TAXATION UPDATES 15.04.2019

GST NETWORK HAS 1.2 CRORE TAX PAYERS REGISTERED: CEO

A total of 1.21 crore taxpayers have been registered by the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN), its CEO Prakash Kumar said on Friday. We started with 60 lakh taxpayers. Today, we have 1.21 tax-payers registered and 57.12 crore e-way bills generated so far, he said. Kumar said nearly 500 crore invoices have been uploaded on GSTN portal so far. A total of 25.21 crore tax returns have been processed till date. The maximum number of returns filed per day is 18 lakh, he said.

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CBDT SETS JUNE 30 DEADLINE TO DISPOSE OF DEMONETISATION CASES

Tax authorities have set a deadline of June 30 to clear up all demonetisation-related cases. In its interim action plan for the first quarter of 2019-20, the Central Board of Direct Tax (CBDT) has instructed its officials to dispose of all cases related to demonetisation where assessment is required to be framed. The CBDT had earlier identified 87,000 cases where assesses had not filed their responses to income-tax notices issued post the note-ban. It had sent out notices and emails to about 3 lakh people who had made high-value cash deposits in the days following the demonetisation announcement of November 8, 2016, but had not filed their I-T returns. The tax department has also set a deadline of June 30 for filing of references before the National Company Law Tribunal for firms that have been struck off under the Companies Act. The CBDT action plan, which will be in play until the department charts out the full-year outline, also aims to issue notices to non-filers of Statement of Financial Transactions (SFTs) under Section 285 BA of the Income-Tax Act by May 15 this year.

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INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL GETS THIRD BENCH IN PUNE

The Income tax Appellate Tribunal, Pune zone, got its third bench for Pune on Friday. The Court room 3 was inaugurated by ITAI Pune President, Justice P P Bhatt. The ITAT established its first bench in Pune on August 9, 1971, while the second Bench was added in 2004. Pune is the fourth largest city as far as the number of pending appeals is concerned. The new addition becomes very important with the number of appeals pending — 5,815. The third bench will initially focus exclusively on transfer pricing and international tax appeals, which are more than 350 in number. ITAT Pune has currently acquired land for its own centre in Akurdi. We require more facilities, more boardrooms for the members. We plan to build our own centre in Akurdi as one floor didn’t suffice the necessities, said R R Syal, Vice-President of ITAT Pune. The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal has 63 benches across the country.

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ALL THE NEW DETAILS REQUIRED IN INCOME TAX RETURN FORMS FOR FY18-19

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) kickstarted the annual income tax return filing ritual recently. The new income tax return (ITR) forms for the assessment year 2019-20 come with a set of changes—essentially more detailed disclosures— taxpayers have to contend with. The idea is to check evasion and eliminate loopholes, says Alok Agarwal. While the last date for filing returns is 31 July, the changes and penal clauses for late filing mean one should start the process as soon as possible.

New look ITR 1

The forms take into account announcements made during the Union Budget 2018-19. A field for standard deduction has been introduced—you can claim a flat deduction of Rs 40,000. Likewise, senior citizens can claim exemption of up to Rs 50,000 on interest from savings, fixed deposits as well as post office deposits. This apart, the form asks taxpayers to specify the nature of income from other sources. Until last year, you only needed to mention the figure. You will also have to furnish details of any exempt income and the clause under which the tax benefit is allowed. This includes HRA claimed during the year.

More disclosures

ITR 2 now requires detailed information on the number of days spent in India while declaring the residential status. Until 2018-19, you had to simply choose between resident, resident but not ordinarily resident and non-resident options. Non-resident taxpayers will have to report their overseas residency information along with taxpayer identification number. Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) or Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) selecting residential status as ‘non-resident’ in India are required to report the actual number of days in the relevant financial year and also in the last four financial years immediately preceding the year, says Kuldip Kumar.

House buyer’s information

If you have sold an immovable property, be prepared for tighter scrutiny. You will have to mention the buyer’s name, PAN, transaction price and the address of the property, says Archit Gupta. In case of multiple buyers, the seller will have to share details of each, along with share in ownership and amount. The objective is to corroborate information provided by the seller and minimise scope for misreporting, says Agarwal.

Changes in ITR forms relevant to salaried taxpayers

ITR 1 (Sahaj)

Use if...

You are an ordinarily resident invidividual with income from salary, pension and interest of up to Rs 50 lakh, agricultural income of up to Rs 5,000, and own one house.

Do not use if...

You are a director in a company or have invested in unlisted shares; or have capital gains/losses to declare.

ITR 2

Use if...

You are a salaried individual or a pensioner who cannot use ITR 1.

Do not use if...

You draw income from any business or profession.

Restrictions on use of ITR 1

If you have invested in unlisted shares, you cannot use ITR 1 this year. It cannot be used by an individual who is a director in a company either. The form is relevant if your agriculture income is less than Rs 5,000. If it crosses this threshold, use ITR 2.

Disclosure of unlisted shares

In ITR 2, you have to provide details of all unlisted shares you hold. You will have to furnish the companies’ names, PAN, number of shares held by you, cost of subscription or purchase, issue/purchase price per share, shares transferred during the year and closing balance. This could mean that unlisted companies’ employees, who have exercised their employee stock options (ESOPs), will also have to declare their holdings, notes Gupta of Cleartax.

Other changes

ITR 1 (Sahaj)

·       Furnish details of exempt income like HRA and specify nature of income from other sources.

·       Field for standard deduction and exemption on interest from bank and post office deposits under Section 80TTB introduced.

ITR 2

·       Detailed information on number of days spent in and out of India to determine residential status.

·       Disclosure of information on unlisted shares.

·       Disclosure of house buyers, details in case you have sold a property.

·       Furnish details related to agricultural income including ownership, size, location and address and status on irrigation.

Agricultural income

Income from agriculture is another focus area in the forms this year. Agricultural income exceeding Rs 5 lakh is now to be reported separately along with additional details such as name of the district with pin code, measurement of land, whether owned or leased and whether irrigated or rain-fed under the ‘exempt income schedule’, says Kumar.

