CHANDRAYAAN-3 CLOSER TO MOON, LANDER SET FOR SEPARATION TODAY

Chandrayaan-3 came further close to the Moon on Wednesday, the ISRO said, with the spacecraft bringing itself into a near-circular 153×163 km orbit and setting the stage for the separation of the Lander Module on Thursday.

Wednesday’s was the fourth and the final orbit-reducing manoeuvre performed by the spacecraft, which comprises a Propulsion Module and the lander component, which includes the rover.

After it separates from the Propulsion Module, the Lander will accomplish the rest of the journey to the Moon’s surface on its own.

Following the activation and testing of its on-board instruments, including the three scientific payloads, the Lander will carry out two orbit-reduction manoeuvres: first, to get into the circular 100×100 km orbit, and then further closer to the Moon in the 100×30 km orbit.

It is from this 100×30 km orbit that the Lander will, on August 23, begin its final descent for touchdown on the Moon.

STRONG BIPARTISAN SUPPORT MUST, SAYS PM MODI AFTER MEETING US CONGRESS TEAM

A visiting Congressional delegation from the US, including co-chairs of the India Caucus in the House of Representatives, on Wednesday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Strong bipartisan support from the US Congress is instrumental in further elevating India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership,’’ wrote PM Modi on X after the meeting.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also met the delegation and exchanged views on advancing the bilateral partnership. They also discussed the global situation and collaboration between India and US on multilateral, regional and global issues.

The delegation included Indian-American Congressman Shri Thanedar, US Congress Richard McCormick, and Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna.

McCormick said PM Modi’s June visit to the US was “special’’ and “now we’re here in force to have a bipartisan group of congressmen to continue to develop this relationship that I think it’s going to be essential in the future”.

CONGRESS, BJP EXCHANGE JIBES OVER RENAMING OF NEHRU MUSEUM

The Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML), located in central Delhi, has been officially renamed as Prime Ministers' Museum and Library Society.

When the Narendra Modi government came to power, a Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya was set up on the premises to chronicle achievements of all the Prime Ministers, starting from Jawaharlal Nehru to Prime Minister Modi. This museum was inaugurated last year.

Taking to Twitter this morning, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, "From today, an iconic institution gets a new name. The world renowned Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) becomes PMML-Prime Ministers' Memorial Museum and Library."

Mr Ramesh said Prime Minister Modi was insecure about Jawaharlal Nehru. "He has had a single point agenda of denying, distorting, defaming and destroying Nehru and the Nehruvian legacy. He has erased N and put P instead. That P is really for pettiness and peeve."

"But he can never take away Nehru's gigantic contributions in the freedom movement and his towering achievements in building the democratic, secular, scientific and liberal foundations of the Indian nation-state, all of which are now under assault by Mr. Modi and his drum beaters," he added.

In a sharp response, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said in a video message that for Mr Ramesh, "P means only Parivar (family) and not people" - a jab at the Gandhi family.

"When a museum, a library which would showcase the achievements of all the Prime Ministers of this country, from the first Prime Minister to the current Prime Minister, from Lal Bahadur Shashtri to PV Narasimha Rao to HD Devegowda to Inder Kumar Gujral -- all of them have made this country great --, the Congress party is opposing and saying it should be named after only one Prime Minister from one family," he said.

Poonawalla asked if Nehru's legacy was so weak that "if one institution is named after all Prime Ministers, his legacy will be demolished".

AAP, CONG CROSS SWORDS OVER DELHI TIE-UP FOR LS POLLS

Weeks before the third meeting of the INDIA alliance, the AAP and the Congress Wednesday crossed swords in the capital over contesting the Lok Sabha elections together in the city.

Delhi Congress leader Alka Lamba, following a party meeting which lasted over three hours, said, “We spoke on strengthening the organisation and preparing for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the city. There are seven months left and seven seats in the fray; every leader has been asked to start work on these from today itself with whatever responsibility is being assigned.”

Lamba’s statement evoked a sharp reaction from the AAP, with spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar stating, “If the Congress has decided that it will not come together for an alliance with us in Delhi, there is no point in attending the INDIA alliance meeting and wasting time. Our leadership will take a final decision on whether we will attend the next meeting.”

However, All India Congress Committee's Delhi in-charge Deepak Babaria later refuted Alka Lamba's statement, and said no discussions over the matter related to elections and the alliance were held during the elaborate meeting at the party headquarters. Calling Lamba an ‘immature spokesperson’, Babaria said she is not an authorised person to talk over such important matters.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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US CALLS OUT ATTACKS ON CHURCHES IN PAKISTAN

The United States on Wednesday voiced alarm and urged Pakistan to investigate mob attacks against churches and Christian homes following rumors of blasphemy of Islam.

Hundreds of Muslim men attacked a predominantly Christian area on the outskirts of the eastern industrial city of Faisalabad on Wednesday, setting fire to churches. "We are deeply concerned that churches and homes were targeted in response to reported Koran desecration in Pakistan," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.

