DAILY DOSE 19TH AUG CURRENT AFFAIRS
Top Headlines 19 August 2023
- Kuwait detects first case of new EG.5 COVID variant
- Sumit Seth appointed as next Indian envoy to Nicaragua
- Rana Pratap bags Jharkhand’s 1st gold at 49th Jr. Aquatic Championship
- LS Speaker to inaugurate 9th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference
- Amit Shah plants 4 croreth tree at CRPF Group Center in Greater Noida
Today’s History: 19 August 2023
- In 1600, Mughal Emperor Akbar captured Ahmednagar.
- In 1757, The first one rupee coin of the East India Company was made in the Calcutta mint.
- In 1839, World Photography Day started.
- In 1949, Bhubaneswar replaced Cuttack as the capital city of Odisha.
- In 1993, Famous actor and producer of Hindi and Bengali films Utpal Dutt died.
1) India’s 1st state-of-the-art 3D-Printed post office opens In Bengaluru
- India’s first 3D-printed post office building has been inaugurated in Bengaluru.
- The building was constructed using 3D-concrete printing technology.
- The construction was carried out by Larsen & Toubro Limited with technical guidance from IIT Madras.
- The entire construction activity was completed in just 45 days, compared to 6-8 months for conventional methods.
2) Kuwait detects first case of new EG.5 COVID variant
- Kuwait has detected the Eg.5 subvariant of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.
- The strain has been rapidly circulating in the US and UK since May.
- The health risk associated with the new strain is currently assessed as low.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the Eg.5 mutation as a “variant of interest.”
- Despite this, the variant has already been reported in 51 countries.
3) Maha govt announces implementation of Bhagwan Birsa Munda Road Scheme
- The Maharashtra Cabinet on 18th August 2023 announced the implementation of the Bhagwan Birsa Munda Road Scheme to enhance road connectivity in tribal areas of the state.
- The cabinet also decided to repeal Maharashtra Casinos (Control and Tax) Act, 1976.
- The State Cabinet has decided to give special rations during the upcoming Ganeshotsav and Diwali festivals under the Antyodaya scheme.
4) Sumit Seth appointed as next Indian envoy to Nicaragua
- Sumit Seth has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Nicaragua.
- He has been concurrently accredited as the next Ambassador of India to Nicaragua with residence in Panama.
- Sumit Seth, an Indian Foreign Service officer of the 2005 batch, is presently the Ambassador of India to Panama.
- Bilateral relations between India and Nicaragua were established in March 1983.
5) Rana Pratap bags Jharkhand’s 1st gold at 49th Jr. Aquatic Championship
- Rana Pratap helped Jharkhand bag their first individual gold medal at the 39th Sub Junior and 49th Junior National Aquatic Championships 2023 in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
- He won with a sensational swim in the 200m breaststroke for group I boys.
- Vidith S Shankar of Karnataka won the silver medal in the 200m breaststroke for group I boys at the same championships.
6) Vishvas Vidu Sapkal appointed as next Ambassador to Bolivia
- Vishvas Vidu Sapkal, India’s Ambassador to Peru, has been appointed as the next Ambassador to Bolivia.
- Sapkal is an Indian Foreign Service Officer of the 1998 batch.
- He has served in different capacities in Russia, Armenia, Egypt, and the US.
- Sapkal has done special assignments at India Africa Forum Summit as Director (IAFS) in New Delhi in November 2015.
7) LS Speaker to inaugurate 9th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference
- Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will inaugurate the ninth Commonwealth Parliament Association (CPA) India Region Conference at Udaipur on August 21.
- The theme of the two-day Conference is “Strengthening Democracy and Good Governance in Digital Age”.
- The Conference will conclude on August 22 with the valedictory address of Vice-President of India and Chairman of Rajya Sabha Jagdeep Dhankhar.
8) Himachal govt declares entire state as natural calamity-affected area
- The Himachal Pradesh government declared the massive damage caused by heavy rains as a state calamity.
- The entire hill state has been declared as a “natural calamity affected area” in view of the damage caused to human life and property due to heavy rains.
- Himachal Pradesh has suffered an estimated loss of Rs 10,000 crore.
- Over 600 roads are still closed in the state.
9) Amit Shah plants 4 croreth tree at CRPF Group Center in Greater Noida
- Union Home Minister Amit Shah on 18 August planted a peepal tree which was the 4 croreth tree to be planted under All India Tree Plantation Campaign of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
- The 4 Croreth tree was planted by Amit Shah at the CRPF Group Center in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
- The campaign is an initiative of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) to plant 5 crore trees by Dec 2023.
10) Jan Dhan accounts cross 50 crore-mark in less than 9 years
- The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) was launched on 28th August 2014 and it has completed almost 9 years.
- As per the latest reports submitted by banks, the total number of Jan Dhan accounts has crossed 50 crore as on 9th August 2023.
- Out of these accounts, 56% accounts belong to women and 67% of accounts have been opened in Rural / Semi-urban areas.
11) Ninna Lego from Arunachal won ‘Entrepreneurship Challenge’ 2022-23
- Ninna Lego, founder of House of Macnok from Upper Siang District of Arunachal Pradesh won the ‘Entrepreneurship Challenge’ 2022-2023.
- She founded House of Macnok, offering an eclectic range of lifestyle products ranging from clothing, and jewellery, to preservative-free food items.
- She also won ‘Best Business Model Canvas’ on National Startup Day, 2023, by the Dept of Planning & Investment.
12) 4th G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting to begin in Jaipur
- The G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting (TIMM) will be held in Jaipur on 24th and 25th August 2023.
- The meeting will be preceded by the 4th and last Trade and Investment Working Group TIWG meeting.
- The first three TIWG meetings were held in Mumbai, Bangalore and Kevadia respectively.
- Both meetings will be attended by more than 300 delegates, including trade ministers.
13) India holds Major General level talks to resolve issues with China
- The Indian Army and Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) held Major General-level talks at Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) and Chesul areas to resolve the long-standing stand-off in Eastern Ladakh.
- The Indian side was represented by Major General PK Mishra and Maj Gen Hariharan.
- The talks were held to resolve the issues at Depsang Plains and CNN Junction near Demchok.
14) Indian-origin Tharman qualifies for Singapore’s presidential election
- Tharman Shanmugaratnam, a former Indian-origin minister in Singapore, is among three people who have qualified to run for the city-state’s presidential election.
- Public sector presidential candidates must have held office for at least three years as a minister.
- Singapore will hold its first presidential election since 2011, after President Halimah announced on May 29.
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