UTTARAKHAND

· New site for Laxman Jhula identified, work to begin soon

ð More than two months after Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat announced the construction of a modern bridge in place of nearly century-old suspension bridge, Laxman Jhula, the site for building of a new cable bridge over Ganga river in Rishikesh has been identified by the authorities and its construction is expected to start soon.

ð The new bridge will be built near the iconic Laxman Jhula towards downstream of the river.

ð The iconic Laxman Jhula, a 450-foot-long iron suspension bridge, across the Ganges in Rishikesh was closed on July 12 by local administration after an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) report said that the bridge was not fit for use.

ð Built in 1923, the pedestrian bridge also used by two-wheelers was named after Laxman who is said to have crossed the Ganga river with the help of jute ropes.

INTERNATIONAL

· US sanctions Iran’s central bank in highest ever sanctions on a nation

US President Donald Trumpannounced a new round of sanctions against Iran’s central bank, calling the new penalties the highest sanctions ever imposed on a country. His remarks came days after he ordered to substantially increase sanctions on Iran. The sanctions come after the US blamed Iran for the drone attacks on two Saudi oil facilities last week.
The latest sanctions action against Tehran affected the last source of funds for Iran.The action comes after Washington accused Iran for the weekend attacks on Saudi oil refineries.

NATIONAL

· ISRO to prioritize Gaganyaan mission

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)Chief K Sivan has announced that the Chandrayaan-2 mission has achieved 98% of its objectives. Despite tracing the location of the lander Vikram, communication could not be established. The Space Agency confirmed that the lander is intact as a single-piece and not broken into pieces.
Chandrayaan-2 mission aimed at science and technology demonstration which was almost achieved fully. The lunar mission was India’s first attempt at landing a spacecraft on the moon.

ISRO has announced its next priority mission Gaganyaan. The most ambitious manned mission has been scheduled to be launched in 2022. Gaganyaan’s mission aims to send the astronauts to space and bring them back to earth safely.

· Shri Amit Shah launches Emergency Response Support System ERSS- Dial 112

Union Minister for Home Affairs, Shri Amit Shah launched three citizen centric services of the Chandigarh Police, in Chandigarh. The services include the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS – Dial 112),‘E-Beat Book’ System and the ‘E-Saathi App’.

ERSS is one of the key projects of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs under Nirbhaya Fund. It is designed to play a pivotal role in mitigation or preventing escalation of crime, especially against women and children. ERSS provides a single emergency number (112), computer aided dispatch of field resources to the location of distress. Citizens can send their emergency information through call, sms, email and through the 112 India mobile app.

The‘Dial 112’ emergency response service is an initiative to strengthen proactive community policing that would end confusion amongst distress callers, who at times end up dialling 100 in fire or medical emergency cases. The Emergency Number for Road Accidents (1073),Women Helpline (1091, 181), Child Help Line (1098), including other Helpline services would be added under the 112 unified emergency response number.

Gender gap narrows in higher education enrolment: AISHE report

Gender gap has been narrowing significantly in India in higher education with Uttar Pradesh for the first time registering more female enrolment, according to All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) for 2018-19 released by the HRD ministry.

According to the AISHE report, while at the UG level, 35.9% of the total enrolment was in arts/ humanities/social science, just 16.5% students are pursuing science, followed by commerce with 14.1%. Engineering is the fourth choice.

The gross enrolment ratio (GER) too has increased marginally – from 25.8 in 2017-18 to 26.3 in 2018-19, while in absolute terms, enrolment increased from 3.66 crore to 3.74 crore students in the same period. GER for SCs has also shown a growth from 21.8 to 23.0 and STs from 15.9 to 17.2.

Number of universities has grown from 903 in 2017-18 to 993 in 2018-19 and total HEIs (higher educational institutions) from 49,964 to 51,649 in the same period. The number of faculty has also increased from 13.88 lakh to 14.16 lakh.

· Amitabh Bachchan to be awarded the Dada Saheb Phalke award

Amitabh Bachchanhas been selected for the Dada Saheb Phalke award for the year 2018. The award recognizes his contribution to the Indian film industry. The announcement was made by the Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar. The delay in the announcement of the award was because of the Lok Sabha elections 2019.

Dada Saheb Phalke award isIndia’s highest film honour. The award was initiated in the year 1969. It is sponsored by Directorate of Film Festivals. It is presented every year at the National Film Awards ceremony. The award comprises of a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus) medallion, a shawl, and a cash prize of Rs.1,000,000. The first recipient of the award is Devika Rani.

· Centre launched the Private Security Agency Licensing Portal

Government has launched the Private Security Agency Licensing Portalin New Delhi. The portal was launched by Union Minister of Home Affairs, Shri Amit Shah. It was announced that the Portal will be available in all Indian languages within 90 days.

The portal aims to provide vital importance for a safe and secure business environment. The move is to support the Prime Minister’s vision of a $5 trillion economyby providing employment as well as guarding vital corporations and financial hubs in the country.

The online portal will ensuretransparency in licensing in the sector and would give a boost to its credibility.

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