MyIndia News This Week (August 17 to August 23)

MyIndia News This Week (August 17 to August 23)
Latest and Top News of the week which made headlines across India.
MyIndia News This Week (August 17 to August 23)
Latest and Top News of the week which made headlines across India.

Modi a social reformer of modern age: Shah

Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday, August 18, praised PM Narendra Modi for abolishing triple talaq. He added that Modi’s name should be included in the list of renowned social reformers of the country, like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Jyotiba Phule, Mahatma Gandhi, Dr BR Ambedkar and so on. He blamed the Congress for playing “politics of appeasement” to get the sympathy of people with an eye on the vote bank.

Incessant rain creates havoc in HP

Intense rain has thrown life out of gear in Himachal Pradesh (HP). As reported by news agency IANS, at least 22 people lost their lives and 12 others sustained injuries in rain-related incidents in the state on Sunday, August 18. Heavy loss of property has been estimated. According to an official, Himachal Pradesh has lost approximately Rs 490 crore due to devastating floods. All educational institutions in Shimla, Solan and Kullu districts were ordered to remain shut on Monday because of the torrential rain, which has made life chaotic in the state.

Violence intensifies in J&K, restrictions re-imposed

Violence and clashes between residents and police on Sunday, August 18, resulted in injuries to several people in the state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). This incident forced the Indian authorities to re-impose restrictions on movement in some parts of Kashmir, including Srinagar. People were mostly protesting against the government’s decision of scrapping Article 370 from J&K. The violence got intensified after the partial restoration of the use of phone.

Across the Kashmir valley, mobile and internet services remained unavailable, and markets and shops remained shut.

Rajnath Singh makes India’s stance clear, if talks happen with Pak

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday, August 18, made it clear that if bilateral talks happen with Pakistan, then the discussion would only be on Pak Occupied Kashmir (POK) instead of Jammu and Kashmir. Addressing a rally in Haryana where assembly elections will be held soon, Rajnath Singh said POK territory is part of J&K as per its accession terms but under Pakistan’s control since 1947.

Senior Congress leaders in queue to resign

Several senior Congress leaders are gradually stepping down from their respective posts. The latest in the list is the trouble-shooter of the party and senior leader of Madhya Pradesh Jyotiraditya Scindia. He resigned on Sunday, August 18, from the post of National General Secretary of the Congress. It is to be noted that several leaders have taken such decision after the resignation of Rahul Gandhi as the party president. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath recently stepped down as the MP congress chief. Some other leaders followed suit, taking moral responsibility for the party’s lacklustre performance in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls.

Punjab CM serious to create sporting atmosphere in state

Punjab Chief Minister (CM) wants to raise the standard of sports in the state so that sportspersons of the state shine at national and international level. Of late, CM Capt. Amarinder Singh has approved the names of five leading sports persons as members of a state body’s governing council. An official spokesperson said on Saturday, August 17, that noted sports giants of yesteryears like cricketer Harbhajan Singh, Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra, well known athlete Gurmeet Kaur, eminent Kabaddi player Hardeep Singh and hockey stalwart Harcharan Singh would be part of the Punjab Institute of Sports.

Barefoot sprinter Rameshwar sets eyes on Bolt’s record

Promising 19-year old barefoot 100 metre sprinter Rameshwar Gurjar caught the eyes of all when he completed 100 metre sprint in 11 seconds. The youngster from Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh is quite optimistic to break the world record of legendary Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt. For achieving this feat, proper training is required. MP Sports Minister Jeetu Patwari on Saturday, August 17, promised to train this budding athlete at the State Athletics Academy in Bhopal. Prior to this, BJP leader and former MP CM Shivraj Chouhan shared Gurjar’s video on Twitter, and it became viral overnight. Taking note, Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju took the initiative and assured to provide wings to this rising star.

India & Bhutan ink 10 MOUs to boost ties

PM Narendra Modi and his Bhutanese counterpart Lotay Tshering on Saturday, August 18, discussed various issues to expand the bilateral partnership between the two nations in various sectors. Both the countries signed 10 Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) to boost their ties. Modi was in Bhutan for a two day visit last week. Modi’s visit proved beneficial especially for the poor of Bhutan. India is ready to raise the cooking gas supply to this tiny country. Also, last month, India had announced to cancel the gas subsidy to the people of Bhutan. Hence, people of Bhutan got a sigh of relief when the Indian government decided to restore the subsidy on LPG gas and kerosene.

