1. ISRO carried out a major technology demonstration today, the first in a series of tests to qualify Crew Escape System, which is a critical technology relevant for human spaceflight. The Crew Escape System is an emergency escape measure designed to quickly pull the crew module along with the astronauts to a safe distance from the launch vehicle in the event of a launch abort. The first test (Pad Abort Test) demonstrated the safe recovery of the crew module in case of any exigency at the launch pad.
2. After a smooth countdown of 5 hours, the Crew Escape System along with the simulated crew module with a mass of 12.6 tonnes, lifted off at 07.00 AM (IST) at the opening of the launch window from its pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota today. The test was over in 259 seconds, during which the Crew Escape System along with crew module soared skyward, then arced out over the Bay of Bengal and floated back to Earth under its parachutes about 2.9 km from Sriharikota.
3. Union Minister of Coal, Railways, Finance and Corporate Affairs, Piyush Goyal launched the Coal Mine Surveillance and Management System (CMSMS) and Mobile Application "Khan Prahari" developed by CMPDI, Ranchi in New Delhi.
4. Vishwas Patel - Newly elected Chairman of Payments Council of India (PCI).
5. Uttam Dhillon (an Indian-American top White House lawyer) - Newly elected Head of Drug Enforcement Agency in the US.
6. After 34 years, Sports Authority of India renamed as Sports India announced by Union Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.