current affairs 22nd octomer

India has won the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup by defeating Iran by 38-29 score in the final match played at the Arena By TransStadia in Ahmedabad (Gujarat. It was India’s third consecutive Kabaddi World Cup in the Standard Style version of Kabaddi. Earlier India had won in 2004 and 2007. Captain of Indian team: Anup Kumar


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What are Masala Bonds?

The rupee-denominated bonds or masala bonds are instruments through which Indian entities can raise funds by accessing overseas capital markets, while the bond investors hold the currency risk.

Why is it important?

Masala bonds, if they take off, can be quite a significant plus for the Indian economy. They are issued to foreign investors and settled in US dollars. Hence the currency risk lies with the investor and not the issuer, unlike external commercial borrowings (ECBs), where Indian companies raise money in foreign currency loans.

While ECBs help companies take advantage of the lower interest rates in international markets, the cost of hedging the currency risk can be significant. If unhedged, adverse exchange rate movements can come back to bite the borrower. But in the case of Masala bonds, the cost of borrowing can work out much lower.

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Civil Aviation Ministry’s Regional Connectivity Scheme “UDAN” Launched

The Centre has unveiled a regional connectivity scheme, known as UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik), with flights priced at Rs.2,500 for one hour of flying time to and from regional airports.

About the scheme:udan-scheme

A “first of its kind” in the world, UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik) will be based on market mechanism as well as bidding for a minimum of 50% seats in the participating airline’s flight and the rest would be market-based pricing.

The scheme UDAN envisages providing connectivity to un-served and under-served airports of the country through revival of existing air-strips and airports. The scheme would be in operation for a period of 10 years.

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Four apes in critically endangered species

Western Gorilla
Eastern Gorilla
Sumatran Orangutan
Bornean Orangutan

Two apes in endangered list

Chimpanzee
Bonobo

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Conglomerate Hinduja Group’s flagship company Ashok Leyland has unveiled country’s first 100 per cent indigenously made electric bus which are non-polluting and have zero-emissions. These buses were unveiled in lines with National Electric Mobility Plan which aims at a 20% penetration of electric/hybrid (eco-friendly) vehicles by 2020. They enjoy a subsidy under the Central government’s Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid) and Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme. Key Facts These electric buses will be offered on multiple platforms and have seating capacity ranging from 35 to 65. They can travel 150 km on a single charge. They have been integrated with a fire detection and suppression system. They are built on mass-market platform that will enable operator to cater to customers in city centres with minimal operational and maintenance costs. These buses can be used in heritage sites, metro stations, tarmacs, rural areas, hill stations and by IT firms and educational institutions. Besides, state Transport Undertakings can also use them for environment friendly mass public transportation. Way Forward In India, electric buses in future will have a big leap in mass public transport. It would support the government initiative of reducing fuel import bill. Besides, it will help to curb air pollution as these buses have zero tailpipe emissions and lower noise pollution. What is National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020? The NEMMP 2020 is one of most ambitious initiatives undertaken by Central Government to promote hybrid and electric vehicles in the country to achieve national fuel security. It has set an ambitious target to achieve 6-7 million sales of hybrid and electric vehicles year on year from 2020 onwards. The FAME India Scheme was launched under this mission to provide fiscal and monetary incentives to electric and hybrid vehicles ranging from two wheelers to buses

current affairs 10th october -upsc/ukpcs

1--------------------Nasa has developed a new high-tech material that uses electricity to significantly promote healing of injured wounds.
The material, called polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) has numerous possible applications, including wound healing

2---------------India’s first international arbitration centre

The Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (MCIA), India’s first international arbitration centre, was recently inaugurated in Mumbai.

This is being seen as a major step towards making Mumbai an International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) and providing an arbitration platform for Indian business houses to negotiate commercial disputes.

Key facts:
The MCIA will be an independent, not-for-profit organisation governed by a council comprising eminent national and international legal luminaries.
It can resolve disputes between different companies or individual.
It will have a 12-month timeline to complete arbitration seated in India and a prescribed fee structure as per the size of the disputed contract amount, which will enable both parties to know the cost of arbitral proceedings before they approach MCIA.
3---------------
Construction of world’s tallest building begins in Dubai
The tower, which will be the world’s tallest building by 2020, is part of the 6 sq-km Dubai Creek Harbour real estate project
Construction on what will be the world’s tallest building by 2020 has officially started in Dubai, home to Burj Khalifa, currently world’s tallest man-made structure.

Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, laid the foundation stone on 10 October for the Tower at Dubai Creek Harbour, according to a statement by the Dubai government’s media office.
“Years ago, we launched Burj Khalifa, the tallest skyscraper in the world,” Sheikh Mohammed said in the statement. “Today, we are celebrating the foundation of a new structure that represents another phase in our journey to be at the forefront of growth in various sectors.”
The project comes even as economic growth in the United Arab Emirates, which includes Dubai, is expected to be the slowest since 2010 after crude oil prices fell by more than half. Home prices may drop by 10% in 2017 after a decline of about 7% this year, according to Jesse Downs, managing director at real estate consultant Phidar Advisory.
The tower is part of the 6 square-kilometer (3.7 square-miles) Dubai Creek Harbour real estate project, a joint venture between Emaar Properties PJSC and Dubai Holding LLC. It is designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, who also designed New York City’s new transportation hub at the World Trade Center.
The tower will be “a notch taller” than the 828-meter Burj Khalifa, also developed by Emaar, the company’s chairman Mohamed Alabbar, said when the project was first announced in April. Bloomberg

CURRENT AFFAIRS ON 16TH SEPTEMBER

What are Magnetars?

A magnetar is a type of neutron star, a strange object with an incredibly powerful magnetic field that powers the emission of highly energetic X-rays and gamma rays. Neutron stars are formed when the largest stars in the universe reach the end of their lives. When these stars run out of fuel, their core collapses causing outer layers to come crashing in towards the centre.

As stars are so large the crushing forces created can be phenomenal. These pressures can squash the core of the star together and because of this, a neutron star – and hence a magnetar – is made of some of the densest material in the known universe. In fact, their material is so dense that one teaspoon of it contains the same amount of mass as 900 Egyptian pyramids.

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Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chanda Kochhar among most powerful women outside US

SBI chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya is ranked second, ICICI Bank chief Chanda Kochhar is fifth while Axis Bank CEO Shikha Sharma is 19th on the Fortune list
India’s top women bankers, State Bank of India chief Arundhati Bhattacharya, ICICI Bank head Chanda Kochhar and Axis Bank CEO Shikha Sharma, are among the 50 most powerful women based outside the US, according to a list by Fortune which is topped by Banco Santander’s boss Ana Botín.

Bhattacharya, 60, is ranked second on the list, while Kochhar comes in on the fifth spot and Sharma on the 19th position in the Fortune’s ‘50 Most Powerful Women International’ list, which has ranked the women based outside the US.

Botín, group executive chairman of Banco Santander, Eurozone’s largest bank by market value, repeats as No. 1, in a time of economic and political volatility for all. The 2016 list spans 19 countries.

“Bhattacharya’s profile has risen during her three-year tenure atop India’s largest bank,” Fortune said.

SBI chairperson Bhattacharya, who was widely speculated to succeed Raghuram Rajan as governor of the Reserve Bank of India, has continued her high-profile battle with the bank’s bad loans, while courting overseas partners to invest in the stressed assets. In May, she also orchestrated SBI’s merger with six other groups, a plan that, once complete, will result in one of largest lenders in Asia.

“Though her term leading the bank is set to expire in October, most expect the government will extend her time so she can see the efforts through,” Fortune said.

ICICI Bank managing director and CEO, Kochhar, 54, is regarded even by rival bankers as a “visionary”, Fortune said. “After seven years at the helm of India’s largest private sector lender, with consolidated assets of $139 billion, she has overhauled the nation’s consumer retail business.

“Though bad loans took a toll on income growth this year, Kochhar has engaged turnaround experts to help ditch those distressed assets,” Fortune said, highlighting her efforts to boost the bank’s digital growth and enable female employees to work from home for a year.

Sharma, 57, has grown Axis from an underrepresented bank to the nation’s fastest growing private sector lender, with revenue up 15% to $7.9 billion in 2015 and nearly 3000 branches across 1,800 cities and towns, Fortune said.

“First quarter profit this year was hurt by a spike in bad loans, but Sharma deserves accolades for publicising a ‘watch list’ she created to monitor four per cent of the bank’s potentially-troubled assets,” it said. Last week, PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi was ranked second and was the only woman of Indian-origin in Fortune’s list of the 50 most powerful women in the US, a compilation topped by General Motors CEO Mary Barra.

