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National News

1. Govt scraps Article 370, proposes to split J&K into two Union Territories 

The Narendra Modi government on 5 August 2019 moved to scrap provisions under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which grants a special status to the state of Jammu & Kashmir in the Union of India.

It has decided that Jammu and Kashmir would be turned into a Union Territory with a legislature, similar to Delhi and Puducherry, and the Ladakh division would be made a separate Union Territory without legislature, akin to Chandigarh and most other Union Territories.

Home Minister Amit Shah announced in the Rajya Sabha that provisions of Article 370 were being scrapped.

The ramifications of the decision are not just that Article 370 is sought to be scrapped but also that Article 35A is made redundant. Article 35A empowers the state of Jammu & Kashmir to define who is a “permanent resident” of the state and who is not.

Clause 3 of Article 370 states that the President can, by public notification, declare that this Article ceases to be operative, but only on the recommendation of the constituent Assembly of the State. However, that constituent Assembly has ceased to exist.

 

2. President Kovind gives assent to J&K Reorganisation Bill, two new UTs to come into effect from Oct 31 

Days after the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019 was passed by the Parliament, President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the legislation. The reorganisation bill provides for the formation of the Union Territory of Ladakh without Legislature and a separate one for Jammu and Kashmir with the Legislature.

The two new UTs will come into existence from October 31. The President has given assent to the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.

The Bill to bifurcate the state into two Union Territories — Jammu and Kashmir with a Legislature similar to Puducherry, and Ladakh without one like Chandigarh was passed with a two-thirds majority of the members present in Rajya Sabha. In Lok Sabha, the statutory resolution scrapping the special status was passed by a voice vote. With special provisions gone, Indian laws will now apply to the newly created Union Territories.

 

3. India successfully test fires Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile 

India successfully test-fired a Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM) with 30-kilometre range from a test range off the Odisha coast. The missile successfully engaged its target during the flight test and met all the desired parameters.

Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the missile has a strike range of 25 km to 30 km. It uses solid-fuel propellant and has the capability of engaging multiple targets.

The systems have been tested in final configuration with RADAR mounted on a vehicle and missiles on the launcher.

The missiles with many states of the art technologies have engaged the targets at different ranges and altitudes. The systems are equipped with indigenously developed phased array radar, Inertial Navigation System, Data Link and RF seeker.

The system is being developed for the Indian Army with search and track on move capability with very short reaction time. The entire mission was captured by various Electro-Optical Tracking Systems, Radar Systems and Telemetry Systems at ITR Chandipur.

The sophisticated all-weather missile was test-fired from launch pad-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur at around 11.05 a.m.

 

4. Foundation stone of Space Situational Awareness Control Centre laid in Peenya, Bengaluru 

ISRO laid the foundation stone for Space Situational Awareness Control Centre in Peenya, Bengaluru to monitor and protect high value space assets from space debris.

Space Situational Awareness & Management (SSAM) has become an internationally significant area due to the ever growing manmade space debris population and the increased collision threat with operational spacecraft.
The centre is aimed at protecting high valued space assets from space debris close approaches and collisions. The Control Centre would facilitate the intensified activities foreseen for SSAM, in view of increasing debris population and operational space assets. It would host a range of activities pertaining to protection of Indian Space assets from inactive satellites, pieces of orbiting objects, near earth asteroids and adverse space weather conditions. It would assimilate the tracking data of inactive satellites from indigenous observation facilities and generates useful information from bare observations through analysis. For sustainable use of space, the control centre would enable research activities pertaining to active debris removal, space debris modelling and mitigation. 

 

5. Bihar gets Centre's nod for Kosi-Mechi river interlinking 

The Centre has approved the Rs 4,900 crore project for interlinking of Kosi and Mechi rivers of Bihar. This is the second major river interlinking project in the country to be approved after the Ken-Betwa project in Madhya Pradesh.

Bihar has got the final remaining mandatory techno- administrative approval for the project from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).

The central government has approved construction of 76.20 km canals on eastern bank of Kosi for irrigation purpose.

The project will not only prevent recurring floods in north Bihar, but also irrigate over 2.14 lakh hectares of cultivable land in Araria, Purnea, Kishanganj and Katihar districts, collectively called Seemanchal region.

It is aimed at alleviating hardships of the people resulting from the floods and has the potential to usher in a green revolution in Seemanchal region.

 

6. Lok Sabha passes Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill 

The Lok Sabha passed the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019 by a voice vote. The Bill, introduced by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, seeks to ban commercial surrogacy and provides for constituting a National Surrogacy Board, State Surrogacy Boards, and the appointment of appropriate authorities for the regulation of the practice and process of surrogacy.

The Bill is aimed at ending the exploitation of women who are lending their womb for surrogacy, and protecting the rights of children born through this. The Bill will also look after the interests of the couple that opt for surrogacy, ensuring that there are laws protecting them against exploitation by clinics that are carrying this out as a business.

The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill regulates altruistic surrogacy and prohibits commercial surrogacy. It defines surrogacy as a practice where a woman gives birth to a child for an eligible couple and agrees to hand over the child to them after the birth. The Bill allows altruistic surrogacy, which involves a surrogacy arrangement where the monetary reward only involves medical expenses and insurance coverage for the surrogate mother. Commercial surrogacy is prohibited under the Bill. This type of surrogacy includes a monetary benefit or reward (in cash or kind) that exceeds basic medical expenses and insurance for the surrogate mother.

The couple intending to commission a surrogacy arrangement must be a close relative of the surrogate mother. In addition, the couple have to be Indian citizens who have been married for at least five years and are in the age group of 23-50 years (female partner) and 26-55 years (male partner), and secure a medical certificate stating that either or both partners are infertile. The couple also should not have any surviving child (whether biological, adopted or surrogate), except if the surviving child is mentally or physically challenged or suffers from a fatal illness, among other provisions.

The surrogate mother, apart from proving that she is a close relative of the couple intending the surrogacy, has to married with a child of her own, in the age bracket of 25 to 35 years old, and should not have been a surrogate mother before. The Bill states that any child born out of a surrogacy procedure shall be the biological child of the intending couple and will be entitled to all rights and privileges that are available to a natural child.

 

7. Rajasthan Assembly passes anti lynching Bill

The Rajasthan legislative assembly passed a Bill providing for life imprisonment and a fine from ?1 lakh to ?5 lakh to those convicted in cases of mob lynching leading to victim’s death.

The Bill defines the mob as a group of two or more individuals.

It also defines lynching as "an act or series of acts of violence or those of aiding, abetting or attempting an act of violence, whether spontaneous or preplanned, by a mob on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth, language, dietary practices, sexual orientation, political affiliation or ethnicity".

For the offence of an assault by mob, leading to the victim suffering grievous hurts, the Bill provides for jail terms up to 10 years and a fine of ?25,000 to ?3 lakh.

In cases of the victims suffering simple injuries, the Bill proposes imprisonment up to seven years and a fine up to ?1 lakh.

For hatching a conspiracy of lynching or aiding, abetting or attempting such an offence, the Bill seeks to punish the offenders in the same manner as if he actually committed the offence of lynching.

The Bill also empowers the State police chief to appoint a state coordinator of the rank of Inspector General of Police to prevent the incidents of lynching in the State with the district Superintendents of Police acting as the district’s coordinator, to be assisted by a Deputy Superintendents of Police, for taking measures to prevent incidents of mob violence and lynching.

The Bill also enlists various other offences related to the lynching such as dissemination of offensive materials, propagation of hostile environment and obstructing legal processes, which would be punishable with jail terms varying from three to five years.

