1. FESTIVALS: Madrid explodes in color during Holi festival: In Bharat, Holi is celebrated each spring, usually in March, but in a Madrid city square in Spain around 300 revelers packed the Plaza de Agustin de Lara on August 8 and tossed handfuls of colored powder at one another and danced. While the festival's organizers in Madrid were mainly Hindu immigrants, the majority of the partygoers were young, scantily dressed Spaniards. Participants bought small pouches of colored powder-red, blue, green, yellow, orange and purple- for Euro 2 ($2.68) each, which they then launched in the air, quickly turning the multitude into a seething mishmash of rainbow colors. Some had come dressed in all-white garb; others risked the ruin of whatever clothes they were wearing or went shirtless to turn their torsos into canvases. Many tourists too took part in the festival. This was second time the festival was held in Madrid. Similar Holi festivals have been held in Barcelona and in other countries. -goTop
2. MODI UNFURLS START-UP BHARAT: Giving a new slogan of "Start-up Bharat, Stand up Bharat" for "Team Bharat" during his 85-minute-long Independence Day address from the ramparts of the historic Red Fort, Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi on August 15 pledged to end the "termite of corruption" and announced that undeclared foreign assets worth Rs 6, 500 crore have been disclosed since framing of a tough black money law and the drive will continue despite "side-effects." The Pradhan Mantri said, "There is a lot of talk in our country about corruption. It is like a sick person giving suggestions to others on how to remain healthy. There are people who are themselves corrupt, who give suggestions on how to deal with corruption," the Pradhan Matri said. He said that in the last 15 months of his Government, no accusation of corruption, even of a single paisa, has been made. About black money, he said that steps were being taken to bring it back to Bharat and that his Government has passed a stringent law against stashing of money abroad.
He proposed doing away with the practice of conducting interviews for small jobs, contending that this becomes a route for corruption. "One form of corruption is through jobs... Why should there be an interview? I am yet to come across any psychologist who can assess anybody in two minutes (of interview). I have to stop this bimari (practice)... Let us end the requirement of an interview for small jobs immediately," he said, adding he would make a request to States also in this regard.
Dressed in a cream kurta, pyjama, beige jacket and mustard turban, Modi announced in his second Independence Day address that his Government was determined to build a new Bharat, including providing electricity to 18,500 villages in the next 1,000 days. Modi also made it clear that there was no place for casteism and communalism in Bharat.
For employment of the youth, the Prime Minister announced an initiative called 'Start-up Bharat, Stand-up Bharat' that aims to link the Government's financial packages for the industry with employment for the youth. He also said that a package of incentives, including loans, will be given to manufacturing units for generating jobs for locals, as a push to "Make in Bharat" programme. He also announced a special scheme for tribal areas where mining of minerals is quite prevalent saying that Rs 6,000 crore will be spent on them every year. He announced that from now on the Ministry of Agriculture will be called Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare because now it would work not only for betterment of agricultural practices, but will also link it to farmer welfare," he said. Modi repeatedly talked about "Team Bharat" consisting of 125 crore Bharatiyas who, he said, were responsible for all the achievements during the last 15 months.
He added that "Team Bharat" set a deadline of January 26 for bringing every citizen into the fold of the financial system by letting them open their own bank accounts. "I am proud to say that we fulfilled our pledge in time and over 17 crore accounts were opened," he said. Modi also talked about Atal Pension Yojana, Suraksha Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana. "The point is not that we made policies and launched schemes. Every Government does that. What matters is the implementation. And in a nation where even 40-year-old schemes are able to reach only five crore to seven crore people, over ten crore citizens registered for our insurance schemes in barely 100 days. And ten crore individual registrations mean that over ten crore families must be benefiting from them," he said.
Modi said that under Swachchh Bharat Abhiyan, everyone took the responsibility of cleaning the nation without criticism but the biggest contributors to this initiative were children. They became the biggest ambassadors of Swachchh Bharat. He added that over the year, we built 4.25 lakh toilets in 2, 62,000 schools which seemed like an impossible task when we started. -goTop
3. 'DON'T ENSLAVE GREAT MEN IN CASTE CAGE': DR. MOHAN BHAGWAT - Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarasanghachalalak Mohan Bhagwat asked the people to change their perspective towards great men and said such people cannot be enslaved in cages of caste or ideology and it is not easy to appropriate their legacy.
