GK and Current Affairs Updates

The Union Cabinet on 20 July 2016 approved The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016 to protect transgenders from discrimination.
•    Through this Bill, the Government aims to evolve a mechanism for social, economic and educational empowerment of the transgenders.
•    The Bill will benefit a large number of transgender persons, mitigate the stigma, discrimination and abuse against this marginalized section and bring them into the mainstream of society. 
•    It will lead to greater inclusiveness and will make the transgender persons productive members of the society. 
•    It will make all the stakeholders responsive and accountable for upholding the principles underlying the Bill. 
•    It will bring greater accountability on the part of the Union Government and State Governments for issues concerning Transgender persons.
Transgender community is among one of the most marginalized communities in the country because they don't fit into the stereotypical categories of gender of men or women. 

The Union Cabinet on 20 July 2016 approved a proposal to introduce amendments to the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2015 in Parliament.
•    The amendments aim to strengthen the Bill in terms of legal and administrative procedure so as to overcome the practical difficulties which may arise in the implementation of the provisions of the Bill when it becomes an Act.
•    The legislation is intended to effectively prohibit benami transactions and consequently prevent circumvention of law through unfair practices.
•    The amendments will empower the Government to confiscate benami property by following due procedure. However, those who declare their benami properties under income declaration scheme will get immunity under the Benami Act.
•    The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act was earlier enacted in 1988, but the rules under that Act could not be formulated due to inherent infirmities in it. 
•    Following this, in 2011 the government introduced a Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Bill in Parliament.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on 20 July 2016 declared a three-month state of emergency in the country. The emergency was declared in response to the failed coup that happened on 15 July 2016.
•    The decision was made following a meeting with cabinet ministers and top security advisers in Ankara.
•    While declaring the imposition of the emergency Erdogan said that the measure was being taken to counter threats to Turkish democracy.
•    A coup was attempted by a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces against the incumbent Justice and Development Party in Turkey, which ultimately failed. The faction organized the coup under a council calling itself the Peace at Home Council.
•    The council attempted to seize control of several key places in Ankara, Istanbul, and elsewhere.
•    The event ended one day later when forces loyal to Erdogan achieved control of military factions that had openly projected military power against Turkey's government and military leadership.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on 20 July 2016 announced that launch of National Electoral Roll Purification (NERP) 2016 programme across the country.
The programme was launched to improve health of Electoral Rolls (ERs) and to optimize the Polling Station (PS) location and area across the country.
The motto of ECI for the year 2016 is No voter to be left behind.
Improving Health of ERs by inclusion of all eligible citizens in mission mode by:
•    ERs to be made free from errors.
•    Single ER entry for every eligible elector with unique Elector Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number.
•    Removal of all Absent (A)/ Shifted (S)/ Dead (D) electors’ entries and Repeat Entries (REs).
•    Ensuring Photo Electoral Rolls (PERs) with good quality correct images of every elector confirming to ECI standards, and linking Electors with ECI by obtaining their contact details.

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 20 July 2016 approved the incorporation of Sagarmala Development Company (SDC) under the Companies Act, 2013. It will be under the administrative control of the Ministry of Shipping.
•    Implementation of the identified projects will be done mainly through private or PPP mode.
•    It will provide equity support for the project Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) set up by the Ports/State/Central Ministries window.
•    It will implement only those residual which cannot be funded by any other means / mode.
•    SDC will Identify port-led development projects and put in place suitable risk management measures for strategic projects cutting across multiple States/Regions.
•    Since the Identified projects will be undertaken by multiple agencies, SDC will also work as the nodal agency for coordination and monitoring of all the identified projects as well as other projects.
•    SDC will undertake the preparation of the detailed master plans for the Coastal Economic Zones (CEZs) identified as part of the National Perspective Plan (NPP).
•    It will also provide a framework for ensuring the integrated development of Indian maritime sector.

Students on a college trip in Anaikaraipatti, Tamil Nadu have discovered a 2,000-year-old burial site, reports The Better India. 

