• National

Rajiv Kumar to be new Finance Secretary

• Government has designated financial services secretary Rajiv Kumar as finance secretary.
• He succeeds Subash Chandra Garg, who was shifted to the position of power secretary.
• Kumar has played a crucial role in initiating banking reforms for state-run banks.

Note:

About Financial Ministry

Founded: 29 October 1946

Headquarters: New Delhi

• National

Atal Innovation Mission to launch new programme for Community Innovation

• NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission will launch a new programme for Community Innovation in New Delhi.
• It aims to encourage the spirit of innovation in the country.
• It will be jointly inaugurated by Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank & Dharmendra Pradhan.

Note:

About NITI Aayog

Formed: 1 January 2015

Headquarters: New Delhi

• National

Lok Sabha passes Consumer Protection Bill

• Lok Sabha passed the Consumer Protection Bill that seeks to establish the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to protect and enforce consumer rights.
• The CCPA will take immediate action after a complaint is filed by consumers.
• The bill was introduced on July 8.

Note:

About Lok Sabha

Seats: 545 (543 Elected + 2 Nominated)

• International

London named world's best student city in new rankings

• London has been named as the world’s best city for students for the 2nd consecutive year, beating international cities like Tokyo & Melbourne that came 2nd & 3rd respectively.
• The ‘QS Best Student Cities Ranking’ compiled by QS Quacquarelli Symonds.

Note:

About U.K

Currency: Pound sterling

Capital: London

• International

PM of Nepal KP Oli inaugurates India-Nepal Logistics Summit in Kathmandu

• India-Nepal Logistics Summit was inaugurated by Prime Minister of Nepal KP Sharma Oli in Kathmandu, Nepal. The theme of the summit was “Transforming Logistics Landscape”.
• It was attended by Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri, Special Secretary (Logistics), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India N. Sivasailam, Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) V. Kalyana Rama and Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) President Bhawani Rana.

Note:

About Nepal

Currency: Nepalese rupee

Official languages‎: ‎Nepali

• International

Pakistan opens historic 1,000-year-old Hindu temple in Punjab for worship after 72 years

• On the demand of the local Hindu community, Pakistan opened Shawala Teja Singh Temple in eastern city Sialkot for worship for the first time since partition.
• According to the book ‘History of Sialkot’ by the late Rashid Niaz, the temple is 1,000-years-old.

Note:

About Pakistan

Currency: Pakistani rupee

Prime minister: Imran Khan

• Economy and Business

Singapore tops Asia in Dell Global Women Entrepreneur Cities Index 2019, Bengaluru top Indian city

• According to the latest “Women Entrepreneur Cities Index 2019”, sponsored by Dell and conducted by London-based global information provider, IHS Markit, The Singapore tops in Asian city ranked at 21st position.
• Indian cities Bangalore(Karnataka) and Delhi ranked 43rd (7th in Asia) and 50th (10th in Asia).

Note:

About Dell

CEO: Michael S. Dell

Headquarters: Round Rock, Texas, United States

Founder: Michael S. Dell

• Economy and Business

Reliance Jio is India’s largest telecom company

• Reliance Jio becomes the largest telecom company of India with 331.3 million subscribers overtaking Vodafone Idea whose customer base stood at 320 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2019.
• In contrast, Jio’s recently disclosed Q1 FY20 financial report showed 331.3 million subscribers in its network.

Note:

About Reliance

CEO: Mukesh Ambani

Owner: Mukesh Ambani

Founder: Dhirubhai Ambani

• Sports

ICC officially launches WTC

• On July 29, 2019, International Cricket Council (ICC) officially launched the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC).
• It will begin from August 1, 2019, where Australia and England will face each other in the Ashes.
• It will bring relevance and context to bilateral Test cricket over the next 2 years (2021).

Note:

About ICC

Headquarters: Dubai, United Arab Emirates

CEO: Manu Sawhney

• Awards

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

• On July 29,2019, The Registrar of Geographical Indications(GI), Chennai has awarded a GI certificate registering the sweetmeat as ”Odisha Rasagola” to the state of Odisha which will be valid till Feb 22, 2028.
• In 2017, West Bengal had secured the GI tag for ”Banglar Rosogolla” after a tug of war with Odisha since 2015 over the origin of the sweet.

