India Open 2017 Final: PV Sindhu beats Carolina Mari, as it happened

India Open 2017 Final: PV Sindhu beats Carolina Mari, as it happened,

PV Sindhu produced an inspiring performance to beat Carolina Marin 21-19 21-16 in India Open final.

रविवार को इंडिया ओपन सुपर सीरीज बैडमिंटन के फाइनल मुकाबले में पीवी सिंधु ने अपनी चिर प्रतिद्वंद्वी स्पेन की कैरोलिना मारिन को एक बार फिर हार का मजा चखाया है। रियो ओलिंपिक के फाइनल में कैरोलिना मारिन से मिली हार के बाद सिंधु ने आज उन्हें दूसरी बार हराया है। लेकिन रियो के बाद यह पहला मौका था, जब सिंधु, मारिन से किसी खिताब के लिए फाइनल मुकाबले में भिड़ी हों। सिंधु ने आज खेले गए इंडिया ओपन के फाइनल मुकाबले में कैरोलिना को 21-19, 21-16 से मात देकर यह खिताब अपने नाम कर लिया। यह पहली बार है, जब उन्होंने इंडिया ओपन का खिताब जीता हो। बता दें कि पी.वी. सिंधु को इस साल का 'TOISA बैडमिंटन प्लेयर ऐंड स्पोर्ट्सपर्सन ऑफ द इयर अवॉर्ड' मिला है।

current affairs on 23rd march

The total number of road accidents in the country during 2015 was about 5,01,423 which resulted into about 1,46,133 numbers of persons killed. The National Highways (NHs) accounted for about 29.1 % share of total road accidents and 35.0 % of total persons killed. Although the existing NHs comprise of about 1.9 % of total road network, they carry about 40% of total road traffic.

Keeping in view the requirements to enhance Road Safety, reduce congestions, improve road connectivity and conditions, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has taken decision to augment the NHs Network of existing 1,13,298 km.  About 57,500 km length of State Roads have been approved “In-Principle” for their declaration as new NHs subject to outcome of their Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) and initiatives have been taken for their DPR preparations. 

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First Nine Celebrates 200 Years

First Battalion of the Ninth Gorkhas was raised by the British in 1817 as the ‘Fatehgarh Levy’ and it celebrated 200 years of its raising on the 16th of March 2017 at Secunderabad. Ninth Gorkha Rifles has a unique honour that all its battalions have been awarded the Chief of Army Staff’s Citation for exceptional performance in the line of duty. The Regiment has been awarded three Victoria Crosses, five Mahavir Chakras and seventeen Vir Chakras in the two centuries of its existence. Some of the Regiments battle honours are Afghanistan, France and Flanders, Mesopotamia, North Africa, Chindits, Burma, Phillora, Kumarkhalli, Dera Baba Nanak and Jammu & Kashmir.

As a prelude to the Bicentenary Celebrations, a team scaled Mount Stok Kangri (6153 meters) highest peak of the Stok Ranges in the Ladakh Region on 30 September 2016. This was followed by a Motorcycle Rally flagged of by the Chief of Army Staff, General Rawat and covering traditional recruiting areas in Western Nepal. Their arrival in Pokhra in Nepal on the 4th of February coincided with a massive rally where almost 3,500 ex-servicemen and widows had gathered to celebrate the bicentenary of the Regiment. The event was attended by General Rajendra Chhetri, Chief of Army Staff, Nepal Army, and Lt General AK Bhatt, Colonel, Ninth Gorkhas.

India and Nepal share a unique bond through 32,000 Nepali citizens who serve in the Indian Army and approximately 90,000 veterans drawing their pensions in Nepal. The celebrations culminated with a special dinner which was attended by serving and retired soldiers, including former Governor of Punjab, Gen B K N Chibber. More than 500 veterans from remote areas in Nepal graced the occasion with their families to reaffirm their regimental bonds.

