i. President Pranab Mukherjee has launched digital initiatives - Swayam, Swayam Prabha and National Academic Depository - in New Delhi to push e-education in the country. The aim of the initiatives is to raise the Gross Enrollment Ratio in the higher education from 24.5 to 30 by 2020.

ii. Massive Open Online Courses, Swayam will host courses taught in classrooms from Class 9th to post-graduation, which can be accessed by anyone, anywhere at any time.

iii. Swayam Prabha is the platform of 32 DTH channels devoted to telecasting high-quality educational programmes 24X7 using GSAT-15 satellite.

iv. National Academic Depository will facilitate online verification of certificates. All the courses are interactive and available free of cost.

i. India has topped the medal tally for the first time in the history of Asian Athletics Championships. In a stunning show of dominance on the fourth and final day of competitions in Bhubaneshwar, India clinched five gold, 1 silver, and 3 bronze.

ii. With that, the hosts ended the championships on top with a haul of 29 medals which included 12 gold, 5 silver, and 12 bronze. India’s earlier best came way back in the 1985 Jakarta edition where they had won 22 medals.

iii. India pushed China to the second spot (20 Medals). China ended this edition with a tally of 8 gold, 7 silver, 5 bronze. Kazakhstan finished third (8 Medals) with 4 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze while Iran ended on fourth with 4 gold and 1 bronze.


Important Takeaways from Above News-

● This was the 22nd Edition of Asian Athletics Championships which was held in Odisha.

● OLLY was the Mascot of the Championship.

i. India’s Harinder Pal Sandhu beat Rhys Dowling of Australia in the final to lift South Australian Open squash title. He mounted a comeback to win it on extra points.

ii. The third game was a no-contest as the Indian, a former national champion, shut out Dowling’s challenge 11-4 to wrap up the victory. It was Sandhu’s eighth title at the PSA level and the third this season after winning two in Malaysia in the month of May.


Important Takeaways from Above News-

● Dipika Pallikal was the Champion of 2016 South Australian Open title.

i. Valtteri Bottas roared to the second victory of his career when he won the Austrian Grand Prix for Mercedes.

ii. Bottas finished ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo, who finished second and third respectively. Three-time Formula One champion, Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton finished fourth in the race.


Important Takeaways from Above News-

● Valtteri Bottas previously drove for Williams from 2013 to 2016.

● The First Austrian Grand Prix was held in the year 1963.

i. Atthaya Thitikul, a 14-year-old amateur from Thailand has won on the Ladies European Tour, supplanting Lydia Ko as the youngest champion on the circuit. She clinched a two-stroke victory at the Ladies European Thailand Championship at Phoenix Country Club in Pattaya.
ii. New Zealander Ko held the previous record as the youngest winner on the tour, after claiming the 2013 New Zealand Open at the age of 15 years, nine months and 17 days.


Important Takeaways from Above News-

● The Ladies European Tour is a professional golf tour for women.

● It was founded in 1978.

i. Climate and energy efficiency solutions company Danfoss India has been conferred with the ‘Golden Peacock Award’ for Environment Management.

ii. The award was presented in Hyderabad during the 19th World Congress on Environment Management’ in the presence of Supreme Court Justice Kurien Joseph.


Important Takeaways from Above News-

● Ravichandran Purushothaman is the present President of Danfoss India.

● Golden Peacock Awards, instituted by the Institute Of Directors (IOD), India in 1991, are now regarded as a benchmark of Corporate Excellence worldwide.

i. A key intelligence agency tasked with checking evasion of Goods and Services Tax (GST) has got its new chief. Senior bureaucrat John Joseph has been appointed Director General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DG GSTI).

ii. The DG GSTI is the new name given to the Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI), mandated to check service tax and central excise duty evasion.


Important Takeaways from Above News-

● GST council is headed by Finance Minister of India Mr. Arun Jaitley.