Ravish Kumar Wins Ramon Magsaysay Award
Journalist and TV anchor Ravish Kumar has been named as one of the recipients of the Raman Magsaysay Award for this year. The award is given in the honour of former Philippines president Ramon Magsaysay and is regarded as the most prestigious award in Asia. In the past, Indian journalists such as P. Sainath, Arun Shourie and B.G. Verghese have been honoured with this award. Other recipients include Arvind Kejriwal, Jayapraksh Narayan, Sonam Wangchuck and MS Subbulakshmi, to name a few.
CCD Founder Commits Suicide
The Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) founder VG Siddhartha’s body was recovered from Nethravathi river near Mangaluru in Karnataka on Wednesday, July 31. It is feared that he committed suicide. The coffee baron’s difficulties reportedly started with a heavy debt burden, combined with income tax raids in 2017. He was the son-in-law of former Karnataka CM SM Krishna. CCD is India’s biggest coffee chain, where youngsters like to enjoy their leisure time.
BJP MPs to Attend Training Session
Home minister Amit Shah has made it mandatory for his party MP’s of both houses of parliament to attend a two day training session this weekend. Shah stressed that all MP’s will have to be present on August 3 and 4 for Abhyas Varg (training session), which will be held at the Balayogi Auditorium in the Parliament library building. The objective is to train the first time MPs on how to mingle with people and discharge their duties as public representatives.
10 Heritage Sites to Remain Open till 9 PM
The central government has decided to keep ten protected monuments open for public from sunrise till 9 pm, to entice tourists. The following are the names of these sites: Humayun’s Tomb and Safdarjung Tomb in Delhi, Rajarani Temple in Bhubaneswar, Dulhadev Temple in Khajuraho, Shekh Chilli Tomb in Kurukshetra, Group of Monuments at Pattadakal in Karnataka, Gol Gumbaj in Karnataka, Group of Temples in Maharashtra (Markanda), Man Mahal in Uttar Pradesh (Varanasi) and Rani ki Vaav in Paatan Gujarat.
Stranded Train Passengers Rescued
All the 1,050 passengers of Mahalaxmi Express were recently rescued by the rescue teams comprising National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Navy, Air Force, Army, Railways and the state administration team including doctors. The train was stranded near Vegani in Thane district due to excessive floodwaters on the track. The entire operation took 17 hours. Home Minister Amit Shah also praised the rescue team.
Prithvi Shaw Banned till Nov 15
Talented Indian cricket opener Prithvi Shaw and two others have been suspended by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) till November 15, 2019 for doping violation. According to BCCI, Shaw had “inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance, which can be commonly found in cough syrups.” Shaw’s urine sample was tested during the Mushtaq Ali Trophy, in which traces of banned Terbutaline were found.
Madhya Pradesh Turns ‘Tiger’ State
Madhya Pradesh has now become the tigers’ preferred state. As per a recent census, it is estimated that the state has maximum 526 big cats. Hence, it has pipped Karnataka to the post with 524 tigers. At present, India’s tiger population is 2,977, revealed recently by the All India Tiger Estimation Report 2018.
Indian Table Tennis on Winning Spree
Indian table tennis (TT) has been passing through a great time. Hard work over the years is now paying rich dividends for the country’s TT players. Recently, Indian men and women won the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships defeating England and Singapore respectively at Cuttack in Odisha. Men’s team believe that India has a realistic chance to win medal in TT in 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
IAF Launches Video Game
A new mobile video game has been launched by the Indian Air Force (IAF) which features airstrikes undertaken by IAF. It was launched by Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa. This game features Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured and released by Pakistan later during the Balakot strike. The aim behind this game is to motivate youth in the country to come forward and join IAF as a challenging career.
