The finance ministry has said that the Goods and Services Tax will not apply on room rents of 'sarais' (inns) or properties managed by religious and charitable institutions. The clarification was issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) on Thursday evening to clear the confusion with regard to the levy of GST on room rents. This clarification by the Finance Ministry came following a demand from various quarters including AAP MP Raghav Chadha that the GST on rooms rented by religious institutions be withdrawn.
As the number of COVID-19 cases is witnessing a spike in India, religious places across the country remain closed to encourage social distancing, a key component in preventing the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said the chief minister had told him that he or his government had nothing to do with it as it was being done by the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhik Committee. Congress leaders disputed Badal's claims and told Chidambaram that the SGPC was under direct control of Badal's party, the Shiromani Akali Dal.
The list of guests included celebrities from across the globe, politicians, the who's who of Hindi and south Indian cinema world and almost all the top cricketers of the country.
Various Sikh organisations on Friday held a demonstration in front of the Indian Consulate in San Francisco, California, in memory of those who were killed during Operation Blue Star, on the 27th anniversary of the military offensive.
Ignominy, not executions, can end terrorist movements, asserts B Raman
'Mr Badal wanted to talk to a member of the Gandhi family to bring about some sort of rapprochement between the Akalis and the Congress which were the two major parties at that time.'
Khalistani separatist Lakhbir Singh alias 'Rode', a designated terrorist under the Indian law, has died recently in Pakistan, where he had taken refuge after his uncle Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was killed in 1984 during an army action, officials said on Tuesday.
'We are ready to surrender,' Lieutenant General A A K Niazi said over the phone from Dhaka.
Aishwarya is currently shooting in Punjab for the film which co-stars Randeep Hooda and Richa Chadha.
He was trolled during the Lok Sabha poll campaign, but despite the tactics by his rivals, action hero Suresh Gopi rose to national stardom in cinema style on June 4, winning the Thrissur seat on a BJP ticket and scripting history for the saffron party in Kerala.
The move came after the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party government on Monday approved an amendment to the British-era Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925.
Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Ram, Laxmi, stories from the Hindu epics are seen in carvings, paintings and murals, as well as recognisable figures from mythology, like Garuda, Sheshnag, Nandi and Apsaras, notes Deepa Gahlot, savouring the beauty of Cambodia.
A BBC news anchor of Indian origin has been subjected to a deluge of personal abuse for presenting a documentary about 'Operation Blue Star', when the Indian Army barged into the Golden Temple in Amritsar in 1984.
Decorated lights decked up buildings and earthen lamps dotted houses as people across the country celebrated Diwali.
The White House has strongly refuted reports appearing in the American and Indian media that United States President Barack Obama apparently cancelled his planned trip to Golden Temple so he will not have to wear a head covering that could fan misconceptions that he is a Muslim.
According to a reliable source in the administration in Washington, United States President Barack Obama will be visiting Mumbai and New Delhi only during his trip to India in November. His proposed visit to Amrtisar is unlikely to happen, said the high level source.
During his November visit to India, Barack Obama will be paying a visit to Amritsar's Golden Temple, a first for a United States president. This stopover may be unusual for a head of the state and has many thinking. Is this visit being made especially for First Lady Michelle Obama, who will be accompanying her husband to India? May be, for not many know of the Obamas Punjab connection.
Hundreds of people from all walks of life on Saturday thronged gurudwaras across the nation to offer special prayers for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is undergoing coronary by-pass surgery for the removal of blockages in his heart vessels.Prayers were being offered in gurudwaras in Delhi, Kolkata, Amritsar and Guwahati for the successful operation of the prime minister.In Amritsar, the prime minister's brother and other family members offered prayers at Golden Temple.
It was not that differences did not crop up over other issues between the two erstwhile allies, but Parkash Singh Badal always ensured that these were amicably resolved and the ties remained intact.
With clean blue waters and golden-white sands, these super beaches have a magic that is hard to keep away from.
'Khalistanis can be divided into three categories: Firstly, hardcore ideological people. They are microscopic, not even 1%.' 'Secondly, those who consider Khalistan a business.' 'The third category that has built the narrative of Khalistan are those who gain from polarisation.'
British Prime Minister David Cameron has asserted that there was "absolutely no" involvement of the Margaret Thatcher-led United Kingdom government in Operation Bluestar -- when the Indian Army conducted a raid on the Golden Temple in Amritsar in 1984 to flush out militants from the Golden Temple.
The top posts on social media from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
A timely apology saved the day for Shatrughan Sinha's son, Luv Sinha's debut film. A controversy erupted when a section of the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee objected to certain shots of the film, Sadiyan, that were picturised inside the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
United States President Barack Obama would have loved to spend more time in India and it is due to his "short trip" that he will not be visiting Golden Temple at Amritsar and Taj Mahal at Agra, the White House said on Monday.
However, Head priest Tantri Kandararu Rajeevaru told reporters at the temple that he had only consulted senior tantri Kandararu Mohanararu on the matter.
If Saudi Arabia, with just two