He was releasing four books on the life and writings of BR Ambedkar consisting of his thoughts on economy, polity, religion, constitution and his social life written by former Planning Commission member Narendra Jadhav on 13th August at New Delhi. He said Ambedkar was among the great men this country had who dedicated their entire life to the country and its building. Bhagwat said Ambedkar had good ties with RSS and the Dalit icon had met the then RSS chief Dr Hedgewar in 1939 and discussed the issue of bringing equality in the country. Author Dr Narendra Jadhav said that he is not associated with any political party but is a follower of Dr. Ambedkar. -goTop
4. Frisco's Hindu Temple opens with world record: The Hanuman Temple opened in Frisco, North Texas, in grand fashion on August 1. Thousands of Hindus, most of them living in or around the city, crowded into the 34,000-square-foot temple to celebrate its official opening. They celebrated the opening in spectacular fashion by setting a new Guinness World Record. After 24 hours of continuous chanting, the group set the world record for the longest chanting marathon. The entire facility was paid for by donations. Temple leaders say thousands of followers donated one dollar every day for the last several years. The total cost of the temple exceeded $11 million.-goTop
5. Women lead bharat operations of top IT MNCs: Almost all of the biggest IT multinationals in Bharat now have a woman at the helm. Accenture on August 7 elevated Rekha Menon as its Bharat chairman, and she will lead a workforce of over 1 lakh people, a third of Accenture's global strength. Menon joins a league that already has Vanitha Narayanan, MD of IBM India, Neelam Dhawan, MD of HP India, Aruna Jayanthi, CEO of Capgemini India, Kumud Srinivasan, president of Intel India, and Kirthiga Reddy, MD of Facebook India. Narayanan and Jayanthi too lead companies that have over a lakh employees. Dhawan leads a firm estimated to have $6 billion revenue. Biocon CMD Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said she was glad to see MNCs repose such confidence in Bharatiya women professionals. -goTop
6. RSS IS ON A ROLL: NUMBER OF SHAKHAS UP 61% IN 5 YEARS: A bunch of lively schoolboys form a circle around an authoritative 12-year-old in khaki shorts and a superman T-shirt at a Navi Mumbai maidan on a weekday night.
At first glance, they look merely like children at play. But as the boy leading the group conducts a series of activities from games and exercises to prayer recitations and a brief session of marching involving bringing one's right hand to one's chest, it gradually becomes evident that this is an RSS shakha in progress, one of 51,335 shakhas held daily across the country in 2015. Shakhas are the smallest unit of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
While the organization is called 'extremist' by its critics, its admirers respond to the taunt by calling it 'Hindu nationalist'. But even its detractors agree that the RSS organizational network is virtually unparalleled. While there is no formal membership, an analysis of data on the number of shakhas conducted each year over the last five years shows a nearly 29% increase in daily shakhas, 61% increase in weekly shakhas and 40% growth in monthly shakhas across India from 2010-11 to 2014-15.
The trend is similar in cities like Mumbai, which have seen a 34% increase in the number of daily shakhas, while weekly shakhas have grown by over 70%.
In the neighbouring township of Navi Mumbai, daily shakhas have more than doubled in five years. The largest increase in shakhas across India over the last five years took place between 2013-14 and 2014-15.
In recent years, RSS shakha strength has increased as timings are adjusted to suit various age groups - students, working professionals and retired people. As part of its outreach, RSS befriends heads of various communities (for instance, the head of a blacksmith community in a particular area) and involves them in various social activities, gradually making inroads into the organization.
Many RSS members say they began attending shakhas as children in the villages where they grew up. A coffee shop employee in Mumbai began attending shakhas in his town in Karnataka, and continued doing so after moving states. Some say the Sangh network helps them make friends in a new city. An engineering student joined RSS as a child, when he saw shakhas being conducted at a maidan in front of his building. The youngest child at an RSS shakha was in kindergarten.