"We urge Pakistani authorities to conduct a full investigation into these allegations and call for calm," he said.

Blasphemy is a sensitive issue in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where anyone deemed to have insulted Islam or Islamic figures can face the death penalty. Critics say that rumors of insults to Islam are often fanned as a way to settle scores against non-Muslims.

GERMAN CABINET OKS BILL OVER LEGAL CANNABIS USE

Germany’s cabinet passed a contentious bill on Wednesday to legalise recreational marijuana use and cultivation, one of the most liberal cannabis laws in Europe that could potentially provide further momentum for a similar worldwide trend.

The legislation, which still has to pass parliament, would allow adults to possess up to 25 grams of the drug, grow a maximum of three plants, or acquire weed as associates of nonprofit cannabis clubs.

The centre-left government of Olaf Scholz hopes the law will curb the black market, protect consumers against contaminated marijuana and reduce drug-related crime. A key pillar of the plan, which removes the taboo around cannabis use, is also a campaign to raise awareness about the risks, which should ultimately curb consumption, said health minister Karl Lauterbach. Opposition to the legislation is fierce, with conservative policymakers warning that it will encourage marijuana use.Many countries in Europe have already legalised cannabis for limited medicinal purposes, including Germany since 2017. Others have decriminalised its general use. Malta became the first European nation to allow limited cultivation and possession of cannabis for personal use in 2021. Germany would be the first major European country to do so.

THE REST

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PRESIDENT APPROVES ASSAM DELIMITATION ORDER, CM WELCOMES

President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday approved the final delimitation order issued by the Election Commission of India with respect to the parliamentary and Assembly constituencies in Assam.

On August 11, the ECI had published the final delimitation order for the 14 parliamentary and 14 Assembly constituencies in Assam. On Wednesday, the Ministry of Law and Justice published an order by the President stating that the ECI’s order took effect from Wednesday.

On December 27, 2022, the ECI had announced a plan to carry out delimitation of the parliamentary and Assembly constituencies in Assam based on the 2001 Census after years of deferral. The last time the exercise was carried out in Assam was in 1976. It was deferred in Assam multiple times because political parties opposed it citing the ongoing updation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The delimitation order continues to be contested by opposition parties and different community organisations based on multiple issues, including the reduction of seats where minority voters will play a decisive role, lack of geographical contiguity and the reduction of seats in the Bengali dominated Barak Valley.

Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Sarma welcomed the development on social media. “A significant milestone has been achieved in the history of Assam. Jai Maa Bharati, Jai Maa Asom,” Sarma announced in a post on X.

RAMPANT, UNSCIENTIFIC BUILDING CAUSED HIMACHAL DISASTER: CM

Blaming faulty structural design, indiscriminate construction work and “migrant architects” for the destruction faced by his state this week, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu hinted at tougher building rules in the future. The CM also said the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) should go for more tunnelling instead of widening the roads, and its engineers need to cut the mountains more scientifically.

At least 70 people have died and more than 1,000 homes damaged in landslides and flash floods following heavy downpour in the state. “It will take us one year to recover from the loss. Within four years, Himachal will become self-independent. And within the next 10 years, it will become the number one state in the country,” the CM said.

On the widespread destruction, he said, “People construct houses without applying scientific methods. In recently made buildings, the drainage system is very poor. People believe they are draining the water without knowing that water is going nowhere but into the hills, making them fragile. Shimla is more than one and a half century old, and its drainage system was excellent. Now there are buildings in the nallas (runlets). The houses which are collapsing these days have not gone through the standards of structural engineering. The migrant architects (masons), whom I call ‘Bihari architects’, come here and construct floor on floor. We do not have local masons.”

He also blamed poor drainage for the damage caused to the roads. “Our secretariat is a nine storey building, the building of Advanced Study in Himachal University, Summer Hill, is an eight storey building. There was no technology when these buildings were constructed but structuring was there. We have never heard of these buildings being in danger, ever.”

CABINET APPROVES RS 13,000 CRORE PLAN TO SUPPORT ARTISANS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a central sector scheme to upskill and support India’s traditional craftspersons and link them to domestic and global market chains. ‘PM Vishwakarma’ will support craftspersons across 18 categories, including carpenters, locksmiths and goldsmiths, with 30 lakh families set to benefit over five years.

The scheme, ahead of polls and a day after the PM flagged it in his Independence Day address, will, for the first time, offer a package of assistance to traditional artisans who mainly belong to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.

The new scheme seeks to improve the quality, scale and reach of their products, integrating them with the MSME value chain, and offers them financial support, advanced skill training, linkage with local and global markets, and social security. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the scheme in her 2023 Budget speech on February 1 this year. One artisan per family will get the following benefits — credit of up to Rs 2 lakh at 5 % interest; Rs 500 stipend per day during training; Rs 15,000 one-time grant for purchase of modern tools and market linkage.

The scheme has an outlay of Rs 13,000 cr over five years.