The Bill also stipulates the provision of compensation to victims by the State government as per the Rajasthan Victim Compensation Scheme.

It also binds the State government to take necessary measures to rehabilitate the victims of mob lynching, suffering displacements from their native places.

 

8. Country's First 3-D Smart Traffic Signal Designed by Chitkara University Students Launched by Mohali Police 

In a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country, Mohali traffic police have launched 3-D Smart Traffic Signal devised by the students of Chitkara University Incubated Start-up. The wireless system, called 'Intelights', has been installed at the traffic crossing near Quark City on Airport Road, on pilot project basis, and will regulate traffic signals with a smart bird's eye view wireless sensor system.

The system, which was devised by the students of Chitkara University over three years of intensive research, was in the test trial phase for the last eight months before its final launch.  One of the major reasons for traffic congestion is the inefficient working of traffic signal timers installed at intersections. Presently, the timers of traffic lights display a preset value which leads to waste of time. For instance, consider a scenario where green light of '20 seconds' is displayed but there is no vehicle present at that particular intersection - thus leading to unnecessary waste of time. To tackle this issue, 'Intelights' proposes an Intelligent Traffic Timer Control; which uses dynamic signal control technology to adjust the timers of red, yellow and green lights according to the traffic density at an intersection. The system uses existing CCTV cameras to gather live traffic video feed, and automatically evaluates the traffic density using Artificial Intelligence (image processing), and sets the signal timers accordingly. This process is repeated for every cycle of traffic lights to keep traffic flowing smoothly.

 

9. Lok Sabha passes transgender protection Bill 

The Lok Sabha  passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill 2019 by a voice vote. The Bill provides a mechanism for social, economic and educational empowerment of transgenders.

According to the 2011 Census there are more than 4.80 lakh transgenders in the country. These people are often discriminated upon and humiliated in public for being transgender. The Bill also has provisions for penalty and punishment in cases of offences and sexual harassment against transgender persons.

According to the Bill, a transgender is a person whose gender does not match with the gender assigned to that person at birth and includes trans-man or trans-woman (whether or not such person has undergone sex reassignment surgery or hormone therapy or laser therapy or such other therapy), person with inter-sex variations, gender-queer and person having such socio-cultural identities as ‘kinner’, ‘hijra’, ‘aravani’ and ‘jogta’.

Going by the Bill, a person would have the right to choose to be identified as a man, woman or transgender, irrespective of sex reassignment surgery and hormonal therapy. It also requires transgender persons to go through a district magistrate and district screening committee to get certified as a transperson.

A contentious provision that criminalised begging by transgender people has been removed from the Bill.

 

10. Rajasthan launches new higher education model- RACE (Resource Assistance for Colleges with Excellence) 

A new higher education model-RACE has been launched in Rajasthan for distribution of faculties and movable assets among the government colleges at the district level to rationalise the availability of resources. The model will create a pool for sharing of facilities which will benefit the colleges lacking infrastructure.

All the colleges would get equal opportunities for imparting quality education with the adoption of the new model.

The colleges in need will submit their requirement to the nodal college in the district, which will send the teachers on deputation, if needed, and provide the facilities such as projectors, digital libraries, equipment and technicians. The model will help the colleges situated in small towns facing shortage of faculties and infrastructure. Though the sanctioned posts of teachers in the government colleges are 6,500, the State at present falls short by about 2,000 teachers. Until the additional posts are created and new appointments made, the RACE is expected to help channelise resources and ensure quality education.

The new model would effectively decentralise the decision-making power of colleges and encourage them to share physical and human resources within the district. RACE will give autonomy to small colleges and help them find solutions to their problems at the local level.

 

11. Rajya Sabha passes bill on National Institutes of Design (NIDs) in four states

Rajya Sabha passed a bill which seeks to declare four National Institutes of Design in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, and Haryana as institutions of national importance. It will allow the four institutes to grant degrees and diplomas.

Currently, these institutes are registered as Societies under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 and do not have the power to grant degrees or diplomas. The National Institute of Design (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was introduced in Rajya Sabha by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on July 30, 2019. It was passed by voice vote in the House.

The Bill seeks to amend the National Institute of Design Act, 2014.

The autonomy of these institutes would be maintained.

 

12. Parliament passes bill for speedy eviction from govt accommodations

Parliament passed a bill for speedy eviction of unauthorised occupants from government residential accommodations, with Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri saying the legislation will have a deterrent effect.

The upper house passed by voice vote the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Amendment Bill, 2019, which has strict provisions to evict illegal occupants from government property alloted to members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and government officials.

The bill, which has been passed by Lok Sabha on July 31, would enable the estate officer to apply summary proceedings for evicting the unauthorised occupants after a three-day notice.

It also has provisions for seeking damages on monthly basis from the occupants for holding the property during litigation period.

Lok Sabha results were declared on May 23 and all members who lost elections were supposed to vacate the homes by June 23, but even after more than two months the ministry is still issuing routine notices. The Centre has to evict unauthorised occupants from government accommodations under the provisions of the PPE Act, 1971. However, the eviction proceedings take unusually long time, thereby reducing the availability of government accommodations to new incumbents.

Under the proposed bill, the estate officer will not be required to follow elaborate proceedings like serving notice, show cause, inquiry, rather he or she can initiate summary eviction proceedings.

The proposed amendments would enable the estate officer to apply summary proceedings for evicting unauthorised occupants from residential accommodations and to levy damage charges for accommodation held during the period of litigation.

 

13. Union HRD Minister to launch ‘Samagra Shiksha-Jal Suraksha’ Drive to create awareness about water conservation among all school students in the country 

Union HRD Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launched ‘Samagra Shiksha-Jal Suraksha’ drive on 9^th August 2019 to create awareness about Water Conservation among all school students in the country.

Inspired by Prime Minister’s impetus to Jal Sanchay, Government of India has launched the Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA). It is a time bound campaign with a mission mode approach. This concept of water conservation is essential for students so that they can understand the importance of water and how it is shaping their lives meaningfully, thereby enabling them to participate in water conservation activities in their day to day lives.

The Department of School Education & Literacy, MHRD has launched the ‘Samagra Shiksha-Jal Suraksha’ drive to promote water conservation activities for School Students, so that they can become competent, conscientious and committed water citizens of our nation. The department has prepared a detailed outline to implement this programme in all the schools of the country.

Five Major Objectives:

1. To educate students learn about conservation of water
2. To sensitize Students about the impact of scarcity of water
3. To empower Students to learn to protect the natural sources of water
4. To help every Student to save at least one litre of water per day
5. To encourage Students towards judicious use and minimum wastage of water at home and school level

Target

One Student                -           One Day          -           Save One Litre Water

One Student                -           One Year         -           Save 365 Litres Water

One Student                -           10 Years          -           Save 3650 Litres Water

 

14. Inter-State portability of PDS implemented in 4 States 

In a major step that would take India closer to achieving the objective of ‘One Nation One Ration Card’, the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan inaugurated the inter-State portability of public distribution in two clusters in the adjoining States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and Gujarat and Maharashtra.

This will enable beneficiaries from either of the States’ cluster to avail the benefits accruing to them under the National Food Security Act from any of the two States.

11 States/Union Territories, including Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana and Tripura, have implemented the intra-State portability of ration card holders to lift the entitled foodgrains from any Fair Price Shops (FPSs) within their State. These States and UTs are expected to introduce inter-State portability from January 1 next year.

