Indian-American Abraham Verghese to receive National Humanities Medal
- Indian-American physician-author Abraham Verghese (61-year) whose work has emphasised empathy in medicine has been selected for the prestigious National Humanities Medal 2015.
- US President Barack Obama will bestow the honour upon Verghese along with 11 others recipient’s in Washington on 21st September 2016.
- Abraham Verghese is a professor of medicine at the Stanford School of Medicine.
- He was born in Ethiopia to parents from Kerala.
Tourism Ministry approves Rs. 500 Crore for integrated development of tourism in J&K
- Tourism Ministry has approved Rs. 500 Crore as part of development package of Prime Minister Reconstruction Plan for integrated development of tourism in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
- New projects include integrated development of tourist facilities at Mantalai – Sudhmahadev – Patnitop Circuit ,Baramulla-Kupwara-Leh circuit, Rajouri – Bafliyaz – Shopian – Pulwama Circuit and Anantnag-Kishtwar- Pahalgam – Daksum – Ranjit Sagar Dam Circuit.
- Rs. 100 crore have been earmarked for each of the four projects and 100 crore rupees for integrated development of tourist facilities in lieu of damaged assets in the floods.
Commerce & Industry Ministry sets up task force on Innovation
- Commerce and Industry Ministry has set up an eight-member task force on Innovation.
- The Team comprises of government officials and experts from private organisations.
- The task force will assess India’s position as an innovative country and suggest measures to enhance the innovation ecosystem in India.
- Innovation is widely recognized as a central driver of economic growth and development.
Centre bans sharing of individual’s Aadhaar details publicly
- According to Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey Aadhaar number of an individual will not be allowed to publish or post the information publicly.
- Under the Aadhaar Act,Agencies will have to ensure security and confidentiality of the 12-digit resident identification number.
- Any violation of the Aadhaar Act will constitute an offence and is punishable under the Act.
World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim heads for 2nd 5-year term
- World Bank President Jim Yong Kim (56-years) has won second five-year term after nominations to lead the global development bank closed, no other candidates proposed.
- It would formally meet with Kim as a candidate with the expectation of completing the selection process by the 2016 Annual Meetings, which take place on 7th to 9th of October.
EU leaders to meet in Slovakia to chart post-Brexit future
- European Union (EU) leaders will meet in Bratislava, Slovakia to chart their post-Brexit future.
- They are focusing on defence cooperation and border security in a bid to heal deep divisions in particular over migration.
- The 27 leaders will hold a special summit to launch a road-map for the post-Brexit European Union.
Sourabh Varma reaches quarterfinals of Belgian Open
- Indian shuttler Sourabh Varma has reached the quarterfinals of the Belgian International badminton Challenge.
- He has defeated the sixth-seeded Lucas Claerbout of France 21-19, 16-21, 21-15 in the pre-quarterfinal men’s singles contest.
- Sourabh will next take on Scotland’s Kieran Merrilees.
Indian football team jumps four places in latest FIFA rankings
- The Indian football team has jumped four places (now –148th) in the latest FIFA rankings.
- Argentina continues to top the overall list, followed by Belgium, Germany, Colombia and Brazil.
- India is now 26th among Asian Football Confederation countries.
- The India national football team is governed by the All India Football Federation,Since 1948.