1. Telangana Chief Minister Chosen for Agriculture Leadership Award.
As a reward to the hard work and commitment to develop agriculture sector in the newly formed State, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao was selected for the prestigious National Agriculture Leadership Award-2017 by the Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) under the chairmanship of well known agriculture scientist Prof MS Swaminathan.
The Chief Minister was chosen for the award for the path braking measures adopted by the Telangana government which benefiitted millions of farmers. Tha launch of many schemes by the government brought a positive impact on therural sector under the leadership of K. Chandrashekhar Rao, a communique from thje ICFA said.
The ICFA requested the Chief Minister to personally come and collect the award in presence of national level gathering of important stake-holders at New Delhi on September 5 during the 10th Global Agriculture Leadership Summit.
Under the leadership category, Rao was shortlisted by the National Awardee Committee, which met on August 1. The Chief Minister got recognition for the role he played in individual and organization category towards the development of Indian Agriculture and bringing prosperity in rural segment.
2. Nepalese Prime Minister Deuba to Begin Four-Day Visit to India.
In his first foreign visit after assuming office, Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba will arrive here on Wednesday 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, an External Affairs Ministry release said.
“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,” it said.
Deuba took over as prime minister in June 2017. During his four-day visit he will also travel to Hyderabad, Tirupati and Bodh Gaya.
3. Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviews progress of Soil Health Cards Scheme & Fsasal Bima Yojana.
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today reviewed the progress of two key schemes related to the agriculture sector - Soil Health Cards; and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.
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The Prime Minister was informed that 16 States/UTs have completed the first cycle of Soil Health Cards distribution, and the remaining States are likely to complete the same within weeks.
Reviewing the progress, the Prime Minister said that appropriate checks should be undertaken for variation, both within a sampling grid, and across different soil testing labs. This would help ensure quality in the reports, he added.
The Prime Minister also emphasized that soil health cards should be printed in the local dialect of the area, so that the farmers are able to read and understand them easily.
Encouraging the rapid adoption of latest technology, the Prime Minister said that soil testing should eventually be possible through hand-held devices. He urged officials to explore the possibility of involving start-ups and entrepreneurs in this exercise.
On Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, the Prime Minister was informed that in the Kharif season of 2016, and Rabi season of 2016-17, claims of over Rs. 7700 crore have already been paid, and over 90 lakh farmers have been benefited.
Officials also said that latest technology including smartphones, remote sensing, satellite data and drones are being used for speedy data collection with regard to crop insurance claims.
4. NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant to launch Mentor India Campaign in New Delhi.
NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant is slated to launch the Mentor India Campaign, a strategic nation building initiative to engage leaders who can guide and mentor students at more than 900 Atal Tinkering Labs, established across the country as a part of the Atal Innovation Mission, here on Wednesday.
The campaign, Mentor India is aimed at maximising the impact of Atal Tinkering Labs, possibly the biggest disruption in formal education globally, wherein the idea is to engage leaders who will nurture and guide students in the Atal Tinkering Labs.These labs are non-prescriptive by nature, and mentors are expected to be enablers rather than instructors.
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The think tank is seeking leaders who can spend anywhere between one to two hours every week in one or more such labs to enable students experience, learn and practice future skills such as design and computational thinking.
Atal Tinkering Labs are dedicated works spaces where students from Class VI to Class 12 learn innovation skills and develop ideas that will go on to transform India. The labs are powered to acquaint students with state-of-the-art equipment such as 3D printers, robotics and electronics development tools, Internet of things and sensors.
NITI Aayog`s Atal Innovation Mission is among one of the flagship programs of the Government of India to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the country to set up the Atal Tinkering Labs across the country.
The mission aims to set up over 900 such labs across India and have 2,000 such labs by the end of 2017.
5. Former Manipur Chief Minister Rishang Keishing Passes Away.
Former Manipur Chief Minister and a member of the first Lok Sabha Rishang Keishing passed away on Tuesday, following a brief illness here. The veteran Congress leader was 96. A Naga, he served as the Chief Minister of Manipur from 1980 to 1988 and from 1994 to 1997. PTI Keishing passed away around 8.15 p.m. due to multiple organ failure, doctors attending him at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) said.
He was hospitalised on July 1 after his health condition worsened.
He is survived by two sons and four daughters.
Keishing, who hailed from Bungpa village in Ukhrul district, was elected to the Lok Sabha in the first parliamentary elections held in 1952. He had also represented Manipur in Rajya Sabha.
In Delhi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh condoled the demise of Keishing, and described him as a “towering leader” from Manipur who believed in humanity, social harmony and clean politics.
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“I am pained by his demise, I offer my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family of Shri Keishing. My thoughts are with his family in this hour of grief,” he tweeted.
Union Minister of State For Home Kiren Rijiju also expressed grief. In a Twitter post, Mr. Rijiju remarked that despite being 96-year-old, Keishing “remained so fit till date.”
The Manipur government has declared that all government offices and educational institutions will be closed tomorrow as mark of respect to Keishing.
Manipur Governor Najma Heptulla expressed her sadness and condoled the demise of Keishing.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi also mourned Keishing’s demise.
“Ex CM & Parliamentarian Rishang Keishingji was a true Congressman & one of the tallest leaders of North East.Very sad to know of his passing (sic),” said a post on Mr. Gandhi’s official Twitter handle.
6. Railway Board Chairman Ashok Mittal Resigns.
Railway Board Chairman A K Mittal has tendered his resignation. However, sources said Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has not accepted the resignation yet.
