Daily GK Updates - 14th September, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Hindi Divas being celebrated throughout country today: Hindi Divas is celebrated on 14th September every year, because on this day in 1949, the Constituent Assembly of the country adopted the Hindi language as the official language of the Republic of India.

2. 3rd BRICS Urbanisation Forum Meet begins in Vishakhapatnam today: The meet will be inaugurated by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in the presence of Union Minister of Urban Development, M. Venkaiah Naidu and other dignitaries. 

3. 105-yr-old Kunwar Bai made 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' mascot: 105-year-old Kunwar Bai, who was felicitated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for building toilet by selling off her goats, has been chosen as the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ mascot.

4. Andhra Pradesh becomes second state to achieve 100% electrification: Andhra Pradesh has become the second state in the country after Gujarat to achieve 100% electrification of households.

5. Raman Singh launches ‘Start Up Chhattisgarh’ project: In line with the Centre's 'Start Up India' initiative, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has launched the 'Start Up Chhattisgarh' programme to encourage entrepreneurs in the state. 

6. Anoop K Sharma new CMD of Shipping Corporation: Anoop Kumar Sharma has taken charge of the post of CMD, Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) with effect from September 12, 2016 for a period of three years.

7.PayU acquires Citrus Pay for $130 million: Global online payment service provider PayU has acquired Indian payments technology player, Citrus Pay, for $130 million.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1.AleksanderCeferin named newUEFA president: Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) elected Aleksander Ceferin to succeed Michel Platini as president today.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. SBI, PNB, Paytm to issue e-toll tags for vehicles: State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, IDFC Bank, and digital wallet Paytm will start issuing electronic tags to vehicles for toll collection.

2. Freecharge partners with Axis Bank, launches UPI payment: Digital payment platform FreeCharge in partnership with Axis Bank has launched Unified Payments Interface (UPI) that allows instant transactions from a smartphone using a virtual payment address (VPA).

SPORTS:

3. Devendra Jhajharia wins second gold, breaks world record at Rio Paralympics 2016: Javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia became the first Indian to clinch two gold medals at the Paralympics after he broke his own world record to clinch the top honours at the Rio Games.

AWARDS:

4. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar to be awarded by Jewish rights group: honoured with a humanitarian award by a prominent Jewish human rights organisation for promoting human dignity, interfaith relations and tolerance among people.

5. Mumbai-based writer wins FON South Asia Short Story Award: Writer Meghna Pant will be honoured with Kumaon Literary Festival's FON (Fellows of Nature) South AsiaShort Story Award in Nature writing in October for her short story "People of the Sun."