Installation of electronic Point of Sale (ePoS) devices at FPSs is the main enabler of portability of ration card holders, supported by the biometric/Aadhaar authentication. More than 4.1 lakh (77 per cent) ePoS devices are already operational across the country. As many as 25 States/UTs have either completed the installation in all FPSs or having significant progress in this area. Further, more than 85 per cent ration cards (at least one member) in the country have been seeded with the Aadhaar numbers of the beneficiaries, he added.

 

15. Manipur has topped the rankings in Breastfeeding and Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices in the country.

Manipur has topped the rankings in Breastfeeding and Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices in the country. Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan released a report on Breastfeeding in New Delhi on 8 August 2019. Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar are at the bottom positions in the report card. National capital Delhi is also among the worst-performing States. The Breastfeeding report card has been developed by devising a composite score based on three indicators namely early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding for six months and complimentary feeding at 6-8 months of child's age.

 

16. Haryana govt to roll out Mukhya Mantri Parivar Samridhi Yojana from Aug 21 

Haryana Government announced the roll-out of 'Mukhya Mantri Parivar Samridhi Yojna' which will provide social security to families. Under the scheme, Rs 6000 per year will be given to each eligible family.

The scheme, which will be launched on August 21, will provide social security to people in the form of life insurance, accidental insurance and pensionary benefits.

The eligibility for the scheme is for families having an annual income less than Rs 1,80,000 or a total landholding of fewer than two hectares.

Under the scheme, each beneficiary family will be entitled to get Rs 500 per month.

From the amount, a premium of Rs 330 per annum would be paid on account of Life Insurance of at least one family member. The cover provided is for an amount of two lakh in case of death of the beneficiary.

Additionally, an amount of Rs 12 per annum would be paid on account of Accidental Insurance of at least one family member under Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana.

A contribution from Rs 55 to 200 per month will be paid automatically from the bank account as a premium for providing pension to the beneficiary under Pradhan Mantri Shram Maan-Dhan Yojana. On attainment of the age of 60 years, the pension will be given at the rate of Rs 3,000 per month.

Further, the balance amount after exercising all the social security options would be invested in a specially designed Systematic Investment Plan (SIP).

 

17. National Institute Of Solar Energy, UN Body To Partner For Skill Development 

An agreement was signed between the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to initiate a skill development programme for different levels of beneficiaries in the solar thermal energy sector. NISE and UNIDO will engage national and international experts to bring the best practices by developing specialized training material.

According to the Ministry, the agreement is part of the ongoing MNRE-GEF-UNIDO project implemented jointly by UNIDO and to support capacity building and skill development of technical manpower in the Concentrated Solar Thermal Energy Technologies (CST) which are being used to replace conventional fossil fuels e.g. coal, diesel, furnace oil etc. and save costs and emissions in the industrial process heat applications.

UNIDO is the specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes industrial development for poverty reduction, inclusive globalization and environmental sustainability.

As of April 1, 2019, 170 countries are members of UNIDO. 

The mission of UNIDO is to promote and accelerate inclusive and sustainable industrial development (ISID) in member countries.

 

International News

1. Bangladesh- Russia sign deal for life time supply of Nuclear fuel 

Bangladesh signed a deal with  Russia for supply of uranium for its 2400 MW Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP). 

Under the deal Russia will supply the nuclear fuel needed for the plant during its entire life cycle. 

The deal was signed in Dhaka between the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission and Russian Nuclear Fuel Supply Company (TVEL).

Work on the two units of the plants, each producing 1200 MW of electricity is scheduled to be completed in 2022 and 2024 respectively.

The two countries have also signed 'spent fuel sent back’ agreement in 2017 for management of the nuclear waste of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP). 

 

2. India Contributes $5 Million To UN Agency Working For Palestinian Refugees

India contributed USD 5 million to the UN Palestine refugee agency and called for ensuring sustained fiscal support for the organisation's work.

The cheque for the amount was handed over to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinian Refugees by Representative of India (ROI) in Palestine, Sunil Kumar, at the agency's headquarters in Jerusalem.

India increased its annual financial assistance to the UNRWA by four fold, from USD 1.25 million to USD 5 million, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Palestine in February 2018, the first ever visit by an Indian Premier to Ramallah.

The hike in New Delhi's contribution comes at a time when the agency is facing a difficult financial situation due to decrease in voluntary contributions from a limited donor base and is seeking financial support for its work.

The UNRWA has been providing health, education, relief and social services, as well as emergency humanitarian assistance, across its five areas of operations in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank, and the Gaza Strip since 1950.

Separately, as part of the government of India's ongoing assistance programmes in Palestine to strengthen capacity-building efforts focused on institutions, services and training personnel, New Delhi is providing 150 places for Palestinian professionals every year at Indian institutes under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme.

This is in addition to 100 educational scholarships given to Palestinian students to study at the level of graduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes.

India is also funding eight developmental projects worth USD 59 million, which include building a 215-bed super-speciality hospital in Bethlehem.

The ongoing projects are a part of the India-Palestine development partnership announced during PM Modi's visit to Palestine.

 

3. 2019 is UN's Year of Indigenous Languages 

2019 is the United Nations' International Year of Indigenous Languages. In 2016, the UN's Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues pointed out that "40% of the estimated 6,700 languages spoken around the world were in danger of disappearing". Several languages are now "endangered" and in the case of languages like Tiniguan (Colombian origin), there is just a single native speaker left.

The International Year of Indigenous Languages aims to promote native tongues in five key areas, including “creation of favourable conditions for knowledge-sharing and dissemination of good practices with regards to indigenous languages”.

The Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea has the highest number of 'living' indigenous languages in the world (840), while India stands fourth with 453.  Ethnologue, a directory of languages, lists 7,111 living languages worldwide(languages that are still being used and spoken by people). Chinese, Spanish, English, Hindi and Arabic are the most widely spoken languages worldwide when only first-languages are considered. These five languages account for what is spoken by over 40% of people worldwide.

Interestingly, the U.S. (335 languages) and Australia (319), widely English-speaking nations, are among the countries where the highest number of languages are spoken; small and rapidly declining pockets of indigenous language speaking populations contribute to these numbers. Among regions, Asia and Africa account for the highest number of indigenous languages (over 70% of the total).

According to Ethnologue, this is "the probability that any two people of the country selected at random would have different mother tongues."

The value ranges from 0 to 1, where 0 indicates no diversity (everyone has the same mother tongue) and 1 indicates total diversity (no two people will have the same mother tongue). Hence, a higher diversity index would mean more languages spread across the country.

According to Ethnologue, there are 3,741 languages (over half the total) which have fewer than 1,000 speakers. Certain language families are very diverse and have several languages under them, but are spoken by only a small percentage of the population.

Most Indian languages are derivatives of languages that are spoken in other parts of Asia as well. For instance, the Sino-Tibetan languages are spoken across Northeast India, China, Bhutan, Nepal and other South East Asian countries. One of the outliers to this trend is the Andamanese language family, which is confined to India alone.

According to UNESCO's 'Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger', 228 languages have become extinct since 1950. About 10% of the languages are classified 'vulnerable', while another 10% are 'critically endangered'. In India, five languages have become extinct since 1950, while 42 are critically endangered.

 

Economy News

1. NHB to provide liquidity infusion facility of Rs 10,000 cr to HFCs 

To further ease the funds for the housing sector, National Housing Bank (NHB) will provide additional liquidity infusion facility of Rs 10,000 crore to Housing Finance Companies (HFCs). This will be an additional liquidity infusion for individual loans for affordable housing.

The Finance Ministry launched the Liquidity Infusion Facility (LIFt) Scheme for Housing Finance. This new scheme will cater to the demand of HFCs to address the housing finance requirements in the affordable housing finance sector.

