GK and Current Affairs Updates

PM Narendra Modi chaired the 11th meeting of Inter-State Council. Union Ministers and Chief Minister of all 31 states were in attendance.
Highlights about the points discussed in meet by PM:
•    Education should be such that makes students inquisitive, curious.
•    PM Quoted Vivekananda who said education was the building of character, enhance your capabilities, to be able to stand on your feet.
•    We have to make our youths such that they can think logically, use their minds.
•    One of the agendas of today is internal security.
•    Our country can't be secured till there is intelligence sharing, cooperation and state of the art facilities.
•    Interstate council gives us a chance to listen to various suggestions freely.
•    This will not just enshrine the values of cooperative federalism, but will ensure a better future for our citizens.

The U.N. cultural agency on Friday placed nine new sites on its World Heritage List, including a medieval Armenian city located in northeast Turkey.
•    UNESCO added the old city of Ani, in the Turkish province of Kars to its prestigious list during a meeting in Istanbul. Ani, near Turkey's now closed border with Armenia, once served as the capital of the Armenian kingdom in the 10th century. 
Newly put on the heritage list are -
•    Zuojiang Huashan Rock Art Cultural Landscape (China) 
•    Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara (India) 
•    The Persian Qanat (Iran)
•    Nan Madol: Ceremonial Center of Eastern Micronesia (Micronesia) 
•    Stecci -- Medieval Tombstones Graveyards (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia)
•    Archaeological Site of Philippi (Greece) 
•    Antequera Dolmens Site (Spain)
•    Archaeological Site of Ani (Turkey) &
•    Gorham's Cave Complex (Britain)
•    The World Heritage Committee also selected Micronesia's artificial islets of Nan Madol and simultaneously placed it on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

Indian boxer Vijender Singh defeated Welsh-born Australian Kerry Hope 98-92 92-92 100-90 at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex in New Delhi on Saturday to win the World Boxing Organisation's Asia Pacific super middleweight title. 
•    Middleweight WBO world title holder in 2015 is Billy Joe Saunders
•    The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. 
•    Vijender Singh Beniwal known as Vijender Singh is an Indian professional boxer and the current WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight Champion from Kaluwas, Bhiwani district in Haryana
•    Vijender made his Bollywood debut as an actor in film Fugly, released on 13 June 2014.
•    The film is produced by Grazing Goat Productions, owned by Akshay Kumar and Ashvini Yardi. The film got above average review.
•    He has also been conferred with Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Padma Shri 
 

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 14 July 2016 constituted an inter regulatory Working Group (WG) to study the entire gamut of regulatory issues relating to Fin Tech (financial technology) and Digital Banking in India.
•    It will view the growing significance of Fin Tech innovations and their interactions with the financial sector as well as the financial sector entities.
•    The 13-member working group will be headed by Sudarshan Sen, the executive director of RBI. It has been asked to submit its report within six months from the date of its first meeting.
•    The terms of reference of the Working Group
•    To assess the implications and challenges for the various financial sector functions such as intermediation, clearing, payments being taken up by non-financial entities.
•    To examine cross country practices in the matter, to study models of successful regulatory responses to disruption across the globe.
•    To chalk out appropriate regulatory response with a view to re-aligning / re-orienting regulatory guidelines and statutory provisions for enhancing Fin Tech / digital banking associated opportunities while simultaneously managing the evolving challenges and risk dimensions.
•    Any other matter relevant to the above issues.

The eleventh edition of Asia-Europe Meeting Summit or ASEM2016 began in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. 
•    The theme of the Summit is ‘20 Years of ASEM: Partnership for the Future through Connectivity‘. 
•    World leaders including from the leaders of 51 member countries and the representatives of European Union and Asian are attending the two day summit. 
•    Indian delegation is led by Vice President Mohmmad Hamid Ansari. India’s agenda for the summit is to push the efforts to boost inter-continental connectivity. 
•    ASEM2016 is being held in the new world environment following Britain’s exit from the European Union and a global economic slowdown. 
•    It is also first major multilateral diplomatic gathering after recent ruling by UN-backed international tribunal which has struck down China’s claims in strategic South China Sea. 
•    ASEM2016 will also take into consideration the issue of terrorism during deliberations after recent terror strike in Bangladesh and some European countries. 
•    ASEM is an informal process of dialogue and cooperation that brings 53 entities – including 51 countries (including India) from Asia and Europe and two regional bodies European Union (EU) and the ASEAN. 

