GSTR-9 AVAILABLE ON GSTN PORTAL FOR FILING ANNUAL RETURN
The Central Government has
enabled GSTR-9 on GSTN Portal for filing Annual Return For Filing GSTR-9, an
option of ‘Annual Return Tab’ has been enabled by the GSTN (Goods and Services
Tax Network) which can be seen in the portal. The due date for furnishing the
annual returns in FORM GSTR-9, FORM GSTR-9A and reconciliation statement in
FORM GSTR-9C for the Financial Year 2017 – 2018 has been extended till
30.06.2019. GSTR-9 is prepared based on the earlier process of filling GSTR-1,
GSTR-2, and GSTR-3. In GSTR-2, there was a requirement to report details of HSN
wise summary of inward supplies. However, as GSTR-2 was not required to be
filed till now, one will have to carry out an additional exercise to identify
and report HSN wise summary from the books of accounts. As per section 35(5) of
CGST Act, every registered person whose turnover during the financial year
exceeds prescribed limit (Rs. 2 cr.) shall get his accounts audited by a
chartered accountant or a cost accountant and shall submit a copy of the
audited annual accounts, the reconciliation statement under sub-section (2) of
section 44 which is called GSTR-9C and such other documents in such form and
manner as may be prescribed. Hence, the requirement of GST Audit u/s 35(5)
would arise only if the prescribed limit of turnover exceeds Rs. 2 cr. and
certified reconciliation statement -GSTR-9C shall require to be submitted. On
the other hand, GSTR-9 is an Annual return which is required to be filed by
every registered person irrespective of threshold limit of turnover.
Consequences for not filing GST Annual Return Notice to return defaulters–
Section 46) Where a registered person fails to furnish a return under section
39 or section 44 or section 45, a notice shall be issued requiring him to
furnish such return within fifteen days in such form and manner as may be prescribed.
Levy of late fee– Section 47 (2) Any registered person who fails to furnish the
return required under section 44 by the due date shall be liable to pay a late
fee of one hundred rupees for every day during which such failure continues
subject to a maximum of an amount calculated at a quarter percent. of his
turnover in the State or Union territory.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
CBDT GRANTS RETROSPECTIVE EXEMPTION TO STARTUP COMPANIES FROM
ANGEL TAX W.E.F. 19.02.2019
In exercise of the powers
conferred by clause (ii) of the proviso to clause (viib) of sub-section (2) of
section 56 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961) and in supersession of the
notification of Government of India in the Ministry of Finance, Department of
Revenue, Central Board of Direct Taxes published in the Gazettee of India,
Extraordinary, Part-II, Section (3), Sub-section (ii) vide number S.O. 2088(E)
dated 24th May, 2018, except as respect things done or omitted to be done
before such supersession, the Central Government, hereby notifies that the
provisions of clause (viib) of sub-section (2) of section 56 of the said Act
shall not apply to consideration received by a company for issue of shares that
exceeds the face value of such shares, if the said consideration has been
received from a person, being a resident, by a company which fulfills the
conditions specified in para 4 of the notification number G.S.R. 127(E), dated
the 19th February, 2019 issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in the
Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade and published in the
Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part-II, section 3, Sub-Section (i) on 19th
February, 2019 and files the declaration referred to in para 5 of the said
notification of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.
This notification shall be deemed to have come into force retrospectively from
the 19th February, 2019.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
GOVERNMENT PROMISED TO LOWER CORPORATE TAX AS GST MOP-UP
RISES: FICCI
The government has
promised to lower corporate tax rate to 25 per cent for all companies once
Goods and Services Tax (GST) mop-up improves, Sandip Somany said Tuesday.
Somany said the discussions revolved around a wide range of issues, including
taxation, job creation and boosting industrial output. He (Jaitley) has
promised that as the revenue collections from GST go up over a period of time,
he will rationalise the taxes for the rest of the corporate sector over the
next few years, Somany said. In 2015-16 budget, the government had announced
that the corporate tax rate would be gradually lowered to 25 per cent from 30
per cent over the next four years and exemptions available to companies would
be phased out. In the budget 2017, the government had reduced corporate tax
rate to 25 per cent for companies whose turnover was less than Rs 50 crore in
financial year 2015-16. This benefitted 96 per cent of the total companies
filing tax returns. The government in the next budget of 2018-19 extended the
reduced tax rate of 25 per cent to companies with turnover of up to Rs 250
crore, a move which benefited the micro, small and medium enterprises. After
this, out of about 7 lakh companies filing returns, about 7,000 companies which
file returns of income and whose turnover is above Rs 250 crores remains in 30
per cent slab. With regard to US decision to withdraw duty benefits on Indian
products under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) programme, Somany
said it will make Indian industry less competitive. I'm sure government will
take appropriate action and there will be dialogue between the two governments
to make sure that this is not withdrawn in case of India, Somany added.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
INCOME TAX RETURNS WITNESS 30% GROWTH IN APR-FEB, OVER 3 LAKH
VISIT WEBSITE TO CHECK NOTICES FROM I-T DEPT
The income tax e-returns
filed for the April-February period has grown nearly 30% compared with the
corresponding period in FY18. While almost 6.4 crore taxpayers filed returns in
the first 11 months of the fiscal, the government is expecting 7.6 crore
returns to be filed by the end of FY19 against 6.7 crore in FY18. In the last
three fiscals, March alone has seen 0.8 crore (FY16), 1.1 crore (FY17) and 1.85
(FY18) crore e-returns being filed. The surge is seen after the I-T department
started sending notices to people who are involved in high-value transactions
but don’t file returns. For the current fiscal, the I-T department launched the
non-filers management system and identified persons who had engaged in
high-value transactions but failed to file I-T returns. In the first 15 days
since its launch, 33,000 persons filed returns for the first time while 3 lakh
people visited the e-filing website to check notices from the department. During
the April-February period of the last two fiscals, the growth was more lower at
27%, 20% and 17% in FY 16, FY 17 and FY 18, respectively. At the end of FY14,
only 3.8 crore e-returns had been filed. While the number of e-returns filed
