1) PM Modi’s Economic Advisory Council Holds its First Meeting
•The recently constituted Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) held its first meeting in New Delhi to deliberate upon and lay out a roadmap to give a leg up to the Indian economy in the short term after GDP growth for the first quarter fell to a three-year low of 5.7%. The EAC-PM is chaired by Dr. Bibey Debroy.
•Key issues for the discussion include ways to boost consumer demand, attract private investments and measures to incentivize job creation in the country, people familiar with the agenda said.
2) Bihar Cabinet Approves Reservation for ‘Divyangs’ in Govt Jobs
•The Bihar Cabinet has approved reservations for persons with disabilities in government jobs and educational institutions. The cabinet gave its approval during a meeting presided by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
•The provision has been brought in accordance with the Persons With Disabilities Act, 2016. The cabinet also approved establishment of a state advisory board for the empowerment of ‘Divyangjan’ as envisaged in the Act.
3) JDI Signed Between Indian Railways and Germany
•German Railways will assist Indian Railways to make country's existing rail corridors semi-high speed. The semi high-speed trains will run at 200 km per hour.
•A Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) was signed between Ministry of Railways and Germany in Rail Bhavan regarding carrying out of feasibility study on existing 643 km Chennai-Kazipet corridor of Indian Railways by German Railways for increasing the speed of passenger trains to 200 kmph on 50.50 percent cost-sharing basis.
4) Digital Payments to Grow at 26% CAGR: World Payment Report
•A new World Payment Report stated that the initiatives of the government and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) will help non-cash transactions grow at a compound annual growth rate of 26.2 percent during 2016 to 2020.
•The World Payment Report 2017 was jointly commissioned by Capgemini and BNP Paribas. The report is about digital payments and transactions all around the world and their progress. According to the report, India could potentially make its way into the global top 10 markets in terms of non-cash transaction volumes.
5) India is Second Largest Market for Pharma: LinkedIn Report
•With 13.7 percent contribution to the global pharmaceuticals and biotechnology workforce, India has emerged as the second largest market for the industry, a report by professional networking giant LinkedIn has revealed.
•The report, detailed in the newly released e-book "The Indian Pharma and Biotech Industry", showed that while New Delhi, Kolkata, and Chandigarh are thriving grounds for talent in this sector in India, talent migration is highest to the US. Talent migrating to other countries mainly comprises of researchers, scientists, quality assurance professionals, statistics programmers and data analysts.
6) Gurusaidutt Wins Bulgarian International Tournament
•Commonwealth Games bronze medallist RMV Gurusaidutt clinched the men's singles title at the Bulgarian International Future Series tournament.
•Gurusaidutt has defeated Muhammed Ali Kurt (Turkey) in a 35- minute match. Gurusaidutt will also participate in Senior Nationals Championship in November 2017.
7) National Award for Boxing Coach Sandhu & Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak
•President Ram Nath Kovind gave away the National award for senior citizens to Indian boxing coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu and Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration, Academics and Management for 2017 to Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak.
•Gurbax Singh Sandhu has been coaching both the men and women boxers. Sandhu was India’s longest-serving men’s national coach, for two decades. Dr.Bindeshwar Pathak is the founder of Sulabh International.
