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Pravaah Institute of Competitive Examinations
www.pravaahedu.com Sahna Vaidya
CURRENT AFFAIRS.
AUGUST 2019
Awards &Honours
DAY-NULM conferred SKOCH Governance Gold Award
Deendayan Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods
Mission (DAY-NULM), a flagship mission under the
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has been conferred
the prestigious SKOCH Governance Gold Award.
It was awarded for its Portal for Affordable Credit and
Interest Subvention Access (PAiSA).
PAiSA is a centralized IT platform which was launched in
November 2018.
PM Modi presented Yoga Awards
PM Narendra Modi presented Yoga Awards to the winners
for Outstanding Contribution for Promotion and
Development of Yoga in New Delhi on 30 August 2019.
He also released 12 commemorative postal stamps to
honour eminent scholars, practitioners and Great Master
Healers of AYUSH Systems.
Japan Yoga Niketan and Bihar School of Yoga
were awarded in the institutional category.
ONGC CMD honoured with Distinguished F'ship
ONGC CMD Shashi Shanker was honoured with the
Distinguished Fellowship of the Institute of Directors (IOD)
2019.
He was honoured during the 29th Institute of Directors
(IOD) Annual Day Ceremony for his distinguished
contribution to business and society.
The theme of this year’s IOD Annual Day Ceremony was
‘Future Boards: Leading Strategy to Embrace
Sustainability’.
‘I’m Jeeja’ won award at We Care Film Festival
Indian documentary film I’m Jeeja won the award at the
14th edition of the ‘We Care Film Festival on Disability
Issues’.
It won the award in the ‘Under 30 minute’ category.
The documentary directed by Swati Chakraborty attempts
to explore the lives and battles of people living with the
disability.
Another Indian film 'Post Dark' received a jury mention in
‘Under 5 minutes’ category.
Tenzing Norgay National Award 2018 Announced
Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards are given
every year to recognize the achievements of persons in the
fields of adventure.
The award is given in 4 categories namely, Land
Adventure, Water Adventure, Air Adventure and Life Time
Achievement.
The awardees will receive their awards from the President
of India along with other Sports Awardees at the
Rashtrapati Bhawan on 29 August, 2019.
Prabhakar Singh chosen for Engineer Award
Prabhakar Singh, DG, CPWD has been chosen for the
‘Eminent Engineer Award for the Year 2019’ by the
Institution of Engineers (India).
He will be awarded for his distinguished and exemplary
Service in the field of Engineering and Technology.
This Elite and Prestigious Award shall be conferred to him
on the ‘Engineers Day’ on September 15, 2019, in New
Delhi.
Vivek Menon wins Clark Bavin Award
Conservationist Vivek Menon, head of Delhi-based
conservation non-profit, Wildlife Trust of India was
awarded the prestigious Clark R Bavin Wildlife Law
Enforcement Award for the year 2019 on 20 August 2019
in Geneva.
He was presented the award by Ivonne Higuero, the
secretary-general of the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
Smart Policing Awards presented
Haryana Police received two Smart Policing awards-2019
instituted by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce
and Industry (FICCI) in a function held in New Delhi on 23
August 2019.
Haryana Police was awarded for best practices under ‘Apki
Sangini’ in the category of community policing.
35 Smart Policing awards were given to the officers for
working in the areas of child safety, etc.
POSHAN Abhiyaan Awards conferred
Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti
Irani gave away the Poshan Abhiyaan Awards for the year
2018-19 in different categories on 23 August 2019.
The awards were given to the States, Districts, Blocks and
Anganwadi Workers for their contributions in scaling up
the Abhiyaan and ensuring that it reaches every household
in the country.
PM Modi to be honoured with the order of Zayed
Prime Minister Modi arrived in UAE on 23 August 2019 in
the second leg of his tour.
This is the third visit of PM Modi to UAE in four years.
During the two day visit, the Prime Minister will be
honoured with the highest national award of UAE - the
order of Zayed.
The Highest National Award to PM Modi is a mark of
special relationship between India and UAE.
Meeta Narain conferred the Pushkin Medal 2019
JNU Professor Meeta Narain was conferred the ‘Pushkin
Medal – 2019’.
This award is the highest honour given to an Indian scholar
by the Russian government.
Pushkin Medal is given to a scholar of Russian language
and literature for outstanding contribution to Russian
studies abroad.
She was awarded the medal at an event organised at the
Russian Center for Science and Culture.
Winners- National Sports Awards 2019
Bajrang Punia and Deepa Malik won Rajiv Gandhi Khel
Ratna Award for wrestling and para athletics respectively.
6 Dronacharya awards were presented to
coaches including Vimal Kumar and Sandeep Gupta.
19 awardee were presented Arjuna Awards including
Ravindra Jadeja and Anjum Moudgil.
Dhyanchand Awards were conferred upon 5 including
Manuel Fredricks and Manoj Kumar.
National Sports Awards 2019
Selection Committee for the Sports Awards 2019 has
announced the National Sports Awards 2019.
National Sports Awards are given every year to recognize
and reward excellence in sports.
The awardees will receive their awards from the President of
India at a specially organized function at the Rashtrapati
Bhawan.
Selection Committee was headed by Justice Mukundakam
Sharma.
IIT-Delhi won start-up award
An IIT-Delhi-incubated start-up working on the design and
development of inclusive learning resources for visually
impaired people won the award for developing a
multisensory kit.
The device narrates the content in the picture when a
visually impaired person touches it.
Ankita Gulati, founder of TouchVision was awarded the
NCPEDP-Mphasis Universal Design Award 2019.
100 Years of Chrysostum
A function was held to celebrate the Guinness Book of
World Records entry of 100 Years of Chrysostum.
It is a biographical documentary on Metropolitan Emeritus
of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar,
Philipose Mar Chrysostum.
The documentary has found an entry in the Guinness Book
as the longest documentary film.
It was scripted and directed by filmmaker Blessy.
Rajdeep Sardesai bags Prem Bhatia Award
Veteran journalist Rajdeep Sardesai has been awarded the
2019 Prem Bhatia Award for Outstanding Political
Reporting.
The annual award was established in the memory of
veteran journalist Prem Bhatia, who was well known for
his political reporting.
The 2019 award for environmental reporting went to
Down to Earth's Ishan Kukreti and independent journalist
Sharada Balasubramanian.
12-year-old Karnataka boy awarded
A 12-year-old boy in Karnataka has been awarded for
bravery for guiding an ambulance, which was deeply stuck
over a flooded bridge after incessant rainfall in the area.
Venkatesh was awarded by the Raichur District Collector
for helping the driver take his ambulance out of the
flooded bridge safely.
Karnataka CM - B. S. Yediyurappa.
Karnataka Governor - Vajubhai Vala
Short film by Indian Railways won award
A short-film –'Madhubani- The Station of Colours', bagged
the ‘Rajat-Kamal’ award at the 66th National Film Awards
for 2018.
It narrates the beautification of a remote railway station
belonging to the East Central Railway (ECR).
The Madhubani railway station located in a remote part of
Madhubani district of Bihar was earlier ranked as the
country’s second most dirty railway station.
ISRO chairman conferred APJ Abdul Kalam Award
Chairman of ISRO K. Sivan was awarded Tamil Nadu
government’s Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Award on 15 August
2019.
Under his leadership, the organisation launched its
Chandrayaan-2 mission.
Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami handed over the
State government’s Kalpana Chawla Award for Courage
and Daring Enterprise to P. Ramyalakshmi, Assistant
Director of Fisheries posted in Cuddalore.
President awarded scholars
The President awarded the Certificate of Honour to
the scholars of Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, Pali, Prakrit,
Classical Kannada, Classical Telugu, Classical Malayalam
and Classical Odiya for 2019.
The distinction is conferred once a year on the
Independence Day in recognition of substantial
contribution in field of these languages.
The Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Samman was also
announced.
Gallantry awards conferred
President Ram Nath Kovind approved 132 Awards to
Armed Forces Personnel and members of Paramilitary
Forces.
The awards include two Kirti Chakras, one Vir Chakra, 14
Shaurya Chakras, eight Bar to Sena Medals (Gallantry), 90
Sena Medals (Gallantry), five Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry),
seven Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry) and five Yudh Seva
Medals.
The Army has been awarded 8Shaurya Chakra awards.
Medal of excellence to 96 police personnel
96 police personnel, including 15 Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) officers, have been awarded the Union
Home Minister's Medal for Excellence in Investigation for
2019.
11 are from Maharashtra Police, 10 are from UP Police, 9
are from Kerala Police, 8 are from Madhya Pradesh Police,
6 are from Delhi Police and Karnataka Police.
The recipients also include 13 women officers.
Wg Cdr Abhinandan honoured with Vir Chakra
Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman has been
conferred the Vir Chakra, India's third-highest war time
gallantry medal.
The defence ministry announced the military awards on
the eve of Independence Day celebrations.
From the Army, Sapper Prakash Jadhav of the Rashtriya
Rifles will be posthumously awarded Kirti Chakra, the
second highest peacetime gallantry award.
National Youth Awards conferred
The Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports Kiren Rijiju
conferred the National Youth Awards on 12 August 2019.
They were conferred upon individuals and organizations
for excellent work and contribution in different fields of
development and social service.
During the National Youth Awards Function he also
inaugurated a Photo Exhibition on China through Eyes of
Indian Youth - 2019.
French envoy confers Indian chef
French Ambassador to India Alexandre Ziegler conferred
Indian chef Priyam Chatterjee with the distinction of
Chevalier de I'Ordre du Merite Agricole, also known as the
Order of Agricultural Merit on August 12, 2019.
He is the first Indian chef to be conferred this honour.
He is known to honour French cuisine by revisiting the
traditional dishes of his native place.
Gujarati Film Hellaro won Best Feature Film
Gujarati Film Hellaro wins the best feature film at the 66th
National Films Awards.
Keerthy Suresh wins the best Actress award
Sanjay Leela Bhansali won Best Music Direction (Songs)
award for Padmaavat.
Uttarakhand won the National Award for most film
friendly state.
‘The World's Most Famous Tiger' won the Best
Environment Film award.
Andhadhun won Best Hindi Film award.
66th National Film Awards for 2018 announced
The 66th National Film Awards were announced on 9
August 2019.
Ayushman Khurana and Vicky Kaushal jointly won Best
Actor Award for their performances in ‘Andhadhun’ and
‘Uri: The Surgical Strike’. ‘
'Badhai Ho’ bagged the award for Best Popular Film
Providing Wholesome Entertainment.
Hindi movie ‘Padman’ was declared Best Film on Social
Issues.
MS Swamianathan award to Kenneth M Quinn
The Rotary Club of Madras East conferred the MS
Swamianathan Award for Environment Protection upon
Kenneth M Quinn, President of the World Food Prize
Foundation.
The award was presented for his contribution to global
food security and sustainability.
Quinn is globally renowned for his works on Food &
Agriculture with a particular focus on the supply of
nutritious food.
Awards and Honours
The NITI Aayog launched the 4th Edition of Women
Transforming India (WTI) Awards on 9 August 2019. The
theme for 2019 is ‘Women and Entrepreneurship’.
The 4th edition of the National Entrepreneurship Awards,
instituted to recognize and encourage outstanding Indian
Entrepreneurs by the Ministry of Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has been announced.
ISRO announced Vikram Sarabhai Award
ISRO has announced its Vikram Sarabhai Journalism
Award in Space Science, Technology and Research.
It recognizes and rewards journalists who have actively
contributed towards the field of space science,
applications, and research.
The articles published from 2019 to 2020 will be
considered.
The nominations are open to all Indians who have a good
experience in journalism.
Pranab Mukherjee honoured with Bharat Ratna
Former President Pranab Mukherjee, was honoured with
India's highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna.
He served as India's 13th President from 2012-2017, prior
to this he also served as the Union Finance Minister from
2009 to 2012.
The other Presidents, who had been conferred the Bharat
Ratna include Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, Rajendra Prasad, Zakir
Hussain and V.V. Giri.
PMAY(U) Awards for Beneficiaries instituted
Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs has instituted
PMAY(U) Awards for Beneficiaries for the first time to
recognise the contribution of States/UTs, Urban Local
Bodies and Beneficiaries.
This award is in addition to CLSS Award for recognising the
contribution of PMAY (U) Banks and Housing Finance
Companies.
The winners will be awarded during a National level Event.
Order of Merit given to Indian President
President Ram Nath Kovind has been awarded the
National order of Merit by the President of Guinea.
He was awarded for his exceptional contribution to the
advancement of overall relations and development of
mutual cooperation between India and Guinea.
This is the highest award of Republic of Guinea.
Three MoUs were also signed between the two countries.
Ravish Kumar won Ramon Magsaysay award 2019
Indian journalist Ravish Kumar has been awarded the 2019
Ramon Magsaysay Award for harnessing journalism to give
voice to the voiceless.
The award was started in 1957 and celebrates the
leadership example of the former Philippine President
Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay.
The awardees are presented with a medallion with a right
side facing profile image of Ramon Magsaysay and a
certificate.
States & Districts felicitated under BBBP
The Union Ministry of Women and Child
Development felicitated those Districts and States who
have successfully implemented the Beti Bachao Beti
Padhao (BBBP)scheme in the country.
The function was held on 7th August, 2019 in New Delhi.
The BBBP scheme launched on 22 January 2015 has been
implemented in phases.
Currently, it is being implemented in 640 districts (as per
census 2011).
Priya receives 'Indian Woman influence award'
Eminent fashionista, social entrepreneur and
philanthropist Priya Priyadarshini Jain has been felicitated
with the prestigious 'Indian Woman of Influence' award at
the House of Lords, the United Kingdom Parliament,
London.
The award recognised the power of Indian women residing
in different parts of the world.
This award assures that women are the leaders in their
respective fields.
Days & Events
Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances
UN observes 30 August every year as International Day of
the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.
The day is observed to prevent enforced disappearances
and bring to justice those responsible, as enforced
disappearance has frequently been used as a strategy to
spread terror within the society.
2011 marked the inaugural commemoration of this day.
International Day Against Nuclear Tests
UN observes International Day Against Nuclear Tests on 29
August every year.
It is observed to increase awareness about the effects of
nuclear weapon test explosions or any other nuclear
explosions and the need for their cessation as one of the
means of achieving the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free
world.
2010 marked the inaugural commemoration of the
International Day against Nuclear Tests.
National Sports Day: 29 August
National Sports Day 2019 is being celebrated on 29
August across India.
It marks the birth anniversary of the legendary hockey
player Major Dhyan Chand, who was born on August 29 in
the year 1905.
The day is observed every year to spread awareness about
the importance of sports and games in the life of every
individual.
29 August was proclaimed as the country’s National Sports
Day in 2012.
Int. Day for the Remembrance of Slave Trade
International Affairs
United Nations observes 23 August every year as
International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade
and its Abolition.
The Day is observed to inscribe the tragedy of the slave
trade in the memory of all peoples.
The day was designated by UNESCO to memorialize the
transatlantic slave trade.
Headquarters of United Nations: New York, USA
Founded: 24 October 1945.
Int. Day Commemorating the Victims of Violence
United Nations observes 22 August every year as
International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of
Violence Based on Religion or Belief.
The day is observed to strongly condemn continuing
violence and acts of terrorism targeting individuals,
including persons belonging to religious minorities, on the
basis of or in the name of religion or belief.
International Day of Remembrance: 21 August
United Nations observes 21 August every year as
International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the
Victims of Terrorism.
This year, the 2nd commemoration of the day focused on
the resilience of victims and their families.
A photographic exhibition was launched on August 21,
2019, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to
observe the day.
World Humanitarian Day: 19 August
World Humanitarian Day is observed across the world on
August 19 to pay tribute to workers who risk their lives in
humanitarian services and to gather support for people
affected by crises around the world.
The day was designated by the UN General Assembly to
commemorate the 19 August 2003 bombing of the United
Nations headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq.
WHD 2019 campaign: #WomenHumanitarians.
International Youth Day: 12 August
The International Youth Day 2019 is observed across the
world on 12 August.
The theme for 2019 is Transforming education.
International Youth Day 2019 will examine how
Governments, young people and youth-led and youth-
focused organizations, as well as other stakeholders, are
transforming education so that it becomes a powerful tool
to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
World Biofuel Day: 10 August
World Biofuel Day is observed every year on 10th of
August.
It is observed to create awareness about the importance of
non-fossil fuels as an alternative to conventional fossil
fuels and highlight the various efforts made by
Government in the biofuel sector.
The theme of the World Biofuel Day 2019 is Production of
Biodiesel from Used Cooking Oil (UCO).
Int Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
United Nations observes 9th August every year as
International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.
The day is celebrated to raise awareness of the needs of
these population groups.
This year’s observance is dedicated to Indigenous Peoples’
Languages in view of 2019 being marked as the
International Year of Indigenous Languages.
The theme for the year 2019 is Indigenous Languages.
5th National Handloom Day: 7 August
The 5th National Handloom Day was celebrated on 7
August across the country.
The day is observed annually to honour the handloom
weavers in the country and also highlight India’s handloom
industry.
The first National Handloom Day was inaugurated on 7th
August 2015 by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, at the
centenary of Madras University in Chennai.
World Breastfeeding Week- 1 to 7 August
The World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is being observed
from 1st to 7th August 2019.
The Food and Nutrition Board, Ministry of Women and
Child Development, is organizing a number of activities on
the theme 'Empower Parents, Enable Breastfeeding'.
The focus this year is on protection, promotion, and
support of breastfeeding.
Trump to launch Space Command
US President Donald Trump announced that it is to launch
the space Command to defend America's interests in the
next war-fighting domain.
The US is to unveil the new Space Command called
SPACECOM.
It will be the US's 6th branch of the military, U.S. Space
Force, for space defense.
SPACECOM is expected to defend America's vital interests
in space in the next warfighting domain.
Peru proposes emergency Amazon summit
Peru and Colombia have proposed an emergency Amazon
summit for countries in the region on September 6,
2019 in Colombia to protect the vast rainforest.
The Summit's aim is to establish a pact to conserve,
develop and sustainably use the Amazon rainforest while
also benefitting the communities that live there.
No mention, however, was made of which other countries
would be invited.
Serbia becomes 73rd country to join AIIB
Serbia officially became the 73rd non-regional member of
the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
The membership allows the country access to favourable
loans for priority projects.
The AIIB started operations in 2016, and besides Serbia,
non-regional members included Great Britain, Germany,
France, Italy, Spain and other.
Abdalla Hamdok appointed as PM of Sudan
Sudan has appointed a new prime minister as the country
embarks on a three-year transition to civilian rule.
His appointment comes as Lt-Gen Abdel Fattah
Abdelrahman Burhan was sworn in as leader of the new
Sovereign Council.
The new Sovereign Council replaces the Transitional
Military Council (TMC) that took charge after the Islamist
ruler was toppled after mass protests.
Iran unveiled new missile defence system
Iran has unveiled new missile defence system Bavar-373.
This is also Iran’s first domestically produced long-range
missile defence system which has been inducted into the
country’s missile defence network.
The system was unveiled at an occasion of Iran’s National
Defense Industry Day.
With a range of more than 200km, the long-range missile
system is suited to the country's geography.
Pakistan blacklisted by Asia-Pacific Group
The Asia-Pacific Group of the global watchdog for terror
financing and money laundering has put Pakistan in the
Enhanced Expedited Follow Up List for its failure to meet
its standards.
Pakistan was non-compliant on 32 of the 40 compliance
parameters of terror financing and money laundering.
On 11 parameters of terror financing and money
laundering, Pakistan was adjudged as low on 10.
Okjokull glacier commemorated with plaque
In Iceland, people gathered to commemorate the loss of
the glacier Okjokull, which was officially declared dead in
2014 at the age of 700.
The glacier was officially declared dead by the Icelandic
Meteorological Office when it was no longer thick enough
to move.
What once was glacier has been reduced to a small patch
of ice.
The people will lay a plaque which carries a letter to the
future.
World’s first negative interest rate mortgage
Denmark’s third-largest, Jyske Bank, launched the world’s
first negative interest rate mortgage – handing out loans to
homeowners where the charge is minus 0.5% a year.
Negative interest rates effectively mean that a bank pays a
borrower to take money off their hands, so they pay back
less than they have been loaned.
Anders Dam is the CEO of Jyske Bank.
China launches rocket for commercial use-CCTV
A Chinese government space agency successfully launched
on 17 August 2019 its first rocket meant for commercial
use.
Smart Dragon-1 rocket, which weighs 23 tonnes and was
developed by a unit of China Aerospace Science and
Technology Corp.
China envisions constellations of commercial satellites that
can offer services ranging from high-speed internet for
aircraft to tracking coal shipments.
Iran unveils 3 new precision-guided missiles
Iran unveiled three precision-guided missiles on 6 August
2019.
The new line-up of air-to-air missiles are named as the
'Yasin', 'Balaban' and 'Ghaem' and was developed jointly
by the ministry and Sa Iran, also known as Iran Electronics
Industries.
The Yasin is a guided-missile with folding wings that can be
fired from a range of 50 kilometres of its target from
manned or unmanned aircraft.
PNG has most number of languages
The Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea (PNG) has
the highest number of 'living' indigenous languages in the
world (840), while India stands fourth with 453.
2019 is the United Nations' International Year of
Indigenous Languages.
Ethnologue, a directory of languages, lists 7,111 living
languages worldwide.
Chinese, Spanish, English, Hindi and Arabic are the widely
spoken languages.
US designated China as currency manipulator
The US has designated China a currency manipulator.
China is intent on continuing to receive the hundreds of
Billions of Dollars they have been taking from the US with
unfair trade practices and currency manipulation.
China has a long history of facilitating an undervalued
currency through protracted, large-scale intervention in
the foreign exchange market.
Aman announced new destination
Aman announced its forthcoming debut in the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia in 2023.
Following a partnership with the Royal Commission for
AlUla (RCU), Aman will develop three distinct resorts of
architectural excellence in North West Saudi Arabia, in
AlUla, a place of extraordinary natural and human
heritage.