•    The students discovered four Dolmens, which are the burial sites of leaders and war heroes. Notably, Dolmens are typically megalithic tombs with flat stones laid upon upright ones.
•    The Sangam literature (300 BCE to 400 CE) shows a vibrant Tamil life with well laid out towns which are organically related to a colorful village life. 
•    Some songs give detailed descriptions of port cities and various settlements. 
•    However, there have not been enough archaeological substantiation attempted for the historical data embedded in Sangam literature. Coins have been obtained with the names of some of the rulers. 
•    The news of Keeladi, a village in Sivaganga district in Tamil Nadu, having thrown up large scale urban settlements more than 2000 years old, coinciding with the Sangam age, is good encouragement for Indian archaeology. 

Ranked at number six, the Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc), Bengaluru has been listed as the top Indian university in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) University Rankings 2016 for BRICS nations. 

•    While eight Indian universities ranked in the top 50, most of them, including IISc, lost ranks compared to their positions last year. 
•    China's Tsinghua University maintained its top spot.
•    It has been a mixed bag for Indian education institutions in the 2016 edition of the QS World University Rankings for BRICS nations — Brazil, China, India, Russia, and South Africa — released on Wednesday.
•    While India expanded its base in the rankings with 17.6 per cent of the 250 universities from the country, its highest ranked university, the Indian Institute of Sciences, Bengaluru, fell one place from last year's rankings. 
•    Apart from that, six of the top 10 Indian universities in the rankings also lost positions. Also, India has one fewer university in the top 20 when compared to the 2015 rankings.

Mohammed Shahid, one of the greatest names in Indian hockey, died on 20 July 2016 due to severe liver condition and kidney failure. He was 56.

Shahid was the part of the Indian hockey team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
•    Born on 14 April 2016 in Varanasi, Mohammed Shahid is considered one of India's best to have played hockey.
•    He made his first appearance for India in the junior team in 1979 at the Junior World Cup in France.
•    He made his first appearance in the senior team in 1979 in a four-nation tournament in Kuala Lumpur.
•    He was known for his running ability, dribbling of the ball and push.
•    He was awarded the Best Forward Player at the 1980 Champions Trophy in Karachi.
•    He was a member of the team that won the silver at the 1982 Asian Games and bronze at the 1986 Asian Games.
•    He captained the Indian team during 1985–1986.
•    He was awarded Arjuna Award in 1980–1981.
•    He was honoured with Padma Shri in 1986.

Hundreds of people have been lining up at a sanctuary in Alattil, Kerala to view the Titan arum or Amorphophallus titanum (Corpse Flower), which is blooming after about nine years. 

•    Titan arum, which smells like rotting flesh and is the largest flower in the world, collapses on itself about two days after blooming. It is native to Sumatra in Indonesia.
•    The Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary, established by late Wolfgang Theuerkauf, a German who dedicated over 30 years of his life to the conservation of plants of southern India, has been growing the Amorphophallus Titanum or Titan arum , more commonly called the Corpse Flower, the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world, for nine years.
•    It began opening on Monday in the garden’s green house.
•    Suma Keloth, conservationist of the sanctuary, said the plant, which is native to Indonesia’s Sumatra region, had been grown from a seed planted about nine years ago. The corpse flower cannot self-pollinate and its stench attracts sweat bees and carrion beetles that live on animal carcasses.

India's contestant Rohit Khandelwal won the coveted Mister World 2016 title on 19 July 2016. The grand finale of Mr World 2016 was held at the Southport Theatre & Convention Centre in Southport, U.K.

•    With this, Khandelwal has become the first Indian and Asian to win the Mr World title at the competition.
•    Mr World 2014 Nicklas Pedersen passed on the title to Khandelwal. He also won a cash prize of 50000 US dollar.
•    Puerto Rico’s Fernando Alberto Alvarez Soto was named the first runner-up and Aldo Esparza Ramirez of Mexico was named the second runner-up.
•    Rohit Khandelwal was born on 19 August 1989 in Hyderabad.
•    He graduated from Aurora Degree College.
•    He served as ground staff for SpiceJet and technical support assistant at the Dell Computers prior to entering the modelling industry.
•    He made his television debut by appearing in the Episode 76 of Yeh Hai Aashiqui, an Indian television series.
•    He won Mr India 2015 contest held on 23 July 2015 at Club Royalty in Mumbai.