Title Daily Current Affairs Capsule th Title 16 August 2019 1. INS Tarkash participates in KONKAN bilateral exercise The 14th Edition of KONKAN series of annual bilateral exercises between Indian Navy and Royal Navy of Britain is currently underway off the South Coast of UK. • INS Tarkash, the Indian Navy's stealth frigate is exercising with the Royal Navy's Daring Class Destroyer, HMS Defender with integral helicopter Wildcat. • KONKAN-19 will involve Gunnery Shoots, Manoeuvres, Cross Deck Flying, ASW Screening and Air Defence exercise. • The thrust of the KONKAN this year is on Anti-Air warfare, Anti-Surface Warfare, Flying Operations and Seamanship Evolutions of varying complexities. 2. India’s first space museum inaugurated in Hyderabad India’s first Space Science Museum opened in Hyderabad. • It is a collaborative effort between the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the BM Birla Science Centre. • The BM Birla Science Centre has given 9000 square feet of space in its Science Museum building. • This museum exhibits scale models of Indian Launch vehicles GSLV Mark III, GSLV Mark II and PSLV, Chandrayaan-1, Mars Orbiter spacecraft, APPLE, Aryabhata, Bhaskara, Rohini RS-1 and a model of the International Space Station (ISS). • Among the biggest models on display would be the giant GSLV Rocket which would be approximately 60 feet tall. 3. Indian Army wins International Army Scout Masters competition The Indian Army won the 5th International Army Scout Masters competition. • The games were held at Rajasthan's Jaisalmer's Military station under the aegis of Southern Command of Indian Army. • A total of eight teams from India, Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Sudan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, and Belarus participated in the competition. • This was the first time the Indian Army participated in the competition. 4. Odisha CM announces 'Mo Sarkar' initiative for transparency in governance In a bid to ensure transparency in governance, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced the "Mo Sarkar" initiative during Independence Day celebration in the state. • The new initiative will commence from October 2 on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. • Under the new initiative, the chief minister and other ministers will call common citizens to seek their feedback on the kind of response and service they received when they visited the government facilities. • The program, in its first phase, will be implemented for all police stations and district headquarters hospitals and will later take up all other departments by March 5, 2020. 5. Tamil Nadu Honours ISRO Chief K Sivan With APJ Abdul Kalam Award In recognition of his stellar work in the promotion of science and technology, Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman K Sivan was awarded the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Award by the Tamil Nadu government. • The Kalam award is to honour those who work for promoting scientific growth, humanities and students' welfare and the awardees should hail from Tamil Nadu. • The award carries 8 gm gold medal, Rs. 5 lakh in cash and a citation. • Under his tutelage, ISRO successfully launched Chandrayan 2, the second mission to the moon on July 22 and he was the chief architect of SITARA, a 6D trajectory simulation software. 6. Rajasthan gets an award at the World Education Summit Rajasthan has bagged the “best innovation and initiative leadership award” for its achievements in higher education in the World Education Summit-2019 held in New Delhi. • Minister of State for Higher Education Bhanwar Singh Bhati received the award at the summit. • Representatives of eight countries and 17 States of India attended the two-day summit. • The third higher education and human resource conclave would be organised in Rajasthan in November this year. 7. KKR appoints Brendon McCullum as head coach Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) appointed Brendon McCullum as its new head coach. • Former New Zealand batsman McCullum was closely associated with the KKR as a player first from 2008 to 2010 and again from 2012-13. • He was part of the IPL Championship squad in 2012. • KKR finished at the fifth spot in the latest edition of the IPL. • KKR lifted the IPL title two times in 2012 and 2014 respectively. 8. Deepak Punia Becomes India's 1st Junior Wrestling World Champion in 18 Years Grappler Deepak Punia became India's first junior World Champion in 18 years after he claimed a gold medal at the junior worlds with a win over Russia's Alik Shebzukhov at Tallinn, Estonia. • The score was tied 2-2 at the end of the 86kg men's freestyle bout but the Indian was declared champion because he had scored the last point. • Vicky Chahar, on the other hand, won bronze in the 92 kg category by beating Mongolia's Batmagnai Enkhtuvshin. • Deepak is the first Indian in 18 years to win a Junior World Championship title. 9. India beat England to win Physical Disability World Series 2019 India won the Physical Disability World Series 2019 in England after defeating the hosts in the final at the New Road Stadium in Worcester. • The Indian team defeated England by 36 runs in the final on to clinch the elusive trophy. • The six-nation tournament was organized by the England and Wales Cricket Board. • Ravindra Sante scored a quickfire half-century to star in India's victory. 10. Former India cricketer and national selector VB Chandrasekhar passes away Former India opener and national selector VB Chandrasekhar passed away in Chennai on following a massive cardiac arrest. • Chandrasekhar played 7 ODIs between 1988 and 1990, scoring only 88 run. • At the domestic level he was prolific for a few seasons, aggregating 4999 runs in 81 games with the highest score of 237 not out. 11. Veteran actor Vidya Sinha passes away Veteran actor Vidya Sinha, famed for her roles in 'Rajnigandha' and 'Pati Patni Aur Woh' among others died on at the age of 71. • As per the media reports, the actor was suffering from lung and heart disorder. • The actor who spread her magic on the silver screen was also popular on television where she essayed roles in daily soaps like 'Bahu Rani,' 'Hum Do Hain Na,' 'Bhabhi' and 'Kavyanjal'. • Vidya who began her career at the age of 18 as a model and actor were loved and admired by many in the industry. • After a break in her career, she made a comeback to films with Salman Khan's 'Bodyguard'. .