The 3 resorts will offer an incomparable insight into the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
French inventor crossed English Channel
French inventor Franky Zapata is 1st person in history to
cross the English Channel on Flyboard Air, a jet-powered
hoverboard.
Zapata completed the crossing in 22 minutes, reaching
speeds of up to 110mph (177km/h) flying 15-20 metres
(50-65ft) above the water.
Zapata made the 35-kilometre (21.5 miles) crossing from
the French seaside town of Sangatte to St. Margaret’s Bay
in Dover, England.
Israel 'Successfully Tests' Arrow 3 Missile
Israel successfully conducted a series of tests of the Arrow 3
missile defense system in Alaska, in cooperation with the
American Missile Defense Agency (MDA).
This is the first time the Arrow 3 system managed to
intercept a real missile, one that simulated a ballistic
missile.
The Arrow 3 is meant to intercept ballistic missiles outside
the atmosphere.
Nigeria to join coalition to save pollinators
Nigeria became the fourth African country to join the
Global Coalition of the Willing on Pollinators on 25 July
2019.
Ethiopia was the first African nation to join the coalition in
2017.
The organisation was formed to follow up on the findings
of IPBES Assessment on Pollinators, Pollination and Food
Production, which found that many of the world’s
pollinator species are on the decline.
Netherlands banned face-covering clothing
The Netherlands banned face-covering clothing, such as a
burqa or niqab, in public buildings and on transport as a
contentious law on the garment came into force.
Between 100 and 400 women are estimated to wear a
burqa or niqab in the European country of 17 million
people.
The legislation also applies to other face coverings such as
full-face helmets, balaclavas or ski mask.
52nd ASEAN summit held
Foreign Ministers from South East Asia are attending the
52nd ASEAN summit in Bangkok.
ASEAN also plays host to a series of foreign ministers from
key strategic and dialogue partners, including US, China
and Russia.
ASEAN leaders at their summit meeting in June adopted an
Indo-Pacific engagement framework that sought to keep on
the good side of both Washington and Beijing.
Books & Authors
Book on Flipkart to release in October
Big Billion Startup, a book on Flipkart will be (Pan
Macmillan India), releasing in October 2019.
It is the riveting and revealing account of how the Bansals
built and sold India's largest internet company.
Established in October 2007, Flipkart began as an online
bookstore and soon came to be known for its ‘customer
obsession'.
Founders: Sachin Bansal, Binny
Bansal Books and Authors
The Story of Babri Masjid (Babri Masjid ki Kahani), a
pictorial history book in English, Hindi and Urdu was
released in New Delhi on 20 August 2019. Advocate A.
Mohammad Yusuf released the book on Babri Masjid.
At the same event, two other relevant books Warriors of
Malabar: Muslim Religious Scholars (English) and Badr:
Lessons of the Battle (English) were also released.
'Second Night' Novel launched
Former diplomat Rajiv Dogra's third novel 'Second Night'
was launched on 16 August 2019.
He has penned two books on Indo-Pak relations and the
Durand Line.
He was India's Ambassador to Italy and Romania.
'Second Night', published by Rupa, is about a woman
determined to escape and a man who has vowed to find
her.
It is a story of friendship, love and loss.
Penguin announced book on Sridevi
On cinema legend Sridevi's 56th birth anniversary, Penguin
Random House India have announced a book on the life of
the actor.
The book, titled 'Sridevi: Girl Woman Superstar', is written
by author-screenwriter Satyarth Nayak and approved by
the actor's producer husband Boney Kapoor.
The book will be published under the Ebury Press imprint
of Penguin Random House in October 2019.
Amit Shah launched book based on Vice President
Union Minister for Home Affairs, Amit Shah launched the
book ‘Listening, Learning and Leading’ in Chennai on 11
August 2019.
This book is based on Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah
Naidu’s 2 years in office.
The book captures glimpses of his 330 public engagements
across the country during this period.
It gives a glimpse of his life after assuming the office of the
Vice President.
Personalities in News
Harish Chandra: Acting CJ of Jharkhand HC
The Government has notified the appointment of Justice
Harish Chandra Mishra as the Acting Chief Justice of the
Jharkhand High Court.
The appointment was made in view of the demise of
Acting Chief Justice Prashant Kumar.
Justice Mishra commenced his practice at the Patna High
Court, dealing with both civil and criminal matters.
Justice Prashant Kumar passed away on 30 August 2019.
Amrita Pritam honoured by Google Doodle
Google doodle honoured Punjabi poetess Amrita Pritam
with a doodle, marking her 100th birthday.
A renowned poetess, Amrita was born on 31 August 1919
in Gujranwala, Punjab of British India, which now fall in
Pakistan.
Amrita is considered a path-breaking woman, who rose to
fame with her literary works like Pinjar, Suneray and
Nagmani.
Person in news
Rating agency Moody’s Indian arm ICRA terminated its
Managing Director (MD) and Group Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) Naresh Takkar’s employment.
Veteran actor Nimu Bhowmik who essayed major
character roles in Bengali classics such as 'Ganadebata',
'Baghini' and 'Dadar Kirti' passed away in August 2019. His
last film, 'Dash Mash Das Diner Galpo', was released last
month.
Person in news
Ajantha Mendis, the mystery spinner from Sri
Lanka, announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.
He played 19 Tests, 87 ODIs and 39 T20Is for Sri Lanka,
taking 70 Test wickets, 152 ODI wickets and 66 T20I
wickets.
Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has selected
Pramod Agarwal as the next chairman of Coal India. He will
take over after the present chairman A K Jha.
Person in News
Former human rights lawyer Lionel Aingimea won the
presidential election of the pacific nation Nauru by
defeating his rival David Adeang by 12-6 votes. He is now
the 15th President of Nauru succeeding the outgoing
President Baron Waqa.
The tenure of CBDT Chairman P C Mody has been
extended by an year. Mody, took over as the Central Board
of Direct Taxation (CBDT) chief in February 2019.
Person in News
West Indies pacer Cecil Wright announced his retirement
from all forms of cricket at old age of 85. He claims to have
played over two million games taking over 7,000 wickets in
professional cricket.
Former Manchester United forward player Eric Cantona
will be honoured with the 2019 UEFA President’s Award.
The award recognises outstanding achievements and
professional excellence of the player.
Person in News
Mobil India has announced its association with wrestling
champion Bajrang Punia as the new brand ambassador for
its commercial vehicle lubricants’ segment.
Veteran batsman-wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik was named
captain of the Tamil Nadu team for the upcoming Vijay
Hazare Trophy. This was announced by the Tamil Nadu
Cricket Association's (TNCA) State Senior Selection
Committee.
Person in News
Ferdinand Piech, Volkswagen AG's former chairman and
chief executive passed away in August 2019. During his
nine-year tenure Piech turned a loss equivalent of 1 billion
euros into a 2.6 billion euro profit.
Noida-based digital payments company Paytm has
appointed ex-Goldman Sachs executive Amit Nayyar as a
president of the company, in a bid to strengthen its
leadership team.
PV Sindhu created history at WBC
P V Sindhu became the first Indian to win badminton
World Championships gold on 25 August 2019.
She beat Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in the final.
It was Sindhu’s fifth World Championships medal.
Sindhu has also won an Olympic silver in 2016 Rio Games,
a silver at Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, an Asian
Games silver at Jakarta and the BWF World Tour Finals in
2019.
Person in News
Suparna Singh, interim CEO of NDTV has resigned with
immediate effect. She became interim CEO of NDTV in
2017 with a approval from the Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting.
One of the political luminaries of the country Professor
Muzaffar Ahmed passed away in August 2019. He was the
president of Bangladesh National Awami Party (Pro-
Moscow NAP) for over five decades.
Akshay Kumar: World's 4th highest paid actor
Actor Akshay Kumar has made it to the fourth position on
the Forbes magazine’s Worlds Highest-Paid Actors Of 2019
list.
Akshay has raked in $65 million.
Hollywood star Dwayne ‘Rock’ Johnson tops the Forbes list
of the 10 highest-paid actors collecting $89.4 million
between June 1, 2018, and June 1, 2019.
Chris Hemsworth and Robert Downey Jr. are at 2nd and
3rd respectively.
P. Chidambaram arrested in corruption case
CBI arrested India's former finance minister,
P. Chidambaram, on suspicion of involvement in
corruption and money laundering.
This came a day after the Delhi High Court rejected his
application to seek exemption from arrest.
The CBI and Enforcement Directorate have alleged that
Chidambaram was involved in money laundering and
conspired around the approval of a telecommunications
deal in 2006
Person in News
The Bangladesh Cricket Board appointed former South
African Coach Russel Domingo as the Head Coach for the
national cricket team. Russel Domingo has served as the
Head Coach for South Africa’s T20 side in 2012.
Doordarshan Anchor and Nari Shakti Award Winner
Neelum Sharma passed away in August 2019. She was
known for her programmes like ‘Tejaswini’ and ‘Badi
Charcha’.
Virat Kohli: 1st batsman to score 20,000 runs
Indian captain Virat Kohli has become the first batsman to
score 20,000 international runs in a single decade.
Kohli has aggregated 20,502 runs across three formats out
of which he has scored 20,018 in the ongoing decade.
Kohli made his Test and T20 Internationals debut in 2010.
He had already scored 484 runs in ODI cricket after making
his debut in 2008.
Wesley Sneijder announced retirement
The Netherlands' player Wesley Sneijder announced his
retirement from football, bringing down the curtain on a
trophy-laden career that spanned 17 years.
He played 134 times for his country.
His displays earned him the Silver Ball for the
tournament's second best player behind Uruguay's Diego
Forlan.
He made his international debut in 2003 and picked up a
World Cup runners-up medal in 2010.
Person in News
As Reliance Industries (RIL) held its 42nd Annual General
Meeting, one of its veteran board members and the first
independent director of the company M.L. Bhakta retired.
He has been on the RIL board since 1977.
Fitness and lifestyle brand Reebok recently announced
Varun Dhawan as its new brand ambassador.
Person in News
Former judge of the Supreme Court of India, Justice
Madan Lokur moved up taking oath as a judge of the
Supreme Court of Fiji. He retired as Supreme Court judge
on December 31, 2018, after a tenure of more than 6
years.
Guatemalans have voted in Alejandro Giammattei of the
Vamos party as the country's next president. He had spent
several months in prison in 2008.
Freedom fighter Dayanidhi Nayak passed away
Freedom fighter Dayanidhi Nayak, who struggled against
the British Government during the Quit India movement
passed away in August 2019.
One of the 32 freedom fighters from Panimora, he joined
the Quit India movement against the British government
and was a devout follower of Mahatma Gandhi.
He was one of the last two surviving of the 32 foot soldiers
from Panimora.
Person in News
Senior Advocate and former Additional Solicitor General
Amarendra Sharan passed away in August 2019. He
enrolled with the Bihar State Bar Council in 1975 and
started practice in Patna High Court.
India's Congress party appointed Sonia Gandhi to serve as
interim president until it elects a new party chief. The
party accepted the resignation of Rahul Gandhi, who quit
in July 2019.
Valentina: Green Ambassador of Manipur
Valentina Elangbam, a 9-year-old girl from Manipur, has
been appointed as the brand ambassador for the Chief
Minister's Green Manipur Mission.
The young child was seen weeping profusely in a viral
video after two trees that she had planted were cut down.
She will be involved with several government-sponsored
tree plantation programmes that include World
Environment Day and Van Mahotsava.
SBI extended tenure of MD by 2 years
SBI has extended the term of office of its Managing
Director Dinesh Kumar Khara for further period of two
years.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the
proposal of the Department of Financial Services for
extension of his tenure.
He was appointed MD of SBI on 10 August 2016 for a
period of three years which was extendable by two years
after review of his performance.
Person in News I
Actor Steve Coogan will be felicitated with the Charlie
Chaplin Award by the British Academy's Los Angeles
branch. He will receive the honour during the 2019
Britannia Awards.
Nobel Prize-winning US author Toni Morrison passed away
in August 2019. In 1993, Morrison won the Nobel Prize for
Literature. Her 1987 novel 'Beloved' earned her a Pulitzer
Prize.
Person in News II
State-owned Power Grid Corporation Director (Finance)
Kandikuppa Sreekant assumed the charge of the chairman
and managing director of Power Grid Corporation of India.
Legendary Uruguay striker Diego Forlan has announced his
retirement from professional football. He had won the
Golden Ball award after being adjudged the best player of
the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Naaz Joshi won Miss World Diversity title
India's transsexual woman Naaz Joshi has made
history with a third successive victory in the beauty
pageant Miss World Diversity.
Naaz was crowned Miss World Diversity 2019 on August 3
in Port Louis, Mauritius.
The Miss World Diversity 2019 was held in Port Louis,
Mauritius.
Person in News
Former Padma Shri award winner and educationist
Rajalakshmi Parthasarathy passed away in August 2019.
She received the Padma Shri award in 2010 for her
contribution to the field of education.
Australia’s reigning world-champion hurdler Sally Pearson
announced her surprise retirement due to injury. She is an
Olympic gold-medallist in 2012 and 2-time world
champion over 100 metres hurdles.
French inventor crossed English Channel
French inventor Franky Zapata is 1st person in history to
cross the English Channel on Flyboard Air, a jet-powered
hoverboard.
Zapata completed the crossing in 22 minutes, reaching
speeds of up to 110mph (177km/h) flying 15-20 metres
(50-65ft) above the water.
Zapata made the 35-kilometre (21.5 miles) crossing from
the French seaside town of Sangatte to St. Margaret’s Bay
in Dover, England.
Person in News
Congress's Rajya Sabha MP and chief whip Bhubaneshwar
Kalita resigned from the membership of the House
opposing the party's stand on the abrogation of Article
370.
South African bowler Dale Steyn announced his retirement
from Test cricket. He has played 93 Tests for South Africa,
finishing with 439 wickets, the most in the long format by a
South African bowler.
Dr Vinayak felicitated with an Award
Dr Vinayak S Hiremath, known for his exemplary work in
the field of medicine and is the youngest doctor of
Gulbarga, has been felicitated with the 'Pride of the Nation
Award'.
The Award is given to the people who have made a
notable contribution in their fields and in the process
made India proud.
Dr Vinayak is the first South Indian doctor to offer free
insulin consultation and treatment.
Person in News I
Well-known character artiste Devadas Kanakala passed
away in August 2019. One of his last outing as an actor was
in Bharat Ane Nenu starring Mahesh Babu in 2018.
EU governments picked Bulgaria’s Kristalina Georgieva as
the bloc’s candidate to lead the International Monetary
Fund. She got the backing of a majority of the 28 EU
states, defeating the Dutch candidate Jeroen Dijsselbloem.
Person in News II
Bhasha Mukherjee, a 23-year-old Indian origin doctor was
crowned Miss England 2019. Bhasha holds two different
medical degrees, has an IQ of 146 and is fluent in 5
different languages.
The government appointed IRS officer Saurabh Kumar as
the Private Secretary to Union minister Ravi Shankar
Prasad. He will serve in the post for a period of four years
and 10 months.
Government Policies & Schemes
HUA launched 'Angikaar campaign'
The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry launched
the 'Angikaar campaign'.
It is aimed at bringing beneficiaries of PMAY (urban) into
the fold of other central schemes such as Ujjawala and
Ayushman Bharat.
The convergence would especially focus on Ujjwala for gas
connection and Ayushman Bharat for health insurance to
the beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana(U).
Delhi government to launch a 10-week campaign
Delhi government will launch mega 10-week campaign
against dengue and chikungunya.
The campaign has been titled as '10 Hafte, 10 Baje 10
minute Har Ravivar, Dengue Par War'.
As per the campaign, people of Delhi are requested to give
10 minutes every Sunday at 10 a.m. to check all sources of
stagnant water at their homes as the dengue mosquitoes
breed only in clean water.
IRCTC has came up with a new scheme
Indian Railways' ticketing and catering arm IRCTC has
come up with a new scheme for passengers.
If Tejas Express (IRCTC has bagged the rights to run the
train) is late by more than hour then passengers may be
eligible for compensation.
IRCTC is planning to start the first of the two trains from
Delhi to Lucknow from October 2019.
The ticket prices will be in the line of Shatabdi Express.
5 lakh local water conserv. infra. developed
Over 3 crore 70 lakh people have joined the nationwide Jal
Shakti Abhiyan.
The government had launched the ambitious initiative on 1
July 2019 to enhance water security, especially in water-
stressed districts.
During the past two months, the initiative has delivered
over five lakh local water conservation infrastructures in
256 districts.
Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojna launched in Punjab
The CM of Punjab launched a universal health insurance
scheme Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana benefiting nearly 46
lakh families.
Punjab has become the first state in the country to offer
medical insurance cover to the maximum number of its
people.
The scheme would entitle beneficiaries to avail annual
cashless treatment up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year,
including pre-existing diseases.
Manipur CM launched a scheme
Manipur CM N Biren Singh launched the School
Fagadaba (Make education better) scheme to improve the
infrastructure of government schools.
The objective of the scheme is to ensure better
infrastructure, quality education and overall improvement
of government schools to make them model schools.
Biometric devices would be installed in schools for
ensuring regular attendance of teachers.
Pb Govt brought 4500 journalists into SSBY
Punjab Govt brought around 4500 journalists into the
ambit of its recently launched universal health insurance
scheme Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana (SSBY).
All journalists holding yellow cards, will be eligible to be
covered under the scheme.
The State Government will bear the entire premium under
the scheme, for nearly 400 private hospitals in Punjab
have been empanelled.
‘Uber for tractors’ launched
The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare
has launched ‘Uber for Tractors’ app.
The app will help rural farmers to access cutting-edge
technology at an affordable price at their doorsteps.
Farmers can book and hire all the expensive agricultural
equipment.
There is also a rating system in the app which will register
feedback from both the Custom Hiring Centers (CHCs) and
the farmers.
'Village Volunteers System' launched in Andhra
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy
launched government's flagship programme Village
Volunteers system on 15 August 2019.
The scheme, aimed at providing governance services at
doorsteps of people, will involve over 2.8 lakh volunteers.
Under the scheme, one volunteer will cover 50 families in
each village.
Each volunteer will get an honorarium of Rs 5,000 per
month.
Online land revenue payment system launched
Odisha has launched the online land revenue payment
system in the state on 15 August 2019.
Developed by NIC Bhubaneswar, the system will enable
farmers to make payments within minutes and get rent
receipts.
This is the first of its kind initiative by the state Revenue
department under the Odisha government's '5-T
mantra' to provide better services to the people.
MCA amends provisions of Companies Act
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has amended the
provisions relating to the issue of shares with Differential
Voting Rights (DVRs) provisions under the Companies Act.
The objective is to enable promoters of Indian companies
to retain control of their companies in their pursuit for
growth and creation of long-term value for shareholders,
even as they raise equity capital.
Centre launches San-Sadhan Hackathon
Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities
(DEPwD), under Swachh Bharat Mission, launched San-
Sadhan Hackathon on 17 August 2019.
The DEPwD has launched San-Sadhan Hackathon with an
aim to enhance sensitivity and develop an ecosystem for
creating a barrier-free environment.
Startups, student innovators, technology enthusiasts,
academicians and industry experts have been invited.
Naveen announces 'Mo Sarkar' initiative
Odisha's Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on 15 August 2019
announced the 'Mo Sarkar' initiative.
The new initiative will commence from October 2 on the
occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.
Under the new initiative, the chief minister and other
ministers will call common citizens to seek their feedback
on the kind of response and service they received when
they visited the government facilities.
80 lakh farmer families to benefit from PMKSNY
In MP, about 80 lakh eligible farmer families will benefit
from the Pradhanmantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana in the
state.
Under the scheme, total Rs 6,000 that is Rs 2,000 each in
three installments are being deposited every year directly in
the accounts of the eligible farmer families.
Scheme has been envisioned with an aim to improve the
life of small and marginal farmers of the country.
Swachh Nagar app launched
Swachh Nagar app was launched by the Union Housing
and Urban Affairs Ministry.
It will allow users to have waste collected by their urban
local bodies along with a new protocol on wastewater
treatment that would become a part of cleanliness
rankings of cities.
The app had been tested in Gurugram and in some of the
General Pool Residential Accommodation colonies for
government staff.
Scheme regarding partial credit guarantee
The Government has issued a scheme regarding partial
credit guarantee.
It would enable the public sector banks (PSBs) to purchase
pooled assets of financially sound NBFCs amounting to Rs.
one lakh crore.
The objective is to address temporary asset liability
mismatches of otherwise solvent NBFCs/HFCs without
having to resort to distress sale of their assets for meeting
their commitments.
Venkaiah Naidu launched a scheme in Jharkhand
VP Venkaiah Naidu launched the Jharkhand government's
'Mukhya Mantri Krishi Ashirwad Yojana'.
Under this scheme, money would be directly transferred
into the bank accounts of farmers in the state.
Beneficiaries having farm land of less than one acre to five
acres, will get Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000 in their bank accounts.
CM of Jharkhand- Raghubar Das
Governor of Jharkhand- Draupadi
Murmu Punjab govt to provide 28000 agro-
machines
The Punjab Agriculture Department has initiated a massive
drive to provide more than 28000 agro-machines/farm
equipment to farmers.
Subsidy component of Rs.278 crore will be provided for
the scheme during the current fiscal year under the first
phase for in-situ management of paddy residue.
Subsidy ranging from 50%-80% is being provided to the
farmers under the scheme.
Krishi Ashirwad Yojana inaugurated
'Mukhya Mantri Krishi Ashirwad Yojana' was inaugurated
in Jharkhand on 10 August 2019.
Under the scheme, farmers holding land of an acre or less
would be eligible for receiving Rs 5,000 and farmers with
five acres of land would be eligible to receive Rs 25,000 in
two fixed instalments.
The scheme was incorporated in the state budget from the
financial year 2019-2020.
1st State to Release Bio-Fuel Policy
The Rajasthan government on 9 August 2019 released
biofuel rules-2019 on the eve of the World Biofuel Day.
Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot said Rajasthan is the
first state in the country to bring the policy for biofuel
after the notification of the Centre.
Promotion of biofuel will reduce the need for fossil fuel in
the interest of the environment, and also generate
employment.
