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Tamilnadu & Puducherry Current Affairs 2019

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Contents
Tamilnadu & Puducherry Current Affairs - January 2019 ................................................................................ 2
Tamilnadu & Puducherry Current Affairs - February 2019 .............................................................................. 5
Tamilnadu & Puducherry Current Affairs - March 2019 .................................................................................. 9
Tamilnadu & Puducherry Current Affairs - April 2019 .................................................................................. 11
Tamilnadu & Puducherry Current Affairs - May 2019 ................................................................................... 14
Tamilnadu & Puducherry Current Affairs - June 2019 ................................................................................... 15
Tamilnadu & Puducherry Current Affairs - July 2019 .................................................................................... 17
Tamilnadu & Puducherry Current Affairs - August 2019 ............................................................................... 20

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Tamilnadu & Puducherry Current Affairs - January

2019

Pongal: Harvest festival celebrated largely in Tamil Nadu

On 15th January 2019, Pongal a harvest festival started in Tamil Nadu. It is a four-day festival according to the
Tamil calendar and it is usually celebrated from January 15 to January 18.Pongal means to boil. Rice is boiled in
milk and offered firstly to the sun and then cows and then to the family and friends.
Legends behind Pongal
i. Pongal marks the beginning of the sun’s northward journey towards the equinox, known as Uttarayan.
ii. The first day of Pongal is celebrated in honour of Lord Indra and is called Bogi or Bhogi Pongal.
ii. The second day is dedicated to the Sun God and known as Surya Pongal.
iii. On third day Jallikattu festival starts and is dedicated to cattle and called Mattu Pongal.
iv. Fourth day marks the end of the festival for the year and is called Kaanum Pongal or Thiruvalluvar day.

Kallakurichi announced as 33rd district, after bifurcating Villupuram: Tamil Nadu govt
On January 8, 2019, Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswam announced the formation of a new
district Kallakurichi by bifurcating Villupuram district which is one of the large districts in the State.
i. With this, the state will now have 33 districts.
ii. The decision was taken because the previous coverage of the district Villupuram was huge and and it was
becoming difficult for the administrators to govern the district.
iii. The newly formed region is renowned for its rice production.

Puducherry announced ban of Single-Use Plastic from March 1, 2019

On January 13, 2019, Chief Minister V Narayanasamy announced that production, sale and use of single-use
plastic products will be banned in the Union Territory of Puducherry from March 1, 2019.
i. He also announced the following decisions of the cabinet:
• to introduce ‘voluntary retirement scheme’ for the workers and staff of the century-old Anglo-French
Textiles (AFT) mill and two other textile mills, named Bharathi and Swadeshi (run by Puducherry
Textile corporation) in a phased manner in the next six months.
• one per cent quota of reservation would also be provided to the members of the ‘Irular, Villi and
Vettaikaran’ communities under the Scheduled Tribes Category in education and employment
opportunities.
• government-owned Pondicherry Industrial Promotion Development and Investment Corporation
Limited (PIPDIC) and Distillery and Power Corporations would get benefits of Seventh Pay Commission,

Tamil Nadu Released startup and innovative policy 2018-2023

On January 18, 2019,Tamil Nadu government released ‘Startup & Innovation policy 2018-2023’ with a mission
to provide an innovative ecosystem for startups registered in the State and to make Tamil Nadu a ‘Global
Innovation hub for startups’ by 2023
Key Points to be Noted
i. The government formed a 5-point plan to implement the policies which include creating ecosystems, ensure
resources availability for Startup ecosystem, enable skill development and job creation, support social
entrepreneurship and establish global accessibility and partnerships.
ii. The State is to set up Tamil Nadu Startup Fund of Funds for Rs.250 crore which is to be registered as
anAlternative Investment Fund (AIF) managed by Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), for
investment in startups and MSMEs. The government will invest Rs.75 crore in the fund with the first tranche of
Rs. 25 crore be allotted in FY 2019-2020.
iii. The government also created Tamil Nadu Startup Seed Grant Fund (TNSSGF) of Rs.50 crore with a
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estimate amount of Rs.5 crore in the first year in partnership with financial institutions for supporting early
stage financing requirements of the startups .

Nirmala Sitharaman launched Tamil Nadu defence industrial Corridor in Tiruchirappalli

On Jan 20, 2019,Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched a series of projects as a part of the Tamil Nadu
Defence Industrial Corridor in Tiruchirappalli.This is considered to be the second corridor succeeding the one
launched in Aligarh,Uttar Pradesh.
Points to be Noted
i. This is considered to be the mega corridor that would link the remaining miltary manufacturing units present
in South India,it is tuned at the cost of 3038cr.(apprx)
ii. Total investments of Rs 3,038 crore(Apprx.) in this defence corridor would come from Ordnance Factory
Board, Bharat Electronics Limited and Bharat Dynamics Limited, TVS, Data Patterns and Alpha Designs
committed to invest Rs 2,305 crore, Rs 140.5 crore and Rs 150 crore, Rs 50 crore, Rs 75 crore and Rs 100 crore,
respectively.
iii. The Tamil Nadu corridor has nodes at Trichy, Salem, Hosur, Kovai and Chennai. It is expected to be a
specialised facility hub in aero component manufacturing.
iv. Sitharaman also launched the “CODISSIA Defence Innovation and Incubation Centre” to support the
MSMEs, start-ups and existing industries in their endeavour to expand and contribute significantly for defence
indigenisation.
v.Tamil Nadu ranks 4th in the country with 9.8% of India’s total exports.

Two commemorative coins in the denomination of Rs 100 and Rs 5 were released to mark the 102nd
birth anniversary of late Tamil Nadu chief minister
On 17th January 2019, Two Commemorative coins in the denomination of Rs 100 and Rs 5 were released to
mark the 102nd Birth Anniversary of late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran.
i. Commemorative coins were released by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister
O Panneerselvam.

64th National Symposium of poets, organized by All India Radio held in Chennai
On 10th January 2019, Tamil Nadu Governor, Bunwarilal Purohit inaugurated the 64th National
Symposium (Sarva Bhasha Kavi Sammelan) organized by All India Radio for the first time in Chennai, Tamil
Nadu.
Key Points
i. 23 poets representing all the 22 languages present in the Ninth Schedule of the Indian Constitution will
participate in the symposium.
ii. A Special Programme based on the event will be aired on the eve of Republic Day, 25th January 2019 by the
Public Service Broadcaster All India Radio.
iii. Director General of All India Radio, Mr Fayyaz Sheryar was present at the event.

Second edition of Tamil Nadu Global Investor Meet 2019 held in Chennai
On 23rd January 2019, the second edition of Tamil Nadu government’s ambitious two-day Global Investors
Meet (GIM) 2019 which aimed at showcasing the state’s potential business opportunities and wooing
investment was inaugurated at Chennai Trade Centre, Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The event was attended by over
250 companies from 10 countries. The Investors Meet Concluded on 24th January 2019.
Key Points:
i. The event was inaugurated by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edapadi Palaniswami in the presence of Union
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu O. Pannerselvam and Industries
Minister of Tamil Nadu M.C. Sampath.
ii. This year focus will be given on key 12 sectors including automobile, textiles, aerospace, agro and food
processing, pharmaceutical and chemicals, tourism, housing and construction, Electronics and hardware, Skill

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Development, Heavy Engineering, MSMEs and Information and Technology.

iii. The objective of the event is to position Tamil Nadu as the investor’s choice besides showcasing its potential
business opportunities. Rs.75 crore had been allocated by the state government to conduct the two-day event.
iv. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu attended the valedictory session on 24th January, 2019.
v. The event had managed to exceed the target investment of Rs 2 lakh crore and has witnessed the signing
of 304 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) worth Rs 3.4 lakh crore with promise of job opportunities for
about 10.5 lakh people in the state.
vi. There was special focus on MSMEs this year for which over 32,206 crore rupees of investment has been
committed.
vii. Besides an Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) arm has committed an investment of Rs 27,450 crore for a project
and power PSU NLC is investing Rs 23,800 crore.
viii. Some of the other investment commitments are explained below:
o CPCL will invest Rs 7,400 crore in Nagapattinam district for a petroleum refinery.
o Automobile giant Hyundai to invest Rs 7,000 crore for the expansion and to commence the
manufacture of electric cars in Tamil Nadu.
o MRF will invest Rs 2,100 crore to expand the existing establishments in Perambalur and Vellore
districts.
o Foxconn agreed to invest Rs 2,500 crore to manufacture the premium brand smart phones in
the state.
o GSE Avigna has signed MoU for setting up a mega food park with an investment of 2,000 crore
rupees.
o Adani group has committed to invest Rs 10,000 crore for the expansion of Kattupalli Port, north
of Chennai.
o PSA France will invest Rs 1,250 crore for manufacturing of Peugeot cars in Tiruvallur district
o Eicher Motor is planning an expansion plan worth Rs 1,500 crore.
Background Information:
The first edition of GIM held in 2015 had attracted 98 MoUs worth Rs 2.42 lakh crore.

TN bull taming event enters world record

On January 20, 2019,Jallikattu’ as a symbol of the valour and courage of the Tamil people.A grand “jallikattu”
(bull-taming) event held in Pudukottai and this event entered the world record for the maximum number of
bulls released into the sport arena .
This event had the participation of 1,354 bulls and 424 tamers.

