TAXATION UPDATES 18.03.2019

JAITLEY: CONSENSUS IS THE SECRET BEHIND GST’S SUCCESS

Arun Jaitley has said that the main reason for the government’s success in the implementation of the Goods & Services Tax (GST) regime was the fact that all decisions were taken through consensus and nothing was put to vote. Finance Minister also said that over the next decade, the government’s priority should include investment in rural India, defence, health & education and infrastructure. Jaitley said that there was complete unanimity that everything should be by consensus and nothing should be voted upon. Sometimes States yielded. Sometimes I did, the Minister said. He said GST was a reform long overdue and was recommended 18-19 years ago. The manifesto of every major political party used to have it. The major complication that used to come up was because of States being majorly aware of their constitutional rights, he said. States had to be convinced that their revenues will not go down but increase All taxes will be merged. I told them we are pooling in our fiscal autonomies in a common body, he said. At the same time, the tax base had increased, proving that the lower the taxes, higher the compliance.

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GSTN ADDS NEW FEATURE IN PORTAL

The Goods and Services Tax Network has updated a new feature in the GST portal in connection with the filing of an application for ITC due to Inverted Tax Structure While filing refund application of input tax credit (ITC) accumulated due to Inverted Tax Structure, the taxpayer can now enter his own GSTN in the inward supply detail statement on the portal, GSTN said in a statement. Recently, the GSTN 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. In January, the portal had updated two new features in the official website including System Generated Acknowledgement of Application of Appeal and the Population of Data from EWB System into Form GSTR-1. At the time of generating E-Way Bill for outward supply, taxpayers enter the details of outward supplies such as invoice number, Date, Value Tax etc. With the new functionality added in the portal, the taxpayers can now easily import these details of outward supply invoices, as indicated in the e-way bill at the time of preparation of Form GSTR-1, by clicking the import ‘EWB Data’ button on the GST Portal in following tiles, (i) B2B Invoices (ii) B2C Large Invoices (iii) HSN-wise summary of Outward supplies.

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CAIT URGES GOVT TO PROBE CHINESE GOODS IMPORTED VIA HAWALA ROUTE

Traders' body Confederation of All India Traders Sunday urged the government to probe Chinese goods imported through hawala channels, which is resulting in huge revenue loss to the exchequer. CAIT, in a statement, also claimed that such hawala money might be transferred to Pakistan for conducting terrorist activities. Calling it a serious matter, the traders' body urged the government to start a high level enquiry at Indian ports to bring an end to the crony nexus. Who are these hawala operators who facilitate transfer of money from our country to China. Are exports to China being under invoiced and difference settled through hawala transactions or there is some other mode through which this money is going. This needs to be checked at the highest level in the interest of security of our country, it added. Stating that India is facing a big fight against terrorism CAIT said, There is no doubt that someone is funding this terrorist activities. It is necessary to understand whether this funding can be linked to under invoicing of import from China. In this way, China is helping fund terrorist. This aspect also needs to be investigated in view of the fact that China is not standing with India in its fight against terrorism, it added. B C Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said that in order to attract lower custom duty and lower IGST (Integrated Goods and Service Tax), the declaration in many cases do not match the material that is actually being imported. This needs verification of documents along with the material that is imported from China, they said. When such materials, which are grossly undervalued come to the port, custom duty is paid at a very low price. The IGST is also paid at a very lower price and then the material goes into grey market where it is sold at very competitive prices as compared to Indian goods where GST is paid at full amount, they said. According to CAIT, it could be easily substantiated if verification of IGST paid at customs port is linked to the credit for IGST taken by importers. Surprisingly, it will be seen that in most of the cases, where Chinese goods have been imported, nobody has claimed IGST. This proves the point that the importer has sold the material in grey market for which nobody has claimed IGST paid at the time of imports, it said. If the government takes up this matter and is very vigilant that custom duty and IGST is recovered at the real value of imported material, Chinese goods will become costly automatically as compared to Indian goods which bear full amount of GST, the CAIT added.

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INDIA TO POST CUSTOMS OFFICERS IN CHINA TO CHECK BLACK MONEY, FRAUDS

India has decided to post Customs intelligence officers in China in its effort to check black money trade-based money laundering and other financial frauds, officials said Sunday. Two posts of the Customs Overseas Intelligence Network (COIN) have been created in the Indian Embassy in Beijing and in the Consulate General of India at Guangzhou, they said. The Finance Ministry has begun the process to select officers for the postings. The move has been initiated by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), the lead agency to check Customs frauds and smuggling, to curtail incidents of trade-based money laundering and other financial frauds originating from China, the officials said. COIN officers are usually mandated to pass on intelligence or information gathered from their respective positing stations overseas to help Indian intelligence agencies mainly DRI check trade-related frauds, they said. COIN officers play an important role in checking trade-based money laundering, black money and tax evasion by sharing intelligence with Indian agencies. Since a significant import and export is done between India and China, it was considered imperative to expand the snoop network to China, an official said, wishing anonymity. In the past, Customs authorities in India have detected a few cases of smuggling to and from China, he said. COIN officers have been posted in several countries, including Nepal, Singapore, Brussels, the US and the UK, to help Indian authorities check smuggling, the officials said. Giving details of the process, the officials said an evaluation committee comprising directors general of DRI, Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence, National Academy of Customs, Excise and Narcotics and the Directorate General of Human Resource Development will evaluate the service records of concerned officers for posting. A high-level committee comprising the chairperson, two members of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs and the director general of DRI will interview the officers, they said. The board will then recommend a panel of three officers for each post to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. After obtaining the finance minister's approval, the panel will be forwarded to the Ministry of External Affairs for its concurrence followed by reference to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet for final approval, the officials said.

