Daily GK Updates - 9th September, 2017

                 NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Tamil Nadu government hikes freedom fighters pension: The Tamil Nadu state govt. has hiked the Freedom Fighters pension from Rs. 12000 Rs. 13000 per month. According to an order by the Public Department, family pension to their eligible heirs would be enhanced from Rs. 6000 to Rs. 6500 with retrospective effect from the 15th August.

2. Nagaland to implement DBT under MGNREGA: Nagaland state govt. will start implementing Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) under MGNREGA to ensure transparency and check corruption at all levels. Wages of the MGNREGA workers will be directly credited to the individual accounts of the job card holders through National Electronic Fund Management System or Public Financial Management System.

3. Bharat Petroleum to get Maharatna status: Bharat Petroleum Corporation is all set to become a Maharatna company. The company is at present a Navratna firm. Decision to elevate BPCL to Maharatna status was taken by a panel headed by Cabinet secretary. At present there are 7 Maharatna organisations in India.

4. Army to induct women in military police: The government has decided to recruit women jawans into the Army’s Corps of Military Police for investigating gender specific crimes. The plan is to induct approximately 800 women in military police with a yearly intake of 52 personnel per year.

5. West Bengal cabinet approves changing state’s name to Bangla: Cabinet ministers in West Bengal have cleared a proposal to name the state Bangla. State will be renamed Bangla, & will be called so in all languages. State wants to change its name because WB is always last in list of states in alphabetical order.

6. Andhra Pradesh signs MoU to build India's first Hyperloop: The Andhra Pradesh govt. has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the US-based Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) to build India's first Hyperloop system.

Hyperloop will cover 35 km distance between Vijayawada and Amaravati only in five minutes. It is a system of magnetically levitating capsules that are sent at high speeds through low-pressure tubes.

7. Gujarat govt. announces Rs. 1 lakh cash reward to find out Blue Whale curators: The Gujarat state govt. has announced Rs. 1 lakh cash reward to those providing information about the administrators and curators of the deadly Blue Whale Challenge.

8. DRDO test-fires Anti-Tank Guided Missile in Rajasthan: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) twice successfully flight tested India’s indigenously developed third generation Anti Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) ‘Nag’ in Rajasthan. These two successful flight trials marked the successful completion of development trials of Nag Missile.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS & ECONOMY:

1. PNB and BSNL join hands to roll out open mobile wallet Speedpay: Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) join hands to roll out open mobile wallet Speedpay across 10 states in the country.

2. Johnson & Johnson’s rolls out paternity leave for its Indian workforce: Johnson & Johnson India has rolled out a new global parental leave for its Indian workforce. As part of this new initiative, new and adoptive fathers will now be entitled to 8 weeks of paid leave during the first year to bond with the newborn or newly adopted child.

The company has been offering up to 26 weeks of maternity leave for the last six years.

3. Hit Refresh – a book on Satya Nadella’s journey to the top of Microsoft: Satya Nadella, one of the most celebrated Indians in the global technology sector, has penned the inside story of his journey of becoming the CEO of software giant Microsoft. The book, titled ‘Hit Refresh’ is co-authored by Greg Shaw and Jill Tracie Nichols.

SPORTS:

4. BCCI releases its first ever players handbook:  The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has released its first ever players handbook '100 things every professional cricketer must know' in New Delhi. The book was released by the Committee of Administrators (COA) and is in line with the recommendations of the Lodha panel.The document will be the official handbook for all the cricketers registered with the BCCI.The book has 10 sections covering topics ranging from money management to injury management.

5. Anderson becomes the first Englishman to reach 500 Test match wickets mark: James Anderson became the sixth bowler and first Englishman to take 500 Test wickets. He achieved this feat when he dismissed West Indies opener Kraigg Brathwaite on the second day of the third Test at Lord’s.