Anna Burns Wins 2018 Man Booker Prize For Her Novel ‘Milkman’

Northern Irish author Anna Burns has won the 2018 Man Booker Prize for her novel ‘Milkman’, which is her third full-length novel. The book is about an 18-year-old girl, known as “middle sister”, who is sexually harassed by an older paramilitary figure, called the “milkman”. Anna Burns has become the first Northern Irish author to win the Man Booker prize. 

Source- The Guardian

Static/Current Takeaways From Above News For IBPS PO Mains Exam 2018:
  • The Man Booker Prize for Fiction (formerly known as the Booker–McConnell Prize and commonly known simply as the Booker Prize) is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original novel written in the English language and published in the UK.

H M Pernal Gets Vishwa Konkani Book Award

‘Beeg Ani Beegath’, a collection of short stories in Konkani by the well-known writer, journalist, and critic H M Pernal bagged the prestigious ‘Vimala V Pai Vishwa’ Konkani best book award for the year 2018. H M Pernal is the pen name of Henry M Mendonca, a native of Pernal in Udupi district, who currently lives in Mangaluru.
Konkani poet Sharathchandra Shenoy from Kochi won the Vishwa Konkani best poetry award for his book ‘Idam Na Mama,‘ while Vishwanath M Shet from Uttara Kannada bagged the Vishwa Konkani lifetime achievement award. Each award carries a purse of Rs one lakh each, a certificate, memento and shawl.
Source- Business Standard

Prema Gopalan Honoured As India Social Entrepreneur Of The Year 2018

Prema Gopalan, founder of Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP), was awarded the 8th Social Entrepreneur of the Year award, 2018, for her work in promoting women’s entrepreneurship at the grassroots and ensuring rural livelihood.
Working in the areas affected by global climate change, Gopalan has helped women farmers, entrepreneurs and grassroots business leaders, who are solving the problems of their communities through small businesses.
Source- The Livemint

Static/Current Takeaways From Above News For IBPS PO Mains Exam 2018: 
  • Jointly founded by Jubilant Bhartia Foundation and Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship in 2010, the award recognizes promising and high-impact social entrepreneurs who implement practical and sustainable solutions. 
  • Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship is a sister organization of the World Economic Forum.

Sikkim Wins FAO’s Future Policy Award 2018

The North-eastern state Sikkim won the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) Future Policy Award 2018 for being the world’s first 100% organic state. Sikkim defeated 51 nominated policies from 25 countries, winning the Gold Prize of the Future Policy Award 2018, also known as “Oscar for Best Policies”.
Moreover, Future Policy Award’s Silver Prize 2018 was awarded to the policies from Brazil, Denmark and Quito (Ecuador). All the winners received the awards in a ceremony at FAO headquarters during the celebrations of the World Food Week in Rome. 
Source- Press Information Bureau (PIB)

Static/Current Takeaways From Above News For IBPS PO Mains Exam 2018:
  • UN Food and Agriculture Organisation Headquarters in Italy, Rome. 

Indus Towers Wins Deming Prize For 2018

Indus Towers, world’s largest telecom tower company (outside China), won the Deming Prize for 2018, being the first Indian company in the service sector and the fifth in the world to achieve this. The Deming Prize was bestowed on Indus Towers for distinctive performance improvements through the application of Total Quality Management (TQM) practices. 
Indus Towers is only the 29th Indian company to win this coveted award, with other notable names including Tata Steel, Ashok Leyland, Mahindra and Mahindra, and NBC Bearings, etc.
Source- Business-Standard

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 
  • The Deming Prize for 2018 was announced by JUSE – Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers. 
  • It was established in 1951 and was originally designed to reward Japanese companies for their major advancements in quality improvement.

Complete List Of Nobel Prize Winners 2018

The 2018 Nobel Prize were announced recently in 5 different fields viz. Physiology or Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, Peace, and Economic Sciences.  This is for the first time that no Literature Prize was given in 70 years because of a #MeToo scandal. We have compiled all the winners under one complete table that will make you remember all the winners in a go.
Brief History of the Nobel Prize-
On 27 November 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will and testament, giving the largest share of his fortune to a series of prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Peace – the Nobel Prizes. The Nobel Prize distribution was first done on 1901. In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden’s central bank) established The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. 
The complete list of Winners of Nobel Prize 2018-
S. No. Field Winner Description
1. Physiology or Medicine James P Allison (USA) and Tasaku Honjo (Japan) “for their discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation”
2. Physics Arthur Ashkin (USA), Gerard Mourou (France)
and Donna Strickland (Canada)
“for groundbreaking inventions in the field of laser physics”
3. Chemistry (a) one half to Frances H. Arnold (USA)
(b) other half jointly to George P. Smith (USA) and Sir Gregory P. Winter (UK)
(a) “for the directed evolution of enzymes”
(b) “for the phage display of peptides and antibodies”
4. Peace Denis Mukwege (Congo) and Nadia Murad (Iraq) “for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict”
5. Economic Sciences (a) William D. Nordhaus (USA)
(b) Paul M. Romer (USA)
(a) “for integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis”
(b) “for integrating technological innovations into
long-run macroeconomic analysis.”
Here are some Static and Interesting Facts about the Nobel Prize (Category Wise): 