The international power list also includes Singapore Telecommunications Group CEO Chua Sock Koong on the 4th spot, Walgreens Boots Alliance Co-COO Ornella Barra (10), chairwoman and co-founder of Chinese real estate developer Longfor Wu Yajun (26), CEO and President, GE China, Rachel Duan (35), Huawei Technologies chairman Sun Yafang (38), president, International Markets, MasterCard Ann Cairns (44) and Coca-Cola Amatil group managing director Alison Watkins (47).

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Cabinet approves extension of contract between India and the International Seabed Authority for exploration of Polymetallic Nodules

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the extension of contract between Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India and the International Seabed Authority (ISA) for exploration of Polymetallic Nodules for a further period of 5 years (2017-22). The earlier contract is expiring on 24th March 2017.

By extending the contract, India's exclusive rights for exploration of Polymetallic Nodules in the allotted Area in the Central Indian Ocean Basin will continue and would open up new opportunities for resources of commercial and strategic value in area beyond national jurisdiction. Further, it would provide strategic importance for India in terms of enhanced presence in Indian Ocean where other international: players are also active.

Background:

Polymetallic nodules (also known as manganese nodules) are potato-shaped, largely porous nodules found in abundance carpeting the sea floor of world oceans in deep sea. Besides manganese and iron, they contain nickel, copper, cobalt, lead, molybdenum, cadmium, vanadium, titanium, of which nickel, cobalt and copper are considered to be of economic and strategic importance. India signed a 15 year contract for exploration of Polymetallic Nodules (PMN) in Central Indian Ocean Basin with the International Seabed Authority (ISA) (an Institution set up under the Convention on Law of the Sea to which India is a Party) on 25th March, 2002 with the approval of Cabinet. India is presently having an area of 75,000 sq.km., located about 2000 km away from her southern tip for exploration of PMN.

Ministry of Earth Sciences is carrying out Survey & Exploration, Environmental Impact Assessment, Technology Development (Mining and Extractive Metallurgy) under polymetallic nodules program through various national institutes viz. National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IMMT), National Metallurgical Laboratory (NML), National Centre for Antarctica and Ocean Research (NCAOR), National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) etc., in accordance with the Contract provisions. India is fulfilling all the obligations of the contract.

Saurashtra Narmada Irrigation (SAUNI) Project

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi today unveiled a plaque to launch the Saurashtra Narmada Irrigation (SAUNI) Project at Sanosara in Gujarat.
The Prime Minister visited the AJI-3 dam site, and witnessed the release of water from the gates of the dam.
Addressing a large gathering on the occasion, the Prime Minister recalled that even as Chief Minister of Gujarat, it had always been his firm belief that water was most important for the farmer. He said that the water table in the State had begun to rise. Check dams have also been built in large numbers, he added.

The Prime Minister noted how the situation had changed even in Kutch, where even our jawans did not get enough water at one point of time.
The Prime Minister said he still remembered the time when he had first met lawmakers from Saurashtra, and discussed the SAUNI Project. He said this is an initiative that should make every Gujarati proud.
Shri Narendra Modi also emphasized on the need for water conservation, and spoke about the various initiatives taken by the Union Government for the welfare of the farmers, such as crop insurance.

Arjun awards 2016

National Sports Awards: P V Sindhu , Dipa Karmakar, Jitu Rai & Sakshi Malik to get Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 2016

National Sports Awards 2016: Six sports coaches will be honoured with Dronacharya Awards.

National Sports Awards 2016: 15 sports persons have been chosen for Arjuna Awards

Miles to go before we reap

When India won six medals at the 2012 London Olympics, it was considered a watershed moment. The significance of this accomplishment lay in the fact that until then the country had earned a sum total of just seven individual medals. The performance was expected to provide a springboard for future successes. Four years hence, on the back of heightened expectations and hopes of a double-digit tally, how should a return of two medals from the Rio Olympics be assessed? An outright dismissal signifying a certain regression may be too simplistic, for there were a few near-misses — Dipa Karmakar and Abhinav Bindra both finishing fourth, Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna losing the bronze medal match, the women’s archery team coming close, and men’s hockey showing substantial improvement. Yet, it was no doubt underwhelming from the largest contingent of Indian athletes at the Olympics ever. This leads to questions about the lack of a ‘sporting culture’. Does India have the infrastructure and coaching facilities to produce medal winners consistently?

