Current Affairs Statewise PDF

Tamilnadu & Puducherry Current Affairs - January 2017

Japan to Help in Developing Chennai, Ahmedabad and Varanasi Smart Cities

i. Japans Ambassador to India Mr.KenjiHiramatsu, informed about Japans intention to
help India with the development of Chennai, Ahmedabad and Varanasi as smart cities.
ii. The decision was announced by the Mr.Kenji during a meeting with Minister of Urban
Development Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu on January 5, 2017.

Centre Approves Ordinance to Allow Jallikattu in Tamil Nadu

i. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, O. Paneerselvam has send a draft ordinance to the centre seeking
an amendment to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 and removal of bull from
the list of performing animals. This will ensure that provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals Act will not apply to the bull.
ii. Chief Minister O. Paneerselvam met Prime Minister NarendraModi on January 19, 2017 to seek
help over the Jallikattu issue.
iii. Further, the Tamil Nadu Governor VidyasagarRao approved the ordinance by the state
government on January 21, 2017 with the first Jallikattu game post the protest to be conducted in
Alanganallur, Madurai on January 22, 2017.

Tamil Nadu Assembly Unanimously Passes Jallikattu Bill

i. Tamil Nadu assembly under the chairmanship of Chief Minister O
Panneerselvam unanimously passed the Jallikattu Bill on January 23, 2017 to replace the
ordinance issued on January 21, 2017 to allow the states traditional sport.
ii. The bill amends the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, making Jallikattu a
permanent sport in rural Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu Becomes 21st State to Join UDAY

The Tamil Nadu Government signed anMoU with the Ministry of Power on January 9, 2017 to join
the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) scheme which aims at reviving the financial
turnaround of debt stressed electricity distribution companies of India (DISCOMs). With the
agreement Tamil Nadu has become the 21st state to join UDAY scheme.

Tamil Nadu Gov launched mobile app pinakin for Tourism

i. Tamil Nadu government lead by O.Panneerselvam has launched a mobile application
Pinakin to provide information of famous destinations in Tamil Nadu.

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ii. The app will provide information on world heritage tourist spots like Mammalapuram, the Big
Temple in, Thanjavur and GangaiKondaCholapuram and soon it will include other places in the
state.

ISRO Successfully Tests Cryogenic Engine for Upper Stage of GSLV Mk III
i. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully tested its indigenously developed
Cryogenic engine designated as C25, on January 25, 2017 for 50 seconds at ISRO Propulsion
Complex (IPRC) at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu.
ii. The cryogenic engine has been developed for use in the Upper Stage of GSLV Mk III rocket,
which is scheduled to be launched within the first quarter of 2017. Cryogenic engines are used in
the upper stage of a rocket launch as they provide the maximum thrust to a launcher vehicle.
iii.This was the first test in a series of two tests. The next one has been planned for flight
duration of 640 seconds.

Chennai Open: Bopanna and Jeevan bag doubles title

i. Indian pair of RohanBopanna and JeevanNedunchezhiyan captured mens doubles title
defeating Indias DivijSharan and Purav Raja in Chennai Open.
ii. They defeated compatriots Purav Raja and DivijSharan 6-3, 6-4 in the summit clash.
iii. It was the first time in the ATP events 22-year existence that four Indians featured in
the finals.

Tamilnadu&Puducherry Current Affairs - February 2017

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palaniswami Wins Trust Vote In Assembly

i. The newly appointed Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, EdappadiPalaniswami won the trust
vote in the Assembly on February 18, 2017 where 122 MLAs voted for him, while 11 voted for
O Panneerselvam.
ii .To win, a majority of 68 votes were needed. With this Palaniswami will continue to remain at
the position of CM.

Government Allows Tamil Nadu to Raise Number of Workdays under MGNREGA

i. The Central government has granted permission to raise the number of workdays under
the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee scheme in Tamil Nadu from the
existing 100 days to 150 days.
ii. The increase in workdays aims to help rural laborers who are facing job loss as a result of the
severe drought affecting the state.
iii. The scheme is being implemented in 12,524 villages of Tamil Nadu. Works like desilting of

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waterbodies in rural areas and maintenance of other rural assets are being undertaken under the
scheme.

