Unique IAS Academy – TNPSC Current Affairs September 2019 UNIQUE IAS ACADEMY The Best Coaching Center in Coimbatore NVN Layout, New Siddhapudur, Gandhipuram, Coimbatore Ph: 0422 4204182, 98842 67599 ****************************************************************************************** STATE AFFAIRS TN GOVT. INTRODUCES VINAYAKA IDOLS THAT GROWS INTO PLANTS: As environment-friendly Vinayaka idols are catching up with devotees, the Horticulture department has introduced seed-embedded Vinayaka idols for sales this year. Each idol, placed in a clay pot, costs ₹200. The department also has asked their units in districts to manufacture similar idols. Vinayaka idols has only seeds of vegetables such as brinjal, tomato, chilly and green vegetables. The idea is to prevent pollution and encourage germination of plants. TAMILNADU PLANS UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS: In a bid to unravel the past trade links of the ancient Tamils, the State Archaeology Department is planning to carry out underwater excavations in areas of the port cities and towns that existed during the Sangam and medieval periods. The objective is to probe trade contacts with Greek, Roman and Arab merchants. The last time the State Archaeology Department took up underwater excavations was in the 1990s, off Poompuhar. The underwater excavations are part of the massive excavation chart the department has planned in multiple sites across the State for the forthcoming year. FAST TRACK POCSO COURTS MOOTED IN THREE DISTRICTS: The department of social welfare has mooted the setting up of three special fast track courts that will exclusively handle cases booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. Currently, there are over 2,000 cases pending under the Act and Chennai has over 300 cases pending since the last two years. The courts proposed are for Chennai, Thoothukudi and Kancheepuram districts. At present, there are no courts that are exclusively dealing with POCSO. Cases under this Act are currently being tried by Mahila courts which are present in most districts. SOME PROVISIONS OF POCSO AMENDMENT ACT 2019: 04224204182,9884267599, NVN layout, Gandhipuram, Coimbatore Page 1 Unique IAS Academy – TNPSC Current Affairs September 2019 WCD MINISTER FELICITATES STATES AND DISTRICTS UNDER BBBP SCHEME : NAMMAKAL AND TIRUVALLUR The Union Minister of Women and Child Development , Smriti Zubin Irani, felicitated districts and states which have successfully implemented the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) scheme at a function in New Delhi . Ten districts selected for improvement in SRB were also felicitated during the programme. The ten districts are: East Kameng (Arunachal Pradesh), Mahendragarh and Bhiwani (Haryana), Udham Singh Nagar (Uttarakhand), Namakkal (Tamil Nadu), Jalgaon (Maharashtra) Etawah (Uttar Pradesh), Raigarh (Chhattisgarh), Rewa (Madhya Pradesh) and Jodhpur (Rajasthan). In addition, ten districts selected for good work in awareness generation and outreach activities under BBBP were also felicitated by the Minister. These districts are: Tiruvallur (Tamil Nadu), Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Mandi, Shimla, Sirmaur (Himachal Pradesh) Kishtwar (J&K), Gadag (Karnataka), Wokha (Nagaland), Farrukhabad (Uttar Pradesh), and Nagaur (Rajasthan). DIGITAL ACCELERATOR: INVESTMENT PROMOTION: Connection with the promised investments from USA, the Tamilnadu government has launched a facility called Digital Accelerator. This is to extend assistance to all who wishes to invest in Tamil Nadu. The facility will be executed with aid of American Tamil Entrepreneurs Association. NILGIRI TAHR‟S POPULATION UP 27% IN THREE YEARS IN TN: In more good news for the State animal, the Nilgiri tahr, its sightings in the Mukurthi National Park have risen from 568 in 2018 to 612 this year. This was the second consecutive year that an increase in the population of the animal had been recorded in the park, meaning the population of the Nilgiri tahr, also known as the Nilgiri ibex, has risen by 132 since 2016. Nilgiri thar is endemic to Western ghats and listed in Endangered category of IUCN redlist. ABOUT MUKURTHI PARK : Mukurthi National Park is a 78.46 km2 (30.3 sq mi) protected area located in Nilgiris Plateau, the Western Ghats. The park was created to protect its keystone species, the Nilgiri tahr. MADURAI MEENAKSHI TEMPLE NAMED SECOND-BEST „SWACHH ICONIC PLACE‟: The famed Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in Madurai has been adjudged the second-best ‗Swachh Iconic Place‘ (clean place) in India. Ten places were identified by the Central government as part of the 'Swachh Iconic Places' initiative earlier this year. Madurai Corporation Commissioner S. Visakan received the award from the Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in New Delhi recently. MADRAS HIGH COURT CHIEF JUSTICE TAHILRAMANI TRANSFERD TO MEGHALAYA HIGH COURT: The collegium, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, recommended transfer of Justice Tahilramani, who was elevated as the Chief Justice of Madras High Court on August 8 last year, to the Meghalaya High Court. 