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AS INDIA WORKS ON A STRATEGY TO SPUR INDO-AFRICAN BILATERAL TRADE, SURESH PRABHU PITCHES FOR FTA

The Government is working on a comprehensive strategy to boost India-Africa bilateral trade which stood at $63 billion in FY18 as opposed to $52 billion in FY17. Citing facts on Africa’s GDP being over $2 trillion in 2017 and estimated to reach $29 trillion by 2050, Wadhawan added that as per the World Bank, most African countries are expected to reach middle income status by 2025 if current growth rates are to continue. It is extremely heartening to see that both India and several African countries have maintained high economic growth rate over the last two decades and today even as the global economy is faced with several debilitating trends, our two regions are seen as bright spots on the world map, he said exuberantly. According to CII, India’s key export in April-February 2016-2017 to Africa was petroleum products, which was around 17 per cent of the total. Other major export items included pharmaceutical products, vehicles other than railway or tramway, machinery and equipment, and cereals. Among the key imports from Africa to India, petroleum products dominated India’s import basket in April-February 2016-17, with a significant share of 52 per cent of India’s total imports from Africa. Other major import items include gems and jewellery, edible fruit and nuts, inorganic chemicals and organic/inorganic compounds, and copper and articles. Suresh Prabhu, highlighted how India will be a $5 trillion economy in few years and by 2035, it will be a $10 trillion economy. Citing how India is growing at more than 7%, Prabhu said that cooperative partnership can greatly accelerate growth for both nations in the times to come. We are one of the fastest growing large economies of the world. India’s exports in services and merchandise will record $540 bn by end of this month. Africa is growing at 3.4% as per World Bank. Together we want to find out how we can grow together, he added. According to China-Africa Research Initiative, the value of China-Africa trade in 2016 was $128 billion, down from a high of $215 bn in 2014. In 2016, the largest exporter to China from Africa was Angola, followed by South Africa and The Republic of Congo. In 2016, South Africa was the largest buyer of Chinese goods, followed by Egypt and Nigeria.

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MUMBAI REALTORS ASK STATE FOR GST REDUCTION, INPUT TAX CREDIT ON REDEVELOPMENT

The recent amendments in the Goods & Services Tax (GST) structure has unsettled realty developers engaged in the redevelopment segment in the Mumbai property market, as realty developers’ body CREDAI-MCHI has reached out to the state government pressing for tax exemption and input tax credit (ITC) provision The GST Council recently recommended reducing the tax rates for under-construction projects to 5% from 12% and rate on affordable housing was cut to 1% from 8%, while withdrawing the Input Tax Credit (ITC). Realty developers have termed the recent changes as a case of double taxation compared to the sale of vacant land. Sale of land parcels are subject to a single taxation slab with GST exemption. Work carried out by the developer for old housing societies, MMRDA and Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA), being works contract, will continue to be taxed at 12-18% even after April 1, 2019, said the CREDAI-MCHI in its letter to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. The tax incidence in terms of rehab flats allotted to SRA, old tenants are borne by builders and it forms part of project cost. Ultimately this gets factored into sale price of saleable flats. The body has sought that rehab component of redevelopment project should be taxed at 1% and ITC should be allowed. All the redevelopment projects mentioned above, the saleable flats should be taxed at 1% as against 5%. Currently, redevelopment category accounts for close to 55-60% of all development work being carried out in Mumbai with the balance development accruing from open plots and mill land. The developers focusing on redevelopment along with industry bodies CREDAI and MCHI has sought the state government’s intervention urging them to provide a level playing field compared to non-redevelopment category of development. Unless the government provides us GST reduction or GST input refunds on all construction materials and work contracts, all redevelopment work in Mumbai will either slow down or seriously dent project feasibility, said one of the developers engaged in slum rehabilitation work. The redevelopment sector primarily led by slum redevelopment category has stated that all rehabilitation construction work carried out by them is already subjected to high level of GST when it comes to all inputs spanning cement, steel, labour and work contracts having GST varying from 12% to 28%. The two-point demand put forth by the realtors’ bodies seeks 1% tax slab on rehab component with provision of ITC and a 1% slab on saleable flats in redevelopment projects with input tax credit. Currently, the saleable flats are subject to 5% tax without input tax credit. According to an SRA policy expert, the imbalance pointed out by redevelopers need to be addressed on priority as it also constitutes a major social challenge for Mumbai in terms of meeting its slum-free city vision.

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UTTARAKHAND HC RELEASES VEHICLE SEIZED DUE TO EXPIRY OF E-WAY BILL

The Uttarakhand High Court has ordered to release a vehicle seized by the GST department due to expiry of the E-way bill The petitioners were allowed to release the vehicle by furnishing a simple bond. The vehicle was intercepted and seized by the department on the technical ground that the validity of e-way bill had expired on 03.02.2019. the department imposed a penalty of Rs.5,03,125/- equal to the IGST (the tax amount). The counsel appeared for the petitioners contended that the Company had generated a fresh e-way bill on 06.02.2019 which was valid up to 12.02.2019 in continuation of the previously generated e-way bill, which stood expired on 03.02.2019, still impugned order of imposing the penalty as well as the seizure of vehicle has been passed. Justice Lok Pal Singh permitted release of goods and held that Having considered the submissions of learned counsel for the parties, as an interim measure, it is directed that the vehicle of the petitioner shall be released forthwith provided the petitioner furnishes a security before the authority concerned as per the provisions contained under clause (c) sub-section (1) of Section 129 of The Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.

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MAINTENANCE CONTRACTS ARE SERVICES: AAR

In a significant ruling, the Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR), Maharashtra has held that the supply under annual maintenance contracts (AMCs) are a composite supply and classified them as service The applicant, Cummins India, approached the authority asking for a clarification on applicability GST on the AMCs for diesel and natural gas engines sold by it. The ruling will help get clarity on the tax rate for goods that may be supplied under the contract. Under GST law, multiple supplies qualify as a composite supply, as only one price is being recovered and tax rate of the principal supply should be applied. In this case, the AAR said that principal supply was a service It is submitted that the main object of the contract is to supply services and making available of parts/ components is ancillary to the same. Consequently, the principal supply of the transaction is ‘service’, it said. The authority found that the principal supply in the transaction before us is supply of service, then the place of supply is required to be determine. The place of supply would be determined in terms of the default Section 12(2) of the IGST Act which states that the location of the recipient would be the place of supply. Since the supply of maintenance service in the present case is for a single price with supply of spare parts/goods as and when required, the supply of both, goods and services are made in conjunction with each other in the ordinary course of business and therefore considering the provisions of the GST Laws we find that supply of services/goods in the present case is naturally bundled, with the supply of goods being incidental to the supply of services and therefore such contract are to be considered as a composite supply of service where the principal supply is service and the supply of goods is incidental to such supply of service, the authority said.

