Archives for 2022

Mumbai: A day after the Centre reduced excise duty on fuel, the Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government on Sunday reduced the Value Added Tax (VAT) on per litre petrol by Rs 2.08 and diesel by Rs 1.44.

A statement issued by the government said the state exchequer will have to bear an annual loss of Rs 2,500 crore as a result of this decision.

After reducing the VAT on fuel, the per month revenue from petrol will come down by Rs 80 crore, while that from diesel by Rs 125 crore, it said.

The central government on Saturday announced a record Rs 8 per litre cut in excise duty on petrol and Rs 6 reduction on diesel.

Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said the reduction in VAT on fuel done by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was inadequate and termed it as a “cruel joke” played on the people.

“An announcement which suits the economic condition of Maharashtra was expected. Our share in the country’s GDP is 15 per cent. The central government was bearing a financial burden of Rs 2,20,000 crore and the state should have borne at least 10 per cent of the burden,” the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly said.

While other state governments were giving relief of Rs 7 to Rs 10 per litre, the Maharashtra government announced a VAT reduction of only Rs 1.5 and Rs 2, he said.

“This is a cruel joke on the people. The government should have shown a large heart,” the former chief minister added.

Kolkata, May 22: In a jolt to the saffron camp in West Bengal, BJP MP Arjun Singh on Sunday rejoined the Trinamool Congress, ending weeks of speculation over his possible switchover to the ruling party.

Singh was welcomed into the party by TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee at his office in south Kolkata.

“Warmly welcoming former Vice President of @BJP4Bengal and MP from Barrackpore, Shri @ArjunsinghWB into the All India Trinamool Congress family. He joins us today in the presence of our National General Secretary Shri @abhishekaitc,” the TMC said on its official Twitter handle.

Singh, one of the prominent Hindi-speaking leaders of the TMC, had joined the saffron camp just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2019 and went on to win from the Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat.

New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir pace sensation Umran Malik on Sunday earned an expected call-up in the Indian team for the upcoming five-match T20 International home series against South Africa starting June 9.

Umran has picked up 21 wickets in 13 games for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL but it’s his ability to bowl consistently at 95 miles per hour that has caught the imagination of all and sundry with calls for his immediate selection in top-flight cricket.

Along with Umran, Punjab Kings’ death overs specialist Arshdeep Singh has also earned his maiden national call-up.

As reported on July 14 by PTI, regular captain Rohit Sharma, star batter Virat Kohli, pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami have all been rested for the white-ball series in which Rishabh Pant will be the vice-captain.

Rohit, Kohli, Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will all fly to England on June 15 for the one-off Test against England at Edgbaston from July 1-5 and will be joined by Cheteshwar Pujara, who has earned a recall to the 17-member Indian Test team after a stupendous show in English County Championship for Sussex.

Ditto for all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who has successfully led new franchise Gujarat Titans into IPL play-offs and has been consistent with the bat, besides bowling a few overs at brisk pace.

Umran pips Mohsin among bowlers but Tripathi misses out

While former players and experts have all spoken in unison about Umran’s selection in the national team, it wouldn’t have been a cakewalk had Lucknow Super Giants pacer Mohsin Khan been fully fit.

While Umran has 21 wickets (before Sunday’s game), most of which came in the first phase when batters were getting used to his pace, it is understood that the selectors were far more impressed with Uttar Pradesh left-armer Mohsin, who has 13 wickets from 8 matches at an astounding economy rate of 5.93 compared to Umran’s 8.93 in 13 games.

However, Mohsin’s dodgy hamstring made the decision easier for Chetan Sharma’s committee, which also picked Arshdeep especially for his death overs bowling for Punjab Kings.

Arshdeep bowls at early to mid 130’s and has only 10 wickets in 13 games (before Sunday’s game) but his ability to bowl the change-ups along with wide yorkers and deliveries in the block-hole has earned him a place in the squad.

Arshdeep was with Indian team as net bowler in an away series against Sri Lanka last year while Umran was in the UAE, assisting the national team during T20 World Cup.

The selectors more or less picked up players who have played in last two T20I series for India with Dinesh Karthik, at 36 years of age and 18 years after he first played for India, making his umpteenth comeback.

