Unique IAS Academy – TNPSC Current Affairs October 2019 UNIQUE IAS ACADEMY The Best Coaching Center in Coimbatore NVN Layout, New Siddhapudur, Gandhipuram, Coimbatore Ph: 0422 4204182, 98842 67599 ******************************************************************************************* STATE AFFAIRS MADURAI STUDENT INVITED TO ADDRESS U.N. FORUM: Twenty-one-year-old Premalatha Tamilselvan, a law course aspirant from Madurai, has been invited to attend the Human Rights Council Social Forum to be held at Geneva from October 1. A graduate in History, Ms. Premalatha has been invited to address the forum at the screening of ‗A Path to Dignity: The Power of Human Rights Education‘, a 2012 documentary in which she featured. In the documentary, Ms. Premalatha, then a student of the Elamanur Adi Dravidar Welfare School, spoke on issues relating to caste and gender disparity. CITY POLICE RECEIVES SKOCH AWARDS: The Greater Chennai Police has bagged two awards for the effective implementation of CCTV surveillance - ‗Third Eye‘ project with public partnership and introducing digital technology for cashless payment of fine against traffic violations. The SKOCH Governance Award instituted in 2003 is conferred by an independent organisation, which salutes people, projects and institutions that go the extra mile to make India a better nation. At a function held in New Delhi on Wednesday, Union Minister of Human Resource Development Ramesh Pokhriyal gave away the awards. AT 49%, TN IS NO 3 IN HIGHER EDUCATION GROSS ENROLMENT RATIO: Tamil Nadu emerges as the top performer among the big states in the country, in terms of Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education, at 49%, according to the latest report of All India Survey on Higher Education 2018-19 (AISHE). According to the report, Sikkim tops the list with GER of 53.9%, followed by Chandigarh at 50.6% and Tamil Nadu is in the third position. There has been marginal rise of 0.4% in the GER, which is calculated for 18 to 23 age groups, in Tamil Nadu this time, as in 2017-18, the figure was 48.6%. While the male GER ratio in Tamil Nadu is 49.8%, the female ratio is 48.3%. The GER in Tamilnadu has increased almost by 8.6% rise in 6 years. The Centre has set a target of achieving 50% GER in higher education by 2030 and now we have achieved it. 04224204182,9884267599, NVN layout, Gandhipuram, Coimbatore Page 1 Unique IAS Academy – TNPSC Current Affairs October 2019 TAMIL NADU WINS SWACHH BHARAT AWARD FOR RURAL SANITATION: Tamil Nadu has been adjudged the best in rural sanitation after the Centre‘s rural cleanliness survey. This is a significant jump from the 11th spot it held in 2018. The survey was carried out by an independent agency between August 17 and September 5 this year, covering 690 districts and 17,400 panchayats. Municipal Administration Minister SP Velumani received the award, on behalf of the State government, from Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Swachh Bharat awards ceremony in Gujarat. SEWAGE RECYCLING WILL SAVE 50MLD OF CHENNAI'S WATER: With the addition of Metrowater's new tertiary treatment reverse osmosis (TTRO) plant in Kodungaiyur, industrial units at Manali, Ennore and Minjur in the city will soon get 50mld of treated sewage water. This will reduce the pressure on Chennai's drinking water sources - the Red hills reservoir and the Minjur desalination plant - which earlier used to supply the water to the industrial units. The treated water will have a total dissolved solids (TDS) level of less than 70, while the TDS level in potable water ranges between 250 and 500. BSNL LAUNCHED 4G SERVICES: State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) will launch 4G mobile services in the Madurai. Madurai will be the fourth city — after Coimbatore, Salem and Tiruchi — in Tamil Nadu circle of BSNL to get the mobile services that promises data at a higher speed of 12 mbps. PRIVATE BIDDER TO OWN AND RUN E-BUSES IN TAMIL NADU: All 525 electric buses to be soon operated in Tamil Nadu will be owned and run by a private bidder and not state transport corporations (STC). There will be no outright bus purchase by the state government. Instead, a gross cost contract (GCC) will be signed between STCs and the successful bidder, according to tender documents. The Union government sanctioned 525 e-buses for eight cities in TN –– Coimbatore, Salem, Tiruppur, Erode, Vellore, Trichy, Villupuram and Thanjavur –– under FAME-II (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles) scheme. Unlike conventional bids, FAME-II mandates a GCC to be signed between the respective state transport corporation and the operator (successful bidder). 