• National

Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has passed away

• Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has passed away aged 93 in Delhi.
• Atal Bihari Vajpayee was three times Prime Minister of India.

• National

Gift for woman officers in Indian Armed forces

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that women officers in India’s armed forces would now have the option to take up permanent commission through the Short Service Commission.
• As per the Short Service Commission, a woman officer can serve for 10-14 years.

• International

Director Ang Lee will be one of the recipients of the annual Directors Guild of honours

• Oscar-winning director Ang Lee will be one of the recipients of the annual Directors Guild of America (DGA) honours at its ceremony.
• The DGA Honours recognises individuals and institutions that have made distinguished contributions to American culture through the world of film and television.

• Economy and Business

BSE will launch a liquidity enhancement scheme

• BSE will launch a liquidity enhancement scheme on monthly single stock options and index options.
• Under the liquidity enhancement scheme (LES), brokers and other market intermediaries are given incentives for a specified period of time to bring in liquidity.

• Sports

International Master Nihal Sarin became the 53rd Grandmaster of India

• International Master Nihal Sarin became the 53rd Grandmaster of India despite losing his final round game to Richard Rapport of Hungary in the ninth and final round of Abu Dhabi Masters.
• The 14-year-old Nihal tallied 5.5 points out of a possible nine and the final GM norm came the Kerala boy’s way with one round to spare.

• Awards

The recipients of the annual Albany Medical Center Prize will be announced on 15th August

• The recipients of the annual Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research were announced on 15th August 2018.
• The recipients are James Allison, Dr Carl June and Dr Steven Rosenberg.

• Appointments

N Raghuram, has been elected Chair of the International Nitrogen Initiative

• Indian scientist-academician, N Raghuram, has been elected Chair of the International Nitrogen Initiative (INI), a global policy making initiative.
• Raghuram is the first Indian and Asian to be elected to the Chair.

• Science and Tech

BSNL has launched BSNL WINGS a VOIP based service.

• Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has launched BSNL WINGS a VOIP based service.
• In WINGS, there is no SIM or cable wiring as is a VOIP service through an app.

• States

Telangana government launched two major schemes

• Telangana government launched two major schemes – free eye screening for all citizens and life insurance for farmers on 15th August, 2018.
• Under ”Kanti Velugu” (Eye Sight), the entire population of 3.7 crore will be provided free eye care.

• Miscellaneous

A 12th Century statue of Lord Buddha were returned by United Kingdom

• A 12th Century statue of Lord Buddha which was stolen from India some 57 years ago was returned by the United Kingdom on 15th August 2018.
• The gold idol with silver inlay was one of the 14 images stole in 1961 from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) site museum in Nalanda, Bihar.

• Miscellaneous

Haryana’s first civil airport was inaugurated at Hisar.

• Haryana’s first civil airport was inaugurated at Hisar.
• A MoU was also signed between the state government and SpiceJet Limited for assistance in development of Phase-II and III of the integrated aviation hub.