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CHARITABLE TRUSTS HOLDING MARATHONS TO FACE GST

In a setback to several charitable institutions, the Tamil Nadu Authority of Advance Ruling (AAR) has held that conducting marathons by a charitable trust registered under the Income Tax Act does not exempt them from GST liability as only activities covered under definition of charitable activities under a 2017 notification are exempt. In response to a reference by Dream Runners Foundation, the AAR found that the entity needed to be registered under the central and state GST laws as it was making taxable supply of services such as organising marathon, while noting that its aggregate turnover in a financial year exceeded the prescribed Rs 20 lakh. The authority said that the money collected from participants was a consideration towards the supply of service of organising and conducting the marathon and was liable to incur GST. It noted the petitioner's plea that net proceeds are donated to Freedom Trust, an NGO providing prosthetic limbs to less privileged people. It observed that the money collected from the participants could be donated or used for further charitable activities, but organising marathon was a separate supply of service for the participants. So long as the definition of supply, business and turnover threshold is met, GST will become applicable, irrespective of the main objective being non-taxable.

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ONLINE FACILITY FOR OBTAINING IMPORT LICENSE FOR ‘RESTRICTED’ ITEMS FROM 18TH MARCH, 2019

In line with the revised application form ANF-2M issued vide Public Notice No. 79 dated 15th March, 2019, a new module for filling such online applications to DGFT (HQ) has been made operational from 18.03.2019. All applicants (individuals, corporate or State/Central entities) are required to use this online facility for filing applications and no application will be accepted in offline mode

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GST SCAM ALERT: FRAUD OF RS 90 CRORE UNEARTHED, ONE ARRESTED

The GST department has arrested one Rajesh Goyal, 42, a resident of New Panchwati Colony in Ghaziabad, for issuing fake invoices of more than Rs 400 crore through 50 shell companies The office of Director General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) was arrested for attempting illegally avail of or utilize input tax credit to the tune of Rs 90 crore. A few weeks ago, a 27-year-old Chartered Accountant was arrested for running a similar racket encashing input tax credit of Rs 50 crores illegally. The accused through these bogus companies registered with GST issued tax invoices despite the fact none of these companies dealt with or supplied any goods and services. These fake invoices were sold to clients. This led to wrongful availment or utilization of input tax credit. On Friday, a special chief judicial magistrate, economic offenses court, sent Goel to jail.

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GRASIM GETS RS 5,872 CR TAX DEMAND ON ITS MEGA MERGER

Aditya Birla Group firm Grasim Industries Saturday said it has received Rs 5,872.13 crore tax demand from the Income Tax department with respect to its merger with Aditya Birla Nuvo and Aditya Birla Financial Services. The company has, on March 15, 2019, received an order dated March 14, 2019, issued by the Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax (DCIT) raising a demand of Rs 5,872.13 crore on account of dividend distribution tax (including interest), Grasim Industries said in regulatory filing. DCIT held that as the demerger of the demerged undertaking is not in compliance with Section 2(19 AA) of the Act, the value of shares allotted by Aditya Birla Capital Ltd (ABCL) to the shareholders Grasim Industries, in consideration of the transfer and vesting of the Demerged Undertaking into ABCL, amounted to dividend, within the meaning of the Act the filing added. The company said, it is of view that, the aforesaid order is not tenable in law. The necessary action(s) against the order is being taken by the company, Grasim Industries added. The company said, DCIT had issued a show cause notice on February 11, 2019, subsequently revised on March 1, 2019, as to why the provisions of section 115-0 read with section 115-Q of the Income Tax Act, 1961 should not be applied on the allotment of equity shares by ABCL to the shareholders Grasim Industries, pursuant to the mega merger between the three entities. Following which, the company said it had filed its detailed submissions in response to these notices.

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RECORD EXPORTS IN FY19 SET TO BURNISH MODI GOVERNMENT'S ECONOMIC CREDENTIALS

India's exports in the current fiscal are set to surpass the record exports achieved during the UPA 2 era even as headwinds like economic slowdown and protectionist measures announced by the US took a toll on the global trade. With the April-February export figures of $298.5 billion, experts estimate that the year-end rush could easily take the cumulative exports well past the $314 billion achieved in the last year of the UPA government. India’s exports were $274.21 billion during the April-February period in the previous year showing that this year witnessed a healthy growth of 8.8 per cent in exports over the previous year. February's 2.44 per cent rise in exports to $26.7 billion over the same period a year ago and a simultaneous contraction in imports by 5.4 per cent helped in narrowing the trade deficit to a 17-month low of $9.6 billion. The trade deficit was $14.73 billion in January and $12.3 billion in February of the previous year. Engineering exports are projected at $80-82 billion in the current financial year ending March 31, according to Ravi Sehgal. The government is also focusing at increasing the services share in the global services exports to 4.2 per cent by 2022. It was 3.3 per cent in 2015.

