PARLIAMENT PASSES INTERIM BUDGET 2019-20
Parliament Wednesday
approved Modi Government's sixth and final Budget that gave Income Tax rebate
to those earning up to Rs 5 lakh, an annual cash dole of Rs 6,000 to small
farmers and pension for unorganised sector workers. While the Lok Sabha has
passed the Appropriation Bills that gave Government authorisation of spending
certain sums till the next government presents the full Budget for 2019-20, and
the Finance Bill after full debate, the Rajya Sabha passed them without
discussion on Wednesday -- the last day of the session. The 13-day Budget
session was a washout in the Rajya Sabha as Opposition parties stalled
proceedings daily over issues ranging from Rafale fighter jet deal to
Citizenship Bill. On the last day Wednesday, a consensus was arrived at among
political parties to approve the Interim Budget as also the Motion thanking the
President for his address to the joint sitting of Parliament at the beginning
of the session without a debate. Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap
Shukla moved the Appropriation Bills and the Finance Bill that were approved by
voice vote. Vijay Goel made an appeal for adopting the Motion of Thanks to the
President's address without a debate and the same was adopted by voice vote.
The Motion, expressing gratitude to the President Ram Nath Kovind for his
address, was adopted after several amendments moved by opposition leaders were
withdrawn.
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CBDT CONSTITUTES 2 COMMITTEES OF TO SUGGEST BETTER LITIGATION
MANAGEMENT
The Central Board of
Direct Taxes has constituted two new committees of its officers to suggest ways
for better litigation management in the Income Tax Department and also to
examine the best global practices in this domain. The first committee, headed
by an officer of the Commissioner of I-T-rank, has been given a four-point
agenda or the 'terms of reference' to suggest ways to reduce and streamline
litigation issues facing the department. The five-member committee has been
asked to submit its report to the CBDT, that frames policy for the tax
department, within a month. A senior official said the panels have been formed
after a conference on legal issues between the CBDT brass and tax officials in
January. As per the terms of reference accessed by the , the committee will
examine suggestions/issues on litigation management emerging out of the
conference and to report on the solutions and the way forward on such issues. It
will also examine cases where the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has
passed perverse or irregular orders or where the submissions of department
representatives (DRs) have not been recorded by ITAT, and to be appropriately
taken up with President of ITAT and the Law Ministry. The committee, as per the
CBDT order, will also look into the feasibility of creation of separate benches
of the ITAT for international taxation cases, at places where the pendency of
such cases is high/above a threshold limit and analyse if the posts of junior
DRs could be revived in view of shortage of DRs in the ITATs. The second
committee, that will have four members headed by a Commissioner-rank officer,
will examine how the international good practices on tax disputes and the
diagnostic tool could be used for tax litigation management. This committee
will also submit its report to the Board within a month, the order said. The
CBDT, in the recent past, has undertaken a number of steps to ensure that
litigation remains at the minimum in the tax department. This include hiking
the threshold limit for the tax department to file appeals in tribunals and
courts. The CBDT action plan had said that the demand involved in appeal before
the first appellate authority of the department (Commissioner of Income Tax
Appeals)-- as on April 1, 2018-- is Rs 6.38 lakh crore. Out of this amount,
higher appellate bodies like the ITAT, high courts and the Supreme Court have
stayed a demand of Rs 87,035 crore, till the same time period, it said.
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EMPLOYEES OF TAX-COMPLIANT FIRMS MAY GET FASTER REFUNDS
Employees of tax-compliant
companies will have their income-tax (I-T) returns processed faster and may
even get refunds credited to their accounts on the same day according to a plan
that the government is working on. The I-T department is working on a system of
accreditation for companies with high tax compliance, under which tax returns
of their employees will be processed and returns issued on the same day, said a
government official who asked not to be named. The idea is to repose greater
faith on the returns filed by employees of companies that act as efficient
gatekeepers of the tax department by carefully assessing their employees’ tax
liability, deducting applicable taxes and remitting it to the exchequer on
time. This will also save the department’s time and resources. Risk parameters
will be defined for identifying companies whose employees will benefit from the
same-day return processing facility. Employees of companies that are under
suspicion of tax evasion will not benefit from this, the official mentioned
above said. Getting accredited by the tax department as a highly tax- compliant
business will also do the company good as it will endorse the governance
practices followed by it, something that investors and markets take seriously.
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ED MAY ALLOW BANKS TO SELL MALLYA'S ATTACHED SHARES IN UNITED
BREWERIES POST COURT NOD
The Enforcement
Directorate, through a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India, has
informally conveyed to Heineken NV, part-owner of United Breweries, that it
plans to allow banks to auction attached shares of the Indian beer maker soon
after it gets a court’s approval, two people with direct knowledge of the
matter said. Lenders and investors are eager to get on with the process and the
shares, if sold at the earliest, promise good returns, one person said.