The objective of the refinance scheme is to support HFCs in creating individual housing loan portfolio that falls under the priority sector, as defined by the Reserve Bank of India.

The liquidity infusion by NHB may create confidence in the market in HFCs and thus they will be able to raise more resources from other sources like banks or the debt market. The purpose of the new scheme is to create individual housing loans portfolio of the HFCs within the next three months.

HFCs will be utilising the facility for financing individual housing loans only. According to the new scheme, the rate of interest will be as per the extant pricing policy plus 1 per cent per annum, monthly compounding. If the facility is availed under floating rate, the interest rate will be reset after one year or three years as the case may be.

To the extent of the unutilised amount under this sanction, the rate of interest will stand revised to 2 per cent per annum over the extant pricing policy rate from the date of availing the loan. LIFt facility shall be over and above the two existing refinance schemes of NHB.

 

2. Maharashtra: Aamir Khan launches Mission Shakti sports initiative

Film Actor Aamir Khan launched Mission Shakti, a Maharashtra government's initiative to train athletes from tribal areas for international sports. It will help Maharashtra government to hunt for talented athletes in remote areas of Chandrapur and Gadchiroli. At the launch event Aamir Khan felicitated a team of tribal mountaineers who had recently scaled Mount Everest as part of ‘Mission Shaurya’.

It aims to groom tribal student for an Olympic medal by 2024. The mission is directed towards 6 sporting disciplines namely- archery, shooting, volleyball, swimming, weightlifting and gymnastics.

 

3. ADB to provide $200 million for all-weather rural road project in Maharashtra 

Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD 200 million loan for improving road infrastructure in 34 districts of Maharashtra to better connect rural areas with markets and services. Roads in rural areas would be upgraded to all-weather standards which will boost links between local residents and economic centres across the state. Maharashtra accounted for almost 15 per cent of the gross domestic product in 2016-17. However, economic development is concentrated around the urban centres of Mumbai, Pune, and Thane. About 20 million people, or 17 per cent of the state’s population, still live below the national poverty line, while in some districts — particularly in rural areas — it is as high as 40 per cent, it said.

The upgraded roads under the ADB project will boost links between local residents, productive agricultural land, and economic centers across the state. Improving farmers’ access to markets will in turn help boost agricultural productivity and incomes as well as promote investment in agribusiness and agriculture value chain infrastructure.

The project will also work with the rural infrastructure agency, the Maharashtra Rural Road Development Association (MRRDA), to develop road safety, road asset management, contract management, and climate resilient design. Accompanying the loan is a technical assistance grant of USD 1 million to support MRRDA to improve its management performance in these areas.

Outreach for road users will be carried out in the state to build awareness of road safety, gender issues including human trafficking, and enhancing women’s road construction and maintenance skills. The total cost of the project is USD 296 million, of which the government will provide USD 96 million. It is due for completion at the end of September 2024.

Maharashtra’s agriculture accounts for about 47 per cent of employment, engages as much as 79 per cent of the rural labour force, and contributes 11 per cent to the state gross domestic product. “However, this contribution is falling. Farmers face persistent crop losses due to the variable climate and limited access to processing and storage facilities, resulting in high levels of debts and even farmer suicides.

 

4. Huawei launches its own operating system called HarmonyOS

After Huawei found itself on the ‘entity list’ which banned it from buying products and components (including licensing Google's Android) from U.S. companies, the Chinese giant teased its own smartphone operating system. 

Now, that OS has officially been launched as HarmonyOS - but it's not exactly focused on smartphones. 

It is a ‘distributed OS’ that lets developers develop their apps once, then ‘flexibly deploy them across a range of different devices.’ This is in contrast to Android and Apple's iOS, which are separate (though partially compatible) with the companies' other platforms. 

This means that HarmonyOS will, in theory, offer the same experience on a variety of devices, such as smart TVs, tablets and phones.

Besides its distributed nature, Huawei also highlights HarmonyOS "microkernel architecture," meaning the OS' kernel will be extremely small, making HarmonyOS both fast and resilient to attacks. There's also something called "Deterministic Latency Engine," which should make HarmonyOS better at prioritizing tasks and scheduling them in advance, which, again, should improve performance.

Notably, Google is also working on a microkernel-based, multi-platform operating system called Fuchsia.

 

5. India's first underwater train to be launched in Kolkata soon

India's first underwater train will soon get started in Kolkata under the Hubli river. This train will bring ease to the people of Kolkata and pride to the people of India.

The 16-kilometre long Kolkata Metro project will connect Salt Sector 5 with Howrah Maidan. The phase-one of the project connecting Salt Lake Sector-5 to Salt Lake Stadium will soon be operational.

The tunnel is provided with four-layers of protection to shield the tunnel from the water of Hubli river.

 

6. Air India launches '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.

Non-Resident Indians (NRI)s, Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) and Foreign nationals will now be able to buy five domestic Air India domestic economy class tickets for Rs. 40,000 which will be valid for travel within 15 days of the first leg of travel. Ten domestic economy class tickets are also on offer for Rs 75,000 with a validity period of 30 days both on firm basis. The passenger will be allowed to travel to any destination of their choice within India and are also permitted to reroute their journey as per their requirement.

The scheme has various benefits like re-booking, which is permitted without penalty till 4 hours prior to scheduled departure. The date of the journey can also be changed without any charge. Air India offers unique benefits to passengers like 25 Kilograms free baggage allowance to all adult and child passengers and also 10 kgs free baggage allowance to infants. Besides, comfortable seats, range of inflight cuisine in plush new aircraft.

 

7. RBL Bank launches India's first health-focused credit card

Private sector RBL Bank and digital healthcare platform Practo have partnered to launch an industry first co-branded health credit card. This credit 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 and qualified doctors, one free full body health check-up, while users can use the card to earn points that can be redeemed for availing Practo services like ordering medicine, tests and online consultations. Moreover, the card also offers two complimentary domestic airport lounge accesses every quarter.

This card gives a unique ability to consumers to use their regular spends for household expenses for subsidizing their monthly health spends on Practo platform. The digital healthcare market is on a tremendous uptake in India and is expected to reach $372 billion by 2022. Practo is currently the only platform in the country that lets patients manage their healthcare needs end-to-end.

 

8. RBI to set up central registry for tracking frauds in payment systems 

The Reserve Bank of India 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. The aggregated fraud data will be published to educate customers on emerging risks.

Currently, banks report all banking frauds to the Central Fraud Monitoring Cell of the Reserve Bank.

With the digital payment ecosystem making substantial progress in terms of growth of payment infrastructure as well as volume and value of digital payment transactions, fraud risk monitoring, and management by the stakeholders have assumed importance.

The RBI's Payment System Vision 2021 envisages a framework for collecting data on frauds in the payment systems. A detailed framework for setting up Central Payment Fraud Registry will be put in place by the end of October 2019.

Separately, the RBI will make National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) payment system, which is operated by the central bank, available for customers on a 24x7 basis from December 2019. Currently, this NEFT facility for fund transfer is available from 8.00 am to 7.00 pm on all working days of the week (except 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month).

 

9. Central bank opens liquidity tap to help stressed shadow banks 

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced two key measures to help stressed non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) raise funds from banks.

First, the central bank increased the ceiling for a bank’s exposure to a single NBFC to 20% of its Tier I capital from 15% earlier. Second, it allowed bank lending to NBFCs excluding microfinance institutions for on-lending to certain sectors to be classified as priority sector loans.