between assessment year (AY) 2013-14 to AY2017-18 grew by an average 25% per
year, the effective taxpayer base expanded by an average of 9% only,
registering double-digit growth rates in only two of these years. The tepid
growth in effective taxpayer base is also threatening the government’s mop-up
target for this fiscal which according to the revised estimate (RE) is pegged
at 12 lakh crore, 20% higher than last fiscal. If the historical mop-up trend
serves any guidance, some 65% of the annual direct taxes get collected in the
first nine months of a fiscal and the balance in the fourth quarter. That means
the personal income tax collections in Q4FY19 could be 1,85,150 crore, some 52,000
crore less than what the RE requires. Similarly, the corporation tax (CIT) may
witness a shortfall of Rs 13,000 crore against the RE.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
COMPANY DIRECTOR’S BANK A/C CAN’T BE ATTACHED FOR RECOVERY OF
GST: GUJARAT HIGH COURT
The Gujarat High Court has
held that the Goods and Service Tax Department cannot provisionally attach bank
accounts of directors of the company for recovery of taxes and penalty where
the company has failed to pay the taxes and penalty. The bench comprising
Justice Harsha Devani and Justice A P Thaker was considering a petition filed
by M/s H.M. Industrial Pvt. Ltd Under section 83 of the CGST Act, if the
circumstances therein are satisfied, to attach provisionally any property,
including bank account, belonging to the taxable person, in such manner as may
be prescribed. The term taxable person has been defined under sub-section (107)
of section 2 of the CGST Act to mean a person who is registered or liable to be
registered under section 22 or section 24 of that Act. The bench noted that in
the present case, it is the petitioner-company which is registered under the
provisions of the CGST Act and is, therefore, the taxable person. Under the
circumstances, if at all, the provisions of section 83 of the CGST Act could
have been invoked against the petitioner herein, however, under no
circumstances, the same could have been invoked against the directors of the
petitioner-company, the bench said. In the opinion of this court, reliance
placed upon section 89 of the Act is thoroughly misconceived inasmuch the same
relates to recovery of any tax, interest or penalty due from a private company
in respect of supply of goods or services. Moreover, even if such amount cannot
be recovered from the private company the directors of the company do not ipso
facto become liable to pay such amount and it is only if the director fails to
prove that nonrecovery cannot be attributed to any gross neglect, misfeasance
or breach of duty on his part in relation to the affairs of the company, that
the same can be invoked. However, in any case, at this stage, section 83 of the
Act does not apply to the directors of the private company. Under the
circumstances, the impugned orders of attachment, to the extent the same attach
the bank accounts of the directors, as set out in the statement at page 8 and 9
of the petition, at serial No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10 and 11 are concerned, are
totally without any authority of law, the bench said.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
RS 40,200 CRORE VAT, GST DUES TO BE RECOVERED: GUJARAT
GOVERNMENT
The state government has
to recover outstanding sales tax, Value Added Tax (VAT), and GST of Rs 40,221.73
crore as of March 2018, Nitin Patel, said. The dues are to be recovered from
42,675 individuals i.e. an average of Rs 94 lakh in each case. To put the
outstanding dues in perspective, the amount is just lower than the estimated
SGST collection of Rs 42,750 crore by the state government in the current
financial year. A senior government official said that the outstanding dues
were mainly in cases where the individuals or entities had approached courts or
filed appeals with higher authorities. With outstanding tax recovery of Rs 13,821
crore, Ahmedabad, the state's business hub, accounted for almost one-third of
the total tax dues, the deputy chief minister's reply showed. It was followed
by Vadodara with pending tax dues of Rs 5,720 crore and Kutch, with Rs 3,877
crore. Recovery of Rs 3,087 crore in due levies was to be made from Surat. It
was followed by Morbi, the ceramic manufacturing hub of the country, with
pending sales tax, GST and VAT dues of Rs2,907 crore. The reply showed that
recovery of Rs 1,610 crore sales tax, VAT, and GST was pending in Bhavnagar, Rs
1,393 crore in Devbhumi Dwarka, Rs 1,187 crore in Bharuch, Rs 1,039 crore in
Valsad, and Rs 923 crore in Mehsana. In cases barring those where stay orders
have been issued by various authorities, steps are being taken under the
Gujarat Sales Tax Act, Gujarat VAT Act, GST Act, and land revenue laws to
recover the pending dues, the minister's reply said further. Action had been
taken against 39,240 of the individuals to recover the pending due, the deputy
chief minister's reply added.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
CASH DEPOSIT DURING DEMONETISATION-AO TO COMPLETE ASSESSMENT
BY 30TH JUNE 2019
CBDT vide letter dated
15.11.17 had issued a SOP for issue of notice u/s 142(1) of Income-tax Act,
1961 for filing of returns of income pertaining to assessment year 2017-18 in
cases related to substantial cash deposit during the demonetisation period.
CBDT has stated that subsequently, notice u/s 142(1) was issued in around 3
lakh cases. However in around 87,000 cases out of these cases, assessees
concerned have not filed their return of income in response to the said notice.
Accordingly, as stated in its latest instruction, the Board has decided that
cases in which said notices under section 142(1) have remained non-complied
with, would be handled in the following manner :
1. An updated information
regarding address, bank-account, transaction detail, etc. in the identified
cases would be provided to the jurisdictional Assessing Officer (AO) by the Pr.
DGIT (Systems). Further, an internal Guidance Note for assistance of AOs for
verification of cash deposits and framing of assessments in demonetisation
related cases shall also be issued subsequently by the Pr. DGIT (Systems).
2. In these cases, AO
would proceed with completion of the ‘best judgement assessment’ under section
144 of the Act . The summarised form of relevant provision i.e. section
144(1)(b) of the Act is:
If any person fails to
comply with all the terms of a notice issued under section 142(1), the AO after
taking into account all relevant material which the AO has gathered shall after
giving the assessee an opportunity of being hear make the assessment of total
income or loss to the best of his judgement.
3. In ‘best judgement
assessment’ order being framed under this SOP, the Range Head shall mandatorily
issue directions from time to time under section 144A of the Further, Range
Head would also monitor framing of the final assessment order.
