05-06-03-23 Daily-Himachal Pradesh-HPPSC Current Affairs

Himachal CMSukhvinder Singh Sukhupresented theCongressgovernments maidenbudget, headlining it with a cow cess on liquor and a raft of welfare measures.

Presenting the Rs 53,413-crore budget for 2023-24 in the assembly,Sukhustarted his 135-minute speech with a shloka (verse) from theGitaand announced the cow cess of Rs 10 on the sale of each bottle of liquor, which will add up to an additional revenue of Rs 100 crore per annum. The CM also rolled out a pension plan, under which, Women in the state will get Rs 1,500 per month, at a cost of Rs 416 crore per year.

Other highlights of the budget included sops for electric vehicles as part of a larger drive to make HP a green state by 2026. The CM also announced that the Himachal Pradesh Ceiling on Land Holding Act, 1972, will be amended and daughters will be considered a separate unit.

More than 6% of Indias operational industries (4,40,989) currently do not comply with one or the other environmental standards, risking air, water and soils due to emissions and discharge of effluents carrying various pollutants, shows a compilation on non-compliant industries and relevant actions taken against them over the years by different statepollutioncontrol boards.
According to the compilation, shared by the Environment ministry in response to a question in the Parliament during the pre-recess phase of the budget session last month, Punjab has the highest number (6,293) of such polluting industries followed by Gujarat (4,605),Rajasthan(3,796),Maharashtra(3,043) and Jharkhand (1,760).
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the country’s national pollution watchdog, which has power to impose environmental compensation (EC) on such industries that violate various green norms under different laws, had imposed over Rs 13.4 crore of EC on 34 polluting chemical/Fertilizers and cement industries and collected over Rs 12.3 crore from them during 2018-22. The EC is imposed against the polluters for contaminating/ damaging the environment.

Reserve Bank Of India governor Shaktikanta Das said payments through UPI (unified payment interface) have grown exponentially in the past 12 months with daily transactions crossing 36 crore, which is up 50 per cent from 24 crore in February 2022.

While the UPI has facilitated digital payments to retail outlets, kiranas, street vendors etc, the Bharat bill payment system (BBPS) has ensured Migration of bill payments from cash/cheques to digital mode and the national electronic toll collection (NETC) system has helped in migration of the toll payments to digital mode with enhancing efficiency in terms of reduced waiting time at toll plazas, the governor said.

The national automated clearing house (NACH) system has also facilitated direct benefit transfers (DBT) payments digitally and eliminated leakages in the system.

The first methanol-powered buses in Bengaluru will be unveiled by Union Minister for Road and Transport, Nitin Gadkari. The Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), , Indian Oil Company (IOC), and Ashok Leyland are working together to carry out the initiative, which aims to lower the level of pollutants.

Methanol can be produced through the reaction of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen, which are also known as syngas. The syngas can be produced from various sources such as natural gas, coal, or Biomass.

TheCentres direct and wings have seized immovable property valued at over Rs 1 lakh crore, but disposed of assets to the tune of Rs 71 crore, the government told theRajya Sabha.

According to the data shared by him, the ED has also secured confiscation of proceeds of crime of Rs 15,600 crore.The minister also said that assets of Rs 15,114 crore have been restituted to Public Sector Banks.

Belgiumis expected to officially recognize after the federal government approves a draft law on Friday, opening the door to federal funding, official delegates and school classes.

TheBelgian Buddhist Unionhad requested recognition in March 2006. The union estimates the number of Buddhists in Belgium at 150,000. The only other EU country where Buddhism is recognized is Austria.

There are currently six worship Services officially recognized in Belgium: theRoman Catholic, the Orthodox, theIsraelite, the Anglican, the Protestant Evangelical and the Islamic, recognized in 1974.

Buddhism would be recognized as “a non-denominational philosophical organization” alongside organized Secularism, recognized since 2002. It would receive federal funding of up to 1.2 million euros.