RBI also said that to boost credit flow to certain priority sectors, bank lending to registered NBFCs for on-lending to agriculture (investment credit) up to ?10 lakh; micro and small enterprises up to ?20 lakh; and housing up to ?20 lakh per borrower will be classified as priority sector lending.

The measures aim to address some of the pain points in the economy. Agriculture makes up about 17% of the economy but is the largest employer and has been under stress for some time, affecting livelihoods. Small businesses, on the other hand, contribute significantly to the value addition in the manufacturing sector and contribute to exports. Housing, a major job-creating industry, too has been under a prolonged slump, leading to job losses.

The government has been trying to promote affordable housing in recent months to stimulate this industry.

After increasing the tax break available to individuals buying affordable homes in the Union budget, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman last week announced National Housing Bank’s (NHB) fresh liquidity window for housing finance companies. The scheme called Liquidity Infusion Facility (LIFt) offered ?10,000 crore for housing financiers for lending to individuals for purchasing affordable homes.

RBI has identified 50 large non-banks, including some housing finance companies, and is monitoring them.

 

10. NSE, SGX get regulator’s nod for joint F&O products at GIFT City

SGX, the Singapore bourse, and the NSE have received approval from SEBI to operate jointly in Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) City, the international finance city under the proposed programme ‘connect’. Simply put, Nifty index, which is trading on SGX in Singapore, will be traded on a joint platform between the NSE and the SGX in GIFT City.

The Connect model, which is subject to further approvals from relevant local authorities, will enable SGX and NSE IFSC members to access Nifty products in GIFT while managing their exposures through their respective clearing corporations.  The fight between Nifty and SGX over trading had reached the courts some months ago. Nifty is India’s top traded derivative contract and it is widely traded on the SGX in the offshore market. The NSE had moved to de-list SGX Nifty after a scare that India’s trading volumes were moving to offshore market. But both the exchanges have now arrived at a middle path to trade Nifty in GIFT City jointly. GIFT is promoted like an offshore market where there are no taxes on trading by foreign funds.

The proposed NSE International Financial Service Centre (IFSC)-SGX Connect aims to bring together the trading of Nifty products in Gujarat GIFT City and create a larger pool of liquidity, comprising international and home market participants.

SGX and NSE will continue to work with all key stakeholders to make the NSE IFSC-SGX Connect operational before the end of 2020, subject to members’ readiness and receiving all relevant approvals. Both exchanges are also working to discontinue related arbitration proceedings.

 

11. Govt sanctions over 5,500 electric buses under FAME Phase II 

The Department of Heavy Industry has approved the sanction of 5,595 electric buses to 64 cities, state government entities, and state transport undertakings for intra-city and inter-city operation under FAME India scheme Phase II to push for clean mobility in public transportation.

The FAME scheme aims at encouraging faster adoption of electric and hybrid vehicles. In February 2019, the government had approved Rs. 10,000 crores for FAME Phase II to support a million electric two-wheelers, half a million three-wheelers, 55,000 four-wheelers and 7,000 buses.

Proposals from 26 States/UTs were received for the deployment of 14,988 e-buses. After evaluation of proposals, Centre sanctioned 5,095 electric buses to 64 cities / State Transport Corporations for intra-city operation, 400 electric buses for inter-city operation and 100 electric buses for last-mile connectivity to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).

Delhi, Mumbai., Bangalore and Hyderabad have each been allotted 300 e-buses. Several Tier 2 cities such as Ahmedabad, Pune, Coimbatore are also on the list with 100-150 buses each.

The selected cities will now initiate the procurement process in a time-bound manner for the deployment of sanctioned electric buses on an operational cost basis. Buses which satisfy required localization level and technical eligibility notified under FAME India scheme phase II will be eligible for funding under FAME India scheme phase II.

These buses will run about four billion kilometres during their contract period and are expected to save cumulatively about 1.2 billion litres of fuel over the contract period, which will result into avoidance of 2.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emission.

 

12. Defence Ministry clears acquisition of 2 BrahMos supersonic missile batteries for Navy 

To give a boost to indigenisation, the Defence Acquisition Council (Dac), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, accorded approval for procurement of indigenous Software Defined Radio (SDR Tactical) and Next Generation Maritime Mobile Coastal Batteries (NGMMCB - Long Range) for the Indian Navy.

The SDR is a complex and state-of-the-art communication system which has been indigenously designed and developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Weapons Electronics System Engineering Establishment (WESEE).

The SDR communication system would enable information sharing, collaboration and situational awareness through high-speed data and secure voice communication with anti-jamming capabilities.

Next Generation Maritime Mobile Coastal Batteries (Long Range) would be fitted with supersonic BrahMos surface-to-surface cruise missiles and would be deployed along the coast.

The NGMMCB has been developed and manufactured in India by Indo-Russia joint venture company M/s BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited.

Both these indigenously developed equipment are of the latest generation and would give a fillip to the Make in India initiative of the government.

Continuing its focus on 'ease of business' in the defence acquisition, the DAC also approved amendments to the Defence Procurement Procedure 2016.

The amendments are designed to simplify processes under the 'Make' category as well as 'Offsets'. This was the first DAC meeting chaired by Rajnath Singh since assuming office.

 

13. SBI Life Insurance, Indian Bank ink Bancassurance pact 

SBI Life Insurance and Chennai-headquartered Indian Bank have entered into a bancassurance pact to offer holistic financial planning solutions to the latter’s customers. The partnership will see over 2,851 branches of Indian Bank spread across the country offer SBI Life’s diverse range of individual and group insurance solutions.

SBI Life will work with Indian Bank to ensure sales training, product support and smooth operational processes in order to offer life insurance policies to its customers.

Indian Bank’s customers will have access to an array of life insurance products from SBI Life catering to varied life stage needs of the customer.  With Indian Bank’s widespread presence and SBI Life’s extensive product portfolio, this partnership will ensure easier accessibility of life insurance to consumers.

 

14. I&B ministry launches e-version of 'Rozgar Samachar'

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has launched the e-version of 'Rozgar Samachar' in a bid to make youngaspirants aware of job opportunities in the government sector, including public sector enterprises.

The e-version of the weekly, launched by Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar, will also provide information and guidance about admission and career opportunities in various streams through career-oriented articles by experts.

It is expected to meet the emerging challenge of young readers switching to electronic modes of communication.

The journal has been priced at 75 per cent of the cost of its print version and is available for an annual subscription fee of Rs 400.

Rozgar Samachar is the corresponding version of Employment News (English).

Employment News is the flagship weekly job journal from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

It was launched in 1976 with a view to providing information on employment opportunities to the unemployed and underemployed youth of the country.

The journal is published in English(Employment News), Hindi (Rozgar Samachar) and Urdu (Rozgar Samachar) and has a circulation of over one lakh copies per week.

 

15. Government unveils draft e-com norms 

To protect the interest of online shoppers, the Department of Consumer Affairs has released draft guidelines on e-commerce that state that an e-commerce entity cannot directly or indirectly influence the price of the goods or services.

The draft ‘e-commerce guidelines for consumer protection 2019,’ which adds that e-commerce firms need to ensure that personally identifiable information of customers is protected, is open for stakeholder comments for 45 days or till September 16, 2019.

It added that every e-commerce entity needs to publish the name and contact details of the grievance officer on their website along with the mechanism by which users can lodge their complaints.

As per the draft, an e-commerce firm cannot falsely represent themselves as consumers or post reviews about goods and services in their name.

Besides, it proposed to make it mandatory for firms to display terms of contract with the seller relating to return, refund, exchange, warranty/guarantee, delivery/shipment, mode of payments and grievance redressal mechanism to enable consumers to make informed decisions. The draft also proposes that once an e-commerce firm comes to know about any counterfeit product, and if the seller is unable to provide any evidence that the product is genuine, the firm needs to take down the listing and notify the consumers of the same.