The organization is successful on social media, with over 15 lakh 'Likes' on its Facebook page and 1.5 lakh followers on Twitter. "Their Facebook page has some of the best graphic designers," says a youngster whose grandmother is with RSS. He says the organization has a network of WhatsApp groups and generates content for WhatsApp. (Anahita Mukherji,Times News Network ) Aug 16, 2015 ) -goTop
7. Tirumala has 4.5 tonnes of gold in banks, gets 80kg as yearly interest: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) officials indicated on August 7 that 4.5 tonnes of gold have been deposited in banks and that the temple administration is in the process of depositing one more ton of the yellow metal in the State Bank of India soon. Calculated at today's rates, the total cost of the 5,500 kg 'disclosed' gold with the TTD stands at Rs 1,320 crore. The gold that the Tirumala temple has been depositing in banks is offering by devotees in the hundi as well as big individual donations. They come in the form of various gold ornaments as well as biscuits. -goTop
8. Reinstate Nepal as Hindu Rashtra, people demand: Demanding Nepal to be reinstated as a Hindu state a huge gathering was organized on August 7 at Khullamanch. The 'Birat Dharma Sabha' saw an impressive turnout of Hindu people against secular menace an anti Hindu conspiracy in Nepal, which made a record in the history of congregations in Nepal in recent times. "Declaring a predominantly Hindu country a secular state would hurt the sentiments of many," said one of the speakers addressing the gathering. "We participated in the people's movement to get a nation that was truly ours and not a country in which we are forced to convert to another religion," he added. -goTop
9. bharat donates vehicles on Independence Day: Bharat donated 40 ambulances and eight buses to different welfare organizations and educational institutions in Nepal on the occasion of the 69th Independence Day of Bharat. Bharatiya Ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae handed over the vehicles to recipient organizations from thirty three districts on August 15 at a ceremony held at the Bharatiya embassy at Launchaur, Kathmandu, according to a press statement issued by the Bharatiya Embassy of Nepal. -goTop
10. 'Hare Rama, Hare Krishna' in Beijing: The "prasadam" were fresh grapes, cookies and tiny condiments in wrappers. The devotees were mostly young Chinese. And, it was a rare interactive session held by senior members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in Beijing on the Bhagvad Gita combined with insights into yoga on August 1. On sale outside the auditorium was a new version of the Gita in Chinese. Copies of the "Bu Jian Fan Ge" in Chinese or "Bhagvad Song" sold rapidly from the counter as visitors picked up their copies for the price of 200 yuan (Rs 2000).
In the auditorium, musicians from Bharat played the mridangam, flute and harmonium as trained singers sang "bhajans" and the well-known tune of "Hare Rama, Hare Krishna" associated with devotees of Krishna. It was at the end of the programme when literally the entire room full of people removed their chairs, made space at the centre and danced to the chant for nearly 45 minutes. On stage, 68-year-old Swami Kavicandra from the US talked about what the Gita said about happiness and how transient it was. -goTop
11. Sanskrit Renaissance Has Begun in the US: Dr. Jyotsna Kalavar, who is a Professor in Human Development & Family Studies at Pennsylvania State University, USA and an instructor at Samskrita Bharati has said, "From what I have seen, most Hindu children in the United States, take immense pride in their heritage, go through some period of soul searching and questioning, and pursue their personal definition of what it means to be a Hindu. Some take up the study of Sanskrit, literature, art, Vedic chanting, Vedanta, dance, music, Yoga - whatever aspect of Hinduism that appeals to them. On one hand, I have seen Hindu children in the United States being more Hindu than children in India. They have learned sections of the Vedas, speak Sanskrit fluently, and take great pride in their Hindu beliefs. Recently, I was at an event in Stroudsburg, PA where more than a dozen children had memorized the entire Bhagavad Gita, and were participating in a competition. I was simply bowled over by these children. As a liturgical language, Sanskrit will continue to play an important role among Hindus worldwide. As a transactional language, I am very optimistic that it will pick up steam both in India and outside. It seems like the Sanskrit renaissance has begun and is here to stay!" -goTop
12. SUNDAR PICHAI IS CEO Google: Chennai born, IIT Kharagpur-educated Sundar Pichai has become the head of a "slightly slimmed down Google", with the search giant in a major corporate restructuring forming an umbrella company called Alphabet. Taking over the operational management of Google's search, YouTube and financial-services units, Pichai, 43, becomes only the third chief executive of the company after Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt and co-founder Larry Page.