04224204182,9884267599, NVN layout, Gandhipuram, Coimbatore Page 2 Unique IAS Academy – TNPSC Current Affairs October 2019 JOLARPET WATER WAGON ENDS RUN AS SITUATION IN CHENNAI EASES: After transporting 437.25 million litres of water from Jolarpet to Chennai over three months, often running two trips a day, the water train service was wound up. The arrival of Krishna water, which is slowly filling up the Poondi reservoir. Second, Metro water was paying Rs 8.60lakh per train, and often Rs 17.20lakh a day. Third, the demand for tanker supply has come down after the rain in the last two months, which has recharged bore wells that ran dry in summer. Water from Jolarpet came in handy for Metro water to sustain supply to the tune of nearly 500million litres everyday. GOVERNOR LAUNCHES 7TH ECONOMIC CENSUS IN T.N: Governor Banwarilal Purohit launched the seventh economic census in Tamil Nadu. The data on employment, various industrial activities, and the size of the establishments, investment in machinery and equipment and annual turnover are collected, compiled and documented in the census. In the last economic census, conducted in 2013, 50, 29,402 establishments were found to be operating in the State, and 1, 16, 95,183 people were found to be employed. Unlike 2013, this time the census enumerating will be done with an app. Kancheepuram is the biggest district in terms of having the maximum number of establishments in 2013. 2ND INDIA-CHINA INFORMAL SUMMIT: The Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi and the President of the People's Republic of China Mr Xi Jinping held their Second Informal Summit in mammalapuram, Chennai, India, on 11-12 October 2019. The two Leaders had an in-depth exchange of views in a friendly atmosphere on overarching, long-term and strategic issues of global and regional importance. 04224204182,9884267599, NVN layout, Gandhipuram, Coimbatore Page 3 Unique IAS Academy – TNPSC Current Affairs October 2019 They also shared their respective approaches towards national development. Both Leaders are concerned that terrorism continues to pose a common threat. The huge trade deficit of $53 billion between India and China was also discussed. Following the Chennai meet, Xi Jinping also visited Nepal, the first by a Chinese president since 1996. A rail link between Lhasa, China and Kathmandu, Nepal is also proposed. SHEELA PRIYA APPOINTED CHAIR OF FOURTH POLICE COMMISSION: M. Sheela Priya, former State Chief Information Commissioner, was made chairperson of the Fourth Police Commission. Making the appointment through an order of the Home Department, the State government also named three individuals as members of the Commission. They are: V.P.B. Paramasivam, Member of Legislative Assembly (Vedasandur); M. Arachelvi, former joint secretary and G. Venkataraman, Additional Director of General of Police (Cyber Crime Wing), who will also function as Member-Secretary. The panel will go into a host of issues – The general condition of services, housing and welfare of police personnel. The functioning of the police force in relation to maintenance of law and order, prevention and detection of crime and regulation of traffic, the modernisation of the organisation and its methods, manpower planning. The relationship of the police with the public and political and non-political organisations, and coordination with courts of law and other government departments. CHENNAI'S LAB TO RESTART TUBERCULOSIS VACCINE PRODUCTION: Eleven years after its license was suspended over lack of good manufacturing practices, Chennai-based BCG Vaccine Laboratory has got back Centre's permission to restart mass production of anti-tuberculosis vaccine for commercial use. 04224204182,9884267599, NVN layout, Gandhipuram, Coimbatore Page 4 Unique IAS Academy – TNPSC Current Affairs October 2019 The first batch of vaccine is expected to roll out from the new building of the 71-year-old plant by July 2020. On January 16, 2008, the Union government suspended production in at least three central laboratories including the BCG Laboratory. The lab, which has now upgraded itself to Good Manufacturing Practices-compliant laboratory, received the manufacturing license from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) in the first week of October. By April 2021, we will roll out at least 300 lakh doses required for the universal immunization programme. CHENNAI BECOMES FIRST IN INDIA TO GET AN INTELLIGENT FLOOD WARNING SYSTEM: Tamil Nadu is all set to deploy an ‗intelligent flood warning system‘ in Chennai, which will enable officials to get area-wise inundation details during the monsoon. The technology, called CFLOWS, is India‘s first integrated coastal flood warning system. Though CFLOWS as a product is fully operational, its accuracy depends on quality of inputs. It‘s an integrated GIS-based decision support system to provide forecast on potential inundation 10 days in advance. Ministry of Earth Sciences and TN government have jointly developed it. It has 6 modules, including 3D visuals of flooding in infrastructure, buildings, roads and ward boundaries. It will be hosted and made operational at NCCR with meteorological data inputs from IMD, NCMRWF and INCOIS. SC COLLEGIUM RECOMMENDS JUSTICE AP SAHI AS CHIEF JUSTICE OF MADRAS HC: The Supreme Court collegium on Thursday recommended that Justice AP Sahi, the incumbent Chief Justice of the Patna High Court, be appointed as Chief Justice of Madras High Court.