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KHELEO

Mascot for FIFA Under 17 World Cup India 2017

Minister of State (I/C) for Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Vijay Goel with President of AIFF Shri Praful Patel here today unveiled the mascot KHELEO for FIFA under 17 World Cup India 2017. The mascot was unveiled during the launch of Mission XI Million programme.

FIFA under 17 world cup to be held in India from 06/10/2017 to 28/10/2017.

List of Padma awardees 2017

Padma Awards - one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The Awards are given in various disciplines/ fields of activities, viz.- art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc. ‘Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; ‘Padma Bhushan’ for distinguished service of high order and ‘Padma Shri’ for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year

List of Padma awardees 2017

Here is the list of 2017 Padma award winners. The list comprises of 7 Padma Vibhushan, 7 Padma Bhushan and 75 Padma Shri Awardees.  19 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 5 persons from the category of foreigners, NRIs, PIOs and 6 Posthumous awardees.

Padma Vibhushan

Awardee	Field of Prominence
Sharad Pawar	Public Affairs
Murli Manohar Joshi	Public Affairs
P.A. Sangma (posthumous)	Public Affairs
Sunder Lal Patwah (posthumous)	Public Affairs
K.J.Yesudas	Art - Music
Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev	Others - Spiritualism
Udipi Ramachandra Rao	Science & Engineering

Padma Bhushan

Awardee	Field of Prominence
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt	Art - Music
Devi Prasad Dwivedi	Literature & Education
Tehemton Udwadia	Medicine
Ratna Sundar Maharaj	Others-Spiritualism
Swami Niranjana Nanda Saraswati	Others-Yoga
H.R.H. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn (Foreigner)	Literature & Education
Cho Ramaswamy (Posthumous)	Literature & Education –Journalism

Padma Shri

 

Awardee	Field of Prominence
Basanti Bisht	Art-Music
Chemanchery Kunhiraman Nair	Art-Dance
Aruna Mohanty	Art-Dance
Bharathi Vishnuvardhan	Art-Cinema
Sadhu Meher	Art-Cinema
T K Murthy	Art-Music
Laishram Birendrakumar Singh	Art-Music
Krishna Ram Chaudhary	Art-Music
Baoa Devi	Art-Painting
Tilak Gitai	Art-Painting
Aekka Yadagiri Rao	Art-Sculpture
Jitendra Haripal	Art-Music
Kailash Kher	Art-Music
Parassala B Ponnammal	Art-Music
Sukri Bommagowda	Art-Music
Mukund Nayak	Art-Music
Purushottam Upadhyay	Art-Music
Anuradha Paudwal	Art-Music
Wareppa Naba Nil	Art-Theatre
Tripuraneni Hanuman Chowdary	Civil Service
T.K. Viswanathan	Civil Service
Kanwal Sibal	Civil Service
Birkha Bahadur Limboo Muringla	Literature & Education
Eli Ahmed	Literature & Education
Narendra Kohli	Literature & Education
G. Venkatasubbiah	Literature & Education
Akkitham Achyuthan Namboothiri	Literature & Education
Kashi Nath Pandita	Literature & Education
Chamu Krishna Shastry	Literature & Education
Harihar Kripalu Tripathi	Literature & Education
Michel Danino	Literature & Education
Punam Suri	Literature & Education
VG Patel	Literature & Education
V Koteswaramma	Literature & Education
Balbir Dutt	Literature & Education-Journalism
Bhawana Somaaya	Literature & Education-Journalism
Vishnu Pandya	Literature & Education-Journalism
Subroto Das	Medicine
Bhakti Yadav	Medicine
Mohammed Abdul Waheed	Medicine
Madan Madhav Godbole	Medicine
Devendra Dayabhai Patel	Medicine
Harkishan Singh	Medicine
Mukut Minz	Medicine
Arun Kumar Sharma	Others-Archaeology
Sanjeev Kapoor	Others-Culinary
Meenakshi Amma	Others-Martial Art
Genabhai Dargabhai Patel	Others-Agriculture
Chandrakant Pithawa	Science & Engineering
Ajoy Kumar Ray	Science & Engineering
Chintakindi Mallesham	Science & Engineering
Jitendra Nath Goswami	Science & Engineering
Daripalli Ramaiah	Social Work
Girish Bhardwaj	Social Work
Karimul Hak	Social Work
Bipin Ganatra	Social Work
Nivedita Raghunath Bhide	Social work
Appasaheb Dharmadhikari	Social Work
Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal	Social Work
Virat Kohli	Sports-Cricket
Shekar Naik	Sports-Cricket
Vikasa Gowda	Sports-Discus Throw
Deepa Malik	Sports-Athletics
Mariyappan Thangavelu	Sports-Athletics
Dipa Karmakar	Sports-Gymnastics
P. R. Shreejesh	Sports-Hockey
Sakshi Malik	Sports-Wrestling
Mohan Reddy Venkatrama Bodanapu	Trade & Industry
Imrat Khan  (NRI/PIO)	Art-Music
Anant Agarwal (NRI/PIO)	Literature & Education
H.R. Shah (NRI/PIO)	Literature & Education-Journalism
Suniti Solomon (Posthumous)	Medicine
Asoke Kumar Bhattacharyya (Posthumous)	Others-Archaeology
Dr. Mapuskar (Posthumous)	Social Work
Anuradha Koirala (Foreigner)	Social Work

