The Government has approved 78 new routes under the 4th round of Regional Connectivity Scheme - Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik, (UDAN) to further enhance the connectivity to remote and regional areas of the country. The Civil Aviation Ministry said, North East Region, Hilly States and Islands have been given priority in the approval process for the new routes. It said, 29 served, eight unserved and two underserved airports have been included in the list for approved routes. The Ministry said, overall 766 routes have been sanctioned so far under the UDAN scheme. 

Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Usha Padhee said, the Ministry had launched the 4th round of UDAN in December last year with a special focus on North-Eastern Regions, Hilly States and Islands. She said, the awarding of these 78 routes under UDAN - 4 is in line with the Act East Policy of the Central Government. Under UDAN 4, the operation of helicopter and seaplanes is also been incorporated. Ms Padhee said, since its inception, Civil Aviation Ministry has operationalised 274 UDAN routes that have connected 45 airports and three heliports.

The Ministry of Culture has announced 7 new circles of Archaeological Survey of India, ASI. In a video message, Culture and Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel said, Ministry of Culture has taken the step in accordance with the Prime Minister’s call to facilitate and strengthen the process of preservation and registration of archaeological monuments.

He informed that new circles have been created in Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal and Gujarat. Mr Patel said, Trichy, Raiganj, Rajkot, Jabalpur, Jhansi and Meerut have been announced as new circles.
 
The Minister said, in a large state like Tamil Nadu which has thousands of temples and glorious memories of the Chola kings, Trichy has been made a new circle along with the circle of Chennai. He said, Hampi city in Karnataka is a place of international importance from the point of view of archaeological heritage therefore the Hampi Sub-Circle now has been made a new full fledged circle.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Dr. C N Ashwathnarayan has announced opening of degree colleges from first of September. Speaking to media persons in Bengaluru yesterday, he said that all the degree colleges will commence online classes from 1st of next month and offline classes from the 1st of October.
 
The Deputy Chief Minister informed that guidelines in this regard are awaited from the Central Government on conducting offline classes as well as a few degree exams in September. AIR Correspondent reports, Dr. Ashwathnarayan has said that all the decisions regarding commencement of degree colleges are taken in the sole interest of the students. Speaking regarding the opposition to NEET exam, the minister said that vested interests should not play with the future of children.
 
Expressing suspicion over the opposition, the minister said it could be an attempt to allocate seats to professional courses through opaque means rather than that based on merit. He cited the example of Karnataka which successfully conducted Common Entrance Test for more than 1.94 lakh students, including those 63 Covid positive students.

National Testing Agency (NTA) has substantially increased the number of examination centres for JEE-Mains and NEET-UG exams scheduled to be held next month.

In order to meet the social distancing requirements due to Covid-19 pandemic the number of Examination Centers have been increased from 570 to 660 in case of JEE-Mains and from 2 thousand 546 to 3 thousand 843 for NEET-UG 2020. Additionally, in case of JEE-Mains, the number of shifts have been increased from 8 to 12. Number of candidates per shift has also been reduced from 1 lakh 32 thousand to 85 thousand.
 
This year nearly 8 lakh 50 thousand candidates have registered for JEE-Mains while the number of registrations for NEET-UG has been nearly 16 lakhs. In order to ensure proper social distancing inside the examination halls, the candidates will be seated in alternate seats in case of JEE-Mains. As another precautionary step, the number of candidates allowed to take NEET-UG test in one room has been reduced from 24 to 12. For ensuring social distancing outside the examination hall, the entry and exit of candidates have been staggered. Adequate arrangements have also been made outside the examination centers to enable candidates follow social distancing norms.
 
Candidates have also been issued advisory guiding them about "Do’s and Don'ts" for proper social distancing. NTA has also written to the State Governments to extend support in local movement of the candidates so that they are able to reach their examination centres on time. JEE-Mains exam is scheduled to be held from 1st September to 6th September while NEET-UG will be held on 13th September this year.

Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria today launched a mobile application MY IAF at Air Force Headquarters Vayu Bhawan in New Delhi as a part of Digital India initiative. 

The application developed in association with Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, C-DAC provides career related information and details for those desirous of joining the Indian Air Force, IAF.
 
