23-24 August
V P Singh Badnore sworn in as Governor of Punjab
V P Singh Badnore on 22 August 2016 took oath as the new Governor of Punjab. He was also sworn in as the Administrator of Chandigarh Administration.
Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice S J Vazifdar administered the oath of office and secrecy to Badnore at Punjab Raj Bhawan in Chandigarh.
Badnore replaced Kaptan Singh Solanki, who is the Governor of Haryana. Solanki had been holding additional charge of Punjab Governor and Administrator of Chandigarh Administration since January 2015.
Who is V P Singh Badnore?
•Badnore belongs to Bhilwara.
•He is a four-time BJP legislator in the Rajasthan assembly.
•He was an MLA from 1977 to 1980, 1985 to 1990, 1993 to 1998 and 1998 to 1999.
•During his last term as an MLA, he served as the state Irrigation minister.
•He was a member of the 13th and 14th Lok Sabha from 1999 to 2004 and from 2004 to 2009.
•He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in July 2010.
•He studied at Mayo College, Ajmer, and Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), Hyderabad.
•He is a graduate in business management.
•He was the chairman of the special task force to rehabilitate tigers in Sariska National Park from 2005 to 2009.
National Sports Awards 2016 announced
The Union Government on 22 August 2016 announced the National Sports. Olympic Medalists PV Sindhu and Sakshi Malik will get Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awards.
Shooter Jitu Rai and Gymnast Dipa Karmakar have also been selected for the top national sports award.
National Sports Awards are given every year to recognize and reward excellence in sports.
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna
Four sports person from different discipline of sports were chosen for the award and they are P.V. Sindhu for Badminton, Dipa Karmakar for Gymnastics, Jitu Rai for Shooting and Sakshi Malik for Wrestling.
The award is given for the spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over a period of four years.
Dronacharya Awards
Six sports coaches will be honoured with Dronacharya Awards and they are Nagapuri Ramesh for Athletics, Sagar Mal Dhayal for Boxing, Raj Kumar Sharma for Cricket, Bishweshwar Nandi for Gymnastics, S Pradeep Kumar for Swimming (Lifetime) and Mahabir Singh for Wrestling (Lifetime).
Dipa Karmakar's coach Bishweshwar Nandi will receive the award for Gymnastics.
The award is conferred on coaches for producing medal winners at prestigious international sports events.
Arjuna Awards
15 sports person from different discipline of sports were selected for the award and they are Rajat Chauhan for Archery, Lalita Babar for Athletics, Sourav Kothari for Billiards & Snooker, Shiva Thapa for Boxing, Ajinkya Rahane for Cricket, Subrata Paul for Football, Rani for Hockey, Raghunath VR for Hockey, Gurpreet Singh for Shooting, Apurvi Chandela for Shooting, Soumyajit Ghosh for Table Tennis, Vinesh for Wrestling, Amit Kumar for Wrestling, Sandeep Singh Mann for Para-Athletics and Virender Singh for Wrestling (Deaf).
The award is given for consistently outstanding performance for four years.
Dhyan Chand Award 2015
Three sports person were selected for the awards and they are Athlete Satti Geetha, hockey player Sylvanus Dung Dung and Rower Rajendra Pralhad Shelke.
The award is conferred for life time contribution to sports development.
Rashtriya Khel Protsahana Purushkar
Seven organisations were selected for Rashtriya Khel Protsahana Purushkar, 2016 and they are Reserve Bank of India (Employment to sportspersons and other welfare measures), India Infrastructure Finance Corporate Limited (Encouragement to sports through corporate social responsibility), and Subroto Mukherjee Sports Education Society (Sports for Development). Four organisation who were chosen for the award for identification and nurturing of budding and young talent includes Hockey Citizen Group, Dadar Parsee Zorostrian cricket club, Usha School of Athletics and STAIRS.
The award is given to the corporate entities (both in private and public sector) and individuals who have played a visible role in the area of sports promotion and development.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy:
Punjabi University, Patiala.
The trophy is given to the overall top performing university in inter-university tournaments.
The awardees will receive their awards from President Pranab Mukherjee at a function at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on 29 August 2016, which is celebrated as the National Sports Day.
Apart from a medal and a citation, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardee will receive a cash prize of 7.5 lakh rupees.
Arjuna, Dronacharya and Dhyan Chand Awardees will receive statuettes, certificates and cash prize of five lakh rupees each. Recipients of Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar will be given Trophies and certificates. Award money of ten lakh rupees and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy will be given to Punjabi University, Patiala for overall top performing university in inter-university tournaments.
