current affairs 15 August 2021 (In English)

Kaziranga has become the 1st national park in India to be equipped with satellite phones.

• Assam Chief Secretary Jishnu Barua handed over 10 satellite phones to forest personnel of Kaziranga National Park to check poaching and ensure coordinated work.
• BSNL will be the service provider and the park authorities will bear the monthly expenses.
• BSNL has also trained the forest personnel to operate the satellite phones in the shadow areas where the mobile phones do not function.
• Satellite phones to forest workers will give them an edge over poachers and even during emergencies like floods.

ISRO's Chandrayaan 2 orbiter discovered water molecules on the surface of the Moon.

• The discovery was made by the orbiter's Imaging Infrared Spectrometer (IIRS).
• The instrument can operate between wavelengths of 0.8 to 5 micrometers, which enhances its ability to accurately differentiate between OH (hydroxyl) and H2O (water) molecules.

"Bangus Awam Mela" has been organized in Handwara, Jammu and Kashmir.

• Locals in Handwara town celebrated the 1st year of abrogation of Article 370 by organizing a two-day festival Bangus Awam Mela.

Shri Nitin Gadkari has recently announced road and highway projects worth Rs 1,000 crore in Uttarakhand.

• In addition, an additional Rs 300 crore was also announced for the Central Road Infrastructure Fund.
• He also promised that the Center would provide all possible assistance for ropeways and cable cars in Uttarakhand.
• He said that on the request of the Uttarakhand government, 42 works costing Rs 48 crore have also been approved under the Central Road Infrastructure Fund.
• The Chief Minister of Uttarakhand also requested for approval for construction of a two-lane tunnel for Tehri Lake in Dehradun.

India and Australia will hold their first ministerial level 2+2 meeting in September 2021.

• The first meeting between the foreign and defense ministers is part of a bilateral plan to upgrade the secretary-level "2 + 2" dialogue.
• 2 + 2 is usually used to establish a dialogue mechanism between the defense and foreign ministries of two countries.
• Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Peter Dutton are expected to visit India and Indonesia in September after holding talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary General Lloyd Austin.
• According to a report in Australian media, Prime Minister Scott Morrison may also attend a Quad summit level meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in September in New York.