TN bags FSSAI awards for Swasth Bharat Yatra

On 29th January 2019, Tamil Nadu was awarded the “Best State Overall” for its active participation in the
national campaign “Swasth Bharat Yatra”, which was organized from 16th October 2018 by Food Safety and
Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The Swasth Bharat Yatra was culminated on 29th January 2019 at
Connaught Place in New Delhi.
Key Points
i. The Swasth Bharat Yatra was World’s biggest Cyclothon and it saw the involvement of 10 lakh participants.
ii. The Cyclothon began from six different locations – Leh, Panaji, Thiruvananthapuram, Puducherry, Kolkata
and Agartala in which more than 10,000 volunteer cyclists covered more than 20,000 km across 36 states and
Union Territories.
iii. The Key element of the Cyclothon was “Eat Right India” and the goal of the campaign was to aware the
sensitive people about eating food and being healthy.
Madurai, Sivakasi adjudged best cities in the Swasht Bharat Yatra
On 29th January 2019, Madurai and Sivakasi was awarded as the best cities in the Swasth Bharat Yatra which
was concluded on 29th January 2019.
i. Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have been recognized as the best states with a
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population above 3 crores.

ii. Delhi, Goa and Punjab have been adjudged as the best states with population less than 3 crore.
iii. Meghalaya, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand have been adjudged with special awards for their
participation despites difficult and hilly terrain.
iv. Several associations like NCC, NSS and Nehru Yuva Kendra were honoured for their commendable efforts
throughout the yatra.

Indian Navy inducted two Fast Interceptor Craft (FIC) into its fleet at Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu
On January 18, 2019, the Indian Navy inducted two Fast Interceptor Craft (FIC) at Nagapattinam, Tamil
Nadu, to boost coastal security.
i. The vessels were acquired for Sagar Prahari Bal, a unit of the Navy.
ii. The boats can carry a variety of armament from heavy machine guns to grenade launchers with the upper
deck canopies bullet-proof.

Government to launch Technology Mission Centre on Solar Energy & Water Treatment in Chennai
on 25th January 2019 Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forests &
Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan launched three important centres at IIT Madras in Chennai.
Implementation during the launch:
i. The first centre was DST –IITM Solar Energy Harnessing Centre which would focus on a wide range of
research activities such as silicon solar cells that would provide high efficiency in India.
ii. Next on count was the DST-IITM Water –IC for SUTRAM of EASY WATER (DST- IITM Water Innovation
Centre for Sustainable Treatment, Reuse and Management for Efficient, Affordable and Synergistic
Solutions)established with an aim to undertake training programs on wastewater management, water
treatment, sensor development, storm water management and distribution and collection systems.
iii. The third on count was the Test bed on Solar thermal desalination solutions which was established by IIT
Madras and Empereal KGDS as a preventive measure in Naripaaiyur, Ramanathapuram District, Tamil Nadu
with the aim to deliver customized technological solutions to prevalent water challenges in the arid coastal
village located on the shores of the Bay of Bengal.
Important facts:
♦ Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forests & Climate Change- Dr.
Harsh Vardhan
♦ Consituency: Chandni Chowk in Delhi

Tamilnadu & Puducherry Current Affairs - February

2019

Tamil Nadu CM presented Rs. 1,97,721 cr budget for 2019-20

Tamil Nadu’s Deputy Chief Minister, O Panneerselvam presented the state budget for the Fiscal Year 2019-20.
Total revenue of the budget has been pegged at Rs. 1,97,721 crore.
Highlights of Budget
i. The Revenue Deficit of the budget would be Rs. 14,315 crore and Fiscal Deficit would be of Rs. 44,176 crore
with no new taxes.
ii. Tamil Nadu will present policies regarding Farmer Organization and Electronic hardware manufacturing.
iii. Rs. 1700 crore will be allocated for 1 lakh concrete houses which are to be built in Cyclone Gaja affected
areas to replace damaged houses and huts.
iv. Rs. 28,757 has been attributed for school and education sector. It will establish a new arts and science
college at Rameswaram named after former President APJ Abdul Kalam.
v. Rs. 13,606 has been allocated for the development of ports and highways.
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vi. Rs. 6,256 has been allocated for housing and urban development.
vii.On the energy front, the state-run TANGEDCO will be establishing floating solar power projects in Theni,
Salem and Erdoe with a capacity of 250 MW at an estimated Rs 1,125 crore”.
viii.Government would set up a Centre of Excellence for Emerging Technologies under TNeGA (Tamil Nadu e-
Governance Agency) to harness artificial intelligence, machine learning, block chain, big data and Internet of
Things.
ix.French food processing to set up an integrated industrial park near Chennai at an investment of Rs 2,000
crore.

Tamil Nadu CM launched the Virtual learning portal for rural students
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami launched a virtual learning portal
(www.tamilnaducareerservices.gov.in) to offer guidance to rural students preparing for competitive exams.
i. He also inaugurated a State Career Guidance Centre at Guindy, which has been established at a cost of Rs
1.31 crore, with an aim to offer proper guidance to job seekers.

TN Becomes First State in mainland to get 2 Coast Guard Districts

On 22nd February 2019, Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit inaugurated the second Coast Guard
district headquarters at Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu is the first state in India to get a second Coast
Guard district headquarters. The first district headquarters is Chennai.
The second headquarters have been set up to deal with frequent issues faced by fishermen and provide anti-
poaching operations, search and rescue missions and coastal security measures.
Key points:
i. It will function under Commander Coast Guard Region (East).
ii. The area of operations will include about 680 km of the coastline along districts of Pudukottai, Thanjavur,
Ramanathapuram, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari.
iii. The position of first district Commander of the district headquarters (Tuticorin) has been given to Coast
Guard DIG Arvind Sharma.

Prime Minister Visited Tirupur in Tamil Nadu

On 10th February 2019, Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has addressed a rally in Tamil Nadu’s hosiery hub of
Tirupur during his tri-state visit to unveil development projects. The highlights of the visit to Tamil Nadu are as
follows:
Highlights
i. Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi unveiled the Ennore Coastal terminal of Bharat Petroleum
Corporation Limited (BPCL).
ii. Prime Minister inaugurated the Passenger service for a 10 km section of Chennai Metro from AG-DMS
Metro Station to Washermenpet Metro Station.
Foundation stone laid for ESIC Multi speciality Hospital at Tirupur
Prime Minister has laid the foundation stone of ESIC (Employees’ State Insurance Corporation) Multi Speciality
Hospital in Tirupur.The 100 bedded hospital will facilitate the quality treatment and medical needs of over one-
lakh workers and their family members in Tirupur.
Prime Minister also unveiled a 470 bedded ESIC Hospital in Chennai.
New-integrated building at Trichy Airport
Prime Minister has also laid the foundation stone to flag off the expansion work for new consolidated building
at Trichy Airport at a cost of Rs 951 crore.
i. The project which consists of construction of 61634 square meter integrated terminal, is expected to be
completed by October, 2021.
ii. An Apron and an Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower will be constructed along with integrated terminal.
Inauguration of new Crude oil Pipeline
Prime Minister has also initiated the new Crude Oil Pipeline with enhanced safety features to facilitate safety

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and reliable supply of crude oil. This pipeline will be from Chennai Port to Chennai Petroleum Corporation
Limited’s (CPCL) Manali Refinery to serve the needs of Tamil Nadu and neighboring states.

Government sets up committee to explore prepaid payments by discoms to generator companies

A committee containing chairmen of distribution companies of Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, representatives
from Power Ministry and Power associations was set up under the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) to
explore the prepaid payments by state electricity distribution companies to power plants.
Key Points
i. The aim of the committee is to study the working capital cycles of power distribution companies and
generation companies so as to identify the gaps which are contributing to the stress in the sector.
ii. The Committee will also suggest a mechanism for prepaid system of transactions after studying the
regulations with respect to payment mechanism and transaction across power sector value chain.
iii. In order to put in place a bill discounting mechanism ahead of General Elections, a Group of Ministers (GoM)
headed by Finance Mininster is also looking at the recommendation made by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha
simultaneously.
iv. P K Sinha committee had suggested that Financial institutions like REC (Rural Electrification Corporation)
and PFC (Power Finance Corp) may discount receivables from discoms and make payment to generators.

ICT Academy Bridge 2019’ conference inaugurated in Tamil Nadu by IT Minister

on January 31, 2019, ‘ICT Academy Bridge 2019’ the 37th edition of conference, was inaugurated
by Dr.Manikandan,minister of Information and Technology,Tamil Nadu.
About the Conference
i. This conference is conducted every year with a motive to develop a better education system and and
formulate strategic regulatory framework
ii. The theme of the 37th edition of the conference “Fostering India for Industry 4.0”
iii. During this conference ,ICT Academy conferred ” TN icon award 2019 “ to the following person’s for their
contribution to the growth of extensive use of new technology.
• Shankar S, Film Director, Producer, Writer
• Arun Alagappan, Executive Director, Cholamandalam
• R. Dinesh, Managing Director, TVS Logistics Services Limited
iv. ICT Academy also conferred YouTube channel contributor awards 2019, to top five video contributors
and they are
• Bharathi Baskar, Vice President, Citi Bank
• S. Raja, Media Personality
• V. Nandakumar IRS, Govt. of India
• Hip Hop Aadhi, Music Director
• Ashwini John, ICT Academy Youth Contest Winner

AMRUT cities and Municipal Corporations of Raigarh, Ambikapurand Kumbakonam won the top
Swachhata Excellence Awards 2019
Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) cities and municipal corporations
of Raigarh (1st prize), Ambikapur (2nd prize) and Kumbakonam (3rd prize) won the top Swachhata
Excellence Awards 2019. The prizes were awarded by Shri Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of
Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) at the Shehri Samridhi Utsav, an initiative organized by MoHUA
in New Delhi.
i. In the category of ‘Statutory Towns’, Nagar Palika Parishad Jashpur Nagar, Malappuram
Municipality and Nagar Palika Parishad Surajpur were declared winners.
ii. Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation was awarded 1st prize for ‘Million Plus Cities’, and for
‘Aspirational Districts’, Chas Municipal Corporation has been awarded a consolation prize.