India’s lone individual gold-medallist Bindra, alluding to the vastly improved performance by the British athletes backed by massive funding, says one must not “expect much until we put systems in place”. However, developing a sporting culture means more than improving facilities. It demands that people cease to see sport in archaic terms, of being nothing more than a pastime. While it is true that it cannot be a substitute for life-subsistence needs of the disadvantaged, the disdain for it transcends classes. It is important to understand that modern-day sport is professional at its core and helps in creating jobs and businesses. It is also an important tool for human resource development. In fact, the success of P.V. Sindhu and Sakshi Malik is representative of what a good sporting culture can achieve. In addition to shooting, badminton and wrestling enjoy more patronage than other Olympic sporting events. But it is also enabled by parents and coaches willing to show faith and patience in their wards. It can be safely assumed that the careers of Malik and Sindhu wouldn’t have been considered as failures even in the event of their not winning a medal. After an Olympics in which Usain Bolt sprinted towards sporting immortality, Michael Phelps further stretched the all-time record medal haul, and Mohammed Farah completed his second 5,000m and 10,000m double, India needs to purposefully chart the journey from aspirations to their realisation.

	దేశం
	1 United States		46		37		38		121
	2 Great Britain		27		23		17		67
	3 China		26		18		26		70
	4 Russia		19		18		19		56
	5 Germany		17		10		15		42
	6 Japan		12		8		21		41
	7 France		10		18		14		42
	8 South Korea		9		3		9		21
	9 Italy		8		12		8		28
	10 Australia		8		11		10		29
	67 India		0		1		1		2

T.M. Krishna and Bezwada Wilson win Magsaysay Award

T.M. Krishna and Bezwada Wilson win Magsaysay Award

Mr. Krishna will receive the award for "social inclusiveness in culture," while Wilson was named as an awardee for "asserting the inalienable right to a life of human dignity."

The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation on Wednesday announced its awardees and Carnatic singer T.M. Krishna and Bezwada Wilson, the national convenor of the Safai Karmachari Andolan, both have found a place in the list.

Mr. Krishna will receive the award for “social inclusiveness in culture,” while Bezwada Wilson was named as an awardee for “asserting the inalienable right to a life of human dignity.”

"Fifty years old, Bezwada Wilson has spent 32 years on his crusade, leading not only with a sense of moral outrage but also with remarkable skills in mass organizing, and working within India’s complex legal system. SKA has grown into a network of 7,000 members in 500 districts across the country. Of the estimated 600,000 scavengers in India, SKA has liberated around 300,000. While Bezwada has placed at the core of his work the dalits’ self-emancipation, he stresses that manual scavenging is not a sectarian problem," states Mr. Wilson's citation.

T.M.Krishna's citation says: "He saw that his was a caste-dominated art that fostered an unjust, hierarchic order by effectively excluding the lower classes from sharing in a vital part of India’s cultural legacy. He questioned the politics of art; widened his knowledge about the arts of the dalits (“untouchables”) and non-Brahmin communities; and declared he would no longer sing in ticketed events at a famous, annual music festival in Chennai to protest the lack of inclusiveness. Recognizing that dismantling artistic hierarchies can be a way of changing India’s divisive society, Krishna devoted himself to democratizing the arts as an independent artist, writer, speaker, and activist.”

Mr. Krishna, who is in Russia, has already been informed about the award. He is a student of late Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. The vocalist, who is also the author of A Southern Music – The Karnatic Story, writes regularly for publications across the country as well. He has been instrumental in organising the Urur Olcott Kuppam festival, where art forms of the fisherfolk in the area are performed as well as classical art forms. The musician has also spoken about the importance of not keeping carnatic music in the confines of the sabhas in the city and has also on many occasions , emphasised on the need to make the performing arts more accessible and without barriers. He had been vocal in raising reservations about the structure of a Carnatic music concert and the ticketing systems in place following which In June 2015, he had announced that he would not be performing in the December music season henceforth.

Among other Indians to win the award in the past are Sanjiv Chaturvedi (2015), Anshu Gupta (2015), Harish Hande (2012), Deepa Joshi (2009), P. Sainath (2007), V. Shantha (2005), Aruna Roy (2000), Kiran Bedi (1994), Ela Bhatt (1977), Baba Amte (1985) and Vinoba Bhave (1958).