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EXCEL BASED GSTR-9C OFFLINE UTILITY FOR RECONCILIATION STATEMENT AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD

e-Form GSTR-9C is meant for uploading audited annual return and reconciliation statement. The form was notified vide Notification No. 49/2018 – Central Tax dated 13th September, 2018. The excel based GSTR-9C offline utility is designed to help the taxpayer to prepare the GSTR-9C return offline. The utility can be downloaded from GSTN portal.

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TWO YRS ON, GST NETWORK CONTINUES TO BE VULNERABLE

Two years after its implementation, goods and services tax (GST) continues to be dogged by loopholes. The directorate general of GST Intelligence (DGSTI) has come across a case in which an assessee could secure ten times more input tax credit (ITC) than eligible by just adding one zero in the returns. In the case which involves a city-based business, it was found that the company had showed ITC to the tune of Rs 3.5 crore instead of Rs 35 lakh actually available, by just adding one more zero to the figure. The sleuths, on the basis of specific information that the assessee had not filed returns after December 2017, had launched a probe against the company. It was found during the investigation that an excess credit was also claimed by the company for the period in which returns were paid. It was a clerical error because the entry was reversed after six months. The DGSTI has finally raised a liability of Rs 5 crore and recovered over Rs 4 crore from the company which deals in a whole gamut of commodities ranging from electronics to automobiles. However, that the excess ITC amount could be made available by just a manual entry has also exposed vulnerability of goods and services tax network (GSTN). ITC is the amount which can be adjusted against the final tax liability. It is available on the basis of tax paid on purchase of inputs and services for making the end-product. So, the ITC claimed cannot be more than the actual purchases which are mentioned in the GST 2A returns. The ITC to be claimed and final tax liability are mentioned in the GST3B returns. The DGSTI office in Nagpur has already got a list of 400 assesses where a similar mismatch has been seen. The amount claimed as ITC GSTR3B and the purchases and tax paid mentioned in GSTR2A are not the same. There is a list of another 400 odd cases in which the GSTR1 which specifies the sales and GSRT3B in which the final liability is mentioned differ. Since there is no system of matching, an assessee can easily reduce the amount of tax payable even if higher sales are mentioned in GSTR1.

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COURT GRANTS BAIL TO GST SCAM ACCUSED

The trial court on Saturday granted bail to an accused Jagdish Kanani, who was arrested in the GST input tax credit scam, after 90 days of his arrest. Counsel for Kanani moved a statutory bail application before court of judicial magistrate first class Brajesh Singh, alleging that 90 days had passed since his arrest and no chargesheet had been filed by police. The counsel for GST authority submitted before the court that they were not ready to file chargesheet in the case since they were still investigating the matter. Hence, the accused can be granted bail on condition of not leaving the country, while on bail. The court allowed the bail application with the condition that Kanani will not leave the country without permission of the court. He was directed to furnish a local surety of Rs1lakh. The court also instructed him to cooperate with investigation and be present for all hearings of the case, advocate Lokendra Joshi, counsel for Kanani said.

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ONE-TIME TAX SETTLEMENT BOOST FOR STATE EXCHEQUER

The West Bengal government has a windfall just ahead of the general election which later can be spent for the social schemes of the chief minister. The state finance department has mobilised Rs 754 crore from one-time settlement scheme for entry tax, VAT, central sales tax and West Bengal sales tax on March 31, 2019, making it one of the most successful settlement schemes in the post-GST regime. Earlier, the state had mobilised a record Rs 1,100 crore from entry tax and other taxes through a settlement just ahead of the rollout of GST in June 2017. The state had grossed a tax revenue of Rs 60,000 crore in the last fiscal and for the current fiscal, the target is kept at Rs 65,546 crore. According to sources, over 29,000 cases were resolved through the scheme, which, too, is a record. The sheer number shows that a large number of MSMEs have decided to pay tax. It is a win-win situation for both the state and the tax payers. The tax payers can settle the dispute and avoid hassles by paying only a fraction of the amount, while the government gets a portion of the outstanding without getting into further litigation, which means additional cost as well, sources said. The new scheme introduced in November 2018, provided for settlement of dispute on the basis of self-declaration by the taxpayers about outstanding liabilities upon payment entry tax with full waiver of penalty and interest and in case of VAT and sales tax only 35% of the disputed amount had to be paid for the settlement. The scheme also provided for settlement upon payment of 50% of penalty for cases of evasion of tax, added sources. A special window for settlement of the pending entry tax was earlier kept open between June 6 and June 30, just ahead of the GST rollout. The West Bengal Entry of Goods into Local Areas Act, 2012 was passed in the Assembly in March 2012, under which 1% tax was levied on specific goods entering the state and the tax was ‘compensatory’ in nature. In the first year of rollout, the collection from the tax was Rs 900 crore. The amount went up to Rs 1,200 crore the next year.

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IT DEPT TURNS LENS ON INVESTMENT, TRADING & DELIVERY ACTIVITIES AT NSEL

The veracity of trading and investment activity in the defunct NSEL commodities trading platform is being investigated by the Income Tax Department to find out whether there was any actual delivery of goods. A senior IT official said the Director of Income Tax (Intelligence and Criminal Investigation) in the Department has formulated a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for investigating tax evasion of those entities, including investors and brokers on the exchange, who had payment obligations as well as those with outstanding receivables, the official said. After the trading platform was shut, the IT Department had received a number of petitions about tax evasion wherein allegations were made about suspicious sources of funds being used by investors. The official said that under the SOP, the manner in which various entities have shown profit and losses in their tax returns on account of NSEL transactions, is being examined. The source of investments of the assessees and whether the profits arising out of such investments are reflected in the tax returns are also being looked into. While verifying the source of investments of the entities, if any shell or bogus companies are used for routing the funds is being investigated in great detail, the official said. The SOP has also asked the IT officials to check the provenance of the funds used by the entities if it is borrowed from NBFCs. Such banking companies should also be scrutinised further to check if they have declared such debts as bad debts in their books. The official pointed that if the transactions by the entities on the exchanges are found to be fake then the IT official can disallow setting off and carrying forward of losses The transactions carried out by the entities could also be cross-verified with NSEL for discrepancies. If a particular entity has invested funds belonging to another entity and that too in the name of fictitious account holders, then the IT Department could consider action under the Benami Transactions Act of 1988, the official added.

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GST DEPT CAN’T DETAIN VEHICLE FOR DEFICIENCY IN LORRY RECEIPT: GUJARAT HC GRANTS INTERIM RELIEF

A two-judge bench of the Gujarat High Court has granted interim relief to a dealer where the Goods and Services Tax (GST) department had detained the goods for deficiency in the Lorry Receipt The department had seized the vehicle on the ground that the lorry receipt issued by the transporter is photocopy without the computerized serial number and contact number details. The counsel for the petitioners, Advocate Uchit Sheth, submitted before the Court that the order of detention has been made on the ground that the lorry receipt issued by the transporter is photocopy without the computerized serial number and contact number details. Under section 68 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, the Government may require the person-in-charge of a conveyance carrying any consignment of goods of value exceeding such amount as may be specified to carry with him such documents and such devices as may be prescribed. As per Sub-rule (1) of Rule 138A of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, the person in-charge of a conveyance is required to carry –

(a) the invoice or bill of supply or delivery challan, as the case may be; and

(b) a copy of the e-way bill in physical form or the e-way bill number in electronic form or mapped to a Radio Frequency Identification Device embedded on to the conveyance in such manner as may be notified by the Commissioner.

The petitioners, therefore, submitted that in case either of these documents are not carried by the person in-charge of the conveyance, the respondents would be justified in resorting to action under section 129 of the CGST Act. It was contended that since carrying the Lorry Receipt is not a requirement prescribed under rule 138A(1) of the rules and there is no statutory provision empowering the respondents to make an order of detention under section 129(1) of the CGST Act for any deficiency in the lorry receipt issued by the transporter, the impugned order of detention is without authority of law. The two-judge bench comprising Justice Harsha Devani and Justice Bhargav D Karia held that Prima facie, the contention raised by the learned advocate for the petitioner appears to be valid. Under the circumstances, a prima facie case has been made out for grant of interim relief as prayed for in the petition. Stand over to 18th April, 2019. By way of further interim relief, the respondents are directed to forthwith release the truck No.GJ-04-AW 1999 along with the goods contained therein, the bench said.

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TRADERS CLAIM GST ‘CUMBERSOME’ TO BUSINESS

Last week, after a hectic day of campaigning, former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan arrived at a Congress leader’s home late evening in Pune. Gathered at the spot were nearly 50 people comprising developers, businessmen and traders. Each of the men narrated the woes from their businesses, with the common refrain being the ‘cumbersome’ goods and services tax (GST) and how they were spending more time, money and effort handling GST issues that have been affecting their businesses. Chavan heard them out and promised how the Congress government, if it comes to power, would come with an better ‘GST 2.0’ that would be much simpler for everyone. At the end of the meeting, a local Congress leader who organised the meet promised Chavan that the businessmen would help the Congress. Traders and businessmen from across the state that claim that the ‘simplification of GST’ that has been promised by the Congress has found resonance among the trader community. In fact, frustration and anger against GST is more than demonetisation. Demonetisation gave us a severe hit, however, this is more damaging; we have had to hire more people just for our accounts. The whole process has been made in such a way that you can’t fill the details in one go, said a trader from Pune on condition of anonymity.

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BUSINESS UP BY 10-20% AFTER GST IMPLEMENTATION, SAYS PUMPSET-MAKERS BODY

With majority of MSMEs in the region claiming to have borne the brunt of GST, Tamil Nadu Pumpset Manufacturers Association (TAPMA) on Saturday said business has, however, grown by 10 to 20 per cent. Kalyanasundaram said taxes were 4 per cent less after GST implementation as there was reduction of central sales tax for the materials purchased from outside the region. Besides, two per cent reduction in sales tax added to the growth of the business ranging from 10 to 20 per cent, he said adding that the GST council continues to reduce the tax burden as and when represented by the industries. The association has 120 members and the only problem faced by the industries here was acute labour shortage, he said. Stating that some other associations may be giving wrong information with regard to their business, Kalyanasundaram said he has so far not gone through the data provided by the Tamil Nadu government that nearly 50,000 small industries were closed and five lakh workers rendered jobless.

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RS 13-CR GST FRAUD BUSTED AFTER MULTI-CITY RAIDS BY UP STF, SALES TAX DEPT

The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) and the sales tax department have unearthed a Rs 13 crore tax fraud case involving two subsidiaries of a company which carried out the embezzlement by means of bogus invoicing, officials said Saturday. According to officials, the accused firms, RoundPay Techno Media and RoundPay Voice Tech, both registered at the same address in Lucknow, were involved in e-payment for utility services. They were involved in circular trading and had shown transactions worth Rs 72.7 crore between them, on which they claimed an input tax credit of Rs 13.09 crore at 18 per cent GST, a senior official said. The STF and the sales tax department were jointly entrusted with the responsibility to probe the case, a first of its kind operation in Uttar Pradesh. This trading module was studied for 45 days. It was found that their activities were being carried out in Lucknow, Pratapgarh, Noida and Khiri also, Deputy Superintendent of Police, STF Noida, Rajkumar Mishra said. The firms were identified, their locations physically verified. Over 100 officers were involved in the operation, he said.

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RELIANCE COMMUNICATIONS RUBBISHES FRENCH MEDIA REPORT ON TAX ISSUE

The Reliance Communications on Saturday rubbished a media report which claimed that taxes to the tune of 143.7 million euro were waived by the French authorities for a France-based company of Anil Ambani just a few months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the decision to buy 36 Rafale fighters in 2015. In a statement issued, the Reliance Communications clarified that the tax issue of its subsidiary Reliance FLAG Atlantic France SAS pertained to the year 2008 and had been settled as per the local laws, much before the Indian government decided to purchase Rafale jets from French company Dassault. Reliance Flag says the tax demands were completely unsustainable and illegal. Reliance denies any favouritism or gain from settlement, it added.