4. The AOs should, through
local enquiries, endeavour to identify possible addresses of the assessee as
per the modes prescribed in the second proviso to Rule 127 of the Income tax
Rules, The results of these enquiries are to be captured on ITBA in accordance
with modalities to be provided by the Pr. DGIT (Systems).
5. While gathering
material, section 133(6) of the Act should be suitably invoked by the AO so as
to gather additional information about persons, transactions and fund flow from
the banks where the suspected transactions took place. Such notices would be issued
by the concerned AO after a careful appraisal of information at his disposal so
that maximum possible additional information can be culled out. Further, a
detailed analysis of past income tax returns, if available, should also be made
to form an opinion regarding nature of transactions related to demonetisation.
6. On the basis of all
material and evidence gathered by the AO, during the course of assessment
proceedings, assessee would be duly provided with an opportunity to explain
his/her case.
7. In cases where ultimate
beneficiary of a transaction has been established, the concerned AO shall
forward the material available at his/her disposal to the AO having
jurisdiction over the ultimate beneficiary so that appropriate action can be
initiated in that case as per relevant provisions of the Further, information
regarding the entry operators in a particular chain should also be forwarded to
the concerned jurisdictional AO for taxing the unaccounted commission receipts.
8. Wherever possible, the
assessments in cases covered in this SOP may be completed by 31st March, 2019
and in any case by the first quarter of the next financial year i.e. by 30th
June, 2019.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
GST AUTHORITY FINDS HARYANA-BASED S3 INFRA REALITY GUILTY OF
PROFITEERING
The anti-profiteering
authority has found Haryana-based real estate developer S3 Infra Reality guilty
of not passing GST rate cut benefit totalling Rs 1.48 crore to its buyers of
residential and commercial properties. The authority has also asked the realty
firm to pass on Rs 57.76 lakh to the buyers of 'Auric City Homes' project as
the company has already admitted lapses and passed on Rs 90.84 lakh to the
purchasers. The investigation by the Directorate General of Anti Profiteering
has found that in respect of 651 residential units, the realty firm has
profiteered over Rs 1.45 crore. With regard to 13 commercial units sold in the
said project, the company profiteered to the tune of Rs 3.01 lakh. The ruling
was passed on a complaint filed before the Haryana State Screening Committee on
Anti-Profiteering on April 4, 2018. The applicant had alleged that the realty
firm did not pass on the input tax credit benefit to the buyers by way of
commensurate reduction in prices after Goods and Services Tax (GST) roll out.
The authority has also issued a show cause notice to the realty developer
directing him to explain why penalty should not be imposed on him.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
PROMOTERS ARRESTED AS TAX OFFICIALS RAID COMPANIES SUSPECTED
OF CIRCULAR TRADE
Suspecting companies of
evading goods and services tax (GST), tax officials have started going after
companies that are into circular trading, and arrested several promoters of
such entities. While several insiders suspect circular trading may be used to
inflate turnover or for bringing in black money in system, tax experts point
out that this doesn’t necessarily mean tax evasion and that some genuine
businesses are facing trouble on this count. The indirect tax department in
February issued notices and raided premises of several companies that were
allegedly inflating their turnover by selling goods from one company to
another, officials said. They alleged fake invoices of Rs 25,000 crore were
issued by small and medium companies across India to avail GST credit. Experts,
however, argue that circular trading has been an old trick for several
businesses, and in itself doesn’t necessarily result in tax evasion. Tax
lawyers are planning to file habeas corpus challenging the tax department's
arrests, claiming that while circular trading is frowned upon, in most cases no
fake invoices were issued and they didn’t result in any loss to the tax
department — an allegation levelled by tax officials. The department suspects
that several companies are merely buying fake bills that help them claim input
tax credit and actual buying and selling of goods is not taking place.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
PUNJAB CABINET RELAXES GST TO BENEFIT INDUSTRY
In a move to boost
industrial development in the state, the Punjab Cabinet on Wednesday approved
an amendment to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) incentives notified under the
Industrial and Business Development Policy 2017. The amendment enables
industrial units to choose between net GST incentives or incentivised State Goods
and Services Tax (SGST) on intra state sale, a government statement said. It
gives units -- which have filed their common application form on the Invest
Punjab Business First portal between October 17, 2017 and October 17, 2018
(both days inclusive) -- the one-time option to opt for either Net GST
incentives or incentivised SGST on intra-state sales. The option can be availed
within 90 days from the date of the notification The incentivised SGST to be
considered for reimbursement would mean that the eligible unit will be entitled
to get reimbursement of SGST amount paid through cash ledger against the output
liability of SGST on sale of eligible products.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
INDIA INC’S IPL TICKET SPEND TO QUALIFY AS DEDUCTIBLE
India Inc’s spending on
free tickets of cricket leagues such as the India Premier League (IPL) to its
customers can be allowed as a deduction from the total income while computing
tax. In a ruling that benefits FMCG, consumer durable and telecom companies,
the Hyderabad bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal rejected the
contention of tax authorities and allowed deduction of expense on distribution
of free IPL tickets for the purpose of business. Typically, companies
distribute gifts to customers or dealers on special occasions to further
business relations. Provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961, allow for the
deduction, subject to certain exceptions, in lieu of any expenditure incurred
wholly or exclusively for the purpose of business. The current case pertains to
EPE Process Filters & Accumulators Pvt Ltd, a manufacturer of hydraulic
& process filters and hydro-pneumatic accumulators. The company had in
2009-10 distributed IPL tickets to customers and business associates. Tax
authorities held that since the taxpayer had failed to produce any evidence
that the tickets were indeed distributed among its business associates,
deduction of expenses could not be allowed. The ITAT concurred with the
taxpayer’s arguments that such expenses served the purpose of promotion of
business relations and goodwill among the customer base of the company and
hence qualified as a deductible business expenditure. However, since supporting
evidences were not submitted before lower authorities, the ITAT sent the matter
back to the tax officer to consider the evidence submitted by the taxpayer and
to verify whether these parties were the customers of the taxpayer and whether
they were given the IPL season tickets. The Income Tax Act specifies business
expenses that are allowed as deduction and for other expenses which are not
specified, the principle to be followed is that such expense should be incurred
wholly and exclusively for business purposes, tax experts said. It is a common
practice for businesses to incur expenses towards gifts, free samples,
promotional material, etc., on certain occasions like festivals and events, to
