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No Smoking Day: Government Urged to Eliminate Designated Smoking Rooms in Hotels and Airports

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While commending the government’s initiative to amend COTPA 2003 and aim for a 100% smoke-free India, experts have urged for the immediate removal of current provisions allowing designated smoking areas.

Expressing concerns about the health risks associated with smoking, Dr. Harit Chaturvedi, chairman of Max Institute of Cancer Care, emphasized the need to eliminate all designated smoking areas in public spaces like hotels, restaurants, and airports to ensure a completely smoke-free environment.

Although smoking is already banned in public places in India under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003, a provision in COTPA currently permits smoking in designated areas of certain establishments like restaurants, hotels, and airports.

“Designated smoking areas pose significant health risks to non-smokers, especially in eateries where exposure to second-hand smoke is common,” stated Nalini Satyanarayan, a passive smoking victim and health activist. She emphasized that passive smoking can lead to various diseases, including lung cancer and heart disease, affecting both adults and children.

Experts highlighted the dangers of second-hand smoke, noting that it can be as harmful as smoking itself. People with pre-existing respiratory and cardiovascular conditions face higher risks, and designated smoking areas contribute to the spread of infections, especially in enclosed environments where social distancing is challenging.

Acknowledging the government’s efforts to strengthen tobacco control laws, G P Sharma, president of the Hospitality Association of Uttar Pradesh, expressed support for making the hospitality sector completely smoke-free.

India, with a significant number of tobacco users, witnesses millions of deaths annually due to tobacco-related diseases. The ongoing amendment process and introduction of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Bill, 2020, aim to address these health hazards and create a smoke-free environment for all citizens.

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Actor Aayush Shah lodges a complaint against the founder of an OTT platform regarding bounced cheques

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Actor Aayush Shah and his business partner have accused the founder of an OTT platform of sending them checks totaling over Rs 1 crore that have been returned, and they have lodged numerous complaints against him in this court.

Aayush Shah and his business partner, Mausam Shah, co-founders of the PR firm Maars Communicates, recently filed complaints in a magistrate court under the provisions of the Negotiable Instruments Act.

The accusations concern a number of checks that the Shah pair received from Akshay Bardapurkar, the proprietor of the OTT platform.

Bardapurkar had given Aayush and Mausam nine signed checks under the complaints. When the checks, totaling Rs 1,14,30,400, were presented, they were refused.

Bardapurkar owes Aayush Shah Rs 87 lakh of the total, and Mausam Shah the remaining sum. Since May 2024, interest of Rs 3,61,500 has been payable each month.

According to their attorney Krishnagopal S. Tripathi, Aayush Shah has lodged three complaints against Bardapurkar and the Planet Marathi Seller Services firm. He stated that Mausam Shah had lodged a single complaint against the defendant.

He stated that the two plan to sue Bardapurkar in civil court to get damages and more accountability.

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Actor Aayush Shah files complaints against OTT platform founder over bounced cheques

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Mumbai: Actor Aayush Shah and his business partner have filed multiple complaints in a court here against the founder of OTT platform  for allegedly issuing them cheques of more than Rs 1 crore which have been dishonoured.

The matter will be heard in due course.

Aayush Shah and his business partner Mausam Shah, co-founders of the Maars Communicates PR agency, filed the complaints before a magistrate court a earlier this month under relevant provisions of the Negotiable Instruments Act.

The complaints pertain to a series of cheques issued by the OTT platform’s founder Akshay Bardapurkar to the Shah duo.

As per the complaints, Bardapurkar had issued nine signed cheques to Aayush and Mausam. The cheques, with a total amount of Rs 1,14,30,400, were dishonoured upon presentation.

Out of the total amount, Bardapurkar owed Rs 87 lakh to Aayush Shah and the remaining to Mausam Shah, with a monthly interest of Rs 3,61,500 accruing since May 2024.

Their lawyer Krishnagopal S Tripathi said Aayush Shah has filed three complaints against Bardapurkar and the Planet Marathi Seller Services company. Mausam Shah has filed one complaint against the accused, he said.

The duo also intend to file a civil case against Bardapurkar to seek damages and further accountability, he added.

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Another setback for Paytm: Shares fall 9% on Sebi notice to Vijay Shekhar Sharma

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Paytm shares drop 8.88% as Sebi investigates IPO compliance; stock down 18.17% this year.

Paytm share price today: A QR code for the Paytm digital payment system at a store in Mumbai.(Bloomberg)

Paytm share price plunged to the day’s low ₹505.55 per share on the NSE today (August 26) after company’s founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma and board members faced show-cause notices from Sebi over IPO breaches.

The markets regulator issued show-cause notices to Vijay Shekhar Sharma and board members who served during its initial public offering (IPO) in November 2021 for alleged misrepresentation of facts, Moneycontrol reported.

One person in the know told the outlet, “Sebi is taking the view that Sharma should have been classified as a promoter, and it was also the fiduciary duty of board members of the company to verify the accuracy of the claims made by the founder and attest the same.”

The source added, “Although Sebi has gone after directors of a company in the past, they have been mostly cases of financial fraud. This is one of the rare cases where Sebi is trying to hold the directors responsible for a potential compliance lapse, which was also not pointed out either by bankers or statutory auditors.”

Paytm share price dropped 8.88 per cent to ₹505.55 apiece on the NSE.

This year, Paytm’s stock has dropped 18.17 per cent as per BSE. In the last one year, it gave negative returns of 41.20 per cent.

This comes after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed restrictions on PPB due to “persistent non-compliance and ongoing significant supervisory concerns” on January 31 this year. The RBI directed PPBL to close most of its operations, including deposits, credit products, and digital wallets, by March 15 this year.

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