Karthik’s inclusion will certainly put Rishabh Pant under a bit of pressure as both are designated middle-order finishers unlike third keeping option Ishan Kishan, who is a specialist opener. As per indication in the team sheet, Karthik is second keeper and Ishan is a pure batter.

If there was one player, who would feel a bit let-down, it has to be Rahul Tripathi, who, before Sunday, had scored 393 runs at a strike-rate of above 160 and had three fifty plus-scores to his credit.

Tripathi, who has been consistent in the IPL, may get his chance sometime during the season but he might feel hard done by, considering Suryakumar Yadav was left out due to hand injury.

Hardik back in the mix, Venkatesh remains back-up

In the case of Hardik Pandya, it was never a question of how he will make a comeback for one of India’s guaranteed game-changers but as to when that recall will come.

The Gujarat Titans skipper scored 413 runs in 13 games at a strike-rate of 131-plus but more importantly bowled nearly 25 overs (24.3 overs), which is around a couple of overs per game.

He worked up good pace, got a few wickets but more importantly will give Rohit a sixth bowling option going into the World T20 in Australia.

India’s spin department for the T20I series also looks menacing with three wrist spinners — Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi and Yuzvendra Chahal — in the mix along with left-arm orthodox Axar Patel.

Pujara back in Test squad after bagful of County runs

The 34-year-old Pujara scored 720 runs in five Division two games for Sussex, which included two double hundreds and two hundreds, which forced the selection committee to give him a call-up for the ‘fifth’ Test of the last series. The squad doesn’t have any new face from the one that was picked last year.

Prasidh Krishna, who had been drafted into the Test squad during the course of last series, is back while KS Bharath is now the official second keeper in Tests after 37-year-old Wriddhiman Saha was shown the door earlier this year.

Shreyas Iyer and Hanuma Vihari, who have done well for India in the little chances that they got, are there.

India’s Test squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain) Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohd Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Prasidh Krishna.

India’s T20I squad: KL Rahul (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (vice-captain)(wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik.

Bengaluru: Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar on Sunday rejected reports about differences between him and Congress Legislature party leader Siddaramaiah regarding the recommendations made by the state unit on candidates to the party high command for the upcoming MLC polls.

With May 24 being the last date to file nominations for the polls to seven seats of the Karnataka Legislative Council to be elected by MLAs, he said the state unit has sent its recommendations on candidates to the party high command and the decision will be out soon.

“The tradition in the Congress party is, we share our opinion (with the high command). Over 100 aspirants had applied or desired, few others did not apply but have the required qualification. We have sent in our recommendation considering all those, and the high command will take the final decision,” Shivakumar said.

Speaking to reporters here, he said the state unit only sends the recommendation but does not take sides as to who should be given the ticket.

To a question on reports about him and Siddaramaiah not being on the same page regarding the recommendations, the KPCC chief said both of them have discussed and unanimously sent in the proposals.

“There are only two seats, how many names can we give? So considering all aspects, we have sent in names. The high command will decide,” he added.

The election which will be held on June 3, is necessitated as the term of office of seven members is going to expire on June 14.

The seats will be falling vacant, due to the retirement of MLCs — Laxman Sangappa Savadi and Lahar Singh Siroya of BJP; Ramappa Timmapur, Allum Veerabhadrappa, Veena Achaiah S of Congress; and H M Ramesha Gowda and Narayana Swamy K V of JD(S).

According to official sources, in this election, each MLC candidate will require a minimum of 29 votes to win, and on the basis of minimum votes required and tallying it with the strength of each party in the Legislative Assembly, the BJP will be able win four seats, Congress two and JD(S) one.

The ruling BJP and JD(S) too have not announced their candidates yet.

The Karnataka BJP unit is said to have recommended the names of former chief minister B S Yediyurappa’s son B Y Vijayendra, former deputy chief minister Laxman Savadi (one among retiring MLCs), state vice-president M Rajendra, general secretary Mahesh Tenginkai, SC Morcha president Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, former MLCs M B Bhanuprakash and Siddaraju and Mahila Morcha president Geetha Vivekananda, among others as candidates for MLC seats to their central leadership.

Stating that there is pressure with regards to tickets for the June 10 Rajya Sabha polls, Shivakumar said, “We have brought to the notice of the high command as to how many seats BJP and JD(S) can win.”