Selection Committee for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Arjuna Awards was headed by Justice SK Agarwal, Retired Delhi High Court Judge.
Selection Committee for Dronacharya Awards and Dhyan Chand Awards was headed by MC Mary Kom.
Selection Committee for Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar was headed by Rajiv Yadav, Secretary (Sports).
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NOTE: Shuttler Sindhu created history by becoming the first female athlete from India to win silver in the Rio Olympics. On the other hand, Sakshi Malik who bagged a bronze in the 58kg female wrestling became the first Indian female wrestler and the fourth Indian woman to win an Olympic medal. Besides the medal winners, Dipa Karmakar also became the first Indian female gymnast ever to compete in the Olympics. She attained 4th position in Women's Vault Gymnastics event of Rio Olympics 2016 with an overall score of 15.066. Karmakar is one of only five women who have successfully landed the Produnova, the most difficult vault currently performed in women's gymnastics. |
Banwarilal Purohit sworn in as Governor of Assam
Banwarilal Purohit on 22 August 2016 was sworn in as the Governor of Assam.
Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court Ajit Singh administered the oath of office and secrecy to Purohit at the Raj Bhavan in Gauhati.
Purohit succeeded Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya, Governor of Nagaland who was Governor in-charge of Assam.
Who is Banwarilal Purohit?
•Banwarilal Purohit was a Member of Parliament from the Nagpur (Lok Sabha constituency) three times, twice as a Congress member, once as a BJP member.
•In 1984, he was elected to the 8th Lok Sabha as member of Congress Party. He was re-elected in 1989.
•Later, he joined Bharatiya Janata Party when it launched a movement to build Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
•In 1996, he was elected to 11th Lok Sabha as BJP's candidate.
•He gained ownership of the Nagpur daily newspaper The Hitavadain 1980s. The Hitavada was English daily founded by Gopal Krishna Gokhale. Under Banwarilal Purohit, The Hitavada became a leading newspaper of central India and apart from its headquarters edition at Nagpur the daily also launched editions from Jabalpur, Raipur, and Bhopal.
India wins four-match Test Series against West Indies, 2-0
India on 22 August 2016 won the four-match test series against West India 2-0. Fifth day's play in the fourth test in Port of Spain was called off due to rain.
West Indies was 62-2 in its first innings with only 22 over bowled in the entire match.
Series Report
1st Match: Played at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua between 21 July and 25 July 2016. India won by an innings and 92 runs. Ravichandran Ashwin (India) was declared Man of the Match.
2nd Match: Played at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica between 30 July and 3 August 2016. The match was drawn. Roston Chase (West Indies) was declared Man of the Match.
3rd Match: Played at Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia between 9 August and 13 August 2016. India won by 237 runs. Ravichandran Ashwin (India) was declared Man of the Match.
4th Match:Played at Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad between 18 August and 22 August 2016. The match was drawn. Ravichandran Ashwin (India) was declared Man of the Series.
The draw in the last and final test helped Pakistan to be number one position in ICC Test rankings displacing India. India needed to win the fourth test to retain their top spot. Pakistan takes the top spot for the first time after its 2-2 test series draw with England.
Pakistan has 111 points whereas India is on 110. Australia is on third position with 108 points. West Indies was 62-2 in its first innings with only 22 overs bowled in the entire match.
Legendary journalist George E. Curry passes away
Legendary journalist George E. Curry, considered the‘dean of black press columnists’, passed away on 20 August 2016 in Maryland, USA.
Curry mainly reported on racism, poverty and national politics for newspapers. He most recently wrote a syndicated column that ran in more than 200 black-owned newspapers.
About George E. Curry
•George E. Curry worked for Sports Illustrated and St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
•In 1983, he joined the Chicago Tribunewhere he focused on the interest of the African American community.
•In 1984, he covered the presidential campaign that included Jessie Jackson and vice-presidential campaigns of Geraldine Ferraro and George H. W. Bush.
•In 1993, he published a bold depiction of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas with an Aunt Jemima handkerchief on his head on the front cover.
•In May 1996, he published a 17-page cover story entitled, Kemba’s Nightmare. It was about a girl who had been sentenced to 24 years in prison for a minor drug incident. President Clinton pardoned her in 2000 after hearing and talking with Curry.
• From 1993 to 2000, he was editor-in-chief of Emerge. This magazine won over 40 national journalism awards while under his leadership.