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US SAYS DOOR OPEN IF INDIA HAS SERIOUS PROPOSALS TO RESOLVE TRADE ISSUES

Observing that trade has been an area of frustration in bilateral ties, the US has said that the door is open if India is prepared to bring a serious proposal to the table to address the issues related to trade and market access. A senior State Department official said Friday that the US is proud to be India's largest export market and most important economic partner. But we have struggled with regulatory issues that get in the way of the ease of doing business and market access for American companies and products, said the official. Trade has frankly been an area of frustration in the relationship, but the door is open if India is prepared to bring a serious proposal to the table, he said. Despite intensive engagement with the Government of India for nearly a year, India did not assure the US that it would provide equitable and reasonable access to its market, which led to its termination from the Generalised System of Preferences programme, the official said. While we were pleased that the growing US exports to India, largely crude oil and LNG, led to a 7.1 per cent reduction in our bilateral goods trade deficit last year, many structural challenges in our trade relationship have yet to be resolved, said the senior State Department official. The GSP notification is still within the 60 days period, after which the benefits would formally be withdrawn, it is reliably learnt that the US has told India that it is not too late. But it is unlikely to happen, given that India is now into an election campaign mode, officials on both sides said. While India argues that it is difficult to take any policy decision at this point of time because of the elections and the model code of conduct, American points out that it has decided to take its decision on revoking GSP privileges only after it exhausted all its options with India.

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MAHARASHTRA POLICE SEIZES VAN WITH HUGE CACHE OF EXPLOSIVES; ONE HELD

A huge cache of explosives, including over 2,000 gelatin sticks and a number of detonators, was seized from a van in Nashik district of Maharashtra, police said on Monday. The vehicle driver was arrested for allegedly carrying the explosives illegally Jaykheda police station's assistant police inspector Ganesh Gurav said. On searching the vehicle, they seized 2,150 gelatin sticks and 1,750 detonators from it, Gurav said.

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PAKISTAN RELEASED IAF PILOT AS PER LAW, NOT AS A FAVOUR: SITHARAMAN

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Sunday criticised those from within the country who had termed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan a statesman for returning Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman and said the IAF pilot's release was as per law and not a favour India had sent back 90,000 Pakistani soldiers unconditionally after the 1971 war, in which Pakistan was defeated, she said.

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INDIA WON’T CUT DEAL TO LIST MASOOD AZHAR AS GLOBAL TERRORIST

India will not try to cut any deal with China or any other country to list Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN Security Council, government sources said. New Delhi will, instead, work on further strengthening its case against Azhar and his sponsors through various global forums. Enough evidence is available on Azhar and the terror infrastructure in Pakistan which can be independently verifiable, sources pointed out. The government is ready for a long haul and will continue with its endeavours through UN and other international bodies to act against the Pakistan based terrorist, the sources said. The government, as part of this process, will step up engagement with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) ahead of its next meeting in mid-2019 to put Pakistan to task for failing to control terror funding. The FATF, at its last plenary in February in Paris, stated that Pakistan had not done enough to curb the finances of terror groups like the JeM and Lashkar-e-Taiba. This means Pakistan continues to be on what is called the FATF 'grey list', making it hard for the country to get international loans. Pakistan has until May 2019 to complete its action plan to control terror finances. If the administration of Prime Minister Imran Khan did not meet the targets by October, it could be blacklisted. Besides the FATF, India will also step up pressure on Pakistan through the BRICS bloc where China is a member. The first BRICS Sherpa meeting under the Presidency of Brazil was held in Curitiba, Brazil, during March 14-15 and it identified counter-terrorism as one of the priority areas for the five-member grouping. Brazil has also identified countering terrorism as one of its priority areas for BRICS under its presidency.

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CBI ARRESTS TWO FOREST OFFICIALS IN GRAFT CASE

The CBI has arrested two Indian Forest Service officials for allegedly bribing an official in the Ministry of Environment and Forest for getting approval for upgrading some work on a previous date, the agency said on Sunday. The Central Bureau of Investigation's move comes after it registered a case on Saturday following a complaint from the Ministry of Environment regarding bribery.

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CHINA SAYS 13,000 'TERRORISTS' ARRESTED IN XINJIANG SINCE 2014

Authorities in China have arrested almost 13,000 terrorists in the restive far western region of Xinjiang since 2014, the government said on Monday, in a lengthy policy paper again defending its controversial Islamic de-radicalisation measures. China has faced growing international opprobrium for setting up facilities that United Nations experts describe as detention centres holding more than one million Uighurs and other Muslims. Beijing says it needs the measures to stem the threat of Islamist militancy, and calls them vocational training centres. Legal authorities have adopted a policy that strikes the right balance between compassion and severity, the government said in its white paper. Since 2014, Xinjiang has destroyed 1,588 violent and terrorist gangs, arrested 12,995 terrorists, seized 2,052 explosive devices, punished 30,645 people for 4,858 illegal religious activities, and confiscated 345,229 copies of illegal religious materials, it added. Only a small minority of people face strict punishment, such as ringleaders of terror groups, while those influenced by extremist thinking receive education and training to teach them the error of their ways, the paper said. The main exiled group, the World Uyghur Congress, swiftly denounced the white paper. Xinjiang has long been an inseparable part of Chinese territory, and the Uighur ethnic group evolved from a long process of migration and ethnic integration, the paper said.

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ETHIOPIAN PLANE ACCIDENT: BLACK BOXES SHOW SIMILARITIES WITH LION AIR CRASH

Ethiopia said on Sunday the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines plane that killed 157 people had clear similarities with October's Lion Air crash, revealed by initial analysis of the black boxes recovered from the wreckage of the March 10 disaster. The crash has generated one of the most widely watched and high-stakes inquiries for years, with the latest version of Boeing's profitable 737 workhorse depending on the outcome. Both planes were MAX 8s, and both crashed minutes post take-off after pilots reported flight control problems. Concern over the plane's safety has caused aviation authorities to ground the model wiping billions of dollars off Boeing's market value. It was the same case with the Indonesian (Lion Air) one. There were clear similarities between the two crashes so far, Ethiopian transport ministry spokesman Muse Yiheyis said. The data was successfully recovered. Both the American team and our (Ethiopian) team validated it, he told Reuters, adding that the ministry would provide more information after three or four days.

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FACEBOOK SAYS IT REMOVED 1.5 MN VIDEOS OF THE NEW ZEALAND MOSQUE ATTACK

Facebook Inc said it removed 1.5 million videos globally of the New Zealand mosque attack in the first 24 hours after the attack. In the first 24 hours we removed 1.5 million videos of the attack globally, of which over 1.2 million were blocked at upload, Facebook said in a tweet late Saturday. The company said it is also removing all edited versions of the video that do not show graphic content out of respect for the people affected by the mosque shooting and the concerns of local authorities.