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Chennai Police Commissioner launches mobile app Digicop

Chennai Police Commissioner A.K. Viswanathan and actor Vijay Sethupathi have launched the mobile app
“DigiCop”, of Chennai’s police department.
Uses of the App
i. This app as of now have details of 18,000 stolen mobile phones are stored.
ii. Using this app,user can lodge mobile theft complaints and also check if the user’s mobile is in the police list of
retrieved mobiles.Moreover if someone is buying a phone from a second-hand shop they can verify if the phone
is stolen or genuine.
iii. Using this app,Users can also follow,if their stolen two-wheeler had been traced by the police.

Chennai got its first Drainage-cleaning robot, Bandicoot

Bandicoot, a drainage-cleaning robot, has been introduced in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Kadambur Raju,
member of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, inaugurated the operation of the robot.
i. It is a semi-automatic robot can enter manholes for cleaning sewage lines with its robotic arm and is
equipped with 5 night-vision cameras to relay the scenario underneath.
ii.It was first introduced in Feb 2018 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, then in July 2018, it was publicized in
Kumbakonam municipality of Tamil Nadu.
iii.It was developed by Genrobotics, a company founded by nine young engineers in Thiruvananthapuram.

Jamie Chadwick becomes the first female driver to win MRF Challenge title in Chennai
The 20 years old,Jamie Chadwick from Bath, England made history by becoming the first female driver to win
the MRF challenge title after winning 3 out of 5 races in the final round in Chennai.
i. She has defeated Max Defourny of Belgium.
ii. She won 6 out of 15 races in the series which had started in November and included events in Dubai and
Bahrain.
Related News
Chadwick won the British F3 race and became the first woman to win this title in August 2018.

Corentin Moutet wins Chennai Open ATP Challenger title by defeating Andrew Harris
19-year-old Corentin Moutet of France defeated Andrew Harris of Australia by 6-3, 6-3 in the singles final
and won the title in Chennai Open ATP Challenger tennis tournament.
i. The finals were held at Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu(SDAT) Tennis
Stadium in Nungambakkam, Chennai.
ii. It was Moutet’s 2nd Challenger title and he received 80 ATP points whereas, Andrew received 48 ATP
points.

Chennai Spartans won Pro Volleyball League title

Chennai Spartans won the inaugural edition of the Pro Volleyball League(PVL) by defeating Calicut
Heroesby 3-0 in Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai
i. League’s top scorer and best spiker Rudy Verhoeff, scored 13 points (11 spikes and 2 blocks) for
the Chennai Spartans while Ajith Lal was the highest scorer with nine points (9 spikes) for the Calicut
Heroes.
ii. With this win, Chennai Spartans have qualified for this year’s Fédération Internationale de Volleyball
(FIVB) Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship, where they will represent India.

Former umpire Dara Dotiwalla, who officiated in the famous tied Test match between India and
Australia passed away
On January 31, 2019, Former Umpire Dara Dotiwalla, who organized the famous tied Test match between India
and Australia passed away in Chennai due to old age .

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i. The first Test in which Dotiwalla officiated was India versus England at Kanpur in 1982, whereas,the last one
was India versus West Indies at Delhi in 1987.

Tamilnadu & Puducherry Current Affairs - March

2019

Turmeric from Erode, Tamil Nadu gets GI tagged after an 8-year process
On 6th March 2019, Geographical Indication (GI) tag was granted by the Geographical Indication Registry
to Erode turmeric after a process spread over 8 years. The cultivar is known as Erode local (Chinnanadan).
Unique features of Erode Turmeric:
i. Average length of the fingers of turmeric is approximately 4.15 cm and average circumference is 3.03 cm.
ii. The average bulb length of the mother rhizome is about 4.54cm and the average circumference is 6.54cm
iii. It consists of 2.5-4.5% curcumin, has a golden yellow colour and is resistant to pests after boiling.

Overview of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Visit to Tamil Nadu and Karnataka
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kalaburagi in Karnataka and Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu where
he launched various development projects.
Highlights from PM Modi’s visit to Karnataka:
• The Prime Minister dedicated the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Hospital and
Medical College, Bengaluru to the nation, through the unveiling of the plaque.
• He inaugurated the Super Specialty Block of Karnataka Institute of Medical
Sciences(KIMS) in Hubali, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal building in Bangalore and
the Women’s Hostel for Students from North Eastern Region at Bangalore University, through the
press of button.
• Foundation stone for the resitement of BPCL depot Raichur to Kalaburagi was also laid by the Prime
Minister through the unveiling of plaque.
• He also interacted with the beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana: Ayushman Bharat.
Highlights from PM Modi’s visit to Tamil Nadu:
• PM Modi launched various National Highway projects, including the foundation stone for the four
laning of NH-45C from Vikravandi to Thanjavur and the six laning of Karaipettai – Walajapet section
of NH-4.
• He dedicated the 5 MMTPA capacity Ennore LNG Terminal to the nation. The Liquefied Natural Gas
(LNG) terminal will help in meeting the LNG demand in Tamil Nadu and neighboring states.
• He also dedicated the electrification of Erode-Karur-Tiruchchirapalli and Salem-Karur-
Dindigul railway lines to the nation.
• He announced that the Chennai Central Railway Station would be renamed after former Tamil Nadu
Chief Minister MG Ramachandran.
• He also unveiled the statue of Dr. MG Ramachandran at Dr. MGR Janaki College of Arts & Science
for Women, Chennai through video link.

Integral Coach Factory of Chennai became the world’s largest rail coach manufacturer
Indian Railways Integral Coach Factory (ICF) has surpassed the top Chinese manufacturers after creating a
40% record increase in its production. With this, Indian Railway’s oldest and premier coach manufacturing unit
becomes the single largest rail coach manufacturer in the world.
i. ICF has manufactured 2,919 coaches from April 2018 to February 2019 as compared to 2,600 coaches by
Chinese manufacturers.

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ii. Besides ICF Indian Railways has 2 coach manufacturing facilities namely Rail Coach
Factory, Kapurthala and Modern Coach Factory, Raebareli.

Indian Bank receives Best Bank Award from the state government of Tamil Nadu
Indian Bank, a Public Sector Bank (PSB), headquartered at Chennai, Tamil Nadu has been awarded the Best
Bank Award by the Tamil Nadu government for successfully meeting the needs of women’s self-help groups
(SHGs).
The award was given to MK Bhattacharya, the executive director of Indian Bank by the Chief Minister of
Tamil Nadu K Palaniswami at Salem, Tamil Nadu.

T.N. declared to be the first state to introduce TAVI in government hospital

Vijaya Bhaskar, State Health Minister of Tamil Nadu stated that Tamil Nadu has become the first state in
the country to introduce Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) in the government hospitals.
i. TAVI was launched in November 2018 at the Tamil Nadu Government Multi Super Speciality Hospital
(TNGMSSH), Omandurar Estate and two people underwent the surgery free of cost.
ii. An MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) was signed between the state government and Heart Team
India for these surgeries.
iii. TAVI is performed on old-age heart patients who cannot undergo an open-heart surgery and involves
replacement of valve through a keyhole procedure.

IIT Madras partnered with ESPNcricinfo to launch ‘Superstats’ to analyse cricket statistics
On 20th March 2019, Indian Institute of Technology Madras has partnered with ESPNcricinfo to
launch Superstats which is a next level artificial intelligence to analyse cricket statistics through machine
learning and forecast. Superstats is developed by a team headed by the IIT Madras research
scholars Raghunathan Rengaswamy, Mahesh Panchagnula along with the ESPN team.
Key Points
i. It will analyse cricket using data science for the first time, give context to every event in a game and also
venture new territories such as forecasting and luck.
ii. It also reveals the trends and patterns during a game as the actual match data spread on real time. It has
combined big data, cricket intelligence and data science to produce a set of numbers which will help the fans to
understand and appreciate the game better.

Chennai City crowned I-League Champion

On 20th March 2019, Chennai City FC crowned as the l–League Champion by All India Football Federation
(AIFF) in Chennai. The I-League aka Hero I-League is the men’s top most professional football league in India.
The owner of Chennai City FC is Rohit Ramesh.
Highlights
i. Chennai City FC player Pedro Manzi and Churchill Brothers FC player Willis Plaza won the I-League
special awards as the top goal scorer.
ii. Pedro Manzi named as the Hero of the League while Gaurav Bora of Chennai City named as the Best
emerging player.
CATEGORY WINNER
Fair Play Award Shillong Lajong
Top Goal Scorer Pedro Manzi (Chennai City) and Willis Plaza (Churchill Brothers)
21 goals each.
Best Goalkeeper Billal Khan (Real Kashmir)
Best Defender Roberto Eslava (Chennai City)
Best Midfielder Nestor Gordillo (Chennai City)
Best Forward Pedro Manzi (Chennai City)
Best Home Match Organizer East Bengal

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Emerging Player Gaurav Bora (Chennai City)

Best Coach Akbar Nawas (Chennai City)
Hero of the League Pedro Manzi (Chennai City)

Former Puducherry LG Virendra Kataria died aged 88

The 21st Lt Governor of Puducherry and former Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief,
Virendra Kataria, passed away at the age of 88 years.
i. He belonged from Abohar, Punjab and is survived by his son and a daughter.
ii. Puducherry lieutenant governor Kiran Bedi condoled his death and paid her respects.

