tnpsc group-2 current affairs 2018

119 Pages·2017·1.19 MB·English

TNPSC GROUP-2 CURRENT AFFAIRS 2018

TAMIL NADU
AISHE 2016-17: TAMIL NADU LEADS IN GROSS ENROLMENT RATIO
Prakash Javadekar released All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE)
report 2016- 2017.
Highlights of All India Survey on Higher Education (2016-2017):
As per the findings of the survey, overall enrolment in higher education
institutions across India has increased from 27.5 million in 2010-11 to 35.7
million in 2016-17.
1. Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) has increased from 24.5% in 2015-16 to
25.2 in 2016-17.
2. Gender Parity Index (GP1) too has improved from 0.86 to 0.94.
3. Tamil Nadu topped in terms of Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher
education. Tamil Nadu recorded 46.9% GER.
4. Among Union territories, Chandigarh topped with 56.1% GER.
5. Bihar posted lowest GER of 14.4%.
RS PURAM POLICE STATION IN TAMIL NADU RANKS INDIA'S
BEST POLICE STATION
R.S. Puram Police station in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu has been adjudged as the
best police station in India in SMART Police Stations initiative of Union
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA),
• R.S. Puram Police Station House Officer T. JOTHI, received the
award from Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on January 6, 2018 at
the all India conference of Director General/Inspector General of Police
held at BSF Academy Tekanpur in Madhya Pradesh.
• Abbreviation SMART in SMART Police stands for S-Sensitive and
Strict; M-Modern with mobility; A- Alert and Accountable; R-
Reliable and Responsive; T- Trained and Techno-savvy.

2 | P age SHANMUGAM IAS ACADEMY: 46/1, Gokhale St, Opp Senthil Kumaran Theatre,
Ram Nagar, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641009 WEBSITE: iasipstnpsc.in
TNPSC GROUP-2 CURRENT AFFAIRS 2018

GOVERNMENT STARTS PROCESS TO BUILD INDIA'S FIRST
DEFENCE 'QUAD'
Union Defence Ministry has started the process to set up India's first defence
industrial 'Quad' (quadrilateral corridor) linking Chennai with four other
cities of Tamil Nadu to promote industries manufacturing weapons and
military equipments.
• 'Quad’ project in Tamil Nadu will connect Chennai with Hosur,
Coimbatore, Salem and Tiruchirappaili.
• Officials from Defence Ministry along with representatives from
defence PSUs - Hindustan
CHENNAI TOPS IN FIXED BROADBAND SPEED IN INDIA: OOKLA
REPORT
According to a study titled 'India's digital divide: how broadband speed splits the
nation' by Ookla, Chennai has the highest fixed broadband download speed
among 20 largest cities of India.
BROADBAND SPEED IN INDIA:
In context of this news, it is important to note that for February 2018, with fixed
broadband average download speed at 20.72 Mbps, India ranked 67th in the
world on Speedtest Global Index.
With fixed broadband average download speed at 32.67 Megabits per second
(Mbps) Chennai has topped the list and has docked 57.7% faster download speed
than the average for the rest of the country.
TN GOVERNMENT ROLLS OUT AMMA FREE WI-FI ZONES
On 5th April 2018, the Tamil Nadu government launched Amma Free Wi-Fi
zones in 5 cities of Tamil Nadu.
Amma Free Wi-Fi zones have been introduced at the following five locations:
1. Labour Statue at Marina, Chennai
2. Central Bus stand at Salem
3. Central Bus stand at Tiruchirappalli
4. Gandhipuram Bus Stand in Coimbatore
3 | P age SHANMUGAM IAS ACADEMY: 46/1, Gokhale St, Opp Senthil Kumaran Theatre,
Ram Nagar, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641009 WEBSITE: iasipstnpsc.in
TNPSC GROUP-2 CURRENT AFFAIRS 2018

