CURRENT AFFAIRS 19 August, 2024

CURRENT AFFAIRS 19 August, 2024

1. ISRO LAUNCHED SSLV-D3-EOS-08 –

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched the SSLV-D3-EOS-08 mission. This mission launched a small satellite designed to observe Earth. It follows the success of the earlier SSLV-D2-EOS-07 mission, which was launched in February 2023.
• The SSLV-D3-EOS-08 is the third flight in ISRO’s Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) series. This mission completes the development phase of this new rocket. Earlier in 2024, ISRO successfully launched two other missions: PSLV-C58/XpoSat in January and GSLV-F14/INSAT-3DS in February.
• Originally set for August 15, the launch has been rescheduled to August 16 at 9:19 am IST. The launch occurred at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. The SSLV rocket is about 34 meters tall and can carry payloads weighing up to 500 kg into Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

2. INDIAN COAST GUARD D-G RAKESH PAL DIES DUE TO CARDIAC ARREST IN CHENNAI-

• Director General of Indian Coast Guard Rakesh Pal, who played a key role in boosting his force’s operational prowess, died at a hospital in Chennai on Sunday following a cardiac arrest, officials said.
• Pal had taken charge as the 25th Indian Coast Guard (ICG) chief on July 19 last year.
• The officer, who was to attend an ICG event along with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, was admitted to Rajiv Gandhi General Hospital (RGGH) after he complained of chest pain.

3. SUMIT ANTIL & BHAGYASHREE TO LEAD INDIA AT PARIS PARALYMPICS 2024 –

• Sumit Antil and Bhagyashree Jadhav will be India’s flagbearers at the Paris Paralympics 2024 opening ceremony.
• With 84 athletes, India will field its largest-ever contingent at the Paralympics, surpassing the 54 athletes at Tokyo 2020.
• Sumit is the reigning Paralympic javelin champion, and Bhagyashree is a shot put silver medalist at the 2022 Asian Para Games and 2024 World Championships.

4. INDIAN PM MODI TO VISIT UKRAINE: FOREIGN MINISTRY –

• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Ukraine, the foreign ministry, weeks after Kyiv condemned him for hugging President Vladimir Putin during a visit to traditional ally Russia.
• New Delhi’s foreign ministry did not give a date for the visit to Poland and Ukraine, but Indian media reports suggest it will take place later this week.
• Modi has trod a delicate balance between maintaining his country’s historically warm ties with Moscow while courting closer security partnerships with Western nations as a bulwark against regional rival China.

5. MUDA ‘SCAM’: GOVERNOR GRANTS SANCTION FOR CORRUPTION CASE AGAINST CM SIDDARAMAIAH –

• KARNATAKA GOVERNOR Thawarchand Gehlot accorded sanction for prosecution against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and allowed three private complainants to file cases in court seeking a probe against him over allotment of 14 housing sites in Mysuru to his wife in 2021 (when the BJP was in power) in exchange for 3.16 acres of land acquired from her by Mysuru authorities.
• “I hereby accord sanction against Chief Minister Sri Siddaramaiah under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, for the commission of the alleged offences as mentioned in the petitions,” Gehlot said in a August 16 communication released Saturday.