President Ram Nath Kovind today congratulated Mr M. Venkaiah Naidu on completing three years as Vice President of India. In a letter, Mr Kovind said, as Vice President, Mr Naidu has already emerged as an inspiration for posterity to learn from his ability to transform a mix of wisdom, energy and spirited enthusiasm into creative solutions for sustained nation building.
 
The President said, as Chairman of Rajya Sabha, he has set the record of conducting legislative business on an unprecedented scale. He said, it is a tribute to his genius and bipartisanship. Mr Kovind said, Mr Naidu's profound understanding of law and the constitution has enabled him to take a righteous approach in public service. He said, Mr Naidu's public conduct is always guided by an innate impulse to reach out to the last person in the queue, to build an inclusive and stronger India. The President prayed for his good health. 

In a bid to push Make-in-India, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched 'Atmanirbhar Bharat Week' via video conferencing on Monday.

The event comes shortly after the Defence Ministry introduced an import embargo on 101 items, in order to boost indigenisation of defence production.

The Defence Minister said, "The Government has made serval timely and thoughtful interventions during Covid-19 times like issuing negative list for import, increase in FDI limits and separate budget for domestic capital procurement. The ban on imports of 101 items is a big step towards atmanirbharta. The list of negative items contains not only small items but weapon systems of high and critical technology. More such items will be added to this list shortly which will save crores of rupees in imports."

He added, "The ‘Atmanirbharta Saptah’ will be a witness to initiatives pertaining to modernisation & up-gradation of facilities by DPSUs & OFB. As part of Atmanirbharta Saptah, the DPSUs & OFB are also organising a series of webinars covering all relevant topics including all stakeholders."

Raksha Mantri assured of encouraging 7000 MSMEs that are associated with the Defence Industry.

Lebanon's Prime Minister Hassan Diab has resigned from his post in the wake of major blast in Beirut that has triggered public outrage. In a brief televised speech after three of his ministers resigned, Mr Diab said he is taking a step back so he can stand with the people and fight the battle for change alongside them.
 
The Prime Minister's resignation follows a weekend of anti-government protests after the August 4 explosion in Beirut's port that decimated the facility and caused widespread destruction, killing more than 160 people and injured about six thousands. Diab's government was formed in January this year after his predecessor, Saad Hariri, stepped down in October last year in response to the demonstrations. It took months of bickering among the leadership factions before they settled on Diab.
 
President Michel Aoun has accepted the resignation of the  Diab government and asked it to stay on in a caretaker capacity until a new cabinet is formed.French President Emmanuel Macron hosted an international donors' conference on Sunday. US President Donald Trump and 15 other heads of state were present, pledging nearly 300 million dollars in aid to Lebanon.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will today inaugurate and dedicate to the nation submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) connecting Chennai and Port Blair through video conferencing. The foundation stone for the project was laid by Mr Modi on 30th December 2018 at Port Blair. The submarine cable will also connect Port Blair to Swaraj Dweep, Little Andaman, Car Nicobar, Kamorta, Great Nicobar, Long Island, and Rangat. This connectivity will enable delivery of faster and more reliable mobile and landline telecom services to Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
 
Enhanced telecom and Broadband connectivity will boost tourism and employment generation in the Islands and also give an impetus to the economy and raise standards of living. Better connectivity will facilitate delivery of e-Governance services like telemedicine and tele-education. Small enterprises will benefit from opportunities in e-commerce, educational institutions will utilize enhanced availability of bandwidth for learning and knowledge sharing.
 
Once inaugurated, the submarine Optical Fibre Cable link will deliver bandwidth of 2x200 Gigabits per second, Gbps between Chennai and Port Blair, and 2x100 Gbps between Port Blair and the other islands. Provision of reliable, robust, and high-speed telecom and Broadband facilities in these Islands will be a landmark achievement from the viewpoint of consumers, as well as for strategic and governance reasons. 4G mobile services, which were constrained due to limited backhaul bandwidth provided via satellite will also see a major improvement. Business Process Outsourcing services and other medium and large enterprises will also reap the benefits of better connectivity.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched one lakh crore rupees agriculture infrastructure fund to give a leg up to post-harvest management and marketing of agricultural produce. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Modi said the scheme will provide better warehousing and cold storage facilities for farmers. He said new jobs will be created as food processing and post-harvest facilities are set up in rural areas.
 