 

People in News

1. Franky Zapata Crosses English Channel on Hoverboard on 2nd Try 

Franky Zapata has successfully crossed the English Channel on his second attempt on the device he invented.

An attempt 10 days ago failed after Mr. Zapata fell into the watermidway through the crossing when he tried to land on a boat-mounted platform to refuel.  Gliding above the water on what he calls a Flyboard Air, Mr. Zapata took about 22 minutes to cover the roughly 20 miles that separate Sangatte, in northern France, from St. Margaret’s Bay, just east of Dover, in southern England.

 

2. Manipur CM Makes 9-Yr-Old- Valentina Elangbam 'Green Ambassador' after Video of Her Crying Over Felled Trees Goes Viral

Valentina Elangbam of Manipur's Kakching district had planted two gulmohar saplings by the banks of a river near her home when she was in Class 1. However, in a rude shock to the now Class 5 student, the trees were recently cut down as part of a road expansion project.

The inconsolable gardener was in tears after the incident came to her attention.

 

3. Pakistan Expels Indian High Commissioner, Recalls Its Envoy as Hostilities Rise After Kashmir Move 

Pakistan announced that it is expelling Indian High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria and suspending bilateral trade a day after New Delhi stripped Jammu and Kashmir of special status and bifurcated the state into two Union Territories.

The announcement was made after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired a crucial meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC), attended by top civil and military leadership, during which it was also decided to suspend the bilateral trade and review "bilateral arrangements". The NSC is the highest forum of civil and military top leadership to come together and discuss important matters of national security.

India on Monday repealed provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution to withdraw the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the state into two Union Territories -- Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. While India's High Commissioner Bisaria is in Islamabad, his Pakistani counterpart Moin-ul-Haq was expected to leave for India this month to take up his responsibilities.

 

4. India's Naaz Joshi Creates History As She Wins 3rd Consecutive Miss World Diversity Title 

India's transsexual woman Naaz Joshi has made the country proud 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.

Naaz competed against 14 other international contestants in Mauritius. For the finale round, she donned a traditional blue lehenga choli, and portrayed herself as the powerful Indian Goddess, who stands for 'shakti' - the feminine source of power and women empowerment.

 

Days and Events

1. International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples-9 August 

2019 Theme: Indigenous Languages

Indigenous languages in particular are a significant factor in a wide range of other indigenous issues, notably education, scientific and technological development, biosphere and the environment, freedom of expression, employment and social inclusion. In response to these threats, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a Resolution (A/RES/71/178) on ‘Rights of Indigenous Peoples’, proclaiming 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages. 9 August commemorates the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples worldwide. This date marks the day of the first meeting, in 1982, of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. This year, the celebration of the international day will be dedicated to the International Year of Indigenous Languages 2019.

UNESCO, as lead agency for the implementation of the international year, is launching a global social media campaign for the promotion of the day.

 

2. World Biofuel Day to be observed on 10th August 2019  

2019 theme: “Production of Biodiesel from Used Cooking Oil (UCO)”. 

World Biofuel Day is observed every year on 10th of August 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. Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas organized World Biofuel Day on 10^th August 2019 at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.

The National Policy on Biofuels, released by the Government of India in 2018, envisages production of biofuel from UCO. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is implementing a strategy to divert UCO from the food value chain and curb current illegal usage. The benefits of transformation of UCO will help bring health benefits as there would be no recycling of the UCO, employment generation, infrastructural investment in rural areas & cleaner environment with reduced carbon footprint.

The National Policy on Biofuels - 2018 envisages a target of 5% blending of Biodiesel in High Speed Diesel (HSD) by 2030.

 

3. 5^thNational Handloom Day celebrations on August 7  

The National Handloom Day is observed annually on 7^th August to honour the handloom weavers in the country and also highlight India’s handloom industry. National Handloom Day seeks to focus on the contribution of handloom to the socio economic development of the country and also increase the income of weavers.

The Union Government had declared 7^th of August as the National Handloom Day in July 2015 with the objective of generating awareness about the importance of the handloom industry to the socio economic development of the country. August 7 was chosen as the National Handloom Day to commemorate the Swadeshi Movement which was launched on this day in 1905 in Calcutta Town Hall to protest against the partition of Bengal by the British Government. The movement had aimed at reviving domestic products and production processes. The first National Handloom Day was inaugurated on 7^th August 2015 by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, at the centenary of Madras University in Chennai.

 

4. Nation observes 77th anniversary of Quit India movement 

The 77th anniversary of the August Kranti Din was observed on August 8, 2019. It is considered as one of the important milestones in the history of freedom struggle of our country, is being observed.

On this date in 1942, Mahatma Gandhi gave a clarion call to end the British rule and launched the Quit India Movement at the session of the All-India Congress Committee in Mumbai. 

After the failure of Cripps Mission, Gandhiji gave the call to Do or Die in his Quit India speech delivered at the Gowalia Tank Maidan in Mumbai. 

 

5. Lalit Kala Akademi celebrates 65th Foundation Day 

National Academy of Art, Lalit Kala Akademi celebrated its 65^th Foundation Day on, August 5^th, 2019, at the Lalit Kala Art Galleries of Rabindra Bhawan, New Delhi. Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Culture & Tourism, Govt. of India, inaugurated the celebrations.

Lalit Kala Akademi or National Academy of Art was established in New Delhi in 1954 by the government to promote and propagate understanding of Indian art, in and outside the country.  The Academy provides scholarships, fellowship programmes and organizes art-related exhibitions in India and overseas. The artwork and painting exhibitions will be open for public till 12th of this month.

 

AWARDS

1. CAB to Give Lifetime Achievement Award to Arun Lal 

Former India cricketer Arun Lal will be conferred with the Lifetime Achievement award by the Cricket Association of Bengal’s (CAB’s) in Kolkata.

Lal won his battle against jaw cancer and was coaching Bengal.

The 63-year-old played 16 Test matches and 13 One-Day Internationals for India between 1982 and 1989.

The right-hander played six seasons for Delhi before becoming a regular feature for Bengal and was a major figure in Bengal’s Ranji Trophy triumph in 1989. He was credited with instilling a positive attitude in the team’s approach.

Lal’s highest Test score of 93 came at the Eden Gardens itself, against the West Indies in 1987. He aggregated more than 10,000 runs in 156 first-class matches.

Lal, who was also a prolific television commentator before being diagnosed with cancer, returned to the game when CAB president Sourav Ganguly appointed him as a mentor of the Bengal team last season.

 

2. ISRO announces Vikram Sarabhai Journalism Award in Space Science, Technology and Research 

As part of centenary year celebrations of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, father of Indian space programme, ISRO institutes two categories of awards in journalism. ISRO has announced its “Vikram Sarabhai Journalism Award in Space Science, Technology and Research” to recognize and reward journalists who have actively contributed towards the field of space science, applications, and research. The nominations are open to all Indians who have a good experience in journalism. The articles published from 2019 to 2020 will be considered, says the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

There are two categories of awards, wherein the first category holds a cash price of Rs 5,00,000, a medal and  citation and two journalists or freelancers of print media will be awarded. Nominated candidates will be judged on the basis of the articles or success stories published in Hindi, English, or Regional languages in popular Periodicals, Science magazines, or Journals in India during the year 2019 to 2020.