“…we will see, all options are still open. We will decide based on the directions of the high command. Whether to field candidate for (an extra seat) or to remain quiet or to support others,” he said, adding that the party is also keeping a watch on actions of the BJP and JD(S).

To a question about several state leaders including him having an opinion that someone from Karnataka should get Rajya Sabha ticket keeping the 2023 assembly polls in mind, he said, with regards to Rajya Sabha, decisions are always made by the high command in the interest of the party.

The election to four Rajya Sabha seats is necessitated as the term of office of members — Nirmala Sitharaman (Union Finance Minister) and K C Ramamurthy of BJP, and Jairam Ramesh and late Oscar Fernandes of Congress — is due to expire on June 30. The last date of filing nominations is May 31.

A candidate needs 45 votes to win in this RS election, and based on the current party position in the Legislative Assembly, the BJP can win two and Congress one, official sources said, adding that the JD(S) can win one provided it gets the support of either one of the parties.

According to sources, while, Congress may once again field Jairam Ramesh from the state, the ruling BJP is said to have recommended ticket for Nirmala Sitharaman to get re-elected, while the names of outgoing Rajya Sabha member K C Ramamurthy, outgoing MLC Lehar Singh Siroya, Nirmal Kumar Surana and entrepreneur Prakash Shetty are doing the rounds for the second seat.

New Delhi: Three members of a family were found dead on late Saturday evening inside a flat in southwest Delhi’s Vasant Vihar area, police said.

On Saturday at 8.55 pm, police received information that flat number 207 of Vasant Apartment in Vasant Vihar was locked from inside and the persons inside the house were not responding, a senior police officer said.

Police managed to open the door and found that the gas cylinder was partially opened in the house and there was a suicide note too, the officer said.

As the police entered the house, they found a note which read, “Too much deadly gas… carbon monoxide inside. It’s flammable. Please ventilate the room by opening the window and opening the fan. Do not light match, candle or anything!! Be careful while removing the curtain because room is full of hazardous gas. Do not inhale.”

On checking the inner room, three bodies were found lying on the bed and three small ‘angithi’ were kept in the room. It is presumed that they have died due to suffocation, Deputy Commissioner of Police (southwest) Manoj C said.

The deceased have been identified as Manju and her daughters Anshika and Anku, police said.

Manju’s husband had died in April last year due to coronavirus and since then the family was in depression, and she was also bed ridden due to illness, police said.

New Delhi: On an average, 29 children in Madhya Pradesh and 14 in Rajasthan went missing every day in 2021, according to a new report of child rights NGO CRY, which revealed that there was a significant increase in the number of missing children cases in four major states of north India.

Also, five children went missing per day in Delhi in 2021 in eight police districts, according to the “Status Report on Missing Children” report of Child Rights and You (CRY), which also said on an average, eight children — six girls and two boys — went missing per day from 58 districts of Uttar Pradesh.

The report revealed that the number of missing girls in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan was reported five times higher than that of boys in 2021.

While 8,751 cases of missing children were registered in Madhya Pradesh and 3,179 in Rajasthan (National Crime Records Bureau, 2020), the figures increased to 10,648 in Madhya Pradesh and 5,354 in Rajasthan in 2021, as revealed by the state governments in response to RTI applications filed by the CRY’s partner organisations.

The data received from Madhya Pradesh shows that the number of missing girls over a period of 11 months is about five times higher than that of the boys.

The data collected through RTI applications shows that the top five districts in terms of number of missing children are Indore, Bhopal, Dhar, Jabalpur and Rewa.

“On an average, 29 children, including 24 girls and five boys, went missing per day from Madhya Pradesh,” the report said.

A total of 2,998 children — 835 boys and 2,163 girls — were reported missing in Uttar Pradesh in 2021 (data of 58 of the 75 districts). About 88.9 per cent of the children reported missing in the state belonged to the age group of 12-18 years.

The data shows that the top five districts in Uttar Pradesh in terms of number of missing children are Lucknow, Moradabad, Kanpur Nagar, Meerut and Maharajganj.

The report said five children went missing per day in Delhi in 2021 in the districts for which data was available and a total of 1,641 children were reported missing in eight districts of the national capital in 2021. About 85 per cent of the children reported missing in Delhi were aged 12-18 years.