PM NarendraModi Inaugurates 112-foot Shiva Statue in Coimbatore

i. On the occasion of Mahashivratri, Prime Minister NarendraModi unveiled a 112-feet-tall
Lord Shiva statue at Isha Foundation in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu on February 24, 2017.
ii. The statue is dedicated to Adiyogi, an incarnation of Lord Shiva who is considered to be the
first of yogis.
iii. The bust of Lord Shiva is made of steel and weighs 500 tonnes. It took 2.5 years to design
and eight months to build the statue.
iv. As a part of the occasion, PM Modi also released the book Adiyoga: The source of Yoga,
which deals with yogic sciences.

Sasikala Sworn in as AIADMK Legislature Party Leader

i. Tamil Nadus political party AIADMK has elected SasikalaNatarajan as the Legislative Party
leader on February 5, 2017.
ii. Sasikala, the general secretary of AIADMK was unanimously elected by the AIADMK MLAs at a
party meeting in Chennai. Her name was proposed by O. Panneerselvam.

Edappadi K Palaniswami Appointed as the New Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu

i. The Tamil Nadu Governor C VidyasagarRao appointed Edappadi K Palaniswami as
13th chief minister of the state on February 16, 2017. His appointment is in acceptance of the
letter submitted by Palaniswami on February 14, 2017 that he was elected as the leader of the
AIADMK legislature party at a meeting of the party MLAs.
ii. The Governor has invited him to form the ministry at the earliest as well as requested him to
seek the vote confidence of the assembly within 15 days.

ISRO Successfully Tests C25 Engine for GSLV Mark III rocket
i. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully conducted the final ground
testing of its indigenously developed Cryogenic Upper Stage engine (C25) for GSLV Mark III
rocket at ISROs Liquid Propulsion Complex at Mahendragiri in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu
on February 17, 2017.
ii. The ISRO Chairman AS Kiran Kumar informed that the test was last in the series before going
for an actual rocket launch. The engine will be put into use in April 2017.
iii. The C25 stage is the most powerful upper stage developed by ISRO and uses Liquid Oxygen
and Liquid Hydrogen propellant combination.
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iv .It will better serve the next generation GSLV rocket to launch 4-tonne class satellite in the
Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO).

India Vetiver Network (INVN) launched in Tamil Nadu

i. India Vetiver Network (INVN) has been launched at Tamil Nadu Agricultural
University in Coimbatore .
ii. Aim: To protect the environment using vetiver
iii. INVN is a not-for-profit scientific network to promote vetiver in India. Vetiver has
worldwide application to tackle many environmental issues like soil erosion, mitigation of soil and
water pollution.
iv. Promotion of research in vetiver identification of varieties, improved production technologies
and distillation techniques.

Tamilnadu & Puducherry Current Affairs - March 2017

Panneerselvam inaugurates Amma Kalviyagam

i. Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam has launched a portal named after late chief
Minister Jayalalithaa ammakalviyagam.in on her 69th birth anniversary celebrations.
ii. The launched portal will a hub of learning, interaction, opportunity, and connection. The portal
was based on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) model.
iii. This initiative will help students get assistance from reputed teachers free of cost, which
reflects Jayalalithaas Vision TN 2023.

Govt signs deal for Hydrocarbon project in Neduvasal

Once again, the protest against hydrocarbons exploration in Tamil Nadus Neduvasal village is
grabbing media attention. Following the signing of contract by Government of India with GEM
Laboratories on 27th March 2017, the local villagers have intensified their protest which started a
few months ago.
Neduvasal Village and the DSF Bid 2016:
Neduvasal is a small yet fertile village of the Cauvery Delta Region located in Pudukkottai district
of Tamil Nadu.
Under the Discovered Small Fields (DSF) bidding round in 2016, Cabinet Committee on
Economic Affairs (CCEA) awarded 31 mining leases across the state of Tamil Nadu.
Contract signed with GEM Laboratories for Neduvasal Village is one of such mining
leases.
As per information provided by Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, contract
area of Neduvasal along with other contract area in Karaikal, Puducherry have an in-
place volume of four lakh thirty thousand metric tonnes of oil and oil equivalent gas.

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Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Jayakumar Presents tax-free budget for 2017-18
The Tamil Nadu Finance Minister D Jayakumar presented a tax free and revenue deficit budget
for the fiscal 2017-18 on March 16, 2017 in the state Legislative Assembly.It is the first Budget
presented by the state Finance Minister as well as the first budget of the AIADMK government
headed by E. Palaniswami.

