World Cup-winning U-19 India captain, Unmukt Chand has announced his retirement from cricket in India. He had made an unbeaten 111, leading a tense victory over Australia in the 2012 U-19 World Cup final in Townsville, Australia. The 28-year-old, who also led India A as well as Delhi and Uttarakhand in domestic cricket, had represented Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals in the IPL.

 

Since his debut in 2010, Chand played in 67 First-Class matches, scoring 3379 runs with an average of 31.57. In 120 List A matches, Chand amassed 4505 runs at an average of 41.33. In 77 T20s, he made 1565 runs at an average of 22.35.

 

1. General Assembly

2. Security Council

3. Economic and Social Council

4. International Court of Justice

5. Trusteeship, Council

6. Secretariat.

Indian Bank announced the launch of its flagship Business Mentoring Programme ‘MSME Prerana’ in West Bengal. MSME Prerana is a unique and innovative business mentoring programme in collaboration with Poornatha and Co. to empower MSME entrepreneurs in driving business more efficiently by optimizing value and capacity, Indian bank said in a statement. The programme will be in the local language of the state which is Bengali. ‘MSME Prerana’ has been launched with an aim to develop managerial and financial capabilities of MSME entrepreneurs besides creating awareness on various initiatives taken by Union and state governments and other regulators.

 

The bank said it has provided financial support to 20 lakh MSMEs with credit exposure of over Rs 70,170 crore. Indian Bank, with 598 branches in the state, had an exposure of Rs 8,566 crore to MSMEs as on March 21. It posted a growth of 27.64 per cent in the MSME portfolio on a year-on-year basis in the state and is confident to continue the momentum in the current fiscal. The bank has developed 28 MSME Cluster schemes for providing financial support at very competitive rates of interest and terms to various sectors.

The union territory of Ladakh is hosting the first edition of The Himalayan Film Festival 2021 (THFF) from September 24 to 28 in Leh capital city.

 

The five-day festival also aims to create an interactive and exposure platform to promote aspiring local filmmakers and to showcase Ladakh as an attractive film destination, Secretary Information Padma Angmo said.

 

The festival is being organised by Leh in collaboration with the Directorate of Film Festivals under the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar has reached New York where he will be presiding over two high-level signature events of the United Nations. The first event will be an Open Debate tomorrow on ‘Protecting the Protectors: Technology and Peacekeeping’. The second event on Thursday will be a high-level briefing on ‘Threats to International Peace and Security caused by Terrorist Acts’. His visit to New York comes during India’s Presidency of the United Nations Security Council.

 

The Open Debate on Peacekeeping will focus on the theme of ‘Protecting the Protectors’, including through the use of modern technological tools to enhance the safety and security of Peacekeepers and to aid Peacekeeping Missions. India, in collaboration with the UN, would be rolling out the UNITE AWARE Platform, which is a situational awareness software programme that allows a Peacekeeping Operations Centre to visualise and analyze the ground situation in a conflict zone on a real-time basis.

 

An MoU between India and the UN in support of the ‘Partnership for Technology in Peacekeeping’ initiative is expected to be signed during the visit.

 

On 19th of this month, the External Affairs Minister would preside over a briefing session on the six-monthly report of the UN Secretary-General on the threat posed by ISIL under the agenda item “Threats to International Peace and Security caused by Terrorist Acts”

 

During this visit, Dr Jaishankar will also have bilateral meetings with Foreign Ministers of other Member States on the sidelines of these UNSC high-level events. He said in a tweet that he will discuss the developments in Afghanistan during his engagements at the UN.

New Zealand moved into a snap three-day lockdown Tuesday(17-08-2021) after identifying a single case of locally transmitted Covid-19 suspected to be the Delta variant, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.

 

Ardern said New Zealand, which had not recorded any infections in the community for six months, could not take any chances with the "game changer" Delta strain.

 

"We have seen what can happen elsewhere if we fail to get on top of it. We only get one chance," Ardern said in a televised national address.

 

The New Zealand leader cited Australia's struggles to contain the highly transmissible Delta variant for her "short, sharp" reaction to the case, which was found in a 58-year-old Auckland man.

 

"We are better to start high and be cautious, then move out as soon as we are comfortable doing so, than to start low and be in that phase (lockdown) for much, much longer," she said.

 

"You only need to look at Australia to see the alternative. In New Zealand, 'go hard, go early' has served us well."

 

The initial plan is for New Zealand to remain in lockdown for three days from Tuesday night, with Auckland and the nearby Coromandel area facing the restrictions for a week.

* Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a Rs 100 lakh crore Pradhan Mantri Gatishakti scheme (PMGS), while addressing the nation on the 75th Independence Day from Red Fort on August 15, 2021.

* The Pradhan Mantri Gatishakti scheme aims to adopt holistic and integrated approach in infrastructure growth and create employment opportunities for the youth of the country. The scheme will also 

* Government will soon announce the Master Plan for the scheme, to help boost productivity of industries, and boost economic growth of the country, besides creating job opportunities for hundreds of thousands of youths.

* Union Minister of Culture, Tourism, and Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) G. Kishan Reddy inaugurated an Exhibition Katha Kranthiveeron Ki, an exhibition of revolutionaries in New Delhi.

* The exhibition Katha Kranthiveeron Ki has been put up at Rabindra Bhawan as part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ being celebrated to commemorate 75 years of Independence.

* The Exhibition “Katha Krantiveeron Ki” has on display more than 100 artworks recognising unsung heroes like Alluri Sitarama Raju and Artwork created during Shaheedi Diwas, Champaran Satyagraha and Jallianwala Bagh camp.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday announced that his government will provide smart health cards to 3.5 crore people in the state under the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY).

 

Beneficiaries of national and state food security schemes, and Annapurna and Antyodaya initiatives will get the cards under which women can avail treatment up to Rs 10 lakh per year and other family members will get the benefit up to Rs 5 lakh each.

 

Addressing the state programme to celebrate the 75th Independence Day, organised with strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols, he said that the initiative will usher in a new era in the state''s health sector.