TAMIL NADU AFFAIRS

Artist’s Award

• The Tamil Nadu government has announced that film industry professionals who wish to receive the Kalaivitakar Award can apply by November 28.
• The ‘Kalaignar Memorial Kalaivitakar Award’ will be presented in the name of former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi to a lifetime achiever in the Tamil film industry from 2022.
• The recipient selected for this award will be given a prize money of Rs. 10 lakhs and a certificate of appreciation.
• Eligibility for the award: This award is given to those who have made outstanding contributions to the world of Tamil cinema such as actors, actresses, directors, producers, screenwriters, dialogue writers, music composers, lyricists, playback singers, cinematographers, film editors, art directors, sound engineers, stunt trainers, dance teachers, makeup artists and tailors.

Subsidy scheme for Farmers Welfare Service Centers

• The Chief Minister has announced that the Agriculture Department will launch the Chief Minister’s subsidy scheme for Farmers Welfare Service Centers in December.
• The Tamil Nadu government recently announced a scheme to provide 30 percent subsidy to 1,000 ‘Chief Minister’s Farmers Welfare Service Centers’ to benefit youth between the ages of 20 and 45 who have completed their agricultural degrees and diplomas.
• Under this scheme, 30 percent subsidy i.e. Rs. 3 lakh to Rs. 6 lakh will be provided to service centers set up at a cost of Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 20 lakh. A fund of Rs. 42 crore has been allocated for this.
• Under this scheme, detailed project reports were prepared and submitted to the banks for 973 beneficiaries among the applicants to get loans from banks.
• Of these, 413 have received bank loans so far.
• Appropriate training will be provided by the government for 15 days to effectively manage the welfare service centers.

Single Cell Omics’ Applied Research Laboratory

• IIT Madras is setting up the Single Cell Omics’ Applied Research Laboratory (SCOT) for Health Ecosystem with the help of Indian Railways Finance Corporation.
• IRFC has provided Rs. 10.83 crore to the Department of Medical Sciences and Technology, IIT Madras for setting up this laboratory, which will be the first of its kind in the country.
• The SCOT laboratory, equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, will facilitate early diagnosis, biomarker discovery and drug testing for cancer, heart disease, infection, inflammation, metabolism and other non-communicable diseases.

Rs. 50,000 monthly scholarship to conduct historical research on Tamil society

• The Higher Education Minister has announced that researchers who study rare documents of the Tamil Nadu Archives and uncover the glorious history of Tamil Nadu will be provided with a research scholarship of Rs. 50,000 per month for one year.
• Books from the year 1633 onwards in the Tamil Nadu Archives. Government department documents dating back to 1670 are being maintained.
• The Tamil Nadu Historical Research Council was started in 1973 with the aim of making everyone aware of the history of Tamil Nadu.
• It was announced in the Legislative Assembly that 10 to 15 studies will be conducted every year to keep it updated with the changing times.

VOC Port sets new record

• Thoothukudi VOC Chidambaranar Port has set a new record in handling cargo, said Port Authority Chairman Sushantha Kumar Purohit.
• VOC Port has handled 3.94 million tonnes of cargo and 75,110 DEUs in October this year alone.
• Compared to 3.55 million tonnes of cargo and 62,158 DEUs handled in October last year, these are 10.94 percent and 20.83 percent growth respectively.
• Cargo ship arriving at Thoothukudi Port. In the financial year 2025-26, the port has handled a total of 25.23 million tonnes of cargo and 5,03,204 DEUs till October.
• This is a 2.71 per cent increase in total cargo traffic to 24.56 million tonnes of cargo handled till October in the financial year 2024-25 and a 8.44 per cent increase in cargo volume to 4,64,060 TEUs.
• 1,064 vessels have been handled till October this year
• 1,004 vessels were handled during the same period last financial year.

Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam 

Handicrafts Development Department Award

• On behalf of the Handicrafts Development Corporation of the Government of Tamil Nadu, the Minister of Handicrafts Development Department honored 131 people selected as the best artisans with cash prizes, gold medals and certificates on 17.11.25.
• The Poompuhar Awards 2025 ceremony was held at a private hotel in Mamallapuram, Chengalpattu district, to present the best artisans from 38 districts of Tamil Nadu.

Poompuhar District Handicraft Award

• 131 people, including 70 women artisans, were awarded in 16 types of handicrafts from all districts of Tamil Nadu.

Ancient Port City Excavation in Egypt

• This is a news article about archaeologists joining an international team for excavations in the ancient port city of Perenike in Egypt.
• The aim is to find more evidence of ancient maritime trade links between the Tamils ​​and the Romans.
• Previous excavations at the site have already found pottery shards inscribed with Tamil-Brahmi scripts, which confirms these historical links
• Two archaeologists from Tamil Nadu have joined the excavation team at Berenike, Egypt.
• The project aims to find more evidence of ancient trade between the Tamils ​​and the Romans.
• Previous excavations at Red Sea ports such as Berenike and Qusayr al-Khadim have found pottery shards with Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions.
• The current excavation season is scheduled to continue until December 17