National & International Appointments
1. Rakesh Asthana appointed Chief Of Border Security Force
- Rakesh Asthana (IPS Officer 1984 batch) has been appointed as the Director General of Border Security Force (BSF)
- S S Deswal was handed additional charge as DG of BSF since March 2020
- Rakesh Asthana will hold the office till 31st July 2021.
- He is presently serving as Director General of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, BCAS along with additional charge of DG, Narcotics Control Bureau.
- He also served as the Special Director at the Central Bureau of Investigation.
National Affairs
2. HRD Ministry renamed as Ministry of Education officially
- Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has been officially renamed as Ministry of Education.
- The name change was recommended in the draft new National Education Policy (NEP 2020) which was proposed and cleared by Union Cabinet last month.
- President gave his assent to the recommended changed name and gazette notification was published for the same.
- Current Education Minister: Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank'.
National Affairs
3. Tribal Affairs Ministry launches ‘Swasthya’ portal
- Ministry of Tribal Affairs has rolled out tribal health and nutrition portal titles as ‘Swasthya’
- It will provide health and nutrition-related information to the tribal population of India
- It will be a repository of innovative practices, case studies, and best practices to facilitate exchange of experience and expertise
- Along with this, e-newsletter on health and nutrition ‘ALEKH’ was also announced along with National Overseas Portal and National Tribal Fellowship Portal
Banking & Finance
4. MCX to roll out India’s first bullion index titled Bulldex
- Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) will roll out India’s first bullion index titled as ‘Bulldex’ on August 24, 2020.
- Having gold and silver as underlying, Bulldex will have market lot size of 50 and will be a cash-settled futures contract.
- It is the sixth product in bullion complex with 1-kg gold, 100-gm goldmini, 8-gm gold guinea and 1-gm gold peta
- Recently, Commodity and Derivatives Exchange has launched India's first index futures contract ‘Agridex’
- MCX HQs: Mumbai
National & International Appointments
5. Ashwini Kumar Shukla appointed as CRO of Central bank of India
- Ashwini Kumar Shukla has been appointed as Chief Risk Officer (CRO) of Central bank of India with effect from August 3.
- Prior to this, he was working as general manager (risk management department) in State Bank of India
- As per the finance ministry’s new agenda, state-run banks can recruit CROs from market and Central bank of India is first becomes the first such bank to do so.
- MD & CEO: Pallav Mohapatra.
- HQs: Mumbai.
Sports
6. Kevin de Bruyne titled Premier League Player of Season 2019-20
- Manchester City midfield footballer Kevin De Bruyne (29 years) has been named as the Premier League Player of the Season 2019-20.
- He is the third Belgian footballer to win this award after Eden Hazard (2014-15) and Vincent Kompany (2011-12).
- He scored a total of 20 goals in the Premier League 2019-20 season
- Along with him, Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) was titled with Young Player of the Season and Juergen Klopp (Liverpool) as Manager of the Season.
Obituaries
7. Renowned Indian Classical Vocalist Pandit Jasraj passes away in New Jersey
- Legendary Indian classical vocalists, Pandit Jasraj (90 years) passed away in New Jersey, US due to cardiac arrest
- He belongs to Mewati Gharanaa and his musical career spanned over eight decades.
- He sang khayals with some flexibility adding elements of lighter styles including thumri.
- He has lent vocals to Oscar winning movie 'Life of Pi'.
- He was awarded with Padma Shri in 1975, Padma Bhushan in 1990, Padma Vibhushan in 2000 and Sangeet Natak Academy award in 1987.
Obituaries
8. Renowned Carnatic musician B Siva Kumar passes away in Trichy
- Legendary Carnatic musician and Veena artist B Siva Kumar (53 years) passed away in Trichy, Tamil Nadu due to prolonged illness
- He is much acclaimed and popular veena artist
- He learned music from stalwarts like R Krishnamoorthy, Ranganayaki Rajagopalan and N Ravikiran.
- He has completed MA in Music from Bharathi Dasan university and followed by PhD in Music.
- He was honoured with Tamil Iyal Isai Nataka sangam award and Ragam Tanam Pallavi presentation award
Obituaries
9. Director Nishikant Kamat passes away in Hyderabad
- Director-actor Nishikant Kamat (50 years) passed away in Hyderabad’s AIG Hospitals due to liver cirrhosis.
- He made his directorial debut in 2005 with Dombivali Fast and won National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi.
- He made his silver screen debut in 2004 with Hindi movie Hava Aney Dey.
- He directed Bollywood movies like Force, Drishyam and Madaari.
- He was known for his performances as actor in Daddy, Rocky Handsome, Julie 2 and Bhavesh Joshi
Summits & Conferences
10. Health Minister inaugurated CII Public Health Conference
- Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan has addressed the inaugural session of CII Public Health Conference virtually.
- It is a part of Inaugural of the Healthcare Week
- Theme of the conference: Strengthening Public health Delivery
- The conference observed the launch of virtual exhibition on Healthcare, CII TB Free Workplaces Campaign and CII Public Health Report.
- Chairman CII Public Health Council: Randeep Guleria
National Affairs
11. Gwalior-Chambal e-way to be named after Atal Bihari Vajpayee
- Gwalior-Chambal Expressway will be named as Atal Bihari Vajpayee Chambal Progressway as announced by Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan
- The announcement was made on Atal Bihari Vajpayee death anniversary
- It is a 309km expressway and will connect Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh through MP
- It will provide cross-connectivity with Golden Quadrilateral
- Atal Bihari Vajpayee served as PM of India in 1996 (13 days), then from 1998 to 1999 followed by full term (1999 to 2004)
Sports
12. AIFF partners with SAI to launch E-Pathshala
- All India Football Federation (AIFF) in collaboration with Sports Authority of India (SAI) has launched web platform named ‘E-Pathshala’
- It is an Athlete Coaching Program in football for Grassroots and Intermediate level and will recognise the creativity developing children’s interest in football.
- It is divided into three parts: My Football Culture, My Skills and My Training.
- This platform is designed to engage footballers from various corners connecting SAI and AIFF
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