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08-09 September 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

08-09 September 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

1. Rafael Nadal wins 2019 US Open men's title

• Spain’s Rafael Nadal (34-years) defeated Russian Daniil Medvedev 7–5, 6–3, 5–7, 4–6, 6–4 to claim US Open Men’s tennis tournament - 2019 (139th edition) in New York (USA).
• It was Rafael Nadal fifth US Open title and 19th Grand Slam title.
• Canadian tennis player Bianca Andreescu (19-years) has lifted the Women's singles title of US Open 2019.
• She won the Grand Slam defeating Serena Williams of US in straight sets 6–3, 7–5.
• It was the first time a Canadian tennis player claimed the Grand Slam singles title.

Event	Champion	Runner-up
Men's Singles final	Rafael Nadal (Spain)	Daniil Medvedev (Russia)
Women's Singles final	Bianca Andreescu (Canada)	Serena Williams (USA)
Men's Doubles final	Juan Sebastián Cabal (Colombia) & Robert Farah (Colombia)	Marcel Granollers (Spain)and Horacio Zeballos (Argentina)
Women's Doubles final	Elise Mertens (Belgian) & Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus)	Ashleigh Barty (Australia) and Victoria Azarenka (Belarus)
Mixed Doubles final	Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) & Jamie Murray (UK)	Chan Hao-ching (Taiwan) and Michael Venus (New Zealand)

Note:

• The 2019 US Open was the 139th edition of tennis' US Open and the fourth and final Grand Slam event of the year.
• This was the last Grand Slam to have 32 seeds with the format reverting to 16 seeds from the start of the 2019 season.

2. India Red beat India Green to win Duleep Trophy 2019–20

• India Red thrashed India Green by an innings and 38 runs in the final to win the Duleep Trophy 2019–20 at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore.
• Right-arm off-spinner Akshay Wakhare picked up a brilliant five-wicket haul to hand India Red the Duleep Trophy title.
• Abhimanyu Easwaran was the leading run-scorer for India Red adjudged the Player of the Match.

Final Score

• India Green: 231 and 119  
• India Red: 388

Note:

• The Duleep Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket competition played in India between teams representing geographical zones of India.
• The tournament was contested by three teams, namely India Red, India Blue, and India Green.

Important Days

3. 8th September: International Literacy Day

• The International Literacy Day (ILD) is being observed on 8th September every year throughout the world to raise public awareness to eradicate illiteracy and create an environment in favour of adult education programs.
• It is an opportunity for Governments, civil society and stakeholders to highlight improvements in world literacy rates and reflect on the world’s remaining literacy challenges.
• The Theme of International Literacy Day 2019 is Literacy and Multilingualism.

Note:

• The UNESCO in its 14th Session in November 1966, declared 8th September as the International Literacy Day.
• In the last Census held in 2011, the country has achieved a literacy rate of around 73 per cent.

Banking & Finance

4. PNB put up 11 NPA accounts for sale to recover dues of Rs 1,234 cr

• Punjab National Bank (PNB) has put up for sale nearly a dozen non-performing assets (NPA) to recover dues of more than 1,234 crore rupees.
• The lender has invited bids from asset reconstruction companies non-banking financial companies, banks, financial institutions for 11 NPA accounts.
• The bank has asked the prospective bidders to speed up due diligence.
• The public lender is set to merge two peer banks ‘Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank of India’ with itself following the government's announcement to consolidate 10 public sector banks into four bigger entities.

Obituaries

5. Pakistan’s master leg-spinner Abdul Qadir passes away

• Legendary Pakistan leg-spinner Abdul Qadir (63-years) passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest in Lahore.
• Qadir, who played in 67 Tests and 104 ODIs had a total 368 wickets in his international career between 1977 and 1993.
• Abul Qadir also served as Pakistan's chief selector and he picked the World T20-winning squad in 2009.