 

India’s largest bank teams up with the nation’s largest Warship

India’s largest bank teams up with the nation’s largest Warship

INS Vikramaditya, the largest warship and latest aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy, has a strength of over 1500 personnel. A versatile national capability and a full-fledged township by herself, the ship has a new acquisition – an ATM machine installed onboard by the nation’s largest bank and banking network, the State Bank of India. The one-of-a-kind ATM machine was inaugurated onboard at a function at the Naval Base Karwar on 21 Jan 17, jointly by Rear Admiral KJ Kumar, Flag Officer Commanding, Karnataka Naval Area and Shri Rajnish Kumar, Managing Director and Group Executive (National Banking Group), State Bank of India.

The facilities offered by the State Bank of India to the ship include cash withdrawals, generation of mini-statements, access to bank balance details and change of PIN numbers. In the near future, the facility will be upgraded to a recycler machine with a cash deposit facility. Additionally, facilities like cash transfer, Card-to-Card transfer, Credit Card payment, mobile number registration and updation would also be available. The Indian Navy has a Memorandum of Understanding with the State Bank of India that operates Defence Salary Packages. This joint venture between India’s largest warship and largest banking network is a significant step towards cementing the partnership between the Navy and the bank further, underlines the mutually supportive relations the two organisations share. The ATM machine is a unique floating banking system, and along with the Point of Sale machine that is also proposed to be installed onboard, would go a long way in supporting cashless transactions on the ship, in line with the government’s policy of digitising the India economy.

Speaking on the occasion, Captain Krishna Swaminathan, Commanding Officer of INS Vikramaditya stated that the ATM machine will add to the variety of other facilities and amenities available to the crew. It will enable personnel of the ship to manage their domestic financial requirements better and assist them in conducting their money transactions at their own convenience. Shri Rajnish Kumar, MD, mentioned the glorious achievements and history of the Indian Navy as well as the SBI. He said the two institutions are symbols of national achievement and this inauguration would extend the digital footprint of the country nautical miles beyond Indian shores. RAdm KJ Kumar said it was a matter of pride for Navy to be associated with the largest Indian bank and that this event would take the partnership between the two many notches higher. He also expected the relationship between the two to grow from strength to strength in the years ahead.

