TITBITS:
1. A massive landslide has severely damaged the
National Hydroelectric Power Corporation’s (NHPC) Teesta Stage 5 dam in Sikkim,
India.
2. Observing that "the nationwide protests"
over the "brutal" rape and murder of a junior doctor at the RG Kar
Medical College Hospital in Kolkata have brought to "the forefront"
the issue of "lack of institutional safety for doctors" and that
"the nation cannot await a rape or murder for real changes on the
ground", the Supreme Court constituted a National Task Force (NTF) to
"formulate effective recommendations to remedy the issues of concern about"
the "safety, working conditions and well-being of medical professionals
and other cognate matters".
3. The roadmap for achieving ethanol blending targets,
prepared by the Niti Aayog, had laid down that the capacity of sugarcane-based
distilleries would need to increase from 426 crore litres in 2021 to 760 crore
litres in 2026, while grain-based distilleries' capacity should increase from
258 to 740 crore litres.
4. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Poland and
Ukraine will be high on symbolism, even as geopolitical issues, trade, and
defence aspects will be discussed at the highest levels. Mr Modi is scheduled
to be in Warsaw on August 21 and 22, the first by an Indian PM in 45 years, and
the shared cultural ties will be in focus.
5. China warned the United States that it has "no
right to intervene" in its maritime disputes with the Philippines after
another clash near a disputed reef in the South China Sea.
6.Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has
launched the Solar Village Scheme. This program aims to power 100 villages with
100% solar energy. Manyachiwadi in Satara district is the first village to
benefit from this scheme, making it the first fully solar-powered village in
the state.
7. The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and the Odisha
Forest Department have started a project to tag horseshoe crabs along the
Odisha coast. This is the first time India has taken such an initiative to help
protect these crabs, whose numbers are worryingly decreasing.
8. The President of India conferred the prestigious
National Geoscience Awards (NGA) for 2023 at a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati
Bhavan Cultural Centre. Instituted by the Ministry of Mines in 1966, the awards
were previously known as the National Mineral Awards until 2009. The NGAs are
presented in three categories: the National Geoscience Award for Lifetime
Achievement, honoring lifelong contributions to geosciences; the National
Geoscience Award, recognizing significant contributions in specific geoscientific
fields; and the National Young Geoscientist Award, which acknowledges young
scientists showing exceptional promise in the field.