Nobel Prize for Literature

Why in News ?

• Recently American poet Louise Gluck has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for the year 2020.

Key Points

• Louise Gluck has been awarded this award "for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal."

Louise Gluck

• Louise Gluck was born in 1943 in New York (United States). She is a professor of English at Yale University.
• Her collections "The Triumph of Achilles" (1985) and "Ararat" (1990) address "almost brutally straightforward images of painful family relations."
• Prof. Gluck is also a poet of radical change and rebirth, describing in her poem "Snowdrops" the miraculous return of life after winter, her work often marked by "humour and biting wit".
• Louise Gluck ‘s 2006 collection "Averno" was a "masterly collection, a visionary interpretation of the myth of Persephone's descent into Hell in the captivity of Hades, the god of death."
• Prof. Gluck won the Pulitzer Prize in 1993 for her collection "The Wild Iris" and the National Book Award for her latest collection, "Faithful and Virtuous Night", in 2014.
• She is the fourth woman to win the Nobel Literature Prize in the past decade — after Olga Tokarczuk, Svetlana Alexievich and Alice Munro — and only the 16th since the Nobel prizes were first awarded in 1901.
• She writes oneiric, narrative poetry recalling memories and travels, only to hesitate and pause for new insights.

Nobel Prize Awarding Institution and Committee

• Literature: Swedish Academy
• Physics and Chemistry: The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
• Economic: The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
• Medicine: Karolinska Institute
• Peace: A five-member committee elected by Norway's Parliament (Stortinget)

Controversy over Nobel Prize for literature

• For the last two years, the Nobel Prize in literature has been mired in controversy.
• These awards were postponed in 2018 after the Swedish Academy was accused of sexual abuse.
• Later the academy was reorganized and the awards of both years were announced in the year 2019.
• The Nobel of Literature of the year 2018 was awarded to Poland writer Olga Tokarczuk for making a narrative hypothesis beyond the boundaries of life.
• Whereas in 2019 , the Swedish Academy gave the nod to Austrian novelist Peter Handke which unleashed a flood of criticism, as many wondered how it could award a writer known for supporting Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic in the Balkan wars and playing down his army's atrocities.

FinCEN Files Leak Case

Why In News

• Recently the Indian newspaper 'Indian Express' has claimed that many Indian banks also have a suspicious role in the leaked FinCEN Files.

FinCEN files leak case

• After Panama Papers and Paradise Papers, another revelation has surfaced showing a long chain of questionable transactions internationally. The revelation, known as the FinCEN Files, has exposed the vulnerabilities of money laundering (legalizing illegal money) mechanisms around the world.
• FinCEN Files, more than 2500 confidential files leaked containing suspicious activity reports (SARs) sent by banks to US authorities between 2000 and 2017.
• FinCEN 's leaked files were shared by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists(ICIJ) and made public through newspapers and media organizations around the world. The same files have also been shared by Indian newspaper 'Indian Express', on the basis of which this newspaper has exposed many big cases of fraud.

Implications of FinCEN Files Leaking

• According to Indian newspaper 'Indian Express', FinCEN files have names of many big leaders, bureaucrats, businessmen etc. who have illegally transferred illegal money.
• The FinCEN Files not only include the names of well-known companies and influential and powerful people, but they have also brought many big banks of the world under question.
• The suspicious amount transferred from 2000 to 2017 is more than two trillion dollars. Incidentally, it includes the names of several big banks in both the public and private sectors of India. However, banks say that they themselves have submitted information about such transactions and activities to the regulators, so there is no reason to draw them into doubt.
• Banks say that the name of an account holder in Suspicious Activity Reports( SARs) is not considered as confirmation of crime, nor can that list be made the basis of legal action against the person or company concerned.
• On the other hand, experts say that it is not only the responsibility of banks to send reports to regulators. They are also responsible for identifying their account holders and not allowing them to be used for suspicious transactions. Fund transfer through these accounts continued to occur even after banks sent reports, the fact of the significance of the entire mechanism created to prevent the mobilization of money used for terrorist activities.

FinCEN

• Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is the leading US agency dealing with money laundering internationally.
• It was established in the year 1990.
• It comes under the United States Department of Treasury.
• Recently it has filed more than 2500 'Suspicious Activity Reports' (SARs) filed by banks.

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2020

IN NEWS

• American poet Louise Gluck won the 2020 Nobel Literature Prize on October 8, an unexpected choice known for themes of childhood and family life that draw inspiration from myths and classical motifs.

ABOUT

• Prof. Gluck, 77, was honored "for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal," the Academy said.
• Prof. Gluck won the Pulitzer Prize in 1993 for her collection "The Wild Iris" and the National Book Award for her latest collection, "Faithful and Virtuous Night", in 2014.
• She is the fourth woman to win the Nobel Literature Prize in the past decade — after Olga Tokarczuk, Svetlana Alexievich and Alice Munro — and only the 16th since the Nobel prizes were first awarded in 1901.
• Prof. Gluck would normally receive the Nobel from King Carl XVI Gustaf at a formal ceremony in Stockholm on December 10, the anniversary of the 1896 death of scientist Alfred Nobel who created the prizes in his last will and testament.