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GUN SHOP SAYS CHRISTCHURCH SUSPECT BOUGHT WEAPONS ONLINE

The owner of a New Zealand gun store said on Monday the man charged with murder in Christchurch's mass shooting had bought firearms and ammunition online from the store but it did not sell him the high-powered weapon used in the mosque shootings. Tarrant was remanded without a plea and is due back in court on April 5 where police said he was likely to face more charges. Gun City owner David Tipple said the alleged gunman bought four weapons and ammunition between December 2017 and March 2018. The MSSA, military-style automatic, reportedly used by the alleged gunman was not purchased from Gun City. Gun City did not sell him an MSSA, only A-category firearms, Tipple told a new conference in Christchurch. Under New Zealand gun laws A-category weapons can be semi-automatic but limited to seven shots. Video of the gunman in the mosque showed a semi-automatic with a large magazine round. Tipple said the online purchase followed a police-verified online mail-order process and the firearms were bought in three or four purchases. Only firearm owners are licensed, not weapons, so there is no monitoring of how many weapons a person may possess. The minimum age for a gun license is 16, and 18 to own a semi-automatic weapon.

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NO QUESTION OF GIVING UP SPECIAL PRIVILEGES AT WTO, SAY LARGER DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Larger developing countries, including India, China and Brazil, have taken on developed countries that are demanding discontinuation of the special and differential treatment extended to them at the World Trade Organization. They argued that economic indicators such as per capita economic output and poverty levels clearly point out the glaring disparity that still exists between the developing and the developed world. For Brazil, China, India and Indonesia, the gap in GDP per capita with the US increased by at least 71 per cent and with the UK by 63 per cent between 1994-96 and 2014-16, according to a joint paper by a number of developing countries. Recent attempts by some members to selectively employ certain economic and trade data to deny the persistence of the divide between developing and developed members, and to demand the former to abide by absolute reciprocity in the interest of fairness are profoundly disingenuous, the paper stated. It is important for developing countries to defend the special & differential treatment allowed to them by the WTO as in the on-going areas of negotiations such as disciplines for fisheries subsidies, they can protect some of their subsidies for their poor fishers through this special dispensation. The world has indeed changed in many ways since the GATT and the establishment of the WTO, but in overall terms the development divide remains firmly entrenched, the submission said. It is therefore of greater concern that some members would attempt to ignore this reality in an effort to deprive developing members of their right to develop, it added. The submission put forward a number of facts and figures to substantiate its argument. In 2017, the GDP per capita of the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the EU was $59,531, $45,032, $53,800, $42,941, and $33,715, respectively, while the GDP per capita of developing Members, including China, India, South Africa and Brazil, were all below $10,000, it said. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 10 countries with the largest number of the world's under-nourished people are: India (195.9 million), China (124.5 million), Pakistan (39.5 million), Bangladesh (24.8 million), Ethiopia (21.9 million), Nigeria (21.5 million), Indonesia (20.2 million), Tanzania (17.8 million), Uganda (17.2 million) and Philippines (14.2 million).

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PAKISTAN SHOULD HAND OVER DAWOOD, SALAHUDDIN TO INDIA TO SHOW SINCERITY IN TACKLING TERROR: GOVERNMENT SOURCES

If Pakistan was sincere in tackling terror, then it should at least hand over to India Dawood Ibrahim Syed Salahuddin and other terrorists who are Indian citizens and residing in that country, government sources said on Saturday. They said Pakistan has failed to take any credible action against Jaish-e-Muhammed and other terror groups even after the dastardly Pulwama attack. Referring to actions by Pakistan such as holding certain terrorists in preventive custody, the sources said India considered them to be cosmetic. Cosmetic action will not cut any ice. The sources said India has shared various key details such as coordinates of terror groups operating from Pakistan soil to Islamabad which can be verified by a third country.

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INDIA WILL BE PATIENT WITH CHINA ON LISTING MASOOD AZHAR AS A TERRORIST

India will show patience with China on it hold on listing Jaishe-e-Mohmmaed chief Maualana Masood Azhar as a terrorist under UN norms, a person familiar with the developments said on Saturday adding that New Delhi was optimistic that it could work with Beijing on the matter. The person cited above however clarified that New Delhi would not cut any deal with China or any of the members of the UN’s 1267 sanctions committee that had this week considered a proposal co sponsored by the US, Britain and France to ban Azhar under UN norms and supported by several others. According to the person cited above, there are issues China has to resolve with Pakistan on this matter and India is cautiously confident that eventually Masood Azhar will get listed. The proposal at the UN was brought in the wake of 14 February suicide bombing targeting an Indian paramilitary security convoy in Pulwama in Kashmir. While 14 members of the UN Security Council expressed support for the proposal banning Azhar, China placed a hold on it, preventing its passage. The Chinese action was seen as taking place at the instance of Pakistan where Azhar and his terrorist group are based. China and Pakistan are all weather friends, with the partnership between the two making India wary. On Saturday, the person cited above sought to explain India’s optimism by pointing out that Beijing had put a hold and not blocked the proposal, indicating possible wiggle room to work with the Chinese. This coincided with a Reuters news report from Beijing on Friday which said that China was willing to have more discussions with India on blacklisting of Azhar. Another news report in the Hindustan Times on Saturday said that discussions were under way to reach a compromise that would enable China to allow the UN Security Council to list and sanction Azhar in exchange for some changes in the language of the designation as proposed. The person cited above did not elaborate on how India would persuade China on matter of banning Azhar but said that India’s permanent respresentative at the UN was in touch with his counterpart, India’s ambassador in China was in touch with the foreign ministry in Beijing and Indian foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale had spoken to the Chinese ambassador to New Delhi Luo Zhaohui. India believes that for China too terrorism was a major challenge, the person said adding that Beijing was aware that terrorist groups were based in Pakistan. But China had some issues to work through with Pakistan so India will show patience, the person said.

