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President Donald Trump today announced his intent to nominate Kenneth I Juster, a top economic aide and an expert on India, as the US Ambassador to India. In June, the White House said that Juster will be America's new Ambassador to India. 62 year Juster, who is the Deputy Assistant to the US President for International Economic Affairs and Deputy Director of his National Economic Council, would replace Richard Verma if nominated and confirmed by the Senate. The position has been lying vacant since January 20 when Mr Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. Juster has previously served as Under Secretary of Commerce from 2001-2005, Counselor of the State Department from 1992-1993 and Deputy and senior Adviser to the Deputy Secretary of State from 1989-1992.

Gujarat's commercial capital Ahmedabad was today formally accorded the status of India's first World Heritage City by UNESCO. UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova handed over the certificate declaring Ahmedabad as a 'World Heritage City' to Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in Gandhinagar today. Speaking after receiving the certificate, Rupani said it was a moment of pride for Gujaratis. He appealed the citizens of Ahmedabad to maintain the pride and glory of the newly crowned 'World Heritage City'. In July, the UN agency had inscribed Ahmedabad as India's first World Heritage City at a meeting held in Poland.

Gujarat's commercial capital Ahmedabad was today formally accorded the status of India's first World Heritage City by UNESCO. UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova handed over the certificate declaring Ahmedabad as a 'World Heritage City' to Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in Gandhinagar today. Speaking after receiving the certificate, Rupani said it was a moment of pride for Gujaratis. He appealed the citizens of Ahmedabad to maintain the pride and glory of the newly crowned 'World Heritage City'. In July, the UN agency had inscribed Ahmedabad as India's first World Heritage City at a meeting held in Poland.

Former home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi is to be the next Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India. He will replace the present incumbent Shashi Kant Sharma who completes his term on 30th of this month. Mehrishi has emerged as the top choice for the post. A formal order on this is expected soon. Meanwhile, three senior bureaucrats were yesterday appointed as Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General. They are Ashwini Attri, Anita Pattanayak and Ranjan Kumar Ghose. Former Information and Broadcasting Secretary Sunil Arora will be the new the Election Commissioner. His appointment was approved by President Ram Nath Kovind yesterday. The appointment will take effect from the date he assumes the charge.

Ahead of the likely Cabinet reshuffle, Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajiv Pratap Rudy resigned yesterday. Sources said more Ministers may resign as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is preparing induct new faces into his Council of Ministers. The exercise expected before Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves for China on Sunday to attend BRICS Summit. The sources added that Mr Rudy is likely to be given an organisational assignment in the party.

Senior IAS officer Rajiv Gauba today took charge as the Union Home Secretary after incumbent Rajiv Mehrishi retired from service.Mr Gauba will have a tenure of two years. Earlier, he was serving in the Home Ministry as Officer on Special Duty. Prior to this, Mr Gauba was Secretary in the Ministry of Urban Development. He also served in the International Monetary Fund representing the country for four years on the Board of IMF.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch its navigation satellite IRNSS-1H this evening. The satellite will lift off at 7 PM from the second launch pad of the Satish Dhavan Space Centre at Sriharikotta, on board the rocket PSLV C39. The 29-hour countdown for the mission that began at 2 PM yesterday is progressing smoothly. The satellite IRNSS-1H is a part of the indigenous navigation system called ‘NavIC,’ that was initially planned to have a constellation of seven satellites. As the rubidium atomic clocks of the first satellite in the series called IRNSS-1A malfunctioned, the eighth one is being launched today to take up its mantle. NavIC system is equivalent to the GPS service, having footprint over the whole of India and about 1500 kilometers from its borders on all sides. It helps user agencies to plan and monitor their vehicular movement on the road and on the sea. It can alert fishermen while approaching international maritime boundaries and help public to l...

The Kerala government today appointed senior IAS officer Dr K M Abraham as the new Chief Secretary in place of Nalini Netto, retiring on August 31. Abraham is presently the Additional Chief Secretary in the Finance department. He would remain in office till December 31, 2017, an official release said here. A decision in this regard was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The cabinet meeting decided to post Netto as principal secretary to the chief minister.

PM Modi to attend 9th BRICS summit in China. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Xiamen in China’s Fujian province during 3rd to 5th of next month. External Affairs Ministry in a release said, Mr Modi will attend the 9th BRICS Summit there. Subsequently, the Prime Minister will pay a State visit to Myanmar from September 5th to 7th. This will be Prime Minister Modi’s first bilateral State visit to Myanmar. During the visit, Prime Minister will hold discussions with State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on matters of mutual interest and also call on President U Htin Kyaw. Apart from his engagements in the capital city of Nay Pyi Taw, Mr Modi will visit Yangon and Bagan. China issues special postal stamp for 9th BRICS summit.

Today is the National Sports day, the Day is celebrated on 29th august every year to mark the birthday of Dhyan Chand. To celebrate the day various programs are being conducted through the country. On this occasion, President Ram Nath Kovind will give away the sports Awards this evening. A total of 29 players have been selected to receive the honours from President. The President will confer Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, Arjuna Award and Dronacharya Award at Rashtrapati Bhawan. The Khel Ratna Award is honoured for the players spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports over a period of four years at international level. The Arjuna Awards are given to recognize outstanding achievement in National sports while the Dronacharya Award is sports coaching honour.