promote their brand and grow their business. This ruling reaffirms the commonly
understood principle that if an expenditure has been incurred for the
furtherance of business interests, then it should be allowed as a deduction,
said Vikas Vasal, national leader-tax & growth advisory, Grant Thornton
India. However, necessary care and caution, along with robust documentary
evidence should be maintained by the tax payers to substantiate their claim in
case of any dispute with the tax authorities, Vasal added.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
INDIA MAY IMPOSE RETALIATORY TARIFFS ON US GOODS FROM APRIL 1
India is likely to impose
higher duties on 29 goods imported from the US from April 1, adopting a firmer
stance in relations with one of its biggest trading partners, which withdrew
benefits under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP). The decision could
derail the substantive package that India and the US were working on to resolve
trade issues. That package is now off the shelf since the GSP review was triggered
but there is still a period of 60 days, people from the external affairs
ministry said. Higher duties have been proposed on US walnuts, chickpeas,
lentils, boric acid and diagnostic reagents, among other goods, imposing an
additional burden of $290 million on them. The increased levies, proposed in
June 2018 after the US announced higher tariffs on certain steel and aluminium
products from which India had sought exemption, have been deferred six times in
view of the bilateral trade dialogue. We will wait for the April 1 deadline and
then impose the higher tariffs, said an official aware of the details. India
had repeatedly extended the deadline for imposing higher duties in the hope of
resolving ongoing trade issues with the US ranging from GSP, agriculture and
dairy to medical devices, telecom and e-commerce. When the US has decided to
withdraw the export benefits and the impact on India is marginal, then we
should take it forward and impose higher tariffs on their products, said an
expert on trade issues.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
NO ACTION PLAN READY AGAINST US TRADE MOVE
For close to a year, India
has been threatening to impose retaliatory tariff of $235 million on 29
American goods to counter the Donald Trump administration’s decision to raise
import duty on steel and aluminium goods. But nine months after the plan was
announced, the government is still dilly-dallying on countering US government’s
assault against Indian exports and visas, even as the American authorities near
a deal with China. The deadline to impose duties on products, ranging from
almonds to lentils, has been postponed half-adozen times, with April being the
latest cut-off. All these months, the Narendra Modi government had hoped that
Trump would go easy and a deal could be reached through a dialogue at the
commerce minister level. What the Indian authorities kept ignoring was the US
government’s repeated attacks on its policies — ranging from export promotion
schemes and farm subsidy to import duties — as well as disputes at WTO. We have
little choice but to keep our channels of engagement open, an official told.
Several officials suggested that the coming months could see US pressure
intensify as Trump readies for re-election, especially on the demand to lower
import duties. The confusion was on display on Tuesday too as officials from
the commerce department, who are usually reluctant to consult the ministry of
external affairs on trade issues, opted to get the official response vetted by
the foreign office. Government functionaries seemed to suggest that the
withdrawal of benefits under the generalised system of preferences would not
make a significant dent to India’s exports to the US. Commerce secretary Anup
Wadhawan, who has been dealing with US negotiators for the last few years,
suggested the hit could be as low as $190 million. In private, officials
admitted, they could do little to counter the unilateral move by the US. In any
case a country like India should not be seeking it, if we have ambitions to be
on the global high table, said an officer. But clearly, that was not the case
during the meetings with US authorities.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
INDIA WEIGHS RETALIATORY TARIFFS ON US IMPORTS WORTH $10.6
BILLION
India is likely to impose
retaliatory tariffs on $10.6 billion worth of goods imported from the US, after
the Trump administration decided to scrap duty benefits on $5.6 billion worth
of exports from India by May, following the collapse of trade negotiations. The
next deadline for the tariffs to kick in is 1 April.We are weighing all our
options. The retaliatory tariffs may kick in either after the current deadline
ends or before that. We are reserving our right to drag the US to the WTO
(World Trade Organization) as the GSP (generalized system of preferences)
withdrawal violates the principle of non-discrimination, an Indian commerce
ministry official said, on condition of anonymity. India has implemented a wide
array of trade barriers that create serious negative effects on United States
commerce. Despite intensive engagement, India has failed to take the necessary
steps to meet the GSP criterion, the office of USTR said in a statement late on
Monday. Wadhawan said the impact of the US action on India’s exports will not
be very significant as the duty benefits are worth only $190 million on exports
worth $5.6 billion. An official said that India would continue to work with the
US to find a solution as there are 60 days left. We have been pointing out to
them that US exports to India have gone up by 30% in the past year and this has
come in a globally depressed market. Oil and gas imports from the US are
increasing, he added.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
PIL BLAMES TATA STEEL OF HOARDING MINES
The Odisha High Court will
hear a public interest litigation on March 25 filed against Tata Steel for
holding excess mining rights in Odisha and the State government’s move to
increase the maximum area limit for lessee of iron ore mines from 10 sq km to
75 sq km. In a petition with the High Court, Bijaya Kumar Mishra from Angul district
of Odisha said it is pertinent to note that out of 56 sq km of mining lease
area held by steel companies in Odisha, Tata Steel owns 49.61 sq km of iron ore
and manganese mines which account for 89 per cent of total mining leases ever
allotted to steel companies. Interestingly, Section 6 of Mining and Mineral
Development (Regualtion) Act restrict mining area to be held by a miner at 10
sq km. The State government recently recommended to the Centre to raise the
maximum area limit for iron ore lessees to 75 sq km. The Centre had increased
area limit for bauxite deposits to 50 sq km.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
WHAT HAPPENED AT BALAKOT? SATELLITE IMAGES REVIEWED BY REUTERS
TELL A DIFFERENT STORY
High-resolution satellite
images reviewed show that a religious school run by Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in
northeastern Pakistan appears to be still standing days after India claimed its
warplanes had hit the Islamist group's training camp on the site and killed a
large number of militants. The images produced by Planet Labs Inc, a San
Francisco-based private satellite operator, show at least six buildings on the
madrasa site on March 4 six days after the airstrike.Until now, no high-resolution
satellite images were publicly available. But the images from Planet Labs,
which show details as small as 72 cm (28 inches), offer a clearer look at the
structures the Indian government said it attacked. The image is virtually
unchanged from an April 2018 satellite photo of the facility. There are no
discernible holes in the roofs of buildings, no signs of scorching, blown-out
walls, displaced trees around the madrasa or other signs of an aerial attack.
