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Archives for September 2024

GST Council sets up GoM on reduction in GST on health insurance cuts rate on cancer drugs

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GST Council sets up GoM on reduction in GST on health insurance; cuts rate on cancer drugs
Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman chairs the 54th meeting of the GST Council

New Delhi: GST Council headed by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday decided to set up a Group of Ministers (GoM) on reducing tax rate on life and health insurance and cut GST on cancer drugs and namkeens.

Briefing reporters on the outcome of the 54th GST Council meeting, Sitharaman said it has decided to have a Group of Ministers (GoM) to look into the GST rate on life and health insurance.

The GoM will be headed by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, who is currently heading the panel on GST rate rationalisation.

Sitharaman said that new members would be joining the GoM to look into GST on health insurance.

The GoM will be submitting its report by October end, she said.

The issue of taxation of insurance premiums had figured in Parliament discussions with Opposition members demanding that health and life insurance premiums be exempt from the GST. Even Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari wrote to Sitharaman on the issue.

Sitharaman in her reply to a discussion on the Finance Bill had said that 75 per cent of the GST collected goes to states and the Opposition members should ask their state finance ministers to bring the proposal at the GST Council.

The GST Council in its meeting on Monday also decided to cut tax rates on cancer drugs to 5 per cent from 12 per cent and namkeens from 18 per cent to 12 per cent.

Sitharaman further said that a GoM will also be constituted to deal with the issue concerning compensation cess which will cease after March 2026.

The Council also deliberated on the GoM’s status report on rate rationalisation and online gaming.

The minister further said that a committee of secretaries headed by Additional Secretary (Revenue) will be formed on the IGST which is currently facing a negative balance. It will look into ways to retrieve the money from states.

Russian spy whale in Norway wasn’t shot to death

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Russian 'spy whale' in Norway wasn't shot to death: Police
Hvaldimir, the alleged Russian spy whale spotted in Norway

Copenhagen (Denmark): There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said on Monday.

The tame beluga, which was first spotted in 2019 not far from Russian waters with a harness reading “Equipment St. Petersburg”, was found floating at the Risavika Bay in southern Norway on August 31.

Experts examined the carcass at a nearby harbour, after lifting it with a crane.

Animal advocate groups OneWhale and NOAH last week filed a police report saying that the animal’s wounds suggested it was intentionally killed. OneWhale founder Regina Haug said when she saw the carcass, she “immediately knew he had been killed by gunshots”.

That’s not the conclusion so far from veterinarians.

Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as “Hvaldimir”, combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,” police said in a statement.

Most of the animal’s visible wounds were “completely superficial” with one of them “somewhat deeper” but not fatal or affecting vital organs, police said. An x-ray found no projectiles and no indication that the wounds could have been caused by gunshots, the statement said.

However, a stick about 35 centimeters (14 inches) long and 3 centimeters (1 inch) wide was found wedged in the animal’s mouth, and its stomach was empty and its organs had broken down, police said. No further details were given.

“There is nothing in the investigations that have been carried out to establish that it is human activity that has directly led to Hvaldimir’s death,” said Preede Revheim, head of the North Sea and environment section of the police in South Western Norway.

Revheim said that police will not be actively investigating the case and that the final autopsy report will released later this month.

The two animal rights groups said on Monday they’re not satisfied with the preliminary results and want the police investigation to continue, offering 50,000 kroner (USD 4,661) for any tips that could reopen the case.

The 4.2-metre (14-foot) long and 1,225-kilogram (2,700-pound) whale was first spotted by fishermen near the northern island of Ingoeya, not far from the Arctic town of Hammerfest.

Its harness, along with what appeared to be a mount for a small camera, led to media speculation that it was a “spy whale”. Over the years since 2019, it was seen in several Norwegian coastal towns and it became clear it was very tame and enjoyed interacting with people.

Experts say the Russian navy is known to have trained whales for military purposes. Media reports also have speculated that the whale might have been trained as a therapy animal.