The Ramon Magsaysay Award is one of Asia's most prestigious awards celebrating leadership in Asia. The awardees are presented with a certificate and a medallion with an embossed image of Ramon Magsaysay, former President of the Phillippines after whom the award is named. The awards will be presented on August 31 at a formal ceremony in Manila

“bionic leaf”

A team of scientists from Harvard University has created a unique “bionic leaf” that uses solar energy to split water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen, and hydrogen-eating bacteria to produce liquid fuels from CO2. Dubbed “bionic leaf 2.0,” the new system can convert solar energy to biomass with 10 percent efficiency – a number far higher than the one per cent seen in the fastest growing plants. While the study shows the system can be used to generate usable fuels, its potential doesn’t end there. In many ways, the new system fulfills the promise of his “artificial leaf” which used solar power to split water and make hydrogen fuel. Scientists used a new cobalt-phosphorous alloy catalyst for this experiment.

High-speed Spanish Talgo train begins trial run in U.P.

Besides reducing travel time, Talgo’s lighter trains consume 30 per cent less energy.

The trial of Spanish train Talgo, the lighter and faster vehicle whose speed goes up to 115 kms per hour, was conducted between Bareilly and Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh as part of the Railways’ strategy to increase the speed of trains.

“It was a smooth ride,” said a senior railway official after nine Talgo coaches were hauled by a 4,500 HP diesel engine on the 90-km line for the first trial run.

 

Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) scheme

EESL Distributes LED Bulbs Under “UJALA” in the Range of Rs. 75-95 across 16 States

The LED bulbs under Government of India’ s Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) scheme  are being distributed across 16 States in the country in the price range of Rs 75- 95.  The project, executed by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), under the administration of Ministry of Power, procures high quality LED bulbs from leading manufacturers through a transparent bidding process. In the latest round of procurement, which ended on March 31, 2016, the lowest procurement cost was Rs. 54.90 (exclusive of taxes and administrative costs).

The government, through aggregation and transparent procurement has achieved a rapid decline in LED prices. In the first round of procurement held in January 2014, EESL achieved the lowest bid at Rs. 310. The prices for the subsequent procurements for other states, during September 2014 to February 2015, ranged between Rs. 204 to Rs. 104.

EESL has pooled the prices of all the previous procurements since 2014 and the passed on the direct benefit to the consumers across states. Various state-specific taxes and other administrative costs like distribution, awareness, etc are added to the pooled procurement price. Therefore, the cost of the LED bulb has been brought down to a price range of Rs. 75 - Rs. 95, after addition of administrative costs, distribution and awareness cost. Therefore, the variation in the final cost of the bulbs is owing to the difference in taxes across states.

The Government has ensured transparency and encouraged competition by using e-procurement of goods and services. This has resulted in significant reduction in transaction cost and time and enhanced process efficiency. This in turn has led to a much larger participation of bidders thereby increasing competition and reducing the procurement cost of LED bulbs.

The target of the programme is to replace all the 77 crore incandescent bulbs sold in India by LEDs. This will result in reduction of 20,000 MW load, energy savings of 100 billion kWh and Green House Gas (GHG) emissions savings of 80 million tons every year. The annual saving in electricity bills of consumers will be Rs. 40,000 crore, considering average tariff of Rs. 4 per kWh.

Small Wind Energy and Hybrid Systems (SWES)

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is implementing a programme to promote the installation of Small Wind Energy and Hybrid Systems (SWES) with the objective to provide electricity in unelectrified areas or areas with intermittent electric supply. The first- such Pilot-cum- demonstration project of 25 KW capacity will be installed at the wind turbine test station of National Institute of Wind Energy at Kayathar, Tootikudi District, Tamil Nadu. 

Under the programme, MNRE provides Central Financial Assistance (CFA) to community users for installation of such systems. The total installed capacity as on 31st March 2016 is 2.69 MW. There are 6 small wind turbine manufacturers and 9 models empanelled under this programme. 

The SWES projects have been highly successful in USA and European countries. Initially, 10 such demonstration projects will be supported for grid integration. The tentative cost for each of the roject will be in the range of Rs 2-3 lakh per KW, depending upon the configuration and location of the projects. The Ministry will support upto 50% of the project cost. 

