The Daily Brief – 31st July 2019

A unique initiative called ‘Didi Ke Bolo’ (Tell Your Sister) campaign is launched by the Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee to reach out to the people of the state. This campaign is devised to entertain voters regarding various issues for which a phone number (9137091370) and a website (www.didikaybolo.com) are also launched. The move is being seen as a fresh plan to mobilise people and strengthen the party at booth level, ahead of the Assembly polls due in 2021.

Parliament passed the Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2019 which seeks to amend the Companies Act, 2013. The bill aims to tighten Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) compliance, transfer certain responsibilities to National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and re-categorise certain offences as civil offences.

As per the latest UN report, ‘Children and Armed Conflict’, in 2018, more than 12,000 kids were killed and injured in armed conflicts. The report revealed that deaths and injuries were among more than 24,000 grave violations against children. In 2018, 225 attacks happened on schools and medical facilities. As per the report, deaths and injuries were the highest since the Security Council authorized monitoring and reporting in 2005.

Landing Craft Utility (LCU) L56, the 6^th ship of LCU MK IV class, was commissioned into the Indian Navy at Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam. LCU L56 would be administered and based in Port Blair. It is an amphibious ship which has the primary role of transportation and deployment of Armoured Vehicles, Main Battle Tanks, Troops and Equipment from ship to shore. Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE), Kolkata, which built the LCU, has become the first shipyard in the country to build the 100^th warship.

Lok Sabha passed the Consumer Protection Bill, 2019 that seeks to establish the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) on July 30, 2019. The main objective of the bill, which seeks to replace the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, is to ease the process of addressing the grievances of consumers.

Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar released the report of green ratings on fertilizer sector, prepared by Centre for Science and Environment in New Delhi. The report says that there is a need to sensitize the industrial sector while government is also working to boost environmental protection incentives, which are a must to encourage people.

Appointments Committee of the Cabinet appointed 1984-batch IAS officer Rajiv Kumar as the new Finance Secretary. Presently, he is serving as the Secretary in the Department of Financial Services. He will replace Subhash Chandra Garg, who has been appointed as the Secretary of Ministry of Power.