The images cast further doubt on statements made over the last eight days by
the Indian government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the raids, early on
February 26, had hit all the intended targets at the madrasa site near Jaba
village and the town of Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
CURBING PONZI SCHEMES: AS GOOD AS IT CAN GET
The new Act to prevent
gullible investors from getting fleeced goes a long way and plugs many gaps
that exist in current laws. It doesn't just help depositors but could also help
government in limiting conversion of black money into white. Barely three
months before President Ram Nath Kovind signed the Unregulated Deposit Scheme
Ordinance 2019, the West Bengal administration busted a deposit-taking racket
right inside Nabanna, the state’s towering new Secretariat on the western bank
of the Hooghly. The near-simultaneous occurrence of the two events demonstrates
the objective of successive governments that have come up with laws to prevent
fraudsters from taking gullible investors for a ride - and the fearlessness and
ingenuity of those that design such ostensibly lucrative investment options to
dupe the average saver. While schemes designed are many, the most common among
fraudsters is to promote a deposit scheme in an informal way among communities
where people are looking for a plan to park savings. Banning of the Unregulated
Deposit Scheme Ordinance, which would ultimately become an Act, looks to
address the pitfalls in many regulations of the Reserve Bank of India and the
Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi), and many other rules from a
plethora of administrative branches. The law is all about banning deposit
taking by unincorporated entities, and other unregulated deposit schemes. This
is more like a belated response to the scam that broke out in West Bengal and
continues to break out at frequent intervals elsewhere in the country, said
Vinod Kothari, a consultant. The law now confers jurisdiction on every
unregulated deposit scheme with the state government – thereby, in a manner of
speaking, exonerates RBI or Sebi from the surveillance over such activities, he
said.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
GOVT URGES SUPREME COURT TO THROW OUT RAFALE REVIEW
The central government
urged the Supreme Court on Wednesday to throw out review petitions filed in the
Rafale case only on the ground that it was based on documents stolen from the
Ministry of Defence. These where stolen from the Ministry of Defence. An
enquiry is on, Attorney General K.K. Venugopal told a three-judge bench led by
Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi. The review and perjury applications must
be thrown out at the outset only on this ground, he said. He claimed that the
price details were also reported and would affect future procurements It will
delay procurements and affect national security, he said. Criminal action would
also be taken against the newspapers who publushed these secret notings, he
said.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
THE DECISION TO BUY 36 RAFALES WAS DONE BY AJIT DOVAL:
CONGRESS
In a press conference,
Congress's Randeep Surjewala said that the deal was not finalised by the Indian
Negotiating Team of the Defence Ministry, rather it was finanlised by National
Security Advisor Ajit Doval on 12th and 13th January of 2016. He (Doval) was
not part of the Indian Negotiating Team or was authorised by the Cabinet
Committee of Security Affairs, Congress charged. It is now clear that the prime
minister caused loss to the exchequer of India by misusing his office. The
party alleged that the Modi govt has not included the price of India specific
enhancements in the overall cost of the Rafale deal. Also, the party said, the
cost of Rafale jets went upward despite not including the bank gurantee or
technology transfer. Surjewala said that time thus has now come for
registration of an FIR and an investigation into the matter.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
INDIA'S IMPORT DUTIES NOT HIGH, WITHIN GLOBAL TRADE NORMS OF
WTO: GOVERNMENT
Rejecting US claims of
imposing tremendously high tariffs, India Tuesday said its import duties are
not high and are within the norms of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). We do
not agree with that at all. Our tariffs (import duties) are very consistent
with the bound rates that we are entitled to in the WTO, Anup Wadhawan told.
Our tariffs are very comparable to more liberal developing economies and some
developed economies, he added. He said India's tariffs are within its bound
rates under the WTO commitments, and on the average are well below those rates.
India's trade weighted average tariffs are 7.6 per cent, which is comparable
with the most open developing economies, and some developed economies. The
commerce ministry, in a statement, said on developmental considerations, there
may be a few tariff peaks, which is true for almost all economies. India is
also a thriving market for US services and e-commerce companies like Amazon,
Uber, Google and Facebook with billions of dollars of revenue, it said.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
US WITHDRAWAL OF GSP BENEFIT FROM INDIA WILL NOT HURT EXPORTS
SIGNIFICANTLY, SAYS COMMERCE SECY
The US decision to
withdraw duty benefits on Indian products under the Generalized System of
Preferences (GSP) programme will not have a significant impact on exports to
America a top government official said Tuesday. India exports goods worth USD
5.6 billion under the GSP, and the duty benefit is only USD 190 million
annually, Anup Wadhawan said. GSP withdrawal will not have a significant impact
on India’s exports to the US, the secretary told reporters.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
INDIA TO REIMBURSE FREIGHT FOR EXPORTS OF SOME FARM PRODUCTS
India will provide federal
support for the transportation of some farm products to make Indian goods more
competitive in foreign markets the government said in a statement on Tuesday. The
scheme will be applicable for a year to March, 2020. The government will
reimburse the freight paid by Indian exporters through a cash transfer to their
bank accounts, the statement said. The free-on-board deals, where the buyer
pays the freight, will not be covered by the scheme. It excludes key export
items such as wheat, rice and meat.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
VIJAY GOEL: NO OTHER GOVT HAS TAKEN SUCH PROMPT AND STERN
ACTION AGAINST TERROR
Vijay Goel on Tuesday said
no other government had taken such prompt and stern action against terrorism.
