1 Virat Kohli to top celebrity brand valuations in 2023
Cricketer Virat Kohli has reclaimed the top spot to become India’s most valuable celebrity in 2023, boasting a brand value of $227.9 million. However, the value is still lower than his peak brand value of $237.7 million in 2020, as revealed by Kroll’s Celebrity Brand Valuation Report 2023. Cricketer Virat Kohli has regained the number one spot with a brand value of $227.9 million, while Bollywood star Ranveer Singh is in second place with $203.1 million. This is according to Kroll’s latest Celebrity Brand Valuation study ‘ Brands, Business, Bollywood ‘.
2 Assam government will not send pre-2014 migrants to foreigners’ tribunal
Recently, the Assam government asked the border wing of the state police not to forward cases of non-Muslim migrants who entered India illegally before 2014 to the Foreigners Tribunal (FT) . This was in line with the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 , which provides an opportunity to Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis, Jains and Buddhists who have migrated from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan due to persecution to apply for citizenship. Foreigners Tribunals (FTs) are quasi-judicial bodies constituted by the Central Government under Section 3 of the Foreigners Act, 1946 through the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964 to allow local authorities in a state to refer a suspected foreigner to the tribunal. Foreigners (Tribunals) Order (Amendment, 2019) : The amendment made in 2019 to the original order only provides a framework as to how the tribunals will decide on appeals from individuals who are not satisfied with the outcome of their claims and objections filed for the NRC.
3 ECI will verify the microcontrollers of EVMs
Recently, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for verification of the burn memory (or microcontrollers) of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) systems . Following the Supreme Court order in the Association of Democratic Reforms vs Election Commission of India case, 2024 , the Election Commission has allowed verification of up to 5% of EVMs and VVPAT microcontrollers in Assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies on written request from second and third placed candidates. A mock poll of up to 1,400 votes will be conducted on each machine and if the results match with the VVPAT slips, it will indicate that there has been no tampering with the burn memory and they will be considered verified. However, the process to deal with discrepancies is still uncertain. The technical SOP was prepared by two public sector units (PSUs) manufacturing electronic voting machines—Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL).
4 Telangana Government’s Sri Dasarathi Krishnamacharya Award will be presented to writer and poet Jukanti Jagannatham
The Telangana Government’s Sri Dasarathi Krishnamacharya Award will be given this year to eminent writer and poet Jukanti Jagannatham . Mr Jagannatham will be given a cash prize of Rs one lakh and a memento. He will be given this award on Dasarathi Krishnamacharya ‘s birth anniversary. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy congratulated Mr Jagannatham on being selected for the award.
5 Guru Purnima
This year Guru Purnima was celebrated on 21st July . It is also known as Vyasa Purnima . This day is dedicated to spiritual gurus and acharyas . On this occasion, people express gratitude towards their gurus who have guided them and given a new direction to their lives. Lord Buddha travelled from Bodh Gaya to Sarnath after attaining enlightenment and gave his first sermon on the day of Purnima. Therefore, Purnima is also a day of gratitude for the followers of Buddha.
6 India performs best in International Mathematical Olympiad, securing fourth position
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed happiness over India’s best performance in the International Math Olympiad and securing the fourth position . Our team has brought 4 gold and one silver medal. It is noteworthy that in the 65th International Math Olympiad, the first position was secured by the US, the second by China and the third by South Korea . India has come fourth with a total score of 167. Let us tell you that South Korea, which came third, has scored just one point more than India. The US’s score in the Math Olympiad was 192. 108 countries from across the world participated in the International Math Olympiad. The International Math Olympiad (IMO) is a world championship competition of mathematics for high school students. IMO is considered to be the most prestigious competition in the world. It has been organized in various countries across the world since the year 1959. More than 100 countries, including all the countries included in the G20, participate in it.