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OPPOSITION SCORED SELF-GOAL BY QUESTIONING SUCCESS OF BALAKOT AIR STRIKE: ARUN JAITLEY

The opposition has scored a self-goal by asking for proof of damage following air strike on Balakot terror camp, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said Saturday. The air strike and surgical strike carried out by the armed forces should not be part of Lok Sabha election campaign, he said. I fully agree with the Election Commission that images of martyrs should not be used on political posters, he said. Citing example of 1971 war, he said, the entire opposition stood by the ruling dispensation, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, leader of Jan Sangh, defended the government on every forum. However, the finance minister said, some of the opposition members accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of politicising the Pulwama and Balakot incidents. Statements made by 21 opposition parties hurt India's national interest and gave handle to Pakistan to discredit the country, he added. Raising question on the action of armed forces with the view to creating doubts in the mind of countrymen was self-goal or shot themselves in the foot by doing this, Jaitley noted. In contrast to this, he said, when the US attacked Osama bin Laden, no one raised any question on the operation conducted by their armed forces and demanded the proof. Asked about BJP leader B S Yeddyurappa's attempt to politicise the action taken by the armed forces, Jaitley said, it was wrong on his part to do so and the party has condemned it. The valour of armed forces should not be made a political issue, he said, adding the armed forces have to be kept at arm's length from domestic politics. The finance minister said, if you promote terrorism, you have to pay such a heavy price that you will find terrorism unaffordable the trend has been set now. He said some people either need to learn more and if they don't do that then must realise that they are unfit for public discourse.

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GRAND ALLIANCE TALK LANDS IN TROUBLE, RJD WILLING TO LEAVE CONGRESS

The Grand Alliance talks for Bihar which was going on since three days in Delhi among the alliance partners has hit a road block with Congress not ready to go down from 11 seats Sources in RJD tell that if Congress doesn't agree to lower their seats, RJD and other partners will go to the election leaving Congress. RJD leaders Tejashwi Yadav, RLSP leader Upendra Kushwaha, HAM leader Jitan Manjhi, VIP Party leader Mukesh Sahni, all had arrived to Delhi on March 13 to hold final discussions with Congress on the alliance. Manjhi is not ready to settle for anything below three seats while RLSP is demanding minimum four seats. Mukesh Sahni of the VIP party is also demanding two to three seats. Besides, Sahni has also claimed for Darbhanga, a seat Congress wants for Kirti Azad. To accommodate all the partners and defeat the communal forces we are happy to lower our demand from 21 to 19, a senior party leader privy to the talks told. But Congress is not willing to come down. We have no options but to go in election without an alliance. We are very sad with Congress attitude.

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PRIYANKA WILL MAKE NO DIFFERENCE TO BJP'S POLL PROSPECTS IN UP: ADITYANATH

Yogi Adityanath Saturday said Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's entry into politics will make no difference to the BJP's Lok Sabha poll prospects in the state and dismissed the SP-BSP alliance as false alarm. The newfound alliance is already embroiled in dispute. It (alliance) is nothing but a 'hauaa' (false alarm), he said.

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ASADUDDIN OWAISI SLAMS PM MODI OVER CHINA’S STAND ON MASOOD AZHAR IN UN

Asaduddin Owaisi Saturday attacked the NDA government over China blocking a UN Security Council resolution to designate Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist. Referring to media reports that India would show patience with China for as long as it takes, he alleged that it is not patience but capitulation for FDI Owasi said, Hum ko maaloom hai Cheen ki haqeeqat, lekin Dil ko khush rakhne ko MODI yeh khayaal achcha hai (we know the reality of China, but Modi’s idea to keep himself happy is good). Hum ko maaloom hai Cheen ki haqeeqat, lekin Dil ko khush rakhne ko MODI yeh khayaal achcha hai (my apologies to GHALIB) @PMOIndia sir Woh policy Tain Tain andar ghus ke in 4 years had we given Brahmos Missile to Vietnam this is not patience but Capitulation for FDI (sic), Owaisi tweeted. He was referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech in Gujarat on March 5 where he had said India will enter their (terrorists) homes and eliminate them, days after 40 CRPF personnel were killed in a suicide bombing in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir followed by subsequent Indian air strike on a terror camp in Balakot in Pakistan.

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‘BETTER SURVEILLANCE, AI CAN HELP IN EARLY DETECTION OF EPIDEMICS’

Early detection of epidemics will be possible with better surveillance and use of artificial intelligence, according to Baron Peter Piot. The reputed Belgian microbiologist said zoonosis (infections transmitted to humans from animals), urbanisation, high density population, international travel, climate change, conflict (humanitarian crisis), deforestation, population growth and increased food demand will contribute to the risk of exposure to more and more emerging infections in future. Early detection is crucial to containing the epidemic, for which local capacity and a rapid support system to respond to disease outbreaks has to be developed, he said, while delivering the Hyderabad Lecture Series at the University of Hyderabad. Measures such as infection control in hospitals, action against overuse of antibiotics and vaccine scepticism should be ensured. Research and development of vaccines should be supported, he said. Ebola, SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), MERS (Middle-Eastern Respiratory Syndrome), AIDS, Zika virus, Dengue, Chikungunya, Yellow fever and the Nipah virus were a few examples, he cited, which have plagued the human population. He also explained the dynamics of social, economic and political systems and their impact on dealing with these epidemics.

