Pranab Mukherjee Is India’s New President

• Unlicensed Firearms. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, Maharashtra is among the country’s ten worst states in terms of the number of murders with unlicensed firearms. The number of murders committed with illegal guns has increased by more than 30 per cent every year since 2009. Collectively between 2007 and 2011, nearly 400 people were killed by unlicensed weapons. In Mumbai however, the commonest weapons used to kill are knives, sharp objects, wooden sticks, and kerosene or petrol. [The Times of India]

• Paying For Plastic. In its month-long campaign against plastic bags between June 17 and July 18, the BMC spent Rs25 lakh on advertising, but managed to collect only Rs17 lakh in fines after seizing over 5,000 kgs of plastic. The drive was initiated by the civic body to prevent a 2005 type flood scenario in the city, the main reason for which was the unchecked use of plastic according to civic officials. [Hindustan Times]

• New President. On Sunday, July 22, Pratibha Patil was replaced by India’s former finance minister Pranab Mukherjee as the country’s new President. Mukherjee, 76, polled over 69 per cent of the total valid votes in the state assemblies, defeating BJP-backed parliamentarian Purno Agitok Sangma. The win makes the senior Congress leader the 13th occupant of Rashtrapati Bhavan. [The Times of India]