Earlier the deadline for the Aadhaar-PAN linkage was September 30 which was extended to December 31. 

NEW DELHI: The date of linking Permanent Account Number (PAN) with Aadhaar has been extended from December 31, 2019, to March 31, 2020.

A notification from the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said: “In exercise of the powers conferred under sub-section (2) of section 139AA of the Income Tax Act, 1961, the Central Government hereby amends the notification of the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue), dated 28th September 2019 published in the Gazette of India.”

Earlier the deadline for the Aadhaar-PAN linkage was September 30 which was extended to December 31. 

The CEO Office here had recently said that Delhi will be the first state/UT in which a booth app shall be used in every polling station for the first time in the country.

NEW DELHI: Technology will be an important component in the upcoming Delhi polls as voters’ slips will carry QR code to facilitate electors and speed up their identification, officials said on Monday.

The CEO Office here had recently said that Delhi will be the first state/UT in which a booth app shall be used in every polling station for the first time in the country.

“This latest technological innovation will make the poll process fast through the use of QR (Quick Response) Code reading of voter slips of electors,” a senior official said.

This provision will help in faster identification of electors.

The app will give the status of electors waiting in the queue to the public, who can plan their visit to the polling station accordingly for their convenience.

Booth app will also give voter turnout on a real-time basis on polling day, the official said.

Sources said, a proposal is also being considered to allow carrying mobile phones to booths to download QR code from the voters’ helpline app if a voter forgets to bring the slip, adding, the phone after scanning the generated QR code would be deposited in a locker before casting of vote.

It is just a proposal as of now, a source said.

To make election accessible, there will be the provision of Braille EPIC, Braille photo voter slip, ramp, wheelchair, volunteers, sign language and pick and drop’ facilities etc., for voters with a disability.

The facility is in addition to the other basic amenities at polling stations, officials said.

Aurangabad: NCP MLA from Beed district in Maharashtra, Prakash Solanke, on Monday night announced that he would resign as the member of the Legislative Assembly, as he is “unworthy to do politics”.

Solanke, who got elected from Majalgaon seat on four occasions, denied any link between his sudden decision and his non-induction in the state Cabinet, which was expanded on Monday.

He, however, added that the expansion of the Cabinet has proved that “I am unworthy to do politics”. “I am going to resign on Tuesday and stay away from politics now.

The MLA further said he was not unhappy with any leader in his party.

“I have apprised NCP leaders about my decision to step down. I will meet Legislative Assembly Speaker (in Mumbai) on Tuesday afternoon and hand over my resignation letter. My resignation has nothing to do with the Cabinet expansion,” he clarified.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray expanded his council of ministers by inducting 36 ministers, including NCP leader Ajit Pawar who was sworn in as deputy chief minister.

In the 288-member Assembly, the NCP has 54 MLAs after the Shiv Sena which has 56 members.

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday moved a resolution in the state Assembly demanding the scrapping of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

Though the one-day special session was convened to ratify the extension of the reservation for SC and ST in the Assembly and the Parliament for another decade, the resolution against CAA was also taken up in view of the the widespread concerns among public in this regard, official sources said.

While presenting the resolution, Vijayan said the CAA was against the “secular” outlook and fabric of the country and would lead to religion- based discrimination in granting citizenship.

“The Act contradicts the basic values and principles of the Constitution.

In view of the anxiety among the people of the country, the Centre should take steps to drop the CAA and uphold the secular outlook of the Constitution,” he said.

Noting that the Act had triggered widespread protests among various stratas of society, the Chief Minister said it had dented India’s image in front of the international community.

Vijayan also ensured the Assembly that there wont be any detention centres in the southern state.

When the session began, O Rajagopal, the lone BJP member in the Assembly, objected to the resolution stating that it was “illegal” as both Houses of the Parliament had passed the CAA Act.