Salient Feature of the State Budget

Total Revenue Receipts (TRR): Rs 1,59,363 crore

Total Expenditure: Rs 1,75,293 crore
Revenue Deficit: Rs 15,930 crore
Fiscal Deficit: Rs 41,977 core (2.79 percent of GDP)
States Own Tax Revenue (SOTR) was estimated to be Rs 87,287 crore in Revised
Estimates 2016-17 and is estimated to increase to Rs 99,590 crore in Budget Estimates
2017-18.
Receipts from Stamp Duty and Registration Charges is expected to be Rs 8,220 crore in
2017-18 against Rs 7,985 crore in the Revised Estimates 2016-17.
State government aims to earn Rs. 6900 crore through Tamil Nadu State Marketing
Corporation (TASMAC).
The government will earn Rs. 99,598 crore income from taxes and Rs. 12,318 crore
through non-tax earnings.

Important Allocations:

i.Education Sector: Rs 26,932 crore

ii.Electricity Sector: Rs 16,998 crore
iii.Healthcare Sector: Rs. 10150 crore
iv.Allowance for pregnant women: Rs.18,000
v.Sports and Youth Affairs: Rs.165 crore
vi.Handloom Sector: Rs. 1235 crore
vii.Khadi and handicrafts: Rs. 194 crore
viii.MSME sector: Rs.532 crore
ix.Fisheries: Rs. 860 crore
x.Environment and Foresty: Rs.567 crore
xi.Scheduled Castes welfare: Rs. 3680 crore
xii.Scheduled Tribe welfare: Rs. 265 crore

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xiii.Eradicating poverty in rural areas: Rs. 469 crores

xiv.Eradicating poverty in urban areas: Rs. 272 crore
xv.Police: Rs. 6400 crore
xvi.Prison: Rs. 282 crore

Other Important Announcements

i. Setting up Urban Haat in Ooty: Rs. 5 crore.
ii. Global investors meet for Tamil Nadu: Rs 75 crore
iii. Chief Ministers Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme: Rs. 1348 crore
iv. Smart Cities Mission: Rs. 1400 crore; Urban Development: Rs.563 crore
v. Athikadavu-Avinasi link project: Rs. 250 crore
vi. Setting up a new dairy processing factory in Madurai: Rs. 40 crore
vii. MGNREGA schemes: Rs.1000 crore
viii. Free dhoti and saree scheme: Rs. 490 crore
ix. Subsidy to Tangedco: Rs 8,538 crore (to provide 100 units free power to domestic consumers
and free power to farmers)
x. The Budget proposes to distribute 10,000 units of special canes free of cost for the visually
impaired.
xi. Diesel tax exemption for fishermen has been increased from 15,000 litres to 18,000 a boat.The
budget proposes to establish a world class Tamil Cultural Heritage Museum at Madurai.
Xii. The compulsory work days under MGNREGA scheme has been increased from 100 days to
150 days.10 new pharmacies will be set up to sell generic drugs. This is help in reducing the
spending on medicines.

IIT-M solar inverter system wins award

i. 2017 IEEE Spectrum Technology in the Service of Society Award won by the Indian
Institute of Technology-Madras(IIT-M) for its solar-direct current (DC) inverter system.
ii. The solar inverter system was developed by Centre for Decentralised Power Systems at IIT-M.
iii. It is based on micro grid technology and it 230V Analog Current to 48V DC to directly
power appliances and devices.

IIT Madras Signs MoU with Indian Army to Enhance Critical Technological Areas
The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IITM) has signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Army on March 28, 2017 to address the technological gap
in the armed forces.
The MoU was signed between IITM Director Bhaskar Ramamurthi and Deputy Chief of Army
Staff (P&S) Lt. Gen. Subrata Saha.

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Tamil Nadu CM Palaniswami Launches Rs 1580 cr Housing Scheme

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami launched a Housing Scheme on March 9, 2017
for construction of concrete houses for the economically poor section of the society.
The project is estimated at Rs 1,580 crore and will be implemented by the state government
with financial assistance from the Center.
While launching the scheme, CM Palaniswami gave away work orders to five beneficiaries.
For the current fiscal 2016-17, concrete houses will be constructed for 50,170 beneficiaries in
town panchayat limits.