Female bus drivers pull up their socks to steer ST buses

The concept of a female bus driver is not so conventional for the Indians. To drive buses and other big vehicles is considered a man’s job. However, some women in Maharashtra have changed history and rolled up their sleeves to occupy the drivers’ seat and take control of the steering to drive state transport buses. At present, they have got the learner’s licence, and within a month can apply for the permanent licence. Before this, they were put through 6 months’ rigorous theoretical training. Now they must go through the on-road training from August, which will entail completing 750 km journey. Needless to say, these women drivers are elated to start a new journey of their life.

Three alumni of NLSIU appointed as Oxford University Professors

Three law graduates from the prestigious National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore have been appointed as Professors at world famous Oxford University in England. The name of the three appointee professors are Dev Gangjee, Arunabh Khaitan and Lavanya Rajamani. It is indeed a matter of pride that the alumni of NLSIU have got a chance to teach in Oxford University.

Bid to teach lesson to wife lands man in jail

Naseeruddin, a school dropout from Sitamarhi in Bihar, landed himself in jail in a bid to teach a lesson to his wife Zabina. Upon learning that she was going to the Gulf to work there for a better life, he googled the airport authority and left a message on August 8 that his wife was a ‘fedayeen’ carrying a bomb and would blow the plane in the air. Police emptied the plane and interrogated Zabina but she came out clean. Smelling foul play, the police tracked the husband and arrested him on August 15.

Three-time Bihar CM Jagannath Mishra passes away

Former Bihar CM Jagannath Mishra breathed his last on Monday, August 19 in New Delhi after a prolonged illness. The 82-year old was a professor of Economics in Bihar University, who turned to politics and served as the CM of Bihar three times. Apart from this, he also worked as a minister in the Centre. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, along with other leaders, expressed grief on the demise of the veteran leader. Bihar government also announced three-day mourning in the state. He was cremated at Balua Bazar, the departed leader’s ancestral village in Supaul district, with full state honours.

MP govt declares three-day mourning on former CM Babulal Gaur’s demise

After Bihar, shock spread in Madhya Pradesh (MP) too. Former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Babulal Gaur, passed away in Bhopal on Wednesday, August 21, morning. The 89-year veteran leader was admitted to hospital on August 7 in a critical condition. But his condition kept deteriorating. Later he was put on the ventilator but did not survive. He served as the CM of the state for a brief period from August 2004 to November 2005. Known as a stalwart who strengthened BJP’s foothold in MP, the Congress-led state government declared a three-day mourning in the state to honour the departed leader.

Sreesanth’s life ban reduced to 7 years

Former India speedster Sreesanth was serving a life ban for indulging in alleged spot-fixing in IPL games in 2013. But fortune smiled on the firebrand cricketer on Tuesday, August 20, when BCCI Ombudsman Justice (Retd) DK Jain reduced his life ban to seven-years. Sreesanth will turn 37 years of age though by the time the ban ends next year. The temperamental pacer was the member of the 2011 World Cup winning India team.

UP cabinet reshuffled, 23 ministers inducted

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday, August 21, decided to reshuffle his cabinet. In his first cabinet expansion in more than two years, Adityanath inducted 23 ministers. Out of these, 6 are cabinet ministers, 6 ministers of state with Independent charge and 11 ministers of state. The newly elected ministers took the oath, administered by Governor Anandiben Patel at the Gandhi auditorium of Raj Bhavan in Lucknow. Yogi’s expansion move is considered as an attempt to consolidate the BJP’s position at the grassroots level before the 2022 assembly elections in the state.

Post-mortem deepens mystery over Sunanda’s death

The high profile ‘suicide’ case of Sunanda Pushkar is once again hitting the headlines. The case has taken a ‘U’ turn on Tuesday, August 20, when Delhi Police told special judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar that the post-mortem report had revealed that the reason behind Pushkar’s death was poisoning. Additionally, 15 bruises were also found on different parts of her body. Sunanda’s husband and former Union minister Shashi Tharoor is on bail regarding this case.

