PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry said Tuesday that Mahesh Y Reddy has taken over as its Secretary General with immediate effect.

He holds 28 years of experience in national level trade, infrastructure and industry bodies in various capacities, the chamber said in a statement.

Earlier, Reddy served as Director General of Infrastructure Industry and Logistics Federation of India for eight years.

His appointment would take effect from the date of assumption of charge by him, said an official statement.

The 1983-batch Indian Statistical Service officer has worked in the ministries of statistics and health in various positions, and briefly in the Union Public Service Commission, in his 35-year career. He was a secretary to the Indian Statistical Commission, popularly known as the Rangarajan Commission, which laid the foundation of the modern statistical system. The National Statistical Commission was set up in 2005 on its recommendations.

In his latest stint, he worked as additional director general in the national accounts division of the MoSPI.

“Three surveys, two covering the services sector and unincorporated enterprises, and a time-use survey, which we are doing for the first time, and the 7th economic census are the immediate projects before us, and the resources we have are quite significant,” he told Business Standard.

The CSI takes up the mantle to generate the most important data in India, namely the estimation of gross domestic product (GDP) and retail inflation. Both are the key to a country’s economic progress, and to politics as well. Also, the much-awaited annual and quarterly job surveys will be out any time now.

Apart from macroeconomic data, there is the economic census, the annual survey of industries, and surveys on health, agricultural households, and consumption spending of Indians, for which the CSI is the point person.

The IOC has picked its first African host of any Olympics, formally awarding the 2022 Youth Games to Senegal. Senegal President Macky Sall was present on Monday to see International Olympic Committee members confirm the executive board’s preference from four candidates.

Senegal will host the youth games in three places: Dakar; a new city of Diamniadio, close to the capital; and the coastal resort of Saly.

Sall said a 50,000-seat Olympic Stadium will be built for the government-backed project.

The games budget is estimated at $150 million, the IOC executive director of Olympic Games, Christophe Dubi, said at a news conference.

Senegal’s games are likely to be held in late May. This would be at the end of the dry season to “greatly reduce the prevalence of tropical diseases,” IOC vice president Ugur Erdener told the membership.

NEW DELHI: Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta has been appointed as the new Solicitor General of India. The senior lawyer will assume the office of the Solicitor General till June 30, 2020. The post had been lying vacant since October last year when the then Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar had resigned.
Solicitor General is the second highest ranking law officer of the government after the Attorney General.

Mr Mehta has been serving as the Additional Solicitor General since 2014, when the Narendra Modi-led government came to power at the centre. He has appeared for the central government in many prominent cases, including the challenge to Section 66A of Information Technology Act.

"The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Mehta, senior advocate, as the Solicitor General of India with effect from the date of assumption of charge of office for a period till 30.06.2020," the order issued by the Personnel Ministry said.

The rupee Thursday weakened by 24 paise to hit another low of 74.45 against the US dollar on strong demand for the American currency from importers amid unabated foreign fund outflows and a sharp losses in the domestic equity market.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market, the domestic currency opened weak at 74.37 and slipped further to quote at an all-time low of 74.45, depreciating 24 paise against the US dollar in the early trade.

Forex dealers said besides strong demand for the American currency from importers, concerns of fears of rising fiscal deficit and capital outflows weighed on the domestic currency.

On Wednesday, the rupee snapped its six-session losing streak to end 18 paise higher at 74.21 against the US dollar after the American currency weakened overseas.

Investors remained concerned over sustained foreign capital outflows.

Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex crashed 1,030.40 points, or 2.95 per cent, to hit 33,730.49 in opening trade. Nifty below 10,200 on global sell-off.

UNICEF and NASSCOM Foundation Monday signed an agreement to strengthen child rights through "meaningful business interventions", an official statement said.

With this Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the two organisations will work collaboratively on two key areas including national sensitisation on 'child online protection' and 'encouraging innovations for child rights' in the country, a statement by UNICEF said.

"Cyber offences against children are spreading and diversifying across India as new methods are used to harass, abuse and exploit children," it said.

This year Goa International Film Festival from 20th to 28th of November will have Jharkhand as a partner state. The decision was taken yesterday in meeting between Secretary of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting ,Mr. Amit Khare and Chief Secretary of Jharkhand, Sudhir Tripathy at Ranchi.

This will allow Jharkhand to showcase its culture and favourable film making incentives announed by the state government. It was decided to open community radio station at every districts of Jharkhand.

It was also decided to organize Jharkhand Film Festival, under Indian Panorama, in two towns of Jharkhand in the first month of next year.

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha is going to have a Second Generation (2G) Ethanol Bio-Refinery, first in the country to produce ethanol from rice straw, in Bargarh district. The facility, which is expecting its mechanical commissioning in the next two years, is one among 12 refineries planned in 11 States in the country. To be set up at Baulsingha village under Bhatli tehsil by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) at an estimated cost of Rs1000 crore, the bio-refinery will produce three crore litre of fuel-grade ethanol annually using rice straw as feedstock.

Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal is slated to lay the foundation stone for the plant in presence of Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan on October 10. Briefing newsmen, CGM (Biofuels) of BPCL Sanjeeb Paul said the bio-refinery will be set up in an area of 58 acres provided by the State Government. Ethanol produced from the plant will be blended with petrol, he said.

“Apart from Odisha, BPCL is setting up bio-refineries in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. But the Bargarh plant will be the first in the country to start construction work. Commercial production will start after the mechanical commissioning in December 2020,” Paul informed. Biofuels have assumed importance due to growing energy security needs and environmental concerns. An estimate stated that India has surplus biomass availability of about 160 MMT annually which if converted has the potential to yield 3000 crore litre of ethanol.

The Indian Under-19 boys registered a comfortable victory over Sri Lanka in the final to win the U-19 Asia Cup for the sixth time.

India thrashed Sri Lanka by 144 runs in the summit clash in Dhaka thanks to spinner Harsh Tyagi's six-wicket haul.

Chasing a mammoth 305 for a victory, Sri Lanka kept losing wickets and crumbled for 160 in 38.4 overs as Tyagi finished with an impressive figures of 6/38.

Earlier, India rode on half-centuries from Yashasvi Jaiswal (85), stand-in skipper PrabhSimran Singh (65 not out), Anuj Rawat (57) and Ayush Badoni (unbeaten 52) to post 304/3 in their 50 overs.

Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari will lay the foundation stone for widening and improvement of 1224 crore rupees worth of National Highways works in Uttar Pradesh tomorrow. The projects include widening and improvement of Ramjanaki Marg in National Highways 227A from Ayodhya Cantt to Rampur 55 kilometres at a cost of 315 crore rupees and 35 km from Rampur to Sikriganj at a cost of 250 crore rupees.

Mr Gadkari will also lay the foundation for the 14 kilometre long Basti Ring Road Phase 1 which is to be constructed at a cost of 450 crore rupees and the widening and improvement of the 35 km long Badhni -Shoratganj section of NH-730 is to be undertaken for a cost of 200 crore rupees.

Mr Gadkari will also lay the foundation stone for the development of 354 kilometre long section of River Ghaghra (National Waterway-40 ) from Faizabad to Manjhighat.

The functions will be held at Kisan College, Civil Lines, Basti and Shivpati Degree College Hostel Ground, Chhatehri, District Siddarthnagar in eastern Uttar Pradesh.