Goel also predicted that Modi would return as prime minister for a second term.
Poora desh manta hain ki Modi hain to mumkin hain (India believes that hope is
where Modi is). People are confident the next government will be formed under
PM Modi. He is guiding all developmental activities in the country on one hand
and giving stern and prompt reply to terrorism on the other, Goel said.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
AGUSTAWESTLAND: CHRISTIAN MICHEL CLAIMS IN COURT CBI ASKED HIM
TO IMPLICATE CERTAIN PERSONS
Christian Michel, arrested
in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland chopper deal, alleged before a Delhi court
on Tuesday that CBI had asked him in Dubai to implicate certain persons in the
case failing which he would face problems in jail. The threat to him was given
before he was extradited to New Delhi, he said. Michel made the allegations
through his lawyer before the court while opposing Tihar Jail authorities' move
to shift him to a high security cell in isolation. In his submissions, jail
superintendent Joginder S Sehrawat told the court that the accused was in a
high security cell and the facilities were the best. He can be shifted to some
other ward if he want, but those are already overcrowded. There was threat
apprehension after Pulwama attack. Foreigners were given special care so that
no harm is caused to them, he said, adding that the accused was 'high profile'.
He also submitted that jail numbers 1, 3 and 4 were also high security jails
and they were for undertrials while jail number 2 was for convicts.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
INDIA WILL HAVE 'ALL OPTIONS' AVAILABLE IN CASE THERE IS
ANOTHER TERROR STRIKE: OFFICIALS
India will have all
options available in case there is another terror strike, official sources
asserted on Tuesday while maintaining that the government will insist on
concrete steps by Pakistan in dismantling terror infrastructure. Sources also
said that India has shared with the US the evidence of use of F-16 fighter jet+
by Pakistan during retaliatory aerial combat and was confident that the US is
investigating the matter. Since Balakot strike, India is trying to build
maximum pressure on Pakistan on the issue of terrorism, sources said. Pakistan
has gone to all countries seeking mediation but there is greater understanding
of India's position, sources said, adding India has told the international
community that it is not an India-Pakistan issue, but about terrorism. If
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar gets banned by the UN, Pakistan will
get into a difficult situation as he has been residing there as per the
Pakistan foreign minister's admission.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
NO RELATION BETWEEN AIRSTRIKE AND ELECTIONS: DEFENCE MINISTER
NIRMALA SITHARAMAN
Nirmala Sitharaman has
responded to the allegations of the Opposition that the Bharatiya Janata Party
and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were trying to politicise the air strikes
carried out by the Indian Air Force at Jaish camps in Pakistan. The Congress
and other opposition parties have upped the ante against the government over
attempts to politicise the IAF action. They have also questioned the claims of
high number of casualties in the IAF strikes. Nirmala Sitharaman issued a
statement saying the air strikes are in no way connected to the upcoming Lok
Sabha elections. There is no relationship between the airstrike and elections.
It was based upon intelligence inputs on terrorist activities in Pakistan, to
be unleashed against India. It was not a military action, Sitharaman said.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
BALAKOT AIRSTRIKE 'NOT MILITARY ACTION' AS NO CIVILIAN DAMAGE:
SITHARAMAN
Nirmala Sitharaman on
Tuesday the Balakot airstrike, where the Indian Air Force targeted and
destroyed a JeM camp in Pakistan last week, was not a military action as there
was no damage to civilians. Vijay Gokhale had not given any casualty figure in
the airstrike and he had only given a statement, which was the government's
position, Sitharaman told.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
PAKISTAN'S CLAIMS ON INDIAN SUBMARINE FALSE PROPAGANDA: NAVY
The Indian Navy on Tuesday
dismissed as false propaganda Pakistan's claim that it had thwarted an attempt
by an Indian submarine to enter the country's territorial waters. In a
statement, the Pakistan Navy claimed in Islamabad that it used specialised
skills to ward off the Indian submarine from entering Pakistani waters. We have
witnessed Pakistan indulging in false propaganda and spread of misinformation.
The Indian Navy does not take cognizance of such propaganda. Our deployments
remain undeterred, the Indian Navy said. In a brief statement, it said the
Indian Navy remains deployed as necessary to protect national maritime
interests.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
SUBRAMANIAN SWAMY ON DIGVIJAYA SINGH’S DEMAND FOR AIR STRIKE
PROOF: DID US PROVIDE PROOF AFTER KILLING OSAMA BIN LADEN?
