Pune’s Varun settles for bronze in Bulgarian Junior International Badminton Championships 2019 [14 Aug 2019]

Varun Kapur from Nikhil Kanetkar Badminton Academy (NKBA) wins bronze medal at the Bulgarian Junior International Championships 2019, which took place at Pazardzhik, Bulgaria. Second seeded Varun lost to fifth seeded Magnus Johannesen from Denmark 20-22, 19-21 in the semi-finals of the under-19 boys singles event.

Aruna Vasudev presented one of France’s highest cultural awards [13 Aug 2019]

Aruna Vasudev, leading film scholar, editor and painter, was presented the Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters), one of France’s highest cultural honours, for her contribution to cinema and arts. French ambassador Alexandre Ziegler conferred the award on Vasudev at a ceremony.

66th National Film Awards for 2018 [09 Aug 2019]

66th National Film Awards for 2018 announced. Gujarati film Hellaro wins Best Feature Film Award. Badhaai Ho bags award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. Hindi movie Padman declared Best Film on Social Issues. Aditya Dhar wins Best Director Award for Uri: The Surgical Strike. Ayushman Khurana and Vicky Kaushal jointly win Best Actor Award for their performances in Andhadhun and Uri: The Surgical Strike. Keerthy Suresh bags Best Actress trophy for her performance in Telugu movie Mahanati. Marathi movie Paani wins the award for Best Film on Environment Conservation/ Preservation. Kannada film Ondalla Eradalla gets Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration. Uttarakhand declared Most Film Friendly State

President of India Presents Bharat Ratna Awards [08 Aug 2019]

The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, presented Bharat Ratna Awards to Shri Nanaji Deshmukh (posthumously), Dr Bhupendra Kumar Hazarika (posthumously) and Shri Pranab Mukherjee at an Investiture Ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

5th National Handloom Day [07 Aug 2019]

The 5th National Handloom Day was held at 16 NIFT Campuses and Weavers’ Service Centres in different States across the country. Handloom Mela and exhibition, workshops, panel discussion were organised and special stalls were put up for handloom products at Gandhinagar and Kolkata NIFT campuses.

Mindtree Names Debashis Chatterjee As New CEO [02 Aug 2019]

Debashis Chatterjee was named chief executive officer and managing director of Mindtree Ltd. after his predecessor quit following Larsen & Toubro Ltd.’s hostile takeover of the mid-sized information technology firm. Chatterjee, previously the president of global deliveries and the global leader for digital systems and technology practices at Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., has been appointed as Mindtree CEO for five years, according to the company’s exchange filing.

Guruprasad Mohapatra Assumes charge as Secretary DPIIT [01 Aug 2019]

Dr. Guruprasad Mohapatra,an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Officer of 1986 batch,today assumed charge of the office of Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

Hima Das appointed first youth ambassador of UNICEF India [31 Jul 2019]

Asian Games gold-medallist sprinter Hima Das has been appointed as the first ever youth ambassador of United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) India. Hima Das, a native of Assam's Nagaon district, had clinched a gold medal in Women's 4 x 400 m Relay event at the 2018 Asian Games. She had also won a silver medal in Women's 400m Race event with a clock timing of 50.59 seconds.

Cabinet approves ISRO Technical Liaison Unit at Moscow [31 Jul 2019]

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the setting up of ISRO Technical Liaison Unit (ITLU) at Moscow, Russia. ISRO will be able to collaborate with Space agencies/industries in Russia and neighbouring countries for mutually synergetic outcomes. ISRO’s Gaganyaan programme requires development of some of the key technologies and establishment of specialized facilities, which are essential to support life in space. Keeping in view the 15th August, 2022 timeline for realization of the Gaganyaan human space programme, it is prudent to avail technical cooperation from International space agencies, who have already demonstrated their technical capabilities in specific areas. Russia, being one of the space faring nations, it is envisaged to collaborate with Russia extensively in various fields of relevance.

Triple talaq bill finally cleared by Rajya Sabha [30 Jul 2019]

The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, first brought to parliament nearly 19 months back, had been stuck due to the opposition in the Rajya Sabha where the National Democratic Alliance did not have a majority. Today it is cleared its toughest test in the Rajya Sabha when some parties opposed to the law and decided to abstain from voting. Their absence from voting helped bring down the effective strength of the 240-member Rajya Sabha and the majority mark. The opposition demand to send the bill to a select committee was rejected with only 84 members voting for it, 100 against. The triple talaq bill was passed soon after with 99 members in support.