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Current Affairs:
- The National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) Online Dashboard has been inaugurated by the Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman.The newly launched platform “NIP” will act as one stop solution for all stakeholders seeking for information on infrastructure projects in New India.The platform is being considered a step towards the vision of an Aatma Nirbhar Bharat. It will attract investors for PPP projects and also ensure easy accessibility to updated project information.
- Russian President, Vladimir Putin has announced that a COVID-19 vaccine developed in the country has been registered for use.Russian Ministry of Health has given regulatory approval for what it claims is the world’s first Covid-19 vaccine, developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute.Russia is the first country to register a coronavirus vaccine.The vaccine has proven efficient during tests, offering enduring immunity from the coronavirus.
- Mohamed Ould Bilal has been appointed as the new Prime Minister of Mauritania.The appointment was made by the Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani.Mohamed Ould Bilal is a veteran public administrator and has served as the head of the country’s national water agency, a presidential aide and a cabinet minister.Appointment of Mohamed Ould Bilal as the Prime Minister of Mauritania was made following the resignation of his predecessor Ismail Ould Cheikh Sidiya and his entire government.
- Sri Lanka’s former President, Mahinda Rajapaksa took oath as the country’s Prime Minister for the fourth time, after his party secured a landslide victory in the parliamentary elections on 5 August 2020.Mahinda Rajapaksa was administered the oath of office for the ninth Parliament by his younger brother and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at a historic Buddhist temple, Rajamaha Viharaya in Kelaniya, a north Colombo suburb.
- The Ministry of Defence has announced a list of over 100 items that would be banned for import beyond the time indicated against them.The government has prepared a list 101 items on which there would be an embargo on import to give a push to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan” (Self Reliant India Movement).It is estimated that contracts worth almost Rs 4 Lakh crore will be placed upon the domestic industry within the next six to seven years.
- The Red Bull racer, Max Verstappen has won the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.Mercedes racer Lewis Hamilton finished the race at second postion while another Mercedes racer Valtteri Bottas finished third.This was Red Bull’s first victory at Silverstone since 2012.
- Indian Umpire, KN Ananthapadmanabhan has been included in ICC’s international panel of umpires following compatriot Nitin Menon’s promotion to the elite panel.Ananthapadmanabhan played 105 First-Class and 54 List A games for Kerala, taking 344 and 87 wickets respectively. He also scored three First-Class hundreds and eights half-centuries.
History on the Date:
- (1988) Al-Qaeda formed at a meeting between Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and Dr Fadl in Peshawar, Pakistan
- (1999) Total solar eclipse in India-North -France (2m23s)
- (2003) NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe in its 54-year-history
- (2008)Abhinav Bindra wins men’s 10m air rifle at the Beijing Olympics, the first ever individual Olympic gold medal for India, and India’s first gold medal in any Olympic event since 1980