Source: India Today

6. Eminent Supreme Court lawyer Ram Jethmalani passes away

• Eminent Supreme Court lawyer and former union minister Ram Jethmalani (95-years) passed away at his residence in New Delhi.
• Mr. Jethmalani was a senior lawyer in the Supreme Court, a union minister for law and urban development in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet and the chairman of the Bar Council of India.
• Jethmalani joined the bar at the age of 17 and earned the distinction of being the youngest advocate allowed to practice law.
• He was elected a member of parliament in the 6th and 7th Lok Sabha on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket from Mumbai.
• In 2016, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha on RJD ticket.
• He represented former union minister LK Advani in the Hawala scam and fought for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a defamation case filed by former union minister Arun Jaitley.

Note:

• Jethmalani was born in Shikarpur in Sindh province (now in Pakistan).

Appointment

7. B Bala Bhaskar appointed as next Indian Ambassador to Norway

• Senior diplomat B Bala Bhaskar (Indian Foreign Service: 1993) has been appointed as the next Indian Ambassador to Norway.
• He will replace Krishan Kumar, who has been heading the Indian mission in Norway since July 2018.
• Formerly he served as a Joint Secretary of the WANA division of the MEA that deals with all the matters relating to India’s trade with WANA region comprising 19 countries.

Source: The Hindu

8. Saudi Arabia appoints Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman as new Energy minister

• Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has appointed Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman as its new Energy minister.
• Earlier, He had served as the Deputy and State Energy Minister for several years.
• Prince Abdulaziz (son of the King of Saudi Arabia) replaced the long-time oil industry veteran Khalid Al Falih.
• Prince Abdulaziz is the
• It is the first time a member of the ruling Al Saud family has held the energy minister post in the world’s top oil exporter.

Source: AIR News

9. CoA of BCCI appoints a committee to run BCA

• The Committee of Administrators (CoA) of BCCI has appointed a three-member Independent Supervisory Committee to run the cricketing affairs of Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) and conduct fresh elections.
• The CoA, chaired by Vinod Rai, took the decision after deliberating on the issue during a meeting in Mumbai.
• The Committee will have the power to supervise, regulate and suspend the powers, duties and functioning of all post holders in the BCA, appoint or replace electoral officer, ombudsman and ethics officer.
• It will also have the power to appoint selectors, team officials and match officials and assign auditors to investigate utilization of funds granted by the BCCI.

Source: Times Of India

National Affairs

10. PM Modi inaugurates first 'Make in India' metro coach in Mumbai

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the first Metro Coach in Mumbai under the ‘Make in India’ initiative at Jio World Centre, Maharashtra, Mumbai.
• The coach has been built by Bharat Earth Movers (BEML) at its Bengaluru facility in flat 75 days.
• Mr Modi also inaugurated three Metro lines that are expected to add more than 42 km to the metro network of the city.
• Maharashtra is pumping in over Rs 1.2 lakh crore to build 14 metro corridors stretching 337-km over the next decade.
• The prime minister inaugurated AURIC (Aurangabad Industrial City) business and administrative building and dedicated DMIC AURIC City to the nation.

Source: ND TV

11. 68th Plenary session of NEC begins in Guwahati

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired the 68th Plenary session of the North Eastern Council (NEC) in Guwahati, Assam.
• Governors and Chief Ministers of North Eastern states (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim) have attended the 2-day event.
• There will be presentations from various ministries and state governments on various developmental issues which are critical to the North East.

Note:

• North Eastern Council (NEC) is a statutory advisory body constituted under the NEC Act 1971 and came into being on the 7th November 1972.
• The eight states of Northeast India are members of the council, with their respective Chief Ministers and Governors representing them.
• The headquarters of the council is situated in Shillong and functions under the ministry of home affairs of the Government of India.