Uttarakhand signboards row: Civil society group writes to CM over discrimination against Muslims

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Uttarakhand signboards row: Civil society group writes to CM over 'discrimination' against Muslims

New Delhi: In the wake of objectionable signboards appearing at the entrances of villages in several areas of Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag, a civil society group comprising several retired civil servants and academics on Monday wrote to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami against alleged discrimination targeting Muslims.

Villagers in several areas of Rudraprayag district have put up signboards at the entrances of their villages, prohibiting the entry of outsiders.

Signboards had been put up in villages such as Sirsi, Rampur-Nyalsu, and others. Initially, the boards stated a ban on “non-Hindus”, but the phrasing was later changed to “ban on outsiders” following police intervention, according to villagers.

The police, however, later said objectionable signboards have been removed.

“The signboards put up at six places in Guptkashi police station area were objectionable and have been withdrawn,” Deputy Superintendent of Police Prabodh Kumar Ghildiyal said. People have been asked to maintain social harmony, he said.

In a letter to Dhami, Citizens for Fraternity said that as concerned citizens of the country they have watched with dismay, news coming out of various places in Uttarakhand of “discrimination against Muslims, many of whom have been residents for decades and owning businesses there”.

The letter is signed by the likes of former chief election commissioner SY Quraishi, former Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, former AMU vice chancellor Zameer Uddin Shah, former MP Shahid Siddiqui and former IRS Syed Mahmood Akhter, among others.

The Constitution does not discriminate on religion, caste or region, the letter said.

It encourages Indians and does not debar them to travel to other states and set up businesses, which provides employment opportunities to local people and contribute towards the economy, the letter to Dhami said.

“It (putting up of signboards) depicts our country in poor light and offers an opportunity to those not amicable to us to criticise us. How can we aspire to be world leaders if such incidents continue and are not nipped in the bud. The perpetrators of hate, irrespective of religion, must to be booked and stringent action taken against them,” the letter said.

“We believe that DMs and SPs in each district should be held accountable if no action is taken, the civil society group said.

Railways accepts Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia’s resignation with immediate effect

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Railways accepts Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia's resignation with immediate effect
Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia

New Delhi: The Railways on Monday accepted the resignations of wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, officials said.

In separate notices issued on Monday, the Northern Railway said their resignations tendered on September 6 were “accepted by the competent authority with immediate effect.”

Both Punia and Phogat joined the Congress recently. Phogat has been given a party ticket to contest the Haryana assembly polls from the Julana constituency.

The Northern Railway relaxed the provision of three-month notice period in their cases. Speculations were rife that Phogat might not be able to contest the elections in view of the notice period norm.

According to election rules, she needed to get officially relieved from the Railways to be eligible to contest the October 5 polls.

Now, since the Railways has relieved the two Olympians from their service, Phogat can contest the elections.

The NR had earlier issued show cause notices to them after they met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi before joining his party.

It had said the show cause notice was part of the service norm as they were government employees. Following the notices, both resigned from the Railways.

TMC hails SC direction asking protesting doctors in West Bengal to resume work

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Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress hailed the Supreme Court direction asking protesting doctors in West Bengal to resume work by 5PM on Tuesday and said the primary duty of the medics is to save lives and this commitment cannot be compromised.

The top court on Monday directed the CBI to submit a fresh report by September 17 on the probe in the rape and murder case of a postgraduate medic at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud perused the report filed in a sealed cover by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI.

The Supreme Court also directed the protesting doctors to resume work by 5 pm on Tuesday and said no adverse action shall be taken if they resume duty.

“Protests can’t be at the cost of duty.”- Hon’ble Chief Justice of India We express our gratitude to #SupremeCourt for stepping in & directing doctors, who have been abstaining from their duties over the R G Kar tragedy, to return to work by 5 PM tomorrow. The ultimate duty of a doctor is to save lives, and this commitment cannot be compromised. We humbly urge them to abide by their sacred oath to care for those in need,” the party posted on X.

Bengaluru court sentences TN man to 3 years in jail for molesting minor on flight

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Bengaluru: A fast-track special court has sentenced a 51-year-old man from Tamil Nadu to three years of imprisonment for sexually harassing a minor girl during a Doha-Bengaluru flight.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on Ammawasai Murugesan.