Eminent modern Bengali poet Shankha Ghosh was chosen for the prestigious Jnanpith Award

Eminent modern Bengali poet Shankha Ghosh was chosen for the prestigious Jnanpith Award for the year 2016. He is the 52nd recipient of Jnanpith Award. He is sixth Bengali litterateur to bag this prestigious literary award after Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay (1966), Bishnu Dey (1971), Ashapoorna Devi (1976), Subhash Mukhopadhyay (1991) and Mahasweta Devi (1966).

Jnanpith Award is India’s highest literary honour. Its name has been taken from Sanskrit words Jnana and Pitha which means knowledge-seat. It was instituted in 1961 by Bharatiya Jnanpith trust founded by the Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain family that owns the Times of India newspaper group.

‘Chardham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojna’

PM to Lay Foundation Stone of ‘Chardham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojna’

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of the ambitious Chardham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojna’on 27^th December, 2016 at Parade Ground in Dehradun. The project aims at improving the connectivity to the Char Dham pilgrimage centres in the Himalayas, making journey to these centres safer, faster and more convenient. 

The Chardham project includes developing 900 km of national  highways in Uttarakhand at a total cost of Rs. 12000 crores. Work for 17 projects worth Rs 3000 crores have already been sanctioned and tendered. The entire length of the highways will be two-laned with paved shoulder and with a minimum width of 10 metres.  There will be tunnels, bypasses, bridges, subways and viaducts to prevent traffic bottlenecks. A team of experts have been engaged to identify zones prone to landslides, and environment friendly techniques are being incorporated in the design to make these zones safer. 

North Eastern Institute of Ayurveda & Homoeopathy at Shillong

Shri Shripad Naik to formally inaugurate the North Eastern Institute of Ayurveda & Homoeopathy at Shillong tomorrow

NEIAH to provide health care to people of North-Eastern region and Sikkim under Ayurveda/Homoeopathy systems of medicine

Minister of State for AYUSH (Independent Charge) Shri Shripad Yesso Naik will formally inaugurate the North Eastern Institute of Ayurveda & Homoeopathy (NEIAH) at Shillong in Meghalaya tomorrow. NEIAH is an autonomous institute established by M/o AYUSH, Government of India.

The Institute is having College of Ayurveda and College of Homoeopathy with admission capacity of 50 students each along with a 100-beded Ayurvedic Hospital and a 50-beded Homoeopathy Hospital, Documentation-cum-R&D Centre and Pharmacy with Drug Testing Laboratory. The institute will be a unique institution which will be independent and collocated beside NEIGRIHMS with multi-speciality, where education and health care facilities through Ayurveda & Homoeopathy will be provided under one platform. Moreover, it is designed to facilitate the promotion of Ayurveda and Homoeopathy, the expansion of health care facilities, improvement in the doctor-population ratio and Research and Development on bio-resources in the North East.

The construction of Ayurveda College & Hospital, Homoeopathy College & Hospital and Library cum Administrative buildings under Phase I of NEIAH project has been completed. Phase II of the Project will include residential quarters, hostels for under graduate boys/ girls, Senior Residents etc.

International Anti-Corruption Day (IACD)

The International Anti-Corruption Day (IACD) is observed annually on December 9 to raise public awareness of corruption and what people can do to fight it. Observance of the day aims to promote and strengthen measures to prevent and combat corruption more efficiently and effectively. It also highlights the role of the United Nations Convention against Corruption in combating and preventing it. 2016 Theme: “United against corruption for development, peace and security”.

 Background The UN General Assembly (UNGA) had designated December 9 as International Anti-Corruption Day by passing resolution 58/4 of October 31, 2003. It was adopted to raise people’s awareness of corruption and role of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) in combating and preventing it. The UNCAC is the first legally binding, international anti-corruption instrument that provides a chance to mount a global response to corruption.

