Current Affairs - 16th and 17th April 2014
Transgender to be the third sex
The Supreme Court of India, in its historical verdict, declared transgender as the third sex of the country. After this verdict, there will be an option of third sex in every legal and official document of the government or any other organization. NALSA (National Legal Services Authority) had petitioned the SC for demanding equal rights for the transgender.
Railsaver, a new web portal of Indian railways
Railsaver is the new web portal meant to increase energy efficiency in Indian Railways. It is a web based Electrical Energy Management System developed by Centre of Railway Informatics System (CRIS). It is set to enable transparency in online operation of Indian railways.
“Franken Skeeter” developed by Brazil
Brazil has manufactured a new biological weapon “Franken-Skeeter” to escape deadly diseases spread by mosquitoes. This new invention is actually a swarm of mosquitioes who have been genetically modified to wipe out their own species. It has been equipped with a gene designed to devastate the non-GM Aedes aegypti population and reduce dengue’s spread. The mosquitoes are kept alive in the laboratory with the help of antibiotic named “tetracycline”.
15 Indian birds among top 100 endangered species
As per a recent study be the Zoological society of London (ZSL), 15 Indian birds are in the category of world’s 100 most Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) bird species. The 15 Indian species identified are Bengal Florican, Forest Owlet, Red-headed Vulture, Egyptian Vulture, Jerdon’s Courser, Lesser Florican, Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Sociable Lapwing, Siberian Crane, Great Indian Bustard, Greater Adjutant, White-bellied Heron, Wood Snipe, Masked Finfoot and Christmas Island Frigatebird.
Pulitzer Prize, 2014
Vijay Sheshadri became the 5th Indian born person to win the Pulitzer Prize in the poetry category for his collection of poems “3 sections”. Before him Gobind Behari Lal (1937), Jhumpa Lahiri (2000), Geeta Anand (2003) and Siddhartha Mukherjee (2011) have also won this award.
“Crusader or Conspirator: Coalgate and other truths”, a book on Coal scam
Former Coal secretary P C Parekh wrote the book in which he has claimed that PM Manmohan Singh’s inability to take strict action against the vested interests in coal block allocation led to the coal scam.
61st National Film Awards
National film awards were selected by a 11 member committee headed by direcro Saeed Akhtar Mirza:-
• Best feature film:- Ship of Theseus by Anand Gandhi
• Best director: HAnsal Mehta for Shahid
• Best actor:- Rajkumar Rao for Shahid and Malayalam actor Suraj Venjaramoodu for ‘Perariyathavar’.
• Best actress:- Geetanjali Tahap for Liar’s Dance
• Best Hindi Film:- Jolly LLB
• Best non feature film on social issues:- Gulabi Gang
• Best popular film providing wholesome entertainment:- Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
• Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration: ‘Thalaimuraigal’ (Tamil)
Arvind Mayaram, new finance secretary
Arvind Mayaram has been appointed as the new finance secretary of India and will replace Sumit Bose who is due to retire soon. Arvind Mayaram is currently the Economic affairs secretary.