Jagdish Mukhi sworn in as Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Senior BJP leader Jagdish Mukhi was on 22 August 2016 sworn in as the 12th Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
He was administered the oath of office and oath of secrecy by Justice Girish Chandra Gupta, acting chief justice of Calcutta High Court.
Mukhi Succeeded Lt General A K Singh (Retd) who was appointed in July 2013. Earlier, he had been a minister and Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly in the past.
Mukhi was also a professor in Delhi University and has authored a book titled 'Company Law and Secretarial Practice'.
India, Germany sign agreement on vocational training
India and Germany on 22 August 2016 signed an agreement to foster conditions that will help create and improve workplace-based vocational training in India's industrial clusters.
The agreement was signed between the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and German International Cooperation (GIZ).
Highlights of the Agreement
• Under the pact, German technical assistance will be used to enhance industry institute partnerships between Indian and German organizations.
• It will help build capacity of local training institutions and foster industry linkages which will help adapt elements of the German dual system into the Indian context.
• It will initiate a new project focused on adapting elements of the German dual system in select industrial clusters in India.
• The project will run for three years starting August 2016 with a budget of 22.6 crore rupees made available by the German Government.
• It will be implemented in three selected clusters, which include the Automobile cluster in Maharashtra and Electronics cluster in Bangalore.
Gujarat to host 2016 Kabaddi World Cup
The International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) on 22 August 2016 announced that the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup will be hosted in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
The tournament will take place from 7 October 2016 and will conclude on 22 October 2016.
Gujarat will play host to 12 Kabaddi teams from around the world including India, USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Iran, Poland, Pakistan, and others.
The Kabaddi World Cup matches will be held in The Arena by TransStadia, upcoming state-of-the-art stadium in Ahmedabad.
About Kabaddi World Cup
•Kabaddi is a contact sport that originated in Ancient India.
•India always dominated the event by winning all the gold medals in both men's and women's category.
•Kabaddi World Cup was first played in 2004, then in 2007 and then annually from 2010 onwards.
•2004 and 2007 were played in Standard Style and other years in Circle Style.
•World Cup 2015 was cancelled because of 2015 Guru Granth Sahib desecration controversy.
•Sri Muktsar Sahib in Punjab was the host of the Kabaddi World Cup 2014.
•The winner of the Kabaddi World Cup 2014 was India. New Zealand was the Runner-up. Pakistan stood on the third place.
The Ocean of Churn: How the Indian Ocean Shaped Human History authored by Sanjeev Sanyal
Sanjeev Sanyal: The Ocean of Churn: How the Indian Ocean Shaped Human History
A book titled The Ocean of Churn: How the Indian Ocean Shaped Human Historyauthored by Sanjeev Sanyal was released on 10 August 2016.
The book narrated the history of The Indian Ocean, which stretches across East Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent to South East Asia and Australia.
In the book, Sanyal narrates a fascinating tale about the earliest human migrations out of Africa and the great cities of Angkor and Vijayanagar, medieval Arab empires and Chinese treasure fleets, the rivalries of European colonial powers and a new dawn.
The book offers exciting revelation while exploring remote archaeological sites, ancient inscriptions, maritime trading networks and half-forgotten oral histories.
Who is Sanjeev Sanyal?
•Sanjeev Sanyal is an Indian economist, bestselling writer, environmentalist and urban theorist.
•He is widely regarded as one of Asia's leading economists and was Deutsche Bank's Global Strategist and a Managing Director till 2015.
•He was named Young Global Leader 2010by the World Economic Forum at Davos.
•He is also the author of three bestselling books. They are The Indian Renaissance: India's Rise after a Thousand Years of Decline, Land of the Seven Rivers: A Brief History of India's Geography and The Incredible History of India's Geography.
24 August
Maharashtra, Telangana sign pact to resolve long standing river water dispute
Telangana and Maharashtra government on 23 August 2016 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to start work on three barrages- Tummidi Hatti on Pranhita River, Medigadda on Godavari River and Chanaka-Korata on Painganga River.
The MoU was inked after a meeting between Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao.
Highlights of the MoU
• The approval for these 3 projects was given on the recommendations of the Inter-State Board of Maharashtra and Telangana that had been set up for the purpose.
• All expenses for these projects will be borne by Telangana government and not a single village of Maharashtra will be submerged.
• More than thirty thousand hectares of land in Chandrapur, Gadchiroli and Yavatmal will come under irrigation because of these barrages.