Prime Minister said, the scheme will enable startups to scale up their operations and India to build a global presence in organic and fortified food. The fund was launched with 1,128 crore rupees of new loans disbursed to more than 2,200 cooperative societies. During the event, the Prime Minister also transferred 17,100 crore rupees to more than 8.5 crore farmers under the PM-Kisan direct income assistance scheme.
 
Under the infrastructure scheme banks and financial institutions will provide one lakh crore in loans to cooperative societies, farmer producer companies, self-help groups, entrepreneurs, startups and infrastructure providers. The objective is to provide medium to long-term debt financing for setting up of post-harvest infrastructure and community assets for marketing of farm produce.

Today is the 78th anniversary of Quit India movement. On this day in 1942, father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi gave the clarion call of Do or Die to all Indians to drive away Britishers from the country. 

The movement had begun from Gawalia Tank in Mumbai. The day is observed as August Kranti Day every year.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar paid tributes to freedom fighers on Quit India Movement Day. In his message, Mr Javadekar remembered the sacrifices made by freedom fighters to free India from the clutches of the British rule. 

President Ram Nath Kovind today administered the oath of office to GC Murmu as Comptroller and Auditor General of India at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Mr Murmu had stepped down as the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir earlier this week. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were also present on the occasion.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate Rashtriya Swachhata Kendra, an interactive experience centre on the Swachh Bharat Mission today. A tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, the Rashtriya Swachhata Kendra was first announced by the Prime Minister on 10th April 2017, on the occasion of the centenary celebrations of Gandhiji's Champaran Satyagraha.
 
AIR Correspondent reports that the visitors will experience a unique 360 degree audio visual immersive show, which will narrate India's Swachhata Story - a journey into the largest behaviour change campaign in the history of the world. The Swachh Bharat Mission has transformed rural sanitation in the country and has changed the behaviour of over 55 crore people from open defecation to using a toilet. The installations at Rashtriya Swachhata Kendra will introduce future generations to the successful journey of world's largest behavioural change campaign, the Swachh Bharat Mission.
 
A balanced mix of digital and outdoor installations in the Kendra will impart information, awareness and education on Swachhata and related aspects. Prime Minister will also interact with 36 school students from Delhi, representing the 36 States and Union Territories, adhering to social distancing protocols.

At least 18 people, including two pilots died when an Air India Express aircraft from Dubai crashed after overshooting the runway in Kozhikode last night. 162 people have been injured. 15 of them are in serious condition. Rescue operations at the site have been completed and all injured persons have been admitted to hospitals in Malappuram and Kozhikode. There were 191 people including 10 infants, 2 pilots and 5 cabin crew onboard the aircraft.
 
DGCA said, the Dubai-Kozhikode Air India Express flight fell 35 feet from the hilltop runway after landing at Karipur Airport and broke down in two pieces. While the two pilots are among the dead, four-cabin crew members on board the aircraft are safe. It is believed that heavy rains in Kerala could be one of the reasons behind the mishap. Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said, two investigation teams of professionals from Air India, Airports Authority of India and Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau have been rushed to Kozhikode.
 
President Ram Nath Kovind spoke to Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and inquired about the situation. Expressed deep distress, he said his thoughts & prayers are with affected passengers, crew members & their families. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu has expressed deep anguish at the loss of  lives in the tragic air mishap at Kozhikode airport. In a tweet, Mr Naidu extended condolences to the families who lost their dear ones in the crash and hoped for the speedy recovery of the injured.

Former Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Girish Chandra Murmu will be the new Comptroller and Auditor General of the country. Mr Murmu will succeed Rajiv Mehrishi.

An IAS officer of Gujarat cadre, Mr Murmu resigned as Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday.