BUSINESSES WITH TURNOVER OVER RS 2 CRORE CAN NOW START FILING
GST AUDIT REPORTS FOR FY18
Businesses with an annual
turnover of over Rs 2 crore can now start filing GST audit reports for fiscal
2017-18 as GST Network (GSTN) has made its format available on its portal. The
audit report for 2017-18, the first year of the goods and services tax (GST)
implementation, is to be filed by June 30. GSTN has now made available offline
utility of GSTR-9C which can be filled up by taxpayer and uploaded on the
portal. GSTR-9C is a reconciliation statement, duly verified and signed by a
chartered accountant or a cost accountant, and required to be furnished along
with filing of annual return by the taxpayer whose turnover is above Rs 2 crore
during a financial year.
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ANGEL TAX: 115% JUMP IN NUMBER OF EXEMPTED STARTUPS; TOTAL
APPLICATIONS HIT 317 MARK
From 135 startups, which
were sent angel tax exemption notification till March 29 by the Central Board
Of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the number has sharply risen by 115 per cent to 291
startups till April 10, a source with direct knowledge of CBDT’s notification
to startups told. 317 startups had applied to the Department for Promotion of
Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) for exemption from Section 56(2) viib of
the Income-Tax Act, 1961 till April 10. Out of them, 291 have received
exemption notification from the CBDT. The rest 26 had some errors in
applications and have been asked for rectification, said the source. Till March
29, 170 startups had applied for exemption. Before that, on March 20, around
120 startups were sent notification for exemption by the CBDT. However, we need
more startups to come forward to claim the exemption. The awareness is still
not there even as startups don’t know that angel tax has been largely
abolished. If they still don’t apply then we will have to see how many startups
are actually alive in India, Sachin Taparia, told. This means that there will
be no scrutiny notice sent to startups in a share premium event. CBDT currently
manually extract startup information shared in PDF form by DPIIT, said Taparia.
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VERIFICATION AND
RECTIFICATION OF DOCUMENTS FILED FOR ONLINE IEC APPLICATION
DGFT
vide Trade Notice No. 39/2018-19 dated 12.12.2018 has laid down a mechanism for
verification of documents for online IEC application As per the Trade Notice
only two documents are required for filing online application for IEC. These
documents are:
(i)
address proof and
(ii)
cancelled cheque / Bank Certificate.
All
Regional Authorities (RA) are hereby intimated that whenever an IEC is picked
up for verification under the 5% mandatory check through RMS, RA needs to
verify whether the documents submitted as
(i)
address proof match the documents listed in Trade Notice No. 39/2015-20 dated
12.12.2018 and that the
(ii)
cancelled cheque is also as per the aforesaid Trade Notice.
In
case the RA observes that there is any variance in the records vis-a-vis the
details in IEC, RA should ask the applicant / send an email to the applicant
entity at the registered email ID and ask them to rectify the deficiencies /
variance noticed in the application / records. Sufficient time of 15 days from
the date of communication may be provided to the applicant to rectify such
deficiencies; failing which the RA may suspend the IEC. It may be clarified to
the IEC holder / applicant that modification is to be carried out by paying
usual modification fee. RAs shall furnish a Monthly Report of IEC.
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FILLING SALARY DETAILS
IN ITR-1 FOR FY 2018-19 GETS EASIER FOR TAXPAYERS
The
ITR-1 form notified by the government for FY 2018-19 has simplified filling in
salary details this year. The salary details required in ITR-1 is now just a copy-paste
of the details available in the Form-16 This is a departure from the manner in
which salary details were required to be filled in the previous year. This
year, ITR-1 has been synchronized with Form-16 to enable salaried taxpayers to
easily fill in details. In the previous year, the format in which break-up of
the salary was required to be filled in was not in sync with the Form-16 which
made it difficult for taxpayers to fill in their details. Form-16 is an
important document for the salaried class. It is a TDS certificate issued by an
employer, comprising information on the total amount of salary paid to you
during a financial year and how much tax is deducted from your salary and
deposited with the government against your PAN. Naveen Wadhwa, says, A salaried
person files his return on the basis of Form 16 (TDS Certificate for salary)
issued by the employer. Form 16 contains all information about the salary
income of an assessee and tax deducted thereon. However, in respect of
allowances, only the exempt part is reported in Form 16 and not the taxable
part. ITR forms for the previous year, i.e., for FY 2017-18 required figures of
taxable allowances, but Form 16 doesn't contain such information. Due to this
salaried persons were facing difficulty in reporting the taxable portion of
allowances. The new ITR forms the exempt part of allowances are required to be
reported instead of taxable part. Hence, the salaried persons will not be
required to use their salary slips for filing return of income and they can
simply file it on basis of information contained in Form 16. While filing
ITR-1, the deductions that an individual is claiming from salary income under
section 16 of the Income Tax Act have to be clearly specified. In last year's
ITR-1 form, an individual was required to provide the aggregate amount of
deduction without specifying the nature of deduction, i.e., whether the
deduction is standard deduction, entertainment allowance or professional tax.
The information regarding the same is easily available in Form-16. Standard
deduction of Rs 40,000 will be a new detail inserted in Form-16 as it was re-introduced
in Budget 2018. The deduction on entertainment allowance is applicable only to
government employees for maximum of Rs 5,000 or one-fifth of his salary
excluding any allowance, benefit, or other perquisite, whichever is lesser.
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MAURITIUS PUTS
INDIA-FOCUSSED FUNDS, OTHERS UNDER ITS REGULATORY LENS
Mauritius
has stepped up scrutiny of offshore fund structures wanting to domicile there
as the country tries to shed its image as a quasi-tax haven and showcase its
compliance with all major international tax norms. The move has brought several
global and India-focussed funds wanting to set up structures in Mauritius under
the country's regulatory glare. The country's financial services regulator
Financial Services Commission (FSC) is combing through KYC information for new
fund applications undertaking extensive background checks on fund sponsors and
fund managers, said sources. FSC is also reaching out to regulators of
countries in which these sponsors or managers are based to verify their
antecedents. The look-through principles are being applied stringently. The
authorities are resorting to telephonic interviews with some of the applicants
and examining issues or complaints filed against them in the past, said Richie
Sancheti. The increased scrutiny is pushing back timelines and jacking up costs
of setting up India-focussed funds in Mauritius. FSC is being cautious in
granting licenses to offshore funds and/or sub funds. In the past few months,
FSC is taking anywhere between 2-3 months to approve an application compared
with a month or two taken earlier, said a person familiar with the matter. The
delays may prompt several India-focussed or global funds wanting to domicile in
Mauritius to set up these structures in other countries such as Cayman, Bermuda
or Singapore, said experts. The upside will be that fund structures from
Mauritius will come under lesser scrutiny from other jurisdictions in the
future. With the higher amount of scrutiny and KYC checks, Mauritius can
improve its reputation in the eyes of all other global regulators, said
Sancheti. Mauritius has been making efforts to improve its reputation and
trustworthiness of its jurisdiction. They have adopted a development strategy
for its financial services sector which is based on continuous improvement,
transparency and compliance with international norms and standards, said Neha
Malviya.
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NOT ONLY MALLYA AND NIRAV, 36 BUSINESSMEN FLED FROM COUNTRY IN
RECENT PAST, ED INFORMS COURT
ED Monday opposed the bail
plea of Sushen Mohan Gupta, alleged defence agent arrested in the
AgustaWestland VVIP choppers scam, saying there was a likelihood of him fleeing
the country like 36 businessmen who had criminal cases against them. The
Enforcement Directorate told special judge Arvind Kumar that 36 businessmen,
have fled from the country in the recent past. The probe agency's special
public prosecutors D P Singh and N K Matta countered Sushen's claim that he had
deep roots in the society, saying, Mallya, Lalit Modi, Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi
and Sandesara brothers (Sterling Biotech Ltd promoters) had deeper routes in
the society yet they left the country. There are such 36 businessmen who fled
from the country in the last few years. During the argument, ED's advocate
Samvedna Verma told the court that the probe was at a crucial stage and the
agency was trying to find out who was RG referred in the diaries of Sushen.
Verma also accused Gupta of influencing the witnesses in the case and told the
court that he also tried to destroy the evidence in the case. The court
reserved order on Gupta's bail application for April 20. Gupta has sought the
relief on the ground that the agency has already completed the investigation
and filed a charge sheet in the case. It is suspected that Gupta has in his
possession some payment details in the Rs 3,600 crore purchase deal of
AgustaWestland VVIP choppers and the link is to be unravelled, they said.
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RETAIL OUTLETS SELLING ICE-CREAM SHOULD BE TREATED AS SUPPLY
OF GOODS, RULES AAR
In a ruling on a case
involving Pune-based ice-cream retailer Arihant Enterprises, the AAR ruled that
the supply of ice-cream from retail outlets would be treated as supply of
‘goods.’ The applicant is engaged in the business of reselling ice-cream in
wholesale as well as retail sale packages. It purchases ice-cream from sole
manufacturer and after that sells ‘as it is’ without any further
processing/alteration/structural or chemical changes. Sale of goods or service?
With this ruling, the doubt
over classification of over-the-counter sales may have been put to rest as the
ruling has recognised the predominant intention as sale of goods vis-Ã -vis
provision of service. The discussion on what differentiates restaurants from
outlets in this ruling could be handy in determining classification of kiosks,
food trucks, stalls, etc. The application approached the AAR with four
questions — will the supply of ice-cream from its retail outlets be treated as
supply of goods or supply of services; whether the supply, not being a
composite supply, would be treated as supply of services; if it is composite
supply, then how taxability would be decided; and if it is a supply of
services, would there be GST at the rate of five per cent (as is in
restaurants). It was explained that the sale of ice-creams is either in retail
packs or by way of scoops. As regards sale in retail packs is concerned, the
ice-cream is sold as a 500-gram retail pack. The sale mainly consists of party
packs popularly known as ‘tubs’. Sale by scoop, too, are done to those who wish
to consume ice-creams on a take-away basis. It was argued that the sole
intention in the transaction is that of sale. There is no contract for
provision of any service. AAR observed that the applicant offers no facility of
serving/dining. It further held that the dominant object even in the case of
ice-cream sold in scoops is a sale of goods. This transaction of selling
ice-cream received in bulk and selling them in retail is akin to edible oils
sales made by grocery shops wherein the grocer sells such oils in various
lesser quantities after receiving the same in bulk quantity of 20 litres etc in
tins/cans. The ruling further held that the applicant’s outlet differs from the
conventional restaurants. In restaurants, generally the customers order food for
the purpose of consuming the same there only, which are then prepared and
served by waiters, etc to the customers. The ruling further concluded that even
if the transaction was to be considered as a composite supply, even then the
principal supply in the subject case is a sale of goods i.e. ice-creams, being
the pre-dominant element of the transaction.
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PLYWOOD FIRMS SEE A FLAT FUTURE DESPITE GST LIFT
The future hasn't panned
out the way organised plywood and particle board makers envisaged post the
coming of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. Benefits of the new tax
regime which was supposed to accrue to the industry leaders have played out,
but slowly, and in bits and pieces. The sector was largely unorganised where
small units controlled 75% of the market before GST while there were a handful
of organised players having the balance 25% mostly controlled by two listed
entities: Century Plyboards and GreenPly Industries. The GST system was
supposed to change all that, making the moderately sized players in the
unorganised space start paying taxes while forcing the smaller ones above
exemption limits for GST to close down, thus benefitting the larger players. Things
haven't panned out that way. The benefits of e-way bill and GST implementation
have been limited as only 25-40% of invoicing is formally processed in the
sector, says a research report from BoB Capital. The GST has done better, but a
long way to go. Even in our product we see that tax avoidance has come down,
but not to the level we have been expecting or we desire, Sajjan Bhajanka, had
said.
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HOW PEOPLE ARE EVADING GST WITH NOVEL METHODS
Around the globe, whenever
new tax system is introduced there are always conflicts between Taxpayers and
the revenue authorities. The Government wants its revenue to be as high as
possible and for that it regularly amends the tax law to curb the novel tax
resorts used by the taxpayers. Due to economic, social and political reasons a
Governments have to grant a few tax exemptions, deductions, abatements and
rebates which is usually mis-utilised by other sectors who does not fall in its
ambit. Taxpayers wants their tax liabilities to be as low as possible and
thereby resort to three mechanisms which are Tax Planning, Tax Avoidance and
Tax evasion. Tax evasion is illegal and results into hefty penalties. Drawing a
line between acceptable and unacceptable tax avoidance depends on the tax laws
of the country and its jurisprudence, thereby there is no single rule across
different jurisdictions to distinguish between the two. In fact in case of
McDowell & Co. Ltd vs CTO, Honorable Apex Court of the country said that Tax
planning maybe legitimate if it is within the framework of law, but colorable
devices cannot be part of tax planning. It is wrong to say that it is honorable
to avoid payment of tax by dubious methods. It is obligation of every citizen
to pay tax honestly without resorting to subterfuges.
MENACE OF FAKE INVOICES
Fake invoices have become
a popular term in last one year, however actual meaning of this is unknown to many.
Fake invoices basically mean issuance of an invoice without any underlying
supply of goods or services Issuance of fake invoices (also known as dabba
invoices) are commonly seen for goods which are supplied to retail customers
not claiming any tax credit. Till date tax authorities have zeroed in on fake
invoices of cement, steel, high-value luxury bags and clothes, beauty products,
papers, high-cost electronic items like IPhone, IPad etc. and hospitality
services including banqueting. It is continuously found by the taxing
authorities that registered persons are buying fake invoices through an agent,
who is accountable for finding such suppliers and also ensuring smooth flow of
cash in the chain. Fake invoices is a double whammy as it reduces GST collections
and also have an immediate impact on direct tax collections.
CONSTRUCTION EXPENSES
Section 17 (5) of GST law
states that; Input tax credit shall not be available in respect of the goods or
services or both received by a taxable person for construction of an immovable
property on his own account including when such goods or services or both are
used in the course or furtherance of business subject to the condition that
such construction expenses are capitalised, to the said immovable property.There
is no monetary limit guiding the capitalisation of an expense and it is left to
the taxable person to decide the same in the light of applicable Accounting
Standards. Now what has been done by the taxable persons is that they are not
capitalising the amounts in their books and are claiming the GST paid as Input
Tax Credit. In the erstwhile regime of VAT and Excise both tax credit on
account of any civil construction was not allowed and thereby it always formed
part of the cost of the company. However, taxpayers are now using the technical
loophole in GST regime to claim additional tax credit which results into
colossal loss for the exchequer.
E-WAY BILL
Concept of E-way Bill was
introduced by the Government to keep a check on Tax evasion and made applicable
only on the motorized vehicles. E-way bill is an online generated document
required by the person in charge (PIC) of the transportation for the movement
of goods. As the E-way bill was applicable only on motorized vehicles the
traders found a different way to evade GST. Some of them are now using
Horse-carts, Bullock carts or manual carts to transport goods across smaller
distances. Some of the traders who intend to work under radar are now using
railways to evade taxes. Unlike goods moving through road transport which is
being stopped in midway, there are virtually no checks in case of railways and
making it easier for the supplier to supply goods on a rail network without
using an E-way Bill. Chances of tax evasion on rail network would be high till
the time there is seamless flow of data from servers of Indian Railways to
GSTN.
ROUND-TRIPPING
Round-tripping is a
mechanism whereby a transporter uses the same set of documents multiple times
for transportation of different consignments. Post E-way bill introduction this
modus operandi has been limited but is still not eliminated altogether. Goods
which are transported from Delhi to Gurgaon distance of which is less than 100
Kms. E-way would have a validity of 1 day, which is sufficient for 3-4 round
trips on the same vehicle. Every round trip leads to a tax evasion of full load
picked up the vehicle. Checking of such round tripping in difficult task
without implementation of PAN India Fast-tag system on all nationational and
state highways.
HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY
Nowadays Hospitality
industry generally gets its revenue through Online Travel Agents (OTAs) such as
Booking.com, MakeMyTrip, TripAdvisor etc. Guests book their accommodation
through OTAs and pay an amount to OTAs directly and OTAs pay booking amount to
Hotels after deducting their commission. Now what some Hotels are doing is that
they book the revenue in their books of accounts on net basis i.e. Gross
booking amount less commission paid to OTA and pay GST on that net amount,
instead booking and paying tax on gross amount. Net effect of this transaction
is that Government does not get GST to the extent of commission paid to the
OTAs, which in several cases would be as high as 25% of the top line. Many a
times this reduction of OTA commission also results in lowering of tax
brackets. If the applicable tariff of a hotel room booked through OTA is INR
7,600/- and 20% of the booking amount is charged by OTA as a commission. Then
the total amount of revenue booked by the hotel is INR 6,080/- (i.e. INR
7600-1520 being commission amount of OTA) and the rate charged is 18%. Which
principally should have been 28% due to tariff falling in the slab of INR
7,500/- and above.
TAX RATES WRONGLY CHARGED
Frequent changes and
multiple rates have become an easy way to evade tax in GST regime. There are
many entries in Tax rate schedule where the rate of tax depends on the price of
a commodity like in case of clothing, footwear etc. In these industries
retailers are artificially vivisecting the invoice value into two or more
components to claim tax advantages. In other case of solar power projects the
tax avoidance is seen by tax authorities. Solar power generating systems (SPGS)
are taxed at the rate of 5% and other supplies are to be taxed at the rate of
18%, but technically law does not define SPGS. This mechanism of tax avoidance
is very difficult to identify and track in real-time due to its non-conspicuous
nature, even though it could pegged as one of the most polished form of tax
lowering.
NOTICE PAY RECOVERY/EARLY EXIT PAY
Generally companies have
an agreement with their employees regarding notice period to be served in the
event of their exit from the organization. However there is always a clause
that outgoing employees may leave the organization early after paying a certain
amount called Notice Pay. Department is of the view that GST is applicable on
such Notice pay recoveries and thereby they have issued notices to several MNC
companies on this point. Corporate are of the view that there is no underlying
principle of supply in this case and thereby no GST is applicable. We will see
the fate of this litigation once the matter reaches higher courts in India. Till
then department will say that it is tax evasion and taxpayers would say that it
is tax terrorism.
On January 4, 2019 Shiv
Pratap Shukla in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha said that during the period
April 2018 to December 2018, total 8917 cases of tax evasion of central excise,
service tax and GST were detected involving a massive amount of INR 48,000
crores. Of this, investigations in 3626 cases of GST evasion was initiated by
the Government and on the basis of investigation, amount of GST evaded
estimated to be over INR 15,000 crores out of which close to INR 10,000 crores
was recovered by the Government. By reading above methods anyone would
appreciate the innovation and courage of an Indian mind to evade taxes in broad
daylight.
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WATCH THE FILM AND THEN TAKE A CALL: SUPREME COURT TO EC ON PM
MODI BIOPIC
The Supreme Court on
Monday asked the Election Commision to watch the Vivek Oberoi starrer biopic on
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then take a call on whether it should be
banned The bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked the poll body to
file a report in a sealed cover by April 22 when the court will further hear
the matter. This comes after producers of the film 'PM Narendra Modi' moved the
apex court challenging the Election Commission's ban on the release of a biopic
till the general election is over. The poll panel had on April 10 banned the
screening of the biopic during the current poll period, saying any such film
that subserves purpose of any political entity or individual should not be
displayed in the electronic media. The Commission, in a separate order, had
also directed the producers not to exhibit the film titled 'PM Narendra Modi'
till further orders. The copy of the order was also sent to the Central Board
of Film Certification chairman and Secretary, Information and Broadcasting
ministry. Votes for all 543 seats will be counted on May 23 after the end of
the seven-phase polling on May 19. It is claimed that such creative contents
are kind of surrogate publicity by the candidate or the political party during
the period of model code. Though the display materials claim to be part of
creative content, it is contended that these have propensity and potentiality
to affect the level playing field which is not in consonance with the
provisions of the model code of conduct, the EC had noted. The order had
specifically stated that in view of the admitted acts and material available on
record, this film being a biopic on Narendra Modi, prime minister and a
political leader and a prospective candidate in the current general elections
can not be exhibited in view of Commission's order.
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GUJARAT: MONEY SIPHONED, POST OFFICE ASKED TO REPAY
The state consumer forum
has directed the senior superintendent of post office in Fatehgunj, Vadodara to
pay a depositor Rs 1.4 lakh with interest after the amount was withdrawn from
his account using fake signature. The case came to the forum after the post
office challenged an order of the district forum. Later Shah found that not
only had Rs 1.4 lakh being withdrawn from his account but that a part of the
money was invested in the name of one Namrata and Ruchir Bhatt. Shah alleged
that the post office officials had conspired with the agent to fake his
signature to withdraw his money. The counsel for the post office argued that
the MIS account of Shah was closed as per his request. It further said that the
agent for post offices are appointed by the government and the office itself
has no role to play in it. Moreover, in the records of the post office, the
reinvestment request for the money in Shah's account was in the name of one
Namrata and Ruchir Bhatt and so the post office did as it was directed. The
counsel for Shah argued his passbook had the post office's stamp and it showed
that he had two MIS schemes of Rs 70,000 each. It further argued that even if
for a moment one were to consider the post office's argument that the
withdrawal form was signed by Shah even then as per the rules, no amount above
Rs 20,000 can be given in the form of cash. It further added that the post
office officials had broken the law by paying an amount in excess of Rs 20,000
in cash and if they had paid the money in cheque they have no record to show
whom it was paid to.
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GOLD SMUGGLING IN INDIA SLOWS DUE TO ELECTION SEIZURES OF
CASH, BULLION
India's gold smugglers
have slowed their operations over worries their shipments will be caught up in
seizures of cash, bullion, booze and drugs that are aimed at controlling
vote-buying in the country's national elections, industry officials told. In
India, political parties and their supporters often offer money or goods in
exchange for votes. The Election Commission, which monitors the polls, tries to
prevent this by setting up highway checkpoints to seize cash, gold, liquor and
other high-value items that candidates avoid mentioning in their expenses due
to a cap on the amount they can spend. After a big seizure in Mumbai, smuggling
has gone down drastically. Grey market operators don't want to take the risk
during the election period, Anantha Padmanabhan, chairman of All India Gem and
Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) told Reuters. Gold smuggling surged in India
after the government raised the import duty to 10 percent in August 2013. Grey
market operators - businesses that smuggle gold from overseas and sell it in
cash to avoid the duties - got a further boost in 2017 when India imposed a 3
percent sales tax on bullion.
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SC GIVES RAHUL GANDHI TILL APRIL 22 TO EXPLAIN RAFALE COMMENTS
The Supreme Court on
Monday sought Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s explanation of certain comments
he had made to media and public after the top court had passed an order
admitting additional documents in the review petition of Rafale judgment. The
top court, while making it clear that the comments made by Gandhi had been
wrongly attributed to the court also said that politicians should, in their
speeches, not attribute any findings or views to the court, unless the same
have been recorded in the order. We have considered the matter. We make it
clear that this Court had no occasion to record any view or finding or make any
observation as allegedly attributed to the Court by the respondent (Rahul
Gandhi) in as much as what was decided by this Court was a purely legal
question of admissibility of certain documents to which objections were raised
by the Attorney General, a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said.
Gandhi has been asked to give his explanation by April 22, and the court will
next hear the matter on April 23. The top court was hearing a contempt petition
moved by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Meenakshi Lekhi against Gandhi for
making comments which he allegedly attributed to the top court.
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EC BARS MAYAWATI, ADITYANATH FROM POLL CAMPAIGNING AFTER SC
ENQUIRY
The Election Commission
(EC) on Monday banned Yogi Adityanath and Bahujan Mayawati from election
campaigning for 72 hours and 48 hours, respectively, starting from 6 am on
Tuesday, for violating the Model Code of Conduct by making objectionable
statements in their speeches. The EC action came after the Supreme Court took
note of the alleged hate speeches made by Mayawati and Yogi Adityanath during
campaigns and sought to know from the poll panel about the action initiated
against them so far. Mayawati was issued the notice for her speech in Deoband
appealing to Muslims to not vote for a particular party. The BSP chief had
prima facie violated the model code of conduct, the poll panel found. Adityanath
was served the notice for his Ali and Bajrang Bali remarks while addressing a
rally in Meerut.
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BLACK MONEY CASE: I-T
DEPT CONDUCTS RAIDS AT DOZEN LOCATIONS IN KARNATAKA
The
Income-Tax Department Tuesday said it is conducting searches at about a dozen
premises in Karnataka on charges of tax evasion. The raids are being conducted
in state capital Bangalore, Hassan and Mandya and the department said the
action is aimed against tax evaders and blackmoney generators. Official
sources, however, indicated that links of these persons with respect to ongoing
polls will also be a part of the investigative operation. The searches are
based on credible intelligence that certain businessmen have earned income not
disclosed to tax and are in possession of undisclosed assets. Taxpayers covered
in the search operations are engaged in the business of real estate, quarrying
and stone crushing, executing government contracts, operating petrol bunks, saw
mill and managing cooperative banks, the department said in a statement. These
are sectors, it added, which are prone to generation of blackmoney. It said
five residences in Hassan, one each in Bangalore and Mandya along with their
business premises are being covered as part of the search operations.
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‘INTRODUCING GST WAS A
BOLD MOVE’
Sanjeev
Sanyal, on Monday said if this government is given another opportunity for next
five years they have more ‘painful’ reforms referring to the GST, insolvency
and bankruptcy code and other reforms that the government has brought in.
Sanyal said the benefits of these reforms are longterm. We have done these
major structural changes in the last few years, the benefits of which we will
see over a period of time. Introducing them was disruptive but as I said we
have more in the pipeline for you, he said, adding the fact that India had an
extremely complicated indirect tax system which is not a new discovery that
this government has made. Not just implementation but introducing the GST was a
very complicated thing, he said, adding that one thing was certain that we will
have unintended consequences. Nobody knew that what would happen when we
actually introduced it. The only way to do it was to implement it and then find
out. The political leadership took the call and it was a very gutsy call. For
the first three months, it did not work; for the next three months, it sort of
worked and one-and-a-halfyear later, we had a system that works reasonably
well, it is not perfect but it is a dramatic improvement from what was there
before, he added. In a country like this, we introduced some major painful
reforms and many people grumbled about it. But in the end, it is now accepted
and is a part of our lives, said Sanyal. On the reforms that should be done,
Sanyal said judicial reform is a radically important thing. I would argue that
the single most important reform required now is judicial reforms. It would
include the processes, number of judges and how the court and tribunal system
functions. When asked what other reforms the country requires, Sanyal said the
other two reforms required are administrative and higher education reforms.
Both are very important but I would argue that judicial reform is the single
most important reform because these two reforms will also get stuck if you
don’t have judicial reforms. All of these things can be driven only if you have
done judicial reforms. This is the most important reform that the next
government can do, Sanyal told.
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‘WON’T RAISE INCOME
TAX’: RAHUL GANDHI DEFENDS NYAY WITH A JAB ON PM MODI
Rahul
Gandhi on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is misleading the
middle class over his party’s poll promise of providing cash support to the
poor families. Gandhi said if the Congress is voted to power, it will not hike
the income tax rates to fund the minimum income guarantee scheme. Gandhi, said,
Mr Narendra Modi says that the money for the NYAY scheme is going to come from
the middle class. But I want to make it clear to the middle class of Kerala and
the country, you are the engine of India’s growth. We are not going to take a
single rupee from the pocket of middle class. The income taxes will not be
raised at all. Mr Narendra Modi gave Rs 35,000 to Nirav Modi, Rs 35,000 to
Mehul Choksi, Rs 30,000 to Anil Ambani, to Vijay Mallya, Lalit Modi…These are
the people who are going to pay for NYAY, said Gandhi, who is contesting from
Wayanad apart from Amethi Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh. The Congress has
promised to roll out Nyuntam Aay Yojana or NYAY, a minimum income guarantee
scheme for the poorest 20 per cent families of the country. Gandhi has been
leading the Congress campaign with the promise of rolling out NYAY if the party
forms the next government at the Centre after the Lok Sabha polls that ends on
May 19. Narendra Modi did demonetization and gave you Gabbar Singh Tax. He took
thousands and thousands of crore out of the Indian economy…small businessmen,
shopkeepers were destroyed. Mr Narendra Modi demonetised Indian economy, NYAY
will remonetise Indian economy. The damage Mr Narendra Modi did will be fixed,
said Gandhi at the rally where he faced difficulties with translation from his
English speech to Malayalam.
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I-T DEPARTMENT CONDUCTS
RAIDS AT DOZEN LOCATIONS IN KARNATAKA
The
Income-Tax Department Tuesday said it is conducting searches at about a dozen
premises in Karnataka on charges of tax evasion. The raids are being conducted
in state capital Bangalore, Hassan and Mandya and the department said the action
is aimed against tax evaders and blackmoney generators. Official sources,
however, indicated that links of these persons with respect to ongoing polls
will also be a part of the investigative operation. The searches are based on
credible intelligence that certain businessmen have earned income not disclosed
to tax and are in possession of undisclosed assets. Taxpayers covered in the
search operations are engaged in the business of real estate, quarrying and
stone crushing, executing government contracts, operating petrol bunks, saw
mill and managing cooperative banks, the department said in a statement. These
are sectors, it added, which are prone to generation of blackmoney. It said
five residences in Hassan, one each in Bangalore and Mandya along with their
business premises are being covered as part of the search operations.
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FORGERY CASE: CBI RAIDS
SIX LOCATIONS IN CITY LINKED TO PAREKH ALUMINEX
The
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday raided six locations linked
to Parekh Aluminex in Mumbai in connection with its probe into allegations that
the manufacturer of basic precious and non-ferrous metals had forged financial
information to take Rs 1,446 crore of loans According to the CBI’s case, the
company borrowed the loans from a consortium of nine banks between 2011 and
2014 by submitting false and fabricated financial data, including forged
balance sheets. The funds were then allegedly diverted through shell companies
into the accounts of certain individuals and their associate companies, people
in the know told. The company has since defaulted on repayments, they said. Rs
468 crore was diverted into the Kamlesh Kanungo Group for payment towards
machinery and raw material which never existed; Rs 513 crore was paid to the
Kirti Kedia Group for construction purposes and Rs 110 crore was paid to JK
Shah towards financial brokerages. Probe has revealed that none of these
activities were carried out.
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K'TAKA: I-T RAIDS AT
PREMISES OF KUMARSWAMY'S CLOSE AIDES
Officials
from the Income Tax department are conducting raids at the residence of Zilla
Panchayat President and Janata Dal (Secular) leader Nagarathna Swamy in Maddur,
sources said on Tuesday. Raids are also being carried out at Zilla Parishad
member Timme Swamy's premises, as well as two firms belonging to Nagarathna,
namely Someshwara Fertiliser and Saw Mill, sources added. Both Nagarathna and
Timme are said to be close aides of Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy. Other
than Mandya, the I-T department is carrying out searches in Hassan and
Bangalore. As per the I-T department, a total of five residences in Hassan, one
in Bengaluru and one in Mandya along with their business premises are being
searched.
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MEHUL CHOKSI CRIES
FOUL, CLAIMS REAL SCAM CULPRITS FREE
Key
accused in the PNB fraud case, Mehul Choksi on Monday said that the actual
culprits of the Rs 14,000 crore fraud are roaming free and being protected,
while he has been implicated without any evidence. In a statement, Choksi
accused Debajyoti Dutta, proprietor of Rishika Financials and Gokulnath Shetty,
Deputy Manager of the Brady House branch of the Punjab National Bank, of being
the real culprits behind the bank fraud. Debajyoti Dutta of Rishika Financials,
who was in the business of discount financing Letters of Undertakings, paid
more than a crore of rupees of bribes to Gokulnath Shetty, Deputy Manager of
the Brady (House) Branch of Punjab National Bank. Dutta has been conveniently
and mysteriously made a witness in the case on behalf of PNB in the alleged
scam, rather than an accused, Choksi said. He alleged that Dutta had charged an
arranger fee for the service, which was known to and approved by senior PNB
officials. The kickback that Shetty would get from Dutta was constant and
illicit, according to Choksi. This is not being investigated despite the fact
that in his 20-page statement, Dutta has clearly outlined this clever arrangement
in detail. But it is vital to note that not once in his statement, has Dutta
linked his actions to Choksi or any of his firms. The relationship between
Dutta and Shetty would have ended with Shetty's proposed transfer from the
Brady House branch, in 2013, he said. He said that while some PNB officials
have come under investigative scrutiny, the larger role of the the bank and its
failure to exert oversight has been missed. The PNB report documents the fact
that top level bank officials were aware of the fraud perpetrated by Dutta and
choose to do nothing about it, Choksi added.
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MP COPS NOW PROBING
ROLE OF BUREAUCRACY IN RS 3000 CRORE WORTH E-TENDER SCAM
After
arresting four persons in the e-tender scam, the Madhya Pradesh police's
Economic Offence Wing (EOW) is now trailing its guns on bureaucrats whose role
are suspicious in the biggest online heist to favour private bidders in award
of several government contracts that run into more than Rs 3000 crore. EOW
swung into action late and registered an FIR on April 10 much after Congress
occupied power in Madhya Pradesh. And since then it has arrested four persons
and the last being Nand Kumar Bramhe -- a senior officer of State Electric
Development Corporation. Brahme, who was earlier on special duty at MP State
Electronics Development Corporation Ltd, was taken in police custody after he
was produced in a local court. Similarly, three directors of Bhopal-based Osmo
IT Solutions were also arrested on Thursday and were interrogated to find out
the scam was scripted.
EOW
sources stated now the probe would focus on the role of bureaucrats, including
of some IAS officers, who allegedly connived with backhand players and private
bidders to rig encrypted bids. EOW chief KN Tiwari told that a team of
investigators was in Bangalore to investigate Antares -- one of the two service
providers which was assigned the task of application development and
maintenance of the online portal for tender bidding. Tiwari stated that the
probing team would look after the role of the other service provider Tata
Consultancy Services once they piece together how the software was compromised.
The Additional Director General stated that the EOW would not spare bureaucracy
but was waiting for clinching evidence to lay its hands on officials through
whom sneak preview of the bid price was allowed to select few bidders in nine
contracts. In the FIR too while referring to tampering in different tenders,
the EOW hints at the role of state officers by stating that unauthorized use of
'digital signatures of the tender opening authority was part of a criminal
conspiracy due to which e-tender scam took place since 2014.
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SC SEEKS RESPONSE FROM
CHIDAMBARAM'S WIFE, SON KARTI ON IT DEPT PLEA
The
Supreme Court Tuesday sought responses from Congress leader P Chidambaram's
wife Nalini and son Karti on an appeal of the Income Tax department against the
Madras High Court order quashing criminal prosecution against them in an
alleged blackmoney case. A bench headed by the Chief Justice, while issuing
notices to the two, made clear it will not stay the Madras High Court's 2018
order quashing criminal prosecution against the Chidambarams. The issue relates
to alleged non-disclosure of overseas assets and bank accounts held by
Chidambaram's wife, son Karti and daughter-in-law Srinidhi.
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PM NARENDRA MODI FAILED
TO FULFIL PROMISES: RAHUL GANDHI
Rahul
Gandhi Tuesday said he has failed to fulfil the promises made during the last
five years. The promises Modi has given to you, he has not fulfilled. but Anil
Ambani gets Rs 30,000 crore in Rafale deal. Hitting at the Sangh forces, the
AICC chief alleged the country is now under attack from the BJP-RSS and there was
an idealogical fight going on between the BJP on one side and Congress on the
other. No matter how many times you (BJP/RSS) attack us, we will use love and
non-violence to convince you are wrong, he said. Gandhi assured the cashew
farmers in the state that his party, if voted to power, will to take up their
cause. We will start a conversation to help make cashew growing a viable
alternative, he said adding that it was an honour for him to fight elections
from kerala.
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MURLI MANOHAR JOSHI SEEKS EC PROBE INTO CIRCULATION OF FAKE
LETTER IN HIS NAME
Murli Manohar Joshi has sought
an inquiry by the Election Commission into a fake letter being circulated in
his name on social media and critical of the party's leadership and Lok Sabha
poll prospects. The fake letter, addressed to another party veteran L K Advani,
has been in circulation for last few days. Demanding an investigation by the
poll panel, Joshi has written to Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora that
he has not written any such letter. My friends in media called me up and told
me that since a letter addressed by me to L K Advani Ji has been circulated on
social media. I have read the contents of it and I am attaching them with this
letter. I have not sent any such letter to Advani Ji. Kindly, immediately look
into the matter and find the source of the letter, through which it came to
social media, Joshi said. Advani, who has been replaced by the BJP president
Amit Shah in the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat, said earlier this month that his
party has never regarded those who disagreed with it politically as
anti-nationals or enemies but only as adversaries, remarks which came at a time
when top BJP leaders have used anti-national barbs against political rivals on
the issue of national security.
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AFTER SC REFUSES TO STAY MADRAS HC ORDER, TIK TOK SAYS IT HAS
FAITH IN THE INDIAN JUDICIAL SYSTEM
China's Tik Tok, stuck in
a legal tussle after the Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the Madras
High Court order imposing a ban on the app said it has faith in the Indian
Judicial system and the stipulations afforded to social media platforms by the
Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, 2011. The company
said it is committed to 'continuously enhancing its existing measures and
introducing additional technical and moderation processes as part of its
ongoing commitment to its users in India.' The Supreme Court has posted the
matter for the next hearing on April 22 as the case is coming up in the Madras
High Court. As per the proceedings in the Supreme Court, the Madras High Court
will hear the matter on ex parte ad interim order. The Supreme Court has listed
the matter again for April 22, 2019, to be apprised of the outcome of the
hearing on the April 16th, 2019 before the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court In
line with this, we have been stepping up efforts to take down objectionable
content. To date, we have removed over 6 million videos that violated our terms
of use and community guidelines, following an exhaustive review of content
generated by our users in India, the company said.
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RAHUL GANDHI SAYS WILLING TO GIVE 4 SEATS TO AAP, BUT ARVIND
KEJRIWAL MADE A U-TURN
Rahul Gandhi opened up on
the much-debated alliance between his party and Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi
Party in Delhi. Taking to Twitter to put out his stand for the first time since
the discussions on a tie-up began Rahul predicted doom for the Bharatiya Janata
Party in Delhi if the two parties were to join hands for the Lok Sabha
elections in the national capital. An alliance between the Congress & AAP
in Delhi would mean the rout of the BJP. The Congress is willing to give up 4
Delhi seats to the AAP to ensure this, Rahul said on Twitter. He also took a
dig at Delhi CM Kejriwal, squarely putting the blame on the AAP chief for the
impasse in the finalisation of this alliance. But, Mr Kejriwal has done yet
another U-turn! Our doors are still open, but the clock is running out, Rahul
said mincing no words on the flip-flops by the AAP on its alliance with the
Congress. The AAP is believed to have told the Congress that the alliance will
be based on the condition that it gets 18 seats in a tie-up beyond Delhi. On
the AAP’s list of demands is seats in Punjab, Haryana as well as the Chandigarh
seat. However, the Congress wanted to join hands with the AAP only in the
national capital. Both the parties have expressed the desire to come together
to defeat the BJP, which won all seven seats in the last Lok Sabha polls. The
talks for the alliance have been on and off for the last few months. But this
is the first time the Congress president has opened up on proposed alliance.
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CAN YOU BEHAVE HOWEVER YOU WANT?: CHANDRABABU NAIDU QUESTIONS
ECI
Questioning why that 50%
of the voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) cannot be counted, Andhra
Pradesh chief minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president Chandrababu Naidu
on Monday attacked the Election Commission of India (ECI) on malfunctioning of
electronic voting machines (EVM). Just because you are the Election Commission,
can you behave however you want? Naidu questioned, and further demanded that
the ECI respond to the opposition’s demands. Quoting Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Naidu
said that citizens losing their right to vote is a fraud on the constitution of
India and went on to claim that voting had continued till 4.30 am the next day
after the process began on 11 April, due to issues with EVMs. The AP chief
minister even alleged that the date of polling in AP was decided at the behest
of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre. Last time (2014) elections were held
at the end, and now it was held in the first phase itself. So what is the
answer to that? Naidu questioned. Adding that 25 lakh names from the electoral
lists were deleted in the neighbouring Telangana, he demanded an explanation
about it and other discrepancies. Ever since polling ended on 11 April in
Andhra Pradesh, the TDP has been up in arms against the ECI, demanding the
election body to match 50% of the VVPAT with the EVMs. The state had witnessed
issues in certain places wherein polling began late due to problems that
cropped up in the EVMs. Naidu and other TDP leaders also met the chief election
commissioner on 13 April in New Delhi, wherein he submitted a complaint. His
team also met other officials to discuss issues pertaining to EVMs. We are very
clear. There is no other option but to count VVPAT. I am asking what the
problem is in counting 50% of the machines (EVMS, to match with votes with the
VVPAT). The election commission has to answer all this, not for me but for the
voters. What is the benefit of asking people to vote then?, Naidu said. The AP
chief minister has also been alleging that the chief electoral officer (AP),
Gopal Krishna Dwivedi, has been favouring the main opposition YSR Congress
Party, led by its president Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. A day before voting, Naidu
had written him a strongly worded letter and even protested against the CEO,
for being arbitrary.
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‘MOST UNFORTUNATE’: OMAR ABDULLAH AFTER STONE-PELTERS TARGET
MEHBOOBA MUFTI’S MOTORCADE IN ANANTNAG
Mehbooba Mufti’s cavalcade
came under attack from stone-pelters on Monday in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag
district. The incident occured when Mufti was visiting the shrine in the
district to pay obeisance and was returning to Bijbehara, police said. While
Mufti managed to escape unhurt in the incident, her driver sustained injuries
and a spare vehicle that was part of her cavalcade was also damaged, the
officials said. Former chief minister Omar Abdullah came out in solidarity with
Mufti following the incident and condemned it. Taking to Twitter, Abdullah
said, Most unfortunate. We condemn this attack and send our best wishes to her
injured SSG security person for a speedy recovery.
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INDIA HOPES TO AVOID US SANCTIONS OVER RUSSIAN MISSILE DEAL
India is hopeful it will avoid
US sanctions over its purchase of Russia's S-400 missile system, Defence
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told AFP. New Delhi has been heard and understood
by the US administration over its accord to buy the S-400 missile defence
system for $5.2 billion, the minister said in an interview this week. Prime
Minister Narendra Modi made the deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin in
October, defying US warnings of sanctions on countries buying Russian military
equipment. The sanctions were part of measures to punish Moscow for its actions
in Ukraine in 2014. It has also warned NATO member Turkey of sanctions for
buying the S-400, and has suspended Turkey's participation in a US jet
programme. Sitharaman told AFP that Washington has taken on board that India,
bordering both Pakistan and China, needed arms from Russia, and others, to
remain a strong partner. Negotiations with Moscow, a longstanding supplier to
India's military, on the S-400 began before the US sanctions were introduced,
she said. In the case of S-400 we have explained ourselves well. That has been
heard and understood, Sitharaman said. They have appreciated the point of view
put forward. Asked if she was confident that India would avoid sanctions,
Sitharaman said: Yes I hope so.
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FY19 OIL IMPORT BILL COULD BE HIGHEST UNDER NARENDRA MODI
A late surge in oil prices
is expected to increase India's oil import bill to its five-year high. As per
estimates, India could close 2018-19 with crude import bill shooting to $115
billion, a growth of 30 per cent over 2017-18's $88 billion. The latest
estimates are based on increase in global crude oil prices from the second half
of March, when prices reached a new high in 2019. Crude is hovering around $70
a barrel on the back of extended production cuts from the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia, and expectation of demand pick-up. The
latest estimates suggest we could touch or cross $115 billion in oil imports in
FY19. This is the highest level of imports in the five years of the Prime
Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government. The Modi government started with an
import bill of $112.74 billion in FY15. This, however, went down in subsequent
years as the global oil prices crashed, said an official source. However,
contradicting apprehensions, the Oil Ministry's Petroleum Planning and Analysis
Cell (PPAC) in its latest assessment has made a conservative estimate of import
bill growing by 27 per cent from $88 billion in 2017-18 to $112 billion in
2018-19. Interestingly, PPAC's estimates are based on the Indian basket of
crude oil price at $57.77 a barrel and exchange rate at Rs 70.73 against the
dollar. This estimate has long been breached with price of Indian basket of
crude hovering at $70 a barrel. On the rupee front, however, there is some
relief as the currency gained a bit in March after running over Rs 70-71 to a
dollar for most of January and February. The oil import bill at over $115
billion will take it closer to FY13 and FY14 levels, when international oil
prices had skyrocketed and hovered around $100 a barrel for most of the year.
If crude price rises $1 per barrel, the net import bill will increase by Rs
3,029 crore. And if exchange rate rises by Re 1 to a dollar, the net import
bill will increase by Rs 2,473 crore. The PPAC estimate is for January-March
2019. While the recent oil price spike has alarmed the government, the fall in
crude rates led to big savings in FY16 and FY17. India's bill nearly halved to
$64 billion in FY16 for 202.1 million tonnes crude oil shipment, against import
of 189.4 million tonnes for $112.7 billion in the FY15. In FY17, the import
bill, however, rose marginally to around $70 billion. The lower import bill
came on an average crude price of $46.17 a barrel in FY16. In FY17, the average
crude price increased marginally to $47.56 a barrel. The Indian basket of crude
oil averaged $56.43 a barrel in FY18.
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TECHNOLOGY ON INDIA'S SIDE IN BALAKOT OPERATION: IAF CHIEF
Technology was on India's
side in the Balakot air strikes and the results would have been further tilted
in the country's favour if the Rafale jets were inducted on time, Air Chief
Marshal B S Dhanoa said on Monday. In the Balakot operation, we had technology
on our side, and we could launch precision stand of weapons with great
accuracy. In the subsequent engagements, we came out better because we upgraded
our MiG-21s, Bisons, and Mirage-2000 aircraft, he said. The results would have
been further skewed in our favour had we inducted the Rafale aircraft in time,
Dhanoa said.
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WILL BE CARRYING OUT JOINT EXERCISES WITH COAST GUARDS: ARMY
CHIEF
Bipin Rawat on Monday said
that the Army has plans to hold joint exercise with the Indian Coast Guard. We
are inducting some Air Cushion Vehicles (ACVs) and since they (Coast Guard)
have expertise in it, we will be carrying joint training and ultimately joint
exercise along with Coast Guards on how to operate this ACVs inland and along
the coastal area, General Rawat told ANI. He also said that the newly
commissioned Indian Coast Guard Ship ICGS Veera will help the Coast Guard to
monitor the maritime boundaries more effectively and will also add to their
strengths. Coast Guard has been carrying its task in a professional manner and
continuously upgrading their efforts. This happens only when they are provided
additional resources. ICGS Veera which has been commissioned will add to their
strengths, he said.
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INDIA PROTESTS AGAINST US-EU MOVE AT WTO
India, South Africa and
China are among those that have pushed back against a joint US-EU proposal to
call out and punish countries that have not followed notification requirements
under various World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements. The countries feel it
is unfair to impose harsh requirements on developing countries facing deep
capacity constraints, and are reminiscent of colonial era rules. As part of
proposed reforms to the global trade body, the US and EU, along with Japan,
Canada, Australia, Costa Rica, Argentina and Taiwan, on 11 April, sought to
impose stringent notification requirements including financial penalties, on
countries for failure to comply. At the meeting of WTO’s Council on Trade in
Goods (CTG), the US justified the proposal on grounds of chronic low level
compliance with existing notification requirements under many WTO agreements
(by members). It seeks to allow a counter-notification of another member
concerning notification obligations. Under this practice, deemed controversial
by many countries, a WTO member can issue a counter-notification against a
member, claiming the latter had breached its commitments under that specific
WTO-agreement. Recently, the US had filed counter notifications claiming New
Delhi’s subsidy schemes, especially minimum support prices for rice, wheat and
cotton, breached India’s scheduled subsidy commitments to the WTO. India,
however, rejected the US stand saying it was based on flawed assumptions and
erroneous practices. The counter-notification by the US on Indian grains and
cotton was based on data from American farm lobbies, which reckon India as a
major threat to its subsidized-exports to countries, said a trade envoy, who
asked not to be named. The sponsors also proposed administrative measures in
case a member fails to provide a required notification by the deadline provided
under an agreement. These would kick in after a member fails to provide
notifications within one year of the deadline, and would include barring
representatives of the erring country from presiding over WTO bodies and even
financial penalties. Administrative measures will also include naming and
shaming provisions such as the Member shall be designated as a Member with
notification delay; representatives of the Member will be called upon in WTO
formal meetings after all other Members have taken the floor, before any
observers; and when the Member with notification delay takes the floor in the
General Council, it will be identified as such. In an overwhelming rejection of
the proposal many developing countries rallied around India and South Africa,
saying there was no place for such a proposal in the 164-member
inter-governmental trade body.
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NO GRUDGES IF INDIA DECIDES TO SKIP BRI FORUM: CHINA
China on Monday said it
won't hold a grudge against India if it skipped the second edition of the Belt
and Road Initiative (BRI) forum, an event related to the multi-billion dollar
connectivity project, to be held this month. Beijing also said even though some
countries have wrongly judged the project, the growing support for the
initiative spoke volumes. Like 2017, India may boycott the forum, citing its
opposition to the key artery of the project that passes through the
Pakistan-administered-Kashmir. Last month, Indian envoy to China Vikram Misri
had said New Delhi could not be the part of any initiative that ignored its
sovereignty and territorial integrity. He was referring to the China-Pakistan
Economic Corridor (CPEC), the BRI's crown jewel. Whether the Indian side will
participate in the BRI forum, I think you need to ask India for more specific
answer. I would like to re-emphasise that the BRI is proposed by China, but
it's already an international public good, Chinese Foreign Ministry
spokesperson Lu Kang said. As for the Indian comment on not participating in
the BRI for various reasons, I would like to say the BRI is an open and
inclusive economic cooperation initiative and does not involve territorial and
maritime dispute, Lu said referring to Misri's remark.
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INDIA, ASEAN VOW TO STEP UP TIES IN MARITIME SECTOR, BOOST
CONNECTIVITY
India and ASEAN have resolved
to strengthen ties by deepening cooperation in the maritime sector and boosting
connectivity. The ASEAN-India SOM reviewed the strategic partnership and its
future direction. It assessed the progress of cooperation under all three
pillars -- political-security, economic and socio-cultural, the MEA said. The
SOM leaders also exchanged views on regional and international issues of
interest to ASEAN and India. They agreed to deepen maritime cooperation as
decided at the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit 2018. In this context, they
proposed to undertake a variety of measures, including enhanced cooperation in
the sub-sector of Blue Economy, the MEA said. It was decided at the meeting to
give an impetus to ASEAN-India connectivity in all its forms. The two sides
also discussed the ways and means to further deepen cooperation on financial
matters as well as overall strengthening of the ASEAN Secretariat. The two
sides also vowed to step up cooperation in renewable energy and hold an
ASEAN-India Conference on Renewable Energy in 2019. The Energy and Resources
Institute (TERI) and the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) would be the co-partners
for this project.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
US DENOUNCES COERCION AS CHINA CONDUCTS DRILLS NEAR TAIWAN
Chinese bombers and
warships conducted drills around Taiwan on Monday, the latest military
manoeuvres near the self-ruled island that a senior U.S. official denounced as
coercion and a threat to stability in the region. The United States has no
formal ties with Taiwan but is bound by law to help provide the island with the
means to defend itself and is its main source of arms. China has stepped up
pressure on Taiwan, whose President Tsai Ing-wen Beijing suspects of pushing
for the island's formal independence, a red line for China which has never
renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control. Any attempt to
influence Taiwan through threats or coercion, we believe, destabilises the
region and threatens stability in the Taiwan Strait, James Moriarty, said. China's
People's Liberation Army said its warships, bombers and reconnaissance aircraft
had conducted necessary drills around Taiwan on Monday, though it described
them as routine. China has repeatedly carried out what it calls island
encirclement patrols in the past few years. Tsai, who says she wants to
maintain the status quo with China but will defend Taiwan's security and
democracy, said at the ceremony that China has been ramping up military threats
against Taiwan.
#For Source of Information copy and paste the heading in google.
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
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