This MoU to construct irrigation projects will help in ending the long standing water dispute on water utilization of Godavari River and its tributaries between the two states.
Inter-state water board
The two states constituted the inter-state water board in March 2016. The board had 23 members each from both the states including their respective chief ministers.
Rio Olympic: Empowering Women in Sports
In last few years, the subject of women empowerment has captivated the interest of the people all over the world and especially in India. The very fact behind this hype regarding empowerment of women is that the discussion bears testimony to the deplorable condition of women all over the world but more so in India and other developing countries.
In the past, women were treated as mere slaves. They were denied basic fundamental rights like Right to freedom, Right to Education, etc. There were wide inequalities between men and women in any and every field be it politics, sports, education or corporate level. Today as well, even when there are examples like Indira Gandhi, PT Usha or Kalpana Chawla, the perception about women remains that they are incapable, which act as a huge barrier when it comes to making a choice of what they aspire to be.
Today, women constitute more than 50 percent of the world's population, undertake most of the work but receive less income in comparison with the men. In addition to their domestic responsibilities like taking care of their child, cooking food, looking after the family; women are also contributing to the growth of nation as well. Some have become successful entrepreneurs, some are handling the politics of the nation, some are running the fashion world and some are representing the country at international level by playing various sports.
They have been successful in demanding the equality with men in matters of education, employment, inheritance, marriage, politics and in the field of sports as well. The position and status of women all over the world and in India has risen exceptionally in the 20th century. Women, who remained inclined within the four walls of their household, have today found out their own way-out to beat out men in every respect.
A long struggle has brought women the property rights, the voting rights, an equality before the law in matters of marriage and employment. Various steps have been taken by the Indian Government to empower women of every age and every caste. Criminal laws against sati, dowry, female infanticide and foeticide, eve teasing, rape, immoral trafficking and other offences relating to women have been enacted in addition to civil laws like the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939, the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 and other Matrimonial enactments.
A National Commission for Women (NCW) was also constituted for the same. The year 2001 was declared as the Women Empowerment Year by the Government of India. Moreover, the 108th Constitutional Amendment Bill had been a highlight in the past few years. This legislation, popularly known as the Women's Reservation Bill, seeks to reserve one-third of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies.
Women empowerment really has the power to change many things in the society and country. They are quick to deal with the crucial problems in the society. They are fully able to handle the economic conditions of the family and country.
And with these developments in the status of women, it came out right that empowering women means empowering the nation, strengthening the economy and revitalizing the society.
Role of Sports in Women Empowerment
Social stigmas often cause dejection in women from viewing themselves as physically powerful, proficient and self-governing individuals. In recent years, sports has surfaced as a mechanism to help women work against these self-limiting opinions. With the growing participation of women in sports globally and nationally, sports is being seen as a means of empowerment for women. Their participation in sporting activities enable them to live a life of dignity.
Call them the women of substance or beacons of hope, these strong sports contenders are capable enough in turning the heads back. Female athletes like PT Usha and Ashwini Nachappa have really resurged athletics in India.
New age sportswomen like Sania Mirza in Tennis, Mary Kom in Boxing and Saina Nehwal in Badminton are the few Indian women who never gave up on their dreams despite of coming from conservative backgrounds. This empowerment has helped women in dealing with crisis and emergency situations and manage things on their own without the compulsory male support.
Indian Women in Rio Olympics 2016: P V Sindhu, Sakshi Malik and Dipa Karmakar
The 2016 Summer Olympics concluded in August 2016 at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, witnessed more than 11000 athletes from 207 National Olympic Committees. A total of 117 athletes participated from India. India bagged a total of two medals, one silver and one bronze; both the medals won by women in their respective games.
Badminton player P V Sindhu won historic silver medal in women’s singles badminton event. With this, she became the first Indian woman to clinch a silver medal in Olympics. On the other hand, Wrestler Sakshi Malik secured a bronze in the 58 kg category to become India's first female wrestler to win an Olympic medal.
Not to forget, India was able to qualify one artistic gymnast into the Olympic competition for the first time since 1964. Dipa Karmakar became the first Indian female ever to book an Olympic spot in the apparatus events and all-around event at the Olympic Test Event. Unfortunately, she narrowly missed out in the bronze medal, finishing 4th in the finals of the event with a score of 15.066.