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INDIA TO BUY 12% LESS IRAN OIL IN APRIL VERSUS MARCH: REPORT

Indian state refiners will lift 8 million barrels of Iranian oil in April, a decline of about 12 per cent from the previous month, industry sources said, as the nation is in talks with the United States to renew the waiver from US sanctions against Tehran. The United States introduced sanctions aimed at crippling Iran’s oil revenue-dependent economy in November but gave a six-month waiver to eight nations, including India, which allowed them to import some Iranian oil. India has been allowed by Washington to continue to buy about 300,000 bpd oil or 9 million barrels in a month till early May. New Delhi, Tehran’s biggest oil client after China, has decided to lift lower volumes in April as a ‘precautionary measure ahead of renewal of waiver,’ said one of the sources familiar with the matter, without elaborating further. The United States aims to cut Iran’s crude exports by about 20 per cent to below 1 million bpd from May by requiring importing countries to reduce purchases to avoid US sanctions, two sources familiar with the matter said. It is not yet clear if reduced volumes of 8 million barrels a month is the new condition imposed by Washington for granting a second waiver to New Delhi from sanctions against Tehran. For March, Indian Oil Corp had placed an order for 5 million barrels, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd for 2 million, and Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp for 1 million each.

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INDIA SHORT ON EV PARTS MAKERS, TO RELY ON CHINESE IMPORTS

India, the world’s third largest automobile market, will rely more on China for components as the government steps on the gas to go for electric vehicles. In the financial year 2018 alone, Chinese exports to India touched $4.3 billion, up 27% over FY13, with the automobile industry executives saying that there’s no sign of slowing down in the future. India imports ten times more auto components from China than it exports. The ever growing imports of auto components from China pose a threat to the local auto component manufacturing ecosystem and will increase India’s already huge trade deficit with China in the next few years Chinese exports to India are driven mainly by the electronic components in vehicles, which will be used in the impending launch of a slew of new electric vehicles (EVs). Also, the practically non-existent hardware manufacturing base in India is forcing OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers to import more from China. Drive transmission, steering followed by electricals, interiors and engine components from China form a major chunk of the imports. Given that India’s road map for electrification and China’s leadership in EVs (60% of global volumes) and battery technology, we expect imports from China on EV components and sub-components to go up. This despite localisation targets and import duties, Chinese components for EVs will still be more competitive than making them in India. The imports from China are mainly for EV components as we do not have a well established EV partsmaking ecosystem in India. Non-EV parts are imported mostly for tactical reasons like gaps in local capacities and cost benefits, said Hemant Sikka.

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UNDER NDA, MORE TOILETS, LESS OPEN DEFECATION

Everyday in villages and towns, alongside roads and railway tracks, millions of Indians defecate in the open. Coming into power, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), like governments before it, promised to end this practice. Setting itself a target of 2 October 2019, Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary, the NDA-II embarked on an unprecedented toilet-construction spree through the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Even after accounting for over-reporting in official numbers, SBM has reduced open defecation—but without tackling the deeper causes of India’s open defecation habit. Toilet construction has received so much attention because India is a global laggard in sanitation coverage. According to data from the World Bank, in 2015, 44% of Indians defecated in the open And while this has decreased significantly (from 75% in 1990), countries that are poorer than India, such as Bangladesh, Pakistan and several sub-Saharan countries, have significantly lower open defecation rates. Open defecation also partly explains why India lags behind developing countries on child health indicators such as nutrition and stunting. Faecal germs from open defecation are transmitted to children, hurting their development. The Indian government’s response to this crisis has been to run concerted sanitation campaigns centred around toilet construction. The NDA-II’s SBM is a revamped version of the United Progressive Alliance’s (UPA’s) Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA) which itself emerged from NDA-I’s Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC). The big difference with SBM, though, has been the scale and speed of its implementation. For instance, the pace of toilet construction in SBM is nearly twice that of NBA. The NDA-II has dedicated significantly more resources to sanitation as well. On average, NDA-II has allocated 0.5% of its annual budget on toilet construction against UPA’s 0.1%. And the individual subsidy for toilet construction has also been increased: the SBM provides ₹12,000 for every toilet compared to ₹10,000 under NBA and ₹4,500 in the TSC. According to official government data, this spending has worked. The SBM dashboard shows that 99% of the country has access to toilets (up from 40% in 2014), and all but five states are open defecation free. But as welcoming these figures are, they are likely to be over-reported, as we have highlighted in previous Plain Facts columns. The survey revealed that 93% of India’s households have toilets, almost all these households (97%) use them and, as a result, 90% of India’s villages are now open defecation free.

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ONLY 26% OF RURAL TOILETS USE TWIN-LEACH PITS, FINDS SURVEY

Over the last year, a government advertisement featuring film actors Akshay Kumar and Bhumi Pednekar has been preaching the benefits of the do gadde or twin-pit latrines, which would create valuable farm manure from human excreta. Shauchalaya ka ashirvad, proclaims Mr. Kumar in the advertisement produced by the Centre’s flagship sanitation scheme Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. This month, with the scheme claiming to be on the verge of completing toilet construction for all rural households, a government-commissioned survey shows that just over a quarter of rural toilets use this twin-pit system. The waste from the remainder of rural toilets could create a new sanitation nightmare — harmful to health and the environment, and even pushing a new generation into manual scavenging. Under the twin-pit system, two pits are dug with honeycombed walls and earthen floors which allow liquid to percolate into the surrounding soil. When one pit is filled and closed off, waste flow is transferred to the second pit, allowing waste in the first pit to be converted into manure after a year or two. The Hindu’s analysis of raw data from the National Annual Rural Sanitation Survey 2018-19, shows that just 26.6% of rural households use the recommended twin-pit system to dispose of excreta from their toilets. Septic tanks are the most popular option, with 28% of toilets connected to a septic tank with a soak pit and 6% to a tank without a soak pit. With the government intensively promoting twin pits over the last two years, it is unsurprising that the highest ratio of twin pits are found in States which have only recently completed toilet construction. Jharkhand, which is second on the list, with almost 58% of its toilets connected to twin pits, was declared open defecation free (ODF) only late last year. Our focus was on quality construction and twin-pit technology, said State sanitation secretary Aradhana Patnaik, explaining why a delayed ODF status had resulted in better system. Uttar Pradesh, which tops the list with 64% of toilets with twin pits, had made the technology mandatory for anyone who wanted to avail the government’s ₹12,000 subsidy to build toilets.

