PUNJAB

NHRC issues notice to Punjab govt over excessive use of pesticides

The National Human Rights Commissionhas issued notices to Punjab government and Union ministry of health and family welfare over a report that excessive use of pesticides and insecticides have left a residue of heavy metals in soil and groundwater causing various serious diseases to many people in the Malwa region of Punjab.

The commission has asked the chief secretary of Punjab and secretary of health ministry to send a detailed report in the matter within six weeks, informing about the steps taken after 2012, when the commission had disposed the matter on the assurance given by the state government for an affirmative and prompt action to deal with the menace.

According to reports, heavy metals are reaching the environment in dangerous amounts from reckless human activities due to their use in products like pesticides, herbicides, medicines, paints and cosmetics.

The Punjab government, at that time, had said that the farmers were being trained on the judicious use of pesticides even as some dangerous pesticides had been banned or their use was restricted.

INTERNATIONAL

· Melbourne To Host Final Of 2020 World T20

Melbourne Cricket Ground will host the final of both the men’s and women’s World Twenty20when the tournaments come to Australia in 2020.
It will mark the first time the tournaments are held as stand-alone events in the same year in the same country.
The women’s final will coincide with International Women’s Day (8th March).

· Google Introduces A New App Named as Bulletin

Google introduced a new app named “Bulletin”that allows anybody to submit stories for and about their communities.
This is a free, lightweight app for telling a story by capturing photos, video clips and text right from your phone, published straight to the web.
The app is made for contributing hyperlocal stories about your community.
The application has been launched as a limited pilot project and is available in Nashville, Tennessee, and Oakland, California.

NATIONAL

· New e-way bill system comes into force to bring uniformity across the states

ð New e-way bill system comes into force to bring uniformity across the states for smooth inter-state movement of goods

ð A new e-way bill system will come into effect.

Under the new system, every transporter will have to carry a system-generated bill to move goods from one place to another.
The e-way bill systemintroduced to bring uniformity across the states for seamless inter-state movement of goods.
Under the Goods and Services Tax, interstate transportation of goods beyond 10 kilometers with a value of 50,000 rupees and above, will mandatorily require the e-way bill.
Last month, the GST Council decided to implement the e-way bill mechanism throughout the country from 1st of February, 2018.

PM Narendra Modi writes a book titled ‘Exam Warriors’ for students

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written a book for students who battle stress and anxiety during examinations.

The book, slated to be released on February 3, talks about the ways in which students can tackle the stress.

The book has been titled ‘Exam Warriors’ and mentions various means such as practicing yoga.

· Union Government launches GeM 3.0

The Ministry of Commerce & Industrylaunched the third version of the Government e-Marketplace (GeM 3.0).
The earlier version GeM 2.0 was launched a GeM 2.0 was launched as pilot project in August 2016.
GeM 3.0 will offer standardized and enriched catalog management, powerful search engine.
GeM is an Online Market platform to facilitate procurement of goods and services by various Ministries and agencies of the Government.

Wi-Fi hotspots for rural areas proposed

The government has proposed to set up five lakh Wi-Fi hotspots which will provide broadband access to five crore rural citizens.

Allocation of Rs 10,000 crore has been provided in 2018-19 for creation and augmentation of telecom infrastructure.

· Govt proposes key amendments to PMLA

The Central government has proposed changes to various provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) through the Finance Bill, including a crucial amendment that empowers the Special Court to restore confiscated assets to the rightful claimants even during the trial.

The government has introduced a new Sub-Section (2) of Section 66, making it mandatory for the ED to share relevant details with other agencies.

A key proposed change is in the definition of “proceeds of crime”, which now also allows the ED to proceed against assets of equivalent value located even outside the country.

A further limit of ₹1 crore involved in the alleged offence would allow the court to apply bail provisions more leniently to less serious PMLA cases, said the government.

Another suggested change is the inclusion of Section 447 of the Companies Act in the list of scheduled offences under PMLA. It will allow the Registrar of Companies to report suitable cases to the ED for money laundering prob

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