1. PM Modi shines light on Team India’s achievements on 69th Independence Day

(i) In his second Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised on everything Team India achieved over the past 15 months and outlined the various policies implemented by the government.

(ii) PM Modi stressed

the importance of promoting entrepreneurship
among the youth and announced incentives for companies that create more job opportunities.

He also launched a new campaign, ‘Start-up
India, Stand up India’ to promote bank financing for start-ups owned by underprivileged
people. He urged banks across India to lend credit to Dalits and tribal entrepreneurs
to help them start their own ventures.

(iii) Furthermore, he announced that that Ministry of Agriculture will be renamed as the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare. Modi assured soldiers and war veterans that the government has in principle accepted the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme and that dialogue with the stakeholders is on for its speedy implementation.

2.    Press Information Bureau launches its blog

(i) To mark the 69th Independence Day, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting launched its blog, https://pibindia.wordpress.com/ on August 15, 2015. The blog currently has posts and articles on various Union ministries with focus on key achievements of the Union government.

(ii) This initiative aims to facilitate qualitative flow of information to the concerned stakeholders including citizens, journalists, among others and keep them engaged with the government.

(iii) The blog is part of an attempt to effectively use social media platforms like- Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube’s used by the government.

3. Taj Mahal first monument to get a twitter handle

(i) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav launched an official twitter account of the world famous monument Taj Mahal on August 15. Within an hour of its launch, the Taj Mahal account had over 2000 followers.

(ii) Taj Mahal is the first historical monument in the world to get a twitter handle.

(iii) Akhilesh Yadav said that while visiting the account, a tourist could share his picture on #MyTajMemory that would be included in a collage of photos of the monument on the main account, which is @Taj Mahal.

4.  India’s biggest AYUSH hospital to come up in Delhi soon

(i) On August 14, Union Minister of State for Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH), Shripad Naik announced that the biggest AYUSH hospital, along the lines of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) will come up in Delhi in the next 6 months.

(ii) The hospital will have the capacity to cater to 500 patients. He asserted that the government plans to take the traditional healing practices of Yoga and Ayurveda to every village and will post Ayurvedic doctors at primary health centres in rural areas.

(iii) Further, he added that the six upcoming AIIMS hospitals across the country will also have separate AYUSH department in their premises.

5.  Sania Mirza second tennis player to receive Khel Ratna Award

(i) Sania Mirza’s name was officially approved for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award – making her the second tennis player to receive the honour. Before Mirza, this award was conferred on Leander Paes.

(ii) Sania Mirza is currently ranked world number one in women’s doubles after she lifted the Wimbledon trophy earlier this year with Martina Hingis.

(iii) The government also released a list of 2015 Arjuna Awardees, which consisted of 17 sportspersons including gymnast Dipa Karmakar, hockey player P R Sreejesh, wrestling duo Bajrang and Babita, athlete M R Poovamma, shuttler K Srikanth, boxer Mandeep Jangra, cricketer Rohit Sharma and shooter Jitu Rai, among others. The awards will be presented by President Pranab Mukherjee on National Sports Day observed annually on 29th August.

6.  Abhishek Verma wins gold at the Archery World Cup

(i) Abhishek Verma clinched a gold medal in the compound men’s individual section, opening an account at the Archery World Cup Stage 3 on August 15.

(ii) Verma, the world number 18 was in form and defeated Esmaeil Ebadi of Iran, thus evening the score as he lost to Ebadi at the Incheon 2014.

7.  Rahane becomes first fielder in test cricket history to take 8 catches

(i) Ajinkya Rahane became the first fielder in test cricket history to take eight catches in a match. He achieved the remarkable feat on Day 3 of the first test against Sri Lanka, which was held on August 14 in Galle.

(ii) Rahane made the record going past five international players including Yajurvindra Singh (India), Greg Chappell (Australia), Hashan Tillakaratne (Sri Lanka), Stephen Fleming (New Zealand) and Mathew Hayden (Australia), all of whom took 7 catches in a match.

8.  Piku declared best film at the Indian Film Fest of Melbourne 2015

(i) The Indian Film Fest of Melbourne (IFFM) 2015 held at the iconic Federation Square Building ended on August 15 with the Shoojit Sircar’s Piku being declared the best film.

(ii) The best director award was bagged by Shoojit Sircar while Bhumi Pednekar of Dum Laga Ke Haisha bagged her first award in the best actress category. The best actor award was given to Irrfan Khan for his performance in Piku.

(iii) Further, the best indie film award went to Tamil
film Kaaka Muttai and Rajkumar Hirani’s PK
received the Best Telstra People’s Choice Award.

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