interest in chemicals, petroleum oil, armament, etc. However, he is famous for developing and patenting Dynamite made of nitroglycerin. Nitroglycerin, a highly explosive chemical, was developed by Italian inventor Ascanio Sobrero.
• Nobel became very wealthy by selling the Dynamite, which was used extensively in mining, blasting of rocks, construction industries and war.
• Alfred Nobel died on December 10, 1896. In his will, he indicated that his entire fortune should be used to create a foundation. The foundation will prize those persons or institutions who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to "humankind".
• As per the will of Alfred Nobel, the Nobel Foundation was set up as a private institution in 1900. It is responsible for managing the fortune of Alfred Nobel, from which prize money is given.  

Who selects the Prize winner? 

• According to the will of Alfred Nobel, the following institutions select the prize winner in different fields annually.
• The Swedish Academy of Sciences awards the prizes for physics and chemistry.
•  Physiological or medical achievements by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.
• Literature by the Swedish Academy in Stockholm
• Peace Prize by a committee of the Norwegian Storting (Parliament of Norway).
• The Swedish Central Bank "Sveriges Riksbank" awarded the Prize in Economic Science in memory of Alfred Nobel in 1967. The first Prize was given in 1969.

Nomination and selection of persons /institutions for the Nobel Prize. 

• The body is tasked with selecting the Nobel prize winner every year. It invites selected people worldwide who are qualified and competent in their field to nominate a person for the Prize in the respective category. It includes the past winners of the Nobel prizes. 
• The name of the nominated person or institution is kept secret for the next 50 years. 
• Also, people who are dead cannot be nominated for the Nobel Prize.

When is the award announced and conferred 

• The names of the winners are generally announced in the month of October, and the prizes are conferred on the death anniversary of Alfred Nobel, i.e. 10 December, every year.
• All the winners receive their prizes in a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden, while the Peace Prize is conferred in Oslo, Norway.
• The Nobel Prize consists of a green gold-plated Nobel Prize medal, a diploma, and a document confirming the prize amount.

Nobel Prize in Physics 

• Till 2022, the Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to 222 persons. 
• The first person to get the Prize was Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen of Germany in 1901. He discovered electromagnetic rays, which he named X-rays.
• John Bardeen of the United States of America is the only person to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics twice, in 1956 and 1972. 
• In 2022, it was awarded to Alain Aspect (France), John Clauser (American) and Anton Zeilinger (Austria).

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 

• The Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded 114 times to 191 persons Prize laureates between 1901 and 2022. 
• The first person to get the Prize was Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff of Holland In 1901.
• In 2022, it was awarded to Carolyn R. Bertozzi of the United States of America, Morten Meldal of Denmark and Barry Sharpless of the United States of America.
• The Chemistry Nobel Prize has been awarded twice to two people. Frederick Sanger of England(1958,1980) and Barry Sharpless of the United States of America(2001,2022).

Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology 

• The Nobel Prize in Physiology / Medicine has been awarded 113 times to 225 persons between 1901 and 2022. 
• The first person to get the Prize was Emil Adolf von Behring of Germany in 1901.
• The 2022 prize was awarded to Svante Pääbo of Sweden.

Nobel Prize in Literature 

• Between 1901 to 2022 the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded 115 times to 119 persons.
• Sully Prudhomme of France was the first recipient of the Literature Prize in 1901.
• The 2022 prize was awarded to Ms.Annie Ernaux of France.

Nobel Peace Prize 

• Between 1901 and 2022, the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded 103 times to 140 persons and institutions between 1901 and 2022. It includes 110 individuals and 30 organisations.
• The International Committee of the Red Cross(ICRC) is the only institution/person to get the  Nobel Peace Prize thrice (in 1917, 1944 and 1963).
• The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize two times (in 1954 and 1981).
• The inaugural Prize was jointly shared by Jean Henry Dunnat of Switzerland and Frédéric Passy of France.
• In 2022, the prize was awarded to Ales Bialiatski of Belarus, Memorial, a Russian human rights organisation, and the Ukrainian human rights organisation Center for Civil Liberties.' 

Nobel Prize in Economic Science

• The Nobel Prize in Economic Science, also known as the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences, has been awarded 54 times to 92 persons between 1969 and 2022.
• Ragnar Frisch of Norway and Jan Tinbergen of the Netherlands were the first recipients of the Nobel Prize in Economic Science in 1969.
• The American trio of Ben Bernanke, Douglas Diamond and Phillip Dybvig got the 2022 Prize.

Indian Nobel Prize Winners

• Rabindranath Tagore in 1913 for Literature. He was the first Asian to get a Nobel prize.
• Sir Chandrashekhara Venkata Raman (C.V.Raman) in 1930 for Physics.
• Mother Teresa for Peace in 1979.
• Amartya Sen for Economic Science in 1998.
• Kailash Satyarthi for Peace in 2014.

Indian born person to get the Prize 

• Har Gobind Khurana for Medicine in 1968. He was an Indian born American citizen.
• Subhramanayam Chandrashekhar for Physics in 1983. He was an Indian born American citizen.
• Venkatraman Ramakrishnan for Chemistry in 2009. He is an Indian born British and American citizen.
• Abhijit Banerjee for Economics in 2019. He is an Indian born American citizen. 

Other Unique features of the Award winners 

• Linus Pauling and Marie Curie are the two people who have gotten the Nobel Prize twice in different categories.
• Marie Curie was a Polish /French scientist and the first woman to get the Nobel Prize. She won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 with her husband, Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel.
• Marie Curie won the Chemistry Prize in 1911.
• The American citizen Linus Pauling won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1954, and in 1962, he got the Nobel Peace Prize.