Daily GK Updates - 29th July, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. 7th Economic Census begins from Tripura: The Government of India begins the 7th Economic Census from Tripura. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) will conduct the census.  It will be launched in other states and union territories in August and September. It will be conducted after a gap of 5 years. The fieldwork is expected to be completed by December and the results at the national level is expected to be available by March 2020.

Note: As per the last Economic Census conducted in 2013, there were 58.5 million establishments employing around 131 million workers. The economic census gives insights on the economic activities being carried out across the country, their geographical distribution, the number and distribution of workers, types of ownership and sources of finance. The economic census is the only source of information on the significantly large unorganized sector in the country.

2. 5th Dharma-Dhamma conference was held in Rajgir: The 5th international Dharma-Dhamma conference was inaugurated by Union Minister of State Kiren Rijiju. The aim of the conference is to address people about the terror, violence and global warming prevalent in the world. The conference will also address the subjects of Sat-Chit-Ananda and Nirvana which are the pivotal topics of Buddhism.

Note: Chief Minister of Bihar: Nitish Kumar; Governor of Bihar: Phagu Chuhan.

3. Girish Bapat appointed as chairman of estimates committee: Girish Bapat has been appointed the chairman of the "Estimates Committee" of the parliament. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla made the appointment. Estimates committee is one of the three financial standing committees of the parliament apart from the public accounts committee and committee on public undertakings.

4. K'taka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa wins confidence Motion: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has won Confidence Motion in the State Assembly by a voice vote. Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar declared that the Motion moved by Mr Yediyurappa has won the confidence of the House. Earlier, as the House assembled, BS Yediyurappa moved a one-line confidence motion seeking to prove the majority of his three-day-old government. KR Ramesh Kumar (Karnataka Assembly Speaker) has announced his resignation as Karnataka Assembly Speaker soon after BS Yediyurappa government won floor test in the house.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Nepal invited as a partner country for Gita Jayanti Mahotsav 2019: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has invited Nepal to be the partner country for this year's 'Gita Jayanti Mahotsav 2019' scheduled to be held at Kurukshetra. He extended the invitation to Ambassador of Nepal to India Nilamber Acharya.

Note: Nepal Prime Minister: K P Sharma Oli; Capital: Kathmandu; Currency: Nepalese rupee; President of Nepal: Bidhya Devi Bhandari.

2. Rajnath Singh arrives in Maputo on a three-day visit to Mozambique: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh arrived in Maputo on a three-day visit to southern African country, Mozambique. India is willing to forge a strong bilateral relationship with Mozambique by increasing regular engagement and cooperation in multiple spheres. Mr Singh will hold talks with President, Defence Minister, Foreign Minister and Interior Minister of Mozambique during his visit. India and Mozambique will sign bilateral agreements to boost military cooperation. During the defence minister's visit, India will also hand over two fast interceptor boats and 44 SUVs to Mozambique.

3. Global Tiger Day: 29 July: The ‘Global Tiger Day’ is being celebrated across the world to create awareness about tiger conservation and protection of the natural habitat of tigers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has released the results of the fourth cycle of the All India Tiger Estimation 2018 in New Delhi. According to PM Narendra Modi, India is one of the safest habitats in the world with 2967 tigers. Madhya Pradesh saw the highest number of tigers at 526, closely followed by Karnataka at 524 with Uttarakhand at number 3 with 442 tigers. The Tiger Estimation exercise is believed to be the world’s largest wildlife survey effort in terms of coverage, the intensity of sampling and quantum of camera trapping.

Note: Project Tiger was launched in 1973 with the initiative of conserving India's national animal. Tigers are considered as an “umbrella species” as their conservation also conserves many other species in the same area. The 2014 country-level tiger assessment had shown a 30% increase of tigers from 1706 in 2010, the tiger population has increased to 2226 in 2014.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1.  Nikoloz Basilashvili wins the German Tennis Championships: Nikoloz Basilashvili wins the German Tennis Championships. He defeated Andrey Rublev to successfully defend his title at the German Tennis Championships. With the win, he has become first player to win the event in successive years since Roger Federer in 2004-2005.

2. Egan Bernal claims Colombia's 1st Tour de France title: Egan Bernal became the 1st Colombian to win the Tour de France which finished in Paris, France. He beat the defending champion Geraint Thomas of Britain by 1 minute 11 seconds. The 22 year old Bernal has also become the youngest rider to win the race in 110 years. The Tour de France is an annual men's multiple stage bicycle race.

3. Bajrang Punia booked a berth in India's World Championship squad in 65kg category: Bajrang Punia (25 years) booked a berth in India's World Championship squad in the 65kg category defeating Harphul Singh in the trials held in New Delhi. Ravi Kumar Dahiya (U-23 World Championship silver-medallist) earned his chance by winning the most competitive 57 kg category during the trials. It featured seven wrestlers, including Sandeep Tomar and Utkarsh Kale. The World Wrestling Championship is slated to be held in Kazakhstan from September 14th to 22nd.

4. Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju receives Special Olympics Torch came from Singapore: Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju has received the Special Olympics Torch “Flame of Hope” from the Chairman of the Special Olympics International Football Championship (SOIFC), Dr. Amar Prasad Reddy in New Delhi. The Flame of Hope after travelling from Singapore to Delhi, reached New Delhi. The championship will be held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai from 3rd to 6th August 2019. According to Mr. Rijiju, the Union government will fully support the Special Olympics and international football championships in Chennai.

Note: The ‘Flame of Hope’ symbolises courage and celebration of diversity uniting communities around the globe. The SOIFC 2019 is an initiative of Special Olympics, an international organization that serves athletes with intellectual disabilities.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1.  NITI Aayog partners with WhatsApp to promote women entrepreneurs: WhatsApp has partnered with NITI Aayog, under the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) to announce its plan to support and promote women entrepreneurs in India. WhatsApp will also partner with the Women Transforming India (WTI) Awards 2019,flagship initiative of NITI Aayog.

AWARD AND HONOURS

1. Meryl Streep to receive Tribute Actor Award at TIFF 2019: Veteran star Meryl Streep will be honoured Tribute Actor award at the 2019 in 44th Toronto International Film Festival.  The 70-year-old actor will be the first-ever recipient of the award in TIFF. Streep is a 3 times Oscar winner for the Iron Lady, Sophie's choice and Kramer vs Kramer.

DEFENCE

1. RAW officer appointed as new BSF Director General: IPS officer V.K. Johri has been appointed as the next Director General (DG) of the country’s largest border guarding force, Border Security Force(BSF). He will succeed Rajni Kant Misra who retires on 31st of July 2019. He is presently serving as the Special Secretary in the external intelligence agency RAW, under the Cabinet Secretariat. The order has been issued by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) that is headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Note: BSF Established in: 1 December 1965; Headquarters of BSF: New Delhi.

Note: The BSF is the country's largest border guarding force (present strength of about 2.5 lakh personnel) and is tasked to secure two of India's most important and sensitive fronts with Pakistan and Bangladesh. The two other border guarding forces are ITBP (China) and SSB (Nepal and Bhutan).

2. 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, succeeding Lt Gen Anil Chauhan.

OBITUARIES

1. Senior Congress leader Jaipal Reddy passes away: Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister S Jaipal Reddy (77-years) passed away in a hospital in Hyderabad. Recently, Jaipal Reddy was diagnosed with pneumonia and was admitted to the hospital. He was a four-term MLA, member of Lok Sabha for five terms and member of Rajya Sabha for two terms.

2. Meghalaya assembly speaker Donkupar Roy passes away: Meghalaya Assembly Speaker Donkupar Roy (64-years) passed away at Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon following a brief illness.

Mr. Donkupar Roy was elected as the assembly speaker in March 2018. Donkupar Roy served as Chief Minister of Meghalaya (from 19th March 2008 to 18th March 2009). He was the head of the United Democratic Party, a political party recognised in Meghalaya.

3. Former Gujarat MP Vitthal Radadiya passes away: Former Gujarat MP Vitthal Radadiya passed away. He was one of the Saurashtra’s most prominent politicians and was former Member of Parliament from Porbandar in Gujarat. Vitthal Radadiya also served as a director of IFFCO and was the chairman of the Rajkot District Co-operative Bank. 

4. Saudi King Salman's elder brother, Prince Bandar passes away: King Salman’s elder half-brother Prince Bandar (96-years) passed away. He was the eldest living son of the late King Abdulaziz Al Saud. Prince Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was not an active political royal within the ruling Al Saud family and had been passed over in the line of succession to the throne. He was the tenth son of the country’s founding monarch. Prince Bandar’s sons, however, hold important posts- Prince Faisal bin Bandar is governor of Riyadh; Prince Abdullah bin Bandar heads the National Guard.