Notes:
India’s premier gymnast Dipa Karmakar from Tripura clinched gold with a score of 14.150 in the vault event of FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup at Mersin in Turkey on July 8, 2018. This is Dipa’s first medal in a World Challenge Cup. She had topped the qualification also with a score of 13.400. Dipa has also qualified in balance beam finals by finishing third in the qualification with a score of 11.850. She returned to action after nearly two years of lay-off due to Anetrior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury.

Notes:
The Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister, Prakash Javadekar inaugurated the 17th World Sanskrit Conference (WSC) in Vancouver, Canada on July 9, 2018. More than 500 scholars and delegates from over 40 countries are participating in the 5-day conference and will exchange their knowledge by presenting papers on various subjects. There will be a special panel discussion on over a dozen topics like – History and Education of Women in Vedic Literature, Sanskrit Buddhist Manus, introducing Bhagavata Purana Commentaries and research on the Gargiyajyotisa. Over 500 papers on various themes are likely to be presented during the conference. The purpose of this conference is to promote, preserve and practice the Sanskrit language all over the world by the people. The World Sanskrit Conference is being held in various countries across the globe once in every three years and so far it has been held thrice in India.

Notes:
Mundakkal Mathew Jacob (90), popularly known as M. M. Jacob, has passed away in Pala near Kottayam on July 9, 2018. He was the senior Congress leader and former Meghalaya Governor MM Jacob. Jacob, a former Union Minister, had also served as deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha in the 80s. Hailing from Ramapuram in the Kottayam district, Jacob had served as a general secretary and treasurer of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee and the Chairman of the Kerala State Seva Dal Board. He was also a member of the AICC for many years.

Notes:
Recently, the Union Human Resource Development Ministry has extended the term of K. Kasturirangan Committee to draft a new education policy till August 31. The committee, which was supposed to submit the report by 30 June, had sought an extension to give final shape to the policy and the minister has approved it. This is the third extension granted to the panel. Initially, it was supposed to submit its report by December 2017. The existing National Education Policy (NEP) was framed in 1986 and revised in 1992. A new National Education Policy (NEP) was part of the BJP manifesto. Apart from Kasturirangan, the committee has 8 members, including mathematician Manjul Bhargava. The committee headed by the former ISRO chief will also take into account the report of a panel headed by former cabinet secretary TSR Subramanian. K Kasturirangan headed ISRO between 1994 and 2003 and was awarded the country’s second-highest civilian honour — Padma Vibhushan — in 2000.

Notes:
The International Day of Cooperatives (IDC) is observed every year on first Saturday of July to recognize and reaffirms the role of cooperatives in economic, social and cultural development and in the achievement of social policy objectives. The 2018 IDC was celebrated on the 7th of July with theme ‘Sustainable societies through cooperation’. The 2018 theme is to create an opportunity for cooperatives to show how they run successful businesses while respecting our natural environment and the resources it offers.

Notes:
The book “Winning Like Sourav: Think & Succeed Like Ganguly” has been authored by Abhirup Bhattacharya. As per the book, Ganguly’s mantra was simple: If he believed that a youngster was talented, he would have enough opportunities to prove his worth. This provided a much-needed calmer atmosphere for the young player as it was certain that he will not be dropped after one failure. Ganguly is credited with nurturing players such as Yuvraj Singh, Mohammed Kaif, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and building concept of ‘Team India’ and ‘Men in Blue’. It was Sourav Ganguly’s gamble on talented youngsters waiting for the opportunity that helped India from losing one of its greatest cricketers of all times – Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Ganguly had taken over the reins of the Indian cricket team from Sachin Tendulkar after the match-fixing exposes in 2000. Bhattacharya says the book, replete with statistics and anecdotes, is not a biography but attempts at drawing management lessons and inspiration from the life of an exemplary skipper like Ganguly.

Notes:
‘The English Patient’, the wartime love story by Michael Ondaatje, has won the Golden Man Booker Prize at the closing event of the Man Booker 50 Festival in Royal Festival Hall at Southbank Centre in London on July 8, 2018. The prize was instituted to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Man Booker prize. The English Patient is a compelling work of fiction – both poetic and philosophical. It is that rare novel which gets under your skin and insists you return to it time and again, always yielding a new surprise or delight. It moves seamlessly between the epic and the intimate – one moment you’re in looking at the vast sweep of the desert and the next moment watching a nurse place a piece of plum in a patient’s mouth. That movement is mirrored in the way your thoughts, while reading it, move between large themes – war, loyalty, love – to tiny shifts in the relationships between characters.

Notes:
Anju Khosla (52) has become the oldest Indian woman to complete an Ironman Triathlon, which is one of the toughest one-day sporting events. The New Delhi resident completed her first full Ironman Triathlon, in Carinthia, Austria, in 15 hours, 54 minutes and 54 seconds. It comprises 3.86 km swimming leg, 180.25 km bike leg followed by a marathon (42.2 km), to be completed without a break. In Austria, out of the 2,761 competitors, 2,315 crossed the finish line with Anju 38th out of 41 in her age category (W50). Among women, she was 319th out of 336 athletes and overall 2,257th.

Notes:
Indian lifter Jhilli Dalabehera from Odisha bagged the bronze medal in the 48 kg category at the 2018 IWF Junior World Weightlifting Championships at Tashkent, Uzbekistan on July 7, 2018. She lifted 167 kg (75 kg + 92 kg) in 48kg to finish third on the podium. With this, Jhilli has become the second woman lifter after Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (in 2013) to win a medal in the Junior World Championships.

Notes:
The 6th edition of biennial World Cities Summit (WCS-2018) has started in Singapore with theme “Liveable & Sustainable Cities: Embracing the Future through Innovation and Collaboration” from July 8. The 2018 theme will explore how cities can be more liveable and resilient through better governance and planning, technology and social innovations, as well as collaborations with various stakeholders and with other cities. It is an exclusive platform for government leaders and industry experts to address sustainable city challenges, share integrated urban solutions and forge new partnerships. The key highlights of the Summit include the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize and the annual World Cities Summit Mayors Forum. The 5-day event is co-organised by the Centre for Liveable Cities and the Urban Redevelopment Authority. It is held in conjunction with the Singapore International Water Week, the CleanEnviro Summit Singapore, and the Singapore International Transport Congress and Exhibition.