“Heineken has shown interest in buying the shares at a premium and we will let
them claim it once the court approvals are in,” the person said. The
investigating agency has attached 41.3 million UB equity shares held by eight
promoter firms, equivalent to a 15.63% stake. Heineken owns about 44% of UB,
which was once headed by Vijay Mallya. The businessman, who has been charged
with money laundering and is fighting extradition from the UK, holds about 8%.
A little over 23% of the shares held by the UB promoter and promoter group are
pledged. ED officials told that banks will be given the green signal to sell
both pledged and unpledged shares once it gets approval from the special court
in Mumbai hearing cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The next hearing is scheduled on March 13.
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ANGEL TAX RELIEF LIKELY FOR STARTUPS, BUT IT MAY NOT BE ENOUGH
Only startups that have
received tax demands under the specific angel tax provision may get relief once
the government notifies new rules easing the tax burden on new ventures, a
government official said. A large number of startups that have recently faced
tax demands are unlikely to get any relief as demands were made under different
provisions of the law, the official said, requesting anonymity. Last week, the
income tax department allegedly deducted ₹33 lakh and ₹72
lakh from the bank accounts of startups Travelkhana.com and Sheroes-owned
Babygogo, respectively, though Ramesh Abhishek, secretary of Department for
Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), had said no coercive action
would be taken against startups that have received tax notices. Startups may
still face tax notices for unexplained fund receipts which are treated as
taxable income under Section 68 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, the official
clarified, adding there is no blanket exemption. “Many startups are trying to
project their unexplained fund receipts that the department has questioned as
cases of angel tax or taxing of share premium above fair market valuation under
Section 56 (2) (viib) of the Income Tax Act," the official said. The
Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is expected to extend within the next two
days angel tax exemption to companies with paid-up capital and share premium of
up to ₹25 crore, according to two people familiar with the matter.
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PETITION IN BOMBAY HIGH COURT CHALLENGING CONSTITUTION OF GST
APPELLATE TRIBUNAL
A petition has been filed
before the Bombay High Court challenging the provisions relating to the
constitution of Appellate Tribunals under the GST Acts. Petitioner, a
practicing Lawyer and the current President of the Sales Tax Bar Association of
Maharashtra challenged the provisions relating to the constitution of GST
Appellate Tribunals in the Central and the State GST Acts. According to the
petitioner, the provisions impinge on the independence of the judiciary with
respect to the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal as well as the First
Appellate Authority. The petitioner contended that the Sections 109(3), (4) and
(9) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 providing for two Technical
Members on any Bench and only one Judicial Member (including President or the
State President) and thereby leading to domination of Technical Members is
ultra vires the Constitution of India and read down the same to ensure that the
number of Judicial Members (including the President and the State President) on
any Bench of the Tribunal should not be less than the Technical Members on that
Bench. The petitioner further challenged the provisions of Section 110(1) of
the Act providing qualifications for appointment of Additional Secretary,
Technical Members, the composition of the Selection Committee to the Government
and the President of the Appellate Tribunal. The petition further pleaded to
declare Sections 110(9) to (11) ultra vires the Constitution inasmuch the term
of office of Judicial Members is restricted to 3 years, whereas the term of
office of Technical Members is 5 years and in as much the term of office of the
President is up to 70 years, while the term of office of the other Members is
restricted to 65 years and consequently read down the same to allow all the
Members of the Tribunal, that is the President, Judicial as well as Technical
Members, to serve on the Tribunal for a period of 5 years or till the age of
70, whichever is earlier.
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AHMEDABAD: TWO NABBED IN BOGUS BILLING SCAM
Having unearthed a fake
billing scam, sleuths of the state goods and services tax (SGST) department
nabbed two persons, Shaikh Munaf Abdul Rashidbhai from Bhavnagar and Ranjit
Vanzara from Ahmedabad, for issuing bogus bills worth more than Rs 428 crore.
According to SGST officials, Shaikh took documents such as Aadhaar cards and
PAN numbers of construction labourers in Bhavnagar, by falsely promising them
loans. Similarly, he got documents of other persons from Surat, Gandhidham and
Rajkot, and illegally obtained GST registrations in their name, to float bogus
companies Fake bills of Rs 399 crore were generated through these shell
companies, using which input tax credit worth Rs 60 crore was illegally
claimed. Shaikh has been sent to judicial custody by a Bhavnagar court. Using
the same modus operandi, Vanzara started a bogus company by getting documents
from other persons and getting GST registrations. Fake bills worth Rs 79.25
crore were generated, using which traders illegally got input tax credits of Rs
10.97 crore.
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GST RELIEF FOR HOME BUYERS ON ANVIL; PIYUSH GOYAL SAYS GST
COUNCIL WILL CONSIDER THIS
Home buyers may be in for
a relief with Finance Minister Piyush Goyal announcing that the GST Council
will soon consider changing the GST rate structure on housing Piyush Goyal said
that the GST Council will soon convene its next meeting, in which it will
consider GST rate structure on real estate. Further, ostensibly in an effort to
revive under-construction housing projects stuck for need of financing, Piyush
Goyal said that he wants banks to meet real estate sector in two weeks. A Group
of Ministers headed by Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel has suggested
a 5% GST rate on buildings under construction. However, the GoM has not taken a
call yet on the issue of making input tax credit available to property
developers under the new proposed structure.