Note:

About Odisha

Capital: Bhubaneswar

Governor: Ganeshi Lal

Chief minister: Naveen Patnaik

• Awards

DD News received “Champions of Empathy Award” for spreading awareness about hepatitis

• DD News (Doordarshan), a 24*7 terrestrial cum satellite News Channel of India has awarded “Champions of Empathy Award” for spreading awareness about hepatitis.
• Mayank Agrawal, Director General of DD News has received the Award from Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

• Appointments

Former Cognizant exec Debashis Chatterjee to take over as Mindtree CEO on August 1

• Former Cognizant executive Debashis Chatterjee will take over as Mindtree’s new Chief Executive Officer on August 1.
• He served as the executive vice president and president, global delivery, in Cognizant.

• Appointments

Jagdeep Dhankar sworn in as the governor of West Bengal

• Jagdeep Dhankhar, a former Lok Sabha MP from Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan, sworn in as the 28th governor of West Bengal.
• He was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice of Calcutta high court TBN Radhakrishnan in presence of chief minister Mamata Banerjee, state ministers, including urban development minister Firhad Hakim and finance minister Amit Mitra, and other dignitaries.

Note:

About West Bengal

Governor: Jagdeep Dhankhar

Capital: Kolkata

Chief minister: Mamata Banerjee

• Obituaries

Former RBI Deputy Governor Subir Vithal Gokarn passes away

• Subir Vithal Gokarn passed away at 60.
• He was the RBI Deputy Governor (2009-12) & oversaw Monetary Policy Research & Financial Markets dept.
• He served as Chief Economist of Standard & Poor’s Asia-Pacific (2007-09) & Chief Economist of CRISIL (2002-07).

Note:

About RBI

Governor: Shaktikanta Das

Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata

• Obituaries

Cafe Coffee Day owner VG Siddhartha dead, body found

• The body of Cafe Coffee Day founder V G Siddhartha, who had gone missing from a river bridge near Mangaluru on Monday night, has been found by local fishermen in the Nethravathi river.
• Commissioner of Police (Mangaluru) Sandeep Patil, who rushed to the spot, directed the police personnel to send the body to government-run Wenlock Hospital to conduct post-mortem.
• “The body was found in Hoige Bazaar at 6am.

Note:

About CCD

Founder: V. G. Siddhartha

Founded: 1996

Headquarters: Bengaluru

• States

22nd National Conference on e-Governance 2019 to be held at Shillong

• DARPG in association with MeitY, GoI & Meghalaya govt will organize the 22nd National Conference on e-Governance 2019 at Shillong.
• It is the first time the event is being organized in North-Eastern region.
• Theme is ‘Digital India: Success to Excellence’.

Note:

About Meghalaya

Formation‎: ‎21 January 1972

Governor: Tathagata Roy

• States

Lalji Tandon sworn in as the Governor of Madhya Pradesh

• On July 29, 2019, Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lalji Tandon was sworn in as the 28th Governor of Madhya Pradesh.
• He was administered oath by the Madhya Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Ravi Shankar Jha at a function in Raj Bhawan, Bhopal in the presence of Chief Minister Kamal Nath, state ministers and bureaucrats.

Note:

About Madhya Pradesh

Governor: Lalji Tandon

Capital: Bhopal

Chief minister: Kamal Nath

• States

Ramesh Bais sworn-in as the Governor of Tripura

• On July 29, 2019, A seven-time Member of Parliament (MP) from Chhattisgarh’s Raipur and former Union minister, Ramesh Bais, aged 71, was sworn in as the 18th Governor of Tripura in the presence of Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and senior officials of the administration.
• He was administered oath by the Chief Justice of Tripura High Court Justice Sanjay Karol at a function in Old Raj Bhawan, Agartala.
• He succeeds Kaptan Singh Solanki.

Note:

About Tripura

Capital: Agartala

Governor: Ramesh Bais

Chief minister: Biplab Kumar Deb

• Agreements

India, Myanmar sign MoU on defence co-operation

• India and Myanmar today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on defence co-operation.
• The MoU was signed in New Delhi after the talks between Minister of State for Defence, Shripad Yesso Naik and Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services of Myanmar, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
• Defence Ministry in a release said, the talks were aimed at enhancing defence co-operation, review joint exercises and training provided to Myanmar Defence Services.

Note:

About Myanmar

Capital: Naypyitaw

Currency: Burmese kyat