PRIZE

• The prestigious award comes with a gold medal and prize money of 10 million Swedish kronor (more than $1.1 million), courtesy of a bequest left 124 years ago by the prize’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. The amount was increased recently to adjust for inflation.

THE SWEDISH ACADEMY

• By the terms of Alfred Nobel’s will the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded by the Swedish Academy since 1901.The Swedish Academy was founded in 1786 by Swedish King Gustav III. The Academy is composed of 18 members whose tenure is for life.
• Known as “De Aderton” (The Eighteen), current members of the Academy include distinguished Swedish writers, linguists, literary scholars, historians and a prominent jurist. Its working body is the Nobel Committee, elected from among its members for a three-year term.

Indigenous Variety of ‘Calcium Nitrate’ & 'Boronated Calcium Nitrate'

IN NEWS

• Union Minister of State for Chemicals & Fertilizers and MoS ( I/c) for Shipping Shri Mansukh Mandaviya launched indigenous variety of Calcium Nitrate’ & 'Boronated Calcium Nitrate' manufactured by Gujrat State Fertilizers and Chemicals -GSFC India Ltd through video Conference .

ABOUT

• ‘Calcium Nitrate’ & 'Boronated Calcium Nitrate is being manufactured for the first time in India. Till now, it was imported from other countries.
• GSFC launched these two products in the retail market for the first time from Solan in Himachal Pradesh and Bhavnagar in Gujarat. Currently total production capacity of GSFC for these two products is 10,000 Metric Tons (MT) per year. Within three months, production is expected to increase to 15000 MT per year. The Minister was informed that GSFC plans to increase it to 30,000 MT in 9 to 12 months.
• This indigenous variety of calcium nitrate and Boronated calcium nitrate will provide a quality product in cheaper rate to the farmer community in the country than imported ones.
• The two products that were launched are of FCO grade and have been certified by a recognized laboratory of the Department of Fertilizers, Government of India.
• Till now these product were totally imported and for the first time company like, GSFC has taken the initiative to make it indigenously. There is no doubt that these products will be a great success in domestic market.
• Last year, around 1.25 lakh metric tons (1,23,000 tons) of Calcium Nitrate was imported in the country. Of this, 76% was imported from China and the rest from other countries like Norway and Israel. The total import value of this 1.25 Lakh Tons is Rs. 225 crore. The GSFC itself imported and sold 4600 MT last year.

USE OF THESE CHEMICALS

• Calcium nitrate is used as a water-soluble fertilizer in agriculture. In addition, this product is also used in wastewater treatment and to increase the strength of cement concrete.

Department of Posts Celebrates National Postal Week from 9th October, 2020 to 15th

IN NEWS

• 9 OCTOBER is World Post Day. World Post Day is observed every year on October 9. It marks the anniversary of the establishment of Universal Postal Union.
• On this occasion, Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications, Government of India is celebrating National Postal week. The 7-day celebration starts from today, 9th October, 2020 to 15th October, 2020.

ABOUT

• The Department of Posts (DoP), trading as India Post, is a government-operated postal system in India, which is a subsidiary of the Ministry of Communications.
• Generally called "the Post Office" in India, it is the most widely distributed postal system in the world.
• Warren Hastings had taken initiative under East India Company to start the Postal Service in India in 1688.
• It was initially established under the name “Company Mail”.
• The country has been divided into 23 postal circles, each circle headed by a Chief Postmaster General. Each circle is divided into regions, headed by a Postmaster General and comprising field units known as Divisions. These divisions are further divided into subdivisions.
• In addition to the 23 circles, there is a base circle to provide postal services to the Armed Forces of India headed by a director-general. One of the highest post offices in the world is in Hikkim, Himachal Pradesh operated by India Post at a height of 14,567 ft (4,440 m)

POSTS AND THE BRITISH RAJ (1858–1947)

• Postal life insurance began on 1 February 1884 .
• The Indian Telegraph Act, 1885
• The Indian Post Office Act, 1898,passed by the legislature on 22 March 1898, became effective on 1 July 1898 regulating postal service. It was preceded by Act III of 1882 and Act XVI of 1896.
• The Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933.
• The world's first official airmail flight took place in India on 18 February 1911, across the Ganges from Allahabad to Naini; included in the airmail was a letter to King George V of the United Kingdom.
• India Post inaugurated a floating post office in August 2011 at Dal Lake in Srinagar, Kashmir.

CONCLUSION

• Since India became independent in 1947, the postal service continues to function on a nationwide basis, providing a variety of services. The structure of the organization has the directorate at its apex; below it are circle offices, regional offices, the superintendent's offices, head post offices, sub-post offices and branch offices.