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GST OFFICIALS ARE CONDUCTING SEARCHES ON THE PHARMA COMPANY
OFFICES IN HYDERABAD
The Goods and Services Tax
(GST) officials are conducting searches on a popular Pharma company in
Hyderabad on Thursday. The searches are going on since morning. According to
GST sources they are doing searches in six places of popular Pharma company
offices and godowns. The searches are conducting on the allegations of tax
evasions of the company for a long time.
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INCOME TAX DEPARTMENT ARRESTS MAN FOR RS 12 CRORE TAX DEFAULT
The Income Tax Department
has invoked a rarely used power and arrested a Karnataka-based businessman for
alleged tax default of about Rs 12 crore a senior official said Tuesday. The
official said the man, who has not been identified, was arrested by the Tax
Recovery Officer (TRO) of the I-T Department (Karnataka) from the Mumbai
airport on Monday, when he was about to take a flight to a foreign destination
The man has been detained in civil prison for a period of six months, the
department said in a statement. He was wanted by the department’s Karnataka and
Goa region office, headquartered in Bengaluru. He owed income tax and penalty
arrears of Rs 11.94 crore plus interest, it said. Aside from non-payment of due
taxes, the defaulter was found to have illegally transferred property situated
at Yeshwanthpur in Bengaluru. As per Rule 73 of the second schedule to the
Income Tax Act, if a defaulter transfers his property after the service of
ITCP-l (I-T notice), the certificate may be executed by arrest and detention of
his person, the department said. The statutory provision in Rule 16 prohibiting
transfer of any property by the defaulter without the permission of the TRO is
a stringent one and the defaulter must face the consequences of his wilful
violation, it said. The TRO is empowered to attach and sell assets, arrest a tax
defaulter and also appoint a receiver to manage a defaulter’s business. However,
these powers have been rarely invoked by the department in the past and very
few arrests have ever been made by the taxman. The department said the
businessman had violated the provisions of section 222 of the Act and Rule 16
of the schedule by transferring immovable properties after the date of service
of notice of demand. Therefore, it said, the TRO held that no further enquiry
is considered necessary and accordingly no custody pending hearing as per Rule
75 of the second schedule was ordered. It said the man failed to make
satisfactory arrangement for payment of the tax arrears and he has been
committed to civil prison on Tuesday at Parappana Agrahara central jail in Bengaluru
for six months.
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TRUSTEES OF SIR DORABJI TATA TRUST TO MEET AMID I-T ORDER
The trustees of the Sir
Dorabji Tata Trust are slated to meet on Wednesday amid a controversy caused by
an income-tax assessment order that withdrew tax exemption for the
philanthropic institution and led to questions being raised about the position
of managing trustee R Venkataramanan, according to two people familiar with the
meeting’s agenda. Managing Trustee R Venkataramanan’s resignation will also be
considered at the meeting, they said, though the primary item on the agenda is
about the annual budgets to be allocated for the new financial year. The
withdrawal of exemption was on account of Venkataramanan’s significant
compensation as per the I-T department’s order The trustees may also discuss
the possibility of creating a new designation — replacing managing trustee —
that will better reflect the responsibilities and role of a CEO of the trusts.
The two people cited said Venkataramanan is likely to be shifted to Tata Sons,
the main holding company which is majority controlled by the Tata Trusts, and
may be posted abroad. The Tata Trusts are also expected to contest the order in
a higher forum.
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VENKATARAMANAN QUITS TATA TRUSTS; NOEL JOINS RATAN TATA TRUST
R Venkataramanan,
embroiled in a tax row over his remuneration and under the scanner of the
investigating agencies, stepped down as managing trustee of the Tata Trusts.
Almost simultaneously, in what’s seen as a crucial appointment, Noel Tata was
inducted as a trustee of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, ensuring the continued
association of the family with the philanthropic body that controls the Tata Group.
After a five-hour meeting, the board of trustees said Venkataramanan’s request
to be relieved of his responsibilities had been “regretfully accepted.”
Venkataramanan, known in Tata circles as Venkat, has completed five years as
executive and managing trustee. His resignation as a trustee will take effect
on March 31. The move follows speculation about his departure from the managing
trusteeship, owing to the controversies swirling around him. The income tax
department recently withdrew the exemption given to Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, one
of the Tata Trusts, on account of Venkataramanan’s salary exceeding the
permissible tax bracket. He’s also being examined as part of the Central Bureau
of Investigation’s inquiry into allegations that AirAsia India used illegal
tactics to lobby for a change in policies. The Enforcement Directorate has
filed a money laundering case against AirAsia India over the same issue.
Venkataramanan was the Tata nominee on the board of the carrier. The induction
of Noel Tata is significant, according to Tata veterans and other insiders.
