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NITI Aayog to rank States on Digital transactions
The Union Government’s think tank NITI Aayog will now rank the States/UTs based on their digital transactions. The step has been taken in order to foster competitive environment amongst the states.
Highlights:
- A committee on Digital Payments comprised of Chief Ministers of all States/UTs submitted its interim report to PM Modi on January 24, 2017.
- The committee in its interim report recommended various incentives for consumers and merchants in the form of cashback on digital spends, discounts on government payments via digital means, incentives to banking correspondents and small merchants for digital transactions.
Parliament passes The Payment of Wages (Amendment bill) 2017
Parliament passed the bill seeking to enable the Centre and state governments to specify industrial units which will have to pay wages only either through cheques or by transferring into the bank accounts.
The bill replaces the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill 2016, which was introduced in Lok Sabha on December 15, 2016 and repeals the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Ordinance 2016 promulgated on December 28, 2016.
India Ranks 43rd in GIPC
India continues to be in the bottom 5 in an international intellectual property index, ranking 43rd out of 45 global economies, according to a report by the US Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC).
Highlights:
- This is the fifth year in a row that India has been ranked at the bottom of the pack in the index. However, the 2017 report, titled ‘The Roots of Innovation’, represents a slight improvement in its performance as the country was ranked last or next-to-last in the last four years.
- The report includes 90 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP) and grades countries on patents, trademarks, copyright, trade secrets, enforcement and international treaties.
- India ranks 43, just ahead of Pakistan. The US ranks on top, followed by UK, Germany, Japan and Sweden respectively.