Pichai, who came to the US in 1993 after getting a BTech from IIT-Kharagpur, earned an MS from Stanford University and an MBA from Wharton School of Business. He has worked at Google since it went public in 2004, most recently as the senior vice president of product. He is the second person of Bharatiya origin to head a major IT company after Hyderabad-born Satya Nadella who became CEO of software giant Microsoft in February 2014, succeeding Steve Ballmer. -goTop
13. 'Ulema' meet vows to expel terrorism, hatred, violence from Bharat: Writing a new script for peaceful co-existence, progress, brotherhood, harmony and non-violence the 1500 Mulsim clerics drawn from 25 states in Lucknow on the eve of the 74th anniversary of "Quit India" movement, gave a clarion call to the countrymen to expel violence, injustice, terrorism and riots from the country forever. The occasion was "Kul-Hind Ulema Ijlas" i.e. All India Ulema Confrence, organized under the auspices of Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM), a social reform movement active since last 13 years among the Bharatiya Muslim society. The event was a great success. Prominent amongst those Muslim clerics who participated in this "Kul Hind Ulema Ijlas" were Maulana Suhaib Qasmi, President of All India Jamaat Ulema-e-Hind, State President Maulana Qumer Bukhari, Maulana Kaukab Mujtba Abdi, Imam-e-Jumma of Hyderi Masjid of Karnataka, besides many others. Indresh Kumar, the moving spirit behind this new movement of peace and brotherhood was conspicuous by his electrifying presence in the conference. Asking the community to choose their role model and decide whether it would be a person like Bharat Ratna Dr APJ Abdul Kalam or terrorist Yakub Memon who was hanged on the day when Dr Kalam's last rites were performed, Indresh Kumar appealed them to shun the path of violence and hatred in the name of religion. -goTop
14. Na Krishnappa passes away: Senior RSS Pracharak Na Krishnappa (83 years) passed away on August 10 at Keshavakrupa, RSS State Headquarters in Bengaluru. He had been RSS Pracharak for 61 years since 1954. Krishnappaji was the pioneer of many new initiatives in sangh, 'parivar prabodhan' being the most notable among them. His health deteriorated for last few months due to an age old sickness. RSS Sarasanghachalak Mohan Bhagwat, Sarakaryavah Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi, Saha-sarakaryavahs Dattatreya Hosabale, Kshetreeya Sanghachalak V Nagaraj and several others expressed their condolences on the demise of Na Krishnappa. -goTop
15. Manbir Kaur among toppers in Class 10 exam in Pakistan: A 15-year-old Sikh girl in Pakistan has emerged as the first girl from the minority community to be among the toppers of the Class 10 examination. Manbir Kaur from Nankana Sahib district of Punjab province has secured more than 1,000 marks in Secondary School Examination (SCE) this year, securing 1,035 marks out of 1,100. "She is the first Sikh girl who has got such a good marks in matriculation examination this year. And this very encouraging for her community," Punjab assembly member advocate Mary Gill said. Manbir's father Giani Prem Singh is the head granthi at Gurdwara Sri Nankana Sahib, some 80 kilometres from Lahore. -goTop
16. Supreme court allows repair work at the makeshift Ram Lalla temple in Ayodhya: In an unprecedented move, the Supreme court has ruled that repairs could be made at the Ram Lalla temple located at the disputed site of Ayodhya, which once hosted the Babri Masjid. The Apex court on August 7 asked the UP government to make water facilities available or whatever is required to meet the basic requirements of the pilgrims. A bench of justice Anil R Dave and Justice Kurien Joseph said this, without paying any heed to the UP government's assurances that this aspect is not being neglected. Dave said,"the prayer is for some facilities. If these can be made available, then do it." This reaction by the SC came after BJP leader Subramanium Swamy told the court that he was seeking the upkeep of the place and facilities for the pilgrims. -goTop
17. India day in Normandy: Normandy in France usually brings to mind references to World War II, but this very colourful recent event there had nothing sombre about it at all. French politicians and bureaucrats got together with Bharatiyas and Bharatiya expats, including former Army chief and former Arunachal Pradesh governor Gen (retd) JJ Singh, for a vibrant cultural event to give a boost to economic ties between the two countries. The occasion was the opening of an exhibition by Noelle Brehier, Anupama Singh (the general's wife) and Nirupama Kaur, and was facilitated by Vivek Pal Singh, the first Sikh to be elected (to a Normandy municipal council) in France as a French citizen. Vivek is also Gen Singh's son, and lives in France with his French wife. The get-together featured some yoga, an Ayurvedic booth and even some mehendi stalls. There was vibrant gidda and bhangra to add some desi colour to the event. The Bharatiya flag was hoisted at Le Mont Saint Michel, a monastery-museum and island commune in Normandy. The island is the second most visited monument in France after the Eiffel Tower. -goTop
18. Bangladesh in turmoil, must stop persecuting Hindus: Tulsi Gabbard: Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, has introduced a bipartisan resolution calling on the government of Bangladesh to increase human rights protections, strengthen democratic institutions, and prevent the growth of extremist groups in the country. The resolution comes as ISIS and other trans-national radical Islamic groups continue to grow their influence in areas like South Asia. In a speech on the House floor introducing the resolution, Gabbard stated, "Bangladesh is a country in turmoil. There are many concerns about the stability of the country, particularly since flawed elections were held last year, and the political violence that has ensued. I am particularly concerned over issues of religious freedom, and specifically, attacks against minority Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, and others, in Bangladesh. All too often perpetrators of crimes against minorities go unpunished. It's up to the government of Bangladesh to take action to stop those who incite and commit violence and protect the rights of these minorities." -goTop