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CONTEMPT PLEA: RAHUL ASKED TO EXPLAIN REMARKS AGAINST PM ATTRIBUTED TO SC

The Supreme Court on Monday sought an explanation from Congress President Rahul Gandhi for his alleged contemptuous remarks on recent Rafale verdict. The Congress President had on April 10 claimed that the apex court has made it clear that Prime Minister Narendra Modi committed a theft. He had made the statement while interacting with reporters in Amethi after filing his nomination papers, where he is contesting against BJP leader and Union Minister Smriti Irani. The apex court said: We make it clear that the views or representation attributed to the court in the alleged address made by the respondent (Rahul Gandhi) to the media and public at large has been incorrectly attributed to this Court. We had no such occasion to make such a comment during the hearing. Having clarified that, we seek the respondent's response. Now the SC has made it clear that 'chowkidarji' (watchman) has committed a theft, Gandhi had told reporters after filing his nomination papers from the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency. I want to thank the SC. It's a very happy day. The SC has talked about justice. Justice has prevailed.

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AADHAAR DATA OF 7.8 CRORE WITH IT FIRM, FIR FILED

The Cyberabad police has filed an FIR on the complaint of UIDAI stating that information technology firm IT Grids (India) was in possession of Aadhaar data of over 7.8 crore residents of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The population of the two states is approximately 8.4 crore. The company was using the data to develop TDP’s Seva Mitra app. According to the FIR, the data was in a removable storage device in violation of the Aadhaar Act. Forensic experts suspect the firm may have illegally obtained the data either from a central data repository or a state data hub. Sources said the case too might be transferred to SIT, probing cases related to the alleged data theft. During analysis of hard disks recovered earlier from the IT Grids office, Telangana State Forensic Science Laboratory (TSFSL) experts say they found that the firm was in possession of 78,221,397 records of Aadhaar data belonging to Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. In the forensic analysis, the officials found the structure and size of the database in possession of IT Grids was similar to the one owned by UIDAI. TDP has said that they did not have access to raw Aadhaar data and that it was only being used to verify beneficiaries of welfare schemes. Based on the information given by the SIT, UIDAI on Friday lodged a complaint with the Madhapur police, who registered a case under various sections of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016. The investigation so far revealed that Seva Mitra app is suspected to be using stolen voter information along with Aadhaar data of the state governments of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for voter profiling, targeted campaigning and even deletion of votes. Search was conducted on the premises of IT Grids and seven hard disks and other digital evidence were seized, T Bhavani Prasad said in his complaint.

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FORMER CEO OF IL&FS ARM SENT TO CUSTODY IN LOAN IRREGULARITIES CASE

Ramesh Bawa, was remanded into Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) custody till April 18 by a magistrate's court on Sunday. The SFIO arrested him from his Delhi residence on Saturday for alleged irregularities in sanction and disbursement of loans. SFIO special counsel H S Venegaonkar sought his remand, pointing out that the agency was investigating IL&FS for all its decorative transactions. Venegaonkar said Bawa was the sanctioning authority on many commi-ttees of the IL&FS arm.

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MODI BIOPIC ROW: SC ASKS EC TO WATCH FILM, NEXT HEARING ON APR 22

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Election Commission (EC) to watch the Narendra Modi biopic before taking a call on its release. The top court has asked the poll panel to share its views with the court in a sealed cover by April 22. The SC was hearing a plea filed by the makers of the movie challenging the EC decision to ban the movie till the Lok Sabha elections are concluded in May. The producers of 'PM Narendra Modi' had filed a petition on Friday against the EC ban that sought that the release of the film would not make it a level-playing field. The EC had ruled that 'any content that disturbs a level-playing field should not be displayed' as per the Code of Conduct. Producer Sandip Ssingh had urged the apex court to see the film as an 'inspiring story', and not a 'political propaganda'. Originally, the movie was slated to release on April 11. But on Wednesday, hours before its premiere, the makers received a notice from the poll panel that banned its release.

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AT RS 670 CRORE, BSP HAS BIGGEST BANK BALANCE AMONG PARTIES

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has the biggest bank balance among all parties, according to official records. The expenditure report submitted by BSP to the Election Commission on February 25 states that it has Rs 669 crore deposited in eight accounts in branches of public sector banks in the national capital region. The party, which scored a blank in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, has also declared Rs 95.54 lakh as cash in hand. The expenditure report is based on details of the central kitties of parties. Samajwadi Party, occupies the second slot with Rs 471 crore in its bank accounts. The party’s cash deposits dipped modestly after the recent assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Telangana, coming down by Rs 11 crore. Congress takes third spot with Rs 196 crore in bank balance. However, this is based on the details the party submitted to the EC on November 2 last year after the conclusion of assembly polls in Karnataka. The party has not updated the details about its reserves after it won the state elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. BJP occupies fifth position with a bank balance of Rs 82 crore, and lags another regional outfit, Telugu Desam Party which has shown a deposit of Rs 107 crore. The party has claimed to have spent Rs 758 crore — the largest expenditure by any party — of the Rs 1,027 crore it had raised in 2017-18. The SP’s cash reserves dipped by Rs 11 crore during the November-December polls for the four assemblies of Chhattisgarh, MP, Rajasthan and Telangana. In contrast, BSP, which collected Rs 24 crore during these elections, saw its reserves improve from Rs 665 crore to Rs 670 crore. According to an analysis of income tax returns of these parties, carried out by Association for Democratic Reforms, BJP showed the highest income with contributions worth Rs 1,034 crore for 2016-17 and Rs 1,027 crore in 2017-18. During the same period, BSP’s income nosedived from Rs 174 crore to Rs 52 crore. Congress’s income for 2016-2017 is shown as Rs 225 crore. It has not declared its income in the subsequent financial years to the EC. CPM has declared an income of over Rs 100 crore on an average in each of the last few financial years. About 87% of the income of these parties is through voluntary contributions, with BJP being the only one to have shown a gain of Rs 210 crore through electoral bonds in 2017-18.

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I WILL NOT CONTEST POLLS IF PROVED GUILTY: AZAM KHAN ON OBJECTIONABLE REMARKS AGAINST JAYA PRADA

Azam Khan on Monday clarified that he did not make any objectionable remarks against film actor and BJP candidate Jaya Prada, fighting the Lok Sabha polls from Rampur against him. Khan's clarification came after he allegedly while addressing a poll campaign rally here, made a below-the-belt remark against Prada. I brought her (Jaya Prada) to Rampur. You are a witness that I did not allow anyone to touch her body. It took you 17 years to identify her real face but I got to know in 17 days Khan said on Sunday.

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ISIS PLOTTING ATTACKS ACROSS EUROPE, SAYS BRITISH MEDIA REPORT

The Islamic State terror group is plotting deadly attacks across Europe along the lines of the one carried out on a concert hall in Paris in which 130 people were killed four years ago, a leading British newspaper has reported. The November 2015 Paris attacks were a series of coordinated terror attacks in Paris and the city's northern suburb of Saint-Denis. The operations in Europe are only a fraction of the plans outlined in the documents, which were found on a hard drive dropped by members of an ISIS cell in a firefight near the militants' final stronghold in Syria earlier this year, it noted. The documents provide details of how, even with its so-called caliphate destroyed in Syria, the ISIS terror group continues to run sophisticated international networks, move fighters over borders, fund operations and plan bank robberies, vehicle rammings, assassinations and computer hacking. In a letter signed by six ISIS leaders and addressed to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi -- the group's caliph -- and his deputy, the authors break down ISIS strategy abroad into two parts: operations and borders. Operations abroad, they write, will be directed by an ISIS member called Abu Khabab al-Muhajir.

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POLL CASH: INCOME TAX DEPARTMENT CONDUCTS RAIDS ACROSS TAMIL NADU

The Income-Tax Department on Friday conducted searches at multiple locations in Tamil Nadu on suspicion of alleged illegal cash being pumped in to lure voters in the poll-bound state, officials said. They said a total of 18 locations in Chennai, Namakkal and Tirunelveli are being raided since early morning hours. In the first instance, tax sleuths are searching the premises of a contractor firm -- PSK Engineering Construction Company-- on charges of routing and possession of alleged unaccounted cash. Three premises in Chennai and four linked to the company in Namakkal are being raided, they said. In the second case, the Chennai investigation wing of the department is searching a group of cash handlers and financiers against whom the sleuths obtained information that they are allegedly mobilising cash for possible use in elections. The locations linked to two individuals identified as Akash Baskaran and Sujai Reddy are also being searched, they said. While 10 premises in Chennai are being searched, one in Tirunelveli is being raided in connection with second case, they said.

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PNB FRAUD: SINGLE JUDGE TO HEAR CASES AGAINST NIRAV MODI

The Bombay High Court has held that a single court, which is notified to hear cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the Prevention of Corruption Act (PC), will hear all the cases related to the Rs 11,400-crore Punjab and National Bank (PNB) scam in which absconding accused diamond merchant Nirav Modi is the prime accused. Justice Mridula Bhatkar has directed Principal Judge of the City Civil & Sessions Court to assign these cases to a Judge who has the power as the designated judge under both Acts. Co-accused Vipul Chitralia, Hemant Bhatt and also the Enforcement Directorate Court had moved the high court, seeking directions of the City Civil and Sessions Court to try all cases related to the scam before one court. It was argued that while courtroom number 51 at the sessions court is notified court under Section 3 of the PC Act, known as CBI Court, courtroom number 16 is assigned all matters under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Advocate Hiten Venegaonkar, appearing for the ED, told the court that Principal Judge had issued an administrative order recently whereby court room number 48 was designated as the PMLA and PC court. Thus, the court said, Accordingly, the Principal Judge of the City Civil & Sessions Court, Greater Mumbai is directed to assign these cases to a Judge who is having the powers as the Designated Judge under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and also under the Prevention of Corruption Act, as per the convenience.

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VVIP CHOPPER CASE: NOTHING WRONG IN MEDIA PUBLISHING CHARGE SHEET, ENFORCEMENT DIRECTORATE TELLS DELHI COURT

After seeking an enquiry into the leak of the supplementary charge sheet in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam, the Enforcement Directorate on Friday told a Delhi court that the charge sheet was a public document and there was no harm even if the media published or telecast it The ED stated this in response to an application filed by the counsel of AgustaWestland accused Christian Michel James, alleging that the charge sheet was purposely leaked by the probe agency. The ED's counsel stated that the application was not maintainable as the cognisance was already taken on December 20, 2014. As such no illegality or prejudice has been caused in the instant case, contrary to the averments in the application, stated the counsel for ED. Vishnu Shankar, informed the court that they would file a rejoinder. During the time of filing of the supplementary charge sheet, our client was not given a copy and later it was leaked to the media. The court had fixed the hearing for another date which means the charge sheet until then, was to be a court document, said Vishnu. ED's counsel maintained that the charge sheet was a public document and the application of the accused should be dismissed. Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar deferred the matter to April 20 after the accused sought time to submit documents in response to the reply filed by the ED to his application. It may be recalled that last week, the ED had requested the court to conduct an enquiry in the charge sheet being leaked and even requested the court to issue a notice to a news channel, calling it a serious matter. The court directed the 'ahlmad' (court staff) to file a report containing information related to the charge sheet, including how many copies were filed by the agency.

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PAKISTAN MISLEADING THE WORLD OVER BALAKOT AIR STRIKE; VISITS BY JOURNALISTS A WHITEWASH: NIRMALA SITHARAMAN

Nirmala Sitharaman has blasted Pakistan saying that Islamabad has been misleading the world over Balakot Air Strike. She said that selected journalists were taken to a madrasa after 40 days. Sitharaman has said that this madrasa was not part of the Balakot Air Strike scheme and was never attacked. Sitharaman, also said that journalists were taken on a guided tour and did not get access to the much-talked-about training facility run by Jaish-e-Mohammed headed by Masood Azhar. Journalists were shown the exterior but Imran Khan administration did not reveal what happened inside. So taking journalists to the ground zero is nothing but a whitewashing, the Defence Minister said. Sitharaman has also rejected the opposition’s allegations that BJP was using the Pulwama terror attack and subsequent Balakot airstrike to influence the voters during ongoing Lok Sabha elections 2019. Sitharaman said after Pulwama, Union ministers of the Modi government accompanied the martyrs’ bodies to their villagers. The central government was bound to take punitive actions against the terrorists and it was natural the airstrike was being talked about. Refuting that BJP was confident about winning the Lok Sabha polls because of Balakot air strike, she said that the central government has taken welfare measures for unorganised labourers as well as farmers. While the government has recapitalised the bank and restored the economy. The middle class was also happy regarding the income tax benefits provided by the Modi government, she said. She also talked about the Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss the government’s plea on the Rafale deal documents. She said the court was informed about the secret, classified documents being taken away in an illegitimate way. Sitharaman also said that there won’t be any review of the Rafale deal even if the top court decided to review its December 2018 verdict on the Rafale deal.