COMBATING GENDER STEREOTYPES, THROUGH CORRECT CHOICE OF WORDS

“Eve teasing” is the incorrect way of saying “street sexual harassment” which should be the “alternative language… preferred” in courts, and it is a “stereotype” that “women who consume alcohol or smoke cigarettes want to engage in sexual relations with men”.

These are among the dozens of “stereotypes” and “incorrect… stereotype promoting language” flagged by the Supreme Court in its ‘Handbook on Combating Gender Stereotypes’ launched Wednesday.

The handbook, according to the top court, “aims to assist judges and the legal community in identifying, understanding and combating stereotypes about women”.

It contains a “glossary of gender-unjust terms and suggests alternative words or phrases which may be used while drafting pleadings as well as orders and judgments”.

Some of the other terms that it wants courts to avoid using are adulteress, bastard, career woman, carnal intercourse, concubine/keep, housewife, mistress, prostitute,  transsexual and unwed mother.

On whether to use survivor or victim for someone who has been raped, it says “an individual who has been affected by sexual violence may identify themselves as either a “survivor” or “victim”. Both terms are applicable unless the individual has expressed a preference, in which case “the individual’s preference should be respected”.

The handbook calls upon the “Indian judiciary” to “recognise the deep-rooted impact of gender stereotypes and actively work to dismantle them from its thinking, decision-making, and writing”.

CABINET APPROVES RS 57,613 CR FOR 10K E-BUSES ACROSS CITIES

The union cabinet on Wednesday approved "PM-eBus Sewa" seeking to enhance green mobility across several cities, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said in a press briefing. The scheme will augment city bus operations, under which priority will be given to cities having no organised bus service.

10,000 e-buses will be deployed on the public-private partnership (PPP) model across 169 cities. Thakur said that infrastructure will be upgraded in 181 cities under the Green Urban Mobility Initiatives.

The total estimated cost of the scheme has been pegged at Rs 57,613 crore, out of which support of Rs 20,000 crore will be provided by the Centre.

The scheme will cover cities with a population of 300,000 or above. Moreover, all capital cities of union territories, hill states and north-east region will be covered under the scheme.

‘WOMEN WRESTLERS WON’T FEEL SAFE IF BRIJ BHUSHAN’S PEOPLE WIN WFI POLLS’

The government must keep its word on ensuring a shift of power in the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) with no close associate of president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh contesting in the election else there will be no clean-up and women wrestlers won’t feel safe, Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Bajrang Punia said on Wednesday.

Singh, the BJP MP from Kaiserganj in Uttar Pradesh, has been found liable for prosecution for sexual harassment, molestation and stalking of women wrestlers in the Delhi Police chargesheet. Bajrang and some of the country’s other top wrestlers had suspended their protest against Singh after a meeting with sports minister Anurag Thakur in June. One of the conditions agreed upon, according to Bajrang, was that ‘no family member’ or ‘supporter’ of Singh would contest the elections.

“Those close to Brij Bhushan are in the fray for the elections. Sanjay Kumar Singh is contesting for the post of WFI president. If Sanjay Kumar wins, it is equal to Brij Bhushan winning the elections. The government had promised us that those close to Brij Bhushan and his family members won’t contest. But that doesn’t seem to be the case now. The government must fulfil its promise, otherwise women wrestlers won’t be safe. How long will women wrestlers live in fear?” Bajrang said.

CHECK ILLEGAL BLENDING TO PROTECT DARJEELING TEA: CAG TO TEA BOARD

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has revealed that the practice of “mixing” Nepal tea with Darjeeling tea is “still continuing”.

In its audit report on the “Role of Tea Board of India in Development of Tea in India” tabled in the Lok Sabha last week, the CAG has asked the Board, which falls under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, to take necessary steps to stop the “illegal blending” to protect the reputation of the Darjeeling tea.

AI TOOL CAN STEAL PASSWORDS BY LISTENING TO KEYSTROKES: STUDY

A new study has revealed that entering your computer password while on a Zoom call could put you at risk for a cyberattack because hackers can now 'listen' to your keystrokes to steal your credentials using an artificial intelligence (AI) tool.

The study said that AI has the capability to identify the specific keys being pressed by listening to the typing sounds.

In a paper published on August 3, researchers emphasised that with the increasing adoption of video conferencing platforms like Zoom and the widespread availability of devices equipped with microphones, the risk of sound-based cyberattacks has increased. The AI tool studied by the researchers showed the capacity to accurately decipher text, including passwords, from keystroke sounds, achieving a precision level exceeding 90%.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The feeling of being hurried is not usually the result of living a full life and having no time. It is on the contrary born of a vague fear that we are wasting our life. When we do not do the one thing we ought to do, we have no time for anything else- we are the busiest people in the world. - Eric Hoffer

OFF TRACK

Woman's Quote of the Day:

"Men are like fine wine. They all start out like grapes, and it's our job to stomp on them and keep them in the dark until they mature into something with which you'd like to have dinner with."

Men's Counter-Quote of the Day:

"Women are like fine wine. They all start out fresh, fruity and intoxicating to the mind and then turn full-bodied with age until they go all sour and vinegary and give you a headache."