NATIONAL:
1. Mizoram Bombing
Why in news - PM Narendra Modi mentioned it in the Lok Sabha while replying to the no confidence motion.
Key Points –
• Under it, Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft were used in a counter-insurgency role in Mizoram (Mizo Hills) in early 1966.
• The separatist movement was led by Mizo National Front (MNF).
• MNF launched Operation Jericho to take control of Aizawl.
• As the Army struggled to dislodge the rebels, the Air Force was called in.
• Aircraft used - Toofani and Hunters.
• The Indian Army operations were led by Brig (later Maj Gen) Rustom Zal Kabraji.
2. Bikash Sinha
Why in news - Renowned nuclear physicist Bikash Sinha dies at 78 in Kolkata.
Key Points –
• He led the Indian team for the first time to participate in the experiments at the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Geneva.
• He was the former director of the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics and Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre, Kolkata.
• He was a recipient of Padma Shri in 2001 and Padma Bhusan in 2010.
GOVERNMENT SCHEMES:
1. ODOP Wall
Why in news - One District One Product (ODOP) was launched to showcase India’s diverse and exceptional craft heritage.
Key Points –
• Launched by – ODOP and National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM).
• ODOP program is an initiative under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), M/o Commerce & Industry.
• Deendayal Antyodaya Yojna-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) was launched by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD).
ECONOMY:
1. The Vista
Why in news - Air India recently rebranded its logo called 'The Vista.'
Key Points –
• It incorporates shades of red, golden, and violet colours.
• The airline’s existing logo features a flying swan, a centaur, and a rising sun.
• The iconic Maharajah, Air India’s mascot since 1946, will now play a more “background” role.
• Air India CEO&MD - Campbell Wilson.
SUMMITS & CONFERENCES:
1. Global Summit on Traditional Medicine
Why in news - WHO and the Ministry of Ayush to host the first-ever Global Summit on Traditional Medicine.
Key Points –
• Venue - Gandhinagar, Gujarat (August 17-18).
• To be inaugurated by the Director-General of WHO, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
• It will be held during G20 health ministers’ meet.
• AYUSH medicine - Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Naturopathy, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa, Homoeopathy, etc.
SCIENCE – TECH:
1. Drogue Parachute Tests
Why in news - ISRO conducted Drogue Parachute Deployment Tests for Gaganyaan Mission.
Key Points –
• Conducted by - Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) at Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory, Chandigarh.
• Drogue parachutes play a pivotal role in stabilizing the crew module and reducing its velocity to a safe level during re-entry.
• The Gaganyaan mission entails the safe transportation of astronauts to space and back.
2. Namoh 108
Why in news – CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) launched Namoh 108.
Key Points –
• It is an improvised variety of lotus with 108 petals.
• It is weather resilient and can flower for 10 months, from March to December.
• This is the first Lotus variety the genome of which is completely sequenced. It can never be extinct or endangered.
• Frotus - Perfume developed from Lotus plants.
• CSIR-NBRI hq – Lucknow.
IMPORTANT DAYS:
1. Partition Horrors Remembrance Day
Why in news – It is observed on August 14 in India.
Key Points –
• It aims to commemorate the victims and sufferings of people during the 1947 partition of India.
• It was first observed in 2021.
Value Addition –
• Last Viceroy Lord Mountbatten was supposed to work out the independence of India by June 1948, but he chose to advance the date.
• Cyril Radcliffe was given the task of redrawing the boundaries even though he had never visited India before then.
• About 6 million non-Muslims moved out of West Pakistan, and 6.5 million Muslims moved out from the India into West Pakistan.
• Book ‘Ret Samaadhi’ (Geetanjali Shree, International Booker Prize 2022) - It features an Indian woman in her eighties who attempts to journey to Pakistan, where she lived before Partition.
STATES/UTs:
1. Wild Elephant Population
Why in news - As per Karnataka forest department’s latest elephant census, wild elephants in Karnataka have increased to 6,395.
Key Points –
• In 2017, there were 6,049 elephants.
• It was conducted with Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Goa.
• The Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru provided technical support.
Value Addition –
• Protection Status –
(a) IUCN Red List: Endangered
(b) CITES: Appendix I
(c) Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I
• Project Elephant was launched in 1992.
• Type - Centrally-sponsored scheme.
• Karnataka has the highest number of elephants, followed by Assam and Kerala.
2. ‘Gramin Mitra’ Scheme
Why in news - The Goa government launched its flagship scheme “Gramin Mitra.”
Key Points –
• Aim - to provide doorstep delivery of government services across the state and promote digital empowerment in rural areas.
BIHAR:
1. Bindeshwar Pathak
Why in news - Noted social reformer Bindeshwar Pathak died at 80.
Key Points –
• He was founder of Sulabh International Social Service Organisation who championed the cause of sanitation by building over 10,000 public toilets across the country.
• He was born at Rampur Baghel village in Bihar’s Vaishali district.
• He started the Sulabh movement in 1970 to eradicate manual scavenging.
• He designed and popularised the low-cost twin-pit flush toilets, widely constructed under the government’s Swachh Bharat Mission.
• Pathak built his first public toilet in Arrah, Bihar in 1973.
• In 1974, the first Sulabh public toilet was opened to the public in Patna.
• In 1991, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan and received the International St Francis Prize for Environment in 1992.
• In 2009, Pathak won the Stockholm Water Prize, conferred by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
• In 2016, Sulabh was awarded the Gandhi Peace Prize for its contribution to the government’s flagship Swachh Bharat mission.
2. Champaran Mutton
Why in news - India's Champaran Mutton makes it to semifinals of Oscar's Student Academy Awards.
Key Points –
• It is directed by Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Pune student Ranjan Kumar.
• It stars Chandan Roy and Falak Khan in the lead.
• It has been shot in Bajjika dialect, primarily used in the areas of Vaishali, Muzaffarpur, and Begusarai.
POINTERS:
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched a new type of urea for farmers named - Urea Gold.
• According to the recently released National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, which state tops the list of missing women in India – Maharashtra
• In which state India's first fisheries Atal Incubation Center will be established – Kerala.
• Which state government has launched 'Amrit Birch Andolan' app – Assam.
• New book 'Kargil: Ek Yatri Ki Jubani' has been authored by - Rishi Raj.
• Which state has banned carrying mobiles in the legislature - Uttar Pradesh.
• Which state has written to the union government to review the current parameters for a state to declare drought – Karnataka.
• How many personnel have been announced to be given Fire Service Medal in 2023 - 53 personnel.
• Which state has launched the 'Meri Mati, Mera Desh' campaign at August Kranti Maidan in Mumbai – Maharashtra.
• Where has the 'Bharat Utsav', a three-day event celebrating Indian art and heritage, held – Dubai.