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In New Delhi, the Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat launched the India’s largest sanitation survey – Swachh Survekshan Grameen-2019. The aim of this 45-day long survey is to engage rural communities in improvement of the sanitation status of their districts and states through intensive campaign. The survey will take place in 18 thousand villages of 698 districts. Swachhata activities have also been planned at around 87 thousand public places where community meetings will be organized. People can also directly give their feedback through the mobile app. Under the 2nd edition of Swachh Survekshan Grameen, districts and states will be ranked on data collected from citizen feedback, direct observation and service-level progress.

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The World Organ Donation Day (WODD) is observed every year on 13th of August to raise awareness about organ donation. This day strives to motivate people to donate their healthy and precious organs after death to save lives. It attempts to eliminate the myths and fears people have in their mind about organ donation. Organ donation can be life-changing for many. This practice can give a new life to the ones in need because one organ donor can save up to 8 lives. A donor can initiate to donate organs like heart, liver, intestine, kidneys, lungs and pancreas after his or her death. Later these organs can be transplanted into another person who is in urgent requirement. As per the national guidelines, anyone can be an organ donor irrespective of age, caste, religion and community.

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The researchers at IIT Hyderabad and BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology (NIT) of Jalandhar have developed a process by which bone implant materials can be synthesized from waste egg shells. They seek to produce bone substitute materials such as – Tri-Calcium phosphate (TCP) without the use of toxic chemicals. The natural source of choice of the IIT-Hyderabad researchers is egg shells. Eggshells are made up largely of calcium (95.1%) along with small amounts of proteins and water. In modern medicine, damaged and missing bones are replaced with bone from either patient or donor, or by using artificial materials containing calcium, such as Plaster of Paris, and phosphate compounds like hydroxyapatite and calcium phosphate. TCP is a commonly-used bone substitute material from natural sources.

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V.B. Chandrasekhar (57), the former India and Tamil Nadu cricketer, has passed away in Chennai on 15th August 2019. Fondly referred to as VB, he represented India in 7 ODIs, with an innings of 53 being his highest score. In 81 First Class matches, Chandrasekhar notched up 4999 runs at 43.09 with 10 centuries. After his eventful cricketing career, where he was a part of the last Tamil Nadu team to triumph in the Ranji Trophy in 1988. Later, he led the state side and then briefly played for Goa — VB focussed on coaching and commentary. Notably, he was the cricket manager of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the franchise’s first 3 years and was instrumental in getting the iconic M.S. Dhoni to CSK.

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On the eve of 73rd Independence day, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched the Grama and Ward Volunteer system for effective delivery of schemes. The basic idea behind implementing the scheme is to ensure corruption-free governance and last-mile delivery of welfare schemes and services to every household and citizen in the State. The scheme will involve over 2.8 lakh volunteers. Under the scheme, one volunteer will cover 50 families in each village. Identity cards will be given to each volunteer and they would get an honorarium of Rs 5,000 per month. A toll-free telephone number – 1902 – would be set up at the call centre in the Chief Minister Office to receive the grievances of the people.

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Indian cricket team has won the T20 Physical Disability World Cricket Series in England. In the final, India defeated England by 36 runs at the Blackfinch New Road ground in Worcester. The Indian team called itself Wadekar Warriors, in memory of former India captain Ajit Wadekar, who played an active role in All India Cricket Association for Physically Challenged (AICAPC). The AICAPC organised the selection and preparation for the event. The 6-nation tournament was organised by England and Wales Cricket Board.

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The World Photography Day (WPD) is observed every year on 19th of August to inspire photographers across the planet to share a single photo with a simple idea – To share their world with the world. The date of August 19 was chosen to commemorate the invention of the Daguerreotype, a photographic process developed by Frenchmen Louis Daguerre & Joseph Nicephore Niepce in 1837. On 9th January 1839, the French Academy of Sciences announced the Daguerreotype process. After that, on 19th August 1839, the French government purchased the patent and announced the invention as a gift “free to the world”.

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The famous ‘Hazratganj Chauraha’ of Lucknow has been renamed as ‘Atal Chowk’ in memory of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The announcement came on the first death anniversary former PM. Hazratganj is a major Victorian style shopping area situated in the heart of the city. It houses showrooms, shopping complexes, restaurants, hotels, theatres, offices and businesses. Hazratganj shops sell the famous Lucknow Chikan material. Naza Market, part of Hazratganj, is the biggest market for computer/IT goods in the state and 2nd largest in India after Delhi’s Nehru Place. Naza Market is also the biggest piracy market in whole Asia.

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Environmental NGO Greenpeace has recently released an analysis of a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) satellite data. as per country-wise world rankings, India is the world’s largest emitter of Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) as it has the maximum hotspots. It contributes more than 15% of all anthropogenic SO2 hotspots in the world. The major SO2 emission hotspots in India are Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh, Neyveli and Chennai in Tamil Nadu, Talcher and Jharsuguda in Odisha, Korba in Chhattisgarh, Kutch in Gujarat, Ramagundam in Telangana and Chandrapur and Koradi in Maharashtra. According to report, the vast majority of plants in India lack Flue-Gas Desulfurization (FGD) technology to reduce their air pollution. Individually, the Norilsk smelter complex in Russia is the largest SO2 emission hotspot in the world, followed by Kriel in Mpumalanga province in South Africa and Zagroz in Iran. Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh is at 5th position.

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President Ram Nath Kovind has recently inaugurated thematic underground British-era Bunker turned Museum inside the Raj Bhavan at Malabar Hill in Mumbai. The 15,000 sq.ft museum has Virtual Reality Booths (VRBs) in which visitors can “time travel” to the 19th century when the bunker was created to fire cannons at approaching enemy ships. The history of Raj Bhavan has also been depicted in another section. In 2016, the British-era bunker was discovered by Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao. It is made up of 13 rooms such as Shell Store, Gun Shell, Cartridge Store and Central Artillery Store. The underground passage has a proper drainage system and inlets for fresh air and light. The bunker dates back to the pre-World War I era and is believed to have been an asset of the battery stationed near the coast to defend Bombay Castle from naval attacks.