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PM MODI’S JIBE AT RAHUL IN LOK SABHA: ‘NO EARTHQUAKE FOR FIVE
YEARS DESPITE CLAIMS’
In his final speech in
Parliament ahead of the general elections later this year, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi Wednesday took a swipe at Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, saying his
claim of an earthquake if he speaks on Rafale jet deal fell flat Back in 2016,
Rahul Gandhi had said that if he were allowed to speak in Parliament there
would be an earthquake. Pitching for a majority government, the Prime Minister
said the country’s image had enhanced globally due to the electoral mandate
enjoyed by the current dispensation. PM Modi also raked up Gandhi’s remarks on Rafale
and the hug and ‘winking’ episodes saying it was a new thing he witnessed as a
first time member of Parliament. I know when a hug is genuine, he said. The
Prime Minister also praised Speaker Sumitra Mahajan’s leadership and said eight
of 17 sessions of this Lok Sabha had over 100 per cent productivity The overall
productivity was recorded at over 85 per cent. He also highlighted how this
16th Lok Sabha saw the highest number of women members elected to the House. 44
first-time women MPs were time elected to the Lok Sabha, said PM Modi. He said
India suffered globally for long due to fractured mandates. But now it is taken
seriously in the global arena because of the majority government, he said. The
PM maintained that neither he nor External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj are
responsible for India’s enhanced image globally. He said the credit goes to the
majority the government enjoys in Lok Sabha. The credit, he said, goes to the
people of the country. Referring to the achievements of his government, he
said, India has become the 6th largest economy and is fast moving towards being
a USD 5 trillion economy. The 16th Lok Sabha passed 203 bills out of 219
introduced including one on curbing black money.
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CAG REPORT ON RAFALE DOES NOT MENTION DISSENT NOTE, NOT WORTH
PAPER ITS WRITTEN ON: RAHUL GANDHI
Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday
noted that the CAG report on the Rafale deal does not mention the dissent note
by negotiators and said he doesn't think it's worth the paper its written on Gandhi's
dismissal of the Comptroller and Auditor General report came hours after the
paper was tabled in Parliament. The government's argument on price and faster
delivery of Rafale fighter jets has been demolished, Gandhi said. The only
reason for the new deal is to give Rs 30,000 crore to industrialist Anil
Ambani, the Congress chief alleged. The government and Ambani have rejected the
Congress' allegations on the fighter jet deal with France. The argument given
by the prime minister for the new Rafale deal was price and faster delivery.
This has been demolished, he said, citing a note by officials. You say there
was no scam, then why are you afraid of ordering a JPC, he said, reiterating
his demand for a joint parliamentary committee to look into the deal.
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CONGRESS GOVT TOO WANTED TO HIDE RAFALE PRICE: CAG REPORT
The BJP-headed NDA
government's decision to not reveal the price of the 36 Rafale fighter jets it
agreed to buy from French company Dassault on the grounds of security invited a
lot of criticism from the opposition parties. Interestingly, the Congress-led
UPA government too had signed a deal to hide the price of the jets. The CAG
report says the NDA government had asked the CAG in last month to not reveal
the price of Rafale jets citing two agreements one of which was signed by the
UPA government. The Ministry of Defence vide its letter dated 15 January 2019
had requested this Office to redact commercial details of MMRCA in the Audit
Report, citing reference to Article 10 of the Inter-Governmental Agreement
(IGA) for acquisition of 36 Rafale Aircraft and the provisions of an Indo
French Agreement concerning the Protection of Classified Information and
Material in the field of Defence signed on 25 January 2008, says the report. The
Indo-French agreement which the CAG report refers to was signed in 2008 when
the UPA government was in power at the Centre. The Defence Ministry not only
cited its own agreement but also the one signed by the UPA to forbid disclosure
of price due to security concerns.
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CAG REPORT ON RAFALE RAISES CONCERNS ON LETTER OF COMFORT OVER
SOVEREIGN GUARANTEE
The Comptroller and
Auditor General (CAG), in its report on the Rafale fighter jet deal with
France, has highlighted the drawbacks of settling for a 'Letter of Comfort'
rather than a sovereign guarantee by the French government. The report, tabled
in Parliament on Wednesday, noted that the 2007 UPA deal included a 15 per cent
bank guarantee against advance payments. Highlighting its concerns, the CAG
observed that in case of a breach of agreement, India would now have to first
settle the matter through arbitration directly with the French vendors. If the
arbitration award goes in favour of India and Dassault Aviation, the makers of
the Rafale jet, fails to honour it, India will have to exhaust all available
legal remedies, it said. Only after that will the French government make the
payments on behalf of Dassault Aviation, it added. India for the first time
signed an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with France to procure 36 Rafale
fighter jets. It has earlier signed similar IGAs with the US, the UK and
Russia. In case of IGA for 36 Rafale, the offer of M/s DA (Dassault Aviation)
in 2007 had included 15 per cent Bank Guarantee against advance payments, 5 per
cent each for Performance Guarantee and Warranty. A Bank Guarantee gets
directly and automatically invoked in case of breach of contract by the seller,
the CAG said. Instead it provided a 'Letter of Comfort' signed by the French
prime minister in lieu of the Bank Guarantee, the report said. The French
government, the report said, did not agree to an escrow account as it felt the
guarantees already provided by it were far reaching and unprecedented. In case
of any breach of agreement Indian party (Ministry) would have to first settle
it through Arbitration directly with the French vendors. If the Arbitration
award were in favour of Indian party and the French vendor fails to honour the
award (make the payment's claim), Indian party should exhaust all available
legal remedies. Only then the French Government would make these payments on
behalf of the vendors, the report said. The CAG report comes at a time the
government has been facing attacks by the Congress over settling for a 'letter
of comfort' instead of a 'sovereign guarantee'.