Swiss president Doris Leuthard will pay a three-day visit to India beginning tomorrow. During the visit both sides will hold extensive talks on entire gamut of bilateral relationship including on ways to ramp up trade and investment ties. The ministry of external affairs, MEA, said in New Delhi yesterday that Leuthard will meet President Ram Nath Kovind and hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the talks, the Indian side may raise the issue of black money stashed by Indians in Swiss banks. Vice President of India will call on Swiss President. Minister of External Affairs and other Ministers will also make separate calls on Swiss President. India and Switzerland enjoy robust economic ties, with Switzerland being seventh largest trading partner and eleventh largest foreign investor for India. Both countries share common views on many major global issues. The upcoming visit will provide an opportunity to both sides for holding wide-ranging discussions on bilateral, global and ...

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will be in Colombo on a two-day visit to participate in Indian Ocean Conference (ICO) beginign from Thursday. The Sri Lankan Prime Minister and President are among key speakers in the event on the theme of peace, progress and prosperity. The two-day conference will have speakers from 25 countries and representatives from around 35 countries are expected to participate in the event. This will be second ICO conference, the first one held in Singapore last year. It is being co-hosted by the India Foundation, a Delhi-based think tank, in collaboration with RSIS, Singapore, and NIFS, Colombo, both research and study centers.

In Tennis, the US Open, the fourth and final Grand Slam of the season, begins in New York today. Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka, who won the tournament last year, is not taking part this year due to a knee injury. World number two Andy Murray is also out injured, with Serena Williams also not participating. Recently crowned world number one Rafael Nadal, this year's Australian Open and Wimbledon winner Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, Karolina Pliskova and Simona Halep are among the top players taking part in the tournament. Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna are among the Indians who will be seen in action in the Doubles.

Justice Dipak Misra has sworn in as the new Chief Justice of India. President Ram Nath Kovind today administered the oath of office to Justice Misra at Rashtrapati Bhawan. He replaced Chief Justice J S Khehar, who retired yesterday. Justice Misra will have a tenure of nearly 13 months. The ceremony was attended by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other distinguished people from different walks of life. Born in October, 1953, Justice Misra was enrolled as an Advocate in 1977 and practiced in Constitutional, Civil, Criminal, Revenue, Service and Sales Tax matters in the Orissa High Court and the Service Tribunal. He was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Orissa High Court in 1996 and became permanent Judge in December, 1997. He also served as the Chief Justice of Patna and Delhi High Courts. In 2011, Justice Misra was elevated as a Judge in the Suprem...

India have lifted the SAFF Under-15 football Championship title. At Kathmandu on Sunday, Lalrokima and Vikram struck in the second half to guide India edge past hosts Nepal 2-1 in the final. At the interval, Nepal led 1-0. The India team, which had players from AIFF’s Regional Academy, trailed by a goal at the interval but Lalrokima and Vikram's timely strikes saved the day for India. Congratulating the Indian team, AIFF President Praful Patel said the manner the boys have played is a clear indication of how a structured Youth Development Programme can raise the bar.

Ace shuttler P V Sindhu settled for a silver after losing to Japan's Nozomi Okuhara in the final of world Badminton Championship at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland yesterday. Sindhu lost to her Japanese rival 19-21 22-20 20-22 after battling hard in the game. Earlier, Saina Nehwal ended her campaign with a bronze. Sindhu, who had won bronze twice in the 2013 and 2014 editions, became only the second Indian to win a silver medal after Saina Nehwal had achieved the feat in the last edition at Jakarta in 2015. Badminton Association of India has announced cash award of 10 lakh rupees for Sindhu and five lakh for Saina following their medal winning performances at the world Championships.

Sports Minister Vijay Goel today announced the first edition of Rural Games or Grameen Khel Mahotsav . It will kick-start from Delhi and will take place between 28th August and 3rd September this year. The Rural Games will aim at popularising the indigenous games like wrestling and athletics and will also have fun games like Matka Race, Tug of War for senior citizens. Interacting with the media Mr Goel said, Grameen Marathon marked the beginning of the Rural Games fever with participation of 16,000 youth from rural Delhi. In the first stage, the games will be held in Alipur, Mehrauli, Nangloi, Najafgarh and Shahadara where ten thousand youngsters will participate. Mr Goel further said Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports will also urge various State governments to replicate these Rural Games in their respective states. He said sports talent search portal will be a reality on Monday. The portal will enable any person from across country to upload his information and as per that the Mini...

At the World Badminton championships, Saina Nehwal has settled for a bronze medal. In the first women's singles semi-final at Glasgow today, she lost to Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in three games 12-21, 21-17, 21-10. Okuhara is the first shuttler from Japan to reach the finals of World Championship. Saina had won a silver medal two years ago in the World championship at Jakarta. In the second Women's Singles semi-final later tonight, Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu will take on ninth seed Chinese Chen Yufei.