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NO EVIDENCE OF PAKISTAN DISMANTLING TERROR INFRASTRUCTURE, SAYS EX-ENVOY HAQQANI

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's recent statement promising an end of support to terror groups does not reflect a change of policy and is motivated by the fear of getting blacklisted by the global terror-financing watchdog FATF, the country's former envoy to the US Husain Haqqani has said. Khan last month said his government will not allow Pakistan's land to be used for any kind of terror activities and promised actions against militant groups operating from the country's soil. Haqqani, Pakistan's former Ambassador to the US, told a Washington audience on Friday that so far, there is no evidence that the Khan government or the military is dismantling Pakistan's terrorist support infrastructure. There is little change in Pakistan's attitude towards militancy, particularly the one directed against Afghanistan and India, he said. Haqqani pointed out that Pakistan has failed to initiate any action against the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group or its leader Masood Azhar after the Pulwama terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir. Islamabad's close ties with Beijing were invoked to ensure that Azhar's designation as a terrorist by the United Nations was blocked by China at Pakistan's behest, he said, adding that such moves are consistent with Islamabad's policies of the last 30 years. Haqqani, who has authored several books, is currently the Director for South and Central Asia at the Hudson Institute think-tank. He is considered as an outspoken critic of the Pakistan Army's domestic and foreign policies, especially its support of terrorism. Although the FATF sanctions are not imminent, Pakistan is trying to thwart them with public relations moves such as Imran Khan's latest statement. There will be more PR moves as FATF pressures increase, he said. Haqqani stressed that Pakistan's support for militancy is a strategic choice, motivated by the desire to provide a force multiplier for a relatively poor country trying to act as a major regional power without resources comparable to its perceived rival.

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MADE CLEAR DEMAND TO FIN MIN THAT UNUTILISED DEFENCE BUDGET IS NOT SENT BACK: NIRMALA SITHARAMAN

Nirmala Sitharaman Friday said her ministry has made a clear demand to the Finance Ministry that once defence budget is allocated the unutilised part of it not be sent back to consolidated funds The long-term perspective plan (in defence sector) is becoming a rolling long-term perspective plan, she said. Sitharaman also said that sometimes what is budgeted for doesn't happen that year, so the unutilised money goes back to the consolidated fund, and the next year when it matures, one is still grappling because of the patch way we planned. But, we will ensure, and we have talked with the Finance Ministry and made a clear demand to it that once a defence budget is allocated, the unutilised part shall not go back to the consolidated funds. And the committed expenditure whichever year they may happen, will happen from this fund which will probably get accumulated, Sitharaman said. The Defence Ministry has made sure the negotiation with the Finance Ministry is happening, she said. I can confidently say there is a positive response from the Finance Ministry. But we are close to the election time, so we have to wait for the new government to come. This is something on which there is a clear understanding between the Finance Ministry and us (Defence Ministry), so can only see it happening in the near future, she said.

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MAHAMILAVATI’ FRIENDS UNHAPPY WITH ME AS INDIA IS RAPIDLY MAKING A MARK ON WORLD STAGE: PM MODI IN TAMIL NADU

Narendra Modi launched a broadside against the Opposition Saturday, saying the DMK, Congress and their ‘mahamilavati‘ friends cannot accept strides India has made and therefore were unhappy with him. Taking a swipe at the DMK-Congress combine, he said those who were sworn enemies have joined hands, despite the national party having humiliated its southern ally in the past. Today India is rapidly making a mark in the world. The Congress, DMK and their mahamilavati friends cannot accept this. That is why they are unhappy with me, he said at an election rally in Tamil Nadu’s Theni. The Prime Minister has been describing the opposition ‘mahagatbandhan’ (mega alliance) as ‘mahamilavati,’ meaning adulterated. Taking pot shots at DMK President MK Stalin’s proposal naming Congress chief Rahul Gandhi as Prime Ministerial candidate, Modi said there were no takers for this among the opposition because they are in line to be PM and dream of the post.

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SENATORS URGE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO DELAY DECISION ON INDIA'S GSP REVIEW

Two top American Senators have urged the Trump administration to delay until the end of the general elections its decision to terminate India's designation as a beneficiary developing country under the Generalized System of Preference due to a lack of compliance. The Generalized System of Preference (GSP) is the largest and oldest US trade preference programme and is designed to promote economic development by allowing duty-free entry for thousands of products from designated beneficiary countries. The US Congress in March last year voted to renew the GSP through 2020. In a letter to US Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer, Senators John Cornyn from the Republican party and Mark warner from the Democratic party argued that India-US relationship was too important to rush such an important decision in the middle of an election cycle. As you know, India's elections will conclude on May 23, 2019. We believe that the election season may serve as a hindrance for our Indian counterparts in negotiating and concluding a deal on difficult political issues, the two Senators wrote in the letter to Lighthizer on Friday. It was in April last year that the USTR announced that it planned to review the GSP eligibility of a number of countries, including India. The USTR's announcement specifically cited concerns related to its compliance with GSP market access criterion, based on petitions filed from the US medical device and dairy industries. If another round of negotiations during the election season does not resolve the outstanding issues, we would ask you to consider delaying the issuance of a Presidential proclamation to withdraw India's GSP benefits by at least 30 days, beyond the 60-day calendar, in order to move the negotiations beyond India's elections, the Senators said. Allowing for continued negotiations beyond the elections would underscore the importance of this bilateral relationship and provide a real opportunity to resolve these market access issues, potentially improving the overall US-India relationship for years to come, said Cornyn and Warner. We understand that the Trump administration may issue a proclamation withdrawing India's GSP benefits 60 days or later from the congressional notification date, the two Senators wrote.

