GK and Current Affairs Updates

Serena Williams followed up her historic Wimbledon singles title triumph with her sister in another doubles title, defeating Yaroslava Shvedova and Timea Babos 6-3 6-4.

•    The sisters secured the crucial break at 4-3 in the opening set and Serena slammed away a smash to put them a set up. 
•    It was Shvedova and Babos that took the early initiative, breaking to grab a 3-2 lead in the opening set. 
•    But the Williams sisters immediately upped their intensity to break straight back and, despite a couple of minor scares, were never broken again in an attractive doubles match that dazzled with highlight-reel rallies into the early evening.
•    The victory sealed an incredible sixth doubles title for the dominant sisters at Wimbledon, the pair having previously won in 2000, 2002, 2008, 2009 and 2012. 
•    It is also their 14th major doubles title and only Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver have won more.

The National Research Centre for Banana would be set up at Goraul in Bihar’s Vaishali district. Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Radha Mohan Singh announced this, who was accompanied by Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, while inaugurating a two-day ‘Horti-Sangam’ 2016organised by National Horticulture Board at Hajipur, the district headquarters of Vaishali. Farmers from more than a dozen states put fruits, vegetables, flowers and processed items on display and for sale at the event.

•    The process of taking over Rajendra Agriculture University in Bihar, which got Central University status recently, will be completed within a month or two.
•    The state’s atmosphere and land are fit for horticulture development.
•    As per reports, the centre will be set up soon as the land for setting up banana research centre was  allotted when Jitan Ram Manjhi was the Chief Minister.
•    Bihar is a state in East India, bordering Nepal. It is divided by the River Ganges, which floods its fertile plains
•    The Buddhist pilgrimage sites include the Bodhi Tree in Bodhgaya’s Mahabodhi Temple, under which the Buddha allegedly meditated.
•    In the state capital Patna, Mahavir Mandir temple is revered by Hindus, while Sikhs worship at the domed, riverside Gurdwara of Takht Sri Harmandir Sahib Ji.
•    It is the 12th-largest state of India, with an area of 94,163 km. and The third-largest state of India by population.
•    Bihar has notified forest area of 6,764.14 km.which is 7.2% of its geographical area.
•    It is also contiguous with Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Bengal to the east, with Jharkhand to the south

President Pranab Mukherjee on 11 July 2016 conferred the 51st Jnanpith Award on renowned Gujarati writer Dr. Raghuveer Chaudhari at Parliament Library Building, New Delhi. He was awarded with the India's highest literary honour for the year 2015.

•    Born in 1938, the Gujarati writer is a Gandhian and his works are largely influenced by literary figures like Kaka Kalelkar.
•    Chaudhari’s most significant contributions have been in Gujarati language but he has also written Hindi articles.
•    His most noted works include novels Amruta, Venu Vatsala and Uparvas.
•    He had also received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1977, for his novel trilogy Uparvas.
•    He was a teacher at the Gujarat University until his retirement in 1998 as a professor and the head of Department of Hindi.
•    Raghuveer Chaudhari started his career writing novels and poetry, and later ventured into other forms of literature.
•    He authored more than 80 books and received numerous literary awards.
•    He also served for many literary organisations.
•    He was one of the many participants of the Navnirman Movement and voiced openly against Emergency in the 1970s.
•    At present, he is a trustee of the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad, a noted literary institution in the state, of which he was elected the president 2001.
•    He served for the executive council of Sahitya Akademi from 1998 to 2002.
•    He was a member of the Press Council of India from 2002 to 2004 and was also appointed as a jury member of the 25th Indian Film Festival.
•    Between 1965 and 1970, he won numerous prizes awarded annually by the Gujarat government.
•    Some of awards conferred on him include
a)    Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak in 1975
b)    Munshi Award in 1997
c)    Sauhard Samman from Uttar Pradesh Hindi Sansthaan in 1990
d)    Narmad Award in 2010
e)    Uma-Snehrashmi Prize in 1975
f)    Ranjitram Gold Medal in 1975
Jnanpith Award is one of the prestigious literary awards in India. The name of award is taken from Sanskrit words Jnana and Pitha which means knowledge-seat. It was instituted in 1961 and is presented by Bharatiya Jnanpith, a trust founded by the Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain family.

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton on 10 July 2016 claimed the 2016 British Grand Prix title of Formula One at the Silverstone Circuit in Silverstone, United Kingdom.

•    It is Hamilton’s overall fourth British Grand Prix title after winning it in 2008, 2014 and 2015. He also became the first driver to win the British Grand Prix three times in a row.
•    Red Bull-TAG Heuer’s Max Verstappen occupied the second place in the race. Nico Rosberg from Germany stood third in the race.
•    Earlier on 3 July 2016, Hamilton had emerged victorious in the 2016 Austrian Grand Prix.
•    The British Grand Prix is currently held at the Silverstone Circuit near the village of Silverstone in Northamptonshire in England.
•    The British and Italian Grands Prix are the oldest continuously staged Formula One World Championship Grands Prix.
•    It was designated the European Grand Prix five times between 1950 and 1977. This title was an honorary designation given each year to one Grand Prix race in Europe.

Britain's Andy Murray clinched a second Wimbledon title and third Grand Slam crown on 10 July 2016. In the final clash, he defeated Milos Raonic of Canada 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(2).