Women Safety app Ammavin Aran launched by AIADMK

i. The women safety app Ammavin Aran which means mothers fortress was launched by
the AIADMK Deputy General Secretary TTV Dhinakaran on March 9, 2017 in Chennai, Tamil
Nadu.
ii. Amma Aran app will give the details about the nearest police station and hospital along with
map details and phone number.

GRAPES-3 Telescope To Be Upgraded for Precise Detection of Solar Storms

The GRAPES-3 Experiment, a telescope located at Tata Institute of Fundamental
Researchs (TIFRs) Cosmic Ray Laboratory in Ootacamund, Tamil Nadu is getting upgraded.
The GRAPE 3 telescope became famous in 2015 when it detected the effect of a solar storm
that hit the earth in June 2015.

New Weather Monitoring System to Indian Navy unveiled by Sunil Lanba

i. The Integrated Automatic Aviation Meteorological System (IAAMS), which is the new
Weather Monitoring System to Indian Navy, is launched to use by Navy Chief Admiral Sunil
Lanba on March 29, 2017. The IAAMS was launched at Rajali Air Station in Tamil Nadu.
ii. The installation of the system at remaining 8 stations is expected to be completed by March
2019.

De-Induction Of Indian Navys TU142M Aircraft and Induction of Boeing P8I Into INAS
312
After 29 illustrious years of service, TU142M aircraft has been de-inducted from the Indian
Navy. A special farewell ceremony was organised on 29th March 2017, at INS Rajali, the premiere
Naval Air Station located in Arakkonam, Tamil Nadu.

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Dignitaries who attended the farewell ceremony included Admiral Sunil Lanba, PVSM, AVSM,
ADC Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral HCS Bisht, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief,
Eastern Naval Command, senior Navy officials, Bureaucrats as well as serving and retired
men who have been associated with the operations of TU142M.
About TU142M:
TU142M (Tupolev 142M) is a Russian made aircraft.In the year 1988, it was inducted in Indian
Navy at INS Hansa based in Goa.
In the year 1988, it was inducted into INAS 312 at INS Hansa based in Goa. It is to be
noted that INAS 312, which was commissioned in year 1976 at INS Hansa, initially had
five Lockheed L1049G Super Constellation Aircraft. These L1049G Aircraft
were eventually de-inducted from the squadron in the year 1983.
TU142M has been one of the most feared LRMR platforms and is often dubbed as the
Flying Destroyer.
Boeing P-8I, the successor of TU142M:
TU142M is being replaced by a fleet of P-8I maritime surveillance aircraft.P-8I has been
developed by Boeing Company and is popularly referred to as Boeing P-8 Poseidon by the United
States Navy.

NGT Suspends Green Nod for Tamil Nadu Neutrino Project

i .The National Green Tribunals southern bench, comprising of Justice P Jyothimani and
expert member P S Rao, on March 20, 2017 suspended the environmental clearance for
the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) project to be set up in Tamil Nadu for research
on high energy and nuclear physics.
ii .As per NGT, the site of INO project is located near Madhikettan Shola National Park in
Idukki district of Kerala which is just 4.9 km from the project site.
iii. Besides, NGT also informed that the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border was only a kilometer away
from the project location which made the project fall in Category A level.

Tamil Nadu Beats Bengal to Win Vijay Hazare Trophy

i. Tamil Nadu won the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2017 at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi on March
16, 2017 by beating Bengal by 37 runs in the finals.
ii. With this win, they become the only team to win the tournament five times out of which one
was shared with Uttar Pradesh in 2004-05.
iii .Tamil Nadus Wicket keeper Dinesh Karthik was adjudged as the Man of the Match. He
recorded his fifth 50+ score in the tournament and took his aggregate to 495. The average is
82.5.

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Former Puducherry Minister M Chandrakasu passes away

i. Former Agriculture Minister of Puducherry M Chandrakasu was passed away in Chennai on
March 9, 2017. He was 67.
ii. Chandrakasu was first elected as Congress legislator from Neduncadu reserved
constituency in Karaikal in 1980. He became Speaker of the Assembly in 1985
iii. He was Minister in the Congress ministry led by V Vaithilingam between 1991 and 1996
iv. He was Agriculture Minister in the AINRC government formed by Rangasamy in 2011

Former Car Racer Ashwin Sundar Died in Car Accident

i. National car racer Ashwin Sundar and his wife Niveditha were burnt to death early morning
on March 18, 2017 in an accident that took place at the Pattinapakkam area, on the Santhome
High Road in Tamil Nadu.
ii .Ashwin, 27, was the national champion in LGB Formula 4 category in 2012 and 2013. He had
also won the MRF Formula 1600 International Challenge competition on two occasions.