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Tuesday hit back at senior Congress leader
Digvijaya Singh over his remarks on IAF airstrikes in Pakistan’s Balakot. Swamy
said that Congress party is lying on everything and questioned the need to
reveal the exact number of casualties He also asked if America had provided
details of Osama bin Laden’s killing. The statement comes after Singh
questioned the claims put forward by Modi government over the number of
terrorists killed in the air strikes by the Indian Air Force on February 26. Why
does anyone need to give exact figures of dead terrorists? Did America give
details of the assassination of Osama bin Laden? Swamy added, Why does Congress
party lie on everything?, ANI quoted Swamy as saying. The former Madhya Pradesh
Chief Minister, Singh, on Tuesday faced severe criticism for terming the
Pulwama attack as an ‘accident’. On Saturday, Singh had urged the Modi
government to present evidence of the air strike on terrorist camps in
Pakistan, just the way the United States had done after killing Osama bin Laden
in Pakistan’s Abbottabad in 2011.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
CHINA COMMERCE MINISTER SAYS US TRADE TALKS HAVE BEEN
DIFFICULT
Chinese commerce minister
Zhong Shan said on Tuesday that trade talks with the United States have been
difficult but that working teams from both countries are continuing with their
negotiations. The trade talks have achieved a breakthrough in some areas, Zhong
said, adding that both China and the United States and the global economy stand
to benefit if both countries can reach a trade deal. The United States and
China appear close to a deal that would roll back U.S. tariffs on at least $200
billion worth of Chinese goods, as Beijing makes pledges on structural economic
changes and eliminates retaliatory tariffs on US goods, a source briefed on
negotiations said on Sunday.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
INTEL AGENCIES TRYING TO ASCERTAIN REPORTS ON MASOOD AZHAR'S
DEATH: OFFICIALS
Intelligence agencies were
trying to ascertain reports on the social media about the death of
Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group chief Masood Azhar in Pakistan, officials said on
Sunday. The officials said they had no information other than that Azhar was
undergoing treatment at an army hospital after suffering renal failure. A
resident of Bahawalpur in Pakistan's Punjab province, Azhar formed the
Jaish-e-Mohammed in 2000. The social media was filled with reports that Azhar
had died, but there was no confirmation as of now, the officials said.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
HIGH COURT UPHOLDS LIFE IMPRISONMENT FOR ACCUSED IN MANDAR
SURLAKAR MURDER CASE
The Bombay High Court in
Goa on Monday upheld the 2014 order of the Goa Children's Court of life
imprisonment for four accused in the murder of teenager Mandar Surlakar in
2006. A Division Bench of Justices Prithviraj Chavan and M.S. Sonak, in their
judgement, said the life imprisonment of the accused is upheld. The High Court
bench, however, declined the plea of the victim's father Deepak Surlakar, to
order the four accused to undergo life imprisonment for the remainder of their
natural lives without any remission. The Court also upheld the Children’s
Court's orders extending the benefit of Section 428 of CrPC for remission by
the Executive authority, but by clarifying that the benefit of such set-off can
be availed by the four only in the event the appropriate authority makes orders
for remission or commutation.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
STRIKE HAPPENED IN PAKISTAN, BUT SOME SITTING IN INDIA HIT BY
IT: PM MODI HITS OUT AT OPPOSITION
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on Tuesday unleashed a stinging attack on the opposition parties/
especially the Congress, for asking proof of the air strikes carried out by the
Indian Air Force on Jaish terror camp in Balakot. Modi said the air strike
happened in Pakistan, but some of those sitting in India were hit by it. PM
Modi said India gave a befitting reply to the Pulwama attack by entering the
den of terrorists in Pakistan. Modi said the opposition leaders are doing 'mahamilavat'
(high adulteration) in Pakistan's favour. These 'mahamilavati' persons have
become poster boys of Pakistan by terming it as an ambassador of peace. They
are misleading people of the country and trying to demoralise our armed forces
by asking for proofs of the IAF air strike, Modi said.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
PAKISTAN SC BARS PRIVATE CHANNELS FROM AIRING INDIAN FILMS, TV
SHOWS
Pakistan's Supreme Court
on Tuesday barred private channels from airing Indian films and television
shows, amid escalating tensions between the two countries following the Pulwama
terror attack. A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Gulzar
Ahmad, heard the case pertaining to the telecast of Indian material on
Pakistani channels. The hearing of the case has been adjourned for an
indefinite period. Hussain also said that he has instructed the Pakistan
Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to crack down on made-in-India
advertisements
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
DAYS AFTER INDIA DOSSIER, PAKISTAN DETAINS TWO RELATIVES OF
MASOOD AZHAR
Amid mounting pressure
from the global community to rein in terror groups, Pakistan on Tuesday
detained 44 members of proscribed organisations including two relatives of
Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar. Among those detained were Mufti
Abdur Rauf and Hammad Azhar, brothers of the JeM chief, the Pakistan Interior
Ministry said. The development comes two days after India handed over a dossier
to Pakistan with specific details of JeM complicity in Pulwama terror attack
and the presence of JeM terror camps and its leadership in Pakistan. New Delhi
has also provided a list of infrastructure and patronage enjoyed by Masood
Azhar, his family, and cadres of JeM. Shah Mahmood Qureshi had said that if
India wished to initiate a dialogue based on the dossier, the government was
willing to engage with them.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
PAK FINANCE SECRETARY WARNS OF SANCTIONS OVER FATF
NON-COMPLIANCE
Pakistan must take strict
measures including action against banned outfits by May, to avoid economic
sanctions over the non-implementation of Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
recommendations, the finance secretary has warned. Dawn reported that he said
the country had to proceed against the banned outfits in the light of FATF
recommendations. Khan expressed apprehensions that Pakistan might face economic
sanctions if the FATF recommendations were ignored and not implemented. The
finance secretary said Pakistan had to take strict measures to implement the
FATF recommendations.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
‘VERY CLOSELY’ FOLLOWING REPORTS OF F-16 MISUSE BY PAKISTAN:
U.S.
The United States is very
closely following the reports which have claimed that Pakistan misused
American-made F-16 fighter jets against India in the recent aerial
confrontation between the air forces of the two countries, a top State
Department official has said. The Indian Air Force on Thursday displayed parts
of an AMRAAM beyond visual range air-to-air missile as evidence to conclusively
prove that Pakistan deployed US-manufactured F-16 fighter jets during an aerial
raid targeting Indian military installations in Kashmir after India’s
anti-terror operation in Balakot. Pakistan has said that no F-16 fighter jets
were used. The US State Department has said that America is seeking more
information from Pakistan on the potential misuse of American-made F-16 fighter
jets by it against India in violation of the end-user agreement. We’ve seen
those reports and we’re following that issue very closely, US State Department
Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino told reporters at his biweekly news
conference on Tuesday. I can’t confirm anything, but as a matter of policy, we
don’t publicly comment on the contents of bilateral agreements that we have in
this regard involving US defence technologies nor the communications that we
have with other countries about that. So, we’re taking a look and we’re going
to continue to take a look. I’m going to leave it at that, Palladino said.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
PAKISTAN PLACES HAFIZ SAEED-LED JUD, FIF IN LIST OF 70 BANNED
ORGANISATIONS
Mumbai terror attack mastermind
Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa & its wing Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation were
formally placed in the list of banned organisations on Tuesday, a day after the
Indian media reported that the two outfits continue to be only on the
watchlist. According to Pakistan's National Counter Terrorism Authority (NCTA)
list, which was updated on Tuesday, JuD and FIF were among 70 organisations
proscribed by the Ministry of Interior under the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. This
list is updated as of 05th March, 2019 and prepared by NACTA based on the
Notifications issued by Ministry of Interior, said a note at the bottom of the
list. The development comes a day after Indian media reported that the two
organisations continue to be only in the list of groups under watch.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
PAKISTAN INCITES TRIBALS IN KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA TO FORM
ANTI-INDIA MILITIA
The day IAF Wing Commander
Abhinandan Varthaman was captured, Pakistani security officials began holding
jirgas (meetings) with ethnic Pashtun leaders in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK),
asking them to raise a tribal militia. The move is significant in view of the
fact that Pakistan’s first attempt to invade Kashmir involved tribal militia.
