TITBITS:
1. Parts of India’s northeast border state of Tripura
and districts in eastern Bangladesh have recorded heavy rainfall of up to
nearly 200 millimeters (about 8 inches) in recent days, which has
caused perilous floodwaters to rise.
2. The Kerala High Court has ordered the state to
submit the full Hema Committee report, including confidential sections, for
review. This comes as the court is considering a Public Interest Litigation
(PIL) demanding criminal proceedings against those named in the report. The
Justice Hema Committee report, released on August 19, 2024, highlights serious
issues of discrimination and exploitation of women in the Malayalam film
industry.
3. The Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) is
conducting a detailed study of the magnetic fields associated with sunspots to
address the longstanding problem of coronal heating and to gain deeper insights
into the solar wind.
4. India is celebrating its inaugural National Space
Day on August 23, 2024, to mark the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3
mission’s Vikram Lander on the Moon’s southern polar region. This achievement
is significant as India became the first country to land in this uncharted
region and the fourth overall to achieve a lunar landing.