The Daily Brief – 20th July 2019

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has selected twelve beaches across the country to compete for the Blue Flag Certification. These twelve beaches are being developed by the Society for Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM), an Environment Ministry’s body working for management of coastal areas. First started in France in 1985, Blue Flag Certification is an international recognition conferred on beaches. Chandrabhaga beach on Konark coast in Odisha was the first in Asia to get Blue Flag certification in June 2019.

The Union Tourism Ministry’s Incredible India ‘Find the Incredible You’ campaign has won Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold Award 2019 in the ‘Marketing – Primary Government Destination’ category. These awards are supported and sponsored by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) since 1995.

The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill 2019, for establishing a Central University and a Tribal University in Andhra Pradesh has been passed by the Parliament. The Bill seeks to amend the Central Universities Act, 2009, which establishes universities for teaching and research in various states. Establishment of a Central University and a Central Tribal University in the State of Andhra Pradesh is obligatory under Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.

Donald Trump, President of United States of America has announced that US would not sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, a major NATO ally after Ankara, the capital of Turkey, purchased S-400 missile defence system from sanctions-hit Russia. Turkey is one of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) key allies, and is located in a strategic position, sharing borders with Syria, Iraq and Iran. It has the second-largest army in NATO, a 29-member military alliance.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) selected India’s Sachin Tendulkar, South Africa’s Allan Donald and Australia’s Cathryn Fitzpatrick for the Hall of Fame honour at a ceremony in London on July 18^th, 2019. Sachin Tendulkar has become the sixth Indian cricketer to be included in the ICC Hall of Fame. Three Indians – Bishan Singh Bedi, Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev were announced as the members of the Hall of Fame in the first such induction in 2009. ICC Hall of Fame was launched by the ICC in Dubai on 2^nd January, 2009.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be on a day long visit to Jammu and Kashmir on 20^th July, 2019. During his visit, he will pay tributes to the martyrs on the 20^th anniversary of the Kargil War and will interact with troops and review situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. The Defence Minister will also inaugurate two bridge projects on the rivers Ujh in Kathua district and Basantar in Samba district of Jammu division.

Senior diplomat Sanjeev Kumar Singla has been appointed as the next Indian Ambassador to Israel. Mr Singla, a 1997-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, was serving as the Private Secretary to the Prime Minister. He will replace Pavan Kapoor, who assumed charge in 2016. A 1998-batch IFS officer, Upender Singh Rawat has been named as the Indian Ambassador to the Republic of Panama. He will succeed Ravi Thapar.