Skipper Savita Punia led from the front with a spectacular display as the Indian women's hockey team overcame the stopwatch controversy to beat New Zealand 2-1 in the shootout and win the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games

Indian chess legend Viswanathan Anand was on  Aug 7  elected deputy president of FIDE, the sport's world governing body, while incumbent president Arkady Dvorkovich was re-elected for a second term.

Five-time world champion Anand was part of Dvorkovich's team.

The elections to the world chess body were held during the FIDE Congress which is being conducted  Chess alongside the 44th Chess Olympiad.

Q1. Name the 3Ts which the Prime Minister  Narendra Modi  has asked the states to focus during the seventh meeting of the Governing Council of the NITI Aayog ?

1. Trade, Tourism, Transport
2. Trade, Tourism, Technology
3. Trade, Technology , Transparency
4. Trade, Transport , Technology
5. None of These

Q2. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA)'s candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar has been elected India's

1. 12th Vice President
2. 13th Vice President
3. 14th Vice President
4. 15th Vice President
5. None of These

Q3. Who has become the first woman director general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) ?

1. Nallathamby Kalaiselvi
2. Kamal Ranadive
3. Kamala Sohonie
4. Janaki Ammal
5. None of These

Q4. Name the India's largest bank which has  reported a 6.7% year-on-year (YoY) fall in net profit to Rs 6,068 crore in the first quarter of FY23 due to mark-to-market losses?

1. Reserve Bank of India
2. State Bank of India
3. Bank of Baroda
4. Punjab National Bank
5. None of These

Q5. Name the Indian chess legend  who has been  elected as deputy president of FIDE ?

1. Koneru Humpy
2. Harika Dronavall
3. Viswanathan Anand
4. Vidit Gujrathi
5. None of These

Answers

1-------------2   Trade, Tourism, Technology

2--------------3   14th Vice President

3---------------1    Nallathamby Kalaiselvi

4----------------2   State Bank of India

5----------------3   Viswanathan Anand

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on  Aug 7 made a strong case for modernising agriculture, animal husbandry and food processing to help the country become self-sufficient and a global leader in the agriculture sector.

The Prime Minister also asked the states to focus on promoting 3Ts -- Trade, Tourism, Technology -- with a view to reducing imports and increasing exports, said an official release after the seventh meeting of the Governing Council of the NITI Aayog.

The Prime Minister also appreciated the collective efforts of all the states in the spirit of cooperative federalism in the fight against the Covid pandemic.

The Prime Minister underlined the need for collective action to increase the collection of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) saying that though the realisation has improved, "the potential is much more. And it is crucial for strengthening our economic position and becoming a USD 5 trillion economy."

He said that the seventh meeting was a culmination of months of rigorous brainstorming and consultations between the Centre and States to identify national priorities.

In his concluding remarks, Modi said the NITI Aayog will study the states' concerns, challenges, and best practices and subsequently plan the way forward.

The issues discussed in this meeting will define the national priorities for the next 25 years, he said, adding, "the seeds we sow today will define the fruits reaped by India in 2047."

The Prime Minister also spoke about India's G20 presidency in 2023, saying "we should develop a mass movement around G20. This will allow us to identify the best talent available in the country."

He also said there should be a dedicated team for G20 in the States to derive the maximum possible benefit from the initiative.

G20 is a grouping of developed and developing nations and India will be the chair of the grouping in 2023.

This was the first physical meeting of the Governing Council since the onset of the pandemic, with the 2021 meeting held via video conferencing.

The meeting was attended by 23 Chief Ministers, 3 Lieutenant Governors and 2 Administrators and Union Ministers and moderated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Telangana Chief Minister K C Rao boycotted the meeting, while Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar could not attend the meeting as he was recovering from Covid-19.

The Governing Council discussed four key agenda items -- crop diversification and achieving self-sufficiency in pulses, oilseeds and other agri-commodities; implementation of National Education Policy (NEP) in school education; implementation of NEP in higher education; and urban governance.

Non-Resident Indians will soon be able to use Bharat Bill Payment System to pay utility bills and education fees on behalf of their family members in India, the Reserve Bank said on Aug 5.

The Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) is an interoperable platform for standardised bill payments.

Over 20,000 billers are part of the system, and more than 8 crore transactions are processed on a monthly basis.

Five woman officers of the Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS 314) made history on Aug 3 by completing the first all-women independent maritime reconnaissance and surveillance mission in the North Arabian Sea onboard a Dornier 228 aircraft.

INAS-314 is based at Naval Air Enclave, Porbandar. The Navy called the mission unique and expects it to pave the way for women officers in the aviation cadre to assume greater responsibility in more challenging roles.

The aircraft was captained by Lieutenant Commander Aanchal Sharma, who had pilots, Lt Shivangi and Lt Apurva Gite, and Tactical and Sensor Officers, Lt Pooja Panda and Sub Lt. Pooja Shekhawat in her team.

The Navy was the first service in 2009 to have allowed women to join as Navigators when Sub Lieutenants Ambica Hooda of Haryana and Seema Rani Sharma of Uttar Pradesh were awarded their ‘wing’ at the passing out parade.

The job of the navigator is also that of a combatant because the fixed-wing aircraft can be used for combat purposes as the maritime patrol aircraft is also capable of firing.

Indian Navy’s women empowerment initiatives include induction of women pilots, selection of women air operations officers into the helicopter stream and conducting an all-women sailing circumnavigation expedition across the globe in 2018.

India on Aug 4 successfully test-fired laser-guided Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs) from Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun at KK Ranges near Ahmednagar in Maharashtra.

The indigenously developed laser-guided ATGMs were successfully flight tested by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Army with the support of Armoured Corps Centre and School (ACC&S), Ahmednagar.

The missiles hit with precision and successfully destroyed the targets at both minimum and maximum ranges. Telemetry systems deployed for the mission have recorded the satisfactory flight performance of the missiles.

The missile has been developed with multi-platform launch capability by Pune-based Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) in association with High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL) and Instruments Research and Development Establishment (IRDE), Dehradun. 

Parliament on Aug 4  passed a bill granting statutory cover to family courts set up in Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland and retrospectively validating all actions taken by them.

Rajya Sabha passed the Family Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2022 by a voice vote amid sloganeering by the Opposition, led by Congress members who alleged misuse of the Enforcement Directorate by the government.