Source: AIR News

12. Rohit Sharma launches a campaign to conserve rhinos

• India vice-captain Rohit Sharma is going to help build awareness for the need to conserve the Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros or the Indian Rhino.
• Rohit Sharma is launching Rohit4Rhinos campaign, in partnership with WWF India and Animal Planet, on World Rhino Day (on 22^nd September), where Rohit pledges to do his bit to save the "vulnerable" species from extinction.
• Rohit Sharma joined WWF India as its Brand Ambassador for Rhino Conservation in 2018.
• Animal Planet will run a series of path-breaking programmes during 'Rhino Week' to sensitize people about these gentle giants.

Source: Gulf News

13. Govt to spend Rs 3.5 lakh cr in next five years on Jal Jeevan Mission: PM

• According to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Union government will spend 3.5 lakh crore rupees in the next five years on 'Jal Jeevan Mission' to deliver potable water at every household across the country.
• Jal Jeevan Mission has been launched in order to free women from the trouble of having to toil hard to fetch water.
• Jal Jeevan Mission involves saving water and delivering water at one's doorstep.
• Under MUDRA scheme, one woman in every SHG will get a loan of 1 lakh rupees and this will help them start new ventures and grow their business.

Source: AIR News

International Affairs

14. President Kovind embarks on 9-day visit to Iceland, Switzerland & Slovenia

• President Ram Nath Kovind embarked on an official nine-day visit to Iceland, Switzerland and Slovenia to enhance India's political and economic ties with the three European countries.
• In the first leg of his visit, Mr Kovind will arrive in Iceland and will hold talks with his Icelandic counterpart Guðni Th. Jóhannesson and Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir.
• The second leg of the visit to Switzerland will begin on the 11th of September.
• The President will have wide-ranging discussions with his Swiss counterpart and country's cabinet.
• The third leg of the visit to Slovenia will begin on 15^th September and mark the first-ever visit by an Indian President to the country.
• During the visit, Kovind will hold wide-ranging discussion with his Slovenian counterpart Borut Pahor and the National Assembly President.

Source: AIR News

15. UAE hosts the 24th edition of the World Energy Congress

• Today, the 24th World Energy Congress will commence in Abu Dhabi under the patronage of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates (9-12 September 2019).
• The four-day World Energy Congress aims to bring together international energy stakeholders, including governments, private and state corporations, academia and media.
• The theme of this World Energy Congress is Energy for Prosperity which also represents the ambitious and dynamic energy transition of the country.
• With over 15,000 participants expected, Congress is set to welcome over 250 high-level speakers, 72 Ministers, 500 CEOs, 1000 media persons with 40,000 square-metre exhibition space that will cover the entire energy spectrum.

Note:

• The World Energy Council is a global and inclusive forum for thought-leadership and tangible engagement with headquarters in London.
• Its mission is 'To promote the sustainable supply and use of energy for the greatest benefit of all people'.
• As of March 2019, the World Energy Council has 86 member committees and 2 countries which have direct membership.

Source: AIR News

SBI SO 2019 Recruitment Notification: 477 Various Posts (Apply Now)

LIC HFL Admit Card 2019 Out, for Associate/Asst/Assistant Managers (Download Now)

LIC HFL Admit Card 2019 Out, for Associate/Asst/Assistant Managers (Download Now)

LIC HFL Admit Card 2019 out! LIC Housing Finance Limited (HFL) has officially released the LIC admit card for the LIC Housing Finance Ltd Associate, Assistant and Assistant Manager exams 2019. Candidates who have enrolled for this LIC HFL recruitment 2019 can now download the call letter from the official website of LIC or from the direct link provided below. 

The LIC HFL exam date is announced already, and it is scheduled to be conducted on 09.10.2019 or 10.10.2019. Click on the below link to download LIC Associate, Assistant, Assistant Manager Admit Card 2019.

LIC HFL Admit Card 2019, Download Link!

LIC HFL Admit Card 2019: Steps to Download Call Letter

• Click on the LIC HFL Admit Card download link provided above.
• Alternatively, you can also go to the official website of LIC HFL to download your hall ticket.
• Under Login Credential, first, select the language in which you wish to download your admit card.
• Enter the Registration Number as well as the Password or the Date of birth. The Date of birth should be entered in DD-MM-YY format.
• Enter the captcha image provided and then cross-check the details that you have entered.
• Click on Login.
• Your Admit Card will be displayed on the screen. Select print to print the admit card.
• Save the pdf file for future reference.