PV Sindhu and Sameer Verma

Sure PV Sindhu and Sameer Verma would have preferred to become first Indians to win both men’s and women’s Super Series titles since Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth at the 2015 India Open. But with a run to the finals at the $400,000 Hong Kong Open, the two have met some personal goals.
Two Super Series finals in as many weeks is no mean feat from Sindhu. Having won the China Open Super Series Premier, the 21-year-old’s immediate target was to qualify for the year-ending World Super Series finals. The inspired run in Hong Kong not only paved her way to Dubai but also got her back into the top 10.
In Sunday’s final, Sindhu lost to Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu Ying 15-21, 17-21. “It was a good game overall, but it was her day,” was Sindhu’s assessment.
It was Ying’s day alright. The 22-year-old had lost the last meeting against Sindhu, in the Rio Olympics round of 16. But on Sunday, she got her way with a mix of well-timed lobs and drop shots. Known to be adventurous, imaginative and unorthodox, Ying would hold the racquet up and push at the last possible moment. When back in the court, she’d trump Sindhu with disguised drops and well-placed smashes. At the net, she’d outmove the Indian and control the tempo. Sindhu’s trademark overhead smashes were few and far between, with the 5’10” Indian struggling to reach shots and stay in play.
Rightfully so, Ying became the world No. 1 with the win, after beating her predecessor and reigning Olympic champion Carolina Marin twice in two weeks. And while Marin is faltering as the year draws to a close, Sindhu, the other finalist in Rio, is finishing strong.

‘World Sanskrit Award’

Thailand’s Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn was presented with the first ‘World Sanskrit Award’ for her exemplary contribution for the promotion of the language for the year 2015. Besides, American linguist and Indologist Prof. George Cardona was also presented with this award for the year 2016. They were bestowed with the award by Vice President Hamid Ansari at a function held in New Delhi.

About World Sanskrit Award The award was instituted by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). It was announced by the Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during her inaugural address in the 16th World Sanskrit Conference in Bangkok in June 2015. It is presented to eminent Sanskrit scholars to recognise their outstanding contribution to the study/research/ teaching in Sanskrit language and literature.

Aditi Ashok (18) became the first Indian woman to win a Ladies European Tour title.

Teen golf sensation Aditi Ashok (18) became the first Indian woman to win a Ladies European Tour title. She achieved this feat by winning the Hero Women’s Indian Open held at the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurugram, Haryana. She won a prize purse of 60,000 dollar. She won the tournament with a score of 3-under-par 213. Her round included birdies on the par-four second and 10th holes and bogeys on the seventh, 13th and 17th. Aditi Ashok is the first and the only Indian golfer who had played the Asian Youth Games (2013), Youth Olympic Games (2014), Asian Games (2014) and Rio Olympics (2016).

कमला हैरिस

कैलिफॉर्निया
शहर की अटॉर्नी जनरल कमला हैरिस ने इतिहास रच दिया है। भारतीय मूल की कमला ने यूएस सीनेट इलेक्शन में जीत हासिल की है। ऐसा करने वाली वह पहली भारतीय-अमेरिकी बन गई हैं। 51 साल की हैरिस ने अपनी ही पार्टी की डेमोक्रेट लॉरेटा सांचेज को हराया।

कमला यूएस सीनेट में चुनी गई 6वीं अश्वेत हैं। अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति बराक ओबामा यूएस सीनेट में चुने गए पांचवें अश्वेत सीनेटर थे। हैरिस बीते दो दशक से ज्यादा वक्त में ऊपरी सदन के लिए चुनी गईं पहली अश्वेत महिला हैं।

कमला हैरिस की मां श्यामला गोपालन साइंस की पढ़ाई के लिए चेन्नै से अमेरिका गई थीं। वहीं, कमला के पिता डॉनल्ड जमैका में पले-बढ़े। अपने देश के बड़े रिसर्च स्कॉलर में गिने जाने वाले डॉनल्ड ने इकनॉमिक्स की पढ़ाई की। कमला का जन्म ओकलैंड, कैलिफॉर्निया में हुआ था।

See Translation

indo-Japan MOU for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC)

indo-Japan MOU for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC)

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) and the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India has been approved by the Cabinet.   The advancement of academic research in the field of Earth Sciences for the benefit of the peace and human welfare is the prime objective of the MOU.

