Daily GK Updates - 27th August, 2016

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Gopal Murli Bhagat appointed as the new Executive Director of Corporation Bank.

2. Nagaland becomes the eighth state to pass GST Bill: The Nagaland State Assembly has passed the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Constitution Amendment Bill, 8th State to ratify the tax reform.

3. India at 77^th, Pakistan at 72^nd and Bangladesh at 5^th place in the World Risk Report 2016: The World Risk Report 2016, published by the UNU Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) and Bundnis Entwicklung Hilft, analyses the role that infrastructure plays in shaping a country’s disaster risk. India has been ranked 77th, Pakistan at 72nd, Bangladesh at 5th and topped by Island state of Vanuatu.

4. Union Minister Maneka Gandhi launches POCSO e-box: Women and Child Development Minister (WCD) Maneka Sanjay Gandhi has launched Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses, POCSO e-box, in New Delhi. POCSO e-box is a platform where a child victim of sexual abuse can report such cases online.

5. Bengaluru to host the PravasiBhartiya Divas 2017: T capital of the country, Bengaluru, will host the 2017 BharatiyaPravasi Divas. It is scheduled to take place on February 7, 8 and 9 of 2017.

6. US Postal Service honours Diwali festival with a forever stamp:The US Postal Service will commemorate the festival of Diwali with a Forever stamp on Oct 5 and on behalf of this a dedication ceremony to be hosted at Consulate General of India in New York.

7. Finance Ministry sets up a committee for digitalizing incentive payments: The Finance Minister ArunJaitley has set up a committee to consider incentives such as cash back schemes and tax rebates for promoting card and digital payments in a step towards discouraging cash transactions. The 11-member committee will be headed by former Finance Secretary Ratan P Watal.

8. P Kumaran appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the State of Qatar.

9. World Bank sanctions Rs 980 crore for Brahmaputra dredging: The World Bank has announced a funding of Rs 980 crore to dredge the Brahmaputra as an initiative to develop waterways to Bangladesh and to other South East Asian countries which is give fillip to trade and industry in the Area.

10. 22^nd edition of Delhi Book Fair begins today: The 22nd edition of the Delhi Book Fair will begin today at PragatiMaidan in New Delhi.

11. DIPP to launch awareness campaign on IPR: Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, DIPP, will launch a nation-wide awareness campaign on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Pakistan to host 19^th SAARC Summit on November 9 & 10 this year: Pakistan will host the 19th SAARC Summit on November 9 and 10 this year. The SAARC Summit Cell is headed by Ambassador Amjad Sial.

OTHER UPDATES:

FINANCE/BANKING:                                 

1. Karnataka Bank launches UPI app KBL-SMARTz: Mangaluru based Karnataka Bank has come up with a mobile application named KBL-SMARTz built on the unified payments interface (UPI) platform of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

SPORTS:

2. Indian Super League season 3 to begin from October 1: Season-3 of the Indian Super League (ISL) football would be held from October 1 to December 18, with the opening game scheduled in Guwahati.

3. BCCI submits Compliance Report to Lodha Panel: The BCCI submitted the first Compliance Report to the Supreme Court-appointed Justice RM Lodha Panel in regards to the implementation of reforms as per the apex court verdict.