GK and Current Affairs Updates

Radhika Menon will become the first woman in the world to receive the Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea for 2016, from the International Maritime Organization.
•    She will be awarded for saving the lives of seven fishermen, whose hopes of survival were all but over.
•    The Awards ceremony is set to take place at IMO Headquarters in London, on 21 November.
•    The annual Award was established by IMO to provide international recognition for those who, at the risk of losing their own life and perform acts of exceptional bravery.
•    Captain Menon was nominated by the Government of India, for the rescue of all seven fishermen from the fishing boat Durgamma, which was a drift following engine failure and loss of anchor in severe weather.
•    Food and water had been washed away and they were surviving on ice from the cold storage facility.
•    The IMO Council, meeting for its 116th session in London, endorsed the decision of a Panel of Judges that Captain Menon displayed great determination and courage in leading the difficult rescue operation in the Bay of Bengal in June last year.

WCD has constituted a cyber-cell to check the online abuse and harassment of women and children on social media platforms. 
•    Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi announced in New Delhi. 
•    The WCD Ministry has advised women and children to send their complaints, if they are being abused or harassed on social media platforms using the hashtag #IamTrolledHelp. 
•    The cyber-cell was constituted in the wake of reported increase in abuse or harassment of women on social media. 
•    Besides, WCD Ministry will be working with Twitter India to address abusive behavior, violent threats (direct or indirect), and harassment on social media 
•    They will also be working together for the empowerment of women and children to deal with abuse, harassment and hateful conduct on social media. 
•    The complaints received by the WCD Ministry, which are of a grave nature, will be reported to twitter India for necessary action. 
•    The Ministry will also be working with the Cyber-crime Cells of the police, wherever required.

Bornean orangutan, a primate species has been declared critically endangered by the (IUCN). 
•    The declaration is based on the assessment of Red List of Threatened Species. 
•    IUCN assessment has found that population of Bornean orangutans has dropped by nearly two-third since the early 1970s. 
•    It has projected that their population will further decline to 47,000 animals by 2025 representing population loss of 86%. 
•    Bornean orangutan is a primate species native to the island of Borneo. 
•    It is found only in the wild in Sumatra island of Indonesia and Borneo in the Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah and Kalimantan. 
•    Together they belong to the only genus (Pongo) of great apes native to Asia. 
•    Orangutans share 97% of their DNA with humans. 
•    They are highly intelligent.
•    They display advanced tool use and distinct cultural patterns in the wild. 
•    About 40% of Borneo’s forests lost since the early 1970s to plantation agriculture and it will continue. 
•    In past four decades, about 2000 and 3,000 of Borneo’s orangutans were killed every year for their meat. 
•    They are slow breeders and produce only one offspring every six to eight years on average.

Kerala Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac has proposed 14.5 percent tax on pizzas, burgers, sandwiches and tacos sold through branded outlets.
•    ‘Fat tax’ was proposed in the maiden State Budget of the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Government that came into power in May 2016.
•    The tax is aimed at dissuading children from eating a lot of energy dense foods. 
•    Its imposition has become necessary as Kerala is the second most obese State in the country.
•    Kerala is the first Indian state to propose Fat Tax on fast food
•    Over 10 per cent of adolescent girls in Kerala experiencing various effects of obesity like Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.
•    Kerala Government’s decision to impose fat tax on junk fund is in tune with the WHO advocacy of using fiscal tools to promote healthy eating.
•    In its 2015 report titled Using price policies to promote healthier diets, the WHO suggested the policy makers to impose taxes on junk foods as they are the leading cause of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, etc.

The Centre has launched a Krishi Vigyan Kendra portal for online monitoring and review of the 645 centres focusing on farm knowledge and research spread across the country and also provide a platform for providing information and advisories to farmers.

•    Each of the 645 KVKs has direct interface with at least 1,000 farmers. 
•    But the information related to KVKs was not available at one place at the national level and farmers and other stakeholders had difficulty in accessing the information. 
•    The portal (http://kvk.icar.gov.in) was launched recently.
•    Apart from online monitoring of KVKs the portal will also provide information on different services being provided by them.
•    Weather and market related information can also be accessed on the portal, a release said, adding that information on programmes such as training programmes organized by the KVKs would be available too.
•    Farmers and other stakeholders can also pose agriculture related questions on the website which will be answered by experts.

Tennis champion Serena Williams won her 22nd grand slam at Wimbledon, triumphing over Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-3. 

•    The victory ties Williams, 34, with Steffi Graf's Open-era record of major titles, an achievement Williams has claimed after falling short at the Australian Open and French Open finals earlier this year.
•    Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player, who is ranked No. 1 in women's singles tennis. 
•    The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) has ranked her world No. 1 in singles on six separate occasions. 
•    She became the world No. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002, and achieved this ranking for the sixth time on February 18, 2013.
•    Williams is regarded by some commentators and sports writers as the greatest female tennis player of all time.

India and South Africa on 8 July 2016 announced Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and Programme in four areas of bilateral cooperation.
•    While the MoUs cover the information and communication technology (ICT), grass root innovation and tourism, the Programme of Cooperation will cover segments of arts and culture.
•    The MoUs and the Programme were announced after summit level talks between the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Jacob Zuma in Johannesburg, South Africa.
•    During the meeting, both the leaders discussed a wide range of bilateral and international issues including reform of the UN Security Council (UNSC).
•    Prime Mister Narendra Modi began his four-nation tour of African countries Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya on 7 July 2016.
•    South Africa is a country on the southernmost tip of the African continent, marked by several distinct ecosystems. 

The second anti-drug meeting of heads of anti-narcotics agencies of BRICS countries started in New Delhi to discuss issues related to narco-terrorism and money laundering. 
•    The one day meeting was inaugurated Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. 
•    It has been organised by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) of India. 
•    The meeting will see participation of delegates from the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) member countries. 
•    The Indian delegation will be headed by Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Director General of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). 
•    It will comprise officers from the Department of Revenue, Union Ministry of Finance, Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Union Ministry of Health and Family welfare and Narcotics Control Bureau, Union Ministry of Home Affairs. 
•    The anti-drug working group meeting of heads of anti-narcotics agencies has been organised by India in accordance with the ‘eThekwani Declaration’ adopted during the BRICS summit in March 2013 at Durban, South Africa. 
•    Under the ‘eThekwani Declaration’ BRICS countries had decided to explore economic issues and various new areas of cooperation among the member States including drug-related issues.

To boost tourism promotion opportunities in the country, the Ministry of External Affairs has chosen Aurangabad to host the first-ever SAARC Tourism Summit. 
•    Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to inaugurate the two-day summit in the second week of October. 
•    It aims to tap foreign direct investment under the Make in India and Make in Maharashtra schemes.
•    Aurangabad has been chosen keeping in mind the anniversary of the discovery of Ajanta caves by the British officer John Smith in 2018.
•    The Ajanta-Ellora caves have always remained the biggest tourism attraction in the State. 
•    The historical silk route and connect of the place with the Buddhist circuit across world, including China, is significant.
•    Ajanta also has one of the world’s best visitors’ centers with several life-size replicas of Padmapani.
•    The next two years were important for the progress and prosperity of the tourism sector. 
•    2017 will be celebrated as Visit Maharashtra Year.