Noted Tamil litterateur Thiagarajan popularly known as Asokamitran passes away

Noted Tamil litterateur and Sahitya Akademi winner Thiagarajan passed away in Chennai on
March 23, 2017. He was 85.
He is known by his pen name, Asokamitran .
About Asokamitran :
i. Secunderabad born Asokamitran is well known novelist and essayist of Tamil and
English languages.
ii. He penned nearly eight novels, 20 novellas, hundreds of short stories, commentaries on a wide
range of issues, and profiles of personalities.
iii. "18-vadhu Atchakkodu", translated into English as "The Eighteenth Parallel", is one of his
highly acclaimed novels.
iv. He won Sahitya Akademi Award in 1996 for his work "Appavin Snegithargal"
v. He was given the Tiru Vi Ka Award in 2014 for his contribution to Tamil literature by late Chief
Minister J Jayalalithaa.

Tamilnadu & Puducherry Current Affairs April 2017

Russia hands over responsibility of Kudankulam 1 to India
The agreement was signed between representatives of Nuclear Power Corporation of India
Ltd (NPCIL) and the ASE Group of Companies, a subsidiary of ROSATOM State Atomic Energy
Corporation of Russia on the final settlement of Kudankulam 1.
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Puducherry government to give free power supply to farmers

The government of Pondicherry announced that the farmers in the Union Territory will be
getting free power supply for pump sets used for irrigation purpose.
i. During the previous fiscal years budget session (2016- 2017) free power supply given by the
Agriculture Minister.
ii. The council of Ministers had approved the proposal for the free supply of electricity to small and
other classes of farmers in the Union Territory.
iii. The cost incurred by the government on the implementation of the scheme is estimated to be
around Rs 1.95 Cr in the current fiscal year.

Kazakhstan opens consulate in Chennai

Central Asian country, Kazakhstan has opened its consulate in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. This
consulate will cover Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
i. It will be headed by Mr. Suraj Shantakumar, the Chairman of diamond jewellery retailer
Kirtilals.
ii. India and Kazakhstan are having diplomatic relation since past 25 years.

Operation of Kudankulam Nuclear Power plant 2nd unit started successfully

On March 31, 2017, 1,000 MW Atomic Power Reactor has begun its 1 year period of warranty
operation at Kundankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) in Tamil Nadu. This was the 2nd unit
to be successfully launched for commercial operation out of 4 units. The information was
announced by the Russian builders.
As per the statement given by state-run nuclear energy corporation ASE Group, the Unit 2 of
the KNPP is under the warranty of its general designer and the suppliers of equipment from
Russia.

DGP Geetha Johri - Gujarats first woman police chief

i. Director General of Police (DGP) Geetha Johri was appointed as Police Chief (in-charge) of
Gujarat on April 4, 2017. By this, Johari has become the 1st woman IPS officer to be appointed
as the Police Chief in Gujarat.
ii. The minister of state for home Pradeepsinh Jadeja officially announced the appointment of
Johri.
iii. Johri had replaced PP Pandey, who resigned as the DGP after his appointment was challenged
by former Police Julio Riberio in the Supreme Court.

TN govt signs agreement with BBNL to implement BharatNet

The Tamil Nadu government signed an agreement with Bharat Broadband Network

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Limited (BBNL).
i. It is aimed to implement the Centre's rural internet connectivity programme"Bharatnet.
ii. The cost of total project is Rs 50 lakh.

Coast Guard decommissions ICGS Varad after 27 years

On April 28, 2017, Indian Coast Guard ship, ICGS Varad, the eight in the Vikram-class
offshore patrol vessel, was decommissioned at Chennai Port. ICGS Varad was in service
for 27 years.
i. ICGS Varad was built by Goa Shipyard Ltd. Its Construction work was launched on September
2, 1989.
ii. It was formally commissioned on July 19, 1990 by the then Governor of Goa, Khurshid
Alam Khan.

