1 Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a three-day visit to Poland and Ukraine from Wednesday
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a three-day visit to Poland and Ukraine starting Wednesday . Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, said this is a historic visit as the Prime Minister of India is visiting Poland after 45 years . He said the visit comes at a time when the two countries mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. He said Mr Modi will hold talks with his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk and will also meet President Andrzej Duda . Mr Lal said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay an official visit to Ukraine on the 23rd of this month at the invitation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky . He said this is a historic visit as this is the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Ukraine in over 30 years since diplomatic relations were established .
2 Foreign Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar called on Nepali External Affairs Minister Arju Rana Deuba in New Delhi today
External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar met Nepalese Foreign Minister Arju Rana Deuba in New Delhi . On this occasion, the two leaders discussed multifaceted bilateral cooperation, including in the field of energy, trade, connectivity and infrastructure development. In a post on social media, Dr. Jaishankar expressed happiness that Nepal will export about one thousand megawatts of electricity to India.
3 Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar bin Ibrahim on three-day visit to India
4 Philippines detects first case of monkeypox
On August 19, the first case of monkeypox was found in the Philippines . This is the third country outside Africa , after Sweden and Pakistan , where a case of monkeypox has been reported. The Philippines Health Department said that the patient had not gone anywhere outside his country. It is not known which variant has been found in the patient. Earlier, three cases of monkeypox were found in Pakistan on August 16. A case of monkeypox was reported in Sweden on August 15. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Mpox i.e. monkeypox a global public health emergency on August 14. This is the second time in two years that this disease has been declared a health emergency. According to the WHO report, so far this year 537 deaths have occurred in the world due to monkeypox.
5 12% spices are not edible
On August 18, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) tested a total of 4054 samples of spices being sold in the country . 12% of the spices being sold in the country are not up to the quality and safety standards . 474 spices were not edible according to FSSAI. FSSAI tested the spices between May and July. In April-May 2024, the government had decided to investigate the spices after questions were raised on the quality of spices in Singapore and Hong Kong and reports of ban. In April 2024, after the government banned four spices of MDH and Everest in Hong Kong and Singapore, now the Government of India has asked the Food Commissioners to collect samples of spices from all the companies. These products of both the companies were banned due to the high amount of pesticide ‘ethylene oxide’ in them. There is a risk of cancer due to the high amount of this pesticide in these products.
6 Thalassemia Bal Seva Yojana proves to be a milestone with successful completion of 6,500 bone marrow transplants
7 World Sanskrit Day
In the year 2024, World Sanskrit Day was celebrated on 19 August . The first World Sanskrit Day was celebrated in the year 1969. World Sanskrit Day is celebrated every year on the full moon day of the month of Shravan . It is celebrated as a tribute to the birth anniversary of Panini, an eminent Sanskrit scholar and grammarian. It is an Indo-Aryan language and is considered to be one of the oldest languages and is also known as the mother of most of the languages of India. It is believed to have originated in India about 3500 years ago and is often referred to as Dev Vani (language of the gods). It is divided into two parts Vedic and classical. Vedic Sanskrit is a part of the Rigveda, Upanishads and Puranas. Sanskrit is one of the 22 official languages included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. It is also included in 6 classical languages besides Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Odia . Sanskrit was declared as the second official language of Uttarakhand in the year 2010. In Mattur village of Karnataka , everyone uses Sanskrit language in their conversation .
Former Indian Army Chief General Sundararajan Padmanabhan passed away on 19 August . He breathed his last in Chennai at the age of 83. He was a student of Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) Dehradun and National Defense Academy (NDA) Khadakvasla Pune . After graduating from the Indian Military Academy on 13 December 1959, he was commissioned in the Artillery Regiment. He commanded the Independent Light Battery from August 1975 to July 1976. Sundararajan commanded the Gazala Mountain Regiment from September 1977 to March 1980. This mountain regiment is one of the oldest artillery regiments of the Indian Army. He was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal for his services as the 15 Corps Commander. On 30 September 2000, he took over the Indian Army as the 20th Army Chief . Sundararajan Padmanabhan retired on 31 December 2002.
9 Coast Guard DG Rakesh Pal died of heart attack
On 18 August, Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Director General (DG) Rakesh Pal passed away. He was scheduled to attend a Coast Guard event with Defense Minister Rajnath Singh in Chennai. Rakesh Pal took over as the 25th Director General of ICG on 19 July 2023. Prior to this, he had held important positions like Commander Coast Guard Region (North-West), Deputy Director General (Policy and Plan), Additional Director General. Pal joined the Coast Guard in January 1989. In a career spanning 35 years, Rakesh was also deployed on many Coast Guard ships. He commanded all categories on Indian Coast Guard ships like Samarth, Vijay, Sucheta Kriplani, Ahalyabai and C-03 . He was awarded the Tatrakshak Medal in 2013 and the President Tatrakshak Medal in 2018. In February 2022, he was promoted to Additional Director General.
10 Alain Delon dies at 88
On August 18, famous French actor Alain Delon died. He was suffering from cancer. The 88-year-old actor was known for acting in superhit films like ‘The Leopard ‘ and ‘ Rocco and His Brothers ‘. He was one of the French legend actors of the 1960s to 1980s. He joined the French Navy in 1952 and also fought in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu . He got international recognition from the film ‘ Purple Noon ‘ released in 1960. Alain won many awards including the Cesar Award for Best Actor, Honorary Golden Bear. Alain Delon announced his retirement from his long film career on 6 May 2017.
