RAJASTHAN

• State to observe September as ‘Nutrition Month

• The state will observe September as ‘nutrition month’ (poshan mah) to cut stunting (low height for age) and wasting (low weight for height) by 2% every year until 2022. Door-to-door nutrition campaigns will be held in September in all rural and urban areas.

• The woman and child development (DWCD) department, along with other departments, will undertake the door-to-door awareness campaign, chief minister Vasundhara Raje’s announcement on August 15 at a state-level function at Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur. Frontline workers, including auxiliary nurse midwives, accredited social health activists and anganwari workers, sarpanchs and others influential people of the community will work together to create awareness among pregnant women and mothers as well as adolescent girls.

• Raje also announced that children in classes 1 to 8 in government schools will be given milk daily under the mid-day meal scheme from September. At present, they are being given milk thrice a week under the Annapurna Milk Scheme, launched in the state on July 2. Similarly, she also announced that milk will be provided thrice a week at anganwari centres to children aged 3-6, pregnant and lactating mothers and adolescent girls along with nutritional supplements.

INTERNATIONAL

• Vienna ranked as most liveable city in the world

• The Austrian capital, Vienna, has beaten Australia’s Melbourne to be named the world’s most liveable city.

• It’s the first time a European city has topped the rankings of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) annual survey.

• The worldwide league table ranks 140 cities on a range of factors, including political and social stability, crime, education and access to healthcare.

·        India to participate in SCO Peace Mission 2018 exercise at Russia

• India will participate for the first timein the joint SCO Peace Mission Exercise, a part of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) initiatives, being conducted by Central Military Commission of Russia from August 22-29 at Chebarkul.
• India became a full member of the SCO in June 2017.
• The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is aneight-member multilateral organization, established on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai, China.
• 8 members of SCO are:- China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan.

·        India released 470 Million Nepali Rupees Grant for Terai Roads Project in Nepal

• Indian Ambassadorto Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri handed over a cheque of the grant to Secretary, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport of Nepal, Madhusudan Adhikari in Kathmandu, Nepal.
• The amount has been released to maintain fund liquidity for the ongoing construction of 14 road packages under Postal Highway Project.

NATIONAL

• NITI Aayog launches “Pitch to MOVE”

• NITI Aayog has launched “Pitch to MOVE” – a mobility pitch competition that aims to provide budding entrepreneurs of India a unique opportunity to pitch their business ideas to a distinguished jury.

• Startups working in the various fields of mobility can pitch their ideas to industry leaders and Venture Capitalists for raising investments.

• Winners of the event will be felicitated by Hon’ble PM during the Global Mobility Summit.

• “Pitch to MOVE” is organised by NITI Aayog in collaboration with Invest India and Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) as a part of a series of engaging featured events in the run up to the main event.

·         Haryana to inaugurate its first licensed Hisar Airport

• The airport will be inaugurated on August 15 by Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar.
• The team informed that the airport selected by the Ministry of Civil Aviation under the RCS-UDAN Scheme in which one airline namely M/s Pinnacle Airways Limited have bid for two routes namely Delhi-Hisar and Hisar-Chandigarh.

·        State Bank of India ranked As Indias Most Patriotic Brand

• According to a survey conducted by UK-based online market research data, companies followed by Tata Motors, Patanjali, Reliance Jio and BSNL.
• The survey, which covered 152 brandsacross 11 categories, is based on data collected online by YouGov Omnibus among 1,193 respondents in the country.

• Indias first genetic bank for wildlife conservation inaugurated in Hyderabad

• It is India’s first genetic resource bank where the genetic material will be stored for posterity which will further the cause of conservation of endangered species.
• It is equipped with sophisticated equipment to preserve the genetic resources that could be utilized to virtually resurrect an animal species.
• Laboratory of Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES)developed a universal DNA based marker for identification of wild animals from parts and remains.

• CJI launches mobile apps for e-filing of cases

• Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra inaugurated three apps along with Union Law and Justice Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Justices Madan B. Lokur and A.M. Khanwilkar.

• Chief Justice Misra said the services provided by the apps include e-filing along with user manual, e-payment options, National Service and Tracking of Electronic Processes (NTSEP).

·        Rifleman Aurangzeb, Major Aditya Kumar conferred to Shaurya Chakra

• President Ram Nath Kovind approved these names on the eve of Independence Day along with three Bar to Sena Medals (Gallantry), 93 Sena Medals (Gallantry) and, 11 Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry).
• He also conferred Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry) to Group Captain Abhishek Sharma, Squadron Leader Vernon Desmond Keane and Sergeant Shashidhar P Prasad.