Tamilnadu & Puducherry Current Affairs - April 2019

Eminent Tamil scholar and orator Silamboli Su. Chellappan passed away at the age of 91 in
Thiruvanmiyur, Tamil Nadu
On 6th April 2019, Veteran Tamil Scholar and orator Silamboli Su. Chellappan passed away at the age of 91
in Thiruvanmiyur, Tamil Nadu.
Posts he hold earlier:
i. He was designated as the director of Tamil Development.
ii. He was the founder-director of World Tamil Research Centre.
iii. He was given the title as Silamboli by the Tamil scholar R.P.Sethupillai.
Some of his famous books are:
♦ Silamboli, Silapathikara Sinthanaigal, Sanga Ilakiya Thaen

‘Chennai Central’ has been renamed as ‘Puratchi Thalaivar Dr M G Ramachandran Chennai Central’
after Dr. ‘MG Ramachandran’
Chennai Central railway station has been renamed by the Tamil Nadu State Government as Puratchi Thalaivar
Dr MG Ramachandran Central Railway Station after its late Chief Minister and founder of the Chennai’s
ruling govt All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Dr. MG Ramachandran.
Facts about Dr. MG Ramachandran
i. Dr. Marudur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 Jan 1917-24 Dec 1987) aka MG Ramachandran or ‘Makkal
Thilagam’ (since he was a popular figure) was a veteran filmmaker, actor and politician. He served for 10 years
as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (1977-1987).
ii. MG Ramachandran’s autobiography was posthumously published in 2003 (in two volumes) under the
title ‘Naan Yaen Piranthaen (Why I was Born)’.
iii. His policies focused on economic growth and social welfare. He brought in many educational reforms,
banned liquor, upgraded the mid-day-meal scheme and worked for the preservation for the state’s cultural
heritage.
iv. For his immense contribution to public service, M G Ramachandran was posthumously honoured
with Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award, by the Government of India in 1988.
v. MG Ramachandran was also awarded with honorary doctorate degrees from the University of Madras and
the World University Arizona in 1974.

To ensure good menstrual health, Project Kannamma initiated by Rotary Club of Madras North
Project Kannamma is an initiative by Rotary Club of Madras North to provide biodegradable sanitary napkins
under the brand name, “Aavaram” to the girl students in government schools of Tamil Nadu.
Other Highlights of the Project:
i. This initiative was first started in August 2018, by giving free sanitary napkin to 82 students of a government
school in Uthandi of Tamil Nadu.
ii. The Irula Tribal Women’s Welfare Society (ITWWS) provided sanitary napkins to the students.
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iii. ITWWS community women produce 1000 pads per day. They use Arunachalam Muruganantham
machines.
iv. The Sanitary napkins are prepared with natural raw materials like cotton and wood pulp. It cost only Rs
22which contains six packs.
v. Till present, 300 students from across government schools in and around Chennai have got free sanitary
napkins.
vi. This project is also providing a livelihood to the Irula Tribal Women. It can provide livelihood to 12 tribal
families if they are selling 15,000 pads per month.

Actor and former MP of Ramanathapuram: JK Ritheesh passed away due to cardiac arrest
On 13th April, 2019, 46 years old JK Ritheesh, actor and former Member of Parliament (MP)
of Ramanathapurampassed away due to cardiac arrest.
i. Until before his demise, JK Ritheesh was with AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) party,
which he joined in 2014 after quitting DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) party.
ii. While in DMK, JK Ritheesh became an MP from Ramanathapuram during Lok Sabha Elections of 2009.
iii. As an actor, JK Ritheesh was last seen playing a role in RJ Balaji’s political satire named ‘LKG‘.
iv. He was born in Kandy, Sri Lanka, after which in 1976, Ritheesh migrated to Rameswaram.
v. His first film was Kaanal Neer (directed by Chinni Jayanth).

S Muthiah, Master chronicler of Madras, dies aged 89

On 20th April 2019, Renowned Journalist-writer Subbiah Muthiahpassed away at the age of 89 in Chennai due
to age-related illnesses. He was born in 1930 in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu and attended school in
Colombo.
Key Points:
i. In 1981, Muthiah published a book about heritage and history of Madras named ‘Madras Discovered’.And also
he was best known for the Book ‘Madras Rediscovered’. He was also the founder of the fortnightly
newspaper Madras Musings and Madras Book Club.
ii. He was conferred the’ Most Excellent Order of the British Empire’ in 2002.
iii. He was noted for his popular column in The Hindu, called ‘Madras Miscellany’.

Ace paddler Sharath Kamal wins sportsperson of year award 2019

On 27th April 2019, Sharath Kamal, Ace table tennis player was titled Sportsperson of the Year Award 2019 at
the annual awards and scholarships function organised by the Tamil Nadu Sports Journalists’ Association
(TNSJA) and the India Cements in Chennai. Stephen Fleming, CSK (Chennai Super Kings) coach, Mike Hussey,
and CSK CEO K S Viswanathan were present in the function.
i. Ten up-and-coming sportspersons were also given scholarships to the tune of Rs 3 lakh.
ii. TNSJA Lifetime Achievement awardees: Vijay Amritraj (Indian tennis player), V V Kumar ( former India leg-
spinner), R Gnanasekaran(Asian Games gold medallist (200m).
iii. Coach of the year: R B RAMESH (chess coach)
iv. India Cements -TNSJA Team of the year 2018-19: Tamil Nadu Women’s Football team.
v. India Cements -TNSJA Young Achiever of the year 2018-19 : P M Tabitha( athlete)
vi. India Cements -TNSJA Young Achiever of the year 2018-19: D.Gukesh (world’s second youngest Grand
Master).

President Ramnath Kovind Released NIRF, ARIIA 2019 Rankings : IIT Madras ranked No.1
On 8th April 2019,President Ramnath Kovind Published National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF)
2019and Atal Ranking of Institutions for Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) 2019 ranking for higher
educational institutes in India at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

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The rankings are as follows:

Category Winner
Overall Indian Institute of Technology Madras
University Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru
Engineering Indian Institute of Technology Madras
College Miranda House, Delhi
Management Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
Pharmacy Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi
Law National Law School of India University, Bengaluru
Architecture Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
Medical All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
i.The first NIRF ranks were released in 2016.
ii.This is the fourth edition of the NIRF rankings.
iii.The parameters for the ranking were Teaching, Learning and Resources,Graduation Outcomes, Research
and Professional Practices, Outreach and Inclusivity, and Perception.
About ARIIA rankings 2019:
♦ This is the first edition of ARIIA Ranking.
♦ IIT Madras was the best institute among top 10 government institutes.
♦ The parameters are based on Infrastructure and awareness, Budget and Funding support, ,Promotion and
supporting Entrepreneurship, Awareness and Promotion of idea generation, Intellectual Property
Generation, Learning methods, and Governance.

Chennai Central missed the chance of having the title of world’s longest railway station name by an
alphabet
On 15th April 2019, Chennai Central Railway station in Tamil Nadu, officially known as Puratchi Thalaivar
Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station with its 57-character count missed the chance of having the
title of world’s longest railway station name by an alphabet.
Key Points:
i. The title was won by Llanfairpwll railway station in Wales, also known for its 58 letters long name
‘Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch’.
ii. Although, the erstwhile Chennai Central railway station which was renamed after the legendary actor-
turned-politician Dr. M.G. Ramachandran is still the longest railway station name in India.
iii. The other railway stations in India with long names are Karnataka’s Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna Bengaluru
City station, Venkatanarasimharajuvaripeta in Andhra Pradesh and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in
Maharashtra.
iv. Karnataka’s Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna Bengaluru City station was renamed in 2015 in honour of a
princely State soldier who fought against the British, and The Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus which is in
Mumbai also called as VT station was renamed in 2017 when the word Maharaj was added to it.

IIT Madras tied up with GE to set up India’s first ‘Cold Spray’ SMART Lab
American conglomerate, General Electric in association with IIT Madras,established India’s first ‘Cold Spray’
SMART (Surface Modification and Additive Research Technologies) Laboratory in the institution.And
thereby IIT-M became the only academic institution with High-Pressure Cold Spray(HPCS) facility in India.
i. The High-Pressure Cold Spray machinery has been carried from Plasma Giken, Japan.
ii. GE India Technology Centre CEO Alok Nanda and IIT Madras Director BhaskarRamamurthi inaugurated
the laboratory on 5th April 2019
iii. The project is sponsored by “Uchchatar Avishkar Yojana(UAY) Scheme” of GOI to boost collaboration
between academia and private sector.

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Tamil Director, J Mahendran passed away at the age of 79

On 2nd April 2019, Famous Tamil Director, Screenwriter and actor, J. Mahendran passed away following a brief
hospitalization at the age of 79.
i. Mahendran was born on 25th July 1939 in Ilaiyangudi, Madurai. His memorable work includes Mullum
Malarum, Johnny and Nenjathai Killadhey.
ii.His movie Mullum Malarum (1978) was conferred with Filmfare Award for Best Film.

Tamilnadu & Puducherry Current Affairs - May 2019

India’s first Tree Ambulance initiated in Chennai by Green man of India

On the occasion of International Day for Biological Diversity i.e. on May 22, a first of its kind, tree ambulance
was inaugurated in Chennai, Tamil Nadu by Vice President of India, Venkaiah Naidu. The initiative was
proposed by Green man of India, Dr K Abdul Ghani and it is sponsored by the SASA Group. The ambulance can
be availed through the number 9941006786 and volunteers can register on www.treeambulance.org.
i. Services provided by Tree Ambulance first-aid treatment are uprooted tree planting, seed bank, seed ball
distribution, plant distribution, aiding tree plantation, shifting trees, a survey of trees and removal of dead
trees.
ii. The reallocation of trees will be done free of cost.
iii. The ambulance has helpers and a plant expert, who carry gardening tools, water, manure, and pesticide with
them.
Reason behind this launch:
Due to some kind of disaster each year, like cyclones Vardah and Gaja, tress used to get uprooted in the city
and not even one of them is replanted due to which Chennai has lowest green cover among all the metropolitan
cities in the country, Also there are hundreds of dead trees in Chennai which poses hazard to the public. So to
increase the green cover, this initiative has been started.

