News Breakfast @6

01. Assam COVID-19 Deaths Crosses 200 Today

Assam registered six more cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) deaths today, pushing the state's death tally to 203, health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma confirmed.

02. SC Verdict Tomorrow On Rhea Chakraborty's Plea

The fourth Supreme Court hearing and the presumably final verdict on actor Rhea Chakraborty's petition for transfer of FIR filed against her alleging abetment of actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death to Mumbai will be delivered tomorrow. The judgement will be given by a bench of Justice Hrishikesh Roy at 11 am.

03. Assam Boxer Lovlina Borgohain Among 29 Recommended For Arjuna Awards

Indian boxer from Assam Lovlina Borgohain on Tuesday recommended for the prestigious Arjuna Award by the Sports Ministry's selection committee. Borgohain is one among 29 sportspersons nominated for the award. Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Kiren Rijiju, will have a final decision on the Selection Committee's recommendations.

04. Dream11 Bags IPL Title Sponsor With Bid Of Rs 234

Fantasy cricket platform Dream 11 has bagged the title sponsorship for IPL 2020 with a winning bid of INR 222 crore, IPL chairman Brijesh Patel said. The breakup of Dream11's winning bid is as follows: Rs 222 crore for the first year, Rs 240 crore for year two and Rs 240 crore for year three, for an average of Rs 234 crore per year.

05. J&K: 3 Suspected Militants Gunned Down

Security forces killed three suspected militants in Kreeri area of Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir today, a statement from the Indian Army said. Two soldiers, who were critically injured in the search and cordon operation, later succumbed to their injuries.

06. India Lacks Good Digital Life Quality: Study

India has ranked one of the lowest globally in terms of Internet quality, a global research survey stated. Various news outlets have reported that according to the "Digital Quality of Life Index 2020", India clinched the 79^th place out of 85 countries on the quality of digital well-being pertaining to e-infrastructure. The survey based out of 85 countries comprises 81% of the global population.

07. Scholarship Announcement For Minority Communities Students

In a notification released by the Ministry of Minority Affairs, today announced the opportunity to the students belonging to six minority communities for availing scholarships under Pre-Matric Scholarship scheme for 2020-21. In this connection, Assam Minorities Development Board has declared the invitation for online applications for the same. he last date for the submission for fresh applications and renewal scholarships is October 31, this year.

08. Education Ministry: IITs Overshadows Innovation Rankings

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras secured first place in the Education Ministry's Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) 2020. IIT Mumbai and IIT Delhi bagged the second and third places respectively.

09. Ashok Lavasa Resigns As Election Commissioner

Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa has resigned today from his position. He reportedly tendered his resignation to President Ram Nath Kovind. Lavasa was a 1980-batch Haryana cadre IAS officer, and had almost 2 years remaining in his tenure.

10. "Teachers Not Joining On 1st September To Face Salary Deduction"- HBS

Compulsory COVID-19 tests will start for teachers in the state from August 21. This was suggested today by Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma at a press conference. Sarma, during the meeting, further informed that the teachers will have to resume their professional duties from September. If, however, they fail to join their respective educational institutions on the said date, deduction would be made from their salaries.

11. Baghjan Blowout: Well-Killing Operation Fails

The Baghjan well killing failed as one of the valves gave away putting the entire operation into an uncertainty. The attempt to conduct the Baghjan well-killing work today failed due to the blowout of the valve on the 13.3/8 casing, Oil India Limited (OIL) officials stated.

12. "300+ Pvt Educational Institutions To Be Made Public" – HBS

197 private High Schools of Assam, 9 private Higher Secondary schools and 149 private junior colleges will be provincialized. 27 new colleges will also be added to the public sector. A total of 355 educational institutions will be made a part of the public sector.

13. Kamrup (M) Reports Highest Cancer Cases at 3.8%

 The cancer cases in Assam have increased rapidly and Kamrup (M) reported 170 cancer cases per one lakh population among women according to data released by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Kamrup Urban district showed the highest annual increase in the incidence of cancer at 3.8%

14. Satya Pal Malik Appointed as Meghalaya Governor

Goa governor Satya Pal Malik has been transferred and appointed the governor of Meghalaya. Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari will discharge the functions of the Governor of Goa in addition to his own duties.

15. Prez Kovind Gives Assent to Rename HRD Ministry as Education Ministry

President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday gave assent to the change in name of the ministry of human resource development (MHRD) as the ministry of education, an official notification said. The name change was among the key recommendations of the draft new National Education Policy (NEP), which was also cleared by the Union Cabinet last month.