Daily GK Updates - 24th September, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. World’s largest Charkha unveiled at Delhi airport: The idea behind displaying the Charkha at the airport is to highlight India’s quest to foster an egalitarian society as demonstrated by Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation.

2. TRAI launches app to track mobile data speed: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) will soon start a consultation process to fix ‘quality of service’ rules for mobile data, including the average data speed for operators. The regulator also launched a mobile app (TRAI Myspeed App) for measuring real-time internet speeds that consumers get. The data will be made available on the Trai Analytics Portal.

3. President of India inaugurates Swami VivekanandSabhagar at Kathak Kendra of SangeetNatakAkademi: The President of India, ShriPranab Mukherjee has inaugurated Swami VivekanandSabhagar at Kathak Kendra of SangeetNatakAkademi in New Delhi.

4. Rajasthan becomes first state to introduce minimum wages for part-time workers: Rajasthan has become the first state in the country to introduce minimum wages for part-time workers. Labour Department has issued a notification in this regard. With this notification, part-time workers now come under the Minimum Wages Act 1948. In another decision, the government has increased minimum wages in all categories of scheduled employments by Rs 104 per month.

5. Nation pays homage to BabuJagjivan Ram on his death anniversary: Nation pays homage to the veteran leader and great freedom fighter and administrator BabuJagjivan Ram on his death anniversary today at SamtaSthal near Rajghat in New Delhi.

6. PM and the whole nation pays tribute to Dr.Shyama Prasad Mookerjee on his birth anniversary:Prime Minister NarendraModi has led Parliamentarians in paying tribute to former Parliamentarian, Minister in the first cabinet post independence and founder of Bharatiya Jana SanghDr.Syama Prasad Mookerjee on his birth anniversary at the Parliament house. He founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1951 which was re-formed as the Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP in 1980.

7. World famous RathYatra of Lord Jagannath begins: The world famous RathYatra or chariot festival of Lord Jagannath has begun today in Puri, Odisha as well as in different parts of the country. RathYatra marks is an annual celebration of the journey of Lord Jagannath, his brother Lord Balbhadra and sister Subhadra to the Gundicha temple.

8. Aditya Birla Fashion acquires global clothing brand Forever 21: Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL) has stated that it will acquire global clothing brand ’Forever 21’ in the Indian market for USD 26 million (around Rs. 175.52 Crore).

9. Centre appoints ThiruppathiVenkatasamy as the new Accountant General, Economic and Revenue sector audit, of Tamil Nadu.

10. Zee Learn appoints DebshankarMukopadhyay as CEO.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. NASA tests rocket booster for space mission: A booster for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), the most powerful rocket in the world, has been successfully tested, an advance that may pave the way for future human exploration in deep space, including the journey to Mars.

2. Suzuki Motors appoints scion Toshihiro Suzuki as CEO: Suzuki Motor Corp has appointed Toshihiro Suzuki, son of Chairman Osamu Suzuki, as its next chief executive effective the same day, as the Japanese automaker attempts to recover from a vehicle testing scandal.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. Cabinet clears pay hike for 1 cr. govt employees, pensioners: More than 1 Cr. central government employees will get a pay hike after the Cabinet approved the implementation of the recommendations of the Seventh Central Pay Commission.

SPORTS:

2. Annu Rani sets national record at National Interstate Athletics Championships: Javelin thrower Annu Rani has bettered her national record with a 59.87m throw at the 56th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Hyderabad.

3. Bengali actor Jeet acquires Kolkata team of PFL: Bengali cine star Jeet has acquired the Kolkata franchise of the first-ever multi-nation Premier Futsal League (PFL), which is scheduled to start on July 15. The team will be known as 'Kolkata 5s' as each franchise will be similarly named in the inaugural season.

AWARDS:

3. Indian-origin Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharya awarded Regius Professorship in Manufacturing by Queen Elizabeth II.

4. Ridley Scott to receive American Cinematheque Award for his valuable contributions to the International Film Industry.

OBITUARIES:

5. Actress Noel Neill passed away at the age of 95: Noel Neill, the first actress to play Superman’s love interest, has passed away at the age of 95.
ii. Neill was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1920, the daughter of Minneapolis Star Tribune news editor David Neill and the New York vaudeville performer LaVere Neill.

6. Acclaimed Iranian film director Abbas Kiarostami passed away at the age of 76: Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami, whose 1997 film "Taste of Cherry" won the prestigious Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, has passed away following a prolonged illness in Paris.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS:

4. Book titled ‘The Unseen Indira Gandhi’ authored by Dr K P Mathur released.