Air India launched 'Discover India' scheme
Air India introduced a 'Discover India' scheme valid for sale
and travel up to March 31, 2020.
The scheme is rolled out to meet the growing demand of
passengers to fly to different places of tourist and religious
interest within the country by the Indian diaspora and
foreign tourists.
10 domestic economy class tickets are also on offer for Rs
75,000 with a validity period of 30 days.
Haryana government to roll out new scheme
Haryana Government announced the roll-out of 'Mukhya
Mantri Parivar Samridhi Yojna' on 9 August 2019.
Under the scheme, Rs 6000 per year will be given to each
eligible family.
Families having an annual income less than Rs 1,80,000 or
a total landholding of fewer than two hectares are eligible.
Each beneficiary family will be entitled to get Rs 500 per
month.
Odisha small savings incentive scheme launched
The Odisha government launched a small savings scheme
for 2019.
It will stop people from transacting with 'suspicious' non-
banking private financial institutions.
Under this scheme, any eligible person who deposits a
minimum amount of Rs 2,000 in any small savings scheme
during 2019 in any post office or bank in the state, can
obtain a free web based coupon from the office of
collectors.
Govt sanctioned over 5,000 electric buses
Government has sanctioned 5,595 electric buses in 64
cities for intracity and intercity operations under the
second phase of FAME India scheme.
The objective of the scheme is to encourage faster
adoption of electric and hybrid vehicle by way of offering
upfront incentives on purchase of electric vehicles.
This will give a further push to clean mobility in public
transportation.
HIV to be reduced by 2020: Health ministry
Health ministry has set target to reduce HIV cases by 2020.
Its aim is to bring down incidence of HIV/AIDS by 20,000
per year for the next two years.
As of now, there are about 2.1 million patients suffering
from the disease, however, only 1.3 million are registered
with Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) centres and getting the
treatment as per the National Aids Control Organization
(NACO).
States & Districts felicitated under BBBP
The Union Ministry of Women and Child
Development felicitated those Districts and States who
have successfully implemented the Beti Bachao Beti
Padhao (BBBP)scheme in the country.
The function was held on 7th August, 2019 in New Delhi.
The BBBP scheme launched on 22 January 2015 has been
implemented in phases.
Currently, it is being implemented in 640 districts (as per
census 2011).
35 lakh people benefited from ABY scheme
Chhattisgarh is one of the best performing state under
Ayushman Bharat Yojana.
About 35 lakh people have so far benefited from the
scheme in the country of which five lakh are from
Chhattisgarh.
The scheme was launched with a vision to provide the
poor, and the underprivileged with better healthcare and
treatment.
This scheme envisions health assurance of Rs. 5 lakh per
family per year.
Mumbai Police gets criminal tracking system
The Maharashtra government has set up the Automated
Multimodal Biometric Identification System (AMBIS) - the
first-of-its-kind in India.
The AMBIS system can collect demographic and biometric
data of criminals including finger and palm prints; IRIS and
face recognition and can be stored in the system.
This system would be useful in quickly providing
information about criminals.
Gujarat CM launched ‘Vhali Dikri Yojna’
Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani launched the ‘Vhali Dikri Yojna’ in
Rajkot on 2 August 2019.
According to scheme, the State Government will pay Rs.
4,000 to every girl child at the time of admission to
Standard 4th, Rs. 6,000 at the time of taking admission to
Standard IX, Rs. 1-lakh at the time of taking admission for
higher education at the age of 18 and another Rs. 1-lakh at
the time of marriage.
ONORC scheme implemented on pilot basis
Government launched the One Nation-One Ration Card
scheme on a pilot basis in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh,
Maharashtra and Gujarat from 1 August 2019.
Families who have food security cards can buy subsidized
rice and wheat from any ration shop in these states.
Their ration cards should be linked with Aadhar Number to
avail this service.
Mobile library buses launched
The Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism,
Prahlad Singh Patel launched the Mobile Library Buses
procured under C.S.R assistance from Airports Authority of
India.
The Programme was organized by Delhi Public Library of
Ministry of Culture in New Delhi on 31 July 2019.
It was launched under 'Ghar-GharDastakGharGharPustak'
Scheme which aims to provide books to the citizens of
Delhi.
Science & Technology
Astra Rafael opened facility
An Indo-Israel joint venture’s Astra Rafael Communication
System was inaugurated in Hyderabad.
The system will design, develop and manufacture tactical
communication systems for Indian armed forces.
The Joint Venture between Astra Microwave and Israel’s
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems has become India’s first
private sector firm to manufacture software-defined
radios in multiple variants.
Cartosat-3 satellite to be launched
India will launch its advanced cartography satellite,
Cartosat-3, towards the end of October or early November
2019.
Cartosat-3 will be launched using the Polar Satellite Launch
Vehicle (PSLV) rocket.
An earth observation or remote sensing satellite, Cartosat- 3
is an advanced version with better spatial and spectral
characteristics as compared to the Cartosat-2 series
satellites.
ISRO releases photos of Moon craters
ISRO released a set of pictures showing the surface of the
Moon using the Terrain Mapping Camera installed on
Chandrayaan-2.
The pictures shows craters such as Jackson, Mitra, Mach
and Korolev.
The Mitra crater was named after Professor Sisir Kumar
Mitra, an Indian physicist and a Padma Bhushan recipient
who was known for his pioneering work in the field of
ionosphere and Radiophysics.
NASA confirmed Europa Clipper mission
NASA confirmed the next phase of development of the
Europa Clipper Mission.
It is an interplanetary mission to Jupiter’s smallest moon
Europa with the target.
It is conducting an in-depth exploration of Jupiter’s moon
Europa whether the icy moon can have suitable conditions
for sustaining life and increase our insights into
astrobiology.
Rocket carrying life-sized robot launched
Russia launched a rocket carrying life-sized robot to the
International Space Station (ISS) from Baikonur
cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
The robot, named Fedor is the first-ever sent into space by
Russia.
In order to test a new emergency rescue system, the robot
was the Soyuz rocket's only passenger.
During its 10 days at the ISS, Fedor will learn new skills
such as connecting electric cables.
World’s largest computer chip revealed
Cerebras Systems has unveiled the world’s largest single
silicon-based processor named Cerebras Wafer Scale
Engine(WSE).
This chip has 1.2 trillion transistors, the basic on-off
electronic switches that are the building blocks of silicon
chips.
The rectangular shape chip measures 21.5cm sq (8.5in sq),
comes with 400,000 AI (Artificial Intelligence) cores and 18
gigabytes of on-chip memory.
NCPCR & IIT Kanpur developed kit
IIT Kanpur has developed a kit in collaboration with the
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights to
spread awareness about sexual abuse among children.
The kit can be used in classrooms for kids aged between 8-
12 and in a group of 30-35 students in one session.
The kit constitutes a set of cards, posters, short animation
clips and games, which can be used by teachers or an
NGO.
5 new fish species discovered in Arunachal P.
In Arunachal Pradesh, researchers of the Rajiv Gandhi
University have discovered 5 new fish species in various
districts of the state.
The scientific names of the newly-discovered fish species
are Mystus prabini, found in Sinkin and Dibang rivers and
Exostoma kottelati.
Other discovered species are Creteuchiloglanis
tawangensis, Garra ranganensis, and Physoschistura
harkishorei.
FDA approves new drug for tuberculosis
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved
a new oral three-drug regimen for the extensively-drug
resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB), estimated to have a
mortality rate of 60 per cent.
The treatment involves 'Pretomanid' tablets in
combination with bedaquiline and linezolid, collectively
referred to as the BPaL regimen.
It has an efficacy rate of 90%.
Scientist discover pain sensing organ in skin
Researchers have discovered a new sensory organ in the
skin that is able to detect painful mechanical damage, such
as pricks and impacts, an advance that may help develop
novel painkillers.
Almost one person in every five experiences constant pain
and there is a considerable need to find new painkilling
drugs, according to research published in the journal
Science.
Albama: Moon spacecraft Headquarters
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced that
Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama will serve as
headquarters for NASA's programme to build a spacecraft
to put astronauts back on the moon by 2024.
The programme has been named Artemis.
The new lunar mission is likely to cost $20 billion to $30
billion dollars over five years.
ISRO chairman conferred APJ Abdul Kalam Award
Chairman of ISRO K. Sivan was awarded Tamil Nadu
government’s Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Award on 15 August
2019.
Under his leadership, the organisation launched its
Chandrayaan-2 mission.
Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami handed over the
State government’s Kalpana Chawla Award for Courage
and Daring Enterprise to P. Ramyalakshmi, Assistant
Director of Fisheries posted in Cuddalore.
WhatsApp brought fingerprint authentication
One of WhatsApp's most awaited features, fingerprint
authentication, is finally rolling out to Android users.
The feature is currently available to those who have
registered in WhatsApp's beta programme for Android.
This is the first time the feature has made its way to a
stable WhatsApp beta build for Android.
IIT Kg researchers developed blood test device
Researchers from IIT Kharagpur have developed a low-cost
diagnostic device.
It can perform various pathological tests by using blood
taken from a fingerprick.
The device requires only a paper strip based kit integrated
with a smartphone to enable analytics and readout
functions and LED light for imaging.
The key aspect of the kit, developed by a research team
led by Prof Suman Chakraborty.
NASA Demos Water-Powered Spacecraft Abilities
NASA demonstrated the first coordinated manoeuvre
between 2 tissue box-sized water-powered spacecraft in
the low Earth orbit.
They were orbiting Earth about 9 km from one another.
The two spacecraft established a radio frequency
communication cross-link to talk with each other.
One spacecraft issued a command to the second to
activate its thruster and close the gap between the two.
Trans-lunar injection to move Chandrayaan-2
ISRO will undertake on August 14, 2019, the crucial
process of trans-lunar injection to move Chandrayaan-2
from earth's orbit towards the moon.
By this manoeuvre, Chandrayaan-2 will leave earth's orbit
and move towards the moon.
It will finally land near the south pole of the moon on
September 7, 2019.
ISRO is expecting a soft landing on the lunar surface.
Largest parrot discovered in New Zealand
Fossils of the largest parrot ever recorded have been
found in New Zealand.
The fossils are estimated to have weighed about 7kg, it
would have been more than twice as heavy as the kakapo,
previously the largest known parrot.
Palaeontologists have named the new species Heracles
inexpectatus to reflect its unusual size and strength and
the unexpected nature of the discovery.
IIT-M student designed system to recycle urine
A student specialising in environmental engineering at the
Indian Institute of Technology Madras has come up with a
method to recycle human urine.
Project Water Chakra won the Indian Innovation Growth
Programme 2.0 award in July 2019.
The concentrated urine is stored for three days to allow
the urea to get converted to ammonia.
Through electrochemical process, 90% of water can be
recovered.
SpaceX launched Falcon 9
US carrier rocket Falcon 9 loaded with Israeli AMOS-17
communication satellite successfully lifted off from a space
center in Florida, on 7 August 2019.
Falcon 9 launch marked this booster's third flight and
SpaceX's 25th reflight of an orbit class rocket.
Amos-17 will provide Ka, Ku and C-band signal
transmission and expand Spacecom's coverage in Africa,
the Middle East and Europe.
World's thinnest '2D' gold
Scientists have developed '2D' gold so fine that even a
human fingernail is thicker in comparison.
The scientists at the University of Leeds, have created the
world's thinnest gold measuring two atoms thick or million
times thinner than a fingernail.
In its 2D form, gold becomes flexible that adds to its
potential of being used more efficiently such as in
bendable screens, etc.
IIT Guwahati developed portable device
A team of researchers at IIT Guwahati has developed a
portable device to detect bacteria without cell culture.
The hand-held device, with a bio-compatible sensor, can
also diagnose time-critical illnesses such as meningitis.
The teamwork has been patented and published in the July
2019 issue of 'Journal of Materials Chemistry of the Royal
Society of Chemistry'.
AI used to detect fast radio bursts
Scientists have developed an automated system that uses
artificial intelligence (AI) to detect and capture fast radio
bursts (FRBs) in real-time.
FRBs are mysterious and powerful flashes of radio waves
from space, thought to originate billions of light-years
from the Earth.
The system, described in the journal Monthly Notices of
the Royal Astronomical Society has already identified
5 bursts.
ISRO released first set of earth pictures
ISRO released the first set of pictures of the earth,
captured by Chandrayaan 2, the country's second Moon
mission.
The pictures were captured by L 14 camera onboard
Chandrayaan II.
The pictures show the earth in different hues.
The LI-4 camera onboard the lander Vikram of the
spacecraft show the crystal clear and panoramic view of
the earth, around which it is still revolving.
World's smallest monkey fossil found
Scientists have uncovered remains of the smallest fossil
monkey ever found in Peru's Amazon jungle.
The specimen is important because it helps bridge a 15-
million-year gap in the fossil record for New World
monkeys.
The new fossil was unearthed from an exposed riverbank
along the Ro Alto Madre de Dios in southeastern Peru.
NASA satellite discovers first super-Earth
NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has
discovered the super-Earth planet — named GJ 357 d.
The exoplanet is more massive than the earth.
With a thick atmosphere, the planet GJ 357 d could
maintain liquid water on its surface like Earth.
The planet, GJ 357 d, orbits a dwarf star in the Hydra
constellation.
US scientists announce 3D heart printing
Scientists in US have successfully built functional heart
parts out of collagen using a 3D bioprinter, a breakthrough
they say could one day create entire organs.
Their technique replicates the body's own complex
biological scaffolds that provide the structure and
biochemical signaling organs need to function.
Collagen is an ideal biomaterial for the task.
IIT-KGP researchers develop tech
A research team at IIT Kharagpur has developed a
technology which can generate energy from solid waste
with high moisture content.
The new technology - Hydro Thermal Carbonization (HTC) -
can convert municipal solid waste to biofuel, soil
amendment and absorbents.
The moisture in the waste is used to the advantage of the
process which uses water for the reaction.
Committees & Recommendations
RBI accepts recommendation of Jalan Committee
RBI implemented the recommendations of Bimal Jalan
Committee and decided to transfer Rs 1.76 lakh crore
dividend and surplus reserve fund to the government.
Bimal Jalan committee was asked to decide how much
reserve money the central bank should have.
Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar was included in this
committee on behalf of the government.
The committee had finalized its report on 14 August
9TH Session of India-Kenya JTC held
The 9th Session of the India-Kenya Joint Trade Committee
(JTC) was held on 19-20 August 2019 in New Delhi.
The Indian delegation was led by Union Minister of
Commerce & Industry and Railways, Piyush Goyal.
Both sides reviewed the developments in their bilateral
trade and noted the trends since the last session of the
India-Kenya JTC held in August 2018.
Committee to review defence procurement
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved the setting up of
a Committee under the chairmanship of Director General
(Acquisition) to review the Defence Procurement
Procedure 2016 and Defence Procurement Manual 2009 to
strengthen the 'Make in India' programme.
The Committee will revise and align the procedures with
the aim of ensuring a seamless flow from asset acquisition
to life cycle support.
CSR non-compliance should be a civil offence
A high-level committee has recommended that non-
compliance with CSR norms be made a civil offence and
moved to a penalty regime.
This is a departure from the recent policy change which
had provided for a three-year jail term for violating CSR
norms.
The committee chaired by Injeti Srinivas, secretary,
corporate affairs ministry, submitted its recommendations
to Sitharaman.
Amit Shah to head panel on mob lynchings
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will head the panel
constituted to combat incidents of mob violence and
lynching across the country.
The government had formed a Group of Ministers (GoM)
in 2018 to deliberate on incidents of lynching and make
recommendations.
When constituted, the panel was headed by then Home
minister Rajnath Singh.
Business & Economy
Ind-Ra cuts GDP growthforecast in FY20 to 6.7%
India Ratings and Research has revised downwards its
projection of the country’s GDP growth in financial year
2019-20 to 6.7%.
It is a six-year low, from its earlier forecast of 7.3%.
The agency expects growth in the first quarter of the
current financial year to decline for the fifth consecutive
quarter to 5.7%.
Indian Bank opened MSME processing centre
Indian Bank has opened MSME CPC (centralised processing
centre) in Chennai.
The centralised processing centre will give a boost to the
bank’s MSME portfolio and will lead to speedy disposal of
micro, small and medium enterprises’ loans.
The bank has also deployed skilled manpower in the CPC
to improve credit quality and shorten transaction
processing time.
Govt permitted 100% FDI in coal mining
The Union Cabinet relaxed Foreign Direct Investment rule
for foreign single-brand retailers and permitted foreign
investment in contract manufacturing and coal mining.
100% FDI under automatic route in coal mining and
associated infrastructure has been approved.
26% FDI has also been allowed under government route
for uploading and streaming of News and Current Affairs
through Digital Media.
Canara Bank launched OTP facility
Public sector lender Canara Bank has launched the first
OTP facility for ATM withdrawals.
In order to offer a more secured and safe system, Canara
bank will activate OTP facility for cash withdrawals of Rs
10,000 or more in a day.
This move is in line with banks trying to take security
measures to safeguard customers who use debit cards to
withdraw cash at ATMs.
Bimal Jalan panel report
The Bimal Jalan panel of the Reserve Bank has
recommended that the revised economic capital
framework will be reviewed every five years.
The RBI, under the revised framework, decided to transfer
52,637 crore rupees excess provisions to the government.
The panel's report also recommended that the RBI
accounting year may be brought in sync with the fiscal
year from the next financial year.
Bandhan Bank launched co-branded credit card
Bandhan Bank launched a co-branded credit card in
association with Standard Chartered bank.
This credit card would be offered to 40 lakh savings bank
account holders across the 1,000 branches of Bandhan
Bank.
As part of the tie-up, while Standard Chartered bank will
take the credit risk, Bandhan Bank will be responsible for
identifying and issuing cards to its customers.
Government removes DRR requirement
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has amended the
Companies (Share Capital & Debentures) Rules by
removing Debenture Redemption Reserve requirement for
Listed Companies, NBFCs and HFCs.
Debenture Redemption Reserve for unlisted companies
reduced to 10% of outstanding debentures from the
present level of 25%.
The decision has been taken in pursuance of the Budget
announcements for 2019-20.
RTGS System To Open At 7 AM
In order to promote digital transactions, the Reserve Bank
of India (RBI) has extended the customer transactions
timing for Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system by
an hour.
Funds can be transferred through the RTGS system from 7
am instead of 8 am from 26 August 2019.
At present, RTGS system is available for customer
transactions from 8 am to 6 pm.
SEBI eases FPI norms
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 21
August 2019 eased the process for onboarding overseas
investors.
SEBI also introduced an ‘informant mechanism’ to gather
better evidence and crackdown on insider-trading cases.
FPIs would no longer be required to meet the ‘broad-
basing’ criteria, under which at least 20 investors were
required to establish a fund.
Moody's cuts India GDP growth forecast
On 23 August 2019, Moody's Investors Service has cut
India's GDP growth forecast for 2019 calendar year to 6.2%
from the previous estimation of 6.8%.
For 2020 calendar year, it reduced the estimate by a
similar measure to 6.7%.
Moody's said the weaker global economy has stunted
Asian exports and the uncertain operating environment
has weighed on investment.
RBI allowed e-mandate for cards
The RBI has permitted processing of e-mandate on credit
and debit cards for recurring transactions (merchant
payments).
The maximum limit for such a transaction will be Rs 2,000.
While processing the first transaction in e-mandate-based
recurring transaction series, additional factor
authentication (AFA) validation should be performed.
SEBI announced reward of Rs.1 crore
SEBI has announced a reward of upto Rs.1 crore for
informants willing to provide credible information
regarding insider trading cases.
This will be a part of the detailed set of rules for the new
'Informant Mechanism' under Prohibition of Insider
Trading Regulations.
The norms also propose a possible amnesty or settlement
for minor wrongdoings in return for cooperation in the
probe.
ANZ slashes forecast for India's GDP growth
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) slashed
its forecast for India's economic growth to 6.2% in the
financial year ending next March from a previous estimate
of 6.5%.
India's quarterly GDP growth slowed to a five-year low of
5.8% in January-March 2019.
ANZ also downgraded its forecast for the year to March
2021 to 6.5% from 7.1%.
Free ATM transactions not for failed transac.
The RBI asked banks not to count failed transactions at
ATMs due to technical reasons as part of “free ATM
transactions” permitted every month.
Besides, use of ATMs for balance enquiry and fund
transfers too should be not part of the free transactions
facility given to a customer.
Banks provide certain number of free transactions at ATMs
to their customers and beyond that impose charges.
RBI to issue revised norms
Housing finance companies (HFCs) will be treated as a
category of non-banks, as per RBI.
It will release a revised regulatory framework for these
entities.
This comes after the Finance Act, 2019 amended the
National Housing Bank Act, 1987, conferring certain
powers for regulation of HFCs with the Reserve Bank of
India.
Centre amended National Housing Bank Act
The government has activated two Budget proposals laid
out to provide relief to the Non-Banking Finance
Companies (NBFCs).
The National Housing Bank Act has been amended to bring
housing finance companies (HFCs) under the RBI's ambit.
Also, banks can now classify the credit provided to NBFCs
(for example, HFCs) for on-lending as priority sector
lending.
UCO, Allahabad bank slashed MCLR
Allahabad Bank and UCO Bank slashed marginal cost of
funds- based lending rate (MCLR) across all tenors.
Allahabad Bank has reduced its MCLR by 15 to 20 basis
points (bps) for different tenors, effective from August 14,
2019.
UCO Bank has cut the same by 15 bps across all tenors.
The one-year MCLR is the rate based on which the retail
loans such as home and car advances are linked.
Mastercard launches identity check express
Mastercard announced the launch of Identity Check
Express, a next-generation, mobile-first authentication
solution.
The solution will help eliminate unnecessary friction and
enhance the security of online transactions.
It combines the latest technology, including device
intelligence and behavioural biometrics, with the latest
EMV 3-D Secure and FIDO authentication standards
NBFCs to receive more liquidity support
The RBI has allowed banks’ lending to Non-Banking
Financial Companies (NBFCs) for on-lending to agriculture,
micro and small enterprises, and housing to be classified
as priority sector lending, up to specified limits.