5. Mattu Thavani Bus Stand in Madurai
Users of Amma Free Wi-Fi zones will be offered 20 minutes of free internet
service per day. After that the users will be charged Rs 10 per hour.
This scheme will be implemented in 50 spots by Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV
Corporation (TACTV). Cost of this project is Rs 8.50 crore.
TN GOVT LAUNCHES MOBILE APP FOR FARMERS
Tamil Nadu (TN) Chief Minister K Palaniswami recently launched 'Uzhavan'
(meaning - farmer), a mobile application for farmers.
1. This app allows farmers to have access to nine types of services,
including details about their crop insurance, information on farm
subsidies, book farm equipment and related infrastructure and receiving
weather forecast for the next four days.
2. 'Uzhavan' app is available in Tamil as well as in English. The app also
provides information on the available stocks of seeds and fertilisers in
local government and private stores. This app is an attempt by Tamil
Nadu State Government to use technology for benefit of farmers in the
state.
MADRAS HC BECOMES FIRST COURT IN SOUTH INDIA TO
INTRODUCE E-COURT FEE PAYMENT FACILITY
On April 20, 2018, Madras High Court became the first court in south India
and eighth in India to introduce e-court fee payment facility.
1. e-court fee payment facility at Madras HC was jointly launched by Tamil
Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Chief Justice of
Madras High Court, Indira Banerjee. (Now VIJAYA KAMALESH
TAHILRAMANI)
2. It is an advocate/litigant-centric initiative which enables advocates and
litigants to pay court fee online.
3. The e-stamps would not just do away with the hassle of procuring physical
court fee stamps but will also help to tackle counterfeiting.
So far, only Supreme Court and the High Courts in Delhi, Punjab, Chhattisgarh,
Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh have the e-court fee payment
facility.
4 | P age SHANMUGAM IAS ACADEMY: 46/1, Gokhale St, Opp Senthil Kumaran Theatre,
Ram Nagar, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641009 WEBSITE: iasipstnpsc.in
TNPSC GROUP-2 CURRENT AFFAIRS 2018

e-WAY BILL SYSTEM
The e-Way Bill system for Intra-State movement of goods is implemented from
25th April 2018 in Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim and
Puducherry.
e-Way Bill system for Inter-State movement of goods was launched on 1st April
2018.
As on 20th April 2018, e-Way Bill system for Intra-State movement of goods has
been rolled- out in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh,
Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand and Uttar
Pradesh.
Tamil Nadu will implement e-Way Bill system for intra-State movement of
goods on 2nd June 2018
DEFENCE EXPO 2018
Tenth edition of India's mega defence exhibition, Defence Expo 2018 began at
Thiruvidanthai (on the outskirts of Chennai) on April 11, 2018.
1. This is an exhibition of weapons and military hardware that showcases India's
defence manufacturing capabilities to the world.
2. Live demonstrations, flying display and seminars on weapons and military
hardware will be held during the course of this four-day event.
3. Theme of Def Expo 2018 is "India: The Emerging Defence Manufacturing
Hub".
INDIA'S NEXT GENERATION DEFENCE AIRCRAFT TO BE BUILD IN
TAMIL NADU
The proposal for India's Next -Gen Defence aircraft has been announced by The
Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA).
They announced that India's fifth generation aircraft could even replace the
Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) tejas and will be used to propel the Government
of India's Make in India campaign forward.
The next gen aircraft is called Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).
And is for the first time being built by inviting private players.
5 | P age SHANMUGAM IAS ACADEMY: 46/1, Gokhale St, Opp Senthil Kumaran Theatre,
Ram Nagar, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641009 WEBSITE: iasipstnpsc.in
TNPSC GROUP-2 CURRENT AFFAIRS 2018