The user friendly format of the app serves as a single digital platform interfacing the users with the details of selection procedure, training curriculum, pay and perks for both officers and airmen in the IAF. 

The application is available in Google Play store for android phones, is linked to IAF social media platforms and games and also provides glimpses into the history and stories of valour in the IAF.

Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs Nitin Gadkari said that he wants to open a driving training school in every district of the country.

Shri Gadkari said this while inaugurating 45 highway projects in Madhya Pradesh today. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan presided over the virtual function.

The projects included 1 thousand 361 kilometers of Road, two over bridges and six bridges involving construction value of Rs 11 thousand 427 crore.

Shri Gadkari  said that every year 5 lakh accidents occur in the country taking the lives of 1.5 lakhs people. The highest number of these people is in the age group of 18 to 24 years.

Driving school will not only prevent accidents but as per the wishes of the Prime Minister, skill will also be developed among the youth. This will also fulfill the Prime Minister's dream of creating a
self-sufficient India.

In Football, German giants Bayern Munich have won the European Champions League for the sixth time after beating French side Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 at the final in Portugal's capital, Lisbon.

A goal by French winger Kingsley Coman at the 59th minute was enough for the Munich side to dash the Parisians' dream of winning for the first time the UEFA Champions League. A competition which started in June 2019 with the preliminary round comes to a climax between the best side in world football against one of the planet's finest forward lines.

Railways has said that the new tender document for 44 semi-high speed Vande Bharat trains will include provision for more than 50 percent local components. Addressing a virtual press conference yesterday, Railway Board chairman VK Yadav said, the new tender document will include provision for local components of more than 50 in line with the government’s Aatma Nirbhar Bharat initiative.

Earlier on Friday, Railways had cancelled the tender for manufacturing 44 Vande Bharat Express trains, which was floated last year. Mr Yadav said, while evaluating the technical bids of tenders, the tender committee had noticed that some of the details of financial offers have been revealed in the technical bids. To maintain the complete transparency, the tender committee has recommended canceling this tender and inviting fresh tenders, he said.

While cancelling the tender, Railway Ministry had said that the fresh tender will be floated within a week as per Revised Public Procurement order, which gives preference to Make in India. The fresh tender will have provision to manufacture the train sets at all three production units - ICF Chennai, Rail Coach Factory Kapurthala and Modern Coach Factory Raebareli.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had flagged off the maiden run of a Vande Bharat train on the New Delhi-Varanasi route on February 15, 2019. The second such train service between New Delhi and Shri Mata Vaishnodevi Katra was flagged off by home minister Amit Shah on October 3, 2019.

Government has activated Aadhaar authentication for new goods and services tax (GST) registration to enhance ease of doing business. For those opting for Aadhaar authentication, new GST registration will be issued within three working days and will not need to wait for physical verification.

However, those not opting for Aadhaar authentication will be granted it only after physical verification of the place of business or documentary verification which may take up to 21 working days or more.

Government said Aadhaar authentication for new registration will substantially enhance ease of doing businesses for genuine businesses. It said, the move will facilitate genuine and honest taxpayers while at the same time keeping the fake and fraudulent entities away from GST.

The facility of quick approval of GST registration through Aadhaar authentication can be availed by all Indian citizens. 

Former finance secretary Rajiv Kumar has been appointed new election commissioner. He will replace Ashok Lavasa, who resigned earlier this week. Mr Kumar will take charge the day Mr Lavasa leaves his office on August 31. Mr Kumar's appointment comes at a time when the election commission is preparing to hold Bihar assembly polls amid the coronavirus pandemic.

A 1984-batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre, Rajiv Kumar has over three decades of experience in public policy and administration across various sectors. He played a major role in merging 10 public sector banks into four. During his two-and-half year stint as financial services secretary, he took several policy decisions to promote responsive and responsible banking. Known for his bold moves, Mr Kumar undertook a massive 3 lakh crore rupees recapitalisation of banks during his tenure. He also played a key role in taking ahead Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan of financial inclusion, aimed at boosting credit access and job creation, through flagship schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Mudra loan scheme, among others. He is known to have initiated and implemented the 59-minute loan scheme for the MSME sector.