1. FDA proposes ban on menthol cigarettes, flavoured cigars
Tags: Latest International News
The US Food and Drug Administration issued a long-awaited proposal to ban menthol cigarettes and flavoured cigars.
The proposal aims to ban menthol as a specific flavouring in cigarettes and all characteristic flavours in cigars.
The proposed rule will help prevent children from becoming the next generation of smokers and help in quitting adult smoking addiction.
The proposed rule will help prevent children from becoming the next generation of smokers and help in quitting adult smoking addiction.
Brazil was the first country in the world to ban menthol cigarettes in 2012.
In 2019, the Government of India banned electronic cigarettes and different states have their own rules for banning the consumption of hookah in public places.
Tobacco Consumption in India
As per the Global Youth Tobacco Survey, India has the second largest number (268 million) of tobacco users in the world.
Every year 1.3 million people in India die due to tobacco-related diseases.
One million deaths are caused by smoking.
In India, about 270 million people above 15 years of age and 8.5% of school children in the age group of 13-15 years use tobacco in some form or the other.
Tobacco consumption incurs an economic burden of Rs 1,77,340 crore annually in India.
About 27 percent of cancers in India are caused by tobacco use.
2. Govt extends Rs 820 crore financial support to India Post Payments Bank
Tags: Latest National News
In the meeting of the Union Cabinet, approval has been given to provide financial support of Rs.820 crore to India Post Payment Bank.
The project outlay for setting up of India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has been increased from Rs 1,435 crore to Rs 2,255 crore by the Union Cabinet.
The Cabinet has also given in-principle approval for a provident fund of Rs 500 crore to meet regulatory requirements and technological up-gradation.
This additional financial support will help India Post Payments Bank meet its objective of advancing financial inclusion across India by leveraging the entire network of the Department of Posts.
About India Post Payment Bank
It is set up under the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications with 100% equity owned by the Government of India.
Founded- 1 September 2018.
Headquarters- New Delhi
Secretary- Vineet Pandey
MD & CEO- J. Venkataramu.
In January 2022, IPPB had crossed 5 crore customers
3. Reliance Industries 1st Indian firm to touch Rs 19 lakh crore m-cap
Tags: National Economics/Business
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has become the first Indian company to cross the Rs 19 lakh crore mark by market cap.
RIL shares rose 1.85 per cent to a record high of Rs 2,827.10 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) recently, due to which the company's market valuation also increased to Rs 19,12,814 crore.
The 2 billion dollar deal between Reliance and Abu Dhabi's chemical company Tajiz is the main reason behind the rise in Reliance's shares.
TCS is the second largest IT company by market cap among the listed companies in the Indian stock market after Reliance Industries.
About Reliance Industries
Reliance operates across India in the fields of energy, petrochemicals, textiles, natural resources, retail and telecommunications.
Reliance has 123 subsidiaries and 10 associate companies.
Establishment- 1966
Founder- Dhirubhai Ambani
Headquarters- Mumbai, Maharashtra
Chairman and MD- Mukesh Ambani.
Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani is at the eighth position with a net worth of $103.70 billion in the list of world's richest people recently released by Forbes.
4. Agra becomes first city in the country to have vacuum based sewer system
Tags: National News
Agra in Uttar Pradesh has become the first city in the country to have a vacuum based sewer system.
The Agra Smart City Company has connected 240 homes with vacuum sewers in Tajganj, near the Taj Mahal, where conventional sewer systems could not be used.
The Smart City Company has prepared the vacuum sewer line and network from the Netherlands company Quavek and has also entrusted the maintenance work for 5 years.
Sensors have been installed in the sewer chambers that will issue sensor alerts if the vacuum sewer network is choked or other problems..
Vacuum sewer network of 240 houses has been built for Rs 5 crore.
After Agra, Kochi Municipal Corporation is also planning to install a vacuum based sewer system.
5. LG Baggavalli Somashekar Raju to take over as Vice Chief of Army Staff
Tags: Popular Defence Person in news National News
Lieutenant General Baggavalli Somashekar Raju will take over as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff on 1 may.
An alumnus of Sainik School Bijapur and National Defence Academy, Raju was commissioned into the Jat Regiment on 15 December 1984.
He commanded his battalion during OP Parakram in the Western Theatre and in Jammu and Kashmir.
Raju also has the distinction of commanding the Uri Brigade on the Line of Control, a counter insurgency force and the Chinar Corps in the Kashmir Valley.
Raju has also served as the Commandant of the Indian Military Training Team in Bhutan.
During his illustrious career spanning 38 years, BS Raju has been involved in several important regimental, staff and instructional appointments at Army Headquarters.
Before taking over as the co-chief of the Army, Lt Gen Raju was the Director General Military Operations during the standoff with China on the LAC.
He is also a qualified helicopter pilot. He has flown in the UNOSOM-2 operation in Somalia.
6. Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated Golden Jubilee Celebrations of Cochin Shipyard Ltd
Tags: National News
Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the Cochin Shipyard Ltd on 30th April.
