Goa Affairs
Goa govt moots fines for unsegregated waste
The draft Goa Model Panchayat Solid Waste (Management & Handling) Bye-Laws, 2022, has proposed spot fines and penalties between Rs200 and Rs 10,000 against residential units, commercial establishments and institutions for non-segregation of waste at source, and not maintaining clean surroundings, among others.
The has invited objections and suggestions from the public before finalising the bye-laws.
The panchayat will impose fines for not storing and delivering commercial or domestic hazardous waste as required by the bye-laws, for not storing and delivering household biomedical waste as required by the bye-laws, for not granting access to the premises for inspection, for organising a public gathering or event without an event permit, for littering on roads or streets, for not delivering construction and demolition waste in a segregated manner as specified, for not delivering garden waste and tree trimmings as specified, and for disposal of waste by burning.
National and International Affairs
Increase in the use of Green Hydrogen
In the Independence Day speech on August 15, 2021,thePrime Minister announced the launch of National Hydrogen Mission. The Ministry of New and has accordingly prepared a draft Mission document which inter-alia proposes to support production and deployment of Green Hydrogen.
Green Hydrogen can potentially be used to replace fossil fuels and fossil fuel based feedstocks in a number of sectors inter alia including fertilizer production, petroleum refining, steel production and transport applications.
AAP to become a national party
Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) led by Arvind Kejriwal is all set to become the latest political outfit to get the status of ‘national party’ as the counting of votes is underway in recently concluded Gujarat Assembly . For AAP to get the status of the national party it will require atleast 6% vote share and needs to win atleast two seats.
To earn a national party status, a political party needs to be recognized in at least four states, and to be recognised as a state party, it needs to win at least two seats and 6 per cent of votes polled in the Assembly election. In other words, AAP needs to win just two seats and secure 6 per cent of votes
Indias first Surety Bond Insurance product to be launched on December 19: Nitin Gadkari
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) will launch India’s first-ever surety Insurance product on December 19 to boost liquidity in the Infrastructure sector.
While surety bonds refer to the performance or delivery obligation to complete the insured project, the corporate bonds refer to financial obligation to repay the debts or loans.
Croatia joins the euro
The European Union has given Croatia the green Light to begin using the euro and join theSchengen zone from next year.
The country will join 19 other EU member states that use the currency.
It will adopt the currency from 1 January 2023, making Croatia the latest nation to join the eurozone since Lithuania in 2015.
From next year, it will mean that just seven EU countries still use their own currency.
By adopting the euro, the eastern European nation hopes to gain more financial security and improve the living standards of its citizens.
Croatia will also benefit economically from closer financial links with the single currency areas other members and the European Central Bank.
As Croatia becomes the 20th EU nation to adopt the euro, there are still a number of members that havent taken this step.
In total, seven EU countries dont use the euro: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary,Poland, Romania, and Sweden.