Daily GK Updates - 21st September, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Indira AwasYojana renamed after Prime Minister: The flagship rural housing scheme Indira AwasYojana (IAY), started by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, has been restructured and renamed as PradhanMantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), which will be launched next month.

2. Government merges Railway Budget with Union Budget: The Cabinet today approved the scrapping of the 92-year old practice of presenting a separate Railway Budget and merged it with the Union Budget.

3. Centre announces new list of 27 smart cities: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency Varanasi made it to the list of 27 Smart Cities that was announced. Vadodara, Agra, Nagpur, Ajmer, Amritsar, Gwalior, Thane and Thanjavur are some of the other cities that have been named.

4. Government approves 9 highway projects worth Rs 2600 crores: These projects include Rehabilitation and Up-gradation of Allahabad-Mirzapur section of NH-76 in Uttar Pradesh to 2-lane. The other highways approved are in the states of Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

5. Flipkart becomes 1^st e-commerce in India to cross 100 million customers: Flipkart has crossed the 100-million registered users mark, becoming the first e-commerce company in the country to hit the milestone.The Bengaluru-based company has doubled its user base over the last year.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Google rolls out travel app: Google Inc. has rolled out Google Trips, a new travel app that lets users plan each day of their trip and help them manage travel reservations.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. Bangladesh’s Junaid Ahmad appointed as new World Bank head in India: Junaid Ahmad has become the World Bank's Country Director for India, replacing OnnoRuhl who served a four-year term based out of the national capital.

SPORTS:

2. Ajay Shirke re-elected as BCCI Secretary.

3. Anup Kumar to lead India in Kabaddi World Cup.

4. Misbah-ul-Haq becomes first Pakistani to receive Test mace from ICC: Misbah-ul-Haq has received the prestigious ICC Test Championship mace for inspiring Pakistan to the top of the ICC Test Team Rankings.

AWARDS:

5. Shubha Mudgal to get ‘Lalit Arpan Samman’: Hindustani classical singer Shubha Mudgal will be honoured with the annual 'LalitArpanSamman' this year.Mudgal, a Padma Shri recipient, was born in Allahabad and is known for her singing in genres of Khayal, Thumri and Dadra.

OBITUARIES:

6. Oscar winning writer and director dies at the age of 71: Oscar-winning writer and film director Curtis Hanson has died at his home in Hollywood at the age of 71.He is known for his work in films like Kevin Spacey-starrer LA Confidential, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and The River Wild.