Current Affairs 23rd July 2019

Current Affairs 23rd July 2019 - Important Points

• India team for West Indies Tour 2019 from - August 3rd , 2019
• Who won 5th gold medal,t the Nove Mesto nad Metuji Grand Prix i ? - Hima Das 
• Ujh and Basantar Bridges in JandK inaugurated by - Defence Minister
• All lanes at toll plazas to be ‘FASTag lanes’ from -  1st Dec 2019

Current Affairs 23rd July 2019 - Details

India team for West Indies Tour 2019 from - August 3rd , 2019

The BCCI selection panel headed by MSK Prasad has declared 3 Indian squads for One-Day Internationals, T20 Internationals and Tests matches for the forthcoming West Indies Tour starting from August 3rd, 2019. Virat Kohli will continue to lead Team India notwithstanding previous reports that the captain would be rested for the limited-overs series. Virat Kohli has made himself available for the complete tour. Rohit Sharma will also play in all the
3 formats following he was brought back into the Test squad. Ravindra Jadeja has also been
included in all the 3 Indian squads.
Shikhar Dhawan, who was ruled-out of the World Cup 2019 due to a thumb injury, has been
announced fit for the West Indies tour. Dhawan has been included in the Indian One-Day
International and T20 squad. The only notable absconder from all the 3 Indian squads is MS Dhoni. 
India team for West Indies Tour 2019

• Rishabh Pant has been involved in the Indian One-Day International, T20 International and Test
  squads for West Indies tour as the wicket-keeper, in place of MS Dhoni.
• Wriddhiman Saha has been included in the Indian Test side after above a year. Saha played his
  last test against South Africa in Cape Town in January 2018.
• He was ruled out of the series following his shoulder injury. He underwent surgery for the same in August 2018. 
• Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey have also been included in the Indian One-Day International squad, as selectors look to solve India’s middle-order woes.
• Both the batsmen are presently representing India A in a 5 match One-Day International series in West Indies, which India leads by 3-1. 
• Rahul Chahar’s cousin, Deepak Chahar, who formerly played in 1 One-Day International and T20 for India, has also been picked for India’s T20 squad.
• Hardik Pandya’s brother, left-arm spin bowling all-rounder Krunal Pandya has been encompassed
  in the Indian T20 squad. Khaleel Ahmed, the left-arm pacer, has also been included in the Indian
  One-Day International and T20 squad. 
  Players rested
  Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for India’s One-Day International and T-20 International matches
  against West Indies. Bumrah has been included for the 2 tests, which will be played from August
  22nd.
  All-rounder Hardik Pandya has been rested for the whole tour. Bhuvneshwar, who has been
  named for One-Day International and T20 International squads, has been rested for the test series.
  Yuzvendra Chahal has also been rested for India’s T20 International matches and test series.
  Kuldeep Yadav, who has been included in One-Day International and test squads, has been left out
  from the T20 International squad. 
  MS Dhoni is notably absent from the 3 Indian squads following the former captain made himself
  unavailable for the tour. However, MS Dhoni ruled out reports of his retirement. MS Dhoni has
  sought a 2-month sabbatical from international cricket to fulfil his prior promise to his paramilitary
  regiment. Dhoni holds the honorary position of Lieutenant Colonel in the Parachute Regiment of
  the Territorial Army.

Who won 5th gold medal,t the Nove Mesto nad Metuji Grand Prix i ? - Hima Das 

Hima Das secured her 5th Gold in the last 19 days in an incredible performance, after clocking her season-best time of 52.09s. Das secured 1st place in 400 metres at the Nove Mesto nad Metuji
Grand Prix in the Czech Republic on July 20th with an amazing last-minute pick up in pace. The
sprinter's personal best time is 50.79s, which she had clocked during the 2018 Asian Games.
Hima Das secured her 1st gold medal in this season at the Poznan Athletics Grand Prix in Poland
on July 2nd, after a 2nd gold in 200 meters at the Kutno Athletics Meet in Poland. Das secured her
3rd gold in 200m at the Kladno Athletics Meet in the Czech Republic with a timing of 23.43s. Her
4th gold medal came in 200 meters at the Tabor Athletics Meet on July 17th. 
Hima Das with her incredible accomplishment received praise from not only the PM but also the
President and top Bollywood and sports personalities. Hima Das replied to every tweet thanking them
for the good wishes with an ability to work even harder. 
Hima Das -PM Modi tweet
PM Narendra Modi tweeted saying that India is very proud of Hima Das’s phenomenal achievements over the last few days. Hima Das responded to the Prime Minister saying that she will continue to work hard and bring more medals for India.
Hima Das -President tweet
President Ram Nath Kovind tweeted, “You’re incredible @HimaDas8 Keep sprinting, keep shining.” Hima Das replied saying that she will continue to work hard and bring more laurels to the nation.
Sachin Tendulkar tweeted saying that he is loving the way Hima Das has been running in the
European circuit over the last 19 days.

Ujh and Basantar Bridges in JandK inaugurated by - Defence Minister

Union Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh initiated One kilometer long Ujh bridge in Kathua district and 617.40 meters long Basantar bridge in Samba district of JandK. Both of these bridges have been built by Border Roads Organisation under Project Sampark.
Key Highlights

• Ujh bridge is one kilometre long and built by Border Roads Organisation and was finished within
  scheduled time. It also holds distinction for being bridge where technology of Pre-Cast Segmental
  br with 60 meters spans was utilised. It has been built at a cost of approximately Rupees 50 crore.
• It is situated on Parole-Korepannu-Rajpura road over UjhNallah.
• Basantar bridge has been built at a total cost of about Rupees 41.7 crore. It is situated
  on Rajpura–Madwal–Pangadur–Phulpur road over BasantarNallah.
• These bridges will usher in vast development in connectivity of roads and bridges in border areas as
  they will provide smooth connectivity and are also vital for Indian Army for deployment on border
  areas.
• These bridges will also be a big relief for local people of border villages of Kathua and Samba sector
  as road connectivity to these areas utilised to get disturbed during Monsoon.

All lanes at toll plazas to be ‘FASTag lanes’ from -  1st Dec 2019

Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has decided to announce all lanes in all toll fee plazas on National Highways across nation as steadfast ‘FASTag lanes ‘from 1st December 2019.

Key Highlights

• To ensure seamless traffic and prevent congestion at toll plazas. It is also a part of Centre’s plan to
  encourage digital payments at toll plazas and decongest national highways.
• Among all lanes, only one hybrid lane where FASTag and other modes of payment will be
  acknowledged, will be permitted at every toll plaza.
• This is to simplify and monitor over-dimensional or oversized vehicles. However, this lane will also be transformed into FASTag-only lane in a time-bound manner.
• After 1st December 2019, non-FASTag subscribers will be charged double fees if they pass
  through FASTag-only lanes.
• However presently under National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008 there is a provision of making a vehicle owner pay 2 toll fee amounts but Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways now pursues to firmly implement imposing higher toll fee if a non-FASTag vehicle enters the FASTag lane.
• National Highway Authority of India has also been asked to find and resolve logistics and other
  problems that are likely to lead to any law and order issues in this venture of FASTags lanes.