•    With this win, the world number two added the 2016 trophy to his 2013 triumph at the All England Club and his 2012 US Open title.
•    Murray, 29, became the first British man to win multiple Wimbledon singles titles since Fred Perry in 1935.
•    Wimbledon was held from 27 June to 10 July 2016.
•    Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, and is widely considered the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877.
•    It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the others being the Australian Open, the French Open and the US Open. Since the Australian Open shifted to hard court in 1988, Wimbledon is the only major still played on grass.
•    The tournament takes place over two weeks in late June and early July, culminating with the Ladies' and Gentlemen's Singles Final, scheduled always for the second Saturday and Sunday of July respectively.

The Hemis festival will be held between July 14 and July 15 at the Hemis Monastery in Ladakh. 

•    The festival honours Lord Padmasambhava, an 8th-century Buddhist master venerated as a 'second Buddha' in some places. 
•    The largest Thangka (Tibetan Buddhist painting on cotton) will be unfurled this year after twelve years, as 2016 is the Tibetan Year of the Monkey.
•    Hemis Gompa, the largest and richest Buddhist monastery in Ladakh plays host to the popular yearly festival day called Hemis Festival. The day has been declared as the state holiday. 
•    This 2-day festival is celebrated on the 10th day of the Tibetan lunar month and remembered as the birth of Padmasambhava, the founder of Tibetan Buddhism. 
•    During the festival, the locals get dressed-up in traditional clothes, where men wear cummerbunds and women wear vibrant headgears and loads of jewelry. 
•    The Lamas perform sacred masked dance, known as Chaam while they are accompanied by musical drums, long horns and cymbals. This is an extremely well-known festival. 

British Paralympian Gordon Reid won the first-ever Wimbledon wheelchair men’s singles title after defeating Sweden's Paralympic champion Stefan Olsson 6-1, 6-4. 
•    Reid also won the wheelchair men’s doubles title on Saturday, alongside compatriot Alfie Hewett. 
•    Wheelchair tennis has featured in Wimbledon since 2001, but 2016 is the first edition to feature men’s and women’s singles.
•    Wheelchair doubles matches have been contested at Wimbledon since 2001 but this was the first year that singles were introduced, with Reid its inaugural champion.
•    Also Britain’s Jordanne Whiley and Yui Kamiji of Japan were crowned Wimbledon’s wheelchair women’s doubles champions.
•    They beat Dutch duo Aniek van Koot and Jiske Griffioen 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and nine minutes. 
•    Reid became Wimbledon’s first-ever wheelchair men’s singles winner by beating Sweden’s Stefan Olson 6-1, 6-4 and the 24-year-old will go down in SW19 history.

The Farnborough International Air show 2016 will be held from July 11 to July 17 in the small town of Farnborough, southwest of London. 

•    The biennial aviation event will showcase 99 types of aircrafts this year, and witness acrobatic performances by fighter jets. Business deals worth a record $201 billion were signed during the last edition of the air show in 2014.
•    The Farnborough International Airshow is a week-long event that combines a major trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries with a public air show. 
•    The event is held in mid-July in even-numbered years at Farnborough Airport in Hampshire, England. 
•    The first four days (Monday to Thursday) are dedicated exclusively to trade, with the final three days open to the public.•    The air show is an important event in the international aerospace and defence industry calendar, providing an opportunity to demonstrate civilian and military aircraft to potential customers and investors. 
•    The show is also used for the announcement of new developments and orders, and to attract media coverage.

India and Tanzania on 10 July 2016 inked five agreements to enhance the bilateral cooperation between the two nations.
These agreements were signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Tanzania from 9 July to 10 July 2016. 
•    MoU on Cooperation in the field of water resource management and development between the two countries.
•    MoU on Visa waiver agreement for Diplomatic/Official passport holders between the two countries.
•    Agreement on Joint Action Plan (JAP) between National Small Industries Corporation of India (NSIC) and Small Industries Development Organization Tanzania (SIDO).
•    MoU for Establishment of Vocational Training Centre at Zanzibar.
•    LOC of 92 million US dollar for rehabilitation and improvement of water supply system in Zanzibar.
•    During the visit to Tanzania, Modi met Tanzania’s President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli. 
•    During the meet, the two leaders agreed to work closely, bilaterally, regionally and globally to combat the twin threats of terrorism and climate change.

For the first time, readers of Travel + Leisure magazine have voted Charleston, South Carolina the World’s Best City in the 2016 World’s Best Awards.
•    Charleston is the first domestic destination to earn the coveted World’s Best City ranking, and for the fourth consecutive year, the readers of Travel + Leisure ranked the Charleston area the No. 1 City in the U.S. and Canada.
•    The title was announced by Jacqui Gifford, Senior Editor of Travel + Leisure.
•    Charleston exceeded other destinations in the categories of sights/landmarks, culture/arts, restaurants/food, people/friendliness, shopping and value to earn the World’s Best City and the No. 1 City in the U.S. and Canada designation, scoring 91.66 overall.
•    Since 2012, the first year Charleston was awarded the No. 1 City in the U.S. and Canada ranking in the Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards, the total economic impact of tourism has increased 14% to $3.68 billion in 2015 according the Office of Tourism Analysis at the College of Charleston.