Centre issued Drought Advisory to six states

Recently, centre has issued a “drought advisory” to six states named Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra
Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu due to water storage in dams dropped to a “critical level”. Centre has
asked these 6 six states to use water judiciously.
Key Highlights
i. Central Water Commission (CWC) always issues drought advisory whenever the water level in reservoirs is
20 percent less than the average of live water storage figures of the past 10 years.
ii. According to figures released by CWC, the total water storage available was 35.99 billion cubic metres, which
is 22 percent of the total storage capacity of these reservoirs.
About CWC :
It functions as an attached office of Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation,
Government of India, and monitors total water storage available in 91 major reservoirs across the country.

Indian Navy has enhanced its anti-air warfare capability by successfully test-firing MRSAM missile
The Indian Navy has achieved a significant milestone in enhancing its anti-air warfare capability by
successfully test-firing a Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM) on the western seaboard.
Key Points:
i. The test-firing was carried out by Indian naval ships Kochi and Chennai.
ii. The MRSAM has been manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL).
iii. The test-firing of the missile was collaboratively undertaken by the Indian Navy, Defence Research and

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Development Organisation (DRDO) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

iv. The DRDO had partnered with Israel Aerospace Industries and developed the missile.
v. The missile has the ability to destroy the hostile aircraft, missiles and drones at a range of 70 km.

Tamil novelist and Sahitya Akademi Awardee Thoppil Mohamed Meeran dies aged 74 at Pettai in
Tirunelveli district
On May 10, noted Tamil novelist and Sahitya Akademi Awardee Thoppil Mohamed Meeran passed away at
Pettai in Tirunelveli district. He was 74. He authored several Tamil and Malayalam novels. His novel “Saaivu
Naarkkali” (The Reclining Chair) won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1997.
i. He was born in the small coastal area of Thaengaaipattinam in Kanniyakumari district on September 26,
1944.
ii. His other novels are “Oru Kadalora Graamaththin Kathai”, “Thuraimugam”, “Koonan Thoppu” and “Anju
Vannam Theru.” He has also written short stories like “Anbukku Muthumai Illai”, “Thangarasu”,
“Ananthasayanam Colony”, “Oru Kutti Theevin Varippadam”, “Thoppil Mohamed Meeran Kathaigal” and “Oru
Maamaramum Konjam Paravaigalum.”
iii. He received eight awards in total which included the Sahitya Akademi Award and Tamil Nadu Kalai Ilakkiya
Perumantram Award in 1992.

Former South Asian Games swimming champion MB Balakrishnan passed away in a road accident in
Chennai, Tamil Nadu
On May 14, 2019, South Asian Games Gold medalist, 50m backstroke swimmer MB Balakrishnan passed
away in a road accident in Chennai. He was 29. He was killed while he was riding his bike when a lorry hit him
and ran over him. He hailed from Tamil Nadu.
i. He is an alumnus of the Guindy Engineering College and pursued MS in the US.
ii. He was a gold medalist in the National Games in Guwahati, 2007. He held a national record in 50m
backstroke at the Senior National Championships, 2010 in New Delhi and won the 100m and 200m backstroke
events at the South Asian Games.

Tamilnadu & Puducherry Current Affairs - June 2019

V.P Sivakolundhu elected as Puducherry Assembly Speaker
Deputy Speaker of Puducherry Assembly V.P Sivakolundhu has been unanimously elected as speaker of
Puducherry assembly after congress’s V Vaithilingam stepped down from the post.
ii. V Vaithilingam stepped down on March 21 to contest the Lok Sabha election from the lone Union Territory
seat, which he won with a margin of 1,96,802 votes against his nearest rival K Narayanasamy of All India NR
Congress.
iii. V.P Sivakolundhu is the only independent candidate who filed nomination on behalf of the Congress-DMK
alliance.
iv. Congress member MNR Balan (Oulgret Constituency) has been appointed as Deputy Speaker.

Veteran Tamil playwright and actor ‘Crazy’ Mohan, aged 67, passed away in Chennai
Renowned Tamil playwright and comedy actor Mohan Rangachari, popularly known as ‘Crazy’ Mohan,
passed away at Kauvery Hospital in Chennai, Tamil Nadu after he suffered a major heart attack. He was 67.
Key Points;
i. He was born on October 16, 1952, in Tamil Nadu. His play ‘Crazy Thieves in Palavakkam’ became popular and
gave him the name ‘Crazy’ Mohan.
ii. He qualified as a mechanical engineer at the College of Engineering, Guindy in the 1970s. During this time, he
wrote the first script for “Great Bank Robbery” for an inter-collegiate contest.
iii. He started his own drama company ‘Crazy Creations’ in 1979. In 1983, he made his film debut as a writer

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for K. Balachander’s “PoikkalKuthirai”, which was based on Mohan’s own play “Marriage Made in Saloon”.
iv. The popular plays of the actor include “Chocolate Krishna”, “Satellite Saamiyar”, “Marriage Made in
Saloon” and “Return of Crazy Thieves”, among others. He also produced popular comedy serials, which
include “Crazy”, “KalyanathukkuKalyanama” and “VidathuSirippu”.
v. Along with Kamal Haasan, he became popular in multiple Tamil comedies which include “SathiLeelavathi”,
“Michael Madana Kama Rajan”, “Apoorva Sagodharargal”, “AvvaiShanmugi”, “Panchatanthiram”, “Vasool Raja
MBBS”, “Tenali” and “Pammal K Sambandam”.
vi. He was the recipient of the “Kalaimamani” award conferred by the Tamil Nadu government for excellence
in the field of art and literature.

Former Puducherry Chief Minister and DMK leader R.V. Janakiraman passed away
RV Janakiraman, a former Chief Minister of the union territory of Puducherry and leader of Dravida
Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) passed away in Puducherry.
i. He died at the age of 79 due to age-related illness. He was from Alathur in Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu Government appoints K Shanmugham as new CS and JK Tripathy as DGP

On June 29, 2019. Tamil Nadu Government appointed K Shanmugam as Chief Secretary (CS) of the state
succeeding Dr. Girija Vaidyanathan.JK Tripathy was appointed as the Director General of Police (DGP)
succeeding TK Rajendran.
Key Points:
i. Shanmugam, a Tamil Nadu cadre IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer of 1985 batch, was posted as
Additional Chief Secretary of Finance Department to the government. He is a native of Salem district, Tamil
Nadu.
ii. JK Tripathy, a 1985 batch IPS (Indian Police Service) officer and a native of Odisha, currently serves in Tamil
Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board as DGP/Chairman. He has held various responsibilities including
that of DGP, Prisons and Commissioner of Police in Chennai and Tiruchirapalli in his career over 3 decades.
iii. They will hold the office for 2 years

P Jayadevan Appointed as IOCL Executive Director for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry
P Jayadevan has been appointed as the executive director of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd for Tamil Nadu and
Puducherry succeeding R Sitharthan. He will be coordinating oil company. He was previously heading
Chairman's Secretariat at the corporate office, New Delhi. Prime Minister's Aadhaar Excellence Award was
awarded to him for his contribution.

Veteran Mridangam exponent, Thanjavoor Ramamoorthy passes away in Trichy, Tamil Nadu
Thanjavoor Ramamoorthy, Veteran Mridangam exponent and former top grade staff artist of All India
Radio(AIR) passed away in Trichy, Tamil Nadu. He was born in Trichy.
i. He was appointed as Artist of All India Radio by the British Government and later on served 42 years in
Indian Government as a mridhangam artist.
ii. He has been chosen into the “A” Grade Artist by the first panel committee.
Honours received:
i. In 1980, Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataga Mandram conferred the title “Kalaimamani”.
ii. In 1983, the Karaikudi Tamil Isai Sangam conferred a title “Isai Kadal”.
iii. In 2001, Trichy District Nalla Nidhi Committee has awarded “Kalai Peroli”.
iv. In 1997, Muthamil Peravai of Chennai conferred a title “Miruthangha Selvam”.
v. In 2014, he received the title “Vaadhya Padmam” conferred by the Brahma Gana Sabha, Chennai.

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Tamilnadu & Puducherry Current Affairs - July 2019

Tamil Nadu to be the first state to manufacture electric cars: Minister
M C Sampath, minister for industries stated that South Korean multinational automotive
manufacturer Hyundai plans to launch its electric car for India and the global market from Chennai
facility will help make Tamil Nadu the first state in India to manufacture electric cars.
Key points:
i. Motive: The Tamil Nadu (TN)State Government aims to attract the multinational companies that are
moving out of China after the US(United States)-China trade dispute.
ii. Investment: Tamil Nadu ranks 3rd in capital investment in the industrial sector with Rs 4.02 lakh
crore, after Gujarat (Rs 8.14 lakh crore) and Maharashtra (Rs 5.02 lakh crore).
iii. Industrial o/p: Tamil Nadu has 37,220 factories (the most in India followed by Maharashtra
(27,010 units) and Gujarat (25,966 units)) also ranks 3rd in total industrial output(o/p), with Rs 7.66
lakh crore, after Gujarat (Rs 12.22 lakh crore) and Maharashtra (Rs 10.74 lakh crore).
iv. Workforce: TN has a high number of persons engaged in the factory at 24.08 lakh persons which
are 25%higher than the next state Maharashtra.
v. Eco-friendly initiative: The TN Industries Development Corporation (TIDCO is selecting a
consultant for preparing a report on developing a greenfield airport near Chennai.
vi. Defence: The state also aims to attract Rs 10,000 crore in the defence sector for five years.

Government to build India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) at Pottipuram in Theni District,

Tamil Nadu
On July 1, 2019, Union Minister of State (MoS) (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern
Region (DoNER), MoS Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic
Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh informed that the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO)
will be set up at Pottipuram in Theni District, Tamil Nadu. The aim of the project is to set up a
51000 ton Iron Calorimeter (ICAL) detector to observe naturally occurring atmospheric neutrinos in a
cavern at the end of an approximately 2 km long tunnel in a mountain. It would be the first neutrino
detector in India.
Key Points:
i. This will decrease the noise from cosmic rays that is ever-present over-ground and will outnumber
the rare neutrino interactions even in a detector as large as ICAL.
ii. It will measure cosmic rays and neither release any radiation nor radioactive substance.

Tamil Nadu Govt announces the creation of two new Districts

On July 18, 2019, The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu(T.N), Edappadi K. Palaniswami stated that two
new districts Tenkasi and Chengalpattu will be created for administrative convenience by
bifurcating Tirunelveli and Kancheepuram districts respectively. With this, the total number of
districts in the state will go up to 35.
Key points:
i. The State Government will appoint separate officials for these two new districts to take forward
work related to the bifurcation of big districts.
ii. Sivagiri, Ambasamudram, Kadayanallur, and Sengottai regions are likely to fall under Tenkasi
district, which had a population of 70,545 as per 2011 census. Chengalpattu is located about 55 km
away from the Chennai, state capital.
iii. To address grievances of people in a rural and urban region, the state government also announced
“ Chief Minister’s special grievances redressal scheme and the sanction of Rs.50 crore for up-gradation
of amenities in Vellore municipality.
iv. The state government bifurcated Villupuram district to form Kallakurichi district, 33rd in the state
in January 2019.
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Tamil Nadu declared ‘Tamil Yeoman’ or ‘Tamil Maravan’ as its state butterfly
‘Tamil Yeoman’, a kind of butterfly found in the Western Ghats declared as Tamilnadu state
butterfly. It is also called as ‘Tamil Maravan’. Tamil Nadu has become the fifth state in the country to
announce its state butterfly. Maharashtra was the first to declare Blue Mormon as its state butterfly,
followed by Uttarakhand (Common peacock), Karnataka (Southern bird wings) and Kerala (Malabar
banded peacock)
‘Tamil Yeoman’:-
i. Its scientific name was Cirrochroa thais. ‘Tamil Yeoman’ is one of 30 butterfly species which
found in the Western Ghats.
ii. These butterflies are known to migrate from one place to another. These butterflies are yellow and
dark brown in color.
Info about other state’s butterfly:-
Maharashtra was the first state that declared Blue Mormon as its state butterfly. After
that Uttarakhand (Common peacock), Karnataka (Southern bird wings) and Kerala (Malabar
banded peacock) had declared its state butterflies.
Other icons of Tamilnadu:-
Animal – Nilgiri Tahr
Bird – Emerald Dove
Tree – Palm tree
Flower – Gloriosa
Fruit – Jack fruit

Puducherry will soon to operationalize Bicycle-Sharing Scheme

In an innovative eco-friendly initiative of bicycle-sharing in the city, a Bicycle-Sharing
Scheme, conceived and prioritized under Puducherry Smart City Development Plan, is to be
introduced in Puducherry.
Key points:
i. Docking stations: Around 100 spots have been identified for cycle docking stations where the
bicycles can be left at any of the docking stations after the usage by the registered customers. 20
docking stations with 10 -15 cycles are to be set up in places like the beach promenade, Bharathi Park,
Gandhi Thidal, Aurobindo ashram, and railway station.
ii. P-P-P model: This scheme is one among the 22 prioritized schemes of the Puducherry Smart City
Project under the public-private partnership model(P-P-P) for which about 194 crore rupees would
be spent.
iii. Benefit: Tourists and residents of Puducherry will be highly relieved of the traffic congestion,
pollution problems in the city and will enjoy their trip.

P Rajagopal, Saravana Bhavan founder passed away in Chennai

On July 18, 2019, Founder of popular South Indian food chain Saravana Bhavan, P Rajagopal, who
convicted in a murder case passed away due to a Heart attack in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He was 72.
Key points:
i. He was born in Punnaiyadi, Tuticorin District of Tamil Nadu.
ii. He had surrendered before a local court to serve a life sentence in a murder case and had been
shifted to Vijaya Hospital after the Madras High Court passed an interim order.
iii. For murdering an employee in October 2001, he had surrendered along with another accused
earlier to serve life term after the Supreme Court rejected his plea seeking more time on grounds of
ill-health.

TN celebrates ‘Hospital Day’ on July 30, 2019

On July 30, 2019, Government hospitals in Tamil Nadu (TN) celebrated its first ‘Hospital Day’ on the
commemoration of the birth anniversary Muthulakshmi Reddy. She was one of India’s prominent

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successful woman doctors in the early 20th century and TN’s first woman legislator.
Key Points:
i. Born on July 30, 1886, in Pudukottai, TN, she was the founder of Adyar Cancer Institute in Chennai
(1954). She died in 1968.
ii. The day is also observed to publicize services offered by the hospitals along with the Non-
Governmental Organizations (NGOs), donors social institutions and corporates offering corporate
social responsibility (CSR) funds for the development of the hospitals.
iii. Google also dedicated its doodle to Muthulakshmi Reddy on her 133rd birth anniversary.

ECI Appoints Sh B Murli Kumar as Special Expenditure Observer for Election to 8 – Vellore PC,
Tamil Nadu
Election Commission of India(ECI) appointed Ex-DG IT Chennai Sh B Murli Kumar (ex IRS –
1983) as Special Expenditure Observer for 8-Vellore Parliamentary Constituency. People are set to
cast vote on August 5, 2019.
i. The election in this particular constituency was called off after detecting a systematic design to
influence voters.
ii. The Commission recommended the President of India to rescind the Election under Article 324 of
the Constitution read with Section 21 of the General Clauses Act, 1897.

Two Defence Industrial Corridors to be set up in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu
In pursuance of the announcement made by the then Finance Minister Mr. Arun Jaitley in the budget
speech 2018-19, the Government has decided to set up 2 Defence Industrial Corridors in Uttar
Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. It will cover the needs of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).
Key Points:
i. The 6 nodes of Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor are Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Aligarh,
Chitrakoot, and Jhansi.
ii. Investments worth Rs 4,000 crore have been received and the project is expected to cost Rs 20,000
crore.
iii. Change is proposed in the Defence Policy-2018 of the Uttar Pradesh government for the inclusion
of the manufacture of arms, ammunition, and explosives as an investment area for the defence
corridor.

Indian Navy commissions fifth Dornier Aircraft Squadron in Chennai

On July 22, 2019, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh commissioned the fifth Dornier
squadron of the Indian Navy- Indian Naval Air Squadron 313 (INAS 313 ) at the Naval Air
Enclave in Meenambakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It will operate the indigenous Hindustan
Aeronautics Limited (HAL) built Maritime Surveillance version multi-role Dornier 228 Short Range
Maritime reconnaissance aircraft from Chennai Airport.
Key Points:
i. It is commanded by Commander Vivek Koman.
ii. It is fitted with state-of-the-art sensors and equipment which include Advanced Surveillance Radar,
Electronic Sensors and networking features.
iii. It will help India to track the growing Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Working Women’s Forum founder Dr. Jaya Arunachalam passed away in Chennai, Tamil Nadu
On June 29, 2019, Working Women’s Forum (WWF) founder Dr. Jaya Arunachalam, aged 87, passed
away in Chennai, Tamil Nadu after a brief illness. She hailed from Tamil Nadu.i. She was the president
of the National Union of Working Women, in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Vice
President of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) and member of the All India Congress
Committee. She was the first South Asian woman member to be elected to the Governing Council of
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the Society for International Development, Rome. She was also a member of the Inter-ministerial
Conference on Women and Children to the Philippines in the year 1994.
ii. She was the recipient of Padma Shri in 1987, International Activist Award by Gleitsman Foundation
in 2003, Jamnalal Bajaj Award in 2009, Bharat Ratna Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Shakthi Award in 2009, and
Social Lifetime Achievement Award from Godfrey Phillips India in the year 2010.
iii. She was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Lueneburg (Germany) in 1999.

Former Indian football team goalkeeper AU Celestine passed away at the age of 73
AU Celestine from Tamil Nadu, a former India football goalkeeper passed away after a brief illness in
Chennai. He was 73.
Key points:
i. He played for the Tamil Nadu state men’s team as a goalkeeper in Senior Nationals in the 1965 and
1969 National Championships and also represented India in the Merdeka Cup in Malaysia in 1969.
ii. In 1967, He joined Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Madras.
iii. He worked as a talent spotter of All India Football Federation (AIFF) and he trained the
underprivileged children in North Madras area in Football and help them with their education. He also
served as a coach for the Tamilnadu State Junior, Sub Junior and Women’s teams.

Tamilnadu & Puducherry Current Affairs - August 2019

IIT Madras partners with NIOT for ocean wave electricity harnessing
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras and the National Institute of Ocean
Technology (NIOT) have partnered together for developing turbines that can generate electricity by
harnessing the ocean waves.
Key points
i. The research is headed by Abdus Samad of IIT Madras from Ocean Engineering department.
ii. Work on producing electricity through wave energy has been going on since 1983 by department
of Ocean Engineering at IIT Madras.
iii. The research work is published in the International Journal of Energy Research.
iv. This project is funded by the Ministry of Earth Sciences and currently work is going on for turbine
chamber coupling.
About Ministers of Earth science
♦ The Ministry’s mandate is to look after Atmospheric Science, Ocean Science & Technology and
Seismology in an integrated manner.
♦ Union minister responsible- Dr. Harsh Vardhan.
♦ Secretary- Dr. M. Rajeevan.
♦ Formed- 2006.

