December 25: Top news at noon  

Over ₹51 lakh in 2,000 denomination notes seized in Kannur

Unaccounted cash to the tune of ₹51.86 lakh, almost all of them in ₹2,000 denomination, was today seized by Kerala Excise officials at Irrity near Kannur in north Kerala, from two passengers of a bus coming from Bengaluru. Excise officials found ₹51.80 lakh in ₹2,000 notes and ₹100 notes worth ₹6,300 in the bags of Ranjith Salangi (24) and Rahul Adhik alias Rahul Ghatoo (22). The duo, in their early 20s and hailing from Maharashtra, were found carrying the cash without any supporting documents after which they were detained. The haul came just two days after police seized ₹39.98 lakh in ₹2,000 denomination at Tirur area in Malapuram district.

Delhi RTOs set to go cashless from January 2017

Regional Transport Offices in the national capital are set to go cashless from January when fees for all services including driving licence, auto permit and fitness certificate can be paid electronically. The Transport Department has started installing Point of Sale machines at its zonal offices and trial run of the cashless transaction system is being carried out at some places. There are 14 zonal offices of the Transport Department in the city. "From January, people coming to RTO offices can pay fee of various services using their debit, credit cards. Applicants won't be required to make payments in cash," a senior government official said.

Graded response to air pollution not before next winter

The Centre's graded response system to tackle air pollution, which proposes emergency measures such as odd-even car rationing scheme and closing schools based on the intensity of the situation, will not be enforced in the national capital this season. Union Environment Minister Anil Dave has said a detailed framework in this regard, which will not be limited to Delhi, will be out in January for its implementation in 2017. However, the comprehensive plan, prepared by the Central Pollution Control Board, that focuses on Delhi, was submitted to the Supreme Court on December 2. The apex court had accepted and asked the Centre to notify it. Nearly a month has passed, a period which has also seen the air quality index entering the 'severe' zone, but no emergency measure has been imposed in the city, which is among the world's most-polluted.

Regulate use of plastic flags, banners in polls: NGT to MoEF

The National Green Tribunal has directed the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to regulate the use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and other forms of plastic in flags and banners by political parties during elections after a plea alleged that it damages environment. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar issued notice to the MoEF and asked it to take a view in relation to banning or regulating PVC within six months. The tribunal was hearing a plea filed by Andhra Pradesh resident Ravikiran Singh seeking directions to the Election Commission of India to issue orders asking all political parties and people contesting elections to refrain from using PVC banners and flags and impose hefty fines on all who continue to campaign by such medium.

1,000 sand Santa Clauses at Puri beach

At least 1,000 sand Santa Clauses were today sculptured at the Puri sea beach in Odisha by noted sand artist Sudarshan Pattnaik and his students. The Santa festival started on December 24 this evening and will continue till January 1, 2017. With 1,000 Santa Clauses, Sudarsan is aiming to break his 2012 Limca Book record of sculpturing 500 sand Santa Clauses. It took Pattnaik and his team of 35 students from his sand art school four days and about 1,000 tons of sand to carve a thousand sand Santa Clauses. He said he wanted to create awareness about "global happiness through sand Santas".