1 President Draupadi Murmu presented National Geoscience Awards to 21 geologists
President Draupadi Murmu has stressed the need to simplify and make the country’s forecasting system more accurate to reduce the number of deaths due to natural disasters . Speaking after presenting the National Geoscience Awards at Rashtrapati Bhavan , the President noted the loss of lives and property due to natural calamities like landslides and floods in various parts of the country. She said a National Landslide Forecasting Centre is being set up in Kolkata to issue early warning bulletins in all landslide prone states. The President presented National Geoscience Awards to 21 geologists in 12 categories . The National Geoscience Awards in the field of Geosciences, instituted by the Ministry of Mines in 1966, are one of the oldest and most prestigious national awards. The objective of these awards is to honour scientists for their exceptional achievements and significant contributions in various fields of geosciences-mineral research and exploration, mining technology and mineral beneficiation and basic geology.
Agreements were signed between India and Malaysia on cooperation in the fields of labour and employment, Ayurveda and traditional medicine, digital technologies, culture, tourism and youth and sports. Agreements were also signed between the two countries in the field of public administration and administrative reforms and mutual cooperation . These agreements were signed after delegation level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Malaysian Prime Minister Dato Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim in New Delhi .
3 A pilot project launched to convert 60 Fair Price Shops into ‘Jan Poshan Kendras’
4 Himachal CM launched Chief Minister Bal Poshtik Aahar Yojana
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu on August 18 launched the ‘ Mukhyamantri Bal Poshtik Aahar Yojana ‘ to provide nutritious food to school children . Also, the state has launched a scheme to provide free tablets to primary school teachers to promote digitization in the educational and administrative system. The Chief Minister’s Bal Poshtik Aahar Yojana is only for children of government schools . Boiled eggs or fruits will be provided to students from nursery to class VIII once a week. Fresh fruits will be taken from local markets based on the choice of the children. The scheme will complement the existing midday meal scheme and is designed to provide nutritious food to children in government schools. It will have about 5,34,293 students from 15,181 government schools in the state as beneficiaries. The state government has allocated Rs 12.75 crore for the ‘Mukhyamantri Bal Poshtik Aahar Yojana’ for 2024-25. Apart from this, the government will provide free tablets to 17,510 primary school teachers in the state. This is expected to promote digitization in the educational and administrative system. Distribution of tablets will modernise teaching methods, improve access to digital educational resources and simplify administrative tasks such as taking attendance and updating data.
India and the European Union will host a two-day regional conference ‘ India-EU Track 1.5 ‘. The aim of this conference is to find new ways to prevent the growing terrorist activities through online medium . Experts, policy makers, academics and legal persons from South Asia and Europe will participate in this two-day conference held in New Delhi . This conference is being organized to prevent the emerging threats of online radicalization and misuse of online mediums by extremist terrorists.
6 Agreement for infrastructure and LNG supply signed between Indian company “Petronet LNG Limited” and a Sri Lankan company in Colombo
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Indian company ‘ Petronas LNG Limited ‘ and a Sri Lanka -based private company for development of infrastructure and supply of Liquefied Natural Gas – LNG in Colombo . Sri Lanka’s Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara and India’s Deputy High Commissioner Dr. Satyanjal Pandey witnessed the signing of the MoU. The agreement will boost the efforts of the island nation towards sustainable energy generation. The MoU will allow the development of LNG based power plants with a capacity of over one thousand megawatts at Kerawalapitiya near Colombo as well as supply of fuel from the Kochi LNG terminal. During this, Mr. Wijesekara thanked the Indian government for the support extended to Sri Lanka during the crisis. He said that the MoU will also make provision for the use of LNG as fuel in homes and other domestic requirements.
