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  • Current Affairs 21st May 2015

    Updated : 21-May-2015

    Current Affairs 21st May 2015 - Important Points

    Current Affairs 21st May 2015 - Details

    Who won 2015 Man Booker International Prize - Laszlo Krasznahorkai

    Among the Important Prizes, On 19th May 2015, Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai won prestigious Man Booker International Prize for 2015. He was declared as winner at Victoria and Albert Museum in London. This prize has 60000 pound cash with it. 

    Laszlo Krasznahorkai is a very innovative writer, he became famous in 1985 with his book Satantango. This book was later adapted for the cinema in collaboration with the filmmaker Bela Tarr.

    Do You Know : 

    Man Booker International Prize is given every two years to a living author for a body of work published in English or generally available in English translation and is sponsored by Man Group plc, which also sponsors the Man Booker Prize for Fiction. 

    Mrinal Datta Chaudhuri passed away, he was an - Economist

    On 20th May 2015, Mrinal Datta Chaudhuri who was an eminent economist and academic, passed away in Pune, Mahrashtra. He was 81 years old. He was a policy advisor in the UPA government and was known for providing valuable policy inputs to the Indian planning process and the economy as a whole. 

    He served as the Director of the Delhi School of Economics (DSE) in New Delhi and as far as his association with foreign universities is concerned he was a visiting professor of economics at the Universities of Harvard and Minnesota in USA.

    Due to his services to the nation he was honoured with Padma Bushan in 2005.

    Who has been appointed as new DGP of Kerala - T P Senkumar

    Among the Important Appointments, On 20th May 2015, TP Senkumar was appointed as new Director General of Police (DGP) of Kerala. He will be succeeding KS Balasubramanian who is schedules to retire on 31st May 2015. His appointment was cleared by the State Cabinet meeting which was chaired by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.

    Do You Know : 

    TP Senkumar has obtained police medal from President in 2009 for his services to nation.

    Which state decided to amend Factories Act, 1948 to allow women work in night shifts - Maharashtra

    On 20th May 2015, Maharashtra Govt decided to make amend Section 66(1)(c) of the Factories Act, 1948 to empower women of state to work in night shifts because as per Section 66(1)(c) of the Factories Act, 1948 women cannot work at a factory between 7pm to 6am.

    This decision was taken after demands from labour union leaders and politicians. Factory managements will have to provide security to women working in night shifts.

    However Maharashtra is not the first state to do so, before Maharashtra many states likes Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have done this or in the process of doing this. 

    Anti Terrorism Day observed on - 21st May 2015

    Among the Important Days of Year, On 21st May Anti-Terrorism Day was observed across India. This is an annual event and it is observed on the death anniversary of seventh Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, as we all know that Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated at an election rally near Chennai by a suicide bomber on 21st May 1991.

    Who sworned in as Governor of Tripura - Tathagata Roy

    Among the Important National Current Affairs, On 20th May 2015, Mr. Tathagata Roy was sworned in as the Governor of Tripura. Thus he became 16th Governor of Tripura. He is a senior leader of BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party). His oath of office was administered by Chief Justice of Tripura High Court, Deepak Gupta at a ceremony held at Raj Bhavan.

    Who sworned in as Governor of Meghalaya - Shanmuganthan

    On 20th May 2015, Mr. V Shanmuganthan was sworned in as new Governor of Meghalaya, thus he became 15th Governor of Meghalaya at a ceremony held at Raj Bhawan in Shilong and his oath of officer and secrecy was administerd by Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court Uma Nath Singh.

    Shanmuganathan is a gold medalist post-graduate in Political Science and M Phil in same subject is a prolific writer and had written three books related to culture and social aspects in Tamil. 

    Six Major Banks fined 5.7 billion US dollars because of - Forex Benchmark Rates manipulation charges

    Among Important International Banking Affairs, On 20th May 2015, Six banks which are among world's biggest banks were fined 5.7 billion US dollars by various authorities in the USA and the UK's Financial Conduct Authority on Foreign Exchange Benchmark Rates manipulation charges.

    Citicorp, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Barclays Plc, Royal Bank of Scotland Plc, UBS Group AG and Bank of America Corp were the banks which were fined. 

    Which indigenously developed missile was successfully test fired from ITR Chandipur in Odisha - Astra

    Among the National Current Affairs, On 20th May 2015, Indigenously developed Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air to air missile Astra was successfully test fired at the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur in Odisha from a Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft.

    About Astra Missile : 

    • Astra is India's first beyond visual range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) that is capable of engaging its target at ranges of 37 km or beyond. It has operational range of 60km.
    • It was developed by DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) and it is an all weather missile.
    • It travels at supersonic speed of 4780 km/hr and possesses Single Shot Kill Probability (SSKP) with active radar terminal guidance, uses smokeless propulsion system to evade enemy radars and has the capacity to engage in multi-target scenario.
    • This missile can be launched from different altitudes is also smallest of the DRDO-developed missiles (3.8 metre)
    • It can reach up to 110 km when fired from an altitude of 15 km, 44 km when launched from an altitude of eight km and 21 km when fired from sea level.
    • This missile is scheduled to be inducted in forces by 2016 so it is going through tests.

    When ISRO will be launching ASTROSAT - October 2015

     On 19th May 2015, ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) announced that it will be launching ASTROSAT in October 2015. It will be launched by the PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) C-34 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh).

    About ASTROSAT :

    • ASTROSAT is the dedicated Indian space observatory mission aimed at studying distant celestial objects.
    • ASTROSAT carries four X-ray payloads, one UV telescope and a charge particle monitor.

    As per ISRO this spacecraft is fully assembled and in the coming days it will undergo several environmental tests.

    Mirage 2000 fighter jet landed on which expressway as part of developing road runways - Yamuna Expressway

    On 21st May 2015, Indian air force (IAF) fighter jet Mirage 2000 landed successfully on Yamuna Expressway as part of developing road runaway for emergency landing, it was the first of this kind landing. Govt of UP, Yamuna Expressway Authority, Civil Police and toll authorities of JP Infratech actively supported this.

    To use a road as a road runway, a road should be straight, level, located at a non-undulating round without any slope. There should be no waterlogging or flood and there should be no electricity poles, masts or mobile phone towers. Countries like China, Pakistan, Sweden, Germany and Singapore already has these type of roads.