According to the records made available, the number of missing children in 2021 is the highest for North East district and the lowest for South East district. The maximum number of children in the 12-18 age group went missing from North East district. The data for West, North West and South districts was not provided.

In Rajasthan, a total of 5,354 children — 4,468 girls and 886 boys — went missing.

“On an average, 14 children, including 12 girls and two boys, went missing each day in Rajasthan,” it said.

The data indicated an increase of around 26 per cent in the number of cases of missing children in Madhya Pradesh and a 41-per cent rise in Rajasthan as compared to 2020.

Moreover, of the 2,222 children trafficked in 2020, Rajasthan accounted for the highest number of cases (815 or 36.6 per cent), the report said.

For Uttar Pradesh, data was provided for only 58 districts. Similarly, data for all the police districts was not provided in Delhi. For Haryana, there was no response to the RTI applications.

The report also said the proportion of girl children in the total number of missing children rose from about 65 per cent in 2016 to 77 per cent in 2020 at the all-India level.

This was the trend for all the five states with the exception of Haryana in 2018, when the proportion of girl children in the total number of missing children dipped slightly. Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are the two states with the highest proportion of girl children in the total number of missing children, it said.

“In Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, among the children who went missing in 2021, more than 83 per cent were girls. In absolute numbers, Madhya Pradesh reported 8,876 cases of missing girls, while Rajasthan reported 4,468 cases of missing girls last year. It is a matter of grave concern that the trend of girls constituting a significantly higher proportion of missing children has persisted for the last five years,” said Soha Moitra, the regional director of CRY (North).

“The in-depth analysis of the NCRB data done in this status report also suggests that the proportion of girl children in the total number of missing children has increased from about 65 per cent in 2016 to 77 per cent in 2020 at the all-India level. This has been the trend across all the four states, with Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan accounting for the highest proportion of girl children among all the missing children,” Moitra said.

She said the phenomenon of missing girls constituting the larger portion of missing children could have been driven by an increased demand for domestic helps, commercial sex work and girls themselves running away due to domestic violence, abuse and neglect.

“The numbers of missing boys are also of a grave concern as the demand for child labour has increased due to the shortage of cheap labour in the unorganised sector during the (COVID-19) pandemic,” Moitra said.

Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai (File Photo)

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday announced Rs 5 lakh each to the family of those killed in a road accident in Dharwad district.

Nine persons, including three children were killed, while 12 others were injured when a tempo taxi in which they were travelling hit a roadside tree near Baad village in Dharwad, in the early hours of Saturday.

“On the request of Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, Rs 5 lakh each will be given from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to the family of nine people who died in a road accident at Baad village in Dharwad. This accident was unfortunate, I pray for peace to the deceased souls,” Bommai said on Twitter.

Joshi is Member of Parliament from Dharwad constituency.

The injured were admitted to the Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences and Civil Hospital in Dharwad for treatment.

Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan (Photo: PTI)

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government on Sunday described the Centre reducing taxes on petroleum products as ‘partial’ and said “it is neither fair nor reasonable to expect States to reduce their taxes.”

Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan said the central government had never consulted states when it increased the taxes and that his state was already incurring loss of over Rs 1,000 crore due to the earlier tax cut announced by the union government in November 2021.

Despite the tax reduction announced on Saturday, the rates were still high compared to 2014, he pointed out.

“It is pertinent to point out that the Union had never consulted the States when they increased the taxes on petrol and diesel multiple times. The exorbitant increase in taxes by the Union Government has been only partially reduced through their cuts and the taxes continue to be high as compared to the 2014 rates.”

“Therefore, it is neither fair nor reasonable to expect States to reduce their taxes,” he said in a statement, in response to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing a reduction in excise duty on petrol by a record Rs 8 per litre and that on diesel by Rs 6.

Thiagarajan further said it was ‘heartening’ to note the Centre has “finally heeded the repeated requests of the Tamil Nadu government to reduce the taxes on petrol and diesel, which were egregiously increased by the Union Government from 2014 to 2021.”

He recalled the MK Stalin-led DMK government effecting a VAT reduction in August 2021, that resulted in a Rs 3 per litre cut in the price of petrol.

This resulted in an annual revenue loss of Rs 1,160 crore to the state government but this was done to benefit the people despite the financial strain inherited from the previous AIADMK government.

