1. PM invites ideas from people on new plan body
i. Taking a step further towards scrapping the Planning Commission, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday invited ideas from the people on the new institution to replace the plan body.
ii. The government also announced creation of a special open forum on the website mygov. Nic. In for suggestions on the new institution.
iii. "We envision the proposed Institution as one that caters to the aspirations of 21st century India and strengthens participation of the States.... Let the ideas flow," the Prime Minister said in a statement. It said, "The Prime Minister has invited ideas from people on what shape the new institution to replace the Planning Commission can take."
iv. Addressing the nation from the Red Fort on Independence Day, Modi had said that the 64-year old Planning Commission, a vestige of socialist era, would be soon replaced with a new institution to address the current economic challenges and strengthen the federal structure.
v. "We need a new body with a new soul.... We will have to think about giving a new shape to the Planning Commission.... Very soon this new institute will start working in place of Planning Commission," Modi had said.
2. ICICI Bank offers EMI on debit cards
i. ICICI Bank, the country’s largest private sector bank, has launched EMI (equated monthly instalments) facility on debit cards to enable its customers to convert their high value transactions into easy instalments.
ii. The private lender has tied up with Samsung India to offer this facility across 9,000 stores in the country, including large format retailers, multi-brand outlets and standalone stores, for purchase of Samsung products like mobile phones, tablets and consumer electronics, among others.
iii. The bank is the first in the country to introduce this facility, ICICI Bank said in a statement.
iv. ICICI Bank debit cardholders having fixed deposits with the bank can avail themselves of this facility to buy products on EMIs of 3, 6, 9 or 12 months.s
3. Ravi Shastri appointed as the Director of Indian Cricket Team
i. The Board of Cricket Control India (BCCI) appointed Ravishankar Jayadritha Shastri as the Director of Indian Cricket Team on 19 August 2014. The decision came after seeing defeat of Indian Cricket Team in Test series against England.
ii. Ravi Shastri would be assisting the team for the upcoming ODI series (25 August 2014-5 September 2014) and a single Twenty-20 (7 September 2014) against England. He would be handling overall cricket affairs of the team. However, Duncan Fletcher will continue to serve as the head coach of the team.
4. Chhattisgarh to develop marine fossil park in Manendragarh
i. Chhattisgarh government had proposed to set up a marine Fossil Park in Manendragarh area of Koriya district.
ii. The department of forests of the state government would develop the park in Amakherwa area of Manendragarh in Koriya district -- located in the Northern part of Chhattisgarh.
iii. The presence of marine fossil was first discovered by the forest officials during the visit in the area located in the Northern part of the state.
iv. According to forest officials, the scientists had confirmed the presence of Fossil and suggested to the state government to develop the area as Geoheritage centre.
5. Australia, Japan to assist India in civilian nuclear deal
i. Australia are soon expected to be the new entrant in the club of cooperating countries with India in the civil nuclear sector.
ii. Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) official told Business Standard'', Japan is the leading producer of turbine required for 1,000 MW capacity.
iii. The civil nuclear deal will be mutually helpful to both India and Japan. While Japan can tap huge business potential in India's nuclear sector, India will certainly benefit from the equipment which is not available generally.''
iv. As far as India's civil nuclear deal with Australia is concerned, the official said Australia with huge uranium reserves will be able to meet India's future supplies.
v. Australia holds about a third of the world's recoverable uranium resources, and exports nearly 7,000 tonnes a year.
vi. The official informed that so far India since 2005 onwards has entered into civil nuclear agreements with the US, Mangolia, Australia, Namibia, Argentina, UK, Canada, Kazakhstan and South Korea.
6. Google buys travel guide app startup Jetpac
i. Google confirmed that it has bought the startup behind a Jetpac mobile application that creates insightful travel guides by analyzing pictures from social networks such as Instagram.
ii. Jetpac said that its application would be removed from Apple's online App Store in the days ahead and that it would stop supporting the software in the middle of September.
iii. Jetpac was founded about three years ago and is based in San Francisco.
7. Roger Federer won Cincinnati Tennis Open
i. World number three tennis player, Roger Federer of Switzerland won Cincinnati Tennis Open, also called Western & Southern Open.
ii. He defeated David Ferrer of Spain 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 in the final played in Cincinnati, US. This was sixth Cincinnati title for 33-year-old Federer and was the first Masters title for Federer since 2012.
iii. With this, he became the third oldest winner to win Cincinnati Open after Ken Rosewall (35 in 1970), Andre Agassi (34 in 2004). Besides, he also became the third player in the Open Era to reach the 80 titles landmark, joining Jimmy Connors (109) and Ivan Lendl (94).
8. Founder of Delhi Gymkhana Club Dilbagh Singh died at 81
i. Dilbagh Singh, the noted club cricketer and founder of Delhi Gymkhana Club, died on 18 August 2104. He was 81. He is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.
ii. His younger son Bantu Singh also was a dependable middle-order batsman who played for Delhi during the mid 80's to early 90's and has also captained the side.
9. Humiliating defeat against England puts India to 5th position in ICC Rankings
i. With a humiliating defeat in the test series against England, India has been relegated to fifth position behind South Africa, Australia, England and Sri Lanka in the latest ICC Test team rankings.
ii. The latest ICC Test ranking was released in Dubai today.
South Africa leads the ICC Test team ranking with 124 points followed by Australia with 123 points, England with 104 points and Sri Lanka with 101 points.
iii. A pathetic display in England has pushed the Men in Blue to the fifth position in the ranking table. No Indian batsman or bowler has been able to find a place in top ten
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