Daily GK Updates - 16th September, 2015

NATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.            Suvidha acquires mobile PoS platform AasaanPay: SuvidhaInfoserve, India's largest payment management company has acquired a mobile PoS device AasaanPay, along with its intellectual property rights. It is a device developed by IIT-Hyderabad dropouts Sainath Gupta, PruthviSubbu and ShashankSahni, that can be plugged into a mobile phone, which can then be used for credit or debit card transactions.

II.            National Engineer’s Day celebrated on 15^th September: It is marked on the birth anniversary of the most beloved engineer Sir M. Visvesvaraya. The 48^th Engineer’s Day was celebrated with the theme of ‘Engineering Challenges for Knowledge Era’.

III.            Godavari, Krishna Rivers to be formally linked today: Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu released water of river Godavari into Krishna to mark the formal linking of the two rivers.

IV.            Union Cabinet approved Shyama Prasad MukherjiRurban Mission for overall development of rural areas: The mission approved with an outlay of 5142 crore rupees, is a bid to transform rural areas to economically, socially and physically sustainable spaces.

V.            Only Marathi speaking people to get auto-rickshaw permit in the state: Maharashtra Government: Maharashtra Government issued an order stating that it will give away one lakh new auto-rickshaw permits for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), but only to those applicants who speak Marathi.

VI.            Delhi Government approved Victim Compensation Scheme: It enhanced the upper limit of compensation to rape victims to 5 lakh rupees from existing 3 lakh rupees and to the victims of acid attack to 7 lakh rupees from 3 lakh rupees.

VII.            Shauryanjali Exhibition on 1965 Indo-Pak War inaugurated on 15^th September: The Exhibition celebrates the victory of India over Pakistan and remembers the supreme sacrifice of Indian soldiers.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

   I.            International Democracy Day observed on September 15^th: The International Democracy Day was celebrated with the theme ‘Space for Civil Society’.

II.            Pentagon sets up India Rapid Reaction Cell: The Pentagon has established a first-ever country special cell to speed up its defence ties with India and accelerate the process of co-development and co-production of hi-tech military equipment in the country.

III.            World’s largest Continental Volcanic Chain discovered in Australia: The team of scientists led by Rhodri Davies, an earth scientist at Australian National University, have discovered the longest chain of continental volcanoes of the world in Australia, stretching almost 2000 km along Australia’s east coast.

IV.            India, Sri Lanka exchanged four agreements to ensure peace and stability in the region: The agreements in various fields including medicare facilities were exchanged with an aim to ensure peace and stability in the region. These agreements were exchanged during the visit of Prime Minister of Sri Lanka RanilWickremesinghe to India from September 14-16.

V.            Hungary declared emergency in areas near Serbian border to check Migrant crisis: This state of emergency empowers the Hungarian Police to detain anyone trying to breach a razor-wire fence built on the border with Serbia.

VI.            Indian origin lawmakers SeemaMalhotra and Lisa Nandy have been appointed to the shadow cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn, the newly elected leader of Labour Party in the United Kingdom.

VII.            National Geographic Society has been selected for 2015 UNEP Champions of the Earth award in Science & Innovation Category.

VIII.            Natura Brasil has been selected for 2015 Champions of the Earth award in Entrepreneurial Vision category.

IX.            Jeremy Corbyn was elected as the leader of Labour Party in UK.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

I.               Hangzhou to host 2022 Asian Games: The Chinese City of Hangzhou was confirmed as the host of the 2022 Asian Games, the Olympic Council of Asia announced at its General Assembly in Ashgabat (Turkmenistan).

II.               American Boxer Floyd MayweatherJr announced retirement after defeating Andre Berto: He took the decision after the win against Andre Berto in the Welterweight World Championships held at MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, USA. The present win was his 49^th overall and he never lost a game since his 1^st match in 1996. He had a 19 year long career in the ring.

AWARDS:

 III.            Sheikh Hasina wins UN Award for leadership on climate change: Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina has been announced as one of the winners of the United Nations Champions of Earth Award in recognition of her country’s initiatives to address climate change.

IV.            Indian origin British author SunjeevSahota has been shortlisted for the prestigious Man Booker Prize 2015 for Fiction.

V.            AnupamKher honoured with Certificate of Recognition in US: AnupamKher received the ‘Certificate of Recognition’ from the California legislature for his dedication to help Kashmiri Hindu Community.

VI.            Indian American SwethaPrabakaran selected for Champions of Change award in US: She was chosen for the award in recognition of her efforts for empowering the community by imparting education of internet coding through her non-profit Organisation ‘Everybody Code Now’.