- Ministry of Defence approves delegation of Powers to Border Roads Organisation
The Ministry of Defence has decided to delegate administrative and financial powers to the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) right upto the level of Chief Engineer and Task Force Commander, so as to avoid delays on account of references between the Chief Engineer and HQ DGBR and also between HQ DGBR and the Ministry.
Functioning under the control of the Ministry of Defence since 2015, the BRO is engaged in road construction to provide connectivity to difficult and inaccessible regions in the border areas of the country.
- Rajasthan govt signed JV agreement for refinery project with HPCL
Rajasthan government and state owned oil firm HPCL inked an agreement to form a joint venture company for Barmer petroleum refinery and petrochemical complex.
In a new firm, HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Limited (HRRL), state government will have 26% and HPCL will have 74 per cent of partnership.
The agreement was a follow up MoU signed between both the stakeholders in April, 2017 and comes a day after government of India gave its approval for the project.
- Pune farm sees country’s first calf born to surrogate cow in mobile lab
India’s first calf delivered by a surrogate or recipient cow through InVitro Fertilisation(IVF) technology carried out in a mobile laboratory in Pune.
This is for first time IVF procedure was successfully implemented at the farm level with the help of mobile laboratory.
The purpose of producing surrogate calf was to protect indigenous cow breeds in its original form which have been destroyed due to cross-breeding.
- SDMC launches ‘terminator train’
A special train called the ‘mosquito terminator’ was pressed into service by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), in collaboration with the Northern Railway, to spray anti-larval chemicals along the tracks to control mosquito breeding.
To fight vector-borne diseases such as dengue and chikungunya, insecticide will be sprayed using power sprayers, which will be attached to trucks placed on the train.
- NASA launches satellite to help astronauts talk to Earth
NASA has launched the latest in a series of satellites aimed at ensuring astronauts at the International Space Station can communicate with Earth.
The $408 million Boeing-made Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-M) soared into space atop an Atlas V rocket that launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 8:29 am (1229 GMT).
The satellite will “support critical space communication into the mid-2020s,” NASA said in a statement.
- Nestle ties up with Amazon India to launch Maggi’s new range
Nestle India has joined hands with ecommerce major Amazon India to exclusively sell the newly launched Nutri-Licious range of Maggi noodles on the latter’s market place, a move aimed at getting quick traction for the product before it hits brick and mortar stores later this year.
The product will be launched on August 20 on Amazon.in, and will be available in three variants.
As part of the special launch offer, Amazon Prime members will get a 33% discount on the new range.
- Nepalese PM Deuba to begin four-day visit to India
In his first foreign visit after assuming office, Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba will arrive on August 23, 2017 on a four-day trip during which he will hold wide-ranging talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on issues of mutual interest.
Deuba, who will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, will also call on the President and the Vice-President
In recent years, the India-Nepal partnership has witnessed significant growth in all areas of cooperation. The upcoming visit will provide an opportunity to both the sides for holding wide-ranging discussions on issues of mutual interest, and advancing age-old special ties of friendship between our two countries.
- Serena Williams Heads The Highest-Paid Female Athletes 2017
Forbes recently released its list of the highest-paid female athletes, and to no-one’s surprise, Serena Williams is right at the top and leads by a significant margin.
Between June 2016 and June 2017, Williams earned $27 million (R361,19 million),Forbes reports.
This is more than double any other female athlete in the world this year.
While she’s earned a lot from prize money, much of Williams’ revenue comes from her multitude of endorsements.
This is Williams’ second straight year as the highest-earning athlete. Before last year, Maria Sharapova held the spot for 11 years straight.
- Shapath Bharadwaj wins bronze at Junior Shotgun World Cup
Teenager Shapath Bharadwaj has won a bronze medal in the double trap event while Lakshay Sheoran and Manisha Keer combined to win a bronze in the mixed team trap competition at the ISSFJunior Shotgun World Cup in Porpetto, Italy.
This was India’s first medal in the competition apart from the bronze medal. Bharadwaj had qualified in second place for the final, shooting 131 out of 150.
In the women’s junior skeet, Areeba Khan and Ganemat Sekhon were 12th and 15th respectively.
- Oinam Bembem Devi ‘Durga of Indian football’ wins Arjuna Award
Oinam Bembem Devi will be honoured with the prestigious Arjuna Award. Bembem, the flag bearer of Indian women’s football over the past two decades, becomes the second Indian woman footballer to win the award, the first being Shanti Mullick in 1983.
Bembem, nicknamed the “Durga of Indian Football” made her international debut in 1995. She bowed out on a high after winning the SAF Games Gold Medal in Shillong in February 2015.
- Jerry Lewis, comedy icon and telethon host, passes away at 91
Jerry Lewis, the brash slapstick comic who became a pop culture sensation in his partnership with Dean Martin and then transformed himself into an auteur filmmaker of such comedic classics as “The Nutty Professor” and “The Bellboy,” has died in Las Vegas. He was 91.
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