Mittal was facing flak after the Utkal Express derailment in Muzaffarnagar. On Saturday, 23 passengers died and over 60 sustained injuries when 14 coaches of the Utkal Express, which runs on the Puri-Haridwar-Kalinga route, derailed at Khatauli in Muzaffarnagar.
Prabhu had directed the Railway Board Chairman to fix responsibility after the Muzaffarnagar incident. He also said that he would not allow laxity in operations by the Railway Board.
“Will not allow laxity in operations by the (Railways) Board. I have directed CRB to fix responsibility on prima facie evidence by end of day,” Prabhu said in a tweet.
Member Engineering Railway Board Ashok Mittal was on Sunday sent on leave after the prima facie evidence showed negligence on the part of maintenance staff as the reason why the Utkal Express derailed.
Divisional Railway Manager Delhi and General Manager Northern Railways, who had himself suspended four railway officials, have also been sent on leave. The Chief Track Engineer, Northern Railway zone, has also been transferred, hours after Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu asked officials to make those responsible for the tragedy accountable by the end of this day.
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R K Verma, Senior Divisional engineer, Delhi division, Rohit Kumar, Assistant engineer, Meerut, Delhi division, Inder Jeet Singh, Senior section engineer, Muzzafarnagar, and Pradeep Kumar, Junior engineer, Khatauli, were the four officials, suspended by the General Manager Northern Railways.
7. Ashwani Lohani is the New Railway Board Chairman.
Ashwani Lohani, CMD of Air India, has been named the Chairman of the Railway Board following the resignation of A.K. Mital.
The move comes after former Railway Board Chairman A.K. Mital tendered his resignation on Tuesday evening. Sources said he resigned owing moral responsibility of the Puri-Haridwar Utkal Express derailment in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday evening due to several lapses in the track maintenance work.
According to sources, Mr. Mital, a Principal Secretary-level officer, had sent his resignation to Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Tuesday. His resignation came two days after the Railway Ministry decided to send Railway Board Member Engineering and Secretary-level officer Aditya Kumar Mittal on leave holding him responsible for the Utkal Express train accident at Khatauli railway station near Muzaffarnagar that had killed at least 21 passengers and injured over 80 people.
Mr. Lohani, an Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineering (IRSME) cadre had served as DRM, Delhi Division; Director, National Rail Museum; and Chief Administrative Officer, Rail Alternate Fuel. He holds the Guinness Record for successfully running the ‘Fairy Queen Express’, the world’s oldest working steam locomotive.
Mr. Lohani, who holds four engineering degrees, has authored two books (one on steam engines and the other on management) and is credited with the turnaround of the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation and the India Tourism Development Corporation.
The Railway Ministry on Sunday sent three top officials on leave, suspended four local level officials and transferred another official after, prima facie, finding lapses in the maintenance work that led to the derailment of the Puri-Haridwar Utkal Express in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, claiming 21 lives.
8. World`s Highest-Paid Actors 2017 Forbes List.
According to the Forbes List, Rapper-turned-actor Mark Wahlberg is Hollywood`s highest-paid leading man, earning $68 million pretax in 12 month scoring period.
From India, Shahrukh Khan is the highest paid actor (Rank 8) followed by Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar.
Wahlberg replaced out last year`s top-ranked star, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.The top people in the list are
- Mark Wahlberg ($68 million)
- Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson ($65 million)
- Vin Diesel ($54.5 million)
- Adam Sandler ($50.5 million)
- Jackie Chan ($49 million)
- Robert Downey, Jr. ($48 million)
- Tom Cruise ($43 million)
- Shah Rukh Khan ($38 million)
- Salman Khan ($37 million)
- Akshay Kumar ($35.5 million)
9. Union Minister Rajnath Singh to attend SCO meet in Kyrgyz Republic.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on disaster prevention and relief in Kyrgyz Republic beginning Thursday during which he will have bilateral meetings with member nations.
“During the visit, the home minister is likely to have bilateral meetings with the ministers of some of the SCO member states,” an official statement said today.
Founded in 2001, the SCO member countries are: China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, and Pakistan, and the bloc is headquartered in Beijing.
When asked whether the home minister will meet his Chinese counterpart, a home ministry spokesperson said as of now no meeting has been fixed.
If Singh meets his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of the SCO meeting, it will bear significance as India and China has been engaged in a stand-off at Dokalam near the Sikkim sector.
On Monday, the home minister had said a solution to the ongoing stand-off between India and China at Dokalam would be found soon and hoped that Beijing would make a positive move in this regard.
China, however, on Tuesday said the only way to end the standoff in Dokalam was for India to unconditionally withdraw its troops from the area.
India and Pakistan had joined the SCO, the China- dominated security grouping, in June in Kazakhstan capital Astana. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had attended the summit.
Today’s statement said Singh is leading a delegation to attend the 9th meeting of heads of governments of SCO member states to be held at Choplon Ata in Kyrgyz Republic on August 24-25.
The meeting will deal with the prevention and elimination of emergency situations.
The participation of India as SCO member will open the additional opportunities for giving new impetus to the development of international cooperation in the field of protecting the population and territories from emergency situations within the framework of the SCO and will bring it qualitatively new positions in regional and global formats, the statement said.
The meeting will consider and approve the draft action plan for 2018-2019 for the implementation of the agreement between the governments of the SCO member states on cooperation in providing assistance in the elimination of emergency situations, it said.
The Indian delegation includes senior officers from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the National Disaster Management Authority and the Ministry of External Affairs.