1 PM Modi inaugurated the 32nd ICAE
On August 3, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 32nd edition of the International Conference of Agricultural Economists (ICAE) . The event was held at the National Agricultural Science Centre (NASC) in New Delhi . The theme of this year’s conference is ‘ Transformation towards Sustainable Agri-Food Systems ‘. The conference aims to discuss climate change, degradation of natural resources, rising production costs and global conflict. . ICAE 2024 will give young researchers and leading professionals a chance to showcase their work and network. The focus will be on strengthening partnerships between research institutes and universities. About 1,000 delegates from about 75 countries will participate in this conference. This conference is held every three years to find solutions to farming and its related problems across the world. It is being organized in India between 2 and 7 August after 65 years.
2 PM receives Parimal Nathwani’s book on Gir and Asiatic lions
Rajya Sabha MP Parimal Nathwani presented the first copy of his new book ‘ Call of the Gir ‘ to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a small family function held at the Prime Minister’s residence on July 31. Nathwani dedicated the book to Prime Minister Modi for being the visionary behind ‘Project Lion and Lion@2047: Vision for Amrit Kal’. The book also carries a message from the Prime Minister.
3 World Trade Organization: India to be ranked 8th in global agricultural exports in 2023
India retained its position as the world’s eighth-largest exporter of agricultural products in 2023 , despite a drop in exports to $51 billion from $55 billion in 2022. This stability comes amid a general decline in agricultural exports in seven of the top ten exporting countries. The WTO’s Trade Statistics 2023 report shows that only three of the top ten countries —Brazil, the European Union (EU) and Thailand —increased their agricultural exports in 2023. Brazil exported 6% to $157 billion, retaining its third position, while the EU’s exports grew 5% to $836 billion, retaining its top spot. Thailand’s exports grew 0.2%, though it remained outside the top three.
4 VPS Kaushik became Adjutant General
On August 2, Viresh Pratap Singh Kaushik took over as the Adjutant General of the Indian Army . Prior to this, he was serving as the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Trishakti Corps . He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy. Kaushik was commissioned into 3 Kumaon (Rifles) in June 1988. The Adjutant General assists the Commanding Officer in unit administration and manages human resources in the army. He is the senior administrative officer of the Army or Air Force who reports to the Army Chief. He is also the Colonel of the Corps of Military Police and the Judge Advocate General.
5 Shubhanshu Shukla selected as Prime Astronaut for ISS
On August 2, India selected its prime astronaut for the Indo US Space Mission . The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) announced Shubhanshu Shukla as the main astronaut for this mission . Captain Prashant Nair was selected as the backup for this mission. The Human Space Flight Center (HSFC) has signed a Space Flight Agreement (SFA) with US-based Axiom Space for the Axiom-4 mission . Both Group Captain Shubhanshu and Group Captain Prashant will be trained for the mission in the US from the first week of August. During the space mission, the selected Gaganyatri will test scientific research and technologies and will also participate in outreach activities in space. 38-year-old Shubhanshu is a fighter pilot and combat leader. Shubhanshu has more than 2000 hours of flying experience. So far he has flown aircraft like Sukhoi-30MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier and AN-32.
6 Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro became President for the third time
Venezuela ‘s National Electoral Council (CNE) announced on July 29 that Nicolas Maduro has once again won the presidential election and he will rule the country from 2025 to 2031. It is noteworthy that this will be Nicolas Maduro’s third time as the President of Venezuela.
7 Chief Minister Pramod Sawant launched ‘Goam Vinamulya Vijay Yojana’ in Goa
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant launched ‘ Goam Vinamuly Vij Yojna ‘ in Goa . The ‘Goam Vinamuly Vij Yojna’ scheme is in line with the Prime Minister’s Surya Ghar Free Electricity Scheme. It aims to increase solar rooftop capacity and empower residential households to generate their own electricity.
8 11 public sector banks imposed a penalty of Rs 2,331 crore for not maintaining minimum balance
Eleven public sector banks, except State Bank of India (SBI), recovered Rs 2,331 crore from account holders for failing to maintain minimum balance in savings banks in FY24 . According to Finance Ministry data, these banks have recovered Rs 5,614 crore from account holders for not maintaining minimum balance in the last three years. Punjab National Bank (PNB) collected the highest amount of Rs 633.4 crore from its customers, followed by Bank of Baroda at Rs 386.51 crore and Indian Bank at Rs 369.16 crore, the Finance Ministry said in response to a question raised in Parliament.
9 UGRO Capital and SIDBI establish co-lending partnership
Data-tech non-banking financial company (NBFC) UGRO Capital has entered into a co-lending agreement with Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to provide timely and affordable credit to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) . The initiative is in line with the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) co-lending framework, which aims to enhance priority-sector lending by combining the strengths of banks and NBFCs.
10 Indian tennis legend Rohan Bopanna retires after Paris 2024 Olympics exit
Rohan Bopanna, one of India’s most successful tennis players, has announced his retirement from representing India in international competitions after his exit from the Paris 2024 Olympics . It is the end of an era for Indian tennis, as Bopanna has been a stalwart for the country for over two decades. Bopanna’s Olympic journey came to an end in the first round of the men’s doubles, where he paired up with N. Sriram Balaji . The Indian duo faced the strong French duo of Gael Monfils and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, where they eventually lost 7-5, 6-2. Bopanna secured his first Grand Slam title in the mixed doubles event at the French Open 2017. Bopanna teamed up with Rutuja Bhosale to win the gold medal in the mixed doubles event at the Hangzhou Asian Games 2022. The win added another prestigious achievement to his already impressive collection. The pair of Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden of Australia won the men’s doubles title at the Australian Open 2024. Bopanna became the oldest player to win a Grand Slam in the Open Era.
11 National Mountaineering Day 2024: August 1
National Mountaineering Day is celebrated every year on 1 August . The purpose of celebrating this day is to motivate people for mountain climbing and to tell them about this adventure. Mountaineering is not just an adventure activity, but it is also beneficial for physical and mental health. Apart from this, it also develops qualities like teamwork, patience, determination.
12 World Wide Web Day 2024
Every year on August 1, World Wide Web Day is celebrated all over the world. This day underlines the important role of the web in our lives. The World Wide Web (WWW), also known as the Web, is a huge collection of information on the Internet. In other words, the World Wide Web (WWW) is a network of online pages, which are connected to each other through hyperlinks. A group of these pages together forms a website. To view a web page, the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) has to be entered in the search box of the browser. After this, that page is accessed using the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and this entire process is completed through the World Wide Web. The World Wide Web (WWW) was started in 1989 by British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee .
