• Pranay Kumar Verma, an experienced diplomat and IFS official from the 1994 batch, has been chosen to serve as India’s next High Commissioner to Bangladesh. He is currently the ambassador of India to Vietnam. The Delhi-based Ministry of External Affairs made this announcement. Vikram Doraiswami, the current High Commissioner of India to the UK, is rumoured to be taking over, thus he is expected to start the job soon in his stead.
• In addition to Washington DC, Ambassador Pranay Kumar Verma has held diplomatic positions in Kathmandu, Hong Kong, San Francisco, and Beijing.
• He worked at the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi as the Joint Secretary of the East Asia Division.
• He also handled India’s nuclear diplomacy as the Joint Secretary for External Relations at the Department of Atomic Energy.

• World Ranger Day is observed on 31st July every year. The International Ranger Federation established this day to honour the contribution of Park Rangers to the preservation of nature. World Ranger Day offers a chance to support their vital work, which ranges from environmental campaigning to education. The day is also an opportunity to pay tribute to rangers who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
• A ranger is a person, who is tasked with maintaining and guarding parks and other naturally protected places. Rangers typically collaborate with staff personnel and other volunteers to maintain footpaths, bridges, stiles, and gates. They spend most of their time outside and serve as the national park authority’s eyes and ears. They serve as a point of contact for locals and tourists as well as the national park authorities

• According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Savitri Jindal (72, Indian) has become the richest woman in Asia with $11.3 billion fortune.
• She replaced China's Yang Huiya, with a net worth of $11.0bn.
• Huiyan, who controls largest real estate developer Country Garden Holdings of China has lost half of his wealth drop from nearly $24 billion last year to $11 billion.
• Savitri Jindal became the chairperson of the Jindal Group, after the death of her husband OP Jindal.

• The Kerala government is set to launch its own e-taxi service named 'Kerala Savari' from August.
• This online taxi hiring service is being rolled out by the state Labour Department which is linking the existing auto-taxi networks in the state.
• Aim: To ensure safe and dispute-free travel for the public at affordable rates prevailing in the state.
• The new service would be launched in a function to be held at Kanakakkunnu Palace.

• The Chhattisgarh Women Commission has organised ‘Mukhyamantri Mahtari Nyay Rath Yatra’ to make the women of the state aware of their constitutional rights and laws.
• CM Bhupesh Baghel has flag off the ‘Mukhyamantri Mahtari Nyay Rath’ (chariots) on the occasion of Hareli Tihaar festival.
• The Information regarding women's rights and concerning laws spread through short films, messages and brochures.
• Chairperson of Chhattisgarh women’s commission: Dr. Kiranmayi Nayak

• The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT Madras) has launched the ‘Nilekani Centre at AI4Bharat” with an aim to advance the state of Indian language technology.
• AI4Bharat, is an initiative to build open-source language (Artificial Intelligence) AI for Indian languages. 
• The centre has made several cutting-edge resources open-source for mass public use and can be downloaded from their webpage.

• A Canadian scholar, Jeffrey Armstrong has been awarded with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) 2021 Distinguished Indologist for his outstanding contribution in study, teaching and research in any of the fields of Indian Studies.
• He is the founder of the Vedic Academy of Science & Arts and author of The Bhagavad Gita comes Alive.
• The ICCR Distinguished Indologist award was instituted in 2015 during the First World Indology Conference.

• Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has come into partnership with Indian Olympic Association (IOA), which would involve the setting up of first-ever India House at Paris Olympics 2024.
• Aim: To elevate the performances of Indian athletes, support the national sports federations and build the credentials of India.
• This partnership will support Indian athletes in major events including the CWG, Asian Games, and the Olympics Games.
• IOA President: Anil Khanna (Acting)

• Zimbabwe has launched gold coins named “Mosi-oa-Tunya' to control an inflation spike that has eroded the country’s unstable currency.
• The move was announced by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (central bank), which has disbursed 2,000 coins to commercial banks.
• Coins have been given the status of liquid asset, which can be easily converted into cash.
• Coins can be used by Individuals or companies.
• They can purchase coins from banks and other authorised outlets.

• Sanket Mahadev Sargar (from Sangli in Maharashtra) has bagged silver in men's 55kg weightlifting, India's first medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
• He has lifted a total weight of 248kg (113+135).
• Bin Kasdan Mohamad Aniq from Malaysia has claimed gold medal with a total lift of 249kg (107+142).
• Dilanka Isuru Kumara Yodage of Sri Lanka has bagged bronze with a total lift of 225kg (105+120).

Download Daily GK PDF of 31 July 2022