Strict Punishment for Traffic Violators
Parliament is set to approve the long-pending Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019 with stiffer penalties. The aim of the bill is to rule out corruption, bring road safety and promote the use of technology for smooth traffic control. The rule stipulates strict punishment, Rs. 5 lakhs for death and Rs. 2.5 lakhs for serious injury by motor vehicle accident. Driving without licence (Rs. 5,000), drunken driving and not giving way to emergency vehicles (Rs. 10,000), not wearing a helmet on 2-wheelers (Rs 1000 and disqualification for 3 months) are other provisions. In case of offences by juveniles (parents to be responsible, Rs. 25,000 fine, 3 years imprisonment, and registration of vehicle to be cancelled) as per the new bill.
CJI Inspired from Happiness Classes
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi has taken a leaf from the ‘Happiness Curriculum’ in Delhi government schools. He has proposed to introduce happiness classes in judicial academies across the country.
SC Asks Govt to Regulate App Based Taxi Services
The Supreme Court (SC) has asked the Union government to make a law to regulate app-based taxi providers like Ola and Uber. This should be beneficial, especially for the safety of the women passengers. Of late, many cases of sexual harassment by Ola and Uber drivers have come into the limelight.
Anti-Triple Talaq Bill Passed in Parliament
The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 was passed by both the houses of parliament, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The legislation makes the practice of ‘triple talaq’ a punishable offence with provision for maintenance, custody of children, and imprisonment up to 3 years for the husband. It will apply to all cases from September 2018 onwards. In 2017, the SC had announced the practice as unconstitutional, illegal and void.
IBC Code Amendment Bill
Both houses of parliament have passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (amendment) Bill 2019 to remove ambiguities in the legislation and achieve speedy resolution. Concerned over delays in insolvency proceedings, the amendment proposes a limit of 330 days for completing the resolution plan for any entity. Moreover, the resolution plan formulated under the IBC Code will be binding on all stakeholders, including Central and State governments and municipal authorities to whom debt is owed by the entity under liquidation.
Doctors on Strike against Medical Council Bill
Doctors in many government hospitals have gone on strike against the National Medical Commission Bill, which seeks to introduce landmark changes in the medical education and healthcare sector, including replacement of Medical Council of India and a national level exit test for MBBS students. Other provisions include granting licence to Community Health Providers, whose role and level of qualification is not clear, as per agitating qualified medical professionals.
Customer Demands Hindu Delivery Boy
A Zomato customer at Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, after ordering food on the app, wanted that his food should be delivered by a Hindu person, citing ‘Sawan ka mahina’. When the Zomato executive declined to accept his religion-based preference, then the man cancelled his order. Zomato owner and other industry stalwarts came out in support of their staff on social media.
SC Shifts Unnao Case to Delhi
The SC has decided to shift the Unnao rape and crime case from Lucknow to New Delhi. The day-to-day hearing should be ended within 45 days. The apex court also ordered the Uttar Pradesh government to pay Rs 25 lakh to the teenage survivor within 24 hours as interim compensation, after the car she was travelling in was hit by a truck. Some of her closest family members died in the incident, while she herself is in a critical condition. The MLA accused of the crime has finally been expelled from the BJP.
Letter to PM on Species Extinction
Former member secretary of Central Zoo Authority, Dr DN Singh, has written a letter to the prime minister Narendra Modi expressing concern over the extinction of the entire population of 10 species in the Delhi Zoo in recent times.
2000 Coaches Aspiring to Coach Team India
Like a long queue for a job in India, so is the case with the cricket coach’s position. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has received 2000 applications for the coveted post of head coach and other coaching staff for the national cricket team. What a tough competition!
Remove Obstacles in ‘Housing for All by 2022’ Mission: PM
The Prime Minister in his first ‘Pragati’ meeting review in Modi 2.0 government has cleared the air that his government is firm to fulfil ‘Housing for All by 2022’ mission on time. He asked officials to remove all obstacles to achieve that goal.
India Rejects Pakistan’s Access Offer in Jadhav Case
India is taking its steps cautiously in Kulbhushan Jadhav case. As per reports, Indian government is not in favour of any riders while being granted consular access and wants the recent International Court of Justice (ICJ) judgment implemented in letter and spirit. MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar is reported to have said: “We will evaluate the offer. We will maintain communication with Pakistan through diplomatic channels.”