The Nobel Prize in Physics-

  1. The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden.
  2. 111 Nobel Prizes in Physics have been awarded between 1901-2017.
  3. 2 women have been awarded the Physics Prize so far.
  4. 25 years was the age of the youngest Physics Laureate ever, Lawrence Bragg, when he was awarded the 1915 Physics Prize together with his father.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry-

  1. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden. 
  2. 109 Nobel Prizes in Chemistry have been awarded between 1901 and 2017.
  3. 4 women have been awarded the Chemistry Prize so far.
  4. 1 person, Frederick Sanger, has been awarded the Chemistry Prize twice, in 1958 and in 1980.
  5. 35 years was the age of the youngest Chemistry Laureate ever, Frédéric Joliot, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1935.
  6. 85 years was the age of the oldest Chemistry Laureate, John B. Fenn, when he was awarded the Chemistry Prize in 2002.

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine-

  1. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded by the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
  2. 108 Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine have been awarded between 1901 and 2017.
  3. 12 women have been awarded the Medicine Prize so far.
  4. 32 years was the age of the youngest Medicine Laureate ever, Frederick G. Banting, who was awarded the 1923 Medicine Prize for the discovery of insulin.
  5. 87 years was the age of the oldest Medicine Laureate ever, Peyton Rous, when he was awarded the Medicine Prize in 1966 for his discovery of tumour-inducing viruses.

The Nobel Prize in Literature-

  1. The Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded by the Swedish Academy, Stockholm, Sweden.
  2. 110 Nobel Prizes in Literature have been awarded 1901-2017.
  3. 14 women have been awarded the Literature Prize so far.
  4. 41 years was the age of the youngest Literature Laureate ever, Rudyard Kipling, best known for The Jungle Book.
  5. 88 years was the age of the oldest Literature Laureate ever, Doris Lessing, when she was awarded the Prize in 2007.

The Nobel Peace Prize-

  1. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by a committee of five persons who are chosen by the Norwegian Storting (Parliament of Norway).
  2. 98 Nobel Peace Prizes have been awarded 1901-2017.
  3. 16 women have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize so far.
  4. 1 Peace Prize Laureate, Le Duc Tho, has declined the Nobel Peace Prize.
  5. Malala Yousafzai (17) is the youngest to win Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel-

  1. The Prize in Economic Sciences is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden.
  2. 49 Prizes in Economic Sciences have been awarded since 1969.
  3. 1 woman has been awarded the Prize in Economic Sciences so far, Elinor Ostrom, in 2009.
  4. 51 years was the age of the youngest Laureate in Economic Sciences ever, Kenneth J. Arrow, who was awarded in 1972.
  5. 90 years was Leonid Hurwicz when he was awarded the Prize – the oldest Laureate in Economic Sciences ever. 

Important Takeaways: 
Winners of 2017 Nobel Prize in respective fields are as follows-

  1. Jeffrey C. Hall (USA), Michael Rosbash (USA) and Michael W. Young (USA): Physiology or Medicine.
  2. Rainer Weiss (Germany), Barry C. Barish (USA) and Kip S. Thorne (USA): Physics.
  3. Jacques Dubochet (Switzerland), Joachim Frank (Germany) and Richard Henderson (Scotland): Chemistry.
  4. Kazuo Ishiguro (Japan): Literature.
  5. International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) (founded in Australia): Peace.
  6. Richard H. Thaler (USA): Economic Sciences. 

ESIC Wins ‘ISSA GOOD Practice Award, Asia & The Pacific 2018’

The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has won the ‘ISSA Good Practice Award’ for Administrative Solution for Coverage Extension at the “Regional Social Security Forum for Asia and the Pacific” held at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 
The award recognizes the measures taken by ESIC for extension of coverage-SPREE (Scheme for Promoting Registration of Employers and Employees), reduced rate of contribution rates for 24 months in newly implemented areas and raising the wage limit for coverage under the ESI Act, etc.
Source- Press Information Bureau (PIB)

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 
  • The ISSA (International Social Security Association) is the principal international organization for Social Security Organizations, Govts. and Departments of Social Security.
  • The ISSA was founded in 1927 under the auspices of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Geneva. 

Nobel Prize 2018: Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences Goes To William D. Nordhaus and Paul M. Romer

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2018 to William D. Nordhaus “for integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis” and Paul M. Romer “for integrating technological innovations into long-run macroeconomic analysis.” 
Source- nobelprize.org

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 
  • The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2017 to Richard H. Thaler “for his contributions to behavioural economics”.

Richie Benaud Named Sport Australia Hall of Fame Legend

Sport Australia Hall of Fame has announced cricketing great Richie Benaud, who died in April, 2015, will become the 40th Legend of Australian Sport. He is only the third cricketer behind Sir Donald Bradman and Keith Miller to be given Legend status. Benaud is generally rated second to Bradman in terms of influential figures in the Australian game. 
Source- The ICC

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 
  • ICC Headquarters in Dubai, the UAE.
  • ICC CEO: Dave Richardson.