New Delhi: Reminiscent of India’s tryst with destiny at the midnight of 15 August 1947, Parliament’s historic Central Hall will host a function on the intervening night of 30 June-1 July to ring in the nation’s biggest tax reform—the goods and services tax (GST).

Announcing that the switchover to the GST will kick in at the stroke of midnight, finance minister Arun Jaitley said the hour-long function will mirror the contribution made by different political parties and states to the revolutionary new tax regime. The circular-shaped Central Hall had previously hosted a function that marked 50 years of Independence.

President Pranab Mukherjee, who had piloted the first Constitutional Amendment Bill to bring in GST in 2011 when he was finance minister with the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime, will share the dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion. Also on dais will be former prime ministers Manmohan Singh and H.D. Deve Gowda, apart from vice-president Hamid Ansari and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.

All Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Members of Parliament have been invited as also chief ministers and state finance ministers, Jaitley said, adding that all the members—past and present—chairmen of the GST Council and the Empowered Committee of state finance ministers have been invited.

GST, he said, over the medium to long term will lead to a rise in revenues of the Centre and states as the size of the formal economy will grow. GST being a more efficient system will also result in better tax compliance, the finance minister stressed.

However, in the short term, “there will be some challenges” in switchover to GST, he pointed out without elaborating. Asked about industry bodies talking about small and medium enterprises not being prepared for the switchover to GST, Jaitley said 1 July as the rollout date has been announced well in advance and so “nobody had any business not to be ready”.

Besides, additional time has been given in the initial period for filing of the results, thus giving enough time to prepare for the transition, he said. On the anti-profiteering clause in the GST law, he said the provision has been made as a deterrent which is not intended to be used unless forced to.

(PTI)

New Delhi: He is a born frequent flier — a baby boy, born Sunday 35,000 feet above sea level on a Jet Airways plane from Saudi Arabia to India, has received a free lifetime pass from the airline as his first birthday gift.

Jet Airways flight 9W 569 took off from Dammam for Kochi at 2.55 am Sunday and when an expectant mother from Kerala travelling onboard went into premature labour the crew declared a medical emergency and diverted the flight to Mumbai.

While the Boeing 737 with 162 passengers on board was still over the Arabian Sea, the cabin crew requested on the public announcement system for a doctor to come forward. But since there was none a female nurse travelling to Kerala, named Wilson, volunteered to help deliver the child along with the airline staff.

After the plane landed in Mumbai, both the mother and the baby were rushed to a hospital and were said to be doing well, according to the airline. “Being the first baby to be born in-flight for the airline, Jet Airways is pleased to offer the newly-born a free lifetime pass for all his travel on Jet Airways,” the airline said in a statement.

The plane later resumed its onward journey to Kochi and reached its destination at 12.45 pm after a delay of 90 minutes.

(IANS)

Dhar/Narsinghpur: Two more farmers committed suicide in Madhya Pradesh, taking to 10 the number of farmer suicides in the state this week.

Jagdish More, 35, consumed poison in Rampura area of Dhar Police Station on Friday. He died later in the day.

Rajendra Navaria, the in-charge of Dhar Police Station, confirmed that the farmer committed suicide.

The deceased farmer’s family told the police that he committed suicide as he was upset over the pressure built by the bank for repayment of debt.

Another farmer named Imrat died after consuming sulphas pills in Chandlaun village in Gotegaon, Narsinghpur. He breathed his last enroute to Jabalpur for treatment.

R.K. Soni, the in-charge of Narsinghpur Police Station, told IANS that the farmer bought a piece of land 10 years ago but could not get it registered till date.

“He was disturbed as he could not get his agricultural land registered. So, he consumed sulphas pills and committed suicide. Even his family has acknowledged that he was depressed,” he said.

Madhya Pradesh has been witnessing widespread protests by farmers demanding loan waiver and remunerative prices for their produce. On June 6, five farmers were killed in police firing while another died of his injuries later in Mandsaur district.

(IANS)

Kochi: Police on Saturday arrested Kerala Youth Congress workers who held a beef festival ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s arrival in the coastal city.

The festival took place near the Southern Naval Command’s air terminal where Modi is expected to arrive and inaugurate the state’s first metro line.

As the Youth Congress workers were arrested while they were cooking and serving beef.

Ever since the Centre launched new rules regarding cattle sale and slaughter, Kerala has witnessed numerous such protests and even the state assembly held a special session earlier this month to pass a resolution against it.

(IANS)