On August 29, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given its approval for the umbrella scheme “Ocean Services, Technology, Observations, Resources Modelling and Science (O-SMART)” of Ministry of Earth Sciences. The scheme with an overall cost of Rs. 1623 crore encompasses a total of 16 sub-projects addressing ocean development activities such as Services, Technology, Resources, Observations and Science. The services rendered under the O-SMART will provide economic benefits to a number of user communities in the coastal and ocean sectors, namely, fisheries, offshore industry, coastal states, Defence, Shipping, Ports etc. This scheme also provides necessary scientific and technological background required for implementation of various aspects of Blue Economy.

On 21st August 2018, Prashant Agrawal was appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Namibia. Prashant Agrawal is an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) Officer of the 1998 batch. At present, he is Joint Secretary at Headquarters. He has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Namibia. He will take up this assignment soon.

The Assam government on Saturday announced that it had extended the implementation of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in the state for 6 more months. The Home and Political Department of Assam on February 28 declared the whole state a “disturbed area” under the 1958 Act.

The UIDAI has directed the Aadhaar enrolment agencies in Kerala, including banks and post offices, to facilitate retrieval of the 12-digit number and provide free printouts to Aadhaar-holders who have lost their document in the flood-hit state.

The 3rd edition of Indian Ocean Conference (IOC) 2018 began in Hanoi, Vietnam on August 27 with theme ‘Building Regional Architectures’. The 2-day conference was inaugurated by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj along with her Vietnamese counterpart, Pham Binh Minh.

The Union Minister of Steel, Chaudhary Birender Singh has unveiled the corporate sports policy for Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) under the Ministry of Steel in New Delhi. The policy will provide a framework for the promotion of sports by Steel Ministry CPSEs.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) issued an advisory on August 21, 2018, directing all the universities and higher education institutions to ban sale of junk food on their campuses. In this regard, the commission issued a notice to vice-chancellors of all universities to ban junk food in college premises.

The FSSAI constituted a group of experts from health and nutrition sector to look into the issue of labelling. The expert panel will be headed by B Sesikeran, former director of National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) and comprises Hemalatha and doctor Nikhil Tandon.

On 23rd August 2018, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E.Palanisamy launched an app and a website on plastic pollution free Tamilnadu. He inaugurated a campaign to highlight the impact of plastic pollution. He appointed actor Vivek as the brand ambassador of the project. Tamil Nadu Government has announced plastic ban with effect from 1st January 2019.

Budget passenger carrier SpiceJet has successfully conducted India’s first-ever test flight powered by biojet fuel between Dehradun and Delhi on August 27, 2018. The 43-minute flight was operated by the airline’s Bombardier Q-400 aircraft with total 25 on onboard, including crew. The flight was powered by a blend of 75% Air Turbine Fuel (ATF) and 25% biojet fuel. The biojet fuel, which is made from Jatropha crop, has been developed by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) based in Dehradun along with Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP). The advantage of using biojet fuel as compared to ATF is that it reduces carbon emissions and enhances fuel efficiency. The biojet fuel has been recognized by American Standard Testing Method (ASTM) and meets the specification standards of Pratt & Whitney and Bombardier for commercial application in aircraft. Globally, bio-fuel powered flights are operated in Canada.

On August 25, 2018, after the demise of the former PM of India MR. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, various states, and institutions renamed themselves after Late PM. Some of them are:
The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) announced its decision to rename its School of Management and Entrepreneurship as Atal Bihari Vajpayee School of Management and Entrepreneurship. Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh renaming upcoming capital of the state Naya Raipur as Atal Nagar. Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government to name the proposed Bundelkhand Expressway as ‘Atal Path’.

On 24th August 2018, Telangana State Government increased the free electricity supply to the families of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for the domestic purpose from the current 50 units to 101 units. This was announced by Telangana Chief Minister Chandrasekhar Rao at a review meeting in Hyderabad. This decision has been made keeping in mind, the increasing usage of electrical appliances. The state government will pay these charges to the distributary agencies. Telangana State Government has also increased the honorarium paid to Imams and Moazins of Masjids to 5000 rupees from the current 1500 rupees per month.

India and Asian Development Bank have signed 346 Million dollar loan agreement to improve over 400 kilometers of State highways in Karnataka.

Renowned aerospace scientist Dr G Satheesh Reddy, who is scientific adviser to the Defence minister, has been appointed new chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for a period of two years. He will also be secretary in the Department of Defence Research and Development (DDR&D) for the same period. The post of DRDO chief was lying vacant since May 2018 after the then Chief Dr. S. Christopher stepped down. Dr. Reddy is the first defence scientist working in India to receive the Silver Medal of Royal Aeronautical Society, UK, and has also been selected for the first IEI (India) and IEEE (USA) joint award for Engineering Excellence.