The is also the first time that any defence project is being built outside
Bangaluru. It will be built in Sulur, Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu.
CHENNAI SUPER KINGS LIFT THEIR 3RD IPL TITLE
On 27th May 2018, Chennai Super Kings won their third Indian Premier League
(IPL) title at Wankhede stadium, in Mumbai.
Chennai Super Kings defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets and
won the IPL title for the third time.
Shane Watson scored 117 runs which is the highest ever score in an IPL final.
EMINENT TAMIL WRITER BALAKUMARAN PASSES AWAY
On 18th May, eminent Tamil writer Balakumaran passed away at the age of 71.
• He was well known for creating strong women characters in his works.
• Some of his works include Vazhimayakkam, Mercury Pookkal, Irumbu
Kuthiraigal.
• He wrote the dialogues for Mani Rathnam's award-winning film
Nayakan, Shankar's Gentleman, Kaadhalan and Jeans.
TAMIL NADU STUDENTS BAG TOP SPOT AT SMART INDIA
HACKATHON 2018
Students from KCJ College of Engineering, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, have won
first prize at the Smart India Hackathon 2018 Hardware Edition under the
'Smart Communication’ category conducted at the CSIR-CEERI in Pilani,
Rajasthan.
JAI HIND 1-S: WORLD'S LIGHTEST SATELLITE
Four students from department of aerospace engineering in Hindustan Institute
of Technology and Science near Chennai have designed the world's lightest
satellite named Jai Hind 1-S that weighs only 33.39 grams.
Jai Hind 1-S will be put into space in August 2018 from the Colorado Space
Grant Consortium, NASA, United States.
Jai hind-l S is an experimental satellite. It might also be the cheapest satellite.
It has been built with a very low budget of Rs 15,000.
6 | P age SHANMUGAM IAS ACADEMY: 46/1, Gokhale St, Opp Senthil Kumaran Theatre,
Ram Nagar, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641009 WEBSITE: iasipstnpsc.in
TNPSC GROUP-2 CURRENT AFFAIRS 2018

The satellite has been made by 3D printed PLA Nylon.
TAMIL NADU GOVERNMENT UNVEILS DRAFT STATE FOREST
POLICY
Tamil Nadu government has released the draft state Forest Policy that aims to
conserve forests and wildlife, ecosystems, and climate change mitigation etc. It
was released by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami.
It aims to increase forest cover, protect wetlands and other waterbodies in
Tamil Nadu. The objectives are conservation of biodiversity, wildlife,
rehabiliation and restoration of degraded forests, coastal ecosystem conservation
etc.
1. The policy includes engagement of local tribal communities in protection,
conservation and wildlife management.
2. Tamil Nadu has nearly 30.92 % of the forest declared as 'protected
areas". It has 15 wildlife sanctuaries, 5 National parks, 15 bird
sanctuaries, 3 biosphere reserves and 4 project tiger areas.
3. The Nation Forest Policy, 1988, states that the area under forest and tree
cover should be improved to 33 % of the geographical area of India.
4. As per this policy, Tamil Nadu will develop innovative strategies to
enhance forest and tree cover from current 21.76 % to 33 % by 2030.
5. The Forest department will also develop mangroves in Tamil Nadu as 'bio-
shield" along the coast as per the policy.
6. The policy will also offer a major role for women in forest management
and also the National Forestry Commission has recommended allocation
of 2.5 % of the budget for forest and wildlife improvement.
IIT-MADRAS UNVEILS WORD'S FIRST REMOTELY OPERABLE
LEAP MICROSCOPE
On 16th July 2018, the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M)
launched a remotely operable microscope worth Rs 40 crore, claimed to be the
world's first remotely operable LEAP microscope, which will allow precise
view of atoms of a material.
The Local Electrode Atom Probe (LEAP) has been developed by the
collaboration 8 major research institutions in India. It was headed by IIT-M.
7 | P age SHANMUGAM IAS ACADEMY: 46/1, Gokhale St, Opp Senthil Kumaran Theatre,
Ram Nagar, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641009 WEBSITE: iasipstnpsc.in
TNPSC GROUP-2 CURRENT AFFAIRS 2018

Similar devices were already available in many parts of the world. But the LEAP
launched at IIT-Madras is the first one that can be operated through a special
terminal by researchers divided geographically.
Special terminals to operate the device have been established in all the 8 partner
institutions.
TAMIL NADU CM K. PALANISAMY LAUNCHES APP, WEBSITE ON
PLASTIC POLLUTION FREE TAMILNADU
He inaugurated a campaign to highlight the impact of plastic pollution. He
appointed actor Vivek as the brand ambassador of the project.
Tamil Nadu Government has announced plastic ban with effect from 1
ST
JANUARY 2019.
iCRAFPT
International Conference on Recent Advances in Food Processing
Technology (iCRAFPT) gets held at IIFPT, Thanjavur.
It would be inaugurated by Union Minister of food processing industries,
Harsimrat Kaur Badal.
The theme of the conference is: 'Doubling Farmers Income through Food
Processing'
3 HC JUDGES APPOINTED AS SUPREME COURT JUSTICES
The appointed judges are:
Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice KM Joseph,
Madras High Court Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Orissa HC Chief Justice
Vineet Saran.
The number of judges in the top court after the fresh appointments has gone up
to 25. There would still be six vacancies. (MAX limit 31)
JUSTICE VIJAYA KAMLESH TAHILRAMANI APPOINTED AS THE
CHIEF JUSTICE OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Prohit will administer the oath of office.
8 | P age SHANMUGAM IAS ACADEMY: 46/1, Gokhale St, Opp Senthil Kumaran Theatre,
Ram Nagar, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641009 WEBSITE: iasipstnpsc.in
TNPSC GROUP-2 CURRENT AFFAIRS 2018

