1) National Handloom Day observed on 7th August
•India has marked the 7th National Handloom Day to showcase the legacy of the Indian handloom industry. The day is to commemorate the Swadeshi Movement and to celebrate our country’s rich fabrics and colourful weaves. The whole nation will mark the day to showcase the legacy of the Indian handloom industry and to honour the weavers across the country. It was first observed in 2015 by the Govt of India.
2) India’s first Heart Failure Biobank starts at SCTIMST in Kerala
•The first Heart Failure Biobank in the country has come up at the National Centre for Advanced Research and Excellence in HF (CARE-HF) at the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), Kerala. The Biobank is open to study genetic, metabolomics and proteomic markers of health outcomes in heart-failure patients.
3) Ladakh launches ‘Pani Maah’ to raise awareness about clean water
•‘Pani Maah’ or water month has been launched in Ladakh to inform villagers about the importance of clean water. The Ladakh government has also announced a reward of Rs 2.5 million for the first block in each district that achieves the status of ‘Har Ghar Jal’. ‘Pani Maah’ campaign will adopt a three-pronged approach — focussing on water quality testing, planning and strategizing water supply, and seamless functioning of Pani Sabha in villages.
4) 2nd IEEE International Conference on Range Technology by DRDO
•The 2nd Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Conference on Range Technology (ICORT-2021) is being held virtually. The conference has been organised by Integrated Test Range (ITR) Chandipur, a laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It was inaugurated by Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO Dr G Satheesh Reddy. The event will host speakers from across the globe, who will present their technological achievements in multiple subjects related to Tests and Evaluation of defence systems.
5) Indigenously designed INS Vikrant leaves port for maiden sea trials
•India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, Vikrant set sail to begin its first sea trial. INS Vikrant was designed by the Indian Navy’s Directorate of Naval Design (DND) and built at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL). This advanced warship is the first attempt by the two entities to build an aircraft carrier from the ground up. INS Vikrant has 75 per cent indigenous content and will be commissioned into the Eastern Naval Command. It will be commissioned into the Indian Navy by August 2022.
6) Power minister launches e-certification programme to provide regulatory training
•Power Minister R K Singh has launched an e-certification programme, ‘reform and regulatory knowledge base for power sector’, to provide regulatory training. The Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy R K Singh launched ‘reform and regulatory knowledge base for power sector’, an e-certification programme to provide regulatory training to the practitioners from diverse backgrounds through virtual mode.
•R K Singh also launched a Regulatory Data Dashboard which is an e-compendium of data containing state-wise details of tariff and power discoms (distribution companies) performance, developed by IIT Kanpur. The Dashboard would assist in benchmarking the sector performance, over time and across the power sector utilities.
7) Eurosport India appoints John Abraham as the MotoGP Brand Ambassador
•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.
8) Tokyo Olympics 2020: Bajrang Punia wins Olympic wrestling bronze medal
•Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia has won the Olympic wrestling bronze medal match after 8-0 win over Daulet Niyazbekov of Kazakhstan in the men’s freestyle 65kg category. Punia became the sixth Indian wrestler to finish on the Olympic podium after KD Jadhav, Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt, Sakshi Malik and Ravi Kumar Dahiya. This became the second instance after the 2012 London Olympics when two Indian wrestlers won medals in the same Games.
9) Neeraj Chopra wins Olympic gold medal in Javelin throw
•Neeraj Chopra has won a Gold medal for India in the javelin throw event at Tokyo Olympics. With a throw of 87.03 metres in his first attempt, Neeraj killed the competition. In his second he improved it to 87.58m and that turned out to be the golden throw. Except for Viteszalav Veslay of the Czech Republic who threw 86.67m none of his rivals including world champion Johannas Vetter fell by wayside.
•This is India’s 7th medal at Tokyo 2020, the best ever medal haul for India at a single edition of the Games. Neeraj Chopra’s Gold is also India’s second-ever individual Gold medal at the Olympics, after Abhinav Bindra in Shooting.