04224204182,9884267599, NVN layout, Gandhipuram, Coimbatore Page 2 Unique IAS Academy – TNPSC Current Affairs September 2019 The Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court, Ajay Kumar Mittal has been posted in her place. After that, Justice Tahilramani has submitted her resignation to the President. She became a judge of Bombay High Court in 2001. TAMIL NADU RANKS LOWEST IN COVERAGE OF IODISED SALT: Tamil Nadu has the lowest consumption of iodised salt despite being the third biggest producer of salt in the country, according to a first-of-its-kind national survey to measure the coverage of iodised salt. The study shows that 76.3% of Indian households consumed adequately iodised salt, which is salt with at least 15 parts per million of iodine. The five worst performers were Tamil Nadu (61.9%), Andhra Pradesh (63.9%), Rajasthan (65.5%), Odisha (65.8%) and Jharkhand (68.8%). The survey was conducted by Nutrition International in collaboration with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and the Indian Coalition for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (ICCIDD). Gujarat produces 71% of salt in the country, followed by Rajasthan at 17% and Tamil Nadu at 11%. The rest of the country accounts for a mere 1% of salt produced. ALGAL BLOOM KILLS FISH OFF PAMBAN COAST: Thousands of fish floated dead off the shores of Pamban till Rameswaram following a sudden toxic algal bloom, forcing scientists to issue warning against people consuming them. A 10-km stretch of the shoreline between Kunthukal in Pamban and Vedalai in the Gulf of Mannar turned green and witnessed mass fish deaths. Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute conducted tests and concluded that the sudden blooming of ‗Noctiluca marine microalgae‘ was to blamey for the incident. AUTOMATIC RAIN GAUGE @ 1300 SPOTS The government has engaged a consultant to set up telemetric automatic rain gauges, automatic weather stations, automatic water level recorders. They will be set up in about 1,300 locations in revenue sub-divisions and blocks in Tamil Nadu. The idea is to develop a comprehensive real-time hydro/meteorological data collection system in phases to acquire reliable data. PUBLIC EXAMS MANDATORY FOR CLASS 5 AND 8 STUDENTS: The Tamil Nadu Government on Friday issued an order making public examination mandatory for school students of class 5 and 8 from the current academic year. The Principal Secretary, School Education Department, Pradeep Yadav stated that GO no 164 dated September 13 issued as per amendment to the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, which stated that there shall be a regular examination in the fifth class and in the eighth class at the end of every academic year. If a child fails in the examination he shall be granted opportunity for re-examination within a period of two months from the date of declaration of the result. T.N. RELEASES E-VEHICLE POLICY: In an attempt to give a boost to the manufacture and use of electric vehicles in the State, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Monday released the Tamil Nadu Electric Vehicle Policy, 2019. The policy called for 100% road tax exemption till December 30, 2022, besides a waiver of registration charges for electric two-wheelers. These sops are expected to push up sales of electric vehicles. 04224204182,9884267599, NVN layout, Gandhipuram, Coimbatore Page 3 Unique IAS Academy – TNPSC Current Affairs September 2019 KEEZHADI ARCHEOLOGICAL SITE, SIVAGANGAI The Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department (TNAD) has stated that the cultural deposits unearthed during excavations at Keeladi in Sivaganga district, could be dated to a period between 6th century BCE and 1st century CE. A report titled, ‗Keeladi-An Urban Settlement of Sangam Age on the Banks of River Vaigai‘ has been published by the TNAD. The new findings in the report placed the Keeladi artefacts about 300 years earlier than previously believed. This is a major turning point in the cultural historiography of the ancient Sangam Age.The Sangam age is considered to be between 300BC and AD300. But a new report after determining the age through carbon dating of materials unearthed shows the Sangam period could be dated between 600BC and 100 AD. The results from the fourth excavations suggest that the ―second urbanization[the first being Indus] of Vaigai plains happened in Tamil Nadu around 6th century BCE as it happened in Gangetic plains.‖ The new findings prove that an advanced