The second category of the award holds 3 cash prizes of Rs 3,00,000, 2,00,000 and 1,00,000 and citation each for journalists or freelancers of print media. The articles or success stories published in Hindi, English, Regional languages in popular newspapers or news magazines in India during the one year as indicated in the proposal. The names of the selected candidates will be announced on August 1^st, 2020.

 

3. NITI Aayog to launch the Fourth Edition of Women Transforming India Awards 

The NITI Aayog will launch the Fourth Edition of Women Transforming India (WTI) Awards.   The Women Transforming India (WTI) Awards is being organized in collaboration with the United Nations to recognize women entrepreneurs from across India. This year’s theme is ‘Women and Entrepreneurship’, in continuation of the theme for WTI Awards 2018. Nominations for the awards will be opened immediately after the launch. WhatsApp has collaborated with NITI Aayog for WTI Awards 2019 and will be providing support amounting to US$100,000 to the award winners.

The Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) is a Government of India initiative by NITI Aayog to promote and support aspiring as well as established women entrepreneurs in India, assist and handhold them in their journey from starting to scaling up and expanding their ventures. It has more than 5,000 women entrepreneurs registered on the platform, more than 30 partners and, has committed funding of more than US$10mn for these startups.

 

4. National Film Awards 2019: Full winners list 

The 66th National Film Awards were announced in New Delhi on August 9 by jury heads Rahul Rawail, AS Kanal and Utpal Bhorpujari. It was announced that over 400 films were submitted in the feature film category and 256 films were submitted in the non-feature category.

Best non feature film: Son Rise by Vibha Bakshi and The Secret Life of Frogs by Ajay and Vijay Bedi

Best Educational Film: Sarala Virala

Best Director: Uri : The Surgical Strike- Aditya Dhar

Best Feature Film: Hellaro a Gujarati film directed by Abhishek Shah

Best Actor: Ayushmann Khuranna for Andhadhun and Vicky Kaushal for Uri : The Surgical Strike

Best Actress: Keerthy Suresh for Mahanati

Best Supporting Actor- Swanand Kirkire for Chumbhak

Best supporting actress- Surekha Sikri for Badhaai Ho

Best Action Direction: KGF Chapter I

Best Choreography:  Padmaavat for Goomar

Best Film for National Integration- Ondalla Eradalla (Kannada)

Best Cinematography- Olu (Malayalam) to MJ Radhakrishnan

Best Popular Film: Badhaai Ho

Best film on Environment issues- Paani

Best Debut Film of a Director: Naal (Marathi)

Best film on Social Issues: Padman

Best Child artist:  P V Rohith (Kannada), Sameep Singh (Punjabi), Talha Arshad Reshi (Urdu) and Shrinivas Pokale (Marathi)

Best Children's Film: Sarkari Hiriya Prathamika Shaale Kasaragod

Best Special Effects: KGF

Special Jury Award: Award shared by Sruthi Hariharan, Joju George for Joseph, Savithri for Sudani From Nigeria, Chandrachood Rai

Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation: Paani

Best Regional films

Best Rajasthani Film: Turtle

Best Tamil Film: Baaram

Best Marathi Film: Bhonga

Best Hindi Film: Andhadhun

Best Urdu Film: Hamid

Best Telugu Film: Mahanati

Best Assamese Film: Bulbul Can Sing

Best Punjabi Film: Harjeeta

Screenplay

Best Original Screenplay:  Chi La Sow

Best Adapted Screenplay:  Andhadhun

Best Dialogues: Tariqh

Music

Best Lyrics: Nathichirami (Kannada)

Best Music Direction (Songs): Sanjay Leela Bhansali for Padmaavat

Best Music Direction (Background score): Uri

Best Sound Design: Uri

Best Female playback Singer: Bindhu Malini for Mayavi Manave from Nathichirami (Kannada)

Best Male Playback Singer: Arijit Singh for Bhinte Dhil

Production

Best Make-Up artist- Awe

Best Production Design:  Kammara Sambhavam (Malayalam)

Best Costume: Mahanati

 

5. Pranab Mukherjee receives Bharat Ratna; Bhupen Hazarika, Nanaji Deshmukh honoured posthumously 

Former President of India Pranab Mukherjee, singer Bhupen Hazarika and Bharatiya Jana Sangh leader Nanaji Deshmukh have been conferred Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India. President Ram Nath Kovind gave the award during an event at Rashtrapati Bhawan. Hazarika and Deshmukh have been given the honour posthumously.

Bharat Ratna has been conferred after a gap of four years. In 2015, the Modi government has given the honour to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Banaras Hindu University founder Madan Mohan Malviya.

Mukherjee became India's youngest finance minister in 1982 at the age of 47. In the two UPA governments from 2004, he went on to head three crucial ministries -- external affairs, defence and finance -- and became the first occupant of the Rashtrapati Bhavan to have this distinction.

Born in 1926, Hazarika was a playback singer, lyricist, musician, singer, poet and filmmaker from Assam. He was awarded Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1987), Padma Shri (1977), Dada Saheb Phalke Award (1992), Padma Bhushan (2001) and Padma Vibhushan (2012-posthumously). Hazarika did his PhD from Columbia University in 1952. He died in 2011. The cultural icon also had a brush with politics and had unsuccessfully contested the Guwahati Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket in 2004. He was an Independent MLA in Assam during 1967-72.

Hazarika gave music in acclaimed Bollywood movies including Rudaali, Darmiyaan, Gaja Gamini, Daman and many Assamese hits, including the award winning film 'Sameli Memsaab'.

With these three recipients, 48 eminent people have been conferred the Bharat Ratna so far.

Deshmukh was associated with the RSS from 1928 till his death in Satna, Madhya Pradesh, in 2010 at the age of 94 and was known for starting a chain of RSS-inspired schools throughout India.

He was one of the founder members of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh, which later evolved as Bharatiya Janata Party.

He was considered to be one of the architects of the Jai Prakash Narayan's movement against the Emergency in 1975 and among the key persons in the formation of the Janata Party government in 1977.

 

6. Abhinandan Varthaman and Balakot pilots to get top military honours

Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, an Indian Air Force pilot, is likely to be awarded a Vir Chakra for his gallantry. Mirage-2000 fighter jet pilots who dropped bombs on the terror facility of the Jaish-e-Mohammed will also get the Vayu Sena Medal for gallantry.

Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman shot down Pakistan's F-16 combat jet during an aerial dogfight on February 27. He was captured by the Pakistani army, tortured and then released. Vir Chakra is third-highest wartime gallantry award of India after the Param Vir Chakra and Maha Vir Chakra.

Vir Chakra is an Indian gallantry award for acts of bravery on the battlefield. The Vir Chakra is a circular silver medal. It carries an engraved image of a five-pointed star, with the chakra in the centre and domed gilded state emblem. It was established on January 26, 1950, with effect from 15 August 1947.

The Vayu Sena Medal (VSM) is an Indian military honour, generally awarded for excellent performance during the job. VSM has been granted during peacetime (also times of conflict) for acts of gallantry in the face of the enemy. The award was established in June 1960 by the President of India. It has two categories - Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry) and Vayu Sena Medal (Devotion to Duty).

 

7. Statue of Unity shortlisted for UK-based structural award

The Statue of Unity, a memorial to Sardar Patel, in Gujarat’s Kevadia town has been shortlisted for ‘The Structural Awards 2019’ of the UK-based Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE).

The 182-m-tall statue was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 31 last year.

It is among the 49 structures that will vie for the prestigious award, according to the institution’s website. The awards will be announced at a function in London on November 15. Other structures shortlisted for the award include a sports stadium with a roof made of rotating petals at Hangzhou in China, a 22-m-deep basement beneath a five-star hotel in London and buildings showcasing the world’s best seismic performance in San Francisco.

