An important meeting of the Union Cabinet is to be held today at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg, residence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In this meeting, a big decision can be taken to ban e-cigarettes and single use plastic.

In addition to this meeting, the government can bring an ordinance to ban the production, distribution, purchase and sale of e-cigarettes. Earlier, the E-Cigarette Prohibition Ordinance, 2019 was investigated by a group of ministers (GoM) following instructions from the Prime Minister's Office.

Small changes that this group of ministers suggested were included. A source said that the draft ordinance is to be placed before the cabinet today.

In this draft, the Health Ministry has proposed a maximum imprisonment of up to one year against the violators for the first time with a fine of Rs 1 lakh. Sources said the ministry has recommended a maximum jail term of three years and a fine of Rs 5 lakh to the repeat offenders.

The Union Cabinet is scheduled to meet today. It is believed that the government may take a big step on e-cigarettes and single-use plastics..