Current Affairs

CCFC ties up with uhlsport

I-League champion Chennai City FC on Sunday announced a strategic partnership with German sports goods supplier uhlsport to develop grassroots football in Tamil Nadu and across India.

The German company, established in 1948, sells football products under the uhlsport brand and handball products under the Kempa brand, and is the official supplier of the Bundesliga teams 1. FC Koln and Fortuna Dusseldorf.

In France, uhlsport is the official supplier and official ball sponsor of the top division Ligue 1, where teams such as Paris Saint Germain, Monaco, Marseille and others play, and the second division Ligue 2.



Former Bihar CM Jagannath Mishra passes away

Former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra on Monday passed away at a hospital in New Delhi. He was 82 and unwell for several months.

Mishra was a three-time Chief Minister of the State. He was also the last Congress Chief Minister of the State. He was a Cabinet Minister at the Centre as well.

His brother Lalit Narayan Mishra was Railway Minister at the Centre during Indira Gandhi’s regime as Prime Minister.



Manipur CM launches scheme to improve infrastructure in government schools

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Saturday launched a scheme to improve infrastructure of government schools in the state.

The scheme named “School Fagadaba” (Make education bettter) was launched at the cabinet hall of Chief Minister’s Secretariat, where the CM interacted with dignitaries and officials present at seven different schools through video conferencing.

He said the objective of the scheme was to ensure better infrastructure, quality education and overall improvement of government schools to make them model schools.

The state government is mulling installation of biometric attendance machines in government schools to ensure the presence of teachers at their posting places, he added.



5th Meeting of India-Nepal Joint Commission to be held in Kathmandu

The 5th Meeting of India-Nepal Joint Commission will be held in Kathmandu on 21- 22 August. Minister for External Affairs of Dr S. Jaishankar and Nepal’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali will co-chair the meeting and lead their respective delegations. 

According to Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Joint Commission Meeting will review the overall state of bilateral relations and various areas of cooperation such as connectivity and economic partnership, trade and transit, power and water resources, culture, education and other matters of mutual interest.
India-Nepal Joint Commission was established in June 1987. Its meetings are held alternately in Nepal and India. The last meeting of the Commission was held in New Delhi on October 2016.



India win gold at Under- 12 Asian Tennis Team championship in Kazakhstan

India have won gold at the Under 12 Asian Tennis Team championship held in Kazakhstan. India defeated Chinese Taipei 2-1 in the summit clash to win the title. 

The final was a tie of three matches - 2 singles and one doubles and India won both the singles matches while lost the doubles encounter.

The team comprised Manas Dhamme, Arnav Paprakar and Tamil Nadu's Pranav Rethin. Manas and Rethin won their singles matches. Manas and Arnav, however, lost their doubles encounter. 12-year-old Manas remained unbeaten in the entire tournament.



Hima Das, Mohammad Anas win gold at Athleticky Mitink Reiter event

Top Indian sprinters Hima Das and Mohammad Anas have won a gold each in 300m races at the Athleticky Mitink Reiter event in Czech Republic. While Hima won the gold in women's event yesterday, Mohammad Anas claimed the yellow metal in men's category today. This was Hima's sixth gold in 2019 in European races since last month. 

Mohammad Anas won the gold clocking 32.41 seconds. India’s Nirmal Tom clinched a bronze medal in the same event by clocking a timing of 33.03 seconds.

National record holder Anas has already qualified for 400m event for the World Championships to be held in Doha in September-October while Hima is yet to achieve it.



National Tribal Festival “Aadi Mahotsav” begins in Leh- Ladakh

It is a joint initiative of Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED). TRIFED will essentially play role of a Service provider & Market Developer .

The theme of the festival is “A celebration of the spirit of Tribal Craft, Culture and Commerce” .

Aadi Mahotsav is scheduled between August 17 to August 25  and will be inaugurated by the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Satya Pal Malik.

Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda, MoS Renuka Singh and TRIFED Chairman R. C. Meena will be participating in the inaugural.

In a message, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, "I am happy that the Tribal Affairs Ministry is organising Aadi Mahotsav in Leh, Ladakh, which will showcase tribal culture, cuisine, art, craft, and herbal medicines. The event will help spread these in other parts of the country and provide opportunities to tribals for economic growth and prosperity." 



Ravi Shastri retained as India’s head coach, pips Mike Hesson, Tom Moody to the job

Ravi Shastri will continue as the head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team, winning a second term on Friday. The three-member Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) instituted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), comprising Kapil Dev, Anshuman Gaekwad and Shantha Rangaswamy, announced the decision after conducting interviews with the prime candidates. This will be Shastri’s fourth stint with the national team, having served briefly as the Cricket Manager (2007 tour of Bangladesh), Team Director (2014-2016) and head coach (2017-2019).

Shastri, who had taken over the coaching role after the 2017 Champions Trophy, is expected to continue to serve in the position till the end of the 2021 T20I World Cup.



Ace wrestler Bajrang Punia nominated for Khel Ratna award

Asian and Commonwealth Games gold-medallist wrestler Bajrang Punia was on Friday nominated for the country’s highest sporting honour – the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award.

His name was finalised by a 12-member selection committee on the opening day of a two-day meeting. The panel comprises the likes of Bhaichung Bhutia and MC Mary Kom among others.

“Bajrang has been nominated for the Khel Ratna award. His name was a unanimous choice,” a source close to the development told PTI. The source also said that the 12-member panel may add another athlete for the top honour on Saturday besides finalising the names for the Arjuna and Dronacharya awards.



North Korea fires two unidentified projectiles into sea

North Korea today fired two unidentified projectiles into the sea  which is latest in a series of such launches by Pyongyang.

South Korean military said the projectiles were fired from near the city of Tongchon of Kangwon Province into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan. It is an extension of recent streak of weapons tests believed to be aimed at pressuring Washington and Seoul over slow nuclear diplomacy.


South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the projectiles launched from the North's eastern coast landed in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. South Korean military is monitoring the situation in case of additional launches while maintaining a readiness posture.