Daily GK Updates - 9th October, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.    Union Power Minister ensures electricity for all by May 2017: Piyush Goyal, the Union Power Minister, has assured that India would have 100% electrification for all by May 1, 2017. He also launched the Urban JyotiAbhiyaan Mobile (Urja) application which is developed by the state-run Power Finance Corporation, to enhance consumer connection with the urban power distribution sector.

2.   Devendra Fadnavis inaugurates India’s first International Arbitration Centre: The Chief Minister of Maharashtra, DevendraFadnavis has inaugurated India’s first centre for International Arbitration in Mumbai. The Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (MCIA) will be governed by a 17-member governing council. It will initially be located at Express Towers.

3.  Bathukamma Event enters the Guinness Book of World Records: The Telangana government on Saturday organised the traditional state festival of 'Bathukamma' at the LalBahadur stadium in Hyderabad. The event which was attended by about 10,000 women, found a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. Further the Telangana government has declared 'Bathukamma' as a state festival.

4.      P.V Sindhu becomes the Brand Ambassador of Vizag Steel: Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), the corporate entity of Vizag Steel, has roped in top ranked Indian Badminton Player P.V Sindhu as its brand ambassador. Sindhu, currently amongst the top 10 ranked players in the world, is the first Indian female athlete to win the Olympic silver medal at the Rio Olympics and she is also the first athlete to win back-to-back medals at the World Badminton Championships.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1.     Luo Zhaohui China’s new ambassador to India: China's President Xi Jinping has appointed Luo Zhaohui, a senior diplomat with previous assignments in Pakistan and Canada, as China’s new ambassador to India. He will take over from former Chinese ambassador to India Le Yucheng who left New Delhi in April.

2.      World Post Day celebrated on 9^th October:World Post Day is celebrated each year on 9 October. This day is basically the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union in 1874 in the Swiss Capital, Bern. The theme for 2016 is Innovation, Integration and Inclusion.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1.    Harika Dronavalli beats Hou Yifan at International Chess Meet:  India's Harika Dronavalli defeated World No. 1 Hou Yifan of China to be at joint fourth position in the Isle of Man international Chess tournament. The tournament carried on from 1^st October to 9^th October, 2016. Harika is now with five points after seven rounds, just one and a half points behind the championship leader Eljanov Pavel of Ukraine.

AWARDS:

2.  Sprinter Srabani Nanda wins Ekalavya Award:Sprinter SrabaniNanda has bagged the 24th Ekalavya Award for the year 2016 in recognition of her sporting excellence. Srabani won gold in 200m, silver in 100m and 4x100m relay in 12th South Asian Games held in Guwahati in February. She had also won bronze in 100m and 4x100m relay in Asian Grand Prix Athletics in Thailand in June 2015.