Tamilnadu to get Rs 6.22 crore under Silk Samagra for the development of silk industry
Tamil Nadu will receive about Rs 6.22 crore under the Silk Samagra for the development of the silk
industry. The state has been ranked among the leading silk-producing States in India. Silk Samagra is
an Integrated Scheme for Development of Silk Industry (ISDSI) implemented by the Union
government through the Central Silk Board (CSB) at an outlay of Rs 2,161.68 crore for 3 years from
2017-18.
Key Points:
i. Upto March 31, 2019, Tamil Nadu produced 2,072 metric tons of raw silk.
ii. The leading marketing federations of Tamil Nadu- TANSILK, Kancheepuram, and the Government
Anna Silk Exchange, Kancheepuram have met the sales target assigned to them during 2018- 19.

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iii. Silk Samagra scheme has 4 major components – research & development, training, transfer of
technology and Information Technology initiatives, seed organisations, coordination and market
development and quality certification systems export brand promotion and technology upgradation.

Ex-DMK Minister Jennifer Chandran passed away at the age of 62

On August 6, 2019, S. Jennifer Chandran, who was the fisheries minister(1996- 2001) in DMK
(Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam ) government, passed away in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, after suffering
from kidney-related ailments. She was 62.
i. She won the DMK ticket from Tiruchendur in the 1996 assembly election & and lost in 2001
assembly election.
ii. In 2004, Jennifer switched over to the AIADMK (Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) party, where
she worked as joint secretary of the fisheries wing and Thoothukudi district in-charge, but was
removed from the post in 2010.
iii. She joined to the DMK again just before the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

IT Minister of TN, Dr M Manikandan dropped from TN state cabinet

On August 7, 2019, The Chief Minister (CM) of Tamil Nadu (TN) Edappadi K Palaniswami dropped
Information Technology (IT) Minister Dr M. Manikandan from the state cabinet in the wake of
Manikandan’s public criticism of his cabinet colleague Udumalai Radhakrishnan, who is also the head
of the state-run Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV. With this, the strength of the CM’s ministry came down to
31.
i. Governor of Tamil Nadu, Banwarilal Purohit accepted the CM’s recommendation to drop
Manikandan from the Council of Ministers.
ii. The portfolio of IT was re-allocated to R B Udhayakumar, Minister for Revenue and Disaster
Management, TN.

TamilNadu awards people on various categories on the 73rd Independence Day

The chief minister of TamilNadu Shri Edappadi K Palaniswami conferred awards to people and
organisations at Fort St. George among various categories on the 73rd Independence day celebration.
Key points
Chief minister’s best practice Award:
i. It was conferred to Greater Chennai Police Commissionerate for the installation of ‘Third Eye’ CCTV
(closed-circuit Television). This award was also conferred to the Department of Rural Development
and Panchayat Raj for the Naganathi River Rejuvenation Project (Vellore) under MGNREGS(Mahatma
Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme).
ii. The Department of Commercial Taxes got this award for development of mobile app and providing
24*7 assistance to migrate to GST(Goods and Service Tax) system and also.
iii. Greater Chennai Corporation received certificate of appreciation for creating sensory parks for
differently abled children under smart city project.
Award for exemplary service for the welfare of Differently abled- best doctor awards:
• Dr.S Vetrivel chezian, Government Coimbatore Medical College Hospital.
• Dr.V Ramadevi, Government Kilpauk Medical College.
Best private employer award: Everest Stabilizers private Ltd.
Best social worker award: Mrs. Chandra Prasad of Pathway.
Best co-operative bank award: Salem District Central Cooperative Bank.
Chief minister’s state youth award: P.Naveen Kumar(Namakkal district), M.Anandakumar(Dindigul
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district), R.Kalaivani(Madurai district).

Award rendered for service to women: M.Soosai Marian.
Best institution for serving of women: Bothimaram in Salem District.
Best municipalities
1. Dharmapuri
2. Vedaranyam
3. Aranthangi.
Best Corporation: Salem.

Tamil Nadu trifurcates Vellore district to form new districts

After taking a consensus from the ministers, MLAs (Member of the Legislative Assembly) and the
general public, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu Shri Edappadi K Palaniswami made an announcement
on trifurcation of Vellore district. Ranipet and Tirupattur are the new districts carved out of Vellore.
After the trifurcation, Tamil Nadu now has 37 districts.
Key points
i. The announcement was made on August 15, 2019, independence day celebration at Fort St George
in Chennai, TamilNadu. Now, Tirupathur and Ranipet need not travel long distances to reach the
Collector’s office in Vellore, one of the largest districts in Tamil Nadu by area.
ii. He also announced that K V Kuppam of Vellore district would be upgraded to a new taluka.
iii. The year 2019 has saw the creation of 5 additional districts by the Edappadi K Palaniswami govt
in TamilNadu.
Previous formation of new districts:
• In July 2019, Chengalpet and Tenkasi were made new districts carved out from
Kancheepuram and Tirunelveli districts respectively.
• In January 2019, district of Kalakurichi was carved out from Villupuram district.

TN education Dept launches 24-hour Tv channel for school students

The Chief Minister(CM) of Tamilnadushri Edappadi K Palaniswamy launched the 24 hour
TV(television) channel ‘Kalvi Tholaikkatchi' for the school students by the state education department
at a function in Chennai. The programmes in the channel would cover syllabi from pre-KG
(KinderGarten) to 12th standard.
Key points
i. Hi-fi laboratories are being established in all Government High Schools and Higher Secondary
Schools costing about Rs. 520 crores.
ii. First electric bus in the state: CM also launched the state’s first electric bus equipped with air-
conditioning, automatic doors and GPS (Global Positioning System). Manufacture by Ashok Leyland,
the bus is operated by the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC).
iii. Amma patrol vehicles: Mr. Palaniswami flagged off 40 ‘Amma Patrol vehicles’ at a total cost of
Rs.7.50 crore for women and children within the Greater Chennai Police limits and will be handled by
police personnel.

Two-day National Conference on Varmam Science inaugurated by Srhipad Yesso Naik in

Tamilnadu
The two-day National Conference on Varmam Science which is a part of the Siddha system of medicine
was inaugurated by Shripad Yesso Naik, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the
Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH)
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in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The conference was organised by the National Institute of Siddha, Chennai on
22nd & 23rd of August 2019.
Key points:
i. ‘Varmam’ is a constituent of the Siddha system of medicine, and has connectivity with martial art. It
has been in practice for more than 5000 years.
About Ayush Ministry:
♦ Founded- 9 November 2014.
♦ Headquarters- New Delhi.
♦ Constituency of ShripadYessoNaik(also MoS of defence)- North Goa.

Kerala, TN, Himachal & Py tops the 2019 India child well-being index
On August 27, 2019 “Child well-being index” was launched to assess and track children’s well-being.
Prepared by NGOs(Non-Governmental Organisation) World Vision India andInstitute for Financial
Management and Research-Leveraging Evidence for Access and Development (IFMR LEAD), the index
was topped by Kerala (0.76), followed by Tamil Nadu (0.67) and Himachal Pradesh (0.67) bagging the
top three slots in the index. Among Union Territories(UT), Puducherry topped the spot.
Key points
i. Meghalaya (0.53), Jharkhand (0.50) and Madhya Pradesh (0.44) were the poor performers and were
ranked at the bottom. Among UTs Dadra and Nagar Haveli was ranked at the bottom.
ii. The report was based on 3 key dimensional factors derived from 24 indicators. The 3 factors are
healthy individual development, positive relationships and protective contexts.
iii. The report states that 40% of the country’s population is made of children between the ages of 1
and 18.
i. Kerala: Kerala topped the spot due to its high level of performance in health, nutrition and
education facilities. Also, it performed better in terms of clean drinking water and sanitation facilities
in addressing malnutrition.
ii. Jharkhand: Due to poor performance in terms of child survival, nutrition, water and sanitation,
basic education Jharkhand ranked at the bottom resulting in school dropouts and is in need to focus
on improvement.
iii. Madhya pradesh(MP): There are more crimes against children and also juvenile crimes in the
state. More children live in poor families. MP also ranked low in child survival rate and nutrition.
About World Vision India:
Founded- 1962.
Founder- Robert Pierce.
India Director and CEO(Chief Executive Officer)- Cherian Thomas.

STPI sets up India’s 1st FinTech centre of excellence-“Fin Blue” in Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) in association with Electronics Corporation of Tamil
Nadu(ELCOT) has officially set up a ‘Centre of Excellence in FinTech’ with a cost of over ₹23 crore
in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It is first of its kind in India and is named ‘FinBlue’.
Key points:
i. The money pooled in from the Tamil Nadu government(Rs 5.7 crore), STPI(Rs 4 crore), Government
of India(Rs 1.8 crore,) and UK(United Kingdom)-based fintech fund Pontaq (Rs 11 crore).
ii. The objective of the centre is to provide resources in terms of mentoring, technical support and
funding for FinTech startups.
iii. The centre aims to incubate over 58 startups (not have an annual turnover exceeding Rs 100
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crore) fall under trading, banking, insurance, wealth advisory and financial inclusion portfolios in the
next 5 years.
iv. Currently, Pitch Fest is being conducted to identify eligible and innovative start-ups for the
FinBlue programme.
About STPI:
Founded: 1991
Headquarters: New Delhi
Director-General: Omkar Rai

‘Panchamirtham’ of Palani temple in Tamil Nadu gets GI tag

Geographical Identity (GI) tag was given to the famous Panchamritham, an offering of the Palani
Dandayuthaswamy temple, in Tamil Nadu. It became the first temple offering – Prashad – from Tamil
Nadu to be conferred this honor.
Key Points:
i. Panchamritam (Five Nectars) of Palani temple is prepared using 5 sweet substances including
plantains, jaggery, grapes, forest honey, and ghee.
ii. The quality of the offering is monitored by the Central Research Institute of Food Technology in
Mysore, Karnataka.
iii. Earlier, the Tanjavoor Veenai, Madurai Malligai, Neelgiri Tea leaves and Turmeric from Erode from
Tamil Nadu were given the GI tags. Now, the total number of such products indigenous to Tamil Nadu
mounted to 29.