“The Union Government’s levies on petrol have gone up substantially in the past 7 years. Though the revenue to the Union Government has increased manifold, there has not been a matching increase in the revenues to states. This is because the Union Government has increased the cess and surcharge on petrol and diesel while reducing the basic excise duty that is shareable with the States,” he averred.

On August 1, 2014 central taxes were Rs 9.48 per litre on petrol and Rs 3.57 per litre on diesel.

Prior to the reduction of taxes on petrol and diesel by the Union Government in November 2021, the levy of tax, including cesses and surcharges on petrol was Rs 32.90 per litre and Rs 31.80 per litre on diesel.

“This was reduced to Rs 27.90 per litre for petrol and Rs 21.80 per litre for diesel. Now, it has further been reduced to Rs 19.90 per litre for petrol and Rs 15.80 per litre for diesel,” he said.

Though the Centre had reduced the taxes, it was still ‘higher’ than the 2014 rates by Rs 10.42 per litre for petrol and Rs 12.23 for diesel.

“Therefore, there is a strong case for the Union Government to further reduce its taxes,” the minister argued.

While the November 2021 tax reduction by the Centre had resulted in Tamil Nadu incurring an annual revenue loss of Rs 1,050 crore, the latest one will cause a further loss of Rs 800 crore a year, Thiagarajan said.

This will put a huge strain on the finances of the states.

“Though this government inherited a precarious fiscal position from the previous dispensation and incurred additional expenditure towards Covid-19 relief activities, it reduced the taxes on petrol in a few months after assuming office, for the welfare of the people. Tamil Nadu, despite its limited taxation powers, has taken proactive measures to reduce the tax burden on the people of the State,” he noted.

Responding to the Minister’s remarks that states were not consulted by Centre before increasing fuel prices, BJP Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai wondered if such was the practice during the earlier UPA regime, in which the DMK was a key constituent.

“For ten years, DMK was in UPA and its members were ministers (at the Centre). Did then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh call up all state CMs every time the Congress government hiked prices of petrol and diesel?” he asked.

Speaking to reporters here, he gave a “72 hour” ultimatum to the ruling DMK to implement its poll promise on fuel price cuts and alleged it has been misleading the people of the state over the issue for the past one year. 

Siddharthnagar (UP): An SUV carrying a marriage party rammed into a stationary truck here killing eight people and injuring three, police said on Sunday.

The incident occurred around 1 am near Katya village in the Jogia Udaypur area. The SUV was returning to Mahla village from a wedding ceremony at Mahuwara in Shivnagar, they said.

Of the 11 people travelling in the car, four died on the spot and others were rushed to a hospital, where four more died during treatment.

Those killed have been identified as Sachin Pal (16), Mukesh Pal (35), Lalaram Paswan (26), Shiv Sagar (18), Ravi Paswan (19), Pintu Gupta (25), Ram Baran (35), and driver Gaurav Maurya (22), police said.

Ram Baran was admitted to the medical college in Gorakhpur where he died.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives in the accident and announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the kin of the deceased.

“The road accident in Siddharthnagar, Uttar Pradesh, is very painful. My condolences are with the bereaved families. May God give them the strength to bear this immense sorrow,” Modi was quoted as saying by his office.

The prime minister also wished a speedy recovery to all the injured.

“The prime minister has announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each from PMNRF for the next of kin of those who lost their lives in an accident in Siddharthnagar, UP. The injured would be given Rs 50,000 each,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a tweet.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also condoled the death and directed officials to ensure the best treatment for the injured.

Hoshiarpur: A six-year-old boy on Sunday fell into a 100-feet deep borewell in Behrampur village near Garhdiwala here, said officials.

They said a rescue operation is underway.

The boy was playing in a field and climbed a borewell shaft when some stray dogs started chasing him.

The borewell shaft was covered with a jute bag and could not withstand the weight of the boy and gave in causing him to fall into the well. The boy belongs to a family of migrant labourers.

Teams of district administration including a Deputy Commissioner have reached the site. A team of the National Disaster Response Force has also been called, said officials.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the rescue operation was underway and he was in constant touch with the district administration.

A 6-year-old boy Hrithik fell into a borewell in Hoshiarpur. District administration and local MLA were there and rescue operation is underway. I am in constant touch with the administration, said Mann in a tweet.