Prannoy stuns six-time world champion Lin Dan

Ace Indian shuttler HS Prannoy on Tuesday, August 20, registered one of the biggest upsets in recent times on the badminton court in the ongoing BWF World Championships at Basel in Switzerland. He overpowered six-time world champion Lin Din of China to secure his place in the pre-quarterfinals in the tournament. Prannoy played aggressively in the first game and clinched the game quite easily. But the veteran Chinese Lin Din came back strongly and snatched the second game In the third and decider game, Prannoy bounced back and sealed the match by 21-11, 13-21, 21-7 in an hour and two minutes. He will now face either world No.1 Kento Momota or Spain’s Luís Enrique Peñalver in the next round.

Ex MPs get a deadline to vacate official residence in 7 days

Indian parliamentarians have made it a habit to live in officially allotted bungalows and quarters even when they are no longer a Member of Parliament (MP). Overstaying and using lavish residences for personal use is just like a norm for them. But a Lok Sabha panel on Monday rang an alarm bell for such parliamentarians and issued a deadline to pack off their luggage and vacate the residence within a week. According to news sources, more than 200 former MPs are still living in their official bungalows with ease even two months after the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha. CR Patil, Chairman of the Lok Sabha Housing Committee, said the panel has decided that in three days, power, water and gas connections will be snapped.

Noted music composer Khayyam passes away

The noted music composer Mohammed Zahur Khayyam, popularly known as Khayyam, breathed his last on Monday, August 19, at Sujay Hospital in Mumbai, suffering from breathing and other old age-related illnesses. He was 92. The legendary musician had given breath-taking music in classic films such as ‘Kabhi Kabhi’ and ‘Umrao Jaan’. The veteran composer got name and fame for his astonishing works in films like ‘Trishul’ and ‘Shola Aur Shabnam’. At the age of 17, Khayyam started his career in music. Gradually he earned a phenomenal position in the world of music. He was the recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and Padma Bhushan. PM Narendra Modi, Lata Mangeshkar and other celebrities and singers condoled the death of the celebrated music composer.

From October 2, Indian Railways to shun single-use plastic

The Indian Railways has taken a progressive step to impose ban on single-use plastic materials from October 2, 2019. Customers can’t use plastic material on railway premises as well as on trains. The Indian Railways directed the officials to accelerate the installation of 1,853 plastic water bottle crushing machines. At present, plastic crushing machines will be installed in 360 major railway stations in the first phase. The Railway Board asked the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Development Corporation (IRCTC) to take away plastic drinking bottles from the passengers in the wake of Extended Producer Responsibility.

Police of TN, Kerala on high alert after intel report on LeT

Police of Tamil Nadu and Kerala are on high alert following intelligence reports that six Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists are trying to penetrate in both the states. One of them is considered to be a Pakistani national while others are probably from Sri Lanka. Police are taking extra precaution and have asked the people to inform police if they see any suspicious activities around them.

Kerala court pronounces verdict on Dalit’s murder

A Kerala court has found 10 men guilty of the killing of a young Christian man. But the court slammed the killing as a case of “dishonour killing”. The victim, 23-year old Kevin, wanted to marry a Christian girl but his move was objected from the girl’s side because the boy belonged to the Dalit community. The news spread like fire and triggered wide protests in the state.

TDP supremo accuses AP government over capital location

A fresh political argument has broken out in Andhra Pradesh (AP). Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo Chandrababu Naidu is seeking to know the present government’s planning on the development of the capital city. TDP boss accused the state government of relocating the state capital from Amaravati by showing it as a flood-prone area. Meanwhile, the AP government has denied the allegation.

Kerala government also approves women drivers

The Kerala government in its new move on Wednesday, August 21, stunned everyone. The state government has decided to hire women drivers in government offices and public-sector establishments. This decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by the CM Pinarayi Vijayan to end the monopoly of men in this sector and restore gender equality in each and every sector in the state.

Missing stuff from AP assembly triggers police search

Police found themselves in a Catch 22 situation in registering a case in Andhra Pradesh last week. The complaint was that furniture, computers, air-conditioners and other gadgets had gone missing from the Andhra Pradesh assembly building while the capital of the state was shifting from Hyderabad to Amaravati. After some hue and cry, a report came out that the missing articles had been shifted to former Speaker Kodela Sivaprasad’s Sattenapalli residence.