Moreover, Indian long distance runner Lalita Babar scored a time of 9:19.76 in her heat, qualifying to the final. With this, she became the first Indian in 32 years to enter a final in any track event. At the final, she finished 10th with a time of 9:22.74.
Despite the fact that these all sportswomen belonged from families with low income, still they managed to gather all their confidence and achieve what they aspire to be. This empowerment of women by encouraging them to participate in sports has opened up many new and exciting avenues for them in the world of sports.
International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition observed globally
23 August: International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition
The International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition was on 23 August 2016 observed across the world.
The aim of the day is to pay tribute to the people who, on 22 to 23 August 1791, revolted against the system of slavery and started the Haitian Revolution. Men and women, torn from Africa and sold into slavery, revolted against the slave system to obtain freedom and independence for Haiti, which was gained in 1804. This uprising was a turning point in human history.
The Revolution initiated a process of change regarding slavery throughout the Americas.
Background
The night of 22 to 23 August 1791 in Santo Domingo (today Haiti and the Dominican Republic) saw the beginning of the uprising in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.
The UNESCO Executive Board adopted Resolution 29 C/40 to observe the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition every year on 23 August. The day was first celebrated in a number of countries, in particular in Haiti (23 August 1998) and Goree in Senegal (23 August 1999).
The year 2001 saw the participation of the Mulhouse Textile Museum in France in the form of a workshop for fabrics called Indiennes de Traite which served as currency for the exchange of slaves in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Singapore’s longest serving president Sellapan Ramanathan died
Singapore’s former president Sellapan Ramanathan died on 22 August 2016. He was 92.
S R Nathan was of Indian-origin and the sixth and longest-serving President of Singapore. He was closely associated with the country’s founding leader Lee Kuan Yew.
About Sellapan Ramanathan
• He was born in 1924 in the family of Indian Tamil descent in Straits Settlements of Singapore.
• He had served as President of Singapore for two terms from 1999 to 2011.
• Prior to becoming President, he held key positions in the Singapore Civil Service and also in security, intelligence and foreign affairs.
• In 1988, he was appointed as Singapore’s High Commissioner to Malaysia and later Singapore’s Ambassador to the United States from 1990 to 1996.
• After stepping down he worked as Distinguished Senior Fellow at the prestigious Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and at Singapore Management University’s School of Social Sciences.
• For his contribution towards strengthening bilateral relations with India, he was conferred with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman in 2012 by the Indian Government.
Telangana Government proposed to create 17 new districts
The Government of Telangana on 22 August 2016 issued a draft notification for the creation of 17 new districts.
Creation of new districts was proposed by the State Government in order to minimise the hassle for people in commuting to the district headquarters and to enhance the efficiency of the administration.
After the proposed rearrangement of the existing districts, the total number of districts in the State will increase to 27 from the existing 10 districts.
Further, the draft notification also proposed for increase in the number of mandals by 31 and revenue division by 14.
The proposed districts are –
1. Acharya Jayashankar District
2. Hanamkonda
3. Jagtial
4. Kamareddy
5. Komaram Bheem
6. Kothagudem
7. Mahabubabad
8. Malkajgiri
9. Nagarkurnool
10. Nirmal
11. Peddapally
12. Sangareddy
13. Shamshabad
14. Siddipet
15. Suryapet
16. Wanaparthy
17. Yadadri
Union Government, Maharashtra Government and AAI sign MoU on Regional Connectivity Scheme
The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, Maharashtra Government and Airports Authority of India (AAI) on 23 August 2016 signed a tri-partite Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for successful launch of the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS).
The agreement was signed by Chairman of Airports Authority of India, Principal Secretary Civil Aviation (Maharashtra) and Joint Secretary (Ministry of Civil Aviation).
With this MoU, the Maharashtra Government formally agreed to provide the concessions required from the State Governments in the Regional Connectivity Scheme, thereby becoming the first state in the country to do so.
Highlights of the MoU
• The 10 airports that will be developed are- Kolhapur, Shirdi, Amravati, Gondia, Nashik, Jalgaon, Nanded, Solapur, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg will be developed.
• The state will contribute 20 percent cost of Viability Gap Funding, whereas the centre will bear the remaining 80 percent cost.
• The state government will reduce the Local Body Tax (LBT) on air fuel from existing 10 percent to 1 percent for a period of 10 years.
• Moreover, the government will provide essential land free of cost.
• These airports will be provided with roads, rail, Metro and waterway connectivity. The state government will also provide electricity, water and necessary facilities at concessional rates.