After West Bengal, Odisha gets GI tag for its version of Rasgulla

NATIONAL NEWS

NITI Aayog partners with WhatsApp to promote women entrepreneurs

• NITI Aayog and Facebook-owned WhatsApp, under the aegis of its Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP), have announced a partnership to support the growth of a robust ecosystem to promote women entrepreneurs in India.
• WhatsApp, in collaboration with NITI Aayog, will announce an annual calendar of events aimed at capacity building of women entrepreneurs and develop specific programmes aimed at addressing challenges faced by women entrepreneurs.

Facts

NITI Aayog CEO- Amitabh Kant

Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog-Rajiv Kumar

7th Economic Census kicks off from Tripura

• Seventh Economic Census has been started from Tripura on July 29, 2019. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) conducts this survey. Census in other states and union territories will also begin in August and September.
• Findings of this survey will be available by March 2020 while fieldwork is expected to be completed by December 2019.
• The 7th Economic Census will be conducted using state-of-the-art ICT platform, real-time data validation and scrutiny, monitoring and supervision using interactive MIS dashboards, finalization and dissemination of results through Statistical reports.

After West Bengal, Odisha gets GI tag for its version of Rasgulla

• Odisha bagged the geographical indication (GI) tag for its “Rasagola”, thus bringing it a late cheer in its battle since 2015 with West Bengal on the sweet’s origin.
• West Bengal had won the first round. Both states staked their claim on the syrupy dessert. In 2017, West Bengal secured the GI tag for its “Banglar Rasogolla”.
• Now with Odisha also securing a certificate for a similar but somewhat differently named delicacy.

Odisha Secretariat renamed Lok Seva Bhavan

• Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced in the State Assembly that the Sachivalaya or Secretariat building in Bhubaneswar will now be called ‘Lok Seva Bhavan’.

ECONOMIC AND FINANCE

Nilekani-Backed Sahamati Account Aggregator Could Solve Fintech’s Data Problem

• Nilekani has now introduced a new model which could change the game for the fintech ecosystem in India in the form of account aggregator.
• Nilekani debuted Sahamati, a collective of account aggregator focussed on fintech data and addressing the friction in accessing this data.
• The Sahamati framework addresses pain points and provides a digital platform for easy sharing and consumption of data between its partner entities, with user consent.

APPOINTMENTS

Lt Gen Paramjit Singh to be new DGMO of Army

• Lt Gen Paramjit Singh, who has vast experience in counter-terror operations, will be the next Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) of the Indian Army.
• Lt Gen Singh, currently serving as General Officer Commanding of the Army's Nagrota-based XVI Corps, will take over as the new DGMO on October 15, succeeding Lt Gen Anil Chauhan.

AWARDS

Meryl Streep to receive acting honour at Toronto film fest

• Meryl Streep will be honoured at the 2019 Toronto Film Festival, where she will receive the inaugural Tribute Actor Award.
• Streep is a three-time Oscar winner for The Iron Lady, Sophie's Choice and Kramer vs. Kramer. She previously scored an Emmy win for her leading role in HBO's miniseries adaptation of Angels in America.

Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik wins People’s Choice Award in U.S.

• Renowned Indian sand artist and Padma Awardee Sudarsan Pattnaik has won the People’s Choice Award at a prestigious sand sculpting festival in the U.S., wowing the American public with his sculpture that highlighted the message of combating plastic pollution in oceans.
• Mr. Pattnaik was among the 15 top sand artists selected from across the world to participate in the 2019 Revere Beach International Sand Sculpting Festival in Boston, Massachusetts. He won the People’s Choice Award for his sand sculpture ‘Stop Plastic Pollution, Save Our Ocean’

Tamil Nadu girl wins gold at World Deaf Youth Badminton Championship in Taiwan

• 15-year-old Jerlin Anika from Tamil Nadu's Madurai has won the gold medal at the 2nd World Deaf Youth Badminton Championship in Taipei, Taiwan.
• Anika won a total of four medals including two silvers and a bronze.

FACTS

President of Taiwan-Tsai Ing-wen,

Currency of Taiwan- Taiwanese Dollar.

OBITUARY

Former Gujarat MP Vitthal Radadiya dead

• Viththal Radadiya, a prominent leader of cooperative sector, and two-time parliamentarian who represented Porbandar, died following a prolonged illness.
• A prominent political leader from Saurashtra region who had been with the BJP, Congress and regional outfit RJP, the former five-time legislator and cabinet minister was suffering from cancer and was bedridden for a year.

Former AP minister Mukesh Goud passes away at 60

• Senior Congress leader and former Andhra Pradesh cabinet minister M. Mukesh Goud passed away in Hyderabad. Goud, aged 60 years, was battling cancer for the last seven months.
• Goud, who was a leader from Backward Classes in the state, had served as a cabinet minister in the Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy government (2004-09).

SPORTS

Basilashvili matches Federer feat as he retains Hamburg title

• Nikoloz Basilashvili emerged victorious after a three-set battle with Andrey Rublev to successfully defend his title at the German Tennis Championships.
• The reigning champion claimed his 12th straight win in Hamburg 7-5 4-6 6-3, having also needed to come through a decider to beat Leonardo Mayer in the 2018 final.

Egan Bernal becomes first Colombian to win the Tour de France

• Egan Bernal became the first Colombian to win the Tour de France when he retained the overall leader’s yellow jersey after 21st and final stage won by Caleb Ewan of Australia.
• The 22-year-old Bernal, the youngest rider to win the race in 110 years, gave Team Ineos — formerly Team Sky — their seventh title in the last eight editions.
• He beat team mate and defending champion Geraint Thomas of Britain by one minute 11 seconds, with Dutchman Steven Kruijswijk coming home third, 1:31 off the pace.

Olympic champion Muhammad smashes women's 400m hurdles world record

• Olympic champion Dalilah Muhammad smashed the longstanding women's 400m hurdles world record, clocking 52.20sec with a superb display at the US Track and Field Championships.
• Muhammad, gold medallist at the Rio de Janeiro Games, shattered the previous best of 52.34 set by Russia's Yuliya Pechonkina in 2003.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Against Trafficking in persons 30 July 2019

• The UN General Assembly designated 30 July as the World Day against Trafficking in Persons and declared that it was necessary to observe such a day to "raise awareness of the situation of victims of human trafficking and for the promotion and protection of their rights."
• The theme for World Day Against Trafficking in Persons 2019 is – "Human Trafficking: Call Your Government to Action"

On International Tiger Day on July 29, Prime Minister of India Cheers India's Tiger Census

• With around 3,000 tigers, India has become "one of the safest habitats" for the big cats in the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today as he released the All India Tiger Estimation Report 2018.
• The population of tigers in India has increased from 2,226 in 2014 to 2,967 in 2018, a rise of 33 per cent, according to the latest tiger census report.