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NEXT PRIME MINISTER WILL RUN INTO IMRAN KHAN SOON AFTER TAKING CHARGE

The next government should aim to hit the ground running particularly on its Pakistan policy. The first half of June — 14-15 to be precise — will be the next Prime Minister’s first multilateral summit outing. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit is scheduled to be held in Bishkek where the next PM will have the first interaction with Pakistani PM Imran Khan. Pakistan has figured in a negative way in the current election campaign, possibly giving the neighbouring country greater visibility than at any time in the recent past. Post-Pulwama terror attack and the Balakot strikes, Pakistan has been inserted in the rhetoric of the election campaign. Most recently, Imran Khan’s remark that Pakistan would rather have a right-wing government in India added to the election storm. Outgoing Pakistani high commissioner Sohail Mehmood, who is returning to Islamabad to take over as the new foreign secretary, was quoted as saying on Sunday, We hope for re-engagement with New Delhi after elections in India. Engagement between Pakistan and India will help in building an edifice of durable peace and security in the region. June will also see the PM travelling to Osaka for the G-20 summit, for either a first or renewed engagement with leaders of the top economies of the world. The second half of 2019 is packed with international commitments for the incoming PM. An annual summit with Russia will take the PM to Moscow, while the second edition of the India-China informal summit is expected to bring Chinese President Xi Jinping to India. The India-US 2+2 dialogue is scheduled for September-October while Japanese PM Shinzo Abe is expected to visit in autumn.

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IMF LIKELY TO DELAY BAILOUT PACKAGE TO PAKISTAN AS TALKS FOR FINALISING DEAL STILL ON

The IMF's bailout package to Pakistan could be delayed as both sides are still engaged in an intense conversation to finalise the agreement and the international lending body is seeking details of the CPEC project and a written guarantee from Islamabad that its assistance will not be used to repay loans to China, according to a media report. Asad Umar said earlier this month that a mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would visit Islamabad soon after the spring meetings of the World Bank Group, which includes the IMF, and an agreement should be signed by the end of this month. Pakistani daily Dawn quoting official sources on Monday said the visit of the IMF mission to Islamabad for finalising the bailout package may be delayed as both sides are still engaged in an intense discussion on the final details of the agreement. So, the IMF mission is now more likely to visit Islamabad in May, not April, the sources told. The sources said that IMF officials were also seeking details of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), along with a written guarantee from both Pakistan and China that the IMF assistance will not be used to repay loans to China. The IMF insists on full disclosure of all financial cooperation between Pakistan and China, including assistance related to infrastructure development, nuclear power plants, joint manufacturing of JF-17 Thunder fighter jets and procurement of submarines.

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BABU-MUKT BHARAT? 9 NAMES WILL TEST ONE OF NARENDRA MODI'S BIGGEST REFORM

The Centre's decision to open the steel frame of bureaucracy will see 9 professionals, largely from the private sector, joining as joint secretaries in various departments. A first, the move will see a large of group of experts with domain knowledge join the policy-making process. Joint secretary-level officers are largely drawn from a pool of people who clear the civil services examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). To ensure the same standards, the entire process of the selection of these experts was conducted by the UPSC. These posts are in revenue, financial services, economic affairs, agriculture and farmers welfare, road transport and highways, shipping, environment, forest and climate change, new and renewable energy, civil aviation and commerce departments. The deadline to apply for the posts was July 30, 2018. A total of 6,077 applications were received in response to the government's advertisement. Despite criticism of the move from several fronts and even some in the IAS lobby warning against it, the Prime Minister and his team were determined to go ahead with it. The process to pick the names included vetting of the applications by independent teams of sectoral, governance and HR experts from the private and public sector. In addition, representatives from the government also scrutinized the personality and potential of the candidates.

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SUPREME COURT THROWS OUT STERLITE PLEA SEEKING ACCESS TO TUTICORIN PLANT

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a petition filed by Sterlite Copper, a Vedanta group firm, seeking access to its closed smelter plant in Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu for carrying out maintenance activities. The company also challenged the Madras High Court order that declined to give an early hearing on its interim application and the main petitions relating to the Tamil Nadu State Pollution Control Board’s (TNPCB) order to shut down the plant. We are not here to control the High Court, a Bench, headed by Justice RF Nariman, said, after which the firm withdrew its plea. The company was ordered to shut its plant after 13 people, protesting against the pollution allegedly caused by the plant, died in a police firing in May last year. Vendanta had denied the allegations that its plant caused pollution. Sterlite , in its plea in the apex court, said that its intention was solely to preserve its assets and for such purpose alone, commence repair and maintenance activities. It added that lack of maintenance of assets there has resulted in a loss of over ₹ 100 crore to the company. Sterlite said the value of the Tuticorin plant was around ₹3,000 crore and if the High Court did not eventually allow it to restart operations it would need to transport and assemble equipment to another location. The High Court On March 27 adjourned the matter till April 23. Sterlite, in its petition filed before the High Court, challenged the TNPCB’s May 23, 2018 order denying renewal of consent to the plant as well as permanent closure, terming them as wholly illegal, unconstitutional and ultra vires.

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INDIA'S STEEL EXPORT TO US IN 2018 DOWN BY 49%, ALUMINIUM UP 58%: REPORT

India's steel export to the US in 2018 declined by 49 per cent to $ 372 million, while that of aluminum increased by 58 per cent to $ 221 million, the independent Congressional Research Service (CRS) said in its latest report. In 2018, the US imports of steel and aluminum products totalled $ 29.5 billion and $ 17.6 billion respectively, the report said adding that over the past decade steel imports have fluctuated significantly by value and quantity, while imports of aluminum have generally increased. The largest declines in US steel imports, by value, were from South Korea (-$ 430 million, -15 per cent), Turkey (-$ 413 million, -35 per cent) and India (-$ 372 million, -49 per cent) with significant increases from the EU (+$ 567 million, +22per cent), Mexico (+$ 508 million, +20 per cent) and Canada (+$ 404 million, +19 per cent), the report said. The largest declines in aluminum imports were from China (-$ 729 million, -40 per cent), Russia (-$ 676 million, -42 per cent), and Canada (-$ 294 million, -four per cent) with major increases from the EU (+$ 395 million, nine per cent), India (+$ 221 million, 58 per cent) and Oman ($ 186 million, +200 per cent), the report added. The countries with permanent exclusions from the tariffs (all except Australia are instead subject to quotas) accounted for 18.4 per cent of US steel imports in 2018 and 4.4 per cent of US aluminum imports.