Bharatavani Multi-lingual App: Unique multiple source of worlds

Bharatavani Multi-lingual App: Unique multiple source of worlds

Alongwith the Bharatavani portal, MHRD has also launched the Bharatavani Multi-lingual App called Bharatavani. This App will enable users to search for one language text in another language as well as get meanings in different languages. Currently the App has 35 multilingual Dictionaries and MHRD aims to extend it to 250 dictionaries in a years time. This App, on the day of its launch becomes India’s first and largest multilingual dictionary. Our endeavour is to make it the world’s biggest online multilingual dictionary source.

Salient features : Bharatavani makes available knowledge already published by Government and publicly funded institutions all over the country and puts its across for free and fair public usage, by deploying a robust, interactive, user friendly web tools. Its content is protected by fair usage clauses under the Indian Copyright Act.

The Bharatavani Portal would publish the content in the following main sections:

1.                  Paa Thyapustaka Kosha : Textbooks by various authorities

2.                  Jnana Kosha : Encyclopedic Knowledge base in all languages

3.                  Shabda Kosha: Dictionaries, Glossaries, Terminologies,

4.                  Bhasha Kosha: Language learning books

5.                  Suchanaa Praudyogikii Kosha : It tools ( right now linked to TDIL)

6.                  Bahumaadhyama Kosha: Multimedia content

UN Declares APJ Abdul Kalam’s Birthday As ‘World Students Day’

UN Declares APJ Abdul Kalam’s Birthday As ‘World Students Day’

World Students Day: It was year 2010 when United Nations decided to mark the importance of India’s former President and great scientist APJ Abdul Kalam and declared his birthday as ‘World Students Day’.

October 15, which is Dr. Kalam’s birth anniversary, is celebrated as a day for students all around the world. Even Dr. Kalam always expressed his wish to be remembered as a teacher by the people.

दक्षिण कोरिया की लेखिका ‪#‎HanKang‬ ने द वेजेटेरियन के लिए जीता वर्ष 2016 का अंतरराष्ट्रीय ‪#‎ManBookerPrize‬

दक्षिण कोरिया की लेखिका ‪#‎HanKang‬ ने द वेजेटेरियन के लिए जीता वर्ष 2016 का अंतरराष्ट्रीय ‪#‎ManBookerPrize‬

South Korean author, Han Kang, has won the 2016 Man Booker International Prize for her novel 'The Vegetarian'.
It tells a story of a wife who decides to become a vegetarian. The decision provokes cruelty from her husband, and from her father, and obsession from her sister’s husband, as the woman, Yeong-hye, dreams obsessively about becoming a tree.
Han is the first South Korean to win the prize.
The Vegetarian" is the first of her books to be translated into English. It tells the story of Yeong-hye, a dutiful wife whose decision to forego meat uproots her whole existence.

South Korean author Han Kang won the Man Booker International Prize for fiction on Monday with “The Vegetarian,” an unsettling novel in which a woman’s decision to stop eating meat has devastating consequences.

Literary critic Boyd Tonkin, chair of the panel that chose the winner from 155 entries, said Han’s book combined “tenderness and terror” in a tale of “volcanic, visceral intensity.”

The award is the international counterpart to Britain’s prestigious Booker Prize and is open to books published in any language that have been translated into English.

The prize money will be split evenly between Ms. Han and her 28-year-old translator, Deborah Smith, who only began learning Korean less than seven years ago.

“The Vegetarian” is the first of her books to be translated into English. It tells the story of Yeong-hye, a dutiful wife whose decision to forego meat uproots her whole existence.

The author said she wanted to explore “human violence, and also (ask) a question about human dignity.”

The prize named after its sponsor, financial services firm Man Group PLC was previously a career honour, but changed this year to recognize a single work of fiction.

The change comes amid signs that English-speaking readers are slowly becoming more receptive to translated literature. Research firm Nielsen Book says the British market for translated fiction almost doubled between 2001 and 2015 but still accounts for just 1.5 percent of all fiction sales.

Man Booker is one of the few literary prizes to recognize translators alongside authors, and marks an extraordinary victory for Smith- “The Vegetarian” is not just the first Korean novel she had translated, but the first she had read.

“For a short novel, it felt like climbing a mountain,” she said.

The other contenders were Yan Lianke’s “The Four Books,” one of the few Chinese novels to tackle the Great Famine of the 1950s and ‘60s; Angolan revolution saga “A General Theory of Oblivion” by Jose Eduardo Agualusa; and the Alpine story “A Whole Life” by Austria’s Robert Seethaler.