Daily GK Updates - 11th September, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Justice Om Prakash Mishra sworn in as new Chief Justice of Nepal : President of Nepal Vidya Devi Bhandari administered the oath of office and secrecy to Justice Om Prakash Mishra as new Chief Justice of Nepal.He is the senior-most judge of Supreme Court after Justice Deepak Raj Joshee (the name was rejected by the Parliamentary Hearing Committee).He joined judicial service in 1981 as a section officer and became Additional District Judge in 1985.

2. Arvind Kejriwal launches doorstep delivery of 40 public services in Delhi : The Delhi government has launched the doorstep delivery of 40 public services for the people living in the national capital.Under the scheme, 40 services, including certificates of marriage, caste, domicile, income, births, deaths and duplicate RC among others, will be delivered.Now, people will not have to waste their time standing in queues at government offices.They just need to call on 1076 and request for the service they want.

3. Two-day regional conference on good governance in Bhopal : The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DAR&PG), Government of India in association with Madhya Pradesh Government has organized a two-day Regional Conference on Good Governance with Focus on Aspirational Districts, in Bhopal.Delegates from 12 States & 2 UTs will participate in the Conference.The themes include ICT Enabled Education, Agriculture, Public Service and Grievance Management and Good Governance initiatives.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India launches new digital bridge with Africa : The External Affairs Ministry has signed an agreement with the Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd. (TCIL) to establish a pan-African e-network between the two nations.This project will serve as a digital bridge between the two countries, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said.The Project (VidyaBharati and e-ArogyaBharati) is a clear effort by India to reach out to Africa in the critical areas of education and health.

2.  India, Bangladesh jointly inaugurate three projects : Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina, and Chief Ministers of West Bengal and Tripura jointly inaugurated three projects in Bangladesh (via video conferencing).Akhaura-Agartala rail connectivity will provide another link in the cross-border connectivity between the two countries.These include 500 MW additional power supply from India to Bangladesh, Akhaura - Agartala Rail Link and Rehabilitation of the Kulaura-Shahbazpur section of Bangladesh Railways.

3.  INDO-MONGOLIA joint exercise Nomadic Elephant-2018 : Indo-Mongolia joint exercise ‘Nomadic Elephant-2018’ commenced at Mongolian Armed Forces (MAF) Five Hills Training Area, Ullanbaatar, Mongolia.The 12 days long joint exercise will be conducted from (10 Sep to 21 Sep 2018).Exercise Nomadic Elephant is an annual, bilateral exercise since 2006 which is designed to strengthen the partnership between Indian Army and Mongolian Armed Forces.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. LIC launches a group insurance scheme for CDSL Demat account holders : Life Insurance Corporation of India has signed an agreement with Central Depository Services (India) to provide group insurance coverage to all eligible Demat account holders serviced through depository participants associated with it.The facility will be available to demat account holders between the age of 18 years and 59 years.

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. Former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan to head panel to select new CEA : The Union Government has appointed former Reserve Bank of India governor Bimal Jalan as the head of the panel that has been tasked with selecting India’s next chief economic advisor (CEA).The panel will screen the applications received and conduct interviews.The move comes two months after the government sought applications for the post after previous CEA Arvind Subramanian resigned from office.

2. IPPB ties up with FSS to create payments network for unorganized retail : The India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has partnered with the Financial Software and Systems (FSS) to ensure that micro-merchants are able to accept payments over any channel (online, unified payments interface (UPI), quick-response (QR) codes, Aadhaar and IPPB accounts).FSS will provide merchant management and settlement solutions including on-boarding fee calculation, reconciliation and settlement.‘FSS’ technology solutions are powering us towards achieving our objective to build a less cash ecosystem by enabling last mile digital payment services.