Heavy rains pounded south and central Kerala on Saturday wreaking havoc in many parts with some people feared missing in the landslides that occurred in hilly areas bordering Kottayam and Idukki districts prompting the state government to seek the assistance of the Army and Air Force for rescue operations.
The government is planning to merge Bharat Broadband Nigam Limited (BBNL) with the loss-making state-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) this month, a senior official has said. BSNL chairman and managing director PK Purwar at a recent event organised by the All India Graduate Engineers and Telecom officers Association (AIGETOA) said that the government is giving the telecom firm an opportunity for a turnaround. "The government has taken a policy decision that BBNL is going to be merged into BSNL. "This means all work of BBNL at the pan-India level is going to come to BSNL," Purwar said at the All India Conference of AIGETOA on March 13.
Mihir Tanna, Associate Director, S K Patodia & Associates, answers your personal income tax queries.
With this allocation of portfolios, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP has got most of the 'plum' ministries.
The government has reached out to investors to apprise them about Life Insurance Corporation of India's (LIC's) growth and prospects as it prepares for the country's largest initial public offering (IPO). Preliminary presentations have been made to inform investors on how the organisation is being restructured ahead of the IPO, along with its financials, so that the IPO process can be hastened once its embedded value is derived. "A detailed presentation has been made to investors, giving them details on how LIC is positioned beyond what is known. "This includes how LIC is being restructured ahead of the IPO, and investors are keen to know that," said an official. In the Finance Bill, 2021, the government had proposed a slew of changes to the LIC Act, 1956.
The levy of retrospective tax on the UK's Cairn Energy Plc is a tale of bizarre twists and turns that saw its attached shares being sold in May 2018 amid the passing of the baton from a full-time finance minister to interim one and the talks at the highest level to resolve the dispute, to claims that levy of back taxes was a result of an investigation into Panama Papers leak. The government late last month refunded about Rs 7,900 crore it had collected from selling residual shares of the British firm in its erstwhile India unit, seizing dividend and withholding tax refunds, to settle an eight-year-old dispute that had tarred the country's reputation as an investment destination. But, this did not come about easily. For seven years, the establishment vehemently justified in courts and outside seeking of Rs 10,247 crore in back taxes plus interest and penalty from a firm that gave India its biggest onshore oil discovery.
The administration of the union territory as directed by the Jammu and Kashmir high court to make public land given under the controversial Roshni land scheme, since scrapped by a court, came out with the list of beneficiaries.
Heavy overnight rains in Uttar Pradesh on Friday led to the deaths of at least 22 people, including nine labourers who were buried alive under the debris when an under-construction wall in the state capital collapsed on their huts.
Northern Army commander Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi on Monday said the targeted killings of Kashmiri Pandits and non-local labourers by militants was to keep terrorism alive in Kashmir.
LIVE! Incessant rains: Red Alert in 5 Kerala districts
Discussing the prospect of more reform earlier this month, telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced a delay in the 5G spectrum auction. India's telecom sector regulation has to be benchmarked with the global best, he said. It's another matter that many countries have either introduced or are about to roll out 5G services that will enable cutting-edge tech in diverse areas. For India, too, it will mean a lot for healthcare, robotics and unleashing a new chapter in Digital India perhaps.
Two local leaders were arrested for allegedly inciting violence during the eviction drive at Sipajhar in Assam's Darrang district on September 23 in which two persons, including a 12-year-old boy, were killed in police firing and over 20 injured, an official said.
Debt-ridden telecom operator Vodafone Idea is evaluating the option of converting interest dues arising out of the deferment of statutory payments into equity, a senior company official said on Monday. The company is also in talks with banks and investors for raising funds and part of the proceeds is likely to be utilised towards meeting obligations related to debt maturing this fiscal, Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL) chief financial officer Akshay Moondra said during the company's earning call. VIL MD and CEO Ravinder Takkar said the company expects to conclude fund raising plan by the end of the current financial year.
"As most of these agencies carry out interrogation in their office(s), CCTVs shall be compulsorily installed in all offices where such interrogation and holding of accused takes place in the same manner as it would in a police station," the bench said in its order.
The apex body also wants to bring in systemic reforms, especially to redress grievances of the small taxpayers such as - increased automation of the processes, e-filing, centralised processing of the tax returns and other bulk operations.
