The Lok Sabha today passed the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021, seeking to increase the species protected under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, and implement the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, CITES.

Replying to the discussion in Lok Sabha, Environment and Forests Minister Bhupender Yadav said that the unique ecosystem in the country must be preserved. He said, the Government has given equal importance to the development and environment. The Minister said, in the last eight years protected areas in the country have increased from 693 to 987, which includes fifty two tiger reserves.

Fourth Edition of India-Oman joint military Exercise Ex Al Najah -IV is underway at Mahajan Field Firing Range in Suratgarh, Rajasthan.

Exercise scheduled from 1 to 13 August is aimed at enhancing cooperation and inter-operability of two militaries. The joint exercise will focus on Counter Terrorism Operations, Regional Security Operations and Peace Keeping Operations under United Nations charter apart from organising joint physical training schedules, tactical drills, techniques and procedures.

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari today inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of 6 National Highway projects of 119 KMs worth 2300 Crore rupees in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Speaking on the occasion Shri Gadkari informed that the projects being launched for better connectivity in Indore will make the path of progress easier in the State. He said, the problem of jams on Rau circle will end and there will be ease in the traffic.

With easy connectivity from Indore, artisans, students and businessmen of nearby areas will get better opportunities. He added the connectivity of the villages of the Indore-Harda section with Indore will be better. The development of the Dhar-Pithampur Industrial Corridor will create new employment opportunities.  

Ministry of Culture is organizing “Tiranga Utsav” an evening filled with cultural and musical performances to celebrate the contributions of Pingali Venkayya to the nation on the occasion of his 146th Birth Anniversary in New Delhi today. Union Home Minister  Amit Shah will participate in  “Tiranga Utsav. The event will include the release of a commemorative Postal Stamp in honor of Pingali Venkayya for his invaluable contribution to the country followed by the felicitation of his family. The Tiranga Utsav will also witness the grand launch of the “Har Ghar Tiranga” anthem and video. The musical evening will see live performances by maestros such as Kailash Kher & Kailasa, Harshdeep Kaur, and Dr. Ragini Makkhar.

Pingali Venkayya, a freedom fighter and the designer of India’s National Flag was a follower of Gandhian principles, and it was upon the request of Mahatma Gandhi that he designed the Indian National Flag with saffron, white and green colors with chakra in the middle.

Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that the fifth generation -5G telecom services is likely to be launched by October this year. Briefing reporters in New Delhi, Mr Vaishnaw said, more than one lakh 50 thousand crore rupees of bids were received during the 5G auction, which commenced on 26th of last month. The spectrum will be assigned to the successful bidders for providing 5G services to the public and enterprises. The auction was held for spectrum in various Low, Medium, and High-frequency bands. Mr Vaishnaw said, of the 72 thousand 98 Mega Hertz of spectrum offered across ten bands, 71 percent was sold.

AIR correspondent reports that Digital connectivity has been an important part of policy initiatives of the government through its flagship programmes such as Digital India, Start-up India, and Make in India. The upcoming 5G services have the potential to create new age businesses, generate additional revenue for enterprises, and provide employment arising from the deployment of innovative use-cases and technologies. Eighty-crore subscribers have access to broadband today compared to ten-crore subscribers in 2014.

National Testing Agency has released the admit cards for the Common University Entrance Test undergraduate (CUET UG 2022) for phase II candidates. Registered candidates can now download their hall tickets from the official CUET UG website by logging in through their registered credentials. The website is cuet.samarth.ac.in. The Phase I exams were conducted in July and the second phase exams are scheduled to take place on 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 10th, and 20th of August.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched India’s first International Bullion Exchange (IIBE) at Gujarat International Finance Tech (GIFT) City in Gandhinagar today.

Prime Minister also launched NSE IFSC-SGX Connect and laid the foundation stone of the headquarters of the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) at GIFT City.

Addressing the gathering, Prime Minister said GIFT city has been established as an integrated finance and technology services hub for India and the world.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the Power Ministry’s flagship Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme today. Mr Modi will unveil the scheme during a programme marking the culmination of ‘Ujjwal Bharat Ujjwal Bhavishya - Power @2047’ at 12.30 pm through video conferencing. The five-day programme that concludes today is a part of the ongoing 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' to showcase the transformation in the power sector achieved in the last eight years. It aims to empower citizens by improving their awareness and participation in various power-related initiatives, schemes and programmes of the government.

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar will give away Agriculture Infrastructure Fund Awards in New Delhi today. The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund has launched two years ago, under the ambitious Aatmanirbhar Bharat Package, as a dedicated Central Government scheme that provides a medium-long term credit facility for investment in the creation of post-harvest management infrastructure and community farming assets.

Our correspondent reports that as of now, out of more than 23 thousand applications received on the integrated Portal of Agri Infra Fund, a total of 13 thousand 700 applicants have been sanctioned over ten thousand crore rupees.  The sanctioned infrastructure projects cover warehouses, assaying units, primary processing units, custom hiring centers, sorting and grading units, and cold store, and cold chain projects. 

The Indian Navy received two MH 60R multi-role helicopters from the United States at the Cochin International Airport today. The copters were delivered by the Special Air Assignment Mission Flight of the US Air Force.

The helicopters were part of the 24 MH 60 R Multirole helicopters being procured by India from the United States at a cost of over 14,000 crore rupees. The first three helicopters delivered last year in the US  are being utilized for training the Indian Navy crew.  Another helicopter is scheduled to be delivered on the 22nd of next month.

These helicopters will be initially based at the Naval Air Station INS Garuda in Kochi and will be put through intensive flying trials for integration into the Navy's fleet operations.