•    Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq on 14 July 2016 scored 110 against England at Lord's.
•    With this, the 42 years and 47 days old cricketer became the oldest captain to score Test hundred.
•    Misbah is also the oldest visiting player to play a Test on English soil in the last 31 years.
•    The previous oldest was Somachandra de Silva of Sri Lanka, who was 42 years & 73 days old when he played against England at Lord's in 1984.
•    Misbah-ul-Haq is a Pakistani cricketer.
•    He is the current Test captain of the Pakistan national cricket team.
•    He was also the One Day International (ODI) captain until his retirement from ODI cricket after the 2015 Cricket World Cup.
•    He holds the record of the fastest test half century.
•    He also scored fastest test century, equalling the record of Sir Vivian Richards, which was later broken by Brendon McCullum.

Aziz Ansari has made history as he has become the first Indian-American actor to land a lead comedy-acting Emmy nomination for his series "Master of None".

•    Mr Ansari is also just the fifth person of South Asian descent to be nominated in an acting category.
•    Mr Ansari, who is also nominated for writing and directing "Master of None", co-created the Netflix comedy with Alan Yang.
•    Aziz Ansari and Yang are currently busy writing season 2 of "Master of None"
•    The 33-year-old actor plays Dev, an actor trying to make it in New York. "Master of None", which is up for best comedy, crystallized diversity challenges in Hollywood in the show's fourth episode, titled "Indians" on TV.
•    Casual racism has also been also addressed in the show. "If you're a minority, you're experiencing all sorts of casual racism all the time. And at a certain point, you just get numb to a lot of it, and you're like, whatever

The World Health Organization (WHO) on 14 July 2016 declared India as Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus free. In this regard, WHO presented certificates to the Union Health and Family Welfare Minister J P Nadda.

•    Previously in May 2016, WHO certified India yaws-free after a team of experts verified interruption of disease transmission in the country. India is the first country under the 2012 WHO neglected tropical diseases (NTD) roadmap to eliminate yaws.
•    Yaws is a chronic bacterial infection that affects the skin, bones and cartilages. 
•    The Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination (MNTE) has been the result of India's focused approach on making maternal and newborn care accessible to all.
•    Reducing maternal and neonatal tetanus to less than one case per   1000 live births in all 675 districts has helped improve access to immunization, antenatal care services and skilled birth attendance in the most vulnerable populations.
•    Both yaws and maternal and neonatal tetanus eliminations were achieved using the existing health system and health workforce.

The World Youth Skills Day (WYSD) was on 15 July 2016 observed globally with the theme Skills Development to Improve Youth Employment.

•    On the occasion, United Nations organised the event facilitated by the UN Envoy on Youth Ahmad Alhendawi. 
•    The event was co-organized with the Permanent Missions of Portugal and Sri Lanka to the United Nations, UNESCO and the International Labour Organization (ILO).
•    The day is observed to create more awareness and a discussion on training and the development of skills for the youth of today, in hopes of creating a better opportunity for them when it comes to employment.
•    The World Youth Skills Day was established by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on 11 November 2014.
•    The Assembly designated 15 July as the World Youth Skills Day in order to raise awareness about the importance of investing in youth skills development.

Kerala on 16 July 2016 started observing Ramayana month in the temples. In Malayalam it is termed as the Ramayana Masam. The Ramayana Month starts with the commencement of Malayalam month ‘Karkidakam’.
•    During this month the temples and homes of the state recites Adhyatma Ramayanam Kilippattu written by medieval devotional poet Thunjath Ezhuthachan for the 30 days. Ezhuthachan is regarded as the father of Malayalam literature.
•    The reading of epic Ramayana begins on the first day of the month and is completed on the last day of the month Karkkidakom. The Ramayana is recited by the elder members’ everyday in the evenings after lighting traditional lamp Nilavilakku.
•    During this observation of the Ramayana month in the state, several competitions and cultural activities based on Ramayana is organised across the state. This unique custom has been preserved across the state over the centuries.
•    Karkkidakam (July - August) is the last month of Malayalam calendar and is considered as month of rain and scarcity (Panjamaasom). As per belief, the month brings good luck and prosperity to the families as well as spiritual strength to go through different difficulties that comes during monsson.
•    Karkkidakam month comes ahead of Chingam that brings colourful festival of Onam for the Malayalis.