The RBI raised any bank’s exposure limit to a single NBFC
from the existing 15% to 20% of tier-1 capital.
The idea is to ease liquidity pressure in NBFCs.
LIC launches Jeevan Amar protection plan
LIC has launched a new term insurance plan called Jeevan
Amar.
It is a non-linked, without profit, pure protection plan, and
is available for sale offline.
It offers the flexibility to choose from two death benefit
options – the level sum assured and increasing sum
assured.
The minimum sum assured under the plan is ₹25 lakh with
no maximum limit.
NCAER sees GDP growth at 6.2%
Economic think tank NCAER (National Council of Applied
Economic Research) expects the agriculture gross value
added (GVA) to remain flat in 2019-20, pulling down the
country’s economic growth rate to 6.2% in FY20, from
6.8% in FY19.
The NCAER’s projection for the economic growth rate is
the lowest among the various estimates that have come so
far.
'Speed Dial - your partner for life' launched
Max Life Insurance launched the one-of-its-kind initiative,
'Speed Dial Max Life Insurance - Your Partner for Life'.
Under this initiative, Max Life will assign every customer a
dedicated relationship manager, known as the 'Partner for
Life' for all their policy-related service needs.
The initiative will provide a quick and easy resolution of
policy servicing needs to customers.
PNB Housing Finance raises Rs 522 cr via ECB
PNB Housing Finance raised fresh equity of Rs 522 crore
($75 million) as External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) from
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) of
Singapore.
The ECB is under the Reserve Bank of India's automatic
route of approval and the proceeds will be used by the
company as per the applicable RBI guidelines.
Sanjaya Gupta is the Managing Director of PNB Housing
Finance.
Extended hours for forex market recommended
The Task Force on Offshore Rupee Markets, headed by
Usha Thorat, former RBI Deputy Governor has
recommended that onshore market hours may be suitably
extended to match the flexibility provided by the offshore
market.
It was constituted in view of the sharp growth in offshore
trading volumes in the rupee Non-Deliverable Forwards
(NDF) market.
Jana SFB gets Scheduled Bank status
Jana Small Finance Bank Ltd, which commenced banking
operations in March 2018, has got the status of a
Scheduled Bank.
The Government notified this on 27 July 2019, putting Jana
Small Finance Bank on the list of the banks included in the
second schedule of RBI Act 1934.
Ajay Kanwal is the MD & CEO of Jana Small Finance
Bank. EnKash launches corporate credit card for SMEs
Business-to-business payments startup EnKash on 9
August 2019 launched the country's first corporate credit
card called 'Freedom Card' for small and medium
enterprises (SMEs).
The Freedom Card would give SMEs and startups the
freedom to avail credit facility for immediate needs and to
manage their liquidity.
The card caters to the varied billing cycles as per the
working capital cycles.
CAIT launches digital payments initiative
Traders body Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT)
launched an initiative -- Digi Vyapari-Safal Vyapari -- to
accelerate acceptance of digital payments among
merchants across the country.
CAIT has partnered with HDFC Bank, Mastercard, Common
Service Centres (CSCs) of Ministry of Electronics and
Information Technology (Meity) and Global Linkers for the
initiative.
RBL Bank launched 1st health credit card
RBL Bank and digital healthcare platform Practo have
partnered to launch an industry-first co-branded health
credit card.
The card is powered by Mastercard and is available on
both Practo and RBL mobile apps and websites.
It offers benefits like unlimited and round-the-clock online
consultations with experienced doctors and
2 complimentary domestic airport lounge accesses every
quarter.
OBC, IDBI Bank cut MCLR up to 15 basis points
Oriental Bank of Commerce and IDBI Bank announced a
cut in the range of 0.05 to 0.15 percentage point in the
marginal cost of funds based lending rates (MCLR).
Oriental Bank of Commerce has decided to decrease its
MCLR by up to 10 basis points across various tenors.
IDBI Bank announced a reduction of 0.10 percentage point
in its one-year MCLR to 8.95%.
Business and Economy
Within hours of a steeper 35 basis points reduction in the
repo rates by the Reserve Bank, the State Bank of India
announced a 15 basis points reduction in its lending rates.
The new rates of 8.25 will be effective from August 10,
2019.
PNB has recovered ₹278.66 crore as penalty in the
financial year 2018-19 from the poor account holders for
not maintaining a minimum balance.
RBI cuts repo rate by 35 basis points
The RBI's monetary policy committee lowered its repo rate
by an unconventional 35 basis points to 5.4%.
This is the fourth reduction in a row of its key policy rate
since Shaktikanta Das took over as the governor of the
central bank in December 2018
The path of CPI inflation is now projected at 3.1% for the
second quarter of FY20 and 3.5-3.7% for second half of
FY20.
RBI opened liquidity tap for stressed NBFCs
The RBI announced 2 key measures to help non-bank
financial companies.
The first initiative deals with harmonisation of single
counterparty exposure limit for banks’ exposure.
The second initiative deals with credit to the priority
sector.
Detailed guidelines on the above measures will be issued
by the end of August 2019.
Business and Economy
The RBI plans to make the online payment system, the
National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT), available 24x7,
in what may provide a boost to the government’s digital
payments plan.
The RBI has decided to set a Central Payment Fraud
Registry to track frauds in the payment systems. Payment
system participants will be provided access to this registry
for near-real-time fraud monitoring.
SGX and NSE to operate jointly in GIFT City
SEBI approved Singapore Stock Exchange and National
Stock Exchange of India Ltd to operate jointly in Gujarat
International Finance Tec-City, Gandhinagar.
The two entities will create a new platform for trading
called NSE International Financial Service Centre (IFSC)-
SGX Connect.
NSE-IFSC will allow trading in Nifty index derivatives and
single-stock derivatives of Nifty’s 50 constituent.
RBI imposed penalty of Rs 8.5 cr on 11 banks
The RBI has imposed a monetary penalty on 11 banks for
non-compliance with certain provisions frauds
classification and reporting by commercial banks.
The banks are Bank of Baroda, Corporation Bank, Federal
Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Jammu & Kashmir Bank,
Oriental Bank of Commerce, Punjab & Sind Bank, Punjab
National Bank, State Bank of India, UCO Bank and United
Bank of India.
RBI updated fit & proper norms for PSB boards
Members of Parliament, state legislatures, or local bodies
such as municipal corporations cannot be on the boards of
public sector banks, as per RBI.
Also, partners of chartered accountancy firms engaged as
statutory central auditors at any public sector bank cannot
join the boards of these banks.
Candidates for the post of board members should also not
be a member of any rival bank.
Deloitte quit as auditor of crisis-hit DHFL
Deloitte has quit as the auditor of cash-strapped DHFL.
Cash-strapped DHFL sits on a debt pile of ₹90,000 crore
and has defaulted on its various repayment obligations in a
serial manner in the recent past.
DHFL in mid-July posted its biggest-ever quarterly loss of
₹2,224 crore for the quarter ended March of 2018-19
fiscal.
The financial results were delayed due to the ongoing
concerns.
RBI imposed ₹50 lakh fine on SBI
The Reserve Bank has imposed a penalty of ₹50 lakh on
SBI for non-compliance relating to reporting of frauds.
RBI has slapped penalties on eight commercial banks,
including, Punjab National Bank and Bank of Baroda, for a
host of violations.
RBI imposed a penalty of ₹50 lakh on PNB for delay in
reporting of fraud in the account of Kingfisher Airlines.
Crisil cuts FY20 GDP growth forecast to 6.9%
Ratings agency Crisil has cut its forecast for GDP growth in
2019-20 to 6.9% from its earlier forecast of 7.1%, citing
weak monsoon, slow global growth and poor high-
frequency data for the first quarter of the financial year.
Crisil also expects corporate sector growth to slow to 8% in
2019-20.
It also said that banking sector NPAs are expected to come
down to about 8% by the end of 2019-20
Flipkart launches 'Samarth' initiative
E-commerce company Flipkart launched ‘Samarth’, an
initiative to bring weavers, artisans and makers of
handicrafts to its platform.
Flipkart Samarth will support such artisans, weavers, etc,
by on-boarding them and helping them in the process of
selling on the internet.
This includes support for cataloguing, account
management, seller support, and warehousing support.
SBI:1st bank to link up with China pay. sys.
The SBI's Shanghai branch is now connected to China's
National Advance Payment System (CNAPS), becoming the
first Indian Bank to operationalise it.
The CNAPS was launched in 2008 by People's Bank of
China (PBOC).
It provides real-time settlement services for all payments
cleared in mainland China, as well as in all clearing banks
in offshore yuan centers, such as Hong Kong.
NBFCs won't charge loan foreclosure penalties
The Reserve Bank barred non-banking finance companies
from charging pre-payment penalties or foreclosure
charges from individual borrowers.
Foreclosure charges are part of the fee income for any
lender and adds to its bottomline.
These direction covers both deposit-taking and non-
deposit-taking NBFCs which are considered systemically
important ones.
RBI imposed fine on 7 PSBs
The Reserve Bank has imposed a collective penalty of ₹11
crore on seven public sector banks for violating norms on
current account opening.
Allahabad Bank and Bank of Maharashtra have been
imposed a fine of ₹2 crore each, Bank of Baroda, Bank of
India, Indian Overseas Bank and United Bank of India have
been fined ₹1.5 crore each, while Oriental Bank of
Commerce with a penalty of ₹1 crore.
Government approved proposal given by RBI
The government has approved a proposal given by the RBI
on draft modalities of the guarantee to operationalize the
Budget announcement.
This is in regard to one-time partial credit to the Public
Sector Banks for purchase of high-rated assets of
financially sound Non-banking financial companies.
The Department of Financial Services would put in place
an oversight mechanism for this scheme.
BoC to offer regular banking services in India
The RBI has allowed Bank of China to offer regular banking
services in India.
All commercial banks, like SBI, HDFC Bank, PNB and
ICICI Bank, are in the Second Schedule.
Banks falling under this schedule have to adhere to the
norms of the RBI.
The name of 'The Royal Bank of Scotland plc' has been
changed to 'NatWest Markets Plc' in the Second Schedule.
8 core sectors growth drops to 0.2% in June
Growth of 8 core industries dropped to 0.2% in June
mainly due to a contraction in oil-related sectors as well as
in cement production.
The 8-core sector industries - coal, crude oil, natural gas,
refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity -
had expanded by 7.8% in June 2018.
During April-June, the 8 sectors grew by 3.5% compared to
5.5% in the same period in 2018.
Sports
Virgil van Dijk, Lucy Bronze won UEFA Award
Liverpool Football player Virgil van Dijk has won UEFA’s
Player of the Year award.
He beat Barcelona captain Lionel Messi and Juventus
superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, while England footballer Lucy
Bronze took the Women’s Player of the Year award.
UEFA also handed out positional awards for male players,
with Van Dijk for Champions League Defender of the
Season.
Sports News
India and Nepal secured the top two spots in the Under-15
SAFF Football Championship at the Kalyani Stadium in
West Bengal on 29 August 2019. India beat defending
champions Bangladesh 4-0, while Nepal trounced Bhutan
6-0.
In shooting, Abhishek Verma won the gold medal and
Saurabh Chaudhary the bronze, in the men's 10m air pistol
event of the World Cup at Rio de Janeiro.
25th Sr Women’s Nat Football C'ship to be held
The 25th Senior Women’s National Football Championship
will be held in Arunachal Pradesh for the first time from
September 10-24, 2019.
The tournament will be held in the oldest town of the
state Pasighat in East Siang District.
A total of 30 teams from across the country, representing
various States, Union Territories and Indian Railways will
participate in the tournament.
Person in News
West Indies pacer Cecil Wright announced his retirement
from all forms of cricket at old age of 85. He claims to have
played over two million games taking over 7,000 wickets in
professional cricket.
Former Manchester United forward player Eric Cantona
will be honoured with the 2019 UEFA President’s Award.
The award recognises outstanding achievements and
professional excellence of the player.
Sports Minister gave Rs 1.82 cr to medallists
Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju handed over 1.82 crore rupees
to the medallists of the Para-Badminton World
Championship.
He amended the policy for para-athletes to make them
eligible for more cash awards.
As per the amended guidelines, medal winners in world
events and world championships, organised by
International Paralympic Committee will be eligible for
cash awards from the government.
Sports News
The Indian team created history by winning one gold, one
silver and two bronze medals at the 45th World Skills
Kazan 2019 competition, in Russia on 27 August 2019.
Virat Kohli maintained his lead over Australia's Steve Smith
in the latest ICC Cricket Test rankings released in Dubai on
27 August 2019. Top-ranked Kohli has 910 points while
Smith, with 904, is placed second.
Manasi secures maiden gold
India had a world champion in Basel (Switzerland) even
before the whole nation trained its attention on champion
shuttler, P.V. Sindhu, taking on Japanese Nozomi Okuhara
in the women’s singles final.
30-year-old Manasi Joshi clinched the gold in women’s
singles SL3 final defeating World No. 1 and compatriot
Parul Parmar 21-12, 21-7 to pick her maiden title in Para
World badminton championship
India's Sumit Nagal gave Roger Federer a scare
World No. 190 Sumit Nagal of India became the 1st Indian
to take a set off Roger Federer in Tennis.
Nagal will rise to a career-high ranking of 175 following his
maiden Grand Slam appearance.
Sumit Nagal won the 2015 Wimbledon boys' doubles title
with his Vietnamese partner Lý Hoàng Nam.
He became the sixth Indian player to win a junior Grand
Slam Title.
Person in News
Mobil India has announced its association with wrestling
champion Bajrang Punia as the new brand ambassador for
its commercial vehicle lubricants’ segment.
Veteran batsman-wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik was named
captain of the Tamil Nadu team for the upcoming Vijay
Hazare Trophy. This was announced by the Tamil Nadu
Cricket Association's (TNCA) State Senior Selection
Committee.
Virat: India’s most successful Test captain
Virat Kohli added yet another feather to his cap but this
time as the captain of India after leading his team to a 318-
run win over the West Indies in the first Test in Antigua.
This was India's biggest margin of victory in away Tests in
terms of runs.
The victory saw Virat Kohli equal MS Dhoni's record of 27
Test wins, making him the joint-most successful captain for
India in Test cricket.
PV Sindhu created history at WBC
P V Sindhu became the first Indian to win badminton
World Championships gold on 25 August 2019.
She beat Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in the final.
It was Sindhu’s fifth World Championships medal.
Sindhu has also won an Olympic silver in 2016 Rio Games,
a silver at Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, an Asian
Games silver at Jakarta and the BWF World Tour Finals in
2019.
Sports News
In football, Gokulam Kerala FC won the 129th Durand Cup,
defeating heavyweights Mohun Bagan at the Salt Lake
Stadium in Kolkata on 24 August 2019.
India's Komalika Bari became recurve cadet world
champion at the World Archery Youth Championships in
Madrid, Spain on 25 August 2019. She defeated Sonoda
Waka of Japan 7-3 in the final and earned India's second
gold.
India won bronze medal in archery
In Archery, the Indian team of Sukhbeer Singh,
Sangampreet Singh Bisla and Tushar Phadtare clinched a
bronze medal in the junior compound men's team event in
the World Youth Championships in Madrid on 23 August
2019.
The compound junior mixed team of Raginee Markoo and
Sukhbeer Singh also assured India of a second silver medal,
beating their Iranian opponents.
PM Modi to launch Fit India Movement
PM Narendra Modi is set to launch Fit India Movement.
The nation-wide campaign aims to encourage people to
inculcate physical activity and sports in their everyday
lives.
A 28 member committee headed by Sports Minister, Kiren
Rijiju has been formed to advise the government on the
movement.
Actors Shilpa Shetty and Milind Soman will also be
involved.
Sports News
Constable Monali Jadhav won 3 medals, including 2 golds,
at the recently concluded World Police and Fire Games
International Championship held in China.
The World Anti-Doping Agency has suspended the
accreditation of India's National Dope Testing Laboratory
(NDTL) for 6 months. The suspension has been imposed
due to non-conformities with the International Standard
for Laboratories (ISL).
India won gold in World Police and Fire Games
B.N.S. Reddy, a current member of the BCCI’s Anti-
Corruption Unit won the gold medal at the World Police
and Fire Games in Chengdu, China, recently.
He beat Bruce Barrios of the U.S. 7-6, 6-3 in the men’s
singles final.
This is the third consecutive time Reddy has won a gold
medal at the World Police and Fire Games.
Delhi leg of Op-Blue Freedom flagged off
Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju and former India football
captain Baichung Bhutia flagged off the Delhi leg of Op-
Blue Freedom on 21 August 2019.
This is an initiative in which a group of armed forces
veterans train sports enthusiasts in survival training and
self-defence.
Op-Blue Freedom is a nation-wide adaptive scuba diving
programme for people with disabilities as well as the able
bodied.
Indian hockey teams won Olympic Test event
Both the Indian Women's and Men's hockey teams won
the Olympic Test event in Tokyo on 21 August 2019.
Women's team defeated Japan 2-1 in the finals. Navjot
Kaur hit a goal at the 11th minute while Lalremsiami struck
winning goal at 33rd minute of the game for India.
Indian men's hockey team also won the Olympic Test
event beating New Zealand 5-0.
Paytm strikes bumper new deal with BCCI
Paytm strikes bumper new deal with BCCI to continue
association as India's title sponsors.
In per match terms, BCCI will now get 3.8 crores per match
from title rights as opposed to Rs 2.42 crores which Paytm
was last paying them.
BCCI awarded title sponsorship rights to Paytm for five
more years.
Previously, Star India got the rights at a heavy discount, 2
crore per match for 2013-14.
Sports News I
The Ombudsman of the BCCI has ordered that S
Sreesanth's ban for alleged spot-fixing will end in August
2020. The BCCI banned Sreesanth for life in August 2013
along with Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan.
Lee Duckhee became the first deaf player to win an ATP
Tour main draw match. He defeated Henri Laaksonen 7-
6(4) 6-1 in the first round of the Winston-Salem Open.
Sports News II
Sushil Kumar sealed his berth in the India squad for the
World Championship defeating Jitender Kumar 4-2 in a 74
kg final here on 20 August 2019.
The current fielding coach of the Indian team, R Sridhar, is
all set to be reappointed to the position for the next 2
years. Recently, Ravi Shastri was reappointed as the team's
coach till the end of T20 World Cup in 2021.
Satendra crossed America's Catalina Channel
Divyang Satendra Singh Lohia from Madhya Pradesh has
become the first Asian swimmer to cross the Catalina
Channel of America.
Satendra holds the Asian record of crossing both the
English and Catalina channels.
Satendra led the Indian Para Relay team along with five
team mates and crossed the Catalina Channel in 11 hours
34 minutes.
Mumbai to host World Youth chess meet
For the first time ever, India is to host the World Youth
Chess Championship 2019.
The All India Chess Federation (AICF) won the bid to
conduct the World Youth and Junior Chess
championships 2019 in the country.
The championship will be held from 1-13 October 2019 in
Mumbai, Maharashtra.
The championship aims to produce many young stars and
aspire to take part in such world events.
Sports News I
India finished its campaign at the World Junior Track
Championship in Frankfurt with three medals, including
two individual medals from Esow Alben.
Three archers of the Assam Rifles archery team bagged
five Gold, three Silver and one Bronze medals at the World
Police and Fire Games held in Chengdu, China. The team
was trained by 9 Sector Assam Rifles.
Stand for Virat Kohli: DDCA
The best age-group cricketers will be recognised and
awarded by the Delhi and District Cricket Association on
September 12, 2019.
Virat Kohli will become the third cricketer from Delhi to
have a stand named at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium after
him, following Bishan Singh Bedi and Mohinder Amaranth.
September 12 marks 11 years since he made his
international debut.
Sports News II
Former Tamil Nadu and South Zone all-rounder D Vasu
was appointed head coach of the state senior cricket
team. Vasu would be the head coach for the season 2019-
2020, while former Tamil Nadu batsman R Prasanna would
be the assistant coach.
Aishwarya Pissay of TVS clinched the Fim Baja World Cup
2019 Women’s Category. She recently became the first
Indian ever to win a world title in Motorsport.
Sports News III
Former Chelsea, Arsenal and England football player
Ashley Cole announced his retirement from football. He
won 3 Premier League titles and seven FA Cups.
Former Australian pace bowler Mitchell Johnson has been
elected as an Honorary Life Member of the Marylebone
Cricket Club (MCC). Johnson represented Australia in 153
One Day Internationals picking up 239 wickets.
Sports News IV
India's junior women boxers clinched 12 medals at the
third Nation's Cup in Vrbas, Serbia. The team won four
gold, four silver and four bronze medals and claimed the
runners-up trophy.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli retained the top spot in the
latest Test batsmen's rankings released by the
International Cricket Council in Dubai. Australia's Steve
Smith moved to the second position.
India won gold in Asian Tennis Team c'ship
India won gold at the Under 12 Asian Tennis Team
championship held in Kazakhstan.
India defeated Chinese Taipei 2-1 in the summit clash to
win the title.
The final was a tie of three matches - 2 singles and one
doubles and India won both the singles matches while lost
the doubles encounter.
The team comprised Manas Dhamme, Arnav Paprakar and
Tamil Nadu's Pranav Rethin.
Sports News
In Badminton, BWF World Championships began on 19
August 2019 at Basel in Switzerland. Sai Praneeth B will
clash with Jason Anthony Ho-Shue of Canada, while
HS Prannoy will take on Finnish Eetu Antti Oskari Heino.
Hima Das and Mohammad Anas won a gold each in 300m
races at the Athleticky Mitink Reiter event in Czech
Republic.This was Hima's 6th gold in 2019 in European
races since last month.
Sports News
India's Prithviraj Tondaiman shot a 47 on the first day
qualifiers of the men's trap event in the International
Shooting Sport Federation Shotgun World Cup in Lahiti,
Finland. He was the best placed Indian at sixth.
Wrestler Bajrang Punia has been nominated for the
country's highest sporting honour - the Rajiv Gandhi Khel
Ratna award. His name was finalised by a 12-member
selection committee.