LIC HFL Recruitment 2019: Important Dates

Below table depicts the important dates for LIC HFL Assistant Manager and Assistant recruitment 2019: 

Events	Corresponding Date
Start date of Call Letter download for both posts	9th September 2019
Last date of Call letter download for both posts	9th October 2019
Online exam for Assistant Manager post	09.10.2019 or 10.10.2019
Online exam for Assistant posts	09.10.2019 or 10.10.2019
Online Examination for Associate posts	09.10.2019 or 10.10.2019

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07 September 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

07 September 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

1. Country's first 'Fun Zone' for children at Visakhapatnam railway station

• In a first of its kind in the Indian Railways, a paid gaming zone has been provided at Visakhapatnam railway station (platform number- 1) in Andhra Pradesh.
• The gaming zone (400sft area) is for bonafide passengers/rail users who can utilize this facility with a payment of Rs 50 per game during their visit to the railway station.
• The fun zone consists of modern gaming facilities such as virtual-real games (car racing, gun fighting etc), hit the mouse, Doraemon, Doreamanfriend, musical play, basketball and air hockey.
• It is an innovative initiative by the Waltair division of East Coast Railway (ECoR) under non-fare revenue for entertaining waiting passengers/kids.
• The project was developed under NINFRIS (New, Innovative Non-Fare Revenue Ideas Scheme) of the ministry of railways.

Source: Times of India

2. 6th India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue begins in New Delhi today

• The 6th India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) has begun in New Delhi.
• The three-day dialogue will comprise of round table meetings of joint working groups on infrastructure, energy, high-tech, resource conservation, pharmaceuticals and policy coordination.
• The Indian side will be led by Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar and the Chinese side by Chairman of National Development and Reforms Commission (NDRC).
• The SED was set up between the erstwhile Planning Commission and National Development and Reform Commission of China during the visit of Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao to India in December 2010.
• It has served as an effective mechanism for enhancing bilateral practical cooperation.

Source: AIR News

3. India among top 10 nations in gold reserves

• India has pipped the Netherlands to move into the list of top ten countries in terms of total gold reserves.
• According to the World Gold Council, India has gold reserves totalling 618.2 tonnes, which is marginally higher than the Netherlands’ reserves of 612.5 tonnes.
• International Monetary Fund (IMF) occupies the third position after the U.S. and Germany.
• Indian ranked 9th in individual country ranking, excluding IMF, and ranked 10th including IMF.

• Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) has won the IT Excellence Award, 2019 for its innovative conception by using information technology in the field of disaster management.
• The “SATARK” (System for Assessing, Tracking and Alerting Disaster Risk Information based on Dynamic Risk Knowledge) application has been chosen for the award.
• This app has been developed to provide real-time watch, alert and warning information for different natural disasters and hazards such as heatwave, lightning, agriculture risk, flood, tsunami, earthquake, cyclone or storm, road accident and snakebite.

5. Microsoft & CBSE partners to build AI learning for schools

• Microsoft India and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) have partnered to build AI learning for schools.
• They will conduct capacity building programmes for high school teachers with an aim to integrate cloud-powered technology in K12 teaching.
• The programme is for teachers of grades 8-10 and will be conducted in 10 cities across the country.
• The programme will provide teachers with better access to the latest Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools.
• It will help the teachers to integrate technology into teaching in a safe and secure manner.
• The programme will also offer teachers the opportunity to become Microsoft Innovative Educators.

