The central government, in its revised draft of the constitution amendment bill, had proposed that fuel and liquor should be brought under the ambit of GST.
It appears that things will crystallise on several aspects of the GST only by end 2008. This means that the country will only have a period of 15 months, from beginning 2009 to March 2010, to ensure that all the constitutional policy and legislative changes take place. It does seem increasingly a big challenge, says S Madhavan.
The Tamil Nadu government has told the Supreme Court that "repeated assertion" by Kerala to seek decommissioning of the 126-year-old Mullaperiyar dam is "wholly impermissible" as the dam has been found to be hydrologically, structurally and seismically safe.
Sushil Kumar Modi, who ceased to be Bihar Finance Minister following the JD (U)-BJP split, on Monday resigned as Chairman of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers looking into the implementation of the proposed new indirect tax regime - Goods and Services Tax (GST).
'Has the BJP not announced its candidates in Raebareli?'
All textile items, currently exempted from value added tax, will attract 4 per cent VAT from the next fiscal, the empowered committee said on Thursday.
Empowered committee of state finance ministers on value-added tax has sought to allay fears of traders that the new tax system will lead to increase in prices, stating that the worldwide experience did not support this apprehension.
The empowered committee on value added tax will meet on Saturday to take up the issues arising after three months of implementation of the new tax system by 21 states, including compensation formula for any losses incurred by states due to VAT.
The Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers has been asked to sort out some of the contentious issues on the value-added tax including the refunds on credit and exemption for exports.
The much-awaited introduction of value added tax regime from April one this year will be delayed by a few days because of some "unavoidable procedural tangles".
In a major step towards introduction of Value-added Tax from April 2005, states on Wednesday endorsed a 'white paper' on the new tax regime, which would be formally issued on January 17.
Sources said Rahul Gandhi is likely to contest from Rae Bareli, but a final call is yet to be taken by the first family of the Congress.
'Jitendra Pratap Singh (his character in Vedaa) believes in the divisive politics of society and that is more dangerous than the regular goons.'
The committee headed by former Chief Justice of India A S Anand is expected to submit its report on the controversial issue by February, 2012.
The bench asked senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for Congress leader Jaya Thakur, who sought a stay on the new law, to serve a copy of the petition to the Centre's counsel.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the Centre would soon form a committee which would adopt all possible ways for empowering Madigas (a SC community) with regard to their demand of categorisation of Scheduled Castes.
Modi can abandon the path of Hindutva only at risk to his position within his own fraternity. But if he pursues a hard line, he faces the risk of being hauled up by his coalition-partners. For the first time in a decade, Modi is not in enviable situation, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
A defiant Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) will challenge its suspension by the Sports Ministry in court next week and has also called for an Executive Committee meeting in New Delhi on January 16 to discuss the way forward.
The Union finance ministry has rejected a proposal sent by the labour ministry to double the monthly minimum pension amount to Rs 2,000 under the Employee Pension Scheme (EPS). The Central Board of Trustees (CBT), the apex decision-making body of the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), was apprised of the proposal's rejection during a meeting on Saturday. "According to the recommendations made by a highly-empowered monitoring committee constituted by the government, a proposal to increase the minimum pension under EPS from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 per month, by providing additional budgetary support, was sent to the ministry of finance.
The apex court also referred to a central empowered committee report that 31 hills or hillocks have vanished in the state's Aravalli area.
In a communication to the empowered committee on PLI recently, the Indian Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA) has stated that except one player (Samsung), all the other eight players (which include vendors of Apple Inc) selected under the scheme were facing numerous challenges in fulfilling the qualification criteria.
Even though the NIA claims that more than 90 per cent of cases charge-sheeted have ended in conviction, the figure is likely misleading. To date, very few cases investigated by the NIA have resulted in a completed trial, points out former CBI joint director Navneet Rajan Wasan.
He will succeed Kerala Finance Minister K M Mani.
In the second major decision to end the UPA government's legacy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday scrapped four cabinet committees, including one on Unique Identification Authority, as part of his efforts to minimise decision-making processes.
The Lok Sabha has already passed the Bill.
'We have been threatened. We have felt violated.' 'Everything is in danger if you don't give safe spaces to women.'
It will help to lower their costs by 7-8 per cent.
The Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee has recommended cancellation of mining lease to Karnataka's powerful Reddy brothers' firms in Andhra Pradesh, saying their Obulapuram Mining Company had openly flouted various environmental laws in mining operations.
Prime minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asserted that India will leave "no stone unturned" in its efforts to organise the 2036 Olympics as the government expressed a strong desire to host the biggest sporting event in the world.
The Supreme Court-appointed Empowered Committee on the Mullaperiyar Dam, over which Tamil Nadu and Kerala are at loggerheads, has concluded that the 119-year-old structure is "safe" and asked the Kerala Government to reconsider its proposal to build a new dam.
The Empowered Committee on the controversial Mullaperiyar Dam issue on Wednesday submitted its report to the Supreme Court in a sealed cover which would be examined by a Constitution Bench.
Supreme Court-appointed Empowered Committee on the controversial Mullaperiyar Dam, over which Tamil Nadu and Kerala are at loggerheads, today finalised its much-awaited report on various aspects of the structure and will submit it to the court on Wednesday.
The Oil Ministry has been trying since July to get an Empowered Committee of Secretaries to vet the separate price proposals of RIL and Essar but the panel has so far not decided to take up the issue.