She replaced Justice Indira Banerjee who has been appointed as Supreme
Court judge.
WORLD JUNIOR SQUASH CHAMPIONSHIPS 2018 HELD IN
CHENNAI, INDIA
From 18th to 29th July 2018, World Junior Squash Championships 2018 was held
in Chennai, India.
A total of 171 players including 116 men and 55 women from 28 countries took
part in the World Junior Squash Championship, Cyrus Poncha was the
tournament director.
The individuals event for men and women are held every year since 2009. The
team event is biennial.
India finished in 11th position.
About World Squash Federation WSF:
President - Jacques Fontaine Founded - 1967.
TNPL 2018
Final: Madurai Panthers win first title with dominant win over Dindigul
Dragons
On 12th August 2018, Madurai Panthers won their first Tamil Nadu Premier
League 2018 title, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Madurai Panthers' Arun Karthik scored his sixth fifty of this season and remained
the highest run scorer in the tournament.
SPONSOR - Sankar Cement
FORMER TAMILNADU CM M KARUNANIDHI PASSED AWAY
On August 8, 2018, DMK chief and five-time Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M
Karunanidhi died at the age of 94 in Chennai.
Mr. Karunanidhi became a Chief Minister in 1969,1971,1989,1996 & 2006.
Maanavanesan (predecessor to Murasoli) was his first manuscript magazine.
9 | P age SHANMUGAM IAS ACADEMY: 46/1, Gokhale St, Opp Senthil Kumaran Theatre,
Ram Nagar, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641009 WEBSITE: iasipstnpsc.in
TNPSC GROUP-2 CURRENT AFFAIRS 2018

TAMIL NADU GOVT ANNOUNCED SCHEME FOR THE
PROTECTION OF THE EXOTIC NEELA KURINJI PLANTS
On September 21, 2018, Tamil Nadu government announced scheme for the
protection of the exotic Neela kurinji (Strobilanthus kunthianus) plants in
Nilgiri district of Tamilnadu.
These plants flower only once in 12 years.
The Neela Kurinji is a native to the Western Ghats.
ADB APPROVED $500 MN FOR TAMIL NADU WATER SUPPLY,
SEWERAGE, DRAINAGE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT
On September 25, 2018, Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved financing of
up to $500 million for a multi tranche financing facility (MFF) infrastructure
project in at least 10 cities of Tamil Nadu.
Objective: To develop climate-resilient water supply, sewerage, and drainage
infrastructure.
The projects would include:
• Development of climate-resilient sewerage collection and treatment and
drainage systems in 10 cities,
• Installation of country's first solar-powered sewage treatment plant on
a pilot basis,
• Introduction of smart water management systems.
• Around 4 million people will benefit from piped water and sewerage
connections and improved drainage.
TAMIL NADU & CENTRE SIGN MOLL ON IMPLEMENTING
AYUSHMAN-BHARAT WITH STATE RUN CMCHIS
On September 14, 2Q18, the Tamil Nadu government signed an MOU with the
centre to implement Ayushman Bharat along with state's Chief Minister's
Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CMCHIS).
Tamil Nadu is the 30th State to sign up for Ayushman Bharat Scheme.
10 | P age SHANMUGAM IAS ACADEMY: 46/1, Gokhale St, Opp Senthil Kumaran
Theatre, Ram Nagar, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641009 WEBSITE: iasipstnpsc.in