19. premji and Nadar in Forbes' tech billionaires list: Wipro chairman Azim Premji and HCL founder Shiv Nadar are the two Bharatiya tycoons in the top 20 richest people in the world of technology. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates tops the list. Premji is ranked 13th on Forbes' first ever list of "100 Richest People in Tech", followed by Nadar on the 14th spot. Two Bharatiya-origin technology czars Romesh Wadhwani and Bharat Desai are also in the list. Forbes said Premji, 70, who has a net worth of $17.4 billion, is among Asia's most generous tycoons, having given away more than $4 billion of his fortune. Nadar has a net worth of $14.4 billion and gets bulk of his wealth from software services outfit HCL Technologies. Wadhwani is ranked 73rd on the list with a $2.8 billion net worth. Bharat Desai and family have been ranked 82nd with a net worth of $2.5 billion. Gates, who's the world's richest man, ranks number one among tech tycoons, with a net worth of $79.6 billion. -goTop
20. 19-year-old with only 10% vision makes it to IIM-L: Being the youngest person in her batch and having received calls from all but two IIMs, Jaipur girl and IIM-Lucknow fresher Paridhi Varma becomes particularly special when one considers the fact that she has lost 90% vision to macular degeneration. Paridhi is a BBA graduate from ICG, Jaipur, and a diploma holder in mass communication and video production.
Paridhi's closest senior Rupika who scribed for her in mid-term examinations says, "She (Paridhi) is a very bubbly, fun-loving girl. She loves to talk and is fond of music. Besides, she loves nail art. While helping her with economics, I found her really bright and enthusiastic. She has a knack for building mental maps for concepts introduced to her. This is what helps her memorize things for a long time." -goTop
21. HSS YOUTH CAMP AT NC: Hindu Society of North Carolina (HSNC) and Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) successfully conducted a 4 day 'Youth Development Camp' at Morrisille NC in USA where over 40 teenage students participated. It was a great summer venture for them to learn, collaborate and strengthen their vedic knowledge. The program focused on their physical, intellectual and spiritual growth and overall personality development with the sessions of games Yoga, meditation, mind games. Some of the topics discussed were reasons behind rituals, karma yoga and sewa etc. -goTop
22. shrine to British soldiers killed in 1857: In a strange twist of fate, nine British soldiers who died fighting rebels in the 1857 freedom struggle near Shairpur village in Aligarh are now worshipped by the descendants of the villagers. The locals, who believe the souls of the nine soldiers protect them from evil spirits, have turned the memorial plaque into a shrine with lit candles, incense sticks and red sacred thread. Nearly 121 km from Agra, in the Gangiri block of Aligarh district on its border with Kasganj, the memorial plaque at Shairpur village commemorates British cavalrymen from two highly decorated regiments - the 6th Dragoon Guards, also known as the Carabiniers, and the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers, who for their participation in the events of 1857 came to be called the Delhi Spearmen. -goTop
23. Bharatiya-origin develops thought-controlled prostheses: A Bharatiya American electrical engineer from the Stanford University has developed a technique to make brain-controlled prostheses more precise. The thought-controlled device developed by Krishna Shenoy and his team analyses the neuron sample and makes dozens of corrective adjustments to the estimate of the brain's electrical pattern -- all in the blink of an eye. "Brain-controlled prostheses will lead to a substantial improvement in quality of life," Shenoy said. "The speed and accuracy demonstrated in this prosthesis results from years of basic neuroscience research and from combining these scientific discoveries with the principled design of mathematical control algorithms," he added. Shenoy's team tested a brain-controlled cursor meant to operate a virtual keyboard. The system is intended for people with paralysis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also called Lou Gehrig's disease. ALS degrades one's ability to move. -goTop
24. Over 1500 yogic asanas shortlisted to thwart patenting by fgn MNCs, individuals: In a move that will help thwart attempts by foreign MNCs and individuals to get patents and trademark on ancient yoga techniques, the government has shortlisted over 1500 asanas and videographed over 250, classifying them as "traditional knowledge" of the country. The initiative will be a part of the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL), a unit of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) of the ministry of science and technology, which challenges claims made at several patent offices across the globe by individuals and MNCs. -goTop
25. RSS CELEBRATES INDEPENDENCE DAY: RSS celebrated 69th Independence Day across the nation on 15th August. Several RSS functionaries hoisted national flag at various places and thousands of RSS Swayamsevaks attended Independence Day celebrations held across the country.