7 Central government’s initiative to protect the maritime border, plan to build two military airbases in Lakshadweep approved
The central government is alert about the security of the maritime border . In this sequence , the plan to build two military airfields in Lakshadweep has been approved. The central government has approved the proposal to build a new airbase in Minicoy and upgrade the existing airfield at Agatti Island in Lakshadweep as an airbase for military operations . Fighter jets and aircraft will be deployed in future. This plan to build two military airfields in Lakshadweep is considered very important amid increasing Chinese activities on the maritime border. These dual-purpose airfields on Minicoy Island, about 50 miles from the Maldives, will also be opened to commercial airlines. Apart from this, all types of fighter and transport aircraft as well as long-range drones will be deployed, which will give an edge to the Indian forces in this area. The Indian Air Force will be the pioneer in this project but they will be used by the three defense forces and the Indian Coast Guard.
8 Actor Ram Charan to be honoured at IFFM 2024
Actor Ram Charan will be the guest of honour at the Melbourne Indian Film Festival (IFFM) and will also be given the Ambassador of Indian Arts and Culture Award for his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema. This film festival is organised by the Victorian state government every year. In this, the actor’s films will be reviewed to celebrate his journey in the film industry. It will run from 15 August to 25 August. Indian Film Festival Melbourne (IFFM) has declared Ram Charan as the Ambassador Guest this time. Also, the actor will be honoured with the Ambassador of Indian Arts and Culture for his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema. With this, Ram Charan has become the first actor of Indian cinema to receive this honour.
9 Madhya Pradesh tops in PM Swanidhi scheme
The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs said that Madhya Pradesh has secured the first position in the category of ‘ Best Performing State ‘ in the Pradhan Mantri Swanidhi Yojana . The scheme, which provides loans to street vendors for business, was launched by the Narendra Modi government in 2020 during the COVID-19 outbreak. Loans up to Rs 50,000 are given under this scheme. Assam got second place after Madhya Pradesh in the ‘ Best Performing States – Innovation and Best Practices Awards ‘ category, the ministry said in a statement . In the ‘ Best Performing Urban Local Bodies – Loan Performance in Cities with a Population of More than One Million ‘ category, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has got the first position, followed by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar presented the awards to the winners.
10 UGC launched Project Asmita
Recently, Augmenting Study Materials in Indian languages through Translation and Academic Writing ( ASMITA ) project was launched to produce 22,000 books in Indian languages in the next five years . It is one of the many initiatives taken by the government to promote Indian languages in the education system in line with the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020. It was launched by the Union Ministry of Education and University Grants Commission (UGC) . It is a joint effort by UGC and Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti to promote Indian languages in education. UGC was established in the year 1953 (became a statutory organization in the year 1956) to coordinate, determine and maintain standards of teaching, examination and research in university education. Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti is the base committee for the promotion of Indian languages constituted by the Ministry of Education in the year 2021. 13 nodal universities have been identified along with member universities from different regions to lead this project. UGC has created a standard operating procedure (SOP) for the book-writing process in each specified language. The project aims to prepare 1,000 books in 22 languages within five years, resulting in 22,000 books in Indian languages. In addition, the commission aims to prepare 1,800 textbooks based on arts, science and commerce streams by June 2025.
11 Kiran Pahal won the gold medal in the women’s 200m event
Kiran Pahal has won the gold medal in the women’s 200m event in the ongoing summer athletics competition in Warsaw , the capital of Poland . She completed the race in 23.33 seconds which is the best performance of any Indian so far this year. Jyoti Yaraji stood second in the women’s 100m hurdles in the competition . She will be the first Indian to participate in the women’s 100m hurdles in the Olympics . Meanwhile, Rajesh Ramesh has won the gold medal in the men’s 400m event . Muhammad Ajmal stood third and Muhammad Anas Yahiya stood fourth in the same competition. Jyotika Dandi has won the gold medal in the women’s 400m event .
12 International Lunar Day 2024
International Lunar Day is celebrated every year on 20 July . The main purpose of celebrating this day is to know the exploration of the Moon and its importance. International Lunar Day is not only a way to celebrate the achievements of our space research, but it also provides an opportunity to reflect on the possibilities of space exploration in the future and inspire towards scientific advancement. The theme of International Lunar Day 2024 is ‘ Illuminating the Shadow ‘.