CONGRESS SLAMS GOVT OVER ‘ACUTE SLOWDOWN’

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Tuesday attacked the Narendra Modi government over the state of the economy, saying it must acknowledge the “acute slowdown” and move beyond piecemeal approach to put the “economic mess” in order. The opposition party’s sharp attack on the government came over a media report, which cited Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, to claim that the overall financial flows to the commercial sector have declined sharply, by around 88 per cent. Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said the RBI report cited points to an “acute economic slowdown”. NEW DELHI: India is readying its own definition of “single-use plastic”, like 65 other countries are, so as to effectively implement a larger campaign launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rid the country of disposable plastics by 2022.

A committee led by the Union chemicals and fertilizers ministry has completed a draft report on what ought to fall under the category of single-use plastic. The report, which goes beyond items of daily use to arrive at a technical definition which also incorporates articles of industrial use, will be publicised for suggestions and review by stakeholders, an official with knowledge of the matter said.

Globally, plastic pollution has stoked an unmitigated crisis, from choking seas to rivers and landfills. According to official estimates, 9.4 million tonne of the 14 million tonne of plastic produced in India is said to be single-use plastic.

According to the official cited above, the panel has largely relied on the UN’S framework on defining and managing single-use plastic use.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme: “Single-use plastics, often also referred to as disposable plastics, are commonly used for plastic packaging, and include, items intended to be used only once before, they are thrown away or recycled. These include, among other items, gro