1) Nation
celebrated its 68th Independence Day: Drenched in patriotic fervour, the
country celebrated its 68th Independence Day with unfurling of tricolour and
tributes to freedom fighters while Chief Ministers announced a number of
schemes to accelerate development and appealed to extremists to shun violence.
The celebrations marked by colourful parades and other events in the state
capitals passed off peacefully with authorities making elaborate security
arrangements in view of boycott calls given by Maoists and some insurgent
outfits. From the issues of development, tackling insurgency to security of
women and children, the leaders flagged the challenges faced by their states
and announced steps to deal with them.
2) Govt
to launch Jan Dhan scheme to promote financial inclusion: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on 15 Aug 2014 launched 'Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana' to help
the poor open bank accounts which will come with the facility of a debit card
and an insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh. "We want to integrate the poorest of
the poor with bank accounts with Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana," he said
in his maiden Independence Day address to the nation. Observing that people
have mobile phones but not bank accounts, Modi said, the scheme will help in
bringing the benefits of formal banking system to them. Read more about PM's
speech at Red Fort from here.
3) Railway
Minister launched next generation e-ticketing system: The long and
irritating experiences of booking train ticket through IRCTC website seems to
be a thing of past now as the Railways today launched the next generation
e-ticketing system enhancing the booking capacity to 7200 tickets per minute
and making the whole process much faster and easier. The new system developed
by Centre for Railway information Systems (CRIS) with an estimated cost of Rs
180 crore would allow booking of 7200 tickets per minute against 2000 tickets
in the old system. With the launch of the system, now 1,20,000 concurrent users
can book e-tickets simultaneously against the earlier capacity of 40,000
concurrent users at a time.
3) Planning
Commission to be replaced with new institution: PM- The government has
decided to abolish the Planning Commission, a 64-year old apex policy making
body, and replace it with a new institution to address the emerging economic
needs and strengthen federal structure. "We will very soon set up a new
institution in place of Planning Commission," Prime Minister Narendra Modi
said in his Independence Day address to the nation. The Planning Commission, he
said, was set up to cater to the needs of earlier times and has participated in
his own way in the development of the country.
4)
SC dismissed PIL seeking ban on Amir Khan’s PK: In a major relief Supreme
Court dismissed the public interest litigation seeking ban on the release of
Aamir Khan's film PK for promoting nudity and vulgarity. Supreme Court
dismissed plea filed against Aamir Khan and director of film 'PK' Rajkumar
Hirani for allegedly showing nudity in the movie. Aamir Khans latest poster of film
PK had caused a controversy with a section of viewers. The Supreme Court told
the petitioner that “If you don't like then don't watch the film but don't
bring religious facets in it”. The Supreme Court also said that “These are
matters of art and entertainment and let them remain so”.
5) Kush
Kumar became first Indian player to reach semifinal of World Junior Squash
Championship: Kush Kumar entered the semi-final of the WSF World Junior
Individual Squash Championship and became the first Indian men's player to have
risen this high in a global competition. In a thrilling quarterfinal, which
showcased his brilliant form, Kumar beat George Parker of England 11-6, 11-8,
11-8.