The Opposition Congress -led UDF had demanded the Left government to convene a special session and pass a resolution against the CAA during an all-party meeting convened by the Chief Minister on December 29 to discuss the issue.

Shiv Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece ‘Saamna’ that it is unfortunate that Fadnavis decided to boycott the swearing-in of the council of ministers.

MUMBAI: A day after the BJP skipped the Uddhav Thackeray-led ministry’s expansion ceremony, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday slammed its former ally for constantly hitting out at the fledgling Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi alliance government “just for the sake of opposing”.

The Shiv Sena said now that the state has a “full government”, the opposition should show magnanimity by allowing the Thackeray-led dispensation to function.

By unnecessarily targeting the Thackeray government from day one, former state chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and the opposition BJP have made a “mockery of themselves” in the eyes of the people, it said in sarcastic remarks.

“Now after a month, the state has a full government of 43 ministers and Fadnavis should not try to bring bad omen. Fadnavis and his party should not try to oppose the government just for the sake of opposing,” the Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’.

Monday’s expansion, which raised the strength of the state ministry to 43, came over a month after the Thackeray- led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government came to power.

The chief minister expanded his Cabinet by inducting 36 ministers, including his son Aaditya Thackeray and some Gen-next leaders from political families, while NCP’s Ajit Pawar made a comeback as deputy CM.

The Marathi daily said the council of ministers has the capability of expediting the development of the state.

It is unfortunate that Fadnavis decided to boycott the swearing-in of the council of ministers.

Even in the winter session of the state legislature in Nagpur, the opposition created pandemonium and staged walkouts, it said.

“Now, the state has a full government. The opposition should show the magnanimity of allowing the government to function,” the Thackeray-led party said.

The BJP earlier this month boycotted the MVA government’s tea party on the eve of the winter session in Nagpur, and on Monday skipped the ministry expansion ceremony.

The Shiv Sena last month joined hands with the Congress and NCP, its traditional adversaries, after its alliance with the BJP collapsed over the issue of sharing the chief ministerial post.

On November 28, six minsters, two each of the Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena took oath along with Thackeray.

The Sena said in the last one month, the six-member ministry successfully handled the winter session of the state legislature and took important decisions like farm loan waiver and meal at Rs 10 for poor people.

“When the country was facing unrest due to protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, the six-member ministry kept the state calm,” the Marathi publication said.

It also said that due to the induction of Sena allies like Bachchu Kadu (of Prahar Janshakti Party), Shankarrao Gadakh (Krantikari Shetkari Paksh) and Rajendra Yedravkar (Independent), many Shiv Sainiks could not make it to the ministry.

Apart from the opposition BJP, Sena MP Sanjay Raut also skipped the ministry expansion ceremony on Monday.

Raut’s absence was attributed to his brother Sunil Raut, a Sena MLA, not getting a ministerial berth.

Referring to the induction of the chief minister’s son and first-term MLA Aaditya Thackeray into the Cabinet, the Sena said he had plans for sectors like education, health, sports, tourism and environment, and now has the opportunity to work as minister.

he first quake with a magnitude of 4.7 hit at 10:42 pm, followed by one measuring 5.5 six minutes later.

NEW DELHI: Four medium intensity tremors with magnitudes ranging between 4.7 and 5.5 hit Jammu and Kashmir in a span of less than two hours on Monday night, the National Centre for Seismology said.

The first quake with a magnitude of 4.7 hit at 10:42 pm, followed by one measuring 5.5 six minutes later.

The two occurred at a depth of 10 kilometres.

The third quake measuring 4.6 hit at 10:58 pm, followed by the fourth one at 11:20 pm with a magnitude of 5.4.

The third and fourth quakes occurred at the depth of 36 kilometres and 63 kilometres respectively.

There were no immediate reports of casualty and damage to properties.

Separately, a quake with a magnitude of 5 hit the Andaman and Nicobar islands at 10:29 pm.

Jammu and Kashmir and Andaman and Nicobar islands witness high seismological activities.