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'4 INDIA-SPECIFIC ADD-ONS NOT NEEDED': CAG ON RAFALE
The Comptroller and
Auditor General (CAG) on the Rafale deal noted that while there was no
provision for concluding an inter-governmental agreement with the lowest bidder
in the defence procurement procedure (DPP), this was a necessary reference
point for the Indian negotiating team and the auditor to determine "better
price, better delivery". The CAG undertook a detailed examination of the
IGA signed with France for the Rafale jets after the previous negotiations
under UPA for 126 jets were scrapped. The CAG noted that the procurement
effort, which began in 2000, made no progress even after 15 years and failed on
the "twin issues" of manpower costs and non-guarantee for aircraft to
be manufactured by public sector HAL. In fact, the higher manpower costs cited
by HAL during UPA-2 meant that Dassault Aviation would no longer be the lowest
bidder while an internal report in 2015 noted violations in procurement process
for Rafale as well as Eurofighter. The audit pointed out that the defence
ministry was advised by the law ministry to obtain a "sovereign
guarantee" from the French government in lieu of bank guarantee from the
vendor but the French government only provided a "letter of comfort".
The French side also did not agree to the MoD request for opening of an escrow
account to manage the payments as a measure of safeguard. On account of bank
guarantee/warranty, the savings could have been further to the tune of 0.06% in
the deal cost. The CAG noted in its report that in the 2007 offer, Dassault
Aviation had provided performance and financial guarantees which was about 25%
of the total value of the contract. "The vendor had embedded the cost in
its bid price. But in the 2016 contract, there are no such guarantees/warranty.
This led to saving for Dassault Aviation which was not passed on to
India," it observed. The auditor found that four of the Indian specific
enhancements were not needed at all because in the technical evaluation of
2010, the IAF had pointed out these were not needed. However, they got included
in the scope, despite IAF making several attempts to reduce these items, it
said.
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PICKING RAFALE WAS WRONG IN THE FIRST PLACE, CRITICISES CAG
The CAG indicted the very
selection of Rafale in the original but never-finalised medium multi-role
combat aircraft (MMRCA) project for 126 fighters under UPA, which in turn
raises questions about why the NDA government went ahead with the Rs 59,000
crore direct acquisition of 36 of the French fighters. The government contends
the induction of at least 36 Rafale fighters was "a critical operational
necessity" for the IAF and a lot of time would have been wasted if a new
selection process had been launched afresh. Moreover, according to Central
Vigilance Commission guidelines, negotiations could not be held with the
competitor who came second in the bid, the Eurofighter Typhoon. The deadlocked
MMRCA project, under which the first 18 fighters were to come in a
"flyaway condition" with the rest being licensed produced by defence
PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), was formally scrapped by the NDA
government in June 2015. The intergovernmental agreement with France for 36
Rafales was inked in September 2016.
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MODI PROMISED LOAN WAIVER TO FARMERS, BUT WROTE OFF BANK DUES
OF INDUSTRIALIST-FRIENDS: RAHUL GANDHI
In a scathing attack on
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi alleged on
Thursday that he made empty promise of loan waiver to farmers but wrote off
bank dues of his industrialist-friends. Gandhi said every sections of the
society, be it farmers, youths or small-scale traders, suffered under the Modi
government and they should get justice. When the Congress returned to power in
Rajasthan, the state government waived farm loans, Gandhi said. The prime
minister made empty promise of loan waiver to farmers, but wrote off bank dues
of his industrialist-friends, he charged.
