11 June 2016 Current Affairs
Indian Railways Launches Janani Sewa
The Union Ministry of Railways launched three passenger service initiatives viz. a Janani Sewa for mothers, optional catering in Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains on a pilot basis and a children’s menu on trains. These services were launched by Union Railways minister Suresh Prabhu on 8th June 2016 in New Delhi. Under this scheme hot milk, hot water and baby food will be available at railway stations. Initially on pilot basis this scheme will be available at 25 railway stations including New Delhi, Howrah, Mumbai, Chennai, Surat and Lucknow.
Akhil Sharma Won 2016 International Dublin Literary Award
Indian American author Akhil Sharma won the prestigious 2016 International Dublin Literary Award for his semi-autobiographical novel “Family Life.” Family Life is Sharma’s second novel and took him 13 years to write. The novel traces the journey of a family that emigrates from New Delhi to New York, where one brother is left severely brain-damaged after a tragedy strikes. Akhil Sharma Sharma was born in New Delhi. Later he had immigrated to US along with his family in 1979. His first novel was An Obedient Father published in 2000. It has won the prestigious PEN/Hemingway Foundation Award in 2001. The International Dublin Literary Award is an annual international literary award awarded for a novel written in English or translated into English.
Sikkim Launches Open Government Data Portal
Sikkim became the first state in India to have an open government data portal linked ‘sikkim.data.gov.in’. The portal was on 11 June launched by Lok Sabha MP, P D Rai and also launched Open Government Data Platform (Sikkim). The portal has been developed by Government of Sikkim’s Information Technology Department and NIC team from Delhi. The open government data portal facilitates free use, reuse and redistribution of data produced or commissioned by the government or government controlled entities by anyone.
Veteran journalist Inder Malhotra Died
Veteran journalist and Indian Express columnist Inder Malhotra passed away in Delhi on 11 June 2016. He was 86. Malhotra worked as the resident editor of The Statesman in New Delhi from 1965 to 1971.He held the position of editor at The Times of India from 1978 to 1986.Since 1986, he had been a syndicated columnist for numerous dailies and periodicals in India and abroad. In 1991, he authored a political and personal biography of Indira Gandhi. He received the Ramnath Goenka Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013.