Source: Live Mint

Science & Defence

6. Lander Vikram of Chandrayaan-2 loses its communication minutes before a soft landing

• The lander of the lunar craft Chandrayaan 2 has gone incommunicado just minutes before its planned soft landing near the moon's the South Pole early this morning.
• The Vikram Lander descent was initiated as planned and normal performance was observed up to an altitude of 2.1 km.
• Subsequently, the communication from the Lander to the ground stations was lost.
• The powered descent of the lander Vikram of Chandrayaan-2 began at 1 hour 38 minutes and 3 seconds.
• It was going down smoothly, closely matching with the predicted path until it came closer to 2.1 kilometres above the lunar surface.

 Obituaries

7. Zimbabwe's former President Robert Mugabe passes away.

• Former Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe (95-years) passes away in Singapore.
• He was hospitalised in Singapore for months for an undisclosed ailment.
• Robert Gabriel Mugabe was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe (from 1980 to 1987) and then as President (from 1987 to 2017).
• Mugabe was forced to step down by the military in November 2017 following nationwide mass protests.
• The country's first post-independent leader passed away nearly two years since he stepped down after 37 years in power.

Source: The Hindu

International Affairs

8. Indo-Lanka Joint Naval Exercise SLINEX 2019

• The week-long annual Joint Indo-Lanka maritime fleet exercise - SLINEX 2019 has been started.
• Sri Lankan Navy has sent two ships to India to participate in the exercise with the Indian Navy.
• The offshore patrol vessels, SLNS Sindurala and Suranimala left Trincomalee on are scheduled to arrive at the port of Visakhapatnam.
• The week-long exercise will be attended by 323 Sri Lankan navy personnel including the commanding flag officer of the naval fleet.

9. India Pavilion inaugurated at 44th Toronto International Film Festival

• The High Commissioner of India to Canada Vikas Swarup has inaugurated the India Pavilion at the 44th Toronto International Film Festival 2019.
• The inauguration of India Pavilion at TIFF will provide a platform to showcase Indian Cinema in the overseas market and facilitate new business opportunities.
• Indian movies have created a new benchmark in film making globally.
• Every Film Festival today acknowledges the enormous potential of India's soft power.
• TIFF also provides the ideal platform for the global outreach of the 50th International Film Festival of India 2019.

Source: AIR News

Sports

10. Anupama Swain wins bronze in World Martial Arts Mastership.

• Indian woman athlete Anupama Swain won a bronze medal in the recently concluded World Martial Arts Mastership Jiu-Jitsu 2019 in Chungju, South Korea.
• Now she qualified for 2022 Asian Games. she was the only Indian to participate in the championship.
• Jiu-Jitsu is a form of martial art and combat sport and it puts the entire focus on grappling with particular emphasis on ground fighting. 

06 September 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

06 September 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

1. Standard Chartered Bank launches “DigiSmart” credit card

• British multinational banking & financial services company ‘Standard Chartered Bank’ has launched a DigiSmart credit card.
• The primary focus of the Bank on the ever-growing segment of millennials.
• The credit card will offer instant discounts and benefits across key e-commerce categories of travel, entertainment, fashion, groceries, and food delivery around the year.
• The new credit card is available for a nominal monthly fee of only Rs 49.
• However, this fee (49-rupees) will be waived off if the spends of the customer are Rs 5,000 or above in the previous month.

Source: The Hindu

National Affairs

2. Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel flags off ‘Mobile Science Exhibition’ for Ladakh

• The Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (Independent Charge), Shri Prahlad Singh Patel flagged off first-ever Mobile Science Exhibition (SCIENCE EXPLORER) for entire Ladakh Region in Leh.
• The Minister simultaneously launched 25 new Mobile Science Exhibition buses for Aspirational Districts of India.
• This will help to quickly and effectively transform these districts named as ‘Aspirational Districts’.
• The buses will travel to schools in Aspirational Districts throughout the year except during the vacations and will aim to create scientific awareness among the rural children.
• The topics chosen for these exhibitions are Measurement, Machines in everyday life, Food & Health, Chemistry & Life with focus on Water, Energy, Hygiene & Sanitation, Space Science for Human Welfare.

Source: PIB]

3. Uttar Pradesh Police Launches C-Plan App for Better Community Policing

• Uttar Pradesh Police has launched a mobile application named ‘C-Plan’ to keep a tab on anti-social elements prevailing across the state.
• It will verify the received information and counter these criminal activities in time.
• The department has identified 10 people in every village, known as Sambhrant-10, across the state who will inform about anti-social elements, simmering communal tensions or land disputes taking place in their respective villages through the app.
• This initiative will help the state to have better community policing and bringing down the crime rate by improving the police-public partnership with the help of technology.

4. Gujarat Govt, Delaware State of America sign MoU for sister-state

• Gujarat Government and the Delaware State of America have signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for sister state in Gandhinagar.
• MoU was signed in Gandhinagar when a delegation of Delaware State of America called on Gujarat Chief Minister Delaware’s Vijay Rupani.
• According to official sources, cooperation in the field of services and investment opportunities in GIFT IFSC have also been discussed during the meeting.
• This is the first sister-state MoU signed by Gujarat with any state of America.
• Sectors like Biotechnology University, biosciences, financial services, animal husbandry and dairy, port services have been shortlisted for future cooperation.
• The American delegation has also invited Gujarat Chief Minister to visit Delaware State.

Source: AIR News

5. Mini Conclave of First Investor Summit-2019 is held in Leh

• After the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A, the Mini Conclave of First Jammu and Kashmir Investor Summit-2019 held in Leh.
• An MoU has been signed by Jammu and Kashmir Trade Promotion Organisation and CII for organisation and management of the event.
• The meet will provide J-K with an opportunity to showcase its strengths, strategies and potential.
• Navin Choudhary (Jammu and Kashmir Industries & Commerce Principal Secretary) has announced to reduce the Premium of SIDCO Land in Ladakh in a couple of days.
• The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are going to be the Union Territories from 1st November onwards.

Source: AIR News

6. Central Government to invest Rs 25,000 crore in 5 years to revamp fishery infrastructure

• With the objective of achieving the real goals of the ambitious Blue Revolution project, The Union Government has lined up Rs 25,000 crore investments in different sectors of fisheries in the next three to five years.
• As inland fisheries contribute only 50 per cent of the total fish production, the Government intends to outspread its potential by covering reservoirs, wetlands, rivers and streams in different parts of the country.
• Considering the low contribution of inland water fisheries, the Government looks to increase its production to six million tonnes from three million tonnes in the next three to four years.

7. Delhi to include OBC, General category students in Jai Bheem Mukhyamantri Yojana

• The Delhi state Cabinet has decided to include other backward class (OBC) and general category students in its 'Jai Bheem Mukhyamantri Yojana'.
• The government also enhance financial assistance from Rs. 40,000 to Rs. one lakh for coaching for various competitive exams.
• Earlier, the scheme was only for the scheduled caste category students under which financial assistance of up to Rs. 40,000 would be provided.

8. BSNL launches Next Trillion Users Initiative

• BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) has launched IPV6 services to bring a new era of the internet in the country.
• This service is launched from Bangalore and shall be available to all the customers across the country in next few weeks”.
• IPV6 is having the highest security levels possible which will be very helpful for deploying IoT and other applications with enhanced security features.
• Now, Customers shall be using multiple devices at home and office, all these devices shall need an exclusive addressing scheme for which IPV6 is the right way forward.

Source: UNI

International Affairs

9. India-Russia Annual Summit 2019 held in Vladivostok, Russia

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a two-day official visit to the Russian Federation to attend the 20th India – Russia Annual Summit in Vladivostok. Russia.
• Mr Modi also participated as the Chief Guest at the 5th Eastern Economic Forum.
• India also announced a line of credit worth USD 1 Billion for the development of the Far East region of Russia.
• Indian PM further launched Indo-Russian Innovation Bridge, an online platform to bridge the gap between Indian and Russian startup ecosystems and promote joint innovations.
• PM Modi has also accepted President Putin's invitation to attend 75th anniversary of the victory of Russian federation & erstwhile the Soviet Union in World War-2, next May in Moscow.

