3 AUGUST 2014: India wins first gold medal in squash

Ø  Nepal’s government and political parties have pinned their hopes on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Nepal for a new beginning in ties between the two South Asian neighbours. The leaders, however, cautioned against any major breakthrough during the visit, though some specifics of security, economy and trade could be touched. Leaders across the spectrum said Mr. Modi’s visit should be used as an opportunity to promote political-level engagement between the two countries. Mr. Modi is arriving here on Sunday at the invitation of Prime Minister Sushil Koirala. This is the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Nepal in 17 years. Mr Modi is scheduled to hold talks with Mr. Koirala and address Nepal’s Parliament. The address to Parliament will be in Hindi. The next day, he will call on President Ram Baran Yadav after offering puja at the Pashupatinath Temple and later meet political leaders and members of the business community.

Ø  Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal won India its maiden Commonwealth Games squash gold medal in Glasgow.

Ø  Country’s first multi-sensor moored observatory IndARC was successfully deployed in Kongsfjorden Fjord of the Arctic roughly halfway between North Pole and Norway on July 23. A team of scientists from the Earth System Science Organisation-National Institute of Ocean Technology (ESSO-NIOT) Chennai and ESSO-National Centre for Antartic and Ocean Research (NCAOR) termed the same as a milestone in India’s scientific endeavours in the Arctic region. This observatory, designed and developed by ESSO-NIOT and ESSO-NCAOR with ESSO-Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad, was deployed from the Norwegian Polar Institute’s research vessel R.V. Lance. Team led by Dr.Venkatesan deployed the same during its annual cruise to the Kongsfjorden area and the mission was guided by Atmanand — Director of ESSO-NIOT and Rajan – Director of ESSO — NCAOR.