He also unveiled a Golden Jubilee statue and launched the Startup Engagement Framework of Cochin Shipyard on the occasion.
He also initiated work for development of the Ro-Ro (roll-on, roll-off) jetty near Mattancherry Wharf of Cochin Port and unveiled the new logo of Cochin Port Authority.
He also inaugurated a workshop on "Green Shipping in India --Keeping Pace with the Global Maritime Green Transitions" in Kochi.
The event has been organised by the Union Ministry of Shipping, Ports and Waterways in association with Cochin Shipyard and Institute of Energy and Resources.
About Cochin Shipyard Ltd
Cochin Shipyard was incorporated in the year 1972 as a wholly owned Government of India company.
Over the past three decades the company has emerged as a forerunner in the Indian shipbuilding and ship repair industry.
This yard can build and repair the largest ships in India.
It can build ships up to 1,10,000 DWT and repair ships up to 1,25,000 DWT.
Shipyard commenced ship repair operations in 1982.
7. Star9 Mobility Private Limited to buy 51 percent of govt share in Pawan Hans Limited
Tags: Popular Economics/Business National News
The Government has approved the highest bid of Star9 Mobility Pvt Ltd for sale of Government's entire 51 per cent stake in Pawan Hans Limited (PHL) and transfer of management control.
PHL is a 51:49 joint venture between the government and ONGC that provides helicopter and aero mobility services.
ONGC earlier decided to offer its entire shareholding to the successful bidder identified in the GoI strategic disinvestment transaction, on the same price and terms as the government.
The reserve price for the sale of 51% stake of PHL was fixed at Rs 199.92 crore based on the valuation done by the transaction advisor and asset valuer.
The alternative mechanism comprises Nitin Gadkari, Road Transport and Highways Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister and Jyotiraditya Scindia, Civil Aviation Minister.
Pawan Hans Limited has incurred losses in the last three financial years. The company has a fleet of 42 helicopters.
8. Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 launches National Behaviour Change Communication Framework for Garbage Free Cities
Tags: Government Schemes National News
Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0, under the aegis of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, has launched the 'National Behaviour Change Communication Framework for Waste Free Cities' to strengthen the ongoing mass movement for 'Garbage Free Cities'.
A social revolution has taken place in the field of cleanliness in urban India, in which one hundred and thirty crore citizens have come together in support of the Prime Minister's call for 'Clean India'.
In the last seven years, this government policy for cleanliness has become the world's largest behaviour change programme.
It works on the principles of sustainable urbanisation, circular economy, Reuse, Reduce, Recycle and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the second phase of the 'Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban' on October 2, 2021, on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.
It has been designed to make all cities garbage free and achieve the goal of water conservation.
In this, a provision has also been made to store and filter waste water by adopting a complete liquid waste management system in cities with a population of less than 1 lakh.
Under this, 3.5 lakh individual, community and public toilets will be constructed for the population going to urban areas for employment in the next 5 years.
Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) was launched on October 2, 2014 with the objective of promoting 'cleanliness and Sanitation' in the society and the country.
9. PM Modi addresses inaugural session of Joint Conference of CMs, Chief Justices of High Courts
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a joint conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on April 30.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the government considers the potential of technology in the judicial system as an essential part of the Digital India mission.
He said, the e-court project is being implemented in the country in mission mode.
He said, the judiciary is the custodian of the constitution and the legislature represents the aspirations of the citizens.
He said, this balance will prepare the roadmap for an effective and time bound judicial system in the country.
He said that the central government has abolished 1,450 laws that have become irrelevant, but the states have abolished only 75 laws.
About joint conference
The Joint Conference brings together the executive and judicial branches of government to develop a framework for the delivery of justice in a simple and convenient manner.
It examines the actions required to address the challenges of the system.
This joint conference has been organised after a gap of six years, it was last held in 2016 under the e-courts mission mode project.
Since then the government has taken several measures to improve infrastructure and integrate digital technology into judicial processes.
Chief Justice of India NV Ramana presided over the 39th conference.
10. Rourkela Steel Plant wins SAIL's ‘Best Integrated Steel Plant’ award
The Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) won the 'Best Integrated Steel Plant' award as part of the SAIL Corporate Awards for Excellence - 2020-21.
The award was presented by Soma Mandal, Chairman, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL).
The award was received by Atanu Bhowmick, director in-charge of RSP, accompanied by BR Babu, chief general manager (blast furnace) and I Rajan, chief general manager (traffic, with additional responsibility of utilities and environment).
Rourkela Steel Plant in particular received the award for its exceptional performance in the last financial year in terms of production, productivity, techno-economics and profitability even during the most challenging times of pandemic.
Earlier, the plant had won the Energy Conservation Award in the Eastern Zone ENCON Awards 2021 competition in November last year.
About Rourkela Steel Plant
Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP), the first integrated steel plant in the public sector in India.
It was set up with German collaboration with an installed capacity of 1 million tonnes.
Subsequently, its capacity was increased to 2 million tonnes of hot metal, 1.9 million tonnes of crude steel and 1.67 million tonnes of saleable steel.
It is the first plant in India to incorporate LD technology of steel making.