The collaboration with JAMSTEC will not only enhance capability in the field of atmospheric and climate research, ocean technology observation and hazard mitigation but also provide much needed exposure and hands-on experience to Indian scientists.

1st time in the Country, an LNG fuelled bus

For the 1^st time in the Country, an LNG fuelled bus has been launched today by the Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan in the presence of Chief Minister of Kerala, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan at Thiruvananthapuram. It has been a joint effort of Petronet LNG Limited (PLL), Indian Oil Corporation Ltd and Tata Motors Ltd to introduce LNG as a fuel in commercial vehicles in the state capital. The LNG fueled bus is being launched as part of a plan of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to use LNG directly for mass transportation and to reduce carbon emissions in the Country simultaneously generating savings. The launch also coincided with the fourth meeting of the Group of Ministers (GoM) holding Transport portfolios.

State of Himachal Pradesh has been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF)

The State of Himachal Pradesh has been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF). HP is the second State in the country (after Sikkim) to achieve the feat. With this, Himachal Pradesh has successfully achieved a total rural sanitation coverage of 100% in the State, with all 12 out of 12 districts in the State being both, declared as well as verified, as ODF

PUSA ARHAR-16:-

PUSA ARHAR-16:-

ICAR-IARI, New Delhi has developed extra early maturing (120 days), semi-dwarf (95 cm to 120 cm tall), determinate, high yielding new plant type genetic material viz., Pusa Arhar 16 which is semi-erect compact plant type. This plant type allows dense plant population of 3,30,000 plants/ha when planted with Row X Row spacing of 30 cm and Plant X Plant spacing of 10 cm. High density planting is important to realize higher yield and mechanization. Traditional varieties do not allow high density planting as their plant type is indeterminate and spreading type. Thus, suitability to high population density of this line allows uniform plant density and ultimately uniform plant stand and thereby reduces losses in yield due to seedling mortality. In the form of Pusa Arhar 16 ICAR-IARI has tailored a new plant type arhar in line with semi-dwarf rice and wheat. The NPT arhar requires a modified agronomy for maximizing the productivity with reduced cost of cultivation, which has been developed. All items of farm machinery used for wheat from sowing to harvesting are fully utilizable for cultivation of NPT Arhar. Pusa Arhar 16 allows effective spraying of insecticide even with Knapsack sprayer for effective control of insects due to compactness and dwarfness. This new plant type, with synchronous maturity, is also suitable for combine harvesting and thus does not require manual laborers for harvesting and threshing. Harvesting and threshing in traditional varieties require more manpower and time thereby increasing the cost of cultivation and chances of losses due to damage by untimely rains. This extra early line also allows growing of mustard/potato/wheat in rabi after harvest of pigeonpea successfully. Moreover, as this line is extra early maturing (120 days) it allows flexibility of sowing from onset of monsoon (5th June) to even up to 1st week of July.

PM launches “Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat” initiative

PM inaugurates exhibition on “Uniting India: Sardar Patel”

PM launches “Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat” initiative

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today inaugurated the digital exhibition “Uniting India: Sardar Patel” at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.

The Prime Minister also launched the “Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat” initiative, to promote greater awareness among people of various States about one another, hence promoting the spirit of Unity in Diversity. 6 MoUs between two States each were also signed on the occasion, under this initiative.

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister paid tribute to Sardar Patel, for his great contributions to the nation, and said such great individuals can never be forgotten.

Shri Narendra Modi spoke at length about Sardar Patel’s role in integrating the nation, by convincing princely states to join the Union.

The Prime Minister gave several illustrations to explain how the “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat” initiative can build bonds between the people of various States of India.

