1. 2019 ‘Aadi Mahotsav’ -national tribal festival begins at Leh-Ladakh

• The 9 day long National tribal festival named “Aadi Mahotsav” commenced at the Polo Ground, Leh-Ladakh.
• The theme of this year’s festival is “A celebration of the spirit of Tribal Craft,Culture and Commerce”.

• This 9 day event from August 17-25, is inaugurated by the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Shri Satya Pal Malik.
• Participants
• Artisans: Nearly 160 artisans from more than 20 states will be exhibiting their products.

Foot points

Aadi Mahotsav

• The important factor of this Aadi Mahotsav is the ‘adi’ which describes natural simplicity guided by primal truths and eternal values.
• The govt. formed the TRIFED especially to take the tribal development and its business forward.

About tribal affairs ministry

1. Union minister Shri Arjun Munda constituency- Khunti, Jharkhand.
2. MoS Renuka Singh Saruta constituency- Surguja, Chattisgarh.
3. Founded- 1999
4. Headquarters- New Delhi.

2. INS Tarkash participates in 14th Edition of KONKAN-19 Bilateral Exercise between Indian Navy and Royal Navy of Britain

• The Indian Navy’s stealth frigate, INS Tarkash, participated in the 14th Edition of KONKAN-19 series of annual bilateral exercises between Indian Navy and Royal Navy of Britain off the South Coast of the United Kingdom (UK).

Foot points
About UK:

1. Capital: London
2. Currency: Pound sterling

About Indian Navy:

1. Chief of the Naval Staff: Admiral Karambir Singh
2. Navy Day: 4th December
3. Motto: Sham No Varunah (May the Lord of the water be auspicious unto us)

3. 3 new products from two states receive Geographical Indication (GI) tag

• The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade(DIPP), Government of India(GoI) has granted Geographical Indication (GI) tag for 3 new products from two states.
• Tawlhlohpuan(a woven fabric) and Mizo Puanchei(a colourful Mizo shawl) from the State of Mizoram and Tirur betel vine from Kerala are the latest addition in the GI list.

Foot points

• Tawlhlohpuan: It is a fine quality, a medium to heavyweight, fabric woven produced throughout the Mizoram.
• Mizo Puanchei: It is a colourful shawl/textile from the state Mizoram.

About Geographical Indication

1. It is used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin

4. China successfully launched a new rocket for commercial use named Smart Dragon-1

• A new rocket for commercial use named Smart Dragon-1 (SD-1) with 3 satellites, developed by the China Rocket Company affiliated to the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALVT) was launched successfully from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China.

Foot points

• 3 satellites were developed by 3 separate Beijing-based companies.
• It was developed in less than 18 months.

About CALVT:

1. Established: 1957
2. Headquarters: Beijing
3. Chief: Wang Xiaojun

5. Ravi Shastri re-appointed as head coach of Indian men’s cricket team

• Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) headed by Kapil Dev, former Indian cricketer, unanimously re-appointed Ravi Shastri as the head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team for 2 years, ending with the 2021 T20 (Twenty 20) World Cup in India.

Foot points

• It will be Shastri’s fourth stint with the national team, earlier, having served as the Cricket Manager (2007 tour of Bangladesh), Team Director (2014-2016) and head coach (2017-2019).

About Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI:

1. Headquarters: Wankhede stadium, Mumbai
2. CEO: Rahul Johri
3. President: CK Khanna (interim)
4. Women’s Cricket team coach: W.V. Raman

6. Lucknow’s iconic Hazratganj Chauraha renamed as Atal Chowk
Famous ‘Hazratganj Chauraha’ of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh has been renamed as ‘Atal Chowk’ in memory of former Prime Minister of India, Late Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the occasion of his first death anniversary, from August 16, 2019. He was a five-time Member of Parliament (MP) from Lucknow. A memorial named “Atal Smriti Upvan” will also be built on his name.

About Uttar Pradesh:

1. Capital: Lucknow
2. Governor: Anandiben Patel
3. Chief Minister: Yogi Adityanath
4. Wildlife Sanctuary: Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary
5. National Park: Dudhwa National Park

7. Roger Rabbit creator, Richard Williams passed away in Bristol, UK

• Triple Oscar-winning and triple BAFTA-winning animator who was best known for creating Roger Rabbit, Richard Williams, aged 86, passed away in Bristol, United Kingdom (UK). He was born in Toronto, Canada on March 19, 1933.
• For the film “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”, he won two Oscars for Best Visual Effects and a Special Achievement Oscar. He also won a visual effects British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award.
• For his first film, “The Little Island”, he won a BAFTA in 1958. The first Oscar was received by him in 1971 for his animated adaptation of “A Christmas Carol.”

8. India clinched gold at Under- 12 Asian Tennis Team Championship 2019 in Kazakhstan

• In the Under- 12 Asian Tennis Team Championship 2019 held in Kazakhstan, India defeated Chinese Taipei by 2-1 in the summit clash and clinched the gold medal.

Foot points

• Manas Dhamme and Tamil Nadu’s Pranav Rethin won their singles matches.

About U-12 Asian Tennis Team Championship 2019:

1. U12 Asian Team Championship is a team based event with every tie consisting of three matches including 2 singles and 1 doubles.

9. Neelam Sharma- Former DD news anchor passed away

• Neelam Sharma, one among the founding anchors of Doordarshan News (Former anchor) for more than 2 decades, passed away after battling with cancer on August 17,2019.
•  Sharma, a strong advocate for women empowerment started her career in Doordarshan in 1995 and was known for her programmes like ‘Tejaswini’ and ‘Badi Charcha’
• She was awarded the 2018 ‘Nari Shakti Puraskar’ by the President of India Shri Ram Nath Govind.
• She won various other awards like Best News anchor award, Aadhi Aabadi Award and KPS Gill Fearless journalist award.

10. Former diplomat Rajiv Dogra pens latest novel “Second Night”

• Former Indian diplomat, Television commentator,writer and artist Rajiv Dogra wrote his latest (third) novel “Second Night” published by Rupa. This novel describes and focuses on friendship, love and loss in the life of a woman.

Foot points

• Jabalpur(Madhya Pradesh) born Rajiv Dogra has previously penned two books on the Indo-Pak relations named “Where borders bleed: An insider’s account of Indo-Pak Relation” and on the Durand Line(border line between Pakistan and Afghanistan) named “Durand’s curse: A line across Pathan Heart”.
• He is currently writing a book on foreign policy and legacy of Indian prime ministers.