Liverpool won UEFA Super Cup
Liverpool beat Chelsea 5-4 on penalties and won the UEFA
Super Cup in Istanbul,
It is Liverpool’s 4th Super Cup victory, with their last
coming in 2005 in Champions League triumph, also in
Istanbul.
They have now won 13 European trophies overall.
Virat Kohli: 1st batsman to score 20,000 runs
Indian captain Virat Kohli has become the first batsman to
score 20,000 international runs in a single decade.
Kohli has aggregated 20,502 runs across three formats out
of which he has scored 20,018 in the ongoing decade.
Kohli made his Test and T20 Internationals debut in 2010.
He had already scored 484 runs in ODI cricket after making
his debut in 2008.
Deepak Punia became jr world wrestling champ
Deepak Punia etched his name into the history of Indian
sports by being the first Indian in 18 years to win a title at
the Junior World Championships in Estonia.
He won the final of the 86-kg junior freestyle category on
14 August 2019, beating Alik Shebzukhov of Russia.
The final ended 2-2 on scores, but Deepak was awarded
the bout as he had registered the last point-scoring move.
India won Physical Disability World Series
India beat England by 36 runs to win Physical Disability
World Series 2019.
Ravindra Sante scored a quickfire half-century to star in
India's victory.
The Indian team defeated England by 36 runs.
The six-nation tournament was organized by the England
and Wales Cricket Board.
India posted a huge total of 180 runs on the board before
successfully defending it to win the game comfortably.
Simone Biles made history
Simone Biles made history with a never-before-seen
'triple-double floor exercise landing.
She performed the landing featuring two flips and three
twists in U.S. Gymnastics Championships held in Kansas
City.
Biles already has a vault skill and a floor exercise maneuver
named for her as their originator.
Sports News
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has
suspended Five Russian weightlifters, including a 2012
Olympic bronze medallist, provisionally after doping tests
on samples recovered from the Moscow lab.
A new sports policy was under consideration where every
player would be supported by government. This policy will
be introduced after consultations with various sports
organisations.
Wesley Sneijder announced retirement
The Netherlands' player Wesley Sneijder announced his
retirement from football, bringing down the curtain on a
trophy-laden career that spanned 17 years.
He played 134 times for his country.
His displays earned him the Silver Ball for the
tournament's second best player behind Uruguay's Diego
Forlan.
He made his international debut in 2003 and picked up a
World Cup runners-up medal in 2010.
Women's cricket to be part of CW Games
Women's T20 Cricket has been confirmed for inclusion at
the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022.
Eight teams will compete across eight match days.
Edgbaston will host all the matches.
The 2022 Commonwealth Games will take place in England
from 27th July to 7th August, 2022.
Bianca Andreescu won Rogers Cup 2019
Canadian teenager Bianca Andreescu wins Rogers Cup
tennis tournament 2019 held in Toronto, Canada.
She was the first Canadian to win the event in 50 years.
Serena Williams was the runner-up in the final.
Serena Williams retired with a back injury in the final
of the Rogers Cup in Toronto.
Sports News
Aishwarya Pissay became the first Indian to claim a world
title in motorsports, annexing the FIM World Cup in the
women's category after the final round of the
championship at Varpalota in Hungary.
Novak Djokovic remained at the top of the ATP rankings,
released on 12 August 2019. Roger Federer stayed third
and Dominic Thiem fourth. Stefanos Tsitsipas dropped two
places.
Virat Kohli created record
India captain Virat Kohli surpassed Pakistan great Javed
Miandad to become the highest run-scorer against the
West Indies in ODI cricket.
He needed 19 runs before the start of the second ODI
against the West Indies to surpass Miandad's tally of 1,930
runs against the two-time World Cup winners.
Miandad took 64 innings to reach his tally while Kohli has
taken just 34 innings to surpass that.
Chennai Lions beat Dabang Delhi to win UTT
Chennai Lions won the Ultimate Table Tennis league on 11
August 2019.
They defeated Dabang Delhi in the finals by 8-1.
Chennai Lions collected the winner’s share of Rs. 75 lakh
while Delhi settled for Rs. 50 lakh.
Petrissa Solja, Tiago Apolonia, Sharath Kamal and Petrissa
starred for the Chennai Lions.
Petrissa Solja and Portugal's Tiago Apolonia proved to be
the stars of the grand finale.
Sports News I
Hockey India named 33 players for the junior men's
national camp, beginning 12 August 2019 at the Sports
Authority of India centre in Bengaluru.
In Badminton, Indian junior shuttlers won six medals at the
Bulgarian Junior International Championships which
concluded in Pazardzhik, Bulgaria on 11 August 2019. The
medals comprised of three gold, a silver and two bronze.
Sports News II
Bajrang Punia defended his title at Tbilisi Grand Prix and
Vinesh Phogat reached her fourth final at Medved event.
Bajrang prevailed 2-0 over Iran's Peiman Bibyani in the 65
Kilogram category.
In Badminton, Sourabh Verma clinched the Men's Singles
title in the Hyderabad Open on 11 August 2019. He beat
Singapore's Loh Kean Yew 21-13, 14-21, 21-16 in a 52-
minute final clash.
PV Sindhu: Only Indian in Forbes List
P.V. Sindhu is tied for 13th place in Forbes list of highest-
paid female athletes.
She is the only Indian and one of just three non-tennis
athletes to be named in the list which is topped by
American tennis great Serena Williams.
She became the first Indian to win the season-ending BWF
World Tour finals in 2018.
Serena tops the list with total earnings of USD 29.2 million.
Sports
Chess Surya Shekhar Ganguly won the Belt and Road China
Hunan International tournament.
South African spinner Colin Ackermann becomes the 1st
player in T20 cricket history to claim a 7-wicket haul.
Bangalore will host the 10th AASF Asian Age Group
Championships 2019 from 24 September to 2 October
2019.
BCCI to come under the ambit of NADA
The BCCI agreed to come under the ambit of the National
Anti-Doping Agency (NADA).
This decision makes it a sports federation as per
government norms despite being financially autonomous.
The implication of this development is expected to be
massive as BCCI now becomes a designated National
Sports Federation and will face more pressure to come
under the government's Right to Information Act.
Sports News I
The World Archery (WA) suspended the Archery
Association of India (AAI) for defying its guidelines by
electing two parallel bodies, asking the federation to put
its house in order by the end of August 2019.
South African batsman Hashim Amla retired from all
international cricket with immediate effect. Amla played
124 Tests, 181 ODIs and 44 T20Is between in his 15-year-
long cricketing career.
Sports News II
Bangladesh will host Zimbabwe for a tri-nation 20-20
tournament in September despite the African nation being
suspended by the International Cricket Council.
In Boxing, veteran L. Sarita Devi (60kg) will be gunning for
her first world championship medal in more than 10 years
after she was named in India's 10-strong women's squad
today along with five debutants.
Sports News I
Rishabh Pant became the first Indian batsman to register
two T20I half-centuries before turning 22. The
wicketkeeper-batsman’s 42-ball 65 is also the highest by
an Indian wicketkeeper in T20I cricket.
The first match of the T20 series will always be
remembered in which the Haryana-born Navdeep Saini
took 2 wickets in his first over. In his four overs, he
conceded 17 runs and took 3 wickets.
Sports News II
Saudi Arabia will host the world’s richest horse race in
Riyadh at the King Abdulaziz Racetrack in 2020, with a
purse of $20 million. It will have a maximum 14 runners,
with the winner set to land $10 million.
Naomi Osaka’s Grand Slam title wins at the U.S. and
Australian Opens has put her up at 2nd, behind Serena
Williams, in Forbes’ list of the highest-paid female athletes
over 2018.
Mary, Lovlina selected for world boxing C'ship
M C Mary Kom and Lovlina Borgohain have been selected
for the upcoming women's world boxing championships
based on their recent performances.
Mary Kom, who has already claimed two gold medals in
2019 in India Open and in Indonesia, has been selected in
the 51kg category.
Lovlina will be competing in the 69kg category.
The world championships are scheduled from October 3 -
13, 2019 in Russia.
Sports News
Fiona Kolbinger won the mixed annual 4,000km cycling
Transcontinental Race in France. She became the 1st
woman to win one of the world’s toughest cycling races.
Ravichandran Ashwin was named as Professional
Cricketers Association’s Player of the month of July 2019.
He hit 197 runs and picked up 23 wickets from just 3
matches for Nottinghamshire.
Rankireddy-Shetty jumped 7 spots in badminton
In Badminton, Indian men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj
Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty jumped 7 places to enter the
top 10 of the latest world rankings.
This follows their historic win at last week's Thailand Open.
They are placed ninth in the doubles rankings.
In the women's singles rankings, Olympic medallists P V
Sindhu managed to hold on to her fifth place and Saina
Nehwal the eighth spot.
India topped latest ICC Test rankings
India topped the latest ICC Test team rankings while New
Zealand is placed 2nd and South Africa is in 3rd position.
India skipper Virat Kohli retains his number one position in
the latest ICC Test batsmen’s rankings.
In rankings for Test all-rounders, Jason Holder of the West
Indies tops the list while Ravindra Jadeja is placed 3rd and
Ravichandran Ashwin is in sixth place.
Mahesh Bhupathi named captain for Davis Cup
All India Tennis Association (AITA) announced Mahesh
Bhupathi as the skipper for the India-Pakistan Davis Cup
tie.
It will be held on September 14 and 15, 2019 in Islamabad.
Six players have been named by the association, who will
be taking part in Davis Cup.
Mukund has been named as the reserve and Zeeshan Ali
will be the coach of the team.
Hinako Shibuno won Women’s British Open
Hinako Shibuno of Japan won the Women’s British Open
by one shot over Lizette Salas on 4 August 2019.
She played for the first time outside of her country and
birdied five of the final nine holes in a 4-under 68 and 18-
under 270 overall.
Morgan Pressel (67) finished fourth at 15 under, just
ahead of former leader Ashleigh Buhai (70).
Virat, Rohit broke records
Rohit Sharma became the most prolific six-hitter in T20
Internationals while Virat Kohli attained pole position
among Indians.
Rohit hit three maximums on his way to a 51-ball 67 in the
second T20 International against West Indies.
On the way to his 28 off 23 balls, Kohli bettered Suresh
Raina's record to become the highest run-getter among
Indians in T20 cricket.
Sports News
Vinesh Phogat bagged gold in women's 53kg category of
the Poland Open wrestling tournament in Warsaw.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty became the first
Indian pair to win a BWF Super 500 badminton
tournament.
Formula One Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton hunted
down Max Verstappen to win the Hungarian Grand Prix for
a record-extending seventh time.
Indian boxers end their campaign with 6 medals
Indian boxers have ended their campaign at the Magomed
Salam Umakhanov Memorial International Boxing
Tournament in Kaspiysk, Russia with a rich haul of six
medals.
These comprised two gold, one silver and three bronze.
World Championships bronze-medallist, Lovlina Borgohain
(69kg) and India Open gold-medallist champion Neeraj
(57kg), clinched gold medals.
Sports
Soccer body CONMEBOL suspended Lionel Messi from
international matches for three months because of
accusations of corruption he made at the latest Copa
America. He was also fined USD 50,000 for his comments.
In the ongoing World Cadet Wrestling competition in Sofia,
Bulgaria, Indian wrestler Sonam Malik won Gold in 65kg
category; She beat Binbin Xiang 7-1 in the final.
Sports News
At the IAAF World Race Walking Cup in Russia, India
was handed a bronze medal upgrade. The Indian team of
KT Infra, Babubhai Panucha and Surinder Singh had
finished 4th in the men's 20 km team event in May 2012.
In Shooting, Adarsh Singh won the gold medal in both men
and junior 25 metres rapid fire pistol event in the Sardar
Sajjan Singh Sethi Memorial Masters competition.
Sports News
In Shooting, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar clinched a gold
medal in Men's Rifle 3 Positions (3P) at 12th Sardar Sajjan
Singh Sethi Memorial Masters competition in New Delhi
on 1 August 2019.
Football Giant East Bengal Club turned 100 years on 1
August 2019. On this day in 1920 East Bengal Club was
established at Kumartuli Park in North Kolkata.
Defence
India's NDC delegation visits Nepal
A delegation from the 59th course of National Defence
College (NDC) India comprising 15 senior officers from civil
services and defence forces of India, UK, Japan, Mongolia
and Bangladesh visited Nepal.
The delegation was briefed about various functions of the
Nepali Army during its visit to Nepali Army headquarters.
The team also visited Western Division Headquarters at
Pokhara.
Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat visited Srinagar
Army Chief General Bipin Rawat visited Srinagar on 30
August 2019.
He will review the security situation and preparedness of
security forces in the Kashmir valley.
This is the first visit of Gen Rawat to the valley after the
abrogation of special status to Jammu and Kashmir under
Article 370.
Authorities have restored mobile phone services in five
sensitive districts of Jammu region.
Military Veterans Employment programme
Amazon India has launched a Military Veterans
Employment programme in the country.
This programme will create employment opportunities for
military veterans and their spouses across the company’s
fulfilment centres, sort centres and delivery centres in
India.
It is partnering with the office of the Director-General of
Resettlement (DGR) and the Army Welfare Placement
Organisation (AWPO).
Indian Army established 45 Army schools
As a part of this goodwill initiative, the Indian Army has
established 45 Army Goodwill schools in J&K wherein over
14 thousand students are studying at present.
Children belonging to low-income group families are given
admission for pursuing their studies free of cost in these
schools.
The Goodwill Schools are also providing employment to
qualified youth of the State.
BS Dhanoa embarked on 3-day visit to Thailand
Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa embarked
on a three-day visit to Thailand on 26 August 2019.
During his visit, he will attend the Indo Pacific Chiefs of
Defence Conference in Bangkok.
The conference will provide perspectives on common
challenges faced by attending nations.
The theme for the conference is Collaboration in a free
and Open Indo - Pacific.
India to receive first Rafale jet on Sept 20
Rafale is set to handover its first fighter jet built for the
Indian Air Force.
Air Force Chief BS Dhanoa and Defence Minister Rajnath
Singh will be in France on September 20 to receive the first
Rafale jet manufactured for the Indian Air Force.
The Indian Air Force will deploy one each squadron of the
Rafale combat aircraft at its airbases in Ambala in Haryana
and Hashimara in Bengal.
DRDO hands over design of Mobile Metallic Ramp
DRDO handed over the design of Mobile Metallic Ramp
(MMR) to the Indian Army on 20 August 2019.
With load bearing capacity of 70 metric ton (MT), the
MMR has been designed and developed by Centre for Fire,
Explosive and Environment Safety (CFEES) on the
requirements projected by Army.
The ramp will provide the strategic mobility for Armoured
and Mechanized units and formations of the Army.
Navy to host multi-lateral exercise in Vizag
The Indian Navy would be hosting 'MILAN', a multilateral
naval exercise, in Visakhapatnam in March 2020.
The MILAN series of biennial exercises, which commenced
in 1995 and conducted at Andaman and Nicobar
Command (ANC)until last year, was being conducted for
the first time on the mainland at the Eastern Naval
Command (ENC).
Eastern Air Command Commanders' Conclave began
A 2-day Commanders Conclave of the Eastern Air
Command (EAC) was inaugurated by Indian Air Force Chief
Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa on 16 August 2019 at HQ
EAC in Upper Shillong.
He discussed the prevailing security scenario and
emphasised on the need for all air warriors to remain ever
vigilant.
He also conveyed appreciation on successful completion of
various exercises conducted by HQ EAC.
INS Tarkash participated in Konkan Bilat Ex
The 14th Edition of KONKAN series of annual bilateral
exercises between Indian Navy and Royal Navy of Britain is
currently underway off the South Coast of UK.
INS Tarkash is exercising with the Royal Navy's Daring Class
Destroyer, HMS Defender with integral helicopter Wildcat.
KONKAN-19 will involve Gunnery Shoots, Manoeuvres,
Cross Deck Flying, ASW Screening and Air Defence
exercise.
Indian Army continues to lead in Scouts Comp
Indian Army team continued its outstanding performance
and has come first amongst 8 teams in Stage IV of the
ongoing International Army Scout Masters
Competition held in Jaisalmer.
Stage IV of the competition primarily included Timed
Reflex Shooting, Breaching of the Mine Field and checking
of Close Quarter Battle capability of all the teams under
simulated battle field conditions.
Chief of defence staff post to be created
PM Narendra Modi announced the government would
create the post of a chief of defence staff (CDS).
It will integrate the operations of the three forces--the
Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force.
The CDS was to be a five-star rank general – a rank above
the chiefs of the army, navy and air force.
Speculation is that army chief Bipin Rawat, could be
named to the post.
Motorcycle Expedition from Dras to Pune
An Adventure Bike Expedition was undertaken from Dras
on 26 July, 2019.
The expedition comprising of 2 Officers and 11 other ranks
of Bombay Sappers after traversing approx 2000kms had
reached Delhi on 11 Aug 2019.
On 13 Aug 2019 the Team was flagged off by the Vice Chief
of Army Staff, Lt Gen D Anbu.
The rally will be flagged in at Pune, Bombay Engineer
Group Centre on 21 Aug 2019.
Japanese Self Defence Ship visited Kochi
A missile destroyer, JS Sazanami of the Japanese Maritime
Self Defense Force (JMSDF), is on a two-day goodwill visit
to Kochi from 13 August 2019.
During the stay at Kochi, various activities such as visit of
IN personnel onboard JS Sazanami and professional
interaction between the two navies were conducted.
JS Sazanami is planned to depart for Bahrain on 14
August 2019.
Army launched 'Mission Reach Out' in Jammu
The Army launched Mission Reach Out in Jammu to ensure
that basic necessities and essential services are available in
the region post the abrogation of the provisions of Article
370 and reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir.
A high level conference to review the prevalent situation in
the region was held in the Nagrota Military Station,
which was chaired by Lt Gen Paramjit Singh.
INS Tarkash at Bergen, Norway
Indian Naval Ship Tarkash, entered the port of Bergen,
Norway on 9 Aug 2019 for a 3-day visit as part of Western
Fleet Overseas Deployment 01/ 2019.
The ship is part of the Indian Navy's Western Fleet and is
under the operational Command of Flag Officer
Commanding-in-Chief/ Western Naval Command.
The port call by Tarkash at Bergen is a demonstration of
India's warm ties with Norway.
Indian Army team 1st in Stage 1 of AISMC
Indian Army team secured 1st position followed by
Kazakhstan & Russian Army teams in Stage 1 of the
ongoing International Army Scout Masters Competition at
Jaisalmer Military Station.
A total of 7 teams from friendly foreign nations-Armenia,
Belarus, China, Uzbekistan, Russia, Sudan, Kazakhstan are
participating.
Indian Army is participating in the competition for the first
time as hosts.
Rajnath Singh chaired Roundtable
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chaired the Make in India
in Defence Industry Roundtable on 9 August 2019 in New
Delhi.
It was organised by the Department of Defence
Production, Ministry of Defence (MoD).
It aims to explore ways to attract investment, address the
concerns of the industry and promote innovations in
Defence sector.
The MoD has taken several steps to promote FDI in this
sector.
DAC approved procurement of indigenous SDR
Defence Acquisition Council approved procurement of
indigenous Software Defined Radio (SDR) and Next
Generation Maritime Mobile Coastal Batteries for the
Indian Navy.
The SDR is a complex and state of art communication
system which will enable information sharing.
The Batteries will be fitted with supersonic BrahMos
surface-to-surface cruise missiles and would be deployed
along the coast.
India to participate at SCO exercise in Russia
Indian army will participate in an anti-terrorism military
exercise in Russia.
The exercise, an initiative under the Shanghai Cooperation
Organisation, is to be held from September 10 to
September 21 at Orenburg in Russia.
This year, Russia has asked Mongolia, Turkmenistan,
Belarus and Iran to send their troops as special guests to
take part in the anti-terrorism military exercise.
Int. Army Scout Masters Competition began
The fifth edition of International Army Scout Masters
Competition was kicked off in Jaisalmer on 5 August 2019.
A total of 8 countries comprising of China, Russia, Belarus,
Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Sudan are participating
in the event including the Indian Army team.
The event commenced on August 5 and will continue till
August 16, 2019.
India test-fired SAR from Chandipur
India successfully test-fired its all weather tracked-chassis
Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QR-SAM) at
Chandipur in Odisha on 4 August 2019.
It was the second developmental trial of the missile in this
year from the same test range.
QR-SAM system can engage multiple targets within a
range of around 25 to 30 km with two vehicle
configuration for area air defence.
Army launched E-car to combat pollution
The Indian Army has launched an ecological initiative with
employing E Cars for use of its officials in New Delhi in
partnership with Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL).
The introduction of E-Car in Army at Delhi was visualised
on World Environment Day and launched on 01 Aug 2019
with flagging off the first lot of E-Cars for Indian Army by
QMG, Lt Gen Gopal R.
Spanish ship Mendez Nunez visited Goa
Spanish Navy Ship Mendez Nunez arrived at Mormugao
Port, Goa on 1 August 2019.
A number of activities between Indian Navy and the
Spanish warship are planned during the ship's three-day
stay at Goa.
Mendez Nunez, with pennant number F-104, is a
Multipurpose Frigate in service with Spanish Navy.
A Seahawk Lamps III helicopter is also carried onboard.
Polity
Consumer Protection Bill passed
Parliament passed the Consumer Protection Bill, 2019,
with the Rajya Sabah approving it on 7 August 2019.
The bill aims at protecting the interests of consumers by
establishing authorities for timely and effective
administration and settlement of consumers’ dispute.
It has a provision to set up a Central Consumer Protection
Authority to promote, protect and enforce the rights of
consumers.
Rajasthan Assembly passed bills
Rajasthan legislative assembly passed two important bills to
curb honour killings and Mob Lynching in the state on 6
August 2019.
'The Rajasthan Protection from Lynching Bill, 2019' and
‘The Rajasthan Prohibition of Interference with the
Freedom of Matrimonial Alliances in the Name of Honour
and Tradition Bill, 2019’ was passed by the assembly with
a voice vote.
Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill passed
The Upper House passed the Jammu and Kashmir
Reorganization Bill, 2019 by voice vote.
The Bill seeks to make Jammu and Kashmir a Union
Territory with the legislature and Ladakh Union Territory
without legislature.
The government also announced the repealing of Article
370 which grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir on
5 August 2019.
Transgender Persons Bill passed
Lok Sabha passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of
Rights) Bill, 2019.
The Bill prohibits discrimination against a transgender
person, including denial of service or unfair treatment in
relation to education, employment, healthcare, etc.
The Bill defines a transgender person as one whose gender
does not match the gender assigned at birth.
Bills passed
Lok Sabha passed the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019
that prohibits commercial surrogacy, but allows altruistic
surrogacy. It will prevent exploitation of surrogate
mothers and children born out of surrogacy.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill
was passed in the Lok Sabha. It proposes an increase
in number of judges in SC from 30 to 33 excluding the
Chief Justice of India.
AERA Bill passed
Parliament has passed the Airports Economic Regulatory
Authority of India, AERA (Amendment) Bill- 2019.
The bill increases the threshold of annual passenger traffic
for major airports from 15 lakh to over 35 lakh passengers.
The threshold has been increased as the number of air
traffic passenger has been increased 117 million from
2008 to 345 million now.
Bills passed
Rajya Sabha passed The Code on Wages Bill, 2019 on 2
August 2019. It will ensure statutory protection for
minimum wages and timely payment of wages to
approximately 50 crore workers of organized as well as
unorganized sector.
Rajya Sabha passed the Unlawful Activities (Prevention)
Amendment Bill, 2019. It gives powers to DG, NIA to attach
properties acquired from proceeds of terrorism.
NIA (Amendment) Act came into force
National Investigation Agency (Amendment) Act, 2019 has
come into force on 2 August 2019.
Parliament had approved the bill giving more powers to
NIA on 17th July 2019.
The act aims at enhancing the jurisdiction of National
Investigation Agency (NIA) to investigate scheduled
offences committed outside India targeting Indians as well
as Indian assets abroad.
The NIA was set up in 2009.
Bills passed
Parliament passed the Arbitration and Conciliation
(Amendment) Bill 2019 with the Lok Sabha approving it on
1 August 2019. The bill provides for a time-bound
settlement of disputes as well as accountability of the
arbitrator.
The Rajya Sabha passed the National Medical Commission
Bill, 2019 with few amendments. The Bill seeks to repeal
the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956.
POCSO (Amendment) Bill approved
Parliament passed the Protection of Children from Sexual
Offences (Amendment) Bill, POCSO, 2019 with the Lok
Sabha approving it unanimously.
The Rajya Sabha has already passed the bill.
The bill seeks to enhance punishment for sexual offences
against children, with a provision of death penalty.
Sexual harassment is covered under POCSO.
Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill passed
The Rajya Sabha passed the Motor Vehicles (Amendment)
Bill, 2019 with some amendments.
The bill seeks to amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 to
provide for road safety.
Provisions related to increasing penalties of traffic
violations, addressing issues on third-party insurance,
regulation of cab aggregators and road safety are
proposed in the amendment.
National Affairs
Call for expansion of aquaculture sector
Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu called for expansion of
India's aquaculture sector through diversification, value
addition and penetration in the hinterland and non-coastal
states.
He addressed the fifth edition of Aqua Aquaria India (AAI)
recently.
During 2018-19, India exported 14,37,445 tonnes of
seafood worth $6.8 billion. The US is the major market
followed by the European Union.
Delhi cabinet approved free travel for women
The Delhi cabinet approved free travel for women in buses
in the national capital.
The scheme, announced by chief minister and Aam Aadmi
Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, will be
effective 29 October 2019.
There will be a single-journey pass issued by the conductor
for women travellers.
The scheme is voluntary and women travelers can choose
to not avail the plan.
Air India to ban single-use plastic
Air India, India’s national airline, will ban the usage of
single-use plastic aboard its flights from October 2, 2019.
The ban will come into effect on all flights of Air India
Express and Alliance Air flights.
Air India will replace plastic teacups and tumblers with
sturdy paper cups and tumblers.
Chairman and MD of Air India Ltd: Ashwani
Lohani. Lifeline Express inaugurated at CSMT,
Mumbai
The Lifeline Express, also known as Hospital on Wheels,
was inaugurated at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus
by the Central Railway (CR) for its latest project, which
involves providing medical treatment to poor patients.
The train will now move to Sahibganj in Jharkhand from
Mumbai for its next project.
The Indian Railways had launched the Lifeline Express on
July 16, 1991.
Govt announced mega merger of pub. sec. banks
The government has announced the merger of ten public
sector banks into four banks.
It announced the merger of Oriental Bank of Commerce
and United Bank with Punjab National Bank as well as the
merger of Canara Bank and Syndicate Bank.
The merger of Union Bank of India, Andhra Bank and
Corporation Bank and the consolidation of Indian Bank
with Allahabad Bank was also announced.
Government to set up 12,500 AYUSH centres
The government has set a target of setting up 12,500
AYUSH centres across India.
The government is trying to set up 4000 such centres this
year itself.
1.5 lakh health and wellness centres are being opened
across the country.
During a ceremony held recently, PM Modi released 12
commemorative postal stamps to honour eminent
scholars, practitioners and Great Master Healers of AYUSH
Systems.
CBDT constituted special cell
The Central Board of Direct Taxes -CBDT has constituted a
five-member special cell to address grievances of start-ups
with relation to angel tax and other tax-related issues.
The cell will work towards redressal of grievances and
mitigate tax-related issues in case of start-up entities with
respect to the administration of Income-tax Act,1961.
Rare tarantula sighted in Villupuram district
Researchers sighted a critically endangered species of
tarantula for the first time beyond its known habitat in the
Eastern Ghats.
The spider belonging to the genus Poecilotheria is
commonly known as the Peacock Parachute Spider or
Gooty Tarantula.
It was spotted by a team of researchers of Indigenous
Biodiversity Foundation (IBF) in the Pakkamalai Reserve
Forests in Villupuram district.
Gorewada Int. Zoo to be set up at Nagpur
The Government planned to establish an International
Standard Zoo and Biopark on the forest land at Gorewada,
Nagpur.
The main aim is to protect forests.
The Zoo will have attractions like Bio Park, Indian Safari,
African Safari, Night Safari, Research, Education and
Training, facilities for tourists.
The Government agreed to provide Viability Gap Funding
(V.G.F) of Rs. 200 crore for it.
Dindigul lock, Kandangi saree got GI tag
Tamil Nadu’s Dindigul locks and Kandangi sarees have
received Geographical Indication (GI) tags.
The famous Dindigul locks are known throughout the
world for their superior quality and durability, that's why
the city is called Lock City.
The hand-woven Kandangi sarees also have a 150-year-old
tradition, and its history is related to the business
community of Chettiars.
India launched world’s first ever facial BSID
India became the first country in the world to issue
Biometric Seafarer Identity Document (BSID), capturing
the facial biometric data of seafarers.
The new facial biometric technology is a marked
improvement over the two-finger or iris-based bio-metric
data, with modern security features.
The project was taken up in collaboration with the Centre
for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC).
Air India to be privatized
The government is determined for the privatization of Air
India and people are interested in buying it.
Total privatization will be done in the shortest possible
time and with the best deal.
A web portal was launched recently.
Aviationjobs brings together job seekers and prospective
employers in the Indian civil aviation sector.
Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat visited Srinagar
Army Chief General Bipin Rawat visited Srinagar on 30
August 2019.
He will review the security situation and preparedness of
security forces in the Kashmir valley.
This is the first visit of Gen Rawat to the valley after the
abrogation of special status to Jammu and Kashmir under
Article 370.
Authorities have restored mobile phone services in five
sensitive districts of Jammu region.
‘Walk to work’ campaign in Meghalaya launched
Meghalaya Conrad K Sangma launched the campaign of Fit
India Movement on 29 August 2019.
He launched the #WalktoWorkMeghalaya which is a part
of the ‘Fit India Campaign’.
The idea of 'walk to work' will have multiple benefits, cuts
the cost of fuel including reduction of CO2 emission,
reduce congestion in the city and more importantly for
health and fitness.
Rs 47,000 cr released to increase green cover
Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate
Change Prakash Javadekar handed over Rs 47,000 crore
from Compensatory Afforestation Fund to various states.
This was done as a major step towards increasing
afforestation in the country.
The fund will be utilized for the compensatory
afforestation, catchment area treatment, wildlife
management, natural regeneration, etc.
Establishment of CDRI approved
The Union Cabinet approved the Establishment of an
International Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure
(CDRI) along with its supporting Secretariat Office in New
Delhi.
The proposal was approved by the Prime Minister on 13th
August 2019.
The CDRI is proposed to be launched at the UN Climate
Action Summit in New York, USA on 23rd September 2019.
Indian Bank opened MSME processing centre
Indian Bank has opened MSME CPC (centralised processing
centre) in Chennai.
The centralised processing centre will give a boost to the
bank’s MSME portfolio and will lead to speedy disposal of
micro, small and medium enterprises’ loans.
The bank has also deployed skilled manpower in the CPC
to improve credit quality and shorten transaction
processing time.
Astra Rafael opened facility
An Indo-Israel joint venture’s Astra Rafael Communication
System was inaugurated in Hyderabad.
The system will design, develop and manufacture tactical
communication systems for Indian armed forces.
The Joint Venture between Astra Microwave and Israel’s
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems has become India’s first
private sector firm to manufacture software-defined
radios in multiple variants.
NOAPS-single window clearing system launched
The Minister of State for Culture & Tourism launched an
integrated NOC online Application Processing System for
National Monuments Authority in New Delhi.
This will help in online processing of applications
requesting NOC for construction-related work in the
prohibited and regulated area of ASI protected
monuments.
6 new states will be part of it including MP, Haryana,
Punjab, and Telangana.
ONGC CMD honoured with Distinguished F'ship
ONGC CMD Shashi Shanker was honoured with the
Distinguished Fellowship of the Institute of Directors (IOD)
2019.
He was honoured during the 29th Institute of Directors
(IOD) Annual Day Ceremony for his distinguished
contribution to business and society.
The theme of this year’s IOD Annual Day Ceremony was
‘Future Boards: Leading Strategy to Embrace
Sustainability’.
Govt permitted 100% FDI in coal mining
The Union Cabinet relaxed Foreign Direct Investment rule
for foreign single-brand retailers and permitted foreign
investment in contract manufacturing and coal mining.
100% FDI under automatic route in coal mining and
associated infrastructure has been approved.
26% FDI has also been allowed under government route
for uploading and streaming of News and Current Affairs
through Digital Media.
Vigyan Mela in Ladakh inaugurated
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited Ladakh to
inaugurate a Vigyan Mela on 29 August 2019.
It will showcase crops and grains suitable for growing in
high altitude areas.
His visit to Ladakh was his first to the UT after it was
carved out from the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
He inaugurated the 26th Ladakhi Kisan Jawan Vigyan Mela
at Defence Institute Of High Altitude Research( DIHAR).
National Sports Day: 29 August
National Sports Day 2019 is being celebrated on 29
August across India.
It marks the birth anniversary of the legendary hockey
player Major Dhyan Chand, who was born on August 29 in
the year 1905.
The day is observed every year to spread awareness about
the importance of sports and games in the life of every
individual.
29 August was proclaimed as the country’s National Sports
Day in 2012.
PM Modi launched Fit India Movement
PM Narendra Modi launched a nation-wide Fit India
Movement on the occasion of National Sports Day on 29
August 2019.
The campaign is aimed at encouraging people to inculcate
physical activity and sports in their day to day life.
President Ramnath Kovind gave away the national sports
awards in New Delhi.
Bajrang Punia and Deepa Malik were conferred with Rajiv
Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.
J&K Governor announced 50,000 govt jobs
J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik announced that in coming 2-
3 months, about 50,000 government jobs will be provided
to the youths of the State.
The Administration is opening mobile phone connectivity
in Kupwara and Handwara districts of Kashmir and soon it
will be opened in other districts as well.
50 more degree colleges will be set up in the state.
National Affairs I
Leh District Deputy Commissioner, Sachin Kumar Vaishya,
launched Rotavirus vaccine on 28 August 2019. Rotavirus
is one of the cause of Diarrhoea in infants.
200 Foreigners Tribunals will become functional from 1st
of September 2019 in Assam. If someone's name doesn't
appear in the NRC, he or she can appeal before the
Foreigners Tribunals.
National Affairs II
The Union Cabinet has approved setting up of 75 new
Medical Colleges by 2021-22. The move will add 15,700
more MBBS seats in the country.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah flagged off the first fleet of
eco-friendly electric buses in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on 29
August 2019. He also inaugurated the country's first
automated battery charging and swapping station for e-
buses in Ahmedabad.
India to host UNCCD COP-14
India will host 14th Conference of Parties of the United
Nations Convention to Combat Desertification between 2-
13 September 2019.
The government aims the restoration of 50 lakh hectares
of land in next 10 years.
The conference of Parties will focus on desertification and
degradation of land.
Over 3000 representatives from over 200 countries will
participate in it.
All villages to be linked with Wi-Fi
The Government reiterated its commitment in providing
Wi-Fi in all the villages through GramNet with connectivity
between 10mbps to 100 mbps speed.
BharatNet also plans to provide 1 GBPS connectivity,
which can be expanded up to 10 GBPS and C-DOT’s XGS-
PON will help in a great way to achieve this.
C-Sat-Fi technology of C-DOT will empower Indian People
especially in rural and remote areas.
IRCTC has came up with a new scheme
Indian Railways' ticketing and catering arm IRCTC has
come up with a new scheme for passengers.
If Tejas Express (IRCTC has bagged the rights to run the
train) is late by more than hour then passengers may be
eligible for compensation.
IRCTC is planning to start the first of the two trains from
Delhi to Lucknow from October 2019.
The ticket prices will be in the line of Shatabdi Express.
Commencement of 10th CGD bidding round
Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel
Dharmendra Pradhan has launched the commencement of
work for 10th City Gas Distribution (CGD) bidding round.
It will cover 50 Geographical Areas (GAs) in 124 districts.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the 10th CGD
bidding Round on 22 November 2018.
2.02 crore PNG domestic connections will be provided and
3578 CNG stations will open.
Canara Bank launched OTP facility
Public sector lender Canara Bank has launched the first
OTP facility for ATM withdrawals.
In order to offer a more secured and safe system, Canara
bank will activate OTP facility for cash withdrawals of Rs
10,000 or more in a day.
This move is in line with banks trying to take security
measures to safeguard customers who use debit cards to
withdraw cash at ATMs.
Mobile application- Janaushadhi Sugam launched
Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers, D.V.
Sadananda Gowda launched a mobile application
Janaushadhi Sugam.
He also announced that Jan Aushadhi Suvidha Oxo-
Biodegradable Sanitary Napkin will now be available at
only One Rupee per pad.
The Janaushadhi Sugam will enable people to search
Janaushadhi generic medicines and the stores at the tip of
their fingers.
Indore set a record
After holding the top position in Swachhata Abhiyan since
the last 3 years, the citizens of Indore have taken a rapid
step to become number one in Jal Shakti Abhiyan too.
A record has been set by installing 1500 water harvesting
system in a day in Indore Municipal Corporation area.
Water harvesting system capsules are being given free of
cost under CSR on first come first serve basis.
Feroz Shah Stadium to now be Arun Jaitley St.
Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi will be renamed as Arun
Jaitley Stadium in memory of its former president who
passed recently.
The renaming will take place on 12 September 2019 at a
function where a stand at the Stadium will also be named
after India captain Virat Kohli.
Though the Stadium will be named Arun Jaitley Stadium,
the name of the ground will remain as Ferozeshah Kotla
Ground.
Microsoft to train government employees on AI
Microsoft India launched a program under which it will
train 5000 government employees over the next year on AI
and cloud computing skills.
The program, called ‘Digital Governance Tech Tour’, will
comprise of physical and virtual workshops.
The program will be open for technocrats and IT
professionals across the government, including employees
of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).
IIP set up plant to turn plastic into diesel
Union Minister for Science and Technology, Dr. Harsh
Vardhan and CM of Uttarakhand, Trivendra Singh Rawat
inaugurated a waste plastics to diesel plant in Dehradun.
The plant has been set up in the Indian Institute of
Petroleum whose scientists will process waste plastics into
fuel.
It has the capacity to produce 800-litre diesel from one
tonne of plastic.
Prakash Javadekar inaugurates Toy Bank classes
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar congratulated the "THE
TOY BANK" on completion of its 5000 centers in the
country.
'A world where all children are empowered through
healthy play' is the motto of "THE TOY BANK".
Union Minister Praksash Javadekar inaugurated the
classes.
'The Toy Bank' director - Vidyun Goyal.
Military Veterans Employment programme
Amazon India has launched a Military Veterans
Employment programme in the country.
This programme will create employment opportunities for
military veterans and their spouses across the company’s
fulfilment centres, sort centres and delivery centres in
India.
It is partnering with the office of the Director-General of
Resettlement (DGR) and the Army Welfare Placement
Organisation (AWPO).
National Digital Library of India launched
HRD Ministry has launched the National Digital Library of
India project.
It has been launched under the National Mission on
Education through Information and Communication
Technology, NMEICT.
Currently, there are more than 3 crore digital resources
available through the National Digital Library.
National Digital Library is also integrated with UMANG
App.
Integrated Texti. Tourism Complex in Meghalaya
In Meghalaya, the Union Minister of Textiles Smriti Zubin
Irani laid the foundation stone of the Integrated Textiles
Tourism Complex at Nongpoh, Ri Bhoi district.
She also announced that under the ‘Samarth’ scheme
which plans to skill 7,200 youth in apparel and garments,
textiles and handloom sectors has now been extended,
after the request of the Chief Minister.
TN: Edu. Dept launched TV channel for students
The Education Department in Tamil Nadu has launched an
exclusive 24-hour television channel for the school
students.
Interviews and motivational programmes on joining civil
services, defence forces and banks would be aired by the
television as a form of career guidance.
It was launched by the state Chief Minister Edappadi K
Palaniswamy at a function in Chennai.
Indian Army established 45 Army schools
As a part of this goodwill initiative, the Indian Army has
established 45 Army Goodwill schools in J&K wherein over
14 thousand students are studying at present.
Children belonging to low-income group families are given
admission for pursuing their studies free of cost in these
schools.
The Goodwill Schools are also providing employment to
qualified youth of the State.
Miscellaneous
A bus service between Nepal's capital Kathmandu and
India's Siliguri in West Bengal has started. The 44-seater
air-conditioned deluxe bus will complete 650 Kilometre-
journey between Kathmandu and Siliguri in 18 hours.
There has been more than 80% decline in new HIV
infection cases in the country since its peak in 1995. The
global average of decline in new infection is estimated at
47%.
5 lakh local water conserv. infra. developed
Over 3 crore 70 lakh people have joined the nationwide Jal
Shakti Abhiyan.
The government had launched the ambitious initiative on 1
July 2019 to enhance water security, especially in water-
stressed districts.
During the past two months, the initiative has delivered
over five lakh local water conservation infrastructures in
256 districts.
7th Community Radio Sammelan began
The 7th Community Radio Sammelan began in New Delhi
on 27 August 2019.
The three-day Sammelan, being organized by Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting, will witness participation of
all operational Community Radio Stations across the
country.
The theme of this year’s event is Community Radio for
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
India to have 10,000 CNG stations in 5 years
India will have 10,000 CNG stations in the next 5 years.
By 2050, India's incremental energy needs will be primarily
met by CNG.
India is the 3rd largest energy consumer of the world and
will become top consumer in a decade.
The present share of gas in the energy mix in the country is
6.2% compared to 24% globally and the aim is to increase
share of natural gas to 15% by 2030.
Bandhan Bank launched co-branded credit card
Bandhan Bank launched a co-branded credit card in
association with Standard Chartered bank.
This credit card would be offered to 40 lakh savings bank
account holders across the 1,000 branches of Bandhan
Bank.
As part of the tie-up, while Standard Chartered bank will
take the credit risk, Bandhan Bank will be responsible for
identifying and issuing cards to its customers.
SRK launched heritage postal stamp
Shah Rukh Khan launched heritage postal stamp of Bandra
station on the completion of 150 years of the railway
station.
He urged the people present at the launching event to use
the postal stamps instead of online texting.
Ashish Shelar, Minister of School Education, Sports and
Youth Welfare of Maharashtra was also present at the
Bandra station.
2 lakh bio-toilets installed in train coaches
Over 2 lakh bio-toilets have been installed in 60,906 train
coaches of Indian Railways.
The 'Bio-Toilet project' of Indian Railways is an innovative
and indigenous development of technology.
The technology for Bio-toilets have been innovated,
designed and is 'Made in India'.
It has been developed jointly by Indian Railways' Engineers
& DRDO's scientists.
Sept. to be celebrated as a month of nutrition
PM Narendra Modi announced to celebrate September as
a month of nutrition.
In his Mann Ki Baat programme, he laid emphasis on
creating awareness to fight malnutrition among children,
particularly the girl child.
Gujarat Government launched a pilot project, Poshan
Abhiyan, last year, which is a statewide mission to
eradicate malnutrition among children.
CVC constituted panel to examine bank fraud
The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has constituted
Advisory Board for Banking Frauds (ABBF) to examine bank
fraud of over 50 crore rupees and recommend action.
The panel was previously known as the Advisory Board on
Bank, Commercial and Financial Frauds.
The ABBF headed by former Vigilance Commissioner T M
Bhasin has been formed in consultation with the RBI.
Nicotine is now a class A poison in Karnataka
The Karnataka government has amended the Karnataka
Poisons (Possession and Sale) Rules 2015, notifying
nicotine as Class A poison under the rules.
This will strengthen the enforcement of the ban on
production and sale of electronic cigarettes.
Highly toxic chemicals, which even in very small quantities
as gas or vapour in the air are dangerous to life are
notified under Class A.