7 Two Plus Two Ministerial Dialogue between India and Japan held in New Delhi
Two plus two ministerial talks between India and Japan were held in New Delhi . Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and Japan ‘s Defence Minister Kihara Minoru and Foreign Minister Ms. Yoko Kamikawa attended the meeting. In this dialogue, the two countries reviewed bilateral cooperation and explored new possibilities to strengthen mutual relations. Views were also exchanged on regional and global issues of mutual interest. In a press statement after the meeting, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that mutual relations between the two countries have progressed significantly since the meeting held in Tokyo in September 2022.
8 First agreement signed for supply of Green Ammonia from India to Japan
Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Prahlad Joshi presided over the signing ceremony of the first agreement for export of green ammonia from India to Japan. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy said in a statement issued on Tuesday that the Heads of Terms (HOT) agreement was signed between Sembcorp Industries, Sojitz Corporation, Kyushu Electric Power Company and NYK Line . Which strengthens the cross-border green ammonia supply partnership from India to Japan. The agreement represents the first such cooperation between the two countries, underlining India’s growing prominence in the global green energy landscape.
The 19th Confederation of Indian Industry , India Africa Business Conclave began in New Delhi . The theme of the three-day event is “ Building a Better Future ”. The event is based on sectors such as trade, investment, infrastructure, healthcare and technology. More than 1,100 international delegates from 65 countries, including 47 African countries, are participating in the conference.
10 Uttar Pradesh announced Chief Minister Yuva Udyam Vikas Yojana on 78th Independence Day
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced the ‘ Mukhyamantri Yuva Udyam Vikas Abhiyan Yojana ‘ to boost employment opportunities for the youth of the state . The scheme was announced on the occasion of the 78th Independence Day celebrations held in the state capital Lucknow on August 15, 2024. The state government will provide financial assistance to the young entrepreneurs of the state under the Chief Minister Yuva Udyam Vikas Abhiyan Yojana. Under the scheme, the state government has set a target of setting up 10 lakh new MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) in the state . The government hopes to generate 50 lakh employment opportunities directly and indirectly through the Chief Minister Yuva Udyam Vikas Abhiyan Yojana.
11 ICC shifts ninth edition of Women’s T20 World Cup from Bangladesh to UAE
The International Cricket Council-ICC has shifted the ninth edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup from Bangladesh to the United Arab Emirates , but the Bangladesh Cricket Board will remain the official host of the event. The tournament will be played in Dubai and Sharjah from 3 to 20 October . ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice confirmed the decision, expressing disappointment that the tournament could not be held in Bangladesh as originally planned. The decision to move the tournament from Bangladesh to the UAE reflects the challenging situation in Bangladesh and the ICC’s commitment to ensuring a successful and safe event.
12 Riohlang appointed referee for 8th FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup
FIFA, the world governing body of football, has selected Meghalaya ‘s Riohlang Dhar as an assistant referee for the 8th Under-17 Women’s World Cup to be held in the Dominican Republic . The 8th FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup will be held in the Dominican Republic from 16 October to 3 November 2024. India hosted the 7th FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in 2022 and Spain emerged as the champion team defeating Colombia in the final. 34-year-old Riohlang Dhar is the second Indian after Uvena Fernandes to become an assistant referee in the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. Uvena Fernandes was an assistant referee in the 5th FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2016 held in Jordan.
13 World record for most runs in one over of T20 International was broken
A new world record of most runs in an over was made on 19 August in T20 International cricket . This record was made during the match between Samoa and Vanuatu in the T20 World Cup Qualifier. Darius Visser hit 6 sixes on 6 balls in the over of Vanuatu bowler Nalin Nipiko in the T20 World Cup Qualifier match on Tuesday. This over also included 3 no balls , which created a new record of most 39 runs in an over . The previous record was of 36 runs. India’s Yuvraj Singh, West Indies’ Kieron Pollard and Nicholas Pooran and Nepal’s Dipendra Ari have achieved the feat of scoring 36 runs with 6 sixes in an over. As a batsman, Darius Visser has equaled the record of scoring most runs in an over . Samoa won this match played in Samoa’s capital Apia by 10 runs.