Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the ninth installment of financial benefit under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM KISAN) via video conferencing. Over 19 thousand crore rupees were transferred in the bank accounts of 9.5 crore farmer families.

 

Prime Minister said the country is going to celebrate its Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav in a few days and it is an opportunity for people to decide where they want to see the nation in 25 years. He said nation's farmers have a big role in deciding the state of  India in 2047 when the country will complete 100 years of independence. Mr Modi said it is time to give a direction to India's agriculture, which can face new challenges and take advantage of new opportunities.

* Aditi Ashok, a professional golfer from the Bengaluru, Karnataka state of India, is the first-ever golfer, to represent India at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

 

* Aditi Ashok fell agonisingly short of a historic Olympic, finishing the women’s golf competition in fourth place.

 

* She is the first Indian to play and win on the LET and finished second on the European circuit in 2016, also clinching the Rookie of the Year honour. She has been recording high finishes on the tough LPGA Tour as well, but a maiden win has eluded her so far.

* The United Nations Security Council(UNSC) is the only UN body with the authority to issue binding resolutions on member states.

* Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a UNSC high-level open debate on “Enhancing Maritime Security – A Case for International Cooperation” on Monday via video conferencing.

* He would be the first Indian Prime Minister to preside over a UNSC Open Debate.

* Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas is the implementing ministry of such an enormous welfare scheme, Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (Ujjwala Yojana) that will benefit crores of women belonging to poor households.

* The scheme is aimed at replacing the unclean cooking fuels mostly used in rural India with the clean and more efficient LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas).

* Ujjwala 2.0 is being launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 10, 2021.

A recent circular issued by the police in Kashmir has asked field intelligence units to look into the past record of involvement in stone-pelting incidents and other street protests whenever someone applies for a passport or a government job. Under Section 6(2) of the Indian Passports Act, 1967, the passport authority can refuse to issue a passport for specific reasons such as

 

* the applicant being not a citizen of India;

* that the applicant may engage, outside India, in activities prejudicial to the country’s sovereignty and integrity, or

* that the applicant’s departure may be detrimental to the country’s security; or

* that the person’s presence abroad may prejudice India’s friendly relations with a foreign country.

Union Minister of Textiles, Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal, Handloom exports should increase from ₹2,500 crore a year to ₹10,000 crore in the next three years.

Speaking at the National Handloom Day programme, he said steps need to be taken to increase the production capacities of handloom sector from the current ₹60,000 crore to over ₹1.25 lakh crore to increase exports. A committee consisting of weavers, trainers, equipment makers, marketing experts and other stake holders will be formed to recommend ways to achieve the objective.

Eurosport India has appointed Bollywood superstar and MotoGP enthusiast, John Abraham, as the India Ambassador for their flagship Motorsport property, MotoGP™.  John will be seen promoting MotoGP to a wider audience base in India as its face through Eurosport’s campaign – “MotoGP, Race Lagate Hai”.

 

Eurosport India currently boasts of an unparalleled depth in global motorsports programming for the Indian motorsports fans with prestigious properties like FIA Formula 2 Championship, W Series, Nascar, Indycar Series and Bennetts British Superbike racing. Prior to the association, the actor has shared the stage with MotoGP legend “The Doctor”-Valentino Rossi and has frequented many MotoGP races.

The 28th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Foreign Ministers Meeting was held in a virtual format. 28th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Foreign Ministers Meeting

 

* The Indian side was represented by Minister of State for External Affairs Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh.

 

* The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Brunei Darussalam.

 

* The dignitaries discussed international and regional issues.

 

* Indian side represented the view on the Indo-Pacific perspective, terrorism threat, cybersecurity and maritime security.

 

* India also discussed the importance of UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) in maritime and cybersecurity domains.

* Indian Navy undertook bilateral exercise ‘Zayed Talwar 2021’ with UAE Navy on Saturday(07-08-2021) off the coast of Abu Dhabi.

 

* INS Kochi, with two integral Sea King MK 42B helicopters, deployed in the Persian Gulf, participated in the exercise.

 

* UAE participated with UAES AL – Dhafra, a Baynunah class guided missile corvette and one AS – 565B Panther helicopter.

 

* As part of the exercise, the ships undertook tactical manoeuvres, Over the Horizon Targeting, Search and Rescue and Electronic Warfare exercises to enhance interoperability and synergy between the two navies.

 

* Helicopters were extensively used all through the exercise ranging from Search and Rescue serial to passing of targeting data to ships for simulated missile engagement drills.

* The 2nd edition of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Conference on Range Technology (ICORT-2021) was held in a virtual manner.

* The event was organised by Integrated Test Range (ITR) Chandipur, a laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

* The IEEE-ICORT was inaugurated by Dr G Satheesh Reddy, Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO.