Sardar Singh announces Retirement from International Hockey
Former India hockey skipper Sardar Singh announced his retirement from international hockey after an illustrious career spanning 12 years. The 32-year-old made over 350 international appearances for India and captained the national team for eight long years from 2008 to 2016 before handing the responsibility to PR Sreejesh. He received the Arjuna award in 2012 and Padma Shri in 2015. He has also represented India two times at the Olympics.
Minister For Minority Affairs Launched ‘National Scholarship Portal Mobile App
The “National Scholarship Portal Mobile App” will ensure a smooth, accessible and hassle-free scholarship system for students from poor and weaker sections. All the scholarships are being given directly into bank accounts of the needy students under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode through the National Scholarship Portal which has ensured that there is no scope for duplication and leakage.
BEML launched India’s first 205T Electric Drive Rear Dump Truck
India’s 1st 205T Electric powered Generate Rear Dump Truck (Product BH205-E), made and produced by Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) was flagged off recently. The dump truck which weighs 335 tonnes when fully loaded, was produced by Mysuru plant of BEML to boost ‘Make in India’ initiative.
Cabinet approves 4 New National Institutes of Design
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the amendment of National Institutes of Design (NID) Act, 2014, thereby granting approval for introduction of a Bill in Parliament for the declaration of four new NID as Institutions of National Importance (INIs). The four new NID will be come up in – ♦ Amaravati/Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh; ♦ Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh; ♦ Jorhat, Assam; ♦ Kurukshetra, Haryana.
Sawai Singh Shekhawat to be honoured with Meera Puruskar
Jaipur-based poet and writer Sawai Singh Shekhawat will be honoured with Meera Puruskar by Rajasthan Sahitya Academy for his contribution to Hindi literature. The Award function will be held in October, this year. He has published seven books of poetry and his first Rajasthani story, Koonpal, was translated in Hindi, Telgu & Dogari. He served as Editor for Bakhat and Rajasthan Vikas magazines.
Twenty Third Meeting Of India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission Held In Moscow
The meeting was chaired by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov. About RIGC-TEC RIGC-TEC: India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Technical and Economic Cooperation Russian Capital: Moscow, Currency: Ruble, President: Vladimir Putin IRIGC-TEC last meeting: December 2017, Delhi
Festival of Nuakhai celebrated in Odisha
Nuakhai Bhetghat is the reap celebration of individuals of Western Odisha. The festival bears significance among the farmer community as they perform puja on their farmland to thank ‘Mother Earth’ for being so bountiful.
Iraq replaces Saudi as top oil supplier to India in August
Ahead of US sanctions on Iranian oil, Iraq has replaced Saudi Arabia as India’s largest oil supplier in August. Iran remained the third biggest oil supplier to India in August. The US is reimposing sanctions on Iran following its decision in May to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal.
DEPwD organized National Conference of District Disability Rehabilitation Centres for Divyangans
Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot, the Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment will be the chief guest on the occasion, the Ministers of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, will also preside over the function. The participants in this one day conference include District Magistrates of 263 districts were DDRCs have been set up, Principal Secretaries Social Welfare, reputed NGOs, District Social Welfare officers, eminent Doctors. The conference is organized for taking the message of DDRCs further, which play a crucial and central role for the wellbeing of Divyangjan and to give clarification about the mechanism of schemes and disseminate its success stories. The salient features of the District Disability Rehabilitation Centres are Awareness generation, early intervention and assessment of the need of assistive devices to divyangjans. Therapeutic services such as Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy to divyangjans through rehabilitation professionals.
Tamil Nadu and Centre sign MoU on implementing Ayushman-Bharat with state run CMCHIS
This association would benefit about 77 lakh poor and vulnerable families in Tamil Nadu. Additionally, the insurance benefit for all those covered under the state scheme will be increased to Rs 5 lakh as per the National Health Protection Scheme.
Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund with an outlay of Rs 10881 crore was launched by Agriculture Minister
The main aim is to help double the income of dairy farmers. The DIDF was started by the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries (DADF) as per the announcement of Union Budget 2017-18. This is a part of the National Action Plan (Vision-2024) which requires Rs 51,077 crore for operationalization.
Russian President Putin is to visit India in October
Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit India in the month of October. Earlier, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visited Moscow and held talks with the newly appointed Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov. During this trip, Putin’s visit to India in October was discussed. Putin’s visit is expected to lead to major bilateral deals.
Mahindra & Mahindra to become a carbon neutral company by 2040
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) announced that it aims to become a carbon neutral company by 2040 with focus on energy efficiency and usage of renewable power. This decision was stated by chairman Anand Mahindra at the Global Climate Action Summit at San Francisco. The goal of carbon neutrality is to achieve a zero carbon footprint. M&M is to work along with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), an international non-profit organization, to fulfil the carbon neutrality commitment. EDF works with leading companies to raise the bar for corporate sustainability leadership.
Flynas to recruit Saudi women to work as co-pilots and flight attendants
For the first time ever, Riyadh-based carrier Flynas has announced to recruit Saudi women to work as co-pilots and flight attendants. This move is after the kingdom lifted a decades-long ban on female motorists. After the announcement, nearly 1,000 Saudi women have applied for co-pilot positions with Flynas. In the month of June, Saudi Arabia ended a long-standing ban on women driving cars as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman seeks to improve women’s participation in the workforce. In Saudi Arabia, under the kingdom’s strict guardianship system, the women still require permission from their fathers, husbands or other male relatives to travel and to get married, even today.
SpaceX to send tourists around the moon
SpaceX has signed on its first private moon traveller. It is yet to reveal the name of the traveller and the timing of the flight to the moon at the company’s headquarters in Hawthorne, California. The original plan called for two paying passengers to fly around the moon this year, using a Falcon Heavy rocket and a Dragon crew capsule. Some slight changes have been made in the plans. The new strategy is to still fly around the moon using a bigger SpaceX rocket where only one person can aboard on the passenger ship. SpaceX said that Musk’s ultimate goal is to colonize Mars. This lunar mission a flyby, not a landing represents an important step toward enabling access for everyday people who dream of travelling to space.
Reliance Infrastructure sold its Mumbai city power distribution business to ATL
Reliance Infrastructure has sold its Mumbai city power distribution business to Adani Transmission Limited (ATL) for Rs.18,800 crore. Reliance Mumbai Metro is a marquee project. This acquisition makes ATL, the largest deal in the Indian power sector till date. It is presumed that the profitability of Reliance Infrastructure will not be affected on the whole. Reliance Energy had an EBITDA of around Rs.1,500 crore, which would reflect in lower EBITDA for Reliance Infrastructure after this deal.