The incident took place on June 27, 2023, when Murugesan, under the influence of alcohol, inappropriately touched the minor girl while on the flight. The girl’s mother objected to his actions, after which flight attendants changed their seats.

Upon landing, the girl’s father reported the matter to Kempegowda International Airport police, leading to Murugesan’s arrest under Section 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. He was granted bail on July 27, 2023.

During the trial, the victim testified via video link as she was abroad.

Last week, the Additional District and Sessions Fast-Track Special Court in Bengaluru Rural district found Murugesan guilty and convicted him under the POCSO Act.

The court order stated that if Murugesan fails to pay the fine, he would face an additional three months of imprisonment. Half of the fine amount — Rs 5,000 — is to be paid as compensation to the victim.

The court also noted that Murugesan is entitled to set off the time he spent in judicial custody from June 28 to July 27, 2023, against his sentence.

The court has granted Murugesan bail to appeal against the conviction, citing his cooperative behavior throughout the trial and regular attendance in court hearings. Under Section 389(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), he can remain out on bail until the appeal period expires.

RSS and BJP want women to stay at home Rahul Gandhi tells Indian diaspora in US

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Washington: Love, respect and humility are missing in Indian politics, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said while addressing the Indian American community in Texas, where he also accused the RSS and the BJP of believing that women should stay at home.

Gandhi was addressing the Indian American community in Texas on Sunday in Dallas during his first interaction with the Indian diaspora after becoming Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha this summer.

During an interaction at another event, Gandhi said that the attitude of Indian men towards women needs to change. The 54-year-old said he is a supporter of women’s participation in politics starting with the women’s reservation bill. Gandhi said women should be supported financially if they want to start a business and they should be treated equally to men.

“The BJP and the RSS believe that women should be restricted to a particular role. They should stay at home, they should cook the food, they should not talk too much and we believe that women should aspire to whatever they want to do,” the Congress leader said.

“The RSS believes that India is one idea. We believe that India is a multiplicity of ideas,” he said during his address to the Indian American community.

“Very much like the United States, we believe everybody should be allowed to participate. We believe that everybody should be allowed to dream, (and) everybody should be given space, regardless of their caste, language, religion, tradition, history,” he said.

“This is the fight. The fight crystallised in the election when millions of people in India clearly understood that the Prime Minister of India was attacking the Constitution of India. Because what I am saying to you is the union of states, respect to languages, respect to religions, respect to traditions, respect to caste. This is all in the Constitution,” Gandhi added.

Gandhi said his role was to inject values of love, respect and humility into Indian politics.

“I think what is missing in our political systems and across parties is love, respect and humility. Love to all human beings, not necessarily only people of one religion, one community, one caste, one State, or to those who speak one language,” he said.

“Respect to everybody who is trying to build an India, not just the most powerful, but the weakest and humility, not in others, but in oneself. I think that is how I see my own,” he added.

Making an indirect reference to the Lok Sabha results in which the BJP failed to get a majority on its own, Gandhi said, “The people were saying the BJP is attacking our tradition, attacking our language, etc. What they understood was that anybody who is attacking the Constitution of India is also attacking our religious tradition.”

“We saw that immediately, within minutes of the election result, nobody in India was scared of the BJP, of the Prime Minister. These are huge achievements. These are huge achievements of the people of India who realised democracy, of the people of India who realised that we are not going to accept an attack on our Constitution. We’re not going to accept an attack on our religion. We’re not going to accept an attack on our States,” he said.

Asserting that the US needs India and vice versa, Gandhi said the Indian diaspora is a “bridge” between the two nations.

“In my view, you should travel freely between these two homes. You should bring the idea of India to the United States and the ideas of the United States to India,” Gandhi said in his remarks.

Farooq Abdullah assures restoration of statehood for Jammu & Kashmir if NC-Congress alliance wins

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Farooq Abdullah assures restoration of statehood for Jammu & Kashmir if NC-Congress alliance wins
National Conference (NC) leader Farooq Abdullah

Jammu: National Conference (NC) leader Farooq Abdullah asserted that the alliance between NC and Congress would restore statehood to Jammu & Kashmir if they win the upcoming assembly elections. Addressing the media on Sunday, Abdullah expressed confidence in the alliance’s victory and emphasised their commitment to the cause.

