•President Ram Nath Kovind will address Indian diaspora this evening in Greek capital of Athens. The President who is on a three nation tour to Greece, Suriname and Cuba will return to India on the 24th of this month.
•President Kovind today visited monuments of great historical and archeological interests including the Acropolis hills, Temple of Zeus and the Olympic Stadium.
•Modern Olympics originated at the Olympic stadium named after, Spyros Louis, the first modern Olympic marathon winner in 1896.
•President Kovind today visited monuments of great historical and archeological interests including the Acropolis hills, Temple of Zeus and the Olympic Stadium.
•Modern Olympics originated at the Olympic stadium named after, Spyros Louis, the first modern Olympic marathon winner in 1896.
2) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj embarks on 4- nation tour
•External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has left for a four- nation tour to Italy, France, Luxembourg and Belgium.
•Ministry of External Affairs in a release said, Mrs Swaraj will reach Italy today on her first leg of the tour. It will be the first major political exchange between India and Italy following the swearing- in of Mr Giuseppe Conte as Italy’s new Prime Minister on 1st of this month.
3) PM reiterates govt's commitment to provide universal coverage of seven key schemes to 45,000 additional villages
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi today reiterated the NDA government's commitment to provide universal coverage of seven key schemes to 45,000 additional villages in 115 Aspirational Districts by 15th August this year.
•He was delivering closing remarks at the fourth meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog in New Delhi.
•Elaborating on the Union government's guiding principle of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas, the Prime Minister said, the schemes are no longer limited to certain people, or to certain regions, and are reaching everyone without discrimination.
4) Schemes like Mudra Yojana, Jan Dhan Yojana and Stand Up India are helping in greater financial inclusion: PM Modi
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, schemes like Mudra Yojana, Jan Dhan Yojana and Stand Up India are helping in greater financial inclusion.
•In his opening remarks at fourth meeting of Governing Council of NITI Aayog at Rashtrapati Bhawan today, Mr Modi emphasized on the need of tackling economic imbalances on priority basis. He said, 1.5 lakh Health and Wellness Centres are being constructed under Ayushman Bharat and about 10 crore families will be provided health insurance worth of 5 lakh rupees every year. Mr Modi said, government has adopted a comprehensive approach for education under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan.
•The Prime Minister said, Indian Economy has grown at a healthy rate of 7.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017- 18. He said, the challenge now is to take this growth rate to double digits for which many more important steps have to be taken. Mr Modi said, vision of a New India by 2022, is now a resolve of the people of the country.
5) Russia successfully launched Glonass- M positioning satellite
•Russia successfully launched a Glonass- M positioning satellite today using a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket.
•In a statement, the Russian Defense Ministry said the satellite was launched from the Plesetsk space center at 00:46 local time.
•The Glonass network provides real-time positioning data for surface, sea and airborne objects around the globe, at an accuracy reportedly at par with the U.S. Global Positioning System.
6) World's Most Experienced Spacewoman Peggy Whitson Retires As Astronaut
•NASA's record-breaking astronaut, Peggy Whitson, retired after a 22-year-long career. Whitson, who joined NASA as a researcher in 1986, has spent more time off Earth than any other American, totalling 665 days over three International Space Station missions.
•The 58-year-old is the oldest woman to go into space and also the most experienced female spacewalker, with 10 missions.
