TNPSC Current Affairs March 21, 2018

www.tnpsc.academy – TNPSC Current Affairs March 21, 2018 (21/03/2018)

Topic : Awards and Honours, Persons in News, Latest Diary of Events

Padma Awards 2017

The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind presented the Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri Awards at a Civil Investiture Ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

To know about Awardees Profiles

Padma Vibhushan Awardees from Tamil Nadu:

Shri Ilayaraja:

Shri Ilayaraja is an Indian film composer who works in South Indian cinema but predominantly in Tamil since the late 1970s.

He has composed more than 6000+ songs and film scores for more than 1000 films, particularly being acclaimed for his background scores.

Padma Bhushan Awardees from Tamil Nadu:

Nagaswamy:

Ramachandran Nagaswamy (born 10 August 1930) is an Indian historian, archaeologist and epigraphist who is known for his work on temple inscriptions and art history of Tamil Nadu.

He served as the founder-Director of the Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department.

He was also instrumental in starting the annual Chidambaram Natyanjali festival in 1980.He is an authority in Chola Bronzes.

Padma Shree Awardees from Tamil Nadu:

Nanammal:

Nanammal is India’s oldest Yoga teacher who comes from Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.

The 99-year old Yoga teacher who has trained one million students over 45 years and teaches 100 students daily.

600 of her students have become Yoga instructors around the world.

Vijayalakshmi Navaneethakrishnan:

Vijayalakshmi Navaneethakrishnan is a Tamil folk singer and composer and a renowned exponent of Tamil folk art.

Together with her husband M. Navaneethakrishnan, she has conducted several years of research and study on Tamil folk music and dances and devoted a lifetime to research, collection, revival, and documentation of ancient Tamil folk songs and dances, many of which are fast becoming obsolete.

Rajagopalan Vasudevan:

Rajagopalan Vasudevan, is an Indian scientist who has worked mainly in waste management. He is currently a professor in Thiagarajar College of Engineering.

He developed an innovative method to reuse plastic waste to construct better, more durable and very cost-effective roads.

This method will help in making roads much faster and also will save environment form dangerous plastic waste.

He also visited Mahatma schools on 15 April 2008. The roads also show greater resistance to damages caused by heavy rains.

His road construction method is now widely used to construct roads in rural India.

Romulus Earl Whitaker:

Romulus Earl Whitaker is an Indian herpetologist, wildlife conservationist and founder of the Madras Snake Park, The Andaman and Nicobar Environment Trust (ANET), and the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust.

In 2008, Whitaker was selected as an Associate Laureate in the 2008 Rolex Awards for Enterprise, for his efforts to create a network of rainforest research stations throughout India.

In 2005 he was a winner of a Whitley Award for outstanding leadership in nature conservation.

Awardeess Under Sports Category:

Pankaj Arjan Advani:

Pankaj Arjan Advani is a 19-time World Champion English billiards and snooker player from India.

In recognition of his achievements, the Government of India has bestowed several awards upon Advani: the Arjuna Award in 2004, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2006, Padma Shri in 2009 and Padmabhushan in 2018.

MS Dhoni:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is an Indian international cricketer who captained the Indian national team in limited-overs formats from 2007 to 2016 and in Test cricket from 2008 to 2014.

An attacking right-handed middle-order batsman and wicket-keeper, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest finishers in limited-overs cricket.

He is also regarded as one of the best wicket-keepers in world cricket and is known to have very fast hands.

He is the recipient of Padmabhushan in 2018.

Saikhom Mirabai Chanu:

Saikhom Mirabai Chanu is an Indian weightlifter.

A regular presence in international events since 2014 in the 48 kg category, Chanu has won the World Championships and multiple medals at the Commonwealth Games.

She was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for her contributions to the sport for the year 2018.

Somdev Devvarman:

Somdev Kishore Devvarman is a former professional Indian tennis player.

He hit the headlines for being the only collegiate player to have made three consecutive finals at the NCAA, winning back-to-back finals in his junior and senior years at the University of Virginia.

In 2018, he was awarded with the Padma Shri.

Murlikant Petkar:

Murlikant Petkar is India’s first Paralympic gold medalist.

He won an individual gold medal in the 1972 Summer Paralympics, in Heidelberg, Germany.

He set a world record in the 50 m freestyle swimming event, at 37.33 seconds.

In the same games he participated in javelin, precision javelin throw and slalom.

In 2018, he was awarded with the Padma Shri.

Srikanth Kidambi:

Srikanth Kidambi is an Indian badminton player. He shot to prominence by defeating Olympic Champion Lin Dan in 2014 China Open Super Series Premier in the final round, thus becoming the first Indian to win a Super Series Premier Men’s title.

He trains at the Gopichand Badminton Academy, Hyderabad and is supported by the GoSports Foundation, Bangalore.

In 2018, he was awarded with the Padma Shri.

Topic : Awards and Honours, Latest Diary of Events

Indian Army Releases Book on Paramveer Chakra Awardees : Paramveer Parwane

General Bipin Rawat, Chief of the Army Staff released a book on Paramveer Chakra Awardees – ‘Paramveer Parwane’ on 20 March 2018.

The book illustrates the bravery of Paramveer Chakra Awardees from 1947 to 1965 and is written by Dr Prabhakiran Jain published by Medha Books.

Dr Prabhakiran Jain:

Dr Prabhakiran Jain’s contribution to children’s literature has been recognized by many institutions across India.

She is a three-time recipient of the Bal Sahitya Samman and Bal & Kishore Sahitya Samman awarded by the Hindi Academy and has 15 books to her credit.

Topic : Latest Diary of Events

World’s last male northern white rhino dies in Kenya

Sudan, the last male northern white rhino, has died in Kenya at the age of 45, after becoming a symbol of efforts to save his sub-species from extinction, a fate that only science can now prevent.

When Sudan was born in 1973 in the wild in Shambe, South Sudan, there were about 700 of his kind left in existence.

At his death, there are only two females remaining alive and the hope that in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) techniques will advance enough to preserve the sub-species.