Source: India Today

Obituaries

10. Famed writer Kiran Nagarkar passes away in Mumbai

• Noted novelist, play writer Kiran Nagarkar (77-years) passed away in Mumbai.
• Nagarkar’s epic novel 'Cuckold' and riotously funny 'Ravan and Eddie' trilogy count among the most celebrated works of fiction by an Indian writer in English.
• His first novel “Saat Sakkam Techaalis’ or 'Seven Sixes Are Forty-Three' published in 1974 just as Indira Gandhi was turning increasingly authoritarian as prime minister.

   Source: The Times of India

11. Congress leader Sukhdev Singh Libra passes away

• Congress leader and former MP Sukhdev Singh Libra (87-years) passed away after a prolonged illness.
• Sukhdev Singh Libra was the member of the 14th (Fatehgarh Sahib) and 15th (Ropar) Lok Sabha and MLA in Punjab in 1985.
• He was a member of Rajya Sabha from 1998-2004.
• Libra had also served as a member of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).

Source: India Today

Books & Author

12. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu releases 2nd volume of 'Loktantra Ke Swar'

• Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has released 'Loktantra Ke Swar (Khand 2)' in Hindi and 'The Republican Ethic (Volume 2)' in English at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra in New Delhi.
• In order to promote and disseminate selected speeches of President Ram Nath Kovind, Publications Division under Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has published 'Loktantra Ke Swar (Khand 2)' and 'The Republican Ethic (Volume 2)'.
• They are a compilation of 95 speeches delivered by the President during his second year in office (July 2018 to July 2019).
• The speeches have been divided into eight categories--'Addressing the Nation', 'Windows to the World', 'Educating India: Equipping India', 'Dharma of Public Service', 'Honouring our Sentinels', 'Spirit of the Constitution and Law', 'Acknowledging Excellence' and 'Mahatma Gandhi: Moral Exemplar, Guiding Light'.
• The books will be available on Kindle and other e-platforms.

Source: PIB

13. Pranab Mukherjee releases Sisodia’s book ‘Siksha’

• Former President Pranab Mukherjee has released the book of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia titled ‘Siksha-His experiments as Education Minister’.
• Mukherjee said the book is important as it is based on Sisodia’s experiences as the education minister of the Delhi government.
• Earlier, Penguin Random House India had announced the acquisition of the first writing venture by Mr Sisodia.
• The book ‘Siksha’ had two parts - ‘fixing of foundation of education’ and ‘using education as foundation for India’.

Source: Hindustan Times

Sports

14. Pakistan names Misbah-ul-Haq as head coach and chief selector

• Former captain Misbah-ul-Haq (45-years) has been appointed as head coach and chief selector of Pakistan’s cricket team for three years.
• Former fast bowler Waqar Younis will join him as the team’s new bowling coach.
• Misbah-ul-Haq scored over 10,300 international runs, played 75 Tests, 162 ODIs and 39 T20Is matches for Pakistan in a career which ended on 14^th May 2017.
• He was also the most successful and longest-serving Test captain for Pakistan (26 wins in 56 Tests and 11 draws).

15. Steve Smith becomes 2nd Australian to score 500 in consecutive Ashes in England

• Steve Smith has become the second Australian player after Allan Border to score 500 and more runs in the consecutive Ashes series in England.
• Smith reached this milestone after he added 122 runs in the ongoing fourth Ashes Test.
• In 2015 Ashes which took place in England, Smith scored 508 runs while this time in his third match he crossed the 500 runs mark.
• Before Smith only Border had amassed the 500 plus runs consecutively in the Ashes in England.
• Allan Border scored more than 500 runs in 1981 and 1985.
• Smith returned to the international cricket after serving a one year ban due to his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal against South Africa in 2018.

Note:

• The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia at least once every two years.
• The 2019 Ashes series is being played in England, which began on 1st August in Edgbaston, Birmingham.

Source: The Times of India