Environmental Responsibility — Ethical Standards

Entry	Year	Description	Impact
Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2021	2021	These rules amended the 2016 rules to phase out specific single-use plastic items by 2022. Crucially, they provided a legal framework for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), making producers, importers, and brand owners financially and physically responsible for the collection and processing of post-consumer plastic waste.	This amendment marks a significant shift from a focus on consumers and municipalities to holding corporations accountable for the entire lifecycle of their products. It forces companies to innovate in packaging, invest in recycling infrastructure, and internalize the cost of plastic waste, thereby promoting a more circular economy.
EIA Notification Draft, 2020	2020	This was a proposed amendment to the existing EIA Notification of 2006. It was highly controversial as it sought to introduce provisions like post-facto clearance for projects that started construction without prior approval, reduced time for public hearings, and exempted a range of projects from the EIA process.	Though not fully enacted in its original form due to widespread criticism, the draft highlighted the persistent tension between 'ease of doing business' and environmental protection. It triggered a national debate on the dilution of environmental safeguards and the ethical implications of legitimizing illegal actions through post-facto clearances, undermining the very purpose of the precautionary principle.