Abdullah’s statement came in response to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks at a BJP rally in Jammu on Saturday. Shah accused the NC-Congress alliance of misleading the public on the statehood issue, reiterating that only the central government has the authority to restore it.

Jammu & Kashmir lost its statehood in October 2019 when the region was reorganized into two Union Territories—Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh. Despite the abrogation of Article 370, Abdullah pointed out that terrorism has not ended in the Valley, challenging the BJP’s claims.

Jammu & Kashmir is set to go to the polls on September 18, 25, and October 1, with the results to be announced on October 8.

EC has registered party will emerge as primary political force in Tamil Nadu: Actor Vijay

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EC has registered party, will emerge as primary political force in Tamil Nadu: Actor Vijay

Chennai: Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam party founder-president and top Tamil actor Vijay on Sunday announced that the Election Commission has duly registered his outfit and expressed confidence of emerging as the primary political party of Tamil Nadu.

Underscoring that equality is the basic principle of his new party, Vijay said that an application was filed with the EC on February 2 to register Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) as a political party.

After legally considering it, the EC has now registered the TVK as a political party and “has given permission to take part as a registered party in electoral politics. I am happy to share this with you.”

The popular actor, in a statement posted on X, said the “first door has opened for us, which heralds all round success.” Furthermore, he said that by pursuing the path of defined principles and by breaking barriers, his party would rise as the key political party of the Tamil people in Tamil Nadu.

The actor said preparatory work to hold TVK’s first state conference, which will declare the party’s ideology, has commenced and, “please wait for a formal announcement about it.”

The TVK leader’s comment comes against the background of his party functionaries approaching authorities seeking permission to hold the state conference this month at Vikravandi in Villupuram district and police reportedly clearing the decks to conduct the rally.

Last month, Vijay unveiled the party flag and the party anthem.

The formation of the political party was announced by Vijay in February this year.

Deputy CM DK Shivakumar warns officials of action if potholes in B’luru not filled within deadline

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Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar on Sunday warned officials of “merciless action” if the potholes in Bengaluru city were not filled within the 15 days deadline that was set.

Shivakumar, who is also the Minister in-charge of Bengaluru city development had on September 1 set a 15-day deadline to the city civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike to fill potholes across the city, citing a lot of complaints.

“I have held a meeting with Bengaluru city corporation officials, senior officials and Chief Engineers and have told them that the fifteen days deadline I had given, within that time, the work should be completed. 400 staff-engineers who are there should first focus on filling the potholes,” he said.

Addressing reporters here after the meeting, he said on failing to do so merciless action will be taken against those responsible.

“How many will get suspended I don’t know, I have strictly told them that the potholes should be filled within the deadline. I have told them directly. Within their wards, those responsible, however big or small they are, from top to bottom they should be on the streets personally and get the potholes filled, that’s the first priority,” he added.

Shivakumar further said he will personally go around the streets of Bengaluru after the fifteen days. “Who will get suspended I don’t know.”

He also said that forest department officials have been asked to trim the trees to avoid incidents of tree fall due to breeze and rains.

“Trees cannot be cut, trimming should be done, to avoid incidents of tree fall.”

Noting that there are chances of rains in September, Shivakumar said, “so far we have managed without any problem. We have to be cautious now. Things should be monitored from the control room, in case of any rain effects such as water logging and water entering houses, the situation should be managed effectively and efficiently. The Deputy CM said on October 2 Gandhi Jayanti, at all schools in Bengaluru, whether it is corporation or private schools, an oath would be administered to all students on maintaining cleanliness.

“We will take pledge in Vidhana Soudha, and students in their respective schools regarding maintaining cleanliness in their respective areas and creating awareness among people and in their homes.”

Shivakumar said he will be travelling abroad for a week on a personal visit. To a question about the agenda of his trip to the USA and whether he will be meeting any big personalities there, he said, “it is a personal family trip…. no one, I’m going on a personal basis.”

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