1.Around 15 lakh devotees thronged the pilgrim town to witness the majestic Suna Besha (golden attire) of Lord Jagannath and His siblings— Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra – on their respective chariots parked in front of the ‘Singha Dwar’ (Lion’s Gate) of Srimandir here, Wednesday.

2.The Asian Development Bank maintains India’s GDP growth forecast at 7 per cent for the current financial year.

3.The State Government appointed Cuttack Collector Arindam Dakua as Private Secretary to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, while Jagatsinghpur Collector Anupam Saha has been appointed as Additional Secretary to the CM.

4. Odisha may soon witness ‘bulldozer action’ as adopted in states like Uttar Pradesh, with the state government Wednesday warning that illegal constructions made on government land will be demolished.

5.BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik has asked party MLAs to closely monitor the activities of different government departments and raise issues pertaining to those in the Assembly, a party release said Wednesday.

 6.The state government of Karnataka has put on hold a bill mandating companies to give 50%-70% of jobs to locals following a huge backlash from various quarters.

7.Miss Universal Petite, a beauty pageant designated for ladies 5’6 feet or less, has for the first time an Indian winner.

8.The Railway Protection Force (RPF), during last seven years, rescued 84,119 children from railway stations and trains, preventing them from falling into wrong hands, a press statement from the Railway Ministry said.

9.The first instalment under Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme will be released during Rakshabandhan next month, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said Wednesday

10. Eight out of 13 Indians onboard a Comoros-flagged cargo vessel that capsized off Oman coast three days ago have been rescued, official sources said Wednesday

11.The Delhi government has shown lack of sensitivity over protecting the environment, the Supreme Court said while rapping it for granting permission to the Delhi Development Authority to chop 422 trees in the Southern Ridge’s reserve forest area for the construction of a road.

12.Over 3.38 lakh devotees have performed the ongoing Amarnath Yatra so far as another group of 3,740 pilgrims left for Kashmir Wednesday amid tight security.

13.More than 14,000 child marriages have been prevented across 265 districts in 17 states and Union Territories by civil society, a report by an NGO said.

14.With coastal erosion and natural calamities such as cylones taking alarming proportions due to climate change, the Ganjam district administration has planned to take up mangrove plantations along the coast to combat this situation.

15.The Odisha state is expected to experience a heavy rainfall from July 19 onwards due to the likely formation of a fresh low-pressure area over west-central Odisha and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal (BoB), India Meteorological Department (IMD) bulletin said Wednesday.