The tribal invaders, who committed massive atrocities in Kashmir, were resisted
and repulsed by native Kashmiris under the leadership of Sheikh Mohammad
Abdullah while New Delhi sent its forces after Hari Singh signed the instrument
of accession with India. Since the first Indo-Pak war post-independence, the
Pakistan Army has been propagating the view that Kashmir is the unfinished
agenda of the Partition. When tensions along the Line of Control escalated with
the dogfight between Indian and Pakistani fighter jets on February 27,
officials from Pakistan’s paramilitary forces and the government held meetings
with Pashtun elders in various parts of KPK province, including in the merged
tribal areas formerly known as Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
N.KOREA REBUILDS PART OF MISSILE SITE IT PROMISED TRUMP TO
DISMANTLE
North Korea has restored
part of a missile launch site it began to dismantle after pledging to do so in
a first summit with U.S. President Donald Trump last year, South Korea's Yonhap
News Agency and two U.S. think tanks reported on Tuesday. Yonhap quoted
lawmakers briefed by South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) as
saying that the work was taking place at the Tongchang-ri launch site and
involved replacing a roof and a door at the facility. Satellite images seen by
38 North, a Washington-based North Korea project, showed that structures on the
launch pad had been rebuilt sometime between Feb. 16 and March 2, Jenny Town,
managing editor at the project and an analyst at the Stimson Center think tank,
told. The Center for Strategic and International Studies released a report,
also citing satellite imagery, that concluded North Korea is pursuing a rapid
rebuilding at the site. Activity is evident at the vertical engine test stand
and the launch pad's rail-mounted rocket transfer structure, the CSIS report
said. Significantly, the environmental shelters on the umbilical tower, which
are normally closed, have been opened to show the launch pad.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
US REVISES VISA POLICY FOR PAKISTANIS
The US has changed its
visa policy in different categories for Pakistanis. An official notification
announcing revision of the visa policy rules was issued by the US Consulate in
Islamabad on Tuesday. Work and missionary visas have been reduced from five
years to one year, the visa limit for journalists has been reduced from five
years to three months. The Consulate's notification mentioned that visas for
trade, tourism and students will remain valid for a period of five years.
Pakistan also issues visas for three months to journalists.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
INDIA-ORIGIN EX-CISCO EMPLOYEE ARRESTED IN US, CHARGED WITH
$9.3 MN FRAUD
An Indian-origin former
employee of Cisco Systems has been arrested and charged with a criminal
complaint alleging he defrauded a technology major of more than $9.3 million.
Prithviraj Bhikha, 50 was charged in a criminal complaint with wire fraud, US
Attorney David Anderson and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in
Charge John Bennett have said. The criminal complaint was unsealed Monday
following Bhikha's arrest on March 1 at the San Francisco International
Airport. Bhikha made his initial appearance Monday morning in federal court
before US Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero and has been released on a $3 million
bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for March 18 for arraignment. If
convicted on the charge in the criminal complaint, he faces a maximum sentence
of 20 years' imprisonment, and a fine of $250,000 along with restitution.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
TO REMAIN VIGILANT UNDER TRADE PROTECTIVE REGIME
Trade protectionism has a
number of implications for the world economy It saves the domestic industry
from the onslaught of cheap imports and therefore prevents closure and loss of
employment, but also presses the alarm for exporters and downfall of the export
oriented industries with adverse consequences to specific economies. The panic
reaction is reflected in searching for alternate outlets and ultimately to
adopt practices that violate the rules of free and fair trade. President
Trump’s unilateral actions on duty impositions of 25% on steel and 10% on
aluminium on all imports to USA in March 2018 establish firmly this premise. US
industrial production growth currently stands at 3.8%, the manufacturing
productivity has gone up, unemployment rate comes down to 4.0% and current
balance of trade stands at (-) 2.4% of GDP. All this is translated into a GDP
growth of 2.9% in 2018 and rising since then. The latest IMF projection on GDP
growth has put US economy to grow by 2.5% in 2019. It is to be revised upwards
surely. The realpolitik of twenty first century has taught USA to combine trade
protectionism with looking after the interest of domestic end user segments of
steel and aluminium products and hence around 16,000 numbers of exemptions out
of the trade measure (for 330 companies involving 3.85 MT of steel imports)
have been given to these user industries on case to case basis so that their
cost of production/servicing does not go up due to rise in import costs.
Politically this move has eliminated domestic opposition to the trade measures
and enhanced the support of the ailing steel and aluminium industries in USA. US
trade measures of Section 232 of US Trade Expansion Act under the garb of
disrupting the National Security of the country and the follow-up action by EU
to impose a definitive safeguard measure on the exporters of steel to Europe
based on 70% of the average export volume in the last 3 years (2015-17) and
increasing it by 5% in each of the next 3 years. The trade actions by these two
major importing centres has created a huge uncertainty among the major steel
exporters like China, Japan, South Korea, Turkey and CIS countries. Quite
expectedly the knee jerking actions by steel exporters are currently undertaken
with least care to play within the norms and standards of fair trade. India’s
steel imports during the first 10 months of the current fiscal have gone up by
2.1% compared to last year. The three major countries, Japan and South Korea
and China, most affected by US and EU trade measures, together accounts for 67%
share of total imports during the period which marginally exceeds the last
year’s level. Some of these imports in HRC, TMT, coated products are taking
place despite India having abundant capacities to cater to the demand.
#For Source of Information copy and paste the heading in google.
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
No comments:
Post a Comment