Four pilgrims die in wall collapse in WB

At least four pilgrims died and 21 were injured in a tragic incident that occurred when a wall collapsed near Loknath Temple at Kachua in North 24 Parganas in West Bengal (WB) on Friday, August 23. The injured were taken to local hospitals, from where they were shifted to Kolkata’s NRS Hospital and Medical College.

Oil companies stop fuel supply to AI at 6 destinations

State-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) on Thursday, August 22, have decided to stop fuel supply to Air India (AI) planes at six destinations, due to non-payment of dues. The OMCs have stopped jet fuel supply at the following airports- Ranchi, Mohali, Patna, Vizag, Pune and Cochin. According to officials, discussions are going on to sort out this problem at the earliest.

Indo-Pak Davis cup tie postponed till November

The Indo-Pak political tension has taken another toll. The forthcoming Davis Cup (Tennis) tie between India and Pakistan scheduled to be held in Islamabad in September has been postponed till November. This decision was taken by the Davis Cup committee after a discussion on Wednesday, August 21. The committee said that the atmosphere is not conducive to host a Davis Cup match between the two neighbouring countries.

Trial of sexual offences against minors in 2 months: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday, August 22, instructed the state governments that investigation of sexual offences like rape against girls under the age of 12 should be completed within two months of the crime. This duty is assigned to chief secretaries of the states to monitor the situation and help in the completion of investigation and trial of such cases.

Bombay HC admonishes RBI on frequently changing sizes of notes & coins

The Bombay High Court (HC) on Thursday admonished the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and sought to know the reason behind the frequent change of the size of currency notes and coins. The observations of the hon’ble court were prompted when a bench of Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Bharati Dangre were hearing a PIL submitted by the National Association of the Blind.

Cleaning sewer without safety equipment kill 5 in UP

A major tragedy occurred on Thursday, August 22, at Nandigram area in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh when four labourers and their supervisor died while cleaning a sewer. They entered a manhole without any safety equipment. An FIR has been registered against the contractor and Jal Nigam officials. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has declared financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh each to the deceased families.

India and France set to uproot terrorism

India and France have decided to fight against terrorism and called for uprooting terrorist safe havens and their infrastructure. This decision was taken when PM Narendra Modi met his counterpart French president Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, August 22, at Chantilly. Speaking on this occasion, PM Modi said the relationship between India and France is not based on any selfishness, but on solid ideals of ‘Liberty, Equality and Fraternity’.

Chidambaram lands in CBI net

Veteran Congress leader and former Finance and Home Minister P Chidambaram was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from his tony Jor Bagh residence in New Delhi on Thursday, August 22. He will remain in police custody for 5 days. Enforcement Directorate (ED) and CBI, both the agencies are probing money laundering and corruption charges against 73-year old leader. The allegation against Harvard educated legal practitioner turned politician was the misuse of his power as India’s Finance Minister to benefit Peter Mukerjea’s INX Media.

Cops arrest 98 protesters over Ravidas temple

Stir against the demolition of Ravidas temple in Delhi is not dying. Dalit leader Chandra Shekhar Azad and 97 others involved in the violence were arrested on Wednesday, August 21. The police recovered iron rods, pistols and other arms from them. On the other hand, BSP supremo Mayawati has made it clear that her party workers were not involved in any violent protest. She asked her followers not to take law in their hands during any kind of demonstrations.

Leading govt hospitals in Delhi running without fire NOC

In spite of a major fire in the AIIMS hospital in Delhi last week, many leading government hospitals in the national capital like Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and Safdarjung Hospital have not learnt the hard lesson. The authorities of such hospitals are so careless that they don’t think it is essential to renew their fire No Objection Certificates (NOCs). This lacuna was revealed during the scrutiny conducted following the massive inferno at AIIMS.

PM gets praise from political nemesis

Of late, PM Narendra Modi is getting support from an unusual quarter. Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh praised Modi’s development model. He further added that we should not see only the negative aspect in his work, which is not going to help. It is time to recognise his good work too.

CBI trains guns on senior official in Saradha scam

In a fresh twist in Saradha scam case, CBI interrogated the West Bengal tourism secretary Atri Bhattacharya in connection with the multi-crore Saradha scam. It is the first time that a secretary level officer has been interrogated in connection with the scam.

Business News

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