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MALLYA RESPONDS TO PM MODI'S JIBE ON TWITTER
A week ago, while replying
to the motion of thanks on the President’s address in the Lok Sabha, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi took a veiled dig at runaway liquor baron Vijay Mallya: Those who
fled the country are today crying on Twitter. They are saying that I had taken
Rs 9,000 crore but the government has attached properties worth Rs 13,000 crore
Mallya, who is facing money-laundering charges in multi-crore fraud case in
India, was arrested twice and bailed out in London in extradition and
money-laundering cases filed by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED)
which has accused him of conspiring to defraud banks through a Rs 9,100 crore
loan to Kingfisher Airlines Ltd., a premium airline he founded in 2005 and shut
down seven years later. The UK government approved Mallya’s extradition to
India recently and Mallya is set to appeal the order. Now, Mallya has responded
to PM Modi's dig in a series of tweets. He said it was him whom PM Modi had
referred to while speaking in Lok Sabha: "The Prime Minister's last speech
in Parliament was brought to my attention. He certainly is a very eloquent
speaker. I noticed that he referred to an unnamed person who “ran away” with
9000 crores. Given the media narrative I can only infer that reference is to
me." Mallya said PM Modi should instruct banks to take back the money when
he was willing to pay back. "Following on from my earlier tweet, I
respectfully ask why the Prime Minister is not instructing his Banks to take
the money I have put on the table so he can at least claim credit for full
recovery of public funds lent to Kingfisher." Mallya questioned why the
banks don't take back his money when it is on offer: "I have made the
offer to settle before the Hon’Ble High Court Court of Karnataka. This cannot
be dismissed as frivolous. It is a perfectly tangible, sincere, honest and
readily achievable offer. The shoe is on the other foot now. Why don’t the
Banks take the money lent to KFA?" However, the case is against Mallya is
not simply of not paying back loans in time. He faces criminal charges of money
laundering. According to a recent report, ED has concluded that the Mallya-led
Kingfisher Airlines was actually involved in offence of money laundering and
generated `proceeds of crime' through aforesaid criminal activities related to
scheduled offence. The proceeds of crime are Rs 4,235 crore of loans
outstanding against the airline where ED investigation has established that
Mallya had no intent of pay.
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AIR FORCE ACQUISITION PROCESS NEEDS SIMPLIFICATION: CAG
Overall the capital
acquisition system, as it exists, is unlikely to effectively support the Indian
Air Force (IAF) in its operational preparedness and modernization, the
Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has observed on the Rafale deal and
called for revisiting the entire process of acquisition to simplify it. CAG
recommended that the IAF should improve its process of formation of Air Staff
Qualitative Requirements (ASQR) to ensure that they correctly reflect the
user's functional parameters. Audit is of the view that the present Lowest
Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) method of bid evaluation wherein the
contract is awarded to the lowest priced offer which is technically acceptable
needs reconsideration. For procuring highly technical products, use of the Best
Value method or a quantitative assessment method may ensure better value for
money. Audit noted that the IAF did not define the ASQRs properly. As a result,
none of the vendors could fully meet the ASQRs which were changed repeatedly
during the procurement process. The national auditor also noted that the vendor
response to solicitation of offers was low, which restricted competition. The
number of vendors who responded to the Request for Proposal (RFP) was far less
than the number of vendors who were invited to bid.
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WANT NARENDRA MODI TO BECOME PRIME MINISTER AGAIN: MULAYAM
SINGH
In a surprising statement
contrary to his son Akhilesh Yadav's stance, father Mulayam Singh Yadav praised
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also said that he hopes that BJP wins the
upcoming Lok Sabha elections and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi return to
power again I hope we see the same set of MPs in the next Lok Sabha, Singh said
in Lok Sabha in his valedictory speech in Lok Sabha today. I hope that Modi
becomes Prime Minister again. He must get another term, Mulayam Singh said.
Interestingly Mulayam was seen making this statement standing next to Congress
leader Sonia Gandhi.
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CITIZENSHIP ON BASIS OF RELIGION
Citizenship is listed at
serial no. 17 in List 1-Union List in the Seventh Schedule of Constitution of
India. Concerned stake-holders i.e, Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of
Overseas Indian Affairs and security agencies were consulted before introducing
The Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016 in Parliament. The Bill was referred to a
Joint Committee of the Parliament which consulted various stakeholders
including North Eastern States while examining the Bill. The Bill is not
state-specific. It is applicable to all States and Union Territories The
objective of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 is to facilitate
acquisition of Indian Citizenship by migrants belonging to the six specified
communities i.e. Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian from
Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, who have taken shelter in India due to
persecution on grounds of religion or fear of such persecution in their
countries and have entered into India on or before 31.12.2014.
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PROCUREMENT OF ASSAULT RIFLES AND LMGS
The weapons in category of
Assault Rifle, Close Quarter Battle (CQB) Carbine and Light Machine Gun (LMG)
are the basic weapons of a soldier Over a period of time owing to the dynamic
nature of warfare, enhanced transparency in battlefield, latest technological
advancement and capabilities of adversaries, operational requirements for these
Small Arms have undergone a change. During 2018, Acceptance of Necessity (AoN)
for procurement of Assault Rifles, LMGs and CQB carbines through Fast Track
Procedure (FTP) under ‘Buy-Global’ category as well as AoNs for procurement of
LMG and CQB carbine under ‘Buy & Make (Indian)’ category have been accorded
by Defence Acquisition Council (DAC). AoN has also been accorded for Inter
Government Agreement (IGA) with Government of Russia for production of Assault
Rifles in India through a joint venture. The cases are at various stages of
procurement.
