The Centre on Thursday stepped up its efforts to combat air pollution by launching a five-year action plan with a tentative target of 20-30% reduction in concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 by 2024, with 2017 as the base year.

The National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) was launched by Union minister for environment, forests and climate change, Harsh Vardhan with an initial budget of 300 crore for the first two years.

“So far we had only been looking at National Capital Region (NCR) to mitigate air pollution, but now we have attempted to reach out to different parts of the country. It is a comprehensive plan that is specific to each city,” said secretary, ministry of environment, C.K. Mishra.

The plan includes 102 non-attainment cities, across 23 states and Union territories, which were identified by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on the basis of their ambient air quality data between 2011 and 2015.

Non-attainment cities are those which have been consistently showing poorer air quality than the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. These include Delhi, Varanasi, Bhopal, Kolkata, Noida, Muzaffarpur, and Mumbai.

As part of the programme, the Centre also plans to scale up the air quality monitoring network across India. At least 4,000 monitors are needed across the country, instead of the existing 101 real-time air quality (AQ) monitors, according to an analysis.

The former chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, the three states in which BJP suffered electoral reverses in the recently-held assembly elections, were on Thursday appointed national vice presidents of the party. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Raman Singh, and Vasundhara Raje were given the new responsibilities ahead of general elections.

The appointments were made by BJP chief Amit Shah. The move indicates the three leaders will play a crucial role in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The saffron party suffered a severe blow in the run-up to the 2019 general elections as Congress returned to power in three Hindi heartland states. The grand old party appointed Kamal Nath, Bhupesh Baghel and Ashok Gehlot as CMs of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, respectively.

An agreement for Renukaji Dam Multipurpose Project will be signed today among the states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. The project is aimed at meeting the drinking water needs of these states. 

The agreement will be signed in the presence of  Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Minister Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi. All the six Chief Ministers will also be present on the occasion.

Under it, three storage projects are proposed to be constructed on the river Yamuna and two of its tributaries - Tons and Giri in the hilly regions of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.  

These include  Lakhwar project on river Yamuna in Uttarakhand, Kishau on river Tons in Uttarakhand and  Himachal Pradesh and  Renukaji on river Giri in Himachal Pradesh. 

The projects were conceived in 2008. Most of the irrigation cost and the drinking water component of these projects will be funded by the central government.  In addition to this a concession agreement will also be signed for  Namami Gange projects for the city of Prayagraj under Hybrid Annuity Mode and One City One Operator Concept.

The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the re-issuance of an ordinance making the practice of instant triple talaq a criminal offence, sources said.

The earlier ordinance, issued in September last year, was to expire on January 22.

A bill to convert the ordinance into law is pending in Rajya Sabha where the opposition has been resisting its passage.

An ordinance has a life of six months. But from the day a session begins, it has to be replaced by a bill which should be passed by Parliament within 42 days (six weeks), else it lapses.

The government is at liberty to repromulgate the ordinance if the bill fails to get through Parliament.

A fresh bill to make the practice of triple talaq among Muslims a penal offence was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 17 last year to replace the ordinance issued in September.

The GST Council, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, at its meeting in New Delhi yesterday doubled the GST exemption limit to give relief to small businesses. 

It raised the exemption limit to 20 lakh rupees for northeastern states and 40 lakh rupees for the rest of the country. 

The Council also decided that the GST Composition Scheme, under which small traders and businesses pay one per cent tax based on turnover, can be availed by businesses with a turnover of 1 crore 50 lakh, against the earlier 1 crore rupees, with effect from 1st April.

In a tweet, Mr Modi lauded the decisions taken by the GST Council and said that the government is committed to a simple and people-friendly GST.

Air passengers can now avail free-of-cost travel insurance of Rs 50 lakh if they book their tickets through the IRCTC, the catering and tourism arm of the railways, an official statement said.

This facility will be available for passengers irrespective of the class of tickets and for both domestic and international flights. The insurance will provide them financial protection against accidental death and total or permanent disability, the IRCTC statement said.

The insurance partners of the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) will be Bharti AXA General Insurance, it said.

The premium for insurance will be borne by the IRCTC to secure its passengers from any untoward incident during the journey. The insurance cover will be for both one-way and round trip, it added.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

India could soon see seaplanes being used to fly passengers with the government giving approval to 13 water aerodromes under UDAN-3. The very first seaplane could run within Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Moneycontrol has learnt that approximately four different islands from Andaman and one island from Nicobar have been selected to fly seaplanes. These are Havelock, Long Island, Neil Island and Hutbay Island in Andaman and Car Nicobar in Nicobar.

“The Andaman government has said that they would give additional incentives to allow operation of seaplanes otherwise people would not visit the places,” an official aware of the development said.

India has allowed an Iranian bank to open a branch in Mumbai, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday, announcing a move seen aimed at circumventing US trade and investment sanctions as India builds a strategic port in the West Asian country.

The bank will open its branch in the next three months, shipping, roads and highways minister Gadkari said after a meeting with Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Iran’s Pasargad Bank has received the necessary clearances to open its branch in Mumbai, said a person familiar with the development on condition of anonymity.

“The government of India has given permission to the Iranian bank to open its branch in India in Mumbai within three months,” Gadkari said.

Alongside, India’s UCO Bank will open a branch in Iran, said a Press Trust of India report quoting the Iranian minister.

“We are very happy that both UCO Bank from India and Pasargad Bank from Iran are getting started with the business,” Zarif was quoted as saying.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday inaugurated electric vehicle charging station at North Block in New Delhi and hands over the electric vehicle to Finance Ministry officials. 

Department of Economic Affairs, has signed an agreement with Energy Efficiency Services Limited for deployment of 15 Electric Vehicles for their officers. 

With the induction of these electric vehicles, Department of Economic Affairs is expected to save over 36,000 litres of fuel every year and will also lead to a reduction of over 440 tonnes of carbon dioxide. 

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Jaitley, said, electric mobility, is an attractive, sustainable and profitable solution to mitigate the climate change. He said, these vehicles have the potential to support India’s growth by enhancing manufacturing, job creation, and technical capabilities.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday constituted a high-level committee headed by former chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Nandan Nilekani to set up a robust digital payments ecosystem in the country.

The committee has been asked to review the existing status of digitization of payments, identify gaps in the ecosystem and suggest ways to plug them.

According to its terms of reference, the panel has to suggest a medium-term strategy for deepening digital payments, and measures to strengthen safety and security.

“The committee shall submit its report within a period of 90 days from the date of its first meeting,” the RBI said.