NATIONAL NEWS
1.PM Modi to share his thoughts in Mann Ki Baat programme on July 28:-
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will share his thoughts with the people in the country and abroad in his Mann Ki Baat programme on All India Radio this Sunday at 11 AM.Mr Modi has invited people to share their ideas. They can share their views in MyGov Open Forum or dial the toll-free number 1800-11-7800 to record message for the Prime Minister in either Hindi or English.Our correspondent reports, the Prime Minister, in the last few episodes of the programme, talked about Ayushman Bharat initiative and said that over ten crore vulnerable and poor families will benefit under the scheme.Talking to AIR News, Ayushman Bharat CEO Indu Bhushan said, 33 lakh people have benefited from the scheme so far
2.Cabinet approves merger of National Institute of Miners’ Health with ICMR-NIOH:-
Union Cabinet has approved the merger of National Institute of Miners’ Health with ICMR – National Institute of Occupational Health.Briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting in New Delhi, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said, this will beneficial for both institutes and it is another example of maximum governance and minimum government.He said, this will help both the institutes in terms of enhanced expertise in the field of occupational health besides efficient management of public money.The Cabinet also approved sale of 481.79 acres of land held by Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Limited, FACT to the Government of Kerala and utilization of the sale proceeds by FACT.MrJavadekar said, the decision will help the company in reducing bank borrowings and implementing projects for enhancing fertilizers production capacity and upgrading logistics and raw materials.
3.ADB sanctions about Rs 2000 Cr for power projects in Tripura:-
Asian Development Bank has sanctioned 1,925 crore rupees project for upgradation of powergeneration and distribution in Tripura.Deputy Chief Minister and Power Minister Jishnu Dev Varma told reporters in Agartala that the amount was recently sanctioned to the Tripura State Electricity Corporation Limited after the state government had sought the ADB’s assistance.Mr Varma said that the project has been sanctioned for upgrading capacity of 63 MW Rokhia Project to 120 MW at an estimated cost of over 699 crore and modernising Gumti Hydro Electric Project at an estimated cost of nearly 1225 crore rupees.Rokhia project is located at West Tripura district whereas Gumti project is in Gomati district.
4.IAS Ajay Kumar Bhalla appointed as OSD in MHA:-
The government has made key appointments in several ministries. IAS officer Ajay Kumar Bhalla, who was Secretary in the Ministry of Power, has been appointed as Officer on Special Duty in the Ministry of Home Affairs with immediate effect.IAS officer Subhash Chandra Garg, who was Secretary in Department of Economic Affairs in Finance Ministry will now be the Power Secretary.Senior IAS officer Atanu Chakraborty, has been appointed as Secretary in Department of Economic Affairs.An official order said, the appointments have been approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.IAS officer Anshu Prakash will now be the Secretary in Department of Telecommunications in the Ministry of Communications.
Another senior IAS officer RS Shukla has been appointed as Secretary in Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs while GV Venugopala will be the Member Secretary in National Disaster Management Authority.
5.IMD warns of heavy rainfall at isolated places in North India:-
India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned of heavy rainfall at isolated places over northern parts of the country including Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and western Uttar Pradesh from today.The IMD said, heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places over other parts of the country including Konkan and Goa, western Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, eastern Rajasthan and Gangetic West Bengal.On Wednesday, rain lashed parts of the national capital Delhi bringing relief to the people from the muggy weather. It has predicted heavy to very heavy rain in some parts of Delhi today and tomorrow.In Himachal Pradesh, Met Department has issued a fresh warning for heavy rain today.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
6.North Korea fires two projectiles toward East Sea:-
North Korea has fired two projectiles toward the East Sea, according to South Korean officials.The South Korean military said that North Korea launched the two unidentified projectiles from the Wonson area, and that the flight distance was approximately 430 kilometers. They were launched early morning today, local time.A senior US administration official told CNN that they are aware of reports of a short-range projectile launched from North Korea but declined to offer further comment.The firing comes ahead of US-South Korean military exercises next month that North Korea has warned could affect the planned resumption of denuclearisation talks between Washington and Pyongyang.
7.Mexico: Top police official, 3 others killed in helicopter crash:-
In Mexico, a top state police official was among four killed in a helicopter crash, due to bad weather said the Governor of Michoacan.The Governor Silvano Aureoles in a Twitter post said, the helicopter was traveling between Morelia, the colonial-era state capital, and the city of Huetamo, about 190 kilometers to the south.The state’s police officer Jose Martin Godoy, a state health official German Ortega, and two pilots were on board of the crashed helicopter and no one survived, he said.The Governor added that the bad weather was likely to be the cause of the incident.
SPORTS NEWS
8.Boxing: Six Indian pugilists storm into semi-finals of Thailand International Tournament:- 
In boxing, six Indian pugilists, including Nikhat Zareen (51 kg) and Deepak Singh (49 kg) have stormed into semi-finals of the Thailand International Tournament in Bangkok.Former junior world champion Nikhat recorded a 5-0 triumph over Uzbekistan’s Sitora Shogdarova inwomen’s draw.Asian silver-medallist Deepak took barely a couple of minutes to leave his rival Samak Saehan of Thailand in the men’s draw, with a bloodied forehead, forcing a stoppage in the first round itself.Also advancing to the medal rounds were Ashish (69kg), Manju Rani (48kg), Brijesh Yadav (81kg) and Mohammed Husammuddin (56kg).
9.PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy to play second round matches in Japan Open today:-
In Japan badminton Open, ace Indian shuttlers P V Sindhu and H. S. Prannoy will play today their second round matches in Tokyo.Sindhu will take on Aya Ohori of Japan in women’s singles while Prannoy will play against Rasmus Gemke of Denmark in men’s singles.The unseeded Sai Praneeth will also play the second round match today against Kanta Tsuneyama of Japan.On Wednesday, fifth seed Sindhu beatunseeded Chinese Han Yue 21-9 21-17 in women’s singles.Prannoy stunned the higher-ranked compatriot K Srikanth 13-21, 21-11, 22-20 in a match that lasted 59 minutes.Earlier, Praneeth recorded a comfortable win over World No. 11 Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto in the first round.In the men’s doubles, India’s top pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will play today against China’s Huang Kai Xiang and Liu Cheng in the second round.OnWednesday, Indian pair of Rankireddy and Shetty defeated the English pair of Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge 21-16 21-17.In the mixed doubles event, Satwiksairak Rankreddy and Ashwini Ponnappa will play today against Thai duo Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai in the second round. The Indian duo earlier beat the German combine of Marvin Seidel and Linda Efler in straight games 21-14 31-19.
BUSINESS NEWS
10.Sensex slips 135 points; Nifty settles at 11,271:-
Benchmark Domestic indices today closed with losses amid mixed cues from global equity markets. Sensex and Nifty, both, declined for fifth straight session amid foreign fund outflow.Sensex at Bombay Stock Exchange logged modest loss of 135 points to settle at 37,848. Nifty at National Stock Exchange also slipped 60 points to end at 11,271.
