Current Affairs Daily Digest – August 18 2019
1. Dr Harsh Vardhan inaugurates Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences
Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare at the inauguration of Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences at Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital laid the foundation stone for the Super Speciality Block and new doctors’ hostel at the Institute in presence of Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey, MoS (HFW), Shri Anil Baijal, Lieutenant Governor, GNCT, Smt Meenakshi Lekhi, Member of Parliament, New Delhi and Shri Shiv Kumar ji, long-time associate and companion of Shri Atal ji.
2. Fifth Army International Scout Masters Competition Concludes at Jaisalmer Military Station with Indian Army Emerging as Champions
Indian Army team comprehensively won the 5th Army International Scout Masters Competition. It is held at Jaisalmer Military Station from 06 to 14 August 2019 in a fiercely fought competition with teams from Armenia, Belarus, China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Sudan and Uzbekistan. The Indian Army team selected and trained under the aegis of Southern Command.
3. India suspends Thar Link Express to Pakistan
Thar Link Express that connects Jodhpur in India to Karachi in Pakistan. The rail links between the two countries as the services of Samjhauta Express The Thar Link Express undertake its journey scheduled for early Saturday (1 am) and the administration initiated the process of cancellation of all the 45 tickets which have been issued. The Thar Express has been suspended till further orders.
The directions were issued by the railway ministry to the North Western Railway.The weekly train departs from Jodhpur’s Bhagat Ki Kothi railway station on Saturdays and reach Munabao, the last station on the Indian side of the border, early morning.
4. PM Modi reaches Bhutan, receives guard of honour
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday arrived in Bhutan for a two-day visit to the country. PM Modi was received by his Bhutanese counterpart Dr Lotay Tshering and others on his arrival at the Paro International Airport. A child presented a bouquet to the prime minister as he stepped off the plane in Paro- a valley town in Bhutan, west of the capital, Thimphu.
5. 17th All India Meet of State Legal Services Authorities in Nagpur on August 17-18
A galaxy of dignitaries, including Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, Supreme Court judge Sharad Bobde and Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad would be descending in the city to attend 17th all India meet of the state legal services authorities organized under the aegis of National Legal Services Authority (NALSA).
6. Hima Das, Anas win gold in 300m in Czech Republic
Indian sprinters Hima Das and Muhammed Anas won a gold each in women’s and men’s 300m races respectively at the Athleticky Mitink Reiter event in the Czech Republic. This was Hima’s sixth gold in European races since July 2. Anas, who won the men’s 300m race in 32.41 seconds, tweeted, “Glad to have won the Gold.”
7. Parsi New Year and Navroz celebrated across the world
The festival is celebrated by follows of Zoroastrianism in Middle-East, USA and South Asian countries such as India and Pakistan. The vibrant festival began 3,000 years back by the mighty emperor Jamshed, who introduced the new calendar in Persia.
The day is celebrated to gain health, wealth, prosperity, and productivity. Four ‘Fs’ – Fire, Fragrance, Food, and Friendship play an important role in the celebration.
8. PM Modi inaugurates Mangdechhu hydroelectric power plant in Bhutan
The Rs 4,500-crore hydroelectric plant, touted as a Bhutan-India friendship project, is a 720MW run-of-river power plant built on the Mangdechhu River in Trongsa Dzongkhag district of central Bhutan. It was developed by the Mangdechhu Hydroelectric Project Authority (MHPA), which was jointly constituted by the Indian and the Bhutanese governments.