Sarasanghachalak Mohan Bhagwat hoisted national flag at the Independence Day ceremony held at Dr Ambedkar Vanavasi Kalyan Trust, Rushabh Towers of Rander Road, Surat. -goTop
26. Hypersonic Brahmos II missile named after DR APJ Kalam: Bharat will pay tribute to Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam by naming its first hypersonic cruise missile, BrahMos-II after the Missile Man. BrahMos CEO & MD Sudhir Kumar Mishra told that the decision has been already taken to name the hypersonic version of the missile after Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, whenever it is ready for induction.
The hypersonic BrahMos is envisioned to become the fastest cruise missile system in the world by flying at a top speed of 7-8 Mach (seven to eight times the speed of sound). The hypersonic missile will definitely provide an advantage to the Bharatiya armed forces in future warfare. -goTop
27. Hubballi's jowar rotis now make it to Oz, US: The humble jowar roti - the North Karnataka staple - is now crossing the seas to reach homesick Kannadigas yearning for its chewy wholesome goodness. Growing demand from Australia, England, West Asia and the US has spawned a small-scale industry in Hubballi, a busy commercial hub 400km north of Bengaluru, with dealers and agents spread across the region. Exported in its kadak (crisp) avatar, the jowar roti has a shelf life of 6-9 months. Poorva Food Products, run by the Patil family, discovered this niche global market and has now gone online. Lingangowda Patil, who runs the family unit with wife Pushpa and son Girish, says they realized the demand for the roti was going up, as more people migrated from this tier-2 city to other parts of the country and world. -goTop
28. 36 more countries get added in e-Tourist visa facility: With an increase of tourist in Bharat after visa on arrival and e-tourist visa facility for tourists, Government extends e-Tourist Visa scheme to 36 more countries and 7 more airports from August 15, 2015. The new countries being included in e-Tourist Visa scheme would be Argentina, Armenia, Belgium, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Hungary and Ireland. With this addition, the total count of countries under the scheme will go upto 113 (One hundred Thirteen).
Simultaneously, the Centre is going to add 7 more Bharatiya airports as designated airports for entry on e-Tourist Visa from August 15, 2015. New Airports being included in the scheme would be Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Gaya, Jaipur, Lucknow, Tirchy, Varanasi as these airports will have immediate visa facility to the foreigners who wish to see the thousands of years heritage in Bharat. -goTop
29. Tirupati temple laddu enters into its 300th year: The Tirupati laddu, given away as 'prasad' at the hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara at Tirupati, has entered its 300th year. The sacred offering was introduced on August 2, 1715. No pilgrimage to the world's richest Hindu temple is complete without the laddu, made from flour, sugar, ghee, oil, cardamom and dry fruits. The mouth-watering sweet is the most sought after prasad after prayers to Lord Venkateswara. According to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), which manages the affairs of the hill shrine, about ninety million laddus were given away to pilgrims in 2014. -goTop
30. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: PRAVAAS: Dr Manmohan Vaidya, All Bharat prachar pramukh - RSS will finish his tour to Australia, New Zealand and Thailand. Shri Ravikumar sah samyojak Vishwa Vibhag is on a tour to Hong Kong, Japan and Thailand. Shri Shyam Parande, Secretary Sewa International returned from his short tour to Myanmar. VISITORS: Nidhi Mehta, Amruta Haude, Pravin Dhir, Jagdish Sehwani - USA, S. Taniga, Virendra Harit & family - France, Dr Anand Arya - UK, Dr AP Gupta - Singapore. -goTop
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Give up the youthful pride of wealth and followers. The time takes from away within a wink totally. Know for certain that this whole world of relativity is a mere appearance and thus discover the infinite Absolute Self that you are. - Bhaja Govindam -goTop
JAI SHREE RAM
Shri Vishwa Niketan, Delhi (vishwav@bol.net.in)
