Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh conferred the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize on British broadcaster David Attenborough at a virtual event. Speaking on the occasion, Congress President Sonia Gandhi described David Attenborough as one of Nature's "staunchest conscience keepers" for over half a century.

Accepting the award for the year 2019, Attenborough said, "We have to change from being nationalists to being international".

The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development was instituted in the memory of the former prime minister by a trust in her name in 1986. It consists of a monetary award of ₹ 25 lakh along with a citation.

The award is given to individuals or organizations who work towards ensuring international peace and development, ensuring that scientific discoveries are used to further the scope of freedom and better humanity, and creating new international economic order.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants. The views expressed here are personal.)