Daily GK Updates - 9th January, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Petrol pump owners defer their decision to not to accept credit, debit card payments for fuel sales till 13 January 2017: Petrol pump owners deferred till January 13 their decision to not accept credit and debit card payments for fuel sales after banks put off the move to levy the transaction charge. To promote cash-less transactions, the government had waived the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on fuel purchase post demonetisation for consumers.

2. Government of India renames disability department-‘divyang’ replaces ‘viklang’: The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities will now be known as ‘DivyangjanSashaktikaranVibhag’ in Hindi and dropped the word ‘viklangjan’ from its previous nomenclature.

3. EPFO makes Aadhar mandatory of its pensioners and members: Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has made Aadhaar mandatory for its about 50 lakh pensioners and around four crore subscribers. Central Provident Fund Commissioner VP Joy stated that the pensioners as well as members would have to provide Aadhaar or a proof that they have applied for it by 31 January 2017 to remain the beneficiary of social security schemes of EPFO.

4. PM NarendraModi inaugurate Vibrant Gujarat Global Trade Show: Prime Minister NarendraModi will be on a two-day visit to Gujarat from 9 january 2017, he will inaugurate the 8th edition of 'Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit 2017' along with series of other programs. The four-day 'Vibrant Summit Summit will be inaugurated at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar.

5. Piyush Goyal unveiled world’s largest street light replacement programme in SDMC: Power Minister Piyush Goyal unveiled world's largest street light replacement programme in South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) area. Mr Goyal will also launch a mobile app called Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) Complaint App for SDMC, wherein users can now lodge complaints about faulty street lights.

6. Vijaywada to host 1^stDigiDhanMela in Andhra Pradesh: In Andhra Pradesh Vijayawada will be host to the first DigiDhanMela in the State this afternoon. DigiDhanMelas are being organised across the country to promote cashless transactions. Union Minister for Urban Development and Information Broadcasting M. Venkaiah Naidu along with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu will launch the Mela at Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium, Vijayawada.

7. Blind challenge Car Rally in Bhopal: The 11th annual Blind Challenge Car Rally was organised in Bhopal,to raise awareness about the issues concerning the visually-impaired. As part of the rally, drivers are navigated by blind persons tasked with reading the route given to them in Braille.

8. 1^st student startup fund has Rs 200 crore: Gujarat government has come up with India's first student startup and innovation policy, which aims to provide Rs 200 crore in the form of grants to ideas developed by them. The policy aims to support over 1,000 innovation per year and create pre-incubation support in all universities of the state.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:

1. SBI Pension Funds appoints Kumar Sharadindu as MD & CEO.

2. Bank of India to reduce its interest rates: The Bank of India has reduce its interest rates on retail loans, including home and vehicle loan. The bank earlier reduced its minimum lending rates or marginal cost of funds based lending rates (MCLR) by up to 90 basis points. The rate on home loans has been lowered to 8.65 per cent for women borrowers, while for others the rate has been set at 8.70%. The bank has reduced the interest rates for vehicle loans to 9.35 per cent. For loan against property, the new rates are set in the range of 10.50-11 per cent. The rates for women borrowers will be 0.5% lower than the others.

SPORTS:

3. Roberto Bautista Agut beats Daniil Medvedev, wins Chennai Open 2017: Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut won the men’s singles title of the Chennai Open 2017. Agut beat Russian 20-year-old Daniil Medvedev 6-3 and 6-4 to claim the first ATP tournament of the season.

4. Olympic Champion David Rudisha to be Mumbai Marathon event ambassador: Reigning Olympic and world 800m champion and world record holder, David Rudisha is the International Event Ambassador for the 14th Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon to be held on January 15, 2017.

OBITUARIES:

5. Former Iranian President Rafsanjani dies: Former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani died Sunday after suffering a heart attack. He was 82. Rafsanjani, who served two terms as Iran's president from 1989 to 1997, continued to be an influential figure in Iranian politics.