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BJP AIMS TO BENEFIT ALL FARMERS UNDER PM KISAN SAMMAN YOJANA

Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) promise in its manifesto to extend the PM Kisan Nidhi Samman Yojana to all farmers stems from the idea of not leaving any farmer disappointed on not receiving Rs 6,000 annually. The promise is also intended at lessening the hordes of paper-work required now on part of the states to identify the eligible beneficiaries. The scheme so far covers nearly 120 million farmers who own less than two hectares of land, while only about 25 million farmers are left out. We promise to give the Rs 6,000 amount to all farmers in the country in our next term so that everyone gets it. A farmer is a farmer. We want that no farmer, small or big, should face a problem when it comes to help in form of this income support towards doubling his income by 2022, Union Home Minister and the BJP’s manifesto committee head Rajnath Singh told. Another benefit of the blanket benefit to all farmers will be in terms of reducing paper-work by a great extent as every person who is a farmer as per land records would get the money rather than the laborious exercise of identifying eligible beneficiaries by the states, a senior party functionary told, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many opposition-ruled states like West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chattisgarh have not sent lists of such farmers to the Centre, delaying pay-out. I know Chhattisgarh did not send the list of farmers, so you did not get the money under PM Kisan Nidhi. Now, we will make your data and put money directly in bank accounts of all the farmers, Rajnath Singh said at a rally in Chhattisgarh on Thursday. About 30 million farmers country-wide have received the first instalment of Rs 2,000 so far.

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SEX ON FALSE PROMISE OF MARRIAGE IS RAPE: SUPREME COURT

The fact that the victim and her rapist have married other people and gone their separate ways will not erase the crime. The rapist would still have to answer for his crime, a Bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao and M.R. Shah concluded in their recent judgment. The case concerns the rape of a woman by a government doctor in Chhattisgarh in 2013. The man had engaged in a physical relationship with her at his home on the promise of marrying her. At the time of the crime, he was already engaged to marry another woman. He later broke his promise to the victim. On the basis of an FIR filed, the man was convicted of rape. The conviction was confirmed by the High Court. He was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment. The apex court was appealed to. In his judgment for the Bench, Justice Shah observed that it was clear from the evidence that the man’s intention was to cheat the victim. She would not have consented to the sexual act had he not promised her marriage. It was a clear case of cheating and deception, the Supreme Court held. The court said such incidents were on the rise in modern society. Rape is the most morally and physically reprehensible crime in a society, an assault on the body, mind and privacy of the victim. While a murderer destroys the physical frame of the victim, a rapist degrades and defiles the soul of a helpless female. Rape reduces a woman to an animal, as it shakes the very core of her life, Justice Shah wrote in the judgment. The court said rape is the most hated crime. It tantamounts to a serious blow to the supreme honour of a woman, and offends both her esteem and dignity, the judgment said.

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TIKTOK INTRODUCES AGE-GATE FEATURE, REMOVES 6 MN VIDEOS VIOLATING GUIDELINES

After receiving flak from the Madras High Court for its children privacy violating video, a short video platform TikTok has introduced an age-gate feature to keep away underage users from the platform. The feature will allow only users above 13 years to create an account on its platform. As part of its safety mechanism, the Bytedance-owned platform has also removed over six million videos that have violated its community guidelines in the last eight-month. The move will reinforce our ongoing commitment to ensure that our platform remains a safe and positive space for our Indian users and we discharge our obligations under the Intermediary Guidelines of India, said Helena Lersch, TikTok Director, of Global Public Policy in a press statement.

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WHEN ELECTION SYMBOLS ENTER TECHNOLOGY WORLD

When elections are fought on social media and voters are caught up in a digital world, can election symbols languish in the realm of bullock carts and brooms? Tech is the overriding theme of free symbols released by the Election Commission of India, reflecting India’s swift transformation from a traditional country to an urban nation. From CCTV camera to computer mouse, pen drive to laptop and mobile charger to bread toaster, accessories that have become a part of our daily lives are among the crop of symbols assigned to independent candidates and unrecognised parties, marking quite an evolution from free symbols of yesteryears — bullock cart, axe, basket, candle and carrot. The lantern and broom, once free symbols, have now become reserved symbols of Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janta Dal and Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party. This points to the transformation of the country from Bharat to India. It all started with a bullock cart and similar symbols several decades ago. Today we have robots and laptops to choose from, says political analyst Biswanath Chakraborty. In the first Lok Sabha elections, 90% of the electorate were from rural India. According to the 2011 census data, 37% of India now lives in cities and towns. For this burgeoning urban populace, laptops and cellphones are empowering social symbols. Analysts like Chakraborty feel the new-age symbols will help politicians attract young voters who form a bulk of India’s electorate and will play an influential role in swinging opinion.

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ELECTION MERCHANDISE FLYING OFF THE B2B ECOMM SHELVES

Elections have turned out to be a good deal for business-to-business ecommerce companies, which have become a one-stop destination for campaign merchandise and accessories such as political parties’ flags, t-shirts and caps. It is quite a unique standpoint and needs a special mention, that in March 2019, the platform saw a substantial increase in number of enquiries of BJP flags, t-shirts and Congress Fatkas, said a spokesperson of B2B e-marketplace major IndiaMART that has reported a 100% rise in demand for promotional items. Its rival ExportersIndia has registered a 40% rise in demand for canopies, banners, billboards and flags, compared with the previous general elections in 2014. T-shirts depicting various political parties and their symbols are especially in high demand, said Ankit Gupta, vice president at ExportersIndia. This, he said, is in contrast with assembly elections in Rajasthan and Telangana in December last year where customised merchandise saw a 20-30% rise in demand.

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CS Meetesh Shiroya