The eighth day of the dark fortnight of Bhadrapada month (July-August), is celebrated as Krishna Janmashtami. Lord Krishna is believed to have been born on this day and it is one of the most auspicious days for Hindus. People celebrate this day by observing a fast, decorating their homes and making sweets.
Thejaswi Abhilash has entered the India Book of Records and Asia Book of Records for being the youngest in the country and in Asia to finish a digital doodle in less than a minute. The ten-year-old completed a doodle in Procreate in 59 seconds. Thejaswi claims to have set a new record rather than break an existing one. She plans to try for another record soon.
India has administered 594,765,751 vaccine doses by Tuesday, 24th August, 7 PM. India’s first indigenous mRNA-based Covid vaccine candidate has been found safe in its interim Phase 1 clinical trials, and the national drug regulator has granted approval to its maker, Pune-based Gennova Biopharmaceuticals, to begin Phase 2/3 trials, on the same day.
Sunitha R, an autorickshaw driver based in Kochi, Kerala, is turning heads by ferrying Covid-19 patients in her autorickshaw ambulance. Among the 18 volunteers selected for this service, 42-year-old Sunitha could be the lone woman in the state to step up to serve Covid patients in this manner.
A special Indian Air Force aircraft will bring in 78 people from Tajikistan to New Delhi, according to the Ministry of External Affairs. India is expected to evacuate more people, including its own nationals and Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, from Kabul, Afghanistan. India has already evacuated nearly 540 people from Kabul, Dushanbe and Doha.
For the first time, five women officers have been granted the Colonel (Time Scale) rank after they completed 26 years of service. The five women officers selected for Colonel (Time Scale) rank are Lieutenant Colonel Sangeeta Sardana from the Corps of Signals, Lieutenant Colonel Sonia Anand and Lieutenant Colonel Navneet Duggal from the Corps of EME and Lieutenant Colonel Reenu Khanna and Lieutenant Colonel Ritcha Sagar from the Corps of Engineers. Previously, the rank of Colonel was only applicable for female officers in the Army Medical Corps (AMC), Judge Advocate General (JAG) and the Army Education Corps (AEC).
Bengaluru FC ended its AFC cup campaign with a terrific 6-goal-win, against Maziya, at the Maldives National Football Stadium. Despite not making it to the next round, the team put up a great performance with goals coming in throughout the match.
Many photographers celebrated ‘World Photography Day’ with their lens. However, some also celebrated the day remembering and paying tribute to the legendary women photographers who documented life in India. The list includes Homai Vyarawalla, the first Indian female photographer, who captured historic moments of India’s Independence in her camera, alongside other veterans such as Parotima Chatterjee, Saumya Khandelwal, Cheena Kapoor and Kopal Goel.
The embassy staff and 126 commandos are not the only people brought back from Afghanistan as the Taliban takes over the country. Maya (a female Labrador), Roobie (a female Belgian Malinois) and Bobby (a male Doberman) were among the evacuees from Kabul, Afghanistan. The sniffer dogs from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police were not forgotten by the rescue team. The canines have been playing an important role in the security of the Indian embassy, the second most vulnerable establishment after the US bases.
Rajiv Gandhi was the youngest Prime Minister that India has ever had. Until his brother’s death, in 1980, he remained a commercial pilot for Indian Airlines and was not interested in politics. Under his leadership, after his mother Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination, the Congress party won a staggering majority of 414 seats in the Lok Sabha election, which remains the highest number of seats won by a single party. A keen photographer and driving enthusiast, he was nicknamed Mr Clean for fighting against corruption. He was awarded Bharat Ratna posthumously, in 1991.