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RUPEE PAYMENT FOR VENEZUELAN OIL UNDER CONSIDERATION

India is considering Venezuela’s proposal to use rupee for trade payments to protect the current oil import from the South American nation facing hardening US sanctions. The US has imposed a series of sanctions on Venezuela to squeeze its oil revenue and force the nation’s President Nicolas Maduro to step down. The US, which recognised opposition leader Juan Guaido as the president of Venezuela in January, is now considering imposing new financial sanctions aimed at cutting the Latin American nation’s access to the international financial system. Current sanctions bar US firms from doing business with Venezuela but leave importers from India & other countries unhurt. The US, however, has been piling diplomatic pressure on India to cut import. Once the US cuts off Venezuela from the international financial system, Indian refiners will be forced to either stop import or build an alternative payment channel. India has already advised its refiners to avoid payment system controlled by the US, an official said. Only private refiners Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy import Venezuelan oil, about 300,000 barrels per day.

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USFDA CLASSIFIES LUPIN'S SOMERSET FACILITY AS 'OFFICIAL ACTION INDICATED'

Drug major Lupin Saturday said it has been cautioned by the US health regulator that its Somerset (New Jersey) facility may be subject to regulatory or administrative action and that it may withhold approval of any pending applications or supplements in which this facility is listed. The company's subsidiary Novel Laboratories Inc has received a letter from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) classifying the inspection conducted at its Somerset (New Jersey) facility in December 2018, as Official Action Indicated (OAI), Lupin said in a regulatory filing. 'Official Action Indicated', means approvals of pending applications or supplements from this site maybe withheld. Lupin said the company does not believe that this classification will have an impact on disruption of supplies or the existing revenues from operations of this facility.

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ELON MUSK SAYS TESLA 'WOULD LOVE TO BE' IN INDIA THIS YEAR OR NEXT

Would love to be there this year. If not, definitely next! Tesla’s billionaire chief executive officer said in a Twitter post, nearly ten months after he blamed restrictive policy for delaying the carmaker’s entry into the world’s fourth largest automobile market. The Narendra Modi-led government has been wooing Tesla to set up a factory but Musk, in a May 2018 Twitter post, had pointed to some challenging government regulations as a hurdle. The year before, he had sought temporary waiver on import penalties and other restrictions until a local facility is built. Tesla broke ground in January on a $5 billion factory in China, its first car-manufacturing facility outside the U.S., after four years of planning. Tapping overseas markets may help the U.S.-based automaker stave off a potential dip in demand on its home turf. With similar populations, India has a mere 6,000 passenger electric vehicles on its roads, compared with China’s 1.35 million, according to Bloomberg NEF data. It also had just 425 publicly available charging points at the end of 2017 but that is expected to rise to 2,800 charging points by 2022, according to BNEF.

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AGUSTAWESTLAND CASE: DELHI COURT ASKS TIHAR JAIL AUTHORITIES TO PRODUCE CCTV FOOTAGE ON CHRISTIAN MICHEL’S TORTURE ALLEGATION

A Delhi court directed the Tihar jail authorities on Saturday to produce CCTV footage on allegations of torture levelled by Christian Michel, an alleged middleman arrested in the AgustaWestland choppers scam case. Special judge Arvind Kumar directed the jail authorities to bring the CCTV recording of February 13 to 17 of jail number 7, where Michel was kept last month. The court had earlier sought the CCTV footage of jail number 1 and after going through it, had noted that the premises were clean and that good facilities were provided to Michel. On March 14, the jail authorities had denied the allegations of torture levelled by Michel. ED’s counsel Samvedna Verma had told the court that there is a responsibility of the country to ensure his security as per the treaty. The jail authorities had said Michel was shifted to a high-risk prison considering threats to his life.

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AZHAR TERROR TAG: IF SOFT TALKS FAIL, BIG-3 PLANNING UN VOTE TO NAIL CHINA

The US and two other permanent Security Council members, France and Britain, are believed to be in intense good faith discussions with China to arrive at a compromise on the UN designation of Jaish chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist. And if that effort does not end up in the formal designation of Azhar, the three permanent members are planning to soon move a resolution for his listing in the most powerful wing of the UN which would be preceded by an open debate on the issue, according to people familiar with the matter. India had expressed disappointment over the Chinese stance and the original co-sponsors of the resolution had warned they will consider other actions to achieve their goal. If China continues to block this designation, responsible member-states may be forced to pursue other actions at the Security Council. It shouldn't have to come to that, a Security Council diplomat told PTI on Wednesday in an unusually tough warning to Beijing.

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US, FRANCE, UK IN INTENSE DISCUSSIONS WITH CHINA ON MASOOD AZHAR LISTING AS GLOBAL TERRORIST AT UN

The US, France and the UK are believed to be in intense good faith discussions with China to arrive at a compromise, including on the language on the UN designation of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, according to people familiar with the matter. The proposal to designate Azhar under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council was moved by France, the UK and the US on February 27, days after a suicide bomber of the JeM killed 40 CRPF soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama, leading to a flare-up in tensions between India and Pakistan. If the fresh efforts by the US, France and the UK does not end up in the formal designation of Azhar, the three permanent members are planning to soon move a resolution for his listing in the most powerful wing of the UN which would be preceded by an open debate on the issue, according to people familiar with the matter. While the internal consultations of the Security Council committee remain private, this time several Council members, frustrated at China's unreasonable stance to protect a terrorist, privately spoke to the media the negative role being played by Beijing. If China continues to block this designation, responsible member-states may be forced to pursue other actions at the Security Council. It shouldn't have to come to that, a Security Council diplomat told PTI on Wednesday in an unusually tough warning to Beijing. The three countries have indicated that they are willing to accommodate Chinese request for changes in the language as long as it does not change the substance of the resolution and it ends up designating Azhar as a UN global terrorist. Not months, not weeks but days. This is what Beijing has been conveyed. Getting Chinese support to designate Azhar as a global terrorist, at the UN, in any format, would be considered as a terrific accomplishment The very fact that there have been discussions going on between China and the US, Britain, and France, is considered as a positive development.

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Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya