Current Affairs Daily Digest – August 15 2019
1. Harshad Pandurang Thakur appointed as Director of NIHFW
Harshad Pandurang Thakur was appointed as Director of National Institute of Health and Family Welfare. Decision in this regard was taken by Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was appointed on direct recruitment basis for period of five years. Prior to this appointment, he was professor at Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai.
2. Naval Tata Hockey Academy inaugurated in Bhubaneswar
Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik inaugurated Naval Tata Hockey Academy (NTHA), a high-performance centre for hockey at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha for grooming best hockey talent in State. Academy is named in honour of Naval H. Tata to commemorate his contribution to hockey in India as well as his achievements as a sports administrator.
3. Tamil Nadu becomes 5th State to Declare a State Butterfly
Tamil Nadu has officially declared Tamil Yeoman (Cirrochroa thais) as the state butterfly to symbolise its rich natural and cultural heritage. This move aimed at boosting conservation efforts of attractive insects. It will also help channelising government funds towards a particular environmental cause.
4. Tamil Nadu CM announces 2 new districts, total reaches 37
Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi K Palaniswami announced the creation of two new districts in the state, taking the total number of districts to 37. During his address at the Independence Day function in Chennai, he said Vellore district will be trifurcated into Vellore, Tirupattur and Ranipet. Notably, the state government announced two new districts in July as well.
5. India’s first space museum inaugurated in Hyderabad
With interest in space among public zooming up courtesy the successful flight of the Chandrayaan-2 mission to the moon, India’s first Space Science Museum opened in Hyderabad.
Located on the erstwhile Naubat Pahad in the centre of the city, it’s a collaborative effort between the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the B M Birla Science Centre.
6. Inter-State Council reconstituted with Prime Minister as chairman
The Inter-State Council, which is mandated to investigate and advise on disputes between states, has been reconstituted with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as its chairman and six Union ministers and all chief ministers as members.
According to a notification, the Union ministers who will be members of the reconstituted council are Amit Shah (Home), Nirmala Sitharaman (Finance), Rajnath Singh (Defence), Narendra Singh Tomar (Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Rural Development).
7. PT Usha becomes AAA Athletes Commission member
Former Indian athlete and Olympian P.T. Usha has been appointed as a member of the Athletes Commission of the Asian Athletics Association (AAA). Usha will be one of the six members of the AAA Athletes Commission, which will be headed by 1992 Olympics gold medallist hammer thrower Andrey Abduvaliyev of Uzbekistan.
8. Wing Commander Abhinandan to be awarded Vir Chakra
Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel who were part of the February 26 last Balakot air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammad terror training camp in Pakistan and the air engagement a day after have been awarded gallantry medals on the eve of Independence Day.
Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was caught by Pakistan after his MiG-21 Bison fighter jet went down across the Line of Control (LoC) on February 27 and was returned three days later, has been awarded Vir Chakra (VrC), the country’s third-highest gallantry award.
9. Priyam Chatterjee Becomes First Indian Chef To Receive French Honour
Priyam Chatterjee became the first Indian chef to be awarded the ”Chevalier de l”Ordre du Merite Agricoleto” by the government of France to recognise his contribution towards reinventing the gastronomic scene in India. Mr Chatterjee (30) is best known for revisiting the traditional dishes from his native state of West Bengal and giving it a French twist.
10. Govt appoints VG Somani as new Drug Controller General
The government on August 14 appointed VG Somani as Drug Controller General of India (DCGI). DCGI heads the Indian drug regulatory body the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), whose functions include ensuring the quality of drugs and cosmetics sold in the country, approval of new drugs and regulating clinical trials.
11. Argentina World Cup winner Jose Luis Brown dies at 62
World Cup winner Jose Luis Brown, who scored Argentina’s opening goal in the 1986 World Cup final against West Germany, has died at the age of 62, local media reported. The country’s football association confirmed the former central defender’s death in a tweet, while former Argentina striker Gabriel Batistuta also tweeted his condolences.
12. IIT Kharagpur researchers develop low-cost blood test device
Researchers from IIT Kharagpur have developed a low-cost diagnostic device which can perform various pathological tests by using blood taken from a fingerprick.
The device requires only a paper strip based kit integrated with a smartphone to enable analytics and readout functions and an LED light for imaging. While under laboratory conditions each test would cost Re 1 or even less, the cost is expected to marginally vary in case of commercialisation of the product, the statement said.
13. Kohli 1st cricketer in history to score 20,000 int’l runs in a decade
India captain Virat Kohli has become the first batsman to score 20,000 runs in international cricket in a decade. Kohli, who scored his 43rd ODI hundred in the third ODI against West Indies, has aggregated 20,018 out of his 20,502 runs in 2010s. Kohli also equalled Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most hundreds against one opposition in ODIs (nine).
14 Independence Day is annually celebrated on 15 August
Independence Day is annually celebrated on 15 August, as a national holiday in India commemorating the nation’s independence from the United Kingdom on 15 August 1947.
On 15 August 1947, the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru raised the Indian national flag above the Lahori Gate of the Red Fort in Delhi. On each subsequent Independence Day, the incumbent Prime Minister customarily raises the flag and gives an address to the nation.