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EMPLOYMENT IN DEFENCE CORRIDOR PROJECT
The Government has decided
to develop defence industrial corridor in the state of Uttar Pradesh. It has
earmarked six nodal points for setting up of Defence industrial corridor in Uttar
Pradesh. These are Kanpur, Lucknow, Aligarh, Agra, Jhansi and Chitrakoot. Five
stakeholders meetings were also organized. Setting up of this corridor would
catalyse indigenous production of defence and aerospace related items, thereby
reducing our reliance on imports and promotion of export of these items to
other countries. This will lead to generation of employment opportunities and
growth of private domestic manufacturers, micro, small and medium enterprises
(MSMEs) and start-ups.
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COMMUNICATION SATELLITE
GSAT-11, a communication
satellite has already been launched. After completion of all ground tests,
satellite was transported to French Guiana for launch. Further, Launch pad operations
were carried out successfully, and on 6th December, 2018, GSAT-11 was
successfully launched. All required orbit maneouvers were successfully done and
GSAT-11 is performing in orbit as per design.
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EXPANSION OF GAS PIPELINE NETWORK ACROSS THE COUNTRY
Government has envisaged
to develop the National Gas Grid and City Gas Distribution (CGD) networks in
the countryto enhance the availability and accessibility of natural gas to
public at large. At present about 16,788 km natural gas pipeline is operational
and about 14,239 km gas pipelines are being developed. These pipelines have
been authorized by Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) and are
at various stages of planning/execution/Pre-project activities etc. With the
completion of 9th CGD Bidding Round, CGD would be accessible in 178
Geographical Areas (GAs) covering approximately 280 districts spread over 26
States and UTs. PNGRB has reported that as per commitment given by various
entities in the GAs approved for issuance of Letter of Intent (LoI) in 9th CGD
bidding round, approximately 98,000 km of pipeline will be built. Completion of
9th round and 10th round of CGD network will involve more than Rupees one lakh
crore of investment in the CGD sector.
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RESTRUCTURING AND PRIVATISATION POLICY
The Government had
constituted an Expert Committee on enhancing combat capability and re-balancing
defence expenditure under chairmanship of Lt. General DB Shekatkar (Retd). On
the basis of recommendations of the Committee, the Government has decided to
disband two Advance Base Workshops, one Static Workshop and four ordnance
depots. Also, eight Army Base Workshops are recommended to be corporatized on
Government Owned Contractor Operated (GOCO) model. The above decisions have
been taken in the overall interest of the Army and the Nation. A decision has
been taken in the Ministry to declare 275 items produced by Ordnance Factories
as non-core, as these items can be easily procured by the Users from private
players. No retrenchment of employees would take place as a result of this
decision and the available manpower will be re-trained and re-skilled on
voluntary basis to work in core areas of production as per their changed
specialization.
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PEACE AT LAC
The Informal Summit
between India and People’s Republic of China held in Wuhan in April 2018,
underscored the importance of maintaining peace and tranquillity on India-China
border areas. To this end, both countries issued strategic guidance to their
respective militaries to strengthen communication in order to build trust and
mutual understanding for better anticipated response and effectiveness in the
management of border affairs. Article-IV of the Protocol signed on 11th
April, 2005 between India and China lays down modalities for the implementation
of Confidence Building Measures along the Line of Actual Control.It provides
that if the border personnel of both sides come in face-to-face situation due
to differences on the perception of alignment of the Line of Actual Control,
they shall exercise self-restraint and take following steps to avoid any
further escalation of the situation:-
·
Both sides shall cease
their activities in the area, not advance any further, and simultaneously
return to their bases.
·
Both sides shall then
inform their respective Headquarters and, if necessary, enter into immediate
consultations through border meetings or diplomatic channels so as to prevent
an escalation of the situation.
·
Throughout the
face-to-face situation, neither side shall use force or threaten to use force
against the other.
·
Both sides shall treat
each other with courtesy and refrain from any provocative actions. Neither side
shall put up marks or signs on the spots.
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FACILITIES TO CHILDREN OF MARTYRS
Prior to 7th pay
commission children of martyrs were eligible to receive full tuition and hostel
fee till they get their degree. The details of the tuition fee and hostel
charges till they get their degree prior to 7th pay commission
notified vide letter No. 6(1)2009/Edu. Concession/D(Res-II), dated 25th October,
2010 are as under:-
Tuition Fee
Full reimbursement of
tuition fee (capitation fee and caution money not included) levied by the
educational institutions concerned (including charges levied for the school bus
maintained by the school or actual fares paid for railway pass for students or
bus fare certified by the Head of institutes).
Hostel charges
Full reimbursement of
Hostel Charges for those studying in boarding schools and colleges. After the
7th pay commission Government had restricted the said fee to Rs.10,000/- per
month vide order No. 6(1)/2009/Edu. Concession/D(Res-II), dated 13th September,
2017. The decision was taken by the Government on the recommendations made by
the Seventh Central Pay Commission (7th CPC) in Para 8.17.42 and 8.17.45 regarding
Educational Concessions to the Children of Armed Forces Officers / Personnel
Below Officer Ranks (PBORs) Missing / Disabled / Killed in action vide order
No. 6 (1) / 2009 / Edu. Concession /D(Res-II), dated 13th September, 2017. In
continuation of this Department’s letter vide order No.6(1)/2009/Edu.
Concession/D(Res-II), dated 23rd March 2018, it has been decided with the
approval of competent authority that the cap of Rs.10,000/- per month imposed
on the combined amount of Tuition Fees and Hostel Charges vide para-5 of the
order dated 13th September, 2017 stands deleted and all other provisions remain
unchanged and the Educational Concession will continue to be admissible without
the cap of Rs.10,000/- per month.
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INDIAN RAILWAYS STATIONS SET FOR AIRPORT-LIKE REVAMP! RS 7,500
CRORE TO BE SPENT ON 50 STATIONS THIS YEAR
Indian Railways all set to
give a new makeover to as many as 50 railway stations this year! A whopping
amount of Rs 7,500 crore is likely to be invested by the Indian Railway Station
Development Corporation (IRSDC) for the renovation of 50 railway stations
across the country in 2019. The redevelopment project of Piyush Goyal-led
Railway Ministry will include separate arrival and departure areas at railway
stations, just like airports across the country in order to improve security as
well as passenger flow management, according to a recent HT report. IRSDC is
government’s special purpose vehicle, designed to develop new and redevelop
existing stations. As per the information provided on IRSDC website, 70% of
civil work on Habibganj station and 82% of civil work on Gandhi Nagar station
was completed till December 31, 2018. In November 2018, Lohia told Financial
Express Online that development work on both the railway stations was
progressing satisfactorily and IRSDC is hopeful that Habibganj and Gandhi Nagar
railway stations will be commissioned some time in 2019. Both Habibganj and
Gandhi Nagar stations will be Indian Railways’ first two world-class railway
stations, equipped with state-of-the-art airport-like amenities.
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40 COUNTRIES AGREE CARS MUST HAVE AUTOMATIC BRAKING
Forty countries led by
Japan and the European Union — but not India, the US or China — have agreed to
require new cars and light commercial vehicles to be equipped with automated
braking systems starting as soon as next year, a UN agency said on Tuesday. The
regulation will require all vehicles sold to come equipped with the technology
by which sensors monitor how close a pedestrian or object might be. The system
can trigger the brakes automatically if a collision is deemed imminent and if
the driver doesn’t appear set to respond in time. The measure will apply to
vehicles at low speeds: 60 km per hour or less, and only affects new cars sold
in the markets of signatory countries — so vehicle owners won’t be required to
retrofit their cars and trucks already on the roads today. The requirement will
start taking effect next year first in Japan, where 4 million cars and light
commercial vehicles were sold in 2018, said Jean Rodriguez. The European Union,
and some of its closest neighbours, is expected to follow suit in 2022. The
agency pointed to more than 9,500 roadway deaths in the EU in 2016, and EU
Commission estimates that the braking systems could help save over 1,000 lives
a year in the bloc.
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OVERSUPPLY FEARS LIKELY TO HIT INDIAN TEA EXPORTS
Tea exports from India,
the worlds second-biggest producer, may shrivel this year as a bumper crop in
Kenya raises the risk of oversupply Shipments could drop by 8 million to 10
million kilograms in the year through March from a record of 256.57 million in
2017-18 as Kenya’s output is likely to rise by as much as 60 million kilograms
-- a large volume for the world market to absorb, said Azam Monem, director at
Mcleod Russel India Ltd. Once Kenya produces that volume and their prices come
down, it will become very difficult for India to compete, Monem said. Kenya
delivers good quality tea at a low price, while India’s tea in that category is
quite expensive in relative terms, he added. Weaker exports from India may hurt
domestic producers, which have been suffering from oversupply, and local tea
prices will probably remain stagnant or increase only marginally this year. Tea
output in India could drop 5 to 10 percent this year because of poor weather in
some of the major growing areas, Monem said. Production climbed almost 6
percent from a year earlier to a record 1.33 billion kilograms in 2017-18,
according to Tea Board India data.
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AS SALES TO US GET BLOCKED, VENEZUELA LOOKS TO SELL MORE OIL
TO INDIA
Venezuela's oil exports
have tapered off and shifted toward India since new US sanctions began Jan. 28
as state-run oil company PDVSA seeks to replace deliveries to the United States
and Europe that were disrupted by payment restrictions. The South American
nation is turning its focus to cash-paying buyers, especially in India, its
second-largest customer after the United States, amid US sanctions designed to
undercut financial support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Sanctions
are designed to bar Maduro's access to oil revenue that has helped his
government remain in power. In the two weeks since the sanctions were
announced, PDVSA has been able to load and export 1.15 million barrels per day
(bpd) of crude and refined products, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.
Venezuela was exporting about 1.4 million bpd in the months before sanctions,
according to the Eikon data.
#For Source of Information copy and paste the heading in google.
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
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