U.S. author Paul Beatty wins Man Booker Prize

Paul Beatty was on Tuesday named as the first American to win the prestigious Man Booker fiction prize, for “The Sellout”, a biting satire on race relations in the United States.

The narrator of “The Sellout”, an African-American called “Bonbon” tries to put his Californian town back on the map, from which it has been officially removed, by re-introducing slavery and segregation in its high school.

The 289-page novel begins with “Bonbon” facing a hearing in the Supreme Court, looking back over the events that led up to that point.

The language is uncompromising and may offend some readers. So might some of the content — one old black film actor asks to become Bonbon’s slave — as Beatty lampoons racial stereotypes. The protagonist’s father is unjustly shot by police.

“This is a hard book. It was hard for me to write, it’s hard to read,” said a tearful Beatty immediately after winning the award at a ceremony at London’s historic Guildhall.

“For me, it’s just really gratifying that something that’s important to me is also important for other people,” he later told a news conference.

Chair of the five judges for the £50,000 ($60,900) prize Amanda Foreman said “The Sellout” had been a unanimous choice, reached after a meeting lasting some four hours.

“It plunges into the heart of contemporary American society with absolutely savage wit of the kind I haven’t seen since Swift or Twain,” she said.

“It manages to eviscerate every social nuance, every sacred cow, while making us laugh and also making us wince ... It is really a novel for our times.”

Asked about the language, Foreman said, “Paul Beatty has said being offended is not an emotion. That’s his answer to the reader,” Foreman said.

“The Sellout” is 54-year-old Beatty’s fourth novel. He has also edited an anthology of African-American humour.

It was publisher Oneworld’s second Man Booker victory after winning the 2015 prize for “A Brief History of Seven Killings” by Jamaican Marlon James.

Beatty said he would not have written the book had his partner not persuaded him to apply for a grant that allowed him time to complete the book.

“I don’t like writing,” he said. “I’m a perfectionist in some ways and I get easily disgruntled and discouraged with what I’m doing.”

Apart from the £50,000 prize, each of the six shortlisted authors wins £2,500 ($3,045) winning the Man Booker can have a major impact on a writer’s sales and readership. James told Reuters recently that winning the prize can have a “seismic” impact.

In its 48-year history, the prize has gone to authors including Salman Rushdie, Hilary Mantel and Margaret Atwood. Three years ago the rules were changed to cover any novel written in English, regardless of the writer’s nationality, and published in Britain. Previously it was confined largely to authors from the Commonwealth.

Since January, the judges have read 155 novels before whittling the pile down to a “longlist” of 13 then a shortlist of six.

This year’s shortlist comprised works by two Britons, a Briton born in Canada, a Canadian and two Americans.

Deborah Levy, whose “Hot Milk” was in the final six this year, has been on the shortlist before, while Ottessa Moshfegh’s “Eileen” was her debut novel.

current affairs 23rd october

What is National SC/ST hub? 
The objective of the SC/ST (Schedule Castes/Schedule Tribes) Hub is to provide professional support to entrepreneurs from the SC/ST. It also seeks to promote enterprise culture and entrepreneurship among the SC/ST population and to enable them to participate more effectively in public procurement. It will work towards strengthening market access/linkage, capacity building, monitoring, sharing industry-best practices and leveraging financial support schemes.

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Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal has been appointed as a member of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Athletes’ Commission. It is rare honour for an Indian sportsperson. In this regard, Saina has received a letter to the effect from the IOC President Thomas Bach mentioning that she has been appointed in consultation with Chair of Athletes’ Commission. The Athletes’ Commission of IOC is chaired by Angela Ruggiero. It comprises nine vice presidents and 10 other members.


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Noted British statistician Sir David Cox (92) was awarded inaugural recipient of the International Prize in Statistics. The International Prize in Statistics Foundation has bestowed this award on Sir David Cox in recognition of Survival Analysis Model (or Cox Model) Applied in Medicine, Science, and Engineering.
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