National Food Laboratory of FSSAI inaugurated
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan inaugurated
FSSAI's National Food Laboratory in Ghaziabad on the
occasion of 13th anniversary of the Food Safety and
Standards Act, 2006.
The lab is a result of a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP), the
first-of-its-kind in the food laboratory sector.
It houses the Food Safety Solution Centre and the Centre
for Microbiological Analysis Training (C-MAT).
Composite Water Management Index 2.0 Report
NITI Aayog has prepared the second Round of Composite
Water Management Index (CWMI 2.0).
The Report was launched on 23 August 2019 by Gajendra
Singh Shekhawat, Minister of Jal Shakti.
The CWMI is an important tool to assess and improve the
performance of States/ Union Territories in efficient
management of water resources.
CWMI 2.0 ranks various states for the reference year 2017-
18.
Jaipur Hunar Haat organised
Jaipur is organising the Hunar Haat from 24 August 2019.
This will be the first Hunar Haat of the Government.
Earlier, lakhs of artisans and craftsmen have been
provided employment and employment opportunities
through more than a dozen Hunar Haat in last 3 years.
More than 200 master artisans and culinary experts
including a large number of women artisans participated in
it.
Dr Jitendra Singh presented ANUBHAV awards
The Union Minister of State for the Ministry of
Development of North Eastern Region Dr. Jitendra Singh
presented the ANUBHAV Awards, 2019.
The Anubhav portal was created in 2015 with a vision to
preserve rich experience of retired official in digital form.
He also inaugurated the All India Pension Adalat organised
on the occasion.
First World Youth Conf on Kindness inaugurated
President Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the first World
Youth Conference on Kindness in New Delhi on 23 August
2019.
The first World Youth Conference on Kindness is being
organised by the UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of
Education for Peace and Sustainable Development,
Ministry of Human Resource Development.
The aim is to impart critical competencies in global youth
to inspire them.
Modernized AOPC inaugurated
Thaawarchand Gehlot, Union Minister for Social Justice
and Empowerment inaugurated the ‘Renovated ALIMCO
Orthotics and Prosthetic Centre (AOPC) and Residential
complex building of ALIMCO Headquarters at Kanpur.
The concept of Make in India is beginning to take shape in
the precincts of ALIMCO, Kanpur.
Two of the Projects under the modernization plan of
ALIMCO have been completed.
India to launch Bharatcraft for MSMEs
Union Government is planning to launch an e-commerce
portal named Bharatcraft for MSME’s.
The portal is based on other e-commerce portals like
‘Alibaba’ and ‘Amazon’.
The portal will provide a platform for MSMEs to market
and sell their products and in turn boost the sector.
The Bharatcraft portal has a huge potential to generate
revenue worth ₹10 lakh crore in next 2-3 years.
Bihar government to ban single use of plastic
Bihar government has taken several measures following
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal to ban single use
of plastic.
The government has banned single-use carry bags
throughout the state.
Licence of those factories has been cancelled who
produces single-use of carry bag.
Milk co-operative federations have been asked to collect
milk pouch from customers for recycling.
Centre announced series of measures
The government has unveiled a series of measures to
achieve higher economic growth.
It has withdrawn enhanced surcharge on Foreign
Portfolios Investors FPIs, restoring the pre-budget
position.
Surcharge on domestic investors in equity markets has
also been withdrawn.
The government has also decided to withdraw angel tax
provisions for startups and their investors.
Nitin Gadkari launched new website for MoRTH
Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari launched New
website of the Ministry of Road Transports and Highways
in Delhi.
The revamped website will be important to share critical
information about the ministry and its policies.
The 63 clauses of Motor Vehicle Act will be implemented
from September 1 in which penalties will be increased in
cases of drunken driving, over speeding and overloading.
Union HRD Minister launched NISHTHA
Union HRD Minister launched the training programme
NISHTHA, (National Initiative for School Heads and
Teachers Holistic Advancement) to improve Learning
Outcomes at the Elementary level across the country.
This is the largest teachers training programme of its kind
in the world.
The basic objective of it is to motivate and equip teachers
to encourage and foster critical thinking in students.
Super 50 programme launched in Maharashtra
Maharashtra’s Tribal Development Department in
association with the Pace Educational Trust launched an
academic programme Super 50.
The programme has been launched for young tribal
students aspiring to be doctors and engineers.
The Super 50 programme will mentor 50 most meritorious
tribal students from the State and prepare them for
engineering and medical exams.
Amazon’s largest campus inaugurated in Hyd.
Amazon has opened its largest campus in the world in
Hyderabad.
The campus covers 1.8 million square feet and can
accommodate 15,000 workers.
This is Amazon’s first owned-building outside of the US
and is also its largest tech base outside the Seattle
headquarters, which has about 155,000 contract
employees.
Telangana is home to one-third of Amazon’s total Indian
employees.
5th UIDAI Aadhaar Seva Kendra operational
Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) 5th stand-
alone Aadhaar Seva Kendra has become operational at
Hisar in Haryana.
Till now, four Aadhaar Seva Kendras are operational and
three more will become operational by next week.
This is part of the UIDAI’s plan to open 114 such centres in
53 cities across the country for providing hassle-free
Aadhaar enrollment and services.
R K Singh approved a proposal
Minister of New and Renewable Energy R K Singh
approved a proposal to declare ocean energy as
Renewable Energy.
The decision will give a boost to ocean energy in the
country.
He has also clarified to all stakeholders that energy
produced using various forms of ocean energy such as
tidal, wave and ocean thermal energy conversion will be
considered as Renewable Energy.
24th meeting of Western Zonal Council held
Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired the 24th meeting
of Western Zonal Council at Panaji in Goa on 22 August
2019.
It is a forum for the Centre and states to exchange ideas
on issues like health, security and social welfare.
Modalities for allocation of surplus land of Central
Government for housing for poor, utilisation of funds for
police modernisation, etc. were discussed in the meeting.
EC introduced a programme for electors
The Election Commission of India introduced a programme
for the electors to crosscheck their details registered in the
voters' list.
The move is to ensure a cent per cent error-free electoral
roll.
It is in connection with the special summary revision of the
roll with 1 January 2019 as the qualifying date.
The verification programme would be from the first to the
30th of next month.
National Affairs I
Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel launched the book -
the Diary of Manu Gandhi at a function in New Delhi. The
book has been brought out by National Archives of India,
on the occasion of 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
The Centre has asked all the Cooperative Milk Federations
and Private Dairies to at least halve the use of plastic by
Gandhi Jayanti on 2nd October 2019.
National Affairs II
FASTags will become mandatory for all vehicles from
December 2019. FASTag enabled vehicles can cruise
through the dedicated FASTag lane without stopping at toll
plazas on National Highways.
Centre has notified new sets of health warnings for all
tobacco products by making an amendment in the
Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products Rules, 2008,
which will come into effect from September 1, 2019.
Lok Sabha Secretariat bans use of plastic
The Lok Sabha Secretariat has prohibited the use of non-
reusable plastic water bottles and other plastic items
within the Parliament House Complex from 20 August
2019.
All officers/staff of the Secretariat and other allied
agencies working in the Parliament House Complex have
been advised to use environment-friendly/biodegradable
bags/materials instead.
OSDMA to launch special cell for PwDs
Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA)
has decided to open a cell for PWDs.
The cell would look into special needs of the persons with
disability during Evacuation, Search & Rescue,
Rehabilitation and Resettlements.
It will make networking with both Government & Private
organizations and prepare a database of Persons with
Disabilities.
9TH Session of India-Kenya JTC held
The 9th Session of the India-Kenya Joint Trade Committee
(JTC) was held on 19-20 August 2019 in New Delhi.
The Indian delegation was led by Union Minister of
Commerce & Industry and Railways, Piyush Goyal.
Both sides reviewed the developments in their bilateral
trade and noted the trends since the last session of the
India-Kenya JTC held in August 2018.
NAREDCO 15th National Convention inaugurated
The Housing for all 2022: NAREDCO 15th National
Convention: Real Estate Reflection Point: Readying for the
future was inaugurated on 20 August 2019.
The event was organised by National Real Estate
Development Council (NAREDCO).
NAREDCO was established as an autonomous self-
regulatory body in 1998 under the aegis of the Ministry of
Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India.
3000th railway station gets Wi-Fi
Ellenabad railway station under Bikaner Division of North
Western Railway became the 3000th station in the country
to have free public Wi-Fi.
A town in Haryana, Ellenabad is situated at the north of
the Ghaggar- Hakra river, and serves as a port of entry into
Haryana from Rajasthan.
Incidentally, the 2000th station to get Wi-Fi was Rana
Pratap Nagar, also under the North Western Railway.
Uday Exp to run between Vizag and Vijaywada
Indian Railway’s 2nd double-decker Uday (Utkrisht Double-
Decker Air Conditioned Yatri) Express will run between
Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada.
The train would consist of 9 double-decker coaches and 2
power cars.
The trains are primarily allocated to routes with heavy
passenger traffic.
They are equipped with WiFi facility, have striking
interiors, cushioned seating, and display screens.
Live tracking system for MSRTC buses launched
Maharashtra Transport Minister Diwakar Raote launched a
tracking system for MSRTC buses which will allow people
to have real-time information about their commute.
The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation has
over 18,000 buses in its fleet and carries more than 67 lakh
passengers daily.
At present, it is ready on Mumbai-Nashik route for all
Shivneri buses, the premium brand of MSRTC.
National Affairs
Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the issues
related to final publication of the National Register of
Citizens (NRC) in Assam. The review meeting was held in
New Delhi on 19 August 2019.
The J&K Government has constituted 3 high-level
committees for the formal establishment of UT of Jammu
and Kashmir and Ladakh. These Committees will deal with
financial matters and other issues.
President Kovind launched plantation drive
President Ram Nath Kovind planted a sapling of Maulsari
in the Rashtrapati Bhavan Estate and launched a
plantation drive as part of Van Mahotsav celebrations.
Over the next few weeks, the President's Secretariat will
be planting over three thousand trees and around three
thousand shrubs.
The President’s Estate is spread over 330 acres of harbours
rich biodiversity.
State Tourism Ministers Conference inaugurated
The Union Minister of State for Tourism & Culture Prahlad
Singh Patel inaugurated the State Tourism Ministers’
Conference in New Delhi on 20 August 2019.
It was organized by the Ministry of Tourism, Government
of India.
The Conference provided a platform for the Ministry of
Tourism to apprise the States / UTs about new initiatives
taken and those in the pipeline.
Odisha approved conservation plan of lakes
The Odisha Wetland Authority has approved
implementation of an integrated management plan of
lakes Chilika and Ansupa.
The Chilika lake is India’s largest brackish water lagoon and
Ansupa is the Odisha’s largest freshwater lake.
The 5-year management plan of lakes is intended at
strengthening livelihood of thousands of fishermen relying
on the two water-bodies.
National Affairs I
Prasar Bharti Chairman A Suryapakash has announced that
Prasar Bharati would soon be introducing two awards - the
Neelum Sharma Tejaswini award and the Achyutananda
Sahoo Award.
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis has approved various
infrastructure projects for Mumbai and its adjoining
areas. The 3 projects would be constructed by the Mumbai
Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).
National Affairs II
All personnel working in the Central Armed Police
Forces will now retire at a uniform age of 60 years. A
Home Ministry order corrected the anomaly where
personnel superannuated at the age of 57, instead of 60.
The nation paid homage to former Prime Minister Rajiv
Gandhi on his 75th birth anniversary. Several programmes
were organised in different parts of the country to mark
the occasion.
HP broke record, received highest rainfall
The local Indian Meteorological Department (IMD)
informed that Himachal Pradesh recorded highest ever
rainfall on 18th August 2019 by breaking the record of last
70 years.
According to the IMD, rains across different places in the
state will continue for the next 24 hours.
Naina Devi recorded the highest rainfall at 360 mm and
Shimla recorded 153 mm of rainfall.
Pretomanid: A new drug to treat TB
The USFDA approved a new drug called Pretomanid.
It is only the third new anti-TB drug approved for use by
USFDA in over 40 years.
Pretomanid is part of the same class of drugs as delamanid
-- one of the other two TB drugs approved in the last half
century, developed by pharmaceutical corporation Otsuka.
The drug is used over a six-month period in concert with
two other TB mediciations.
HRD Minister inaugurated 2-day int. conference
Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’
inaugurated an international conference on teacher
education in New Delhi on 17 August 2019.
The 2-day event was organized by the National Council of
Teacher Education as part of silver jubilee celebration of
its establishment in 1995.
The Ministry will launch the world's biggest project for
teacher training on August 22, 2019.
President inaugurated Bunker Museum in Mumbai
President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the underground
Bunker Museum at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai on 18 August
2019.
The 15,000 square feet underground bunker museum has
virtual reality booths in which visitors can time travel to
the 19th century.
The bunker was created in the 19th century to fire
cannons at approaching enemy ships.
The museum will be opened for the general public later in
2019.
National Affairs
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has formed a
committee to examine allegations of illegal sand mining in
the Yamuna River and sought a report within a month.
Union Minister of State for Chemical & Fertilizers Mansukh
Mandaviya announced that the first Central Institute of
Chemical Engineering & Technology (CICET) will be set up
in Gujarat.
Debt waiver for 'small distressed borrowers'
The government plans to give debt waiver for small
distressed borrowers under the insolvency law framework.
The proposed waiver would be offered as part of 'Fresh
Start' provisions under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy
Code (IBC).
The IBC provides the framework to deal with distressed
assets through a market-driven and time-bound process.
1st museum on Chaitanya Mahaprabhu opened
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee inaugurated
the world's first museum dedicated to the life and
teachings of a 16th-century saint and social reformer
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Kolkata.
The museum was constructed by Gaudiya Mission.
The Gaudiya Mission, a spiritual and philanthropic
organisation established in 1935, propagates the teachings
of Sri Chaitanya and the Vaishnava faith.
SC clears Chardham highway project
Supreme Court has cleared the decks for the Chardham
highway project.
The project will connect four holy places of Uttarakhand
through 900-km all-weather roads.
The apex court also asked the Union Environment and
Forest Ministry to form the high-powered committee by
August 22 to look into environmental concerns.
India gets its first NEDL
India has got its first National Essential Diagnostics List
(NEDL) finalised by the Indian Council of Medical Research
(ICMR).
NEDL aims to bridge the current regulatory system’s gap
that does not cover all the medical devices and in-vitro
diagnostic device (IVD).
The list is meant for facilities from the village till the
district level.
Four New Products get GI Tag
The Geographical Indication (GI) under the Department for
Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade has recently
registered 4 new GIs.
Palani Panchamirtham from Palani Town in Dindigul
District of Tamil Nadu State, Tawlhlohpuan and Mizo
Puanchei from the state of Mizoram and Tirur Betel leaf
from Kerala are the latest additions to the list of registered
GIs.
National Workshop on Sustainable Sanitation
The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs will organize a one
day national workshop cum exhibition at Vigyan Bhawan
on 19 August, 2019.
Shri Thawar Chand Gehlot, Union Minister, Ministry of
Social Justice and Empowerment will be the Chief Guest of
the event.
The workshop on sustainable sanitation is being organized
in order to bring relevant stakeholders to strategize on
mitigating the risks.
Dr Harsh Vardhan inaugurates ABVIMS
On the first death anniversary of former Prime Minister
Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Union Health Minister of India
Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the medical college named
after the late Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, at the
Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi on August 16.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences
(ABVIMS) started with 100 MBBS seats this year.
Scheme to involve school eco clubs launched
In Delhi, a scheme to involve school eco clubs in the DDA's
plantation drive was launched at a green belt in Rohini's
sector 37 on 16 August 2019 by Union Minister for
Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri.
As part of an afforestation drive of the Delhi Development
Authority, 4 lakh indigenous trees will be planted this year
across various biodiversity parks in the national capital.
Assam got 1st ever fuel station
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated
the first ever CNG fuel station of the state in Dibrugarh on
17 August 2019.
With the inauguration of this clean and green fuel station,
it will reduce environmental pollution.
Mr. Sonowal has given much emphasis to make the state
free from pollution.
Since CNG is an affordable fuel it will be cost effective for
the users.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee resi. schools to be set
In UP, state government will set up Atal Bihari Vajpayee
residential schools for children of labourers in all 18
divisions of state.
CM Yogi Adityanath announced many projects in
state including a memorial in Bateshwar, the former prime
minister's native village in Agra.
A 25-foot-tall statue will be stalled at the Secretariat Lok
Bhawan on Vajpayee's birth anniversary on December 25,
2019.
Municipal Corporation of Lucknow fixed penalty
In UP, municipal corporation of Lucknow has fixed the
penalty on keeping plastic bags from 16 August 2019.
Now keeping plastic bags or throwing them on roads will
attract a penalty of maximum Rs.25,000 from any group or
institute and one thousand rupees from individual in the
city.
Corporation has launched a drive against the use of plastic
and it will run for next two months.
IIHM Initiative on Independence Day
Supporting the 17 goals of Sustainable
Development, International Institute of Hotel
Management launched an initiative.
On 15th August, 2019, students of IIHM across the country
have visited, children's homes and old age homes where
they distributed fruits and cooked food among the
inhabitants.
The name of this initiative is 'Freedom from Hunger'.
Short film by Indian Railways won award
A short-film –'Madhubani- The Station of Colours', bagged
the ‘Rajat-Kamal’ award at the 66th National Film Awards
for 2018.
It narrates the beautification of a remote railway station
belonging to the East Central Railway (ECR).
The Madhubani railway station located in a remote part of
Madhubani district of Bihar was earlier ranked as the
country’s second most dirty railway station.
Air India flew over the North Pole
Air India became the first Indian airline to fly over the
North Pole while connecting New Delhi and North
America.
The inaugural flight over the Polar region took on August
15, 2019 and flew from New Delhi to San Francisco.
This was one big achievement for the civil aviation in India
as none of the Indian airlines has ever done this.
It was piloted by Capt Rajneesh Sharma and Capt Digvijay.
Largest rural sanitation survey launched
Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat launched
the Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2019 (SSG 2019) on
14 August 2019.
To be instituted from August 14-September 30, 2019, SSG
2019 will cover 17,450 villages in 698 districts across India
and include 87,250 public places.
Around 2,50,000 citizens will be interviewed for their
feedback as part of the survey.
Rare tea variety sold for Rs 75,000 per kg
A rare variety of tea from Upper Assam's Dikom Tea Estate
set a new record today after it was auctioned for Rs.
75,000 per kg at the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC).
The tea, 'Golden Butterfly', was purchased by city-based
Assam Tea Traders.
An exotic tea is judged by its aroma, taste and colour and
this tea is characterised by extremely mellow and sweet
caramel flavour.
‘Panchamirtham’ got GI tag
The famous Palani panchamirtham, given as ‘prasadam’ at
the Murugan temple, Tamil Nadu, has been granted the
Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
This is the first time a temple ‘prasadam’ from Tamil Nadu
has been bestowed with the GI tag.
The panchamirtham is a combination of five natural
substances — banana, jaggery, cow ghee, honey and
cardamom.
Gujarat govt to open Army schools
Gujarat government will open Army schools in tribal-
dominated areas to provide required training to youths
and to help them get selected to serve in defence forces.
The government has set up medical colleges in the tribal-
majority districts of Dahod, Tapi, Surat and Valsad.
The government has taken adequate steps to ensure that
tribal population is not deprived of higher education.
Mumbai to get first Indian Institute of Skills
Mumbai is all set to get the first Indian Institute of Skills -
IIS, the foundation stone of which will be laid in September
2019.
Union Minister for Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship, Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey announced
that the institute will be operational by 2020.
The project will be executed on a Public-Private
Partnership basis.
Tripura got direct flight service
Tripura gets its direct flight service from 14 August 2019.
In a new development in air transportation for Tripura
state, the Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb flagged off
Delhi -Agartala direct flight service at Maharaja Bir Bikram
Airport.
The direct flight would be helpful in attracting more
tourist, enhancing business and all other sectors.
PM announced Jal Jeevan Mission
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced 'Jal Jivan'
mission to make drinking water available to all households.
The government will spend 3.5 lakh crore rupees for it.
The movement towards water conservation has to take
place at the grassroots level and it should not be limited to
mere a Government programme.
People from all walks of life have to be integrated in this
movement.
Inter-State Council reconstituted
The government has reconstituted the Inter State Council
and the Standing Committee of the Inter State Council.
According to the notification, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi is the Chairman of the Inter State Council.
Chief Ministers of all States and six Union Ministers
including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah and Nirmala
Sitharaman are the members of the Council.
Swachh Survekshan 2020 launched
Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State for Housing & Urban
Affairs launched the Swachh Survekshan 2020.
It is the fifth edition of the annual cleanliness survey
conducted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
(MoHUA).
SBM Water PLUS Protocol and Toolkit, Swachh Nagar – an
integrated waste management app and AI-enabled mSBM
App were also launched.
Watan - a patriotic song by DD - released
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar released patriotic song
Watan produced by Doordarshan to mark the occasion of
Independence Day, 2019 in New Delhi on 13 August 2019.
The song pays tribute to New India.
It highlights several path-breaking initiatives of the
government including the determination and vision behind
the recent successful launch of Chandrayaan 2.
Railways to launch its commando unit
The Commandos for Railway Safety (CORAS) will be
deployed in Naxal-prone belts, Jammu and Kashmir and
North East after its launch on 14 August 2019.
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and MoS Railway Suresh C
Angadi will launch CORAS in New Delhi.
CORAS is headed by the Director General of the RPF and is
armed with special uniforms with bullet-proof jackets,
helmets and sophisticated weapons.
State of Art Gallery inaugurated
Union Minister of Textiles and Women and Child
Development, Smriti Irani, inaugurated Textiles Gallery at
National Crafts Museum in New Delhi on 13 Aug 19.
The gallery will serve to be a resource centre for the
students of fashion technology, apparel sciences and
textiles designing.
It consists of more than 230 different types of textiles
collections divided into categories of 30 traditions.
CSR non-compliance should be a civil offence
A high-level committee has recommended that non-
compliance with CSR norms be made a civil offence and
moved to a penalty regime.
