Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his birth anniversary today. Rajiv Gandhi, who served as the 7th Prime Minister of India from 1984 to 1989, was born on the 20th of August 1944.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Party leaders Sonia Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi have also paid their tribute to Rajiv Gandhi at Veer Bhumi in Delhi.

With Four Gold and One Silver Medals, India has secured Second Rank at the 16th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) in Chorzów, Poland held from the 10 to the 20 of August 2023. The United Kingdom clinched the lead with five Golds.

A total of 236 students from 50 nations participated at the Olympiad, collectively earning 27 gold, 41 silver, and 50 bronze medals across all categories. Rajdeep Mishra from Kota, Rajasthan, Koduru Tejeswar from Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, Md. Sahil Akhtar from Kolkata, West Bengal, Akarsh Raj Sahay from Nagpur, Maharashtra were awarded Gold medals while Sainavaneet Mukund from Bangalore, Karnataka was awarded a silver medal. The team was led by Prof. Surhud More from IUCAA, Pune, and Pritesh Ranadive from HBCSE-TIFR, Mumbai.

Space strategist PK Ghosh voiced confidence that the anticipated moon landing of India's lunar mission Chandrayaan-3 will likely be successful on August 23.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced on August 20 that India's moon mission is on track to make a soft landing on the lunar surface on August 23 at around 6:04 pm local time.

Ghosh, while commenting on the spacecraft's progress after its fifth and final manoeuvre towards the Moon on August 16, during which it successfully attained a nearly circular lunar orbit, said that the spacecraft is currently travelling at a speed of about 6,000 kms per hour as it approaches the lunar horizon. He said that it must be substantially decreased to almost zero.

The Chintan Shivir of the Ministry of Finance will officially be inaugurated at the Statue of Unity at Kevadiya today. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman will address the Shivir today.

 The shivir will discuss various issues including the roadmap for India to become a developed nation by 2047. Secretaries and Senior officials from various departments of the Ministry of Finance and ministry of corporate affairs will attend the shivir. On the sidelines of the Chintan shivir of Union finance minister Nirmala Sitaraman yesterday interacted with the G20 India representatives and reviewed the progress of the G 20 Finance track. 

The Government has notified the Green Hydrogen Standard for India in a significant move for the progress of the National Green Hydrogen Mission. The standard, issued by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, outlines the emission thresholds that must be met in order for hydrogen produced to be classified as Green, that is from renewable sources. The scope of the definition encompasses both electrolysis-based and biomass-based hydrogen production methods.

After discussions with multiple stakeholders, the Ministry has decided to define Green Hydrogen as having a well-to-gate emission including water treatment, electrolysis, gas purification, drying and compression of hydrogen of not more than 2 kg CO2 equivalent / kg H2. The notification specifies that a detailed methodology for measurement, reporting, monitoring, on-site verification, and certification of green hydrogen and its derivatives shall be specified by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

The Indian men’s and women’s recurve teams won bronze medals to open India’s account at the Archery World Cup 2023 stage 4 in Paris, France, on Thursday.

While the men’s archery team got the better of Spain 6-2 in the bronze medal match, the women’s team beat Mexico in the shoot-off after scores were tied 4-4 at the end of the fourth set.

The Indian team in men’s recurve archery, comprising Tokyo Olympian Atanu Das, Dhiraj Bommadevara and Tushar Shelke, shot 2034 points in the qualifying round for second place behind the Republic of Korea. A total of 26 national teams competed in the men’s recurve team competition.

The Indian squad warmed up with the men’s air pistol team bronze medal in the World Championship shooting in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Thursday.

Shiva Narwal, Sarabjot Singh and Arjun Singh Cheema were far from making the individual final of top-8 but together got the medal behind China and Germany.

In women’s air pistol also, it was hard for the Indian shooters Esha Singh, Palak Gulia and Divya TS as they placed 32nd, 40th and 66th in a strong field of 118 shooters. As a team, they placed 11th.

In skeet, Anant Jeet Singh Naruka shot 48 in two rounds, and found himself in the 45th spot, as there were 10 with perfect 50 and 29 more with 49.

Ministry of Tourism in partnership with the different State Governments and UTs is organising the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav & Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat Food Festival in the capital from 18th – 20th August 2023. The 3-day festival aims to highlight the diverse flavours and dishes that define each region of the country.

The event will showcase state-specific cuisines and promote awareness of the unique offerings within each region, while fostering a sense of togetherness.

The Food Festival is being organised with the enthusiastic participation of 23 States and UTs The festival will be organised in State Bhawans of the participating States in New Delhi.

An Ayodhya Haat will come up at Chaudhary Charan Singh Ghat on the bank of river Saryu, adding another feature to the temple town’s long list of tourist attractions.

The Ayodhya Development Authority will spearhead this project to turn the religious town into a tourist destination.

The Ayodhya Haat would also bring change in areas surrounding the ghat, said officials of the Ayodhya Development Authority.

Delhi witnessed a historical feat on Independence Day, as a hundred women riders steered through the streets of Delhi NCR on their bikes to commemorate the uninhibited passion of women of all shapes, sizes, and walks of life. The ride started at North Campus, ran through Shalimar Bagh, Rajouri Garden, Naraina, Dhaula Kuan, Cybercity, and Golf Course Road, ending at Throttle Shrottle, on Gurgaon-Faridabad road.