The statue, designed by architect Ram Suthar and built by Larsen and Toubro, has a viewing gallery at a height of 150 m which provides visitors a spectacular view of the Sardar Sarovar dam and its vicinity.

Past winners of this award include iconic structures such as Sydney Opera House in Australia, the Pompidou Centre in Paris and Severn Bridge in England.

The institute has been bestowing this award for best structural designs for the last 52 years.

 

8. M.S. Swaminathan Award for Environment Protection presented

The Rotary Club of Madras East presented the MS Swaminathan Award for Environment Protection to President of the World Food Prize Foundation, Mr. Kenneth M Quinn.  The award was given to Mr. Quinn for his immense contribution to global food security and sustainability. The annual award that is presented in cooperation with FMCG player CavinKare aims at recognizing individuals or company or non government organization that has directly or indirectly helped in improving environmental protection & awareness in any part of the globe. Mr. Quinn, who was also ex- U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia, is globally popular for his works on Food and Agriculture with a main focus on the supply of nutritious food.

 

Sports News

1. BCCI agrees, cricketers are now under national drug testing agency 

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) agreed to come under the ambit of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA). It means all cricketers, without exception, will now be tested for banned and performance enhancing drugs by NADA, like any other Indian athlete.
The BCCI-NADA tie-up means cricketers will be tested more often, including an increase in the all-important out-of-competition and target testing. Statistics show that a majority of dope cheats are caught during training. So far, BCCI outsourced sample collection but now, like every other sport in the country, cricket will have to undergo NADA’s rigorous scrutiny.

In return, the government accepted a few requests made by the BCCI, with the most prominent change being the introduction of “premium services” for dope tests. The BCCI asked for dope control officers who are at least graduates by qualification to test cricketers to ensure the process is carried out efficiently.

Until now, cricket was the only sport in India that was not under the ambit of the NADA. Instead of allowing the Delhi-based agency to collect the cricketers’ urine and blood samples, the BCCI had outsourced its programme to Sweden’s International Doping Tests and Management.

IDTM collected samples, which would be tested at the National Dope Test Laboratory and the BCCI would handle the result management process itself as per their laws.

However, their handling of a recent case involving 19-year-old batsman Prithvi Shaw – who was suspended for eight months for failing a dope test – was criticised by experts. The ministry, too, had highlighted flaws in the BCCI’s mechanisms, the opaqueness in their procedures and hinted at conflict of interest.

From here, they will be tested according to laws dictated by the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA), which are adopted by the NADA and even the International Cricket Council (ICC).

India was also the only ICC member not to abide by the WADA rules. That was seen as among the key reasons for cricket not being considered for the Olympics. However, these developments will open the doors for the ICC, which can once again push their case for the inclusion of cricket in the Olympics.

 

2. World Archery suspends Archery Association of India

The Archery Association of India has been suspended by World Archery for defying its guidelines by appointing two parallel bodies. World Archery has given AAI time till the end of this month to set things in order.

The suspension decision will come into effect from August 12. The decision to suspend AAI means that Indian archers will now have to compete in International tournaments as independents. The suspension will, however, not impact the Indian archers competing in the World Archery Youth Championships in Madrid, Spain from August 19-25. The archers have been allowed to participate under the Indian national flag.

World Archery has suspended Archery Association of India due to factionalism in the body. Two opposing archery factions have been created in India, led by Union Minister Arjun Munda and BVP Rao. There has been confusion over which one of the two is the legitimately-elected body.

The World Archery delisted AAI as a member on July 19 and gave the body time till July 31st to end the confusion or face suspension. The AAI had requested the World Archery to give it a few more days but the request was rejected.

Though now the suspension has already been imposed, the international body has given the AAI time till August 31st to sort out the matter.

The Indian archers will be allowed to compete in world archery events as independent participants till the time AAI stands suspended.

The last event that the Indian archers will be allowed to compete under the Indian flag includes the World Archery Youth Championships, after which they will have to compete under the flag of World Archery till the suspension is lifted.

 

3. Mary Kom, Bhaichung in 12-member selection panel for national sports awards 

In a departure from convention, the national sports awards for athletes and coaches this year will be decided by a single 12-member panel, featuring the likes of six-time world champion boxer M C Mary Kom and former football captain Bhaichung Bhutia.

The awards will be given away on August 29, the birth anniversary of hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand which is celebrated as the National Sports Day.

The 12-member committee is headed by Supreme Court judge Justice (Retd) Mukundakam Sharma and comprises Sports Secretary Radhey Shyam Jhulaniya, Sports Authority of India Director General Sandeep Pradhan, Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) CEO Commander Rajesh Rajagopalan, Mary Kom, Bhutia, ex-women’s cricket team captain Anjum Chopra, celebrated former long-jumper Anju Bobby George and table tennis coach Kamlesh Mehta among others.

Besides, the committee also features two mediapersons in Chief Editor of Times Group (Digital) Rajesh Kalra and renowned sports commentator Charu Sharma.

Unlike previous editions, this committee will handpick all the winners of National Sports Awards -- the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award, Dronacharya Award (for coaches), Dhyan Chand Award (lifetime achievement) and Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Award.

 

4. Thailand Open: Satwik and Chirag breach the wall of China 

India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty scripted a piece of history by breaching the ‘Chinese Wall’ of reigning World champions Li Jun Hui and Liu Yu Chen, with a 21-19, 18-21, 21-18 victory in the men’s doubles final of the Thailand Open badminton championship in Bangkok.

This is the first-ever Indian men’s combination to win a BWF Super 500 title.

It was a revenge win for the Indians, who had lost to the World champions at the Australian Open early this year.

The Indian pair, ranked World No. 16, capped a week of consistent performances that saw them beat No. 7 Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto, No. 19 Ko Sung Hyun and Shin Baek Cheol and No. 27 Choi Solgyu and Seo Seung Jae.

Satwik in the front-court and Chirag controlling the back-court turned out to be a deadly combination. Satwik’s brilliance included a splendid flick which fetched game-point in the first game. 

See-saw battle 

The second game saw a see-saw battle, but the Chinese won a test of nerves after the scores were tied at 18.

The intensity of the contest in the decider was palpable and the Indian duo kept their cool under pressure and raised their performance after trailing 1-4. 

 

OBITUARIES

1. Nobel laureate Toni Morrison passed away 

Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, a pioneer and reigning giant of modern literature whose imaginative power in Beloved, Song of Solomon and other works transformed American letters by dramatising the pursuit of freedom within the boundaries of race, has died at age 88.

Author of 11 novels, she won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993, having published her first novel, The Bluest Eye, in 1970. Her 1987 book Beloved told the story of a runaway female slave and was made into a film starring Oprah Winfrey in 1998.

 

2. Sushma Swaraj passes away at 67

Senior BJP leader and Former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, 67, passed away at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) after suffering a cardiac arrest. Sushma Swaraj was born on February 14, 1952, at Ambala Cantonment, Haryana. Her father Hardev Sharma was an eminent member of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. She was a prolific politician of India served as the External Affairs Minister (EAM) in the sixteenth, Lok Sabha led by Narendra Modi. At the age of 25, she became the youngest cabinet minister in India. However, she also holds a record of becoming the first woman chief minister.  Apart from that, Sushma Swaraj was the Cabinet Minister in the Department of Labour and Employment Haryana from 1977 to 1979, and Cabinet Minister in Department of Education, Food and Civil Supplies at Haryana from 1987 to 1990. She served as the Minister of External Affairs of India in the first term of Narendra Modi government from 2014 to 2019.