This is a departure from the recent policy change which
had provided for a three-year jail term for violating CSR
norms.
The committee chaired by Injeti Srinivas, secretary,
corporate affairs ministry, submitted its recommendations
to Sitharaman.
RPF launched Operation Number Plate
Railway Protection Force (RPF) of Indian Railways launched
a Special Drive with a Code Name – Operation Number
Plate.
It will identify and verify all vehicles parked in Railway
premises, circulating area, parkings and ‘No Parking’ areas
for longer duration.
The unidentified vehicles are considered as a serious
threat to security and safety of passengers and other
stakeholders of railways.
National Affairs
The legislative party of Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF)
merged itself with BJP on 13 August 2019. Out of 13, 10
MLAs of the SDF joined BJP in the presence of party
general secretary Ram Madhav in New Delhi.
Maharashtra government will conduct disease-wise survey
of the flood-hit areas. The aid surveys are also being
conducted on the basis of diseases like fever, diarrhoea
and jaundice.
Global Investors Summit to be held in Srinagar
Jammu and Kashmir government will host a 3-day Global
Investors Summit from 12th October 2019 in Srinagar.
The first ever summit in the state will provide J&K an
opportunity to showcase its strengths, strategies and
potential.
The summit will also provide an opportunity to allay fears
and apprehensions in the minds of outside trade and
business community.
Headgear mandatory for children above 4 years
Protective headgear of prescribed standards has been
made mandatory for children above four years while
travelling on a motorcycle.
The safety measures for the children travelling on
motorcycles have been included in the Motor Vehicles
(Amendment) Act 2019 that is passed by Parliament.
The President of India gave assent to the Act recently.
Gandhi's 150th birth anniv as Community Day
The railways will mark Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth
anniversary as Community Day, according to an action
plan of the Railway Board.
A special exhibition titled From Mohan Das to Mahatma
would also be held.
150 small nurseries are to be set up on railway land
adjacent to tracks, especially around metro areas.
Vikram Sarabhai's celebrations kick off
The year-long centenary celebration of the birth
anniversary of Vikram Sarabhai, father of India's space
programme, was kicked off in Ahmedabad on 12 August
2019.
The centenary programme includes exhibitions,
competitions to school children, journalism awards and
speeches by eminent personalities.
The programme will be conducted across 100 selected
cities and will end on August 12, 2020.
Government to start special hospitals
Special hospitals offering Indian Systems of Medicines like
Siddha and Ayurveda will be started in 150 districts across
the country.
This was stated by Union Minister of State for AYUSH
Sripad Yesso Naik, while inaugurating an Ayurveda medical
College in Tamil Nadu.
A six months course in basic medicine has been started
with the intention of providing basic healthcare in rural
areas.
Chhattisgarh locals formed 15-km long chain
Thousands of students and members of several social
organisations unfurled a 15-km long national flag by
forming a human chain in Raipur on 11 August 2019.
The event, organised by Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam
Foundation, entered the Champions Book of World
Records (for the longest tricolour).
Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel felicitated the families of
martyrs during the event.
GRSE launched fifth FPV for Coast Guard
Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) launched
a fifth Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) for the Indian Coast Guard
(ICG).
Named Kanaklata Barua after a freedom fighter from
Assam, the vessel is the last of the five FPVs built by GRSE
for the Coast Guard.
The vessel is 50 metres long and 7.5 metres wide with a
displacement of around 308 tonnes.
It is equipped with three main engines.
2-day exhibition on DAE Technologies
The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) organized a 2-day
exhibition on DAE spin-off technologies for non-power
applications at New Moti Bagh recreation club, New Delhi.
The exhibition is open to public for two days (Aug 11-12,
2019).
It is covering technologies developed by the Bhabha
Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Raja Ramanna Centre for
Advance Technology, Indore and other Units of DAE.
Plan for coastal zone management unveiled
The Environment Ministry has unveiled a draft plan that
will dictate how prospective infrastructure projects
situated along the coast ought to be assessed before they
can apply for clearance.
The draft Environmental and Social Management
Framework (ESMF) is part of a World Bank-funded project.
The document lays out guidelines out for coastal States.
Universities get access to Urkund software
All universities in India, public and private, have been
given trial access to anti-plagiarism software 'Urkund'.
Final subscription to access the Swedish software will
begin from 1 September 2019.
It will be available to teachers, students, and researchers.
The Urkund software was chosen through a global tender
process.
Hyderabad Police created green corridor
Hyderabad Traffic Police created a green corridor on 9
August 2019 to facilitate the transportation of a live heart
here.
The organ was transported from Care Hospital in Banjara
Hills to Care Hospital, Nampally.
The 6-kilometre journey was completed within ten
minutes, 10-15 minutes earlier than in regular traffic.
The ambulance reached Care Hospital, Namapally at 8.18
PM.
Website for COP14 launched
Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar launched
a website 'unccdcop14india.gov.in, which contains all the
information related to COP14 .
The 14th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
(COP14), will take place on 2-13 Sept 2019 in Delhi.
Over 3,000 participants from all over the world are
expected to participate in COP14.
TRAI proposed third party apps
TRAI proposed having a channel selection system
developed by a third party to make the process easy.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, in March 2017,
had notified the 'New Regulatory Framework' for
Broadcasting and Cable services.
It issued a draft amendment to the Telecommunication
Services Standards of Quality of Service and Consumer
Protection Regulations, 2017 on 9 August 2019.
Cochin Shipyard launched two ro-pax vessels
The Cochin Shipyard launched two ro-pax (roll-on roll-off
passenger) vessels designed and built by it for the Inland
Waterways Authority of India (IWAI).
The vessels were the third and fourth in a series of 10
vessels, eight ro-pax and two ro-ro vessels, ordered by the
IWAI.
The vessels would be operated in National Waterways 1
and 2.
They are capable of accommodating 200 passengers each.
Inter-State portability inaugurated
The Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public
Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan inaugurated the inter-State
portability in two clusters of adjoining States of Andhra
Pradesh & Telangana and Gujarat & Maharashtra.
This will enable beneficiaries from either States’ cluster to
avail the benefits accruing to them under the National
Food Security Act from any of the two States.
3rd Int. Electric Vehicle Conclave inaugurated
The 3rd International Electric Vehicle Conclave was
inaugurated in Manesar, Gurugram on 9 August 2019.
The Conclave was held to create a knowledge-sharing
platform to ensure flow of information at all levels in the
automotive sector.
It has grown and transformed itself into a global event
since 2017.
It focuses on new trends and challenges in the field of
electric mobility.
UP created record
In UP, 4 world records were made in the massive
plantation drive Vriksharopan Mahakumbh on the
occasion of 77th anniversary of Quit India Movement.
More than 22 crore saplings were planted at 12.2 lakh
locations under the drive.
Free distribution of saplings in Prayagraj district created a
world record and was certified by the Guinness as the
largest distribution of saplings in the world.
25% cargo through coastal shipping
The government has set a target of transporting nearly
25% of cargo through coastal shipping and inland
waterways over the next 10 years.
Increase in exim cargo will help reduce inflation by nearly
2.5%.
Logistics cost is still 5% more than global cost.
The port-led development initiatives taken by the
government will help achieve this target.
India's first underwater train to be launched
India's first underwater train project in Kolkata is almost
complete.
The metro will soon be operational.
India's first underwater train will soon get started in
Kolkata under the Hubli river. This train is proof of the
progress made by Indian Railways.
The 16-kilometer long Kolkata Metro project will connect
Salt Sector 5 with Howrah Maidan.
Rajnath Singh chaired Roundtable
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chaired the Make in India
in Defence Industry Roundtable on 9 August 2019 in New
Delhi.
It was organised by the Department of Defence
Production, Ministry of Defence (MoD).
It aims to explore ways to attract investment, address the
concerns of the industry and promote innovations in
Defence sector.
The MoD has taken several steps to promote FDI in this
sector.
Workshop on Tribal Enterprise inaugurated
Arjun Munda, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs inaugurated
a National Workshop on Tribal Enterprise with focus on
Honey, Bamboo and Lac on 8 August 2019.
He also released the Flyers and Reports on (1) Bamboo and
Bamboonomics ; (2) Lac; and (3) Honey on the occasion.
National Workshop was organized to fine-tune its action
plan on the Promoting Tribal Enterprise on Bamboo,
Honey and lac.
National Affairs I
Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launched
‘Samagra Shiksha-Jal Suraksha’ drive on 9 August 2019 in
New Delhi to create awareness about Water Conservation
among all school students in the country.
The Central Information Commission held a seminar on
Human Resource Development and Right to Information
Act 2005 on 9 August 2019 in New Delhi.
National Affairs II
A special Postage Stamp and First Day Cover was released
to commemorate the Golden Jubilee Edition of
International Film Festival of India. The festival will take
place from the 20-28 November 2019 in Goa.
Ministry of New & Renewable Energy organised Curtain
Raiser ceremony for the 3rd Renewable Energy Investors'
Meet and Expo which will be held from 30 October-2
November 2019 in India.
Odisha police station in top 10 in India
Tarava police station in the Subarnapur district of Odisha
has been adjudged as one of the 10 best police stations in
India in the annual ranking for the year 2018.
The certificate of excellence and a trophy were handed
over to Tarava police inspector Dulamani Bhoi by Odisha
DGP R.P. Sharma.
Tarava P.S. got this award on the basis of smart policing,
citizen-centric policing, and more.
National Affairs
A day-long NHRC National Level Review Meeting on
Mental Health concluded at India International centre,
New Delhi on 7 August 2019.
The e-version of Rozgar Samachar has been launched
recently by Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting
Shri Prakash Javadekar. It will make aspirants aware of job
opportunities in government sector including public sector
enterprises.
Mountaineering Exp. flagged off to Mt. Elbrus
Minister of State for Defence Shripad Yesso Naik flagged
off an Expedition Team of Himalayan Mountaineering
Institute, Darjeeling to Mt. Elbrus, Russia on 6 August
2019.
The expedition team of 8 professional mountaineers, led
by HMI Principal, GpCapt Jaikishan, plans to summit Mt.
Elbrus, on August 15, 2019, and hoist India's flag atop the
mountain to coincide with 73rd Independence Day.
22nd National Conference on e-Governance
The 22nd National Conference on e-Governance (NCeG)
2019 will be held on 8-9th August 2019 at Shillong,
Meghalaya.
The theme of this Conference is 'Digital India: Success to
Excellence'.
The Conference is a part of the DARPG’s 100 days
initiatives in the new Government.
This is the first time the event is being organized in North-
Eastern region of the country.
PMAY(U) Awards for Beneficiaries instituted
Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs has instituted
PMAY(U) Awards for Beneficiaries for the first time to
recognise the contribution of States/UTs, Urban Local
Bodies and Beneficiaries.
This award is in addition to CLSS Award for recognising the
contribution of PMAY (U) Banks and Housing Finance
Companies.
The winners will be awarded during a National level Event.
National Affairs
Chandrayaan-2 successfully completed its fifth and final
earth-bound orbit-raising manoeuvre on 6 August,19. The
manoeuvre led the spacecraft to reach an orbit of
substantial apogee, that is the farthest point from the
Earth.
The 4th session of the 13th Nagaland Legislative Assembly
began on 6 Aug 2019. CM Neiphiu Rio introduced the
Nagaland Protection of Interests of Depositors Bill, 2018.
National Affairs I
Aamir Khan attended the launch function of Mission
Shakti, an initiative by Maharashtra Minister Sudhir
Mungantiwar to train athletes from Chandrapur and
Gadchiroli for international events like the Olympics.
Arunachal Pradesh State Home Minister Bamang Felix
flagged of 5 Anti-Riot police vehicle, also known as Vajra,
from Police Headquarter in Itanagar.
Workshop organized by NCRB
A 1-day Workshop on ‘Role of Technology in Reuniting
Missing Children & Trafficked Persons’ was jointly
organised by National Crime Records Bureau and Indian
Police Foundation on 5th August, 2019.
The workshop deliberated on the use of biometrics by law
enforcement agencies for the identification of persons.
Use of biometrics has become a necessity in today’s
complex world.
Second All India Annual Conference organized
The Second All India Annual Conference of Indian
Information Service Officers was organized in New Delhi
on 5 August 2019.
It was organized with a view to attain greater integration
of all Media Units under the Ministry of Information &
Broadcasting in order to further amplify government
communication.
A Performance Review of Media Units was also conducted
during the Conference.
Mohali got first 3-D traffic signal
Mohali traffic police launched 3-D Smart Traffic Signal
devised by the students of a Chandigarh university.
The wireless system, called 'Intelights', has been installed
at the traffic crossing near the Airport Road, on a pilot
project basis.
It will regulate traffic signals with a smart bird's eye view
wireless sensor system.
It uses existing CCTV cameras to gather live traffic video
feed.
National Affairs II
Competition Commission of India imposed a penalty on
SAAR IT Resources Pvt. Ltd., CADD Systems and Services
Pvt. Ltd. and Pentacle Consultants (I) Pvt. Ltd for doing bid-
rigging.
Lalit Kala Akademi celebrated its 65th Foundation Day
on August 5th, 2019, at the Lalit Kala Art Galleries of
Rabindra Bhawan, New Delhi. ‘Mithila Ki Lokchitrakala’ a
book by Avdhesh Aman was also launched here.
Udaipur to host largest education brainstorm
The 3rd edition of the ScooNews Global Educators Fest
(SGEF) will be held on the 9-10 August 2019, Udaipur.
It will bring together over 500 educators to discuss the
way towards establishing India as the next global
education powerhouse.
The theme is ‘Education for Sustainability: Moving on from
Conformity to Creativity’.
Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar of Udaipur Royalty is the patron
for 2019.
RBI imposed ₹50 lakh fine on SBI
The Reserve Bank has imposed a penalty of ₹50 lakh on
SBI for non-compliance relating to reporting of frauds.
RBI has slapped penalties on eight commercial banks,
including, Punjab National Bank and Bank of Baroda, for a
host of violations.
RBI imposed a penalty of ₹50 lakh on PNB for delay in
reporting of fraud in the account of Kingfisher Airlines.
Amit Shah moved RS to scrap Article 370
Union Home Minister Amit Shah moved the Rajya Sabha to
scrap Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, removing the
special status granted to the state.
The order, which has been signed by President Ram Nath
Kovind, comes into force immediately.
Shah also proposed the reorganization of the state, with
Jammu and Kashmir to be declared a Union Territory with
an Assembly.
Nat. Popu. Register data to be collected
The next round of recording biometric and family-tree
details of Indian citizens under the National Population
Register (NPR) will be conducted in September 2020.
The exercise is different from the decennial Census and is
not linked to the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The objective of the NPR is to create a comprehensive
identity database of every usual resident in the country.
Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ inaugurated TechEx
Union HRD Minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’
inaugurated the TechEx - technology exhibition at IIT Delhi
on 4 August 2019.
He also released TechEx Volume containing abstracts of all
the IMPRINT and UAY projects.
TechEx is a unique effort, which offers an excellent
platform to the researchers to showcase their work and
inspire them to do their best in their respective domains.
Elephant population estimated at 29,964
Elephant population in the country is estimated at 29,964
as per the census conducted in 2017.
The South Region accounted for 14,612 followed by North
East with 10,139 elephants.
As per the India State of Forest Report 2017, there has
been an increase of 6,778 kilometres of forest cover at the
national level as compared to the assessment of 2015.
5th Dharma-Dhamma conference held in Rajgir
The fifth international Dharma-Dhamma conference was
inaugurated in Rajgir on 27-28 July 2019.
The main purpose of this conference was to address
people about the terror, violence and global warming
prevalent in the world.
This two-day conference addressed the subjects of Sat-
Chit-Ananda and Nirvana which are the pivotal topics of
Buddhism.
Odisha Secretariat renamed Lok Seva Bhawan
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced in the
State Assembly that the Sachivalaya or Secretariat building
in Bhubaneswar will now be called ‘Lok Seva Bhavan’.
The Odisha secretariat building was inaugurated on
November 12, 1959, by the then Home Minister Govind
Ballabh Pant.
Ganeshi Lal is the Governor of Odisha.
Govt to set up National traders Body
The commerce and industry ministry will soon notify the
constitution of a National Traders’ Welfare Board.
The Board will identify ways to improve access to funds for
this unorganised sector.
It will also make recommendations to reduce the
compliance burden of traders as well as to ensure social
security benefits such as insurance, pension, and
healthcare for traders and their employees.
Tamil Nadu to get Silk Samagra
Tamil Nadu will receive about Rs 6.22 crore under the 'Silk
Samagra' — an Integrated Scheme for Development of Silk
Industry (ISDSI) implemented by the Union government
through the Central Silk Board (CSB).
Tamil Nadu has been ranked among the leading silk-
producing States in the country.
Tamil Nadu has registered a production of 2,072 metric
tons of raw silk up to March 2019.
PM chairs 30th interaction through PRAGATI
On 31 July 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired his
thirtieth interaction through PRAGATI - the ICT-based
platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely
Implementation.
The Prime Minister reviewed the progress in the resolution
of grievances under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban).
He underlined the resolve of his government to ensure
that no family will be left without a home by 2022
IFFI celebrated Golden Jubilee
Year 2019 marks the Golden Jubilee edition of
International Film Festival of India which will be
organised from 20th-28th November 2019.
International Film Festival of India (IFFI) started way back
in 1952, is an 'A' grade film festival accredited to the
International Federation of Film Producers' Associations
(FIAPF) and is one of the oldest and most prestigious
festivals in Asia.
Regional Conference on Good Governance
The Department of Administrative Reforms & Public
Grievances (DARPG) will organize the Regional Conference
on Good Governance on 14-15 November, 2019 at Jaipur,
Rajasthan.
The theme is Strengthening State Institutes of Public
Administration.
It will bring National and State level organizations on the
same platform to share experiences and implementation of
good governance initiatives.
National Affairs
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has released a
list of 20 institutes - 10 public and 10 private for the grant
of the status of Institutions of Eminence (IoE).
PM Narendra Modi inaugurated a 2-day workshop for all
BJP MPs in New Delhi on 3 August 2019. Multiple
sessions on various subjects took place aimed at
enhancing parliamentary behaviour among the newly
elected BJP lawmakers.
1st Nat. Time Release Study to be conducted
The Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance is
conducting India’s first national Time Release Study (TRS)
between 1-7 August 2019.
Exercise will be institutionalized on an annual basis, during
the same period every year hereafter.
The TRS is an internationally recognized tool advocated by
World Customs Organization to measure the efficiency and
effectiveness of international trade flows.
KABIL set up to ensure supply of minerals
Khanij Bidesh India Ltd. (KABIL) is to be set up with the
participation of National Aluminium Company
Ltd.(NALCO), Hindustan Copper Ltd.(HCL) and Mineral
Exploration Company Ltd. (MECL).
The objective of constituting KABIL is to ensure a
consistent supply of critical and strategic minerals to
Indian domestic market.
World’s first ultra-fast hyperloop project
Maharashtra has granted infrastructure project status for
a $10-billion plan.
It will build the world’s first ultra-fast hyperloop project,
aiming to link the financial hub of Mumbai with Pune.
Hyperloops use magnets to levitate pods inside an airless
tube, creating conditions in which the pods can shuttle
people and freight at speeds of up to 750 miles (1,200 km)
per hour.
West Bengal launched awareness campaign
The West Bengal Government has launched an awareness
campaign for preserving the greenery and keeping the
environment clean.
CM Mamata Banerjee launched the campaign named as
‘Save Green, Stay Clean’ in Kolkata on 1 August 2019.
The State Government will distribute more than 1 lakhs
saplings throughout the state for spreading of greenery.
BIS to set up Pashmina testing centre in Leh
Bureau of Indian Standards would set up a Pashmina
testing centre in Leh, in partnership with the lab of Ladakh
Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Leh.
'Drive for Pashmina', a Motor bike expedition to create
awareness and promote Pashmina was flagged by the Hill
council CEC Gyal P Wangyal and BIS DG Surina Rajan.
Setting up of a lab in Leh would take two months time.
Gujarat Gas to set up 200 CNG stations
Gujarat Gas Ltd is planning to set up 200 compressed
natural gas (CNG) stations across India in the next two
years.
Last financial year, the company added 69 CNG stations,
the highest ever to its tally of over 344 CNG stations.
Gujarat Gas Ltd (GGL) is present across 23 districts
in Gujarat, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Thane Geographical
Area (GA), including Maharashtra's Palghar district.
Prakash Javadekar launched e-projects
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar launched several e-
projects of Publications Division on 31 July 2019.
The projects include redesigned dynamic website, mobile
app 'Digital DPD', e-version of Rozgaar Samachar and e-
book 'Satyagrah Geeta'.
The mobile app for Publications Division would help in
improving the reading habits of people in the era of e-
books and Kindle.
Inauguration of FCP and launching of Mob App
Minister of HRD, Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’
inaugurated the ‘Facilitation cum Publicity Pavilion (FCP)’
at the National Bal Bhavan, New Delhi.
Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa launched the upgraded 3D Air
Combat Mobile Game 'Indian Air Force: A Cut Above' at
the same venue.
The FCP is an endeavour to connect to more than 7.5 lakh
children that visit the Bal Bhavan annually.
National Affairs I
The six-time MLA from Sirsi Assembly constituency and
senior BJP leader Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri was
unanimously elected as the new Speaker of the Karnataka
state Assembly on 31 July 2019.
Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani formed 10 Task Forces to
examine, review and suggest inputs for formulating New
Industrial Policy of the state. The Task Force Committee
will be headed by Chief Secretary JN Singh.
India Post Payments Bank to convert into SFB
The Postal Department has decided to convert the India
Post Payments Bank (IPPB) into a small finance bank (SFB),
enabling it to offer small loans to customers.
Besides, the department also looks to open one crore
accounts for IPPB in 100 days.
The decisions were taken at the annual Heads of Circles
Conference held at Srinagar.
National Affairs II
The Government has allowed the task force, formed to
draft new direct tax law, to submit its report by August 16,
2019. Earlier, the force had to submit its report by July 31,
2019.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced that the Lower
House will become paperless from the next session. The
move will save crores of rupees to the exchequer.