ISRO chairman K.Sivan conferred with A.P.J. Abdul Kalam award

On August 15, 2019 chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) K.Sivan, under whose
leadership the Chandrayaan- 2mission (mission to the moon) is launched, was conferred with Tamil
Nadu Government’s Dr.A.P.J. Abdul Kalam award.
Key points
i. The award was announced at the Independence Day celebration at Fort St.George, TamilNadu. As he
was not present during the celebration, he will later collect it from the chief minister of TamilNadu
Shri Edappadi K.Palaniswami at a later date.
ii. Other awards:
• Kalpana Chawla award for Courage and Daring Enterprise – P. Ramyalakshmi, Assistant
director of fisheries. She was awarded in recognition of her brave action against the usage of
destructive band purse seine nets.
• Special award for extraordinary Act of Bravery- Shanmugavelu and his wife Senthamarai.
The couple bravely fought against two robbers, where the video went viral on social media.
• Many other awards were distributed in various categories.

Tamil Nadu’s 150-year-old Dindigul locks and Kandangi sarees secure GI tag
On August 27, 2019, The Geographical Indication Registry of India has granted Geographical
Indication (GI) tag to the state of Tamil Nadu for Dindigul lock and Karaikudi Kandangi sarees.
Key points:
i. Dindigul lock: The handmade Dindigul locks were famous for their traditional design, superior
quality, and durability.
• Manufacture: They are manufactured in more than 3,125 units in Dindigul District of Tamil
Nadu and they are concentrated in the villages of Nagelnagar, Nallampatti, Kodaiparailpatti,
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Kamalapatti, and Yagappanpatti. The manufacturing unit is said to be over 150 years old &
was introduced by the Sankaranalingacharya brothers.
• Types: There are currently 50 types of locks manufactured by the industry & each lock has its
special unique name such as Mango Lock, Almira Lock, Export Lock, and Trick Lock.
• Petition: In 2013, an application was filed by the Dindigul Lock, Hardware and Steel Furniture
Workers’ Co-operative Society Ltd.
ii. Kandangi Sare: These Sarees are the symbol of entire Karaikudi taluk of Sivaganga district. The
hand-woven Kandangi sarees are characterized by brilliant colour large contrast borders. These
sarees have a tradition of 150 years.
Amarar Rajeev Gandhi Handloom Weavers Co-operative Production and Sales Society Limited had
applied for a tag for these sarees in 2013.
iii. Benefits: The GI tagging will help rural artisans & highly skilled weavers, who possess
unique knowledge of traditional practices and methods. They can make & market their products
domestically and internationally.
About Geographical Indication
It is used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation
that are due to that origin.

For the first time, IIT Madras records initial success by fabricating a rechargeable iron ion
battery
For the first time, a team of Researchers led by Ramaprabhu Sundara at Indian Institute of
Technology(IIT) Madras has fabricated a rechargeable iron ion battery designed using mild steel as
the anode.
Key points:
i. The rechargeable iron ion battery is cost-effective and it will store a high amount of energy in the
battery & also displayed good stability with 54% capacity retention at the end of 50 cycles.
ii. Vanadium pentoxide is used as the cathode in Iron ion battery & it was chosen as it has a layered
structure with very large spacing between the layers.
iii. Lithium ions are the charge carriers in lithium-ion battery, the Fe2+ ions perform that function in
the case of iron ion battery. This is a significant achievement because lithium-ion batteries are widely
in use as of now. But, the lithium reserves are limited when compared to iron reserves.
iv. The results were published in the journal Chemical Communications.

IITM develops Multimodal Robotic System called “GraspMan” with a human-like grasp
A team of researchers led by Asokan Thondiyath at Indian Institute of Technology Madras
(IITM) have developed a new class of Robotic System called “GraspMan’, which has a human hand
like grasping, manipulation and locomotion abilities.
Key points:
i. GraspMan: It comprises a pair of graspers which provides morphological adaptation& allows it to
confirm the geometry of the object. The graspers have the capability to hold objects securely and
manipulate them much like the human hand.
ii.Application: The Robotic System will be used in industrial applications such as pipe climbing and
inspection, which involve climbing, holding and assembling. Machines used in search&rescue purpose
and locomotory applications will get benefit from this robotic platform.
iii. The research has been published in Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics.

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Prakash Javadekar inaugurates National Centre for Avian Ecotoxicology in Coimbatore, Tamil
Nadu
On Aug 24, 2019, The Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Information and
Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar has inaugurated the National Centre for Avian
Ecotoxicology at Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural Sciences ((SACON) in Coimbatore,
Tamil Nadu.
Key points:
i. The centre will study the movement of chemical contaminants such as pesticides, heavy metals,
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls and drugs through food chain, and their
impacts on bird species.
ii. The ministry also funded an amount of Rs 4 crore to the centre for modernization & to handle the
challenges posed by the continued entry of newer chemicals into the environment.

Rare Peacock Parachute Spider spotted in Pakkamalai Reserve in Villupuram district of Tamil
Nadu
A team of researchers at the Puducherry-based Indigenous Biodiversity Foundation (IBF) have
discovered Peacock Parachute Spider, a deeply endangered species of tarantula for the 1st time
beyond its natural habitat in the Eastern Ghats. It was found resting in a cave in Pakkamalai
Reserve Forests near Gingee in Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu(TN). Key points:
i. About Peacock Parachute Spider:
• It belongs to the genus Poecilotheria & is commonly known as Peacock Parachute Spider or
Gooty Tarantula (Poecilotheria metallica).
• The species of Indian origin was found at various places in reserve forests.
• In the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN)red list, it is classified as
Critically Endangered species.
• Tarantula is a biological insect controller & and there is a huge demand for them by collectors
in the pet trade.
ii. This species of spider spotted 1899 by Reginald Innes Pocock on the basis of a single female
specimen in Gooty. After 102 years, it was seen at a degraded forest between Nandyal and Giddalur in
the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh.
iii. IUCN believes that it can also be occur naturally in Gooty, but it may come from the Eastern Ghats
at least 100 km away. Its known habitat is Andhra Pradesh & is not seen anywhere in India or Sri
Lanka.

Blue Waves at Beaches of Chennai, Tamil Nadu are bad for fishes: Marine Experts
On August 18, 2019, A beautiful Bioluminescent waves were spotted along the shore
of Thiruvanmiyur, Injambakkam, Besant Nagar’s Eliot’s and Palavakkam beaches in Chennai,
Tamil Nadu. According to marine experts of National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR) of Chennai,
the Noctiluca scintillans algae(unicellular organism), popularly known as sea tinkle were behind
this phenomenon. The algae exhibits the phenomenon of bioluminescence or blue sea
sparkle/biologically produce light when disturbed.
What is Bioluminescence?
Bioluminescence is caused by Noctiluca scintillans, a type of phytoplankton (microscopic marine
plants), commonly known as dinoflagellates, that convert their chemical energy into light energy
through chemical reactions in proteins in the presence of oxygen, and an enzyme called “luciferase”,
when washed ashore.
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• Cause: It was caused due to Heavy rain and discharge of sewage into the ocean.
• Indication: It is an indication of climate change, impact on deep-sea fishing, and disruption of
the long term health of an ecosystem.
Key points:
i. Bioluminescence has been witnessed in fireflies, a few beetles and in marine creatures such as
Anglerfish and copepods.
ii. These algal patches are also associated with coastal pollution and runoff from agricultural areas.
iii. Since the early 2000s, this kind of blooms has been reported annually in the Northern Arabian Sea.
iv. The states of Goa, Mumbai and the backwaters of Kerala have also witnessed these algal blooms

Renowned journalist, educationist YG Rajalakshmi Parthasarathy passed away

Noted educationalist, journalist and social worker YG Rajalakshmi Parthasarathy passed away in
Chennai due to cardiac arrest. She was 93.
i. Born on 8 November 1925 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Rajalakshmi played a major role in setting up
of the Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan(PSBB) group of schools.
ii. She received the Padma Shri award in 2010 for her contribution to the field of education and
literature.
iii. She also worked as a journalist with The Hindu and Tamil-weekly Kumudam. Her husband, the late
Y.G. Parthasarathy, was an actor and theatre personality and the founder of the theatre group United
Amateur Artists.

Former Indian cricketer VB Chandrasekhar died at the age of 57

The former opening batsman of India, VB Chandrasekhar, popularly known as VB, died at the age of 57
at his house in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The death is suspected to be suicide as he was found hanging at
his home. He is survived by a wife and two daughters.
Key points
i. The former cricketer owned “V B Kanchi Veerans” team in the TamilNadu Premier League. He
invested Rs.3 crores in the Kanchi Veerans. it is expected that financial burdens and liabilities were
the reasons for his death.
ii. Born on 21 August 1961, the Chennai born cricketer represented India in seven ODIs(One Day
Internationals) between 1988 and 1990 and also played a key role in the Ranji trophy making it as the
last TamilNadu team to triumph in the 1987-88 season with 551 runs.
iii. He scored 4999 runs at domestic level in 81 games with the highest score of 237 not out.
iv. He hit a 56-ball century – the then fastest hundred in India’s first-class competition in the 1988-
1989 Irani Cup in Chennai.
v. He served as a national selector from 2004-2006 after retirement and coached the Tamil Nadu team
during the 2012-13 season.
vi. He was appointed as manager of Chennai Super Kings(CSK) at the start of the Indian Premier
League (IPL) in 2008 and was instrumental in getting the iconic M.S. Dhoni to the team.

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