INS Chennai dedicated, Chennai to become hub of Naval activities

INS Chennai a P 15A Guided Missile Destroyer of Indian Navy was dedicated to the city of
Chennai on April 17, 2017.The ship has a complement of about 45 officers and 395 personnel.
i. The ship is under the command of Captain CR Praveen Nair.
ii. Ceremony includes Shri Edappadi K Palaniswami, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Dr D
Karthikeyan IAS, Commissioner of Chennai and Vice Admiral HCS Bisht

Tamil actor Vinu Chakravarthy passes away at 71

Vinu Chakravarthy, a renowned actor-director of Tamil Films, passed away on April 27,
2017. 71-year old Vinu was ill for past three years.
i. Vinu debuted with Gopurangal Saivathillai in 1982.
ii. He is known for his villainous roles in the 80s and 90s, followed by character roles later.
iii. Muni starring Raghava Lawrence, Kovai Sarala among others marked this actors 1000th
film.

Tamilnadu & Puducherry Current Affairs - May 2017

Pondy CM Presents Tax-Free Budget For 2017-2018
On May 25, 2017, Chief Minister of Puducherry, V Narayanasamy presented Rs.6945 crore
tax-free budget for the fiscal 2017-2018.
Highlights of Puducherry Budget 2017-18:
i. Total budget outlay of Rs.6945 crore comprises Rs. 4,445 crore for non-plan head and Rs. 2,500
crore under plan.
ii. Puducherry Government will contribute Rs.4022 crore from its own resources, while Central
assistance will be of Rs.1411 crore.
iii. Grants under the centrally-sponsored schemes (CSS) including the Central Road Fund (CRF)

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has been estimated at Rs.361 crore.

iv. 1151 crore would beraised through open market borrowing and from other financial
institutions.
v. During fiscal 2016-17, Puducherry Government incurred expenditure to the tune of Rs.6144
crore, which is the highest ever spending in the history of the Union Territory of Puducherry.

Country's first ornamental fish park to come up at Chennai

India's first Aquatic Rainbow Technology Park (ARTP) will be set up in Chennai.
i. The park will include an ultra-modern facility for ornamental fish equipped with multi-species
hatchery and live feed culture units.
ii. Tamil Nadu is the second largest exporter of ornamental fish after West Bengal.
iii. It will bear total cost of Rs 61.89 crore.

Prabhu Flags Off Ahmedabad-Chennai Humsafar Express

On May 2, 2017, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu flagged-off Western Railways' first
Humsafar Express between Ahmedabad and Chennai at a function held in Udvada town in
Valsad district of Gujarat. Full-fledged operations of the train will start from May 8, 2017 from
Ahmedabad and from May 10, 2017 from Chennai.
i. The first Humsafar Express was introduced on December, 16 2016
between Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh) and Anand Vihar terminal in Delhi.

Venkaiah Naidu, Tamil Nadu CM inaugurated 7.4 km long stretch of Chennai Metro Train
service
On May 14, 2017, Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu and Tamil Nadu
Chief Minister Edappadi K Paklaniswamy jointly inaugurated 7.4 km long stretch of Chennai
Metro Train service in Chennai.
i. With this inauguration, 28 km stretch of the total of 54 km stretch under first phase has been
made operational.
ii. Pending work under first phase is expected to be completed by end of 2017. Detailed plan for
expanding the network by covering additional 107.55 km has been prepared by the RITES Ltd.
iii. Expansion of the network as per the plan will involve an estimated cost of Rs. 85000 crore.

Adiyogi bust declared worlds largest by Guinness Book of World Records

The 112 feet tall 'Adiyogi' Lord Shiva steel statue has been declared the world's largest bust

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by the Guinness Books of World Records.

i. It is situated in Coimbatore at the Isha Yoga Centre.
ii. It aims to create awareness among the people about adiyogi science.

Former Puducherry CM Ramaswamy passes away

Former Puducherry Chief Minister Subrahmanyan Ramaswamy passed away on 15 May 2017 in
Puducherry. He was 80.
i. Subrahmanyan Ramaswamy was the Home Minister in the DMK-CPI coalition ministry from
1969 to 1973.
ii. He became Chief Minister of AIADMK in 1974 heading the AIADMK-CPI coalition ministry for
a brief period.

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