Murmu made and subscribed to the oath of office before President Ram Nath Kovind, according to a Rashtrapati Bhavan statement.
The chief minister, who had on Wednesday expanded his new cabinet by inducting 29 ministers, had played it safe by and large retaining old faces, as 23 of them were Ministers in the previous Yediyurappa cabinet, while six were new.
'It may be prudent not to plunge into a new online tax appeals system in one go, which could only create more disputes and increase the embarrassingly high tax arrears of the government,' warns A K Bhattacharya.
The scheme initially envisaged conferment of proprietary rights of around 20.55 lakh kanals of land (1,2,50 hectares) to occupants of which 15.85 per cent of land was approved for vesting of ownership rights.
The missile was fired from a ground mobile launcher at launch pad number-1 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) near here at 3.55 pm, and it hit the target with accuracy, the sources said.
The Reserve Bank on Friday approved the transfer of Rs 99,122 crore as surplus to the central government for the accounting period of nine months ended March 31.
The 28 new ministers who joined the Chouhan cabinet on July 2 include 20 of cabinet rank and eight ministers of state.
No longer Bengal's finance minister, Amit Mitra, Mamata's principal chief advisor, will still advise and aid the 'chief minister and finance department on all matters relating to management of state finance', represent the 'state government in national and international events/meetings/committees' and examine 'important proposals/files and policy issues relating to financial matters referred to him for advice/views'.
The Maratha community should get reservation, but it should be done without disturbing the existing quota of other communities, the senior Nationalist Congress Party leader said.
"God save the King" were the words with which those gathered reaffirmed the proclamation made by the clerk of the council.
'The kind of tax which will be generated from the second pillar may far outweigh what we may be losing in the first pillar.'
In a setback to telecom service providers, the Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Centre's plea to recover adjusted gross revenue (AGR) of about Rs 92,000 crore from them.
'Bottomline, hairline and waistline -- you have to watch them always.'
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) interim general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) and ousted party leader O Panneerselvam on Tuesday moved the Madras high court against the sealing of the party headquarters by the Tamil Nadu government following violence there on July 11.
Rajiv Suri's resignation is effective August 25, the company said in a stock exchange filing. Suri quit for personal reasons and would pursue a career outside India, it added.
The bill was passed in the assembly in December last year but was pending before the council where the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is one short of a majority.
The new cabinet, predictably, has a sizeable number of Yadavs and Muslims, though members of other sections of the society also find a place.
'If more than 60 commissioner-level tax officials were compulsorily retired in the span of a few months, surely the malaise is far deeper,' notes A K Bhattacharya.
In a rare face off, captains of the auto industry have hit out at the government for not walking the talk. At an industry event in the capital on Wednesday, R C Bhargava, chairman of India's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki, and Venu Srinivasan, chairman of TVS Motor, questioned the government's intent to support the auto sector. Revenue secretary Tarun Bajaj sat in the audience listening, before his turn came to counter them.
Success in Karnataka's assembly polls will hinge on two factors: Drop a large number of incumbent MLAs and project Modi and not the state leaders, least of all Bommai.
Amid criticism over the formation of foam in the Yamuna -- a sign of its hazardous water quality -- the Delhi government on Tuesday deployed 15 boats to remove the froth with the help of ropes.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said banks need to focus more on being customer-friendly so that the process of availing credit becomes more hassle-free for borrowers. However, the minister made it clear that banks do not have to be lenient on credit underwriting standards by taking any adverse risks on a proposal. At a meeting between industry representatives and the finance minister, a startup founder in the baking business suggested for credit to be available hassle-free, to which largest lender SBI's chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara said a startup's worries are more on the equity side and assured full support in lending if sufficient equity is on the table.
The IMD director said, the cyclonic storm Tauktae in the Arabian sea is moving away from the Kerala coast and is now approaching the Karnataka coast.
Vodafone Idea on Wednesday said its board has approved availing the four-year spectrum payment moratorium being offered by the government as part of its relief package for the telecom sector. The other options offered in the Telecom Department's notification will be considered by the board of directors within the stipulated timeframe, it said in a regulatory filing. "...we wish to inform you that the Board of Directors of the company has approved the exercise of the option of deferment of the company's spectrum auction instalments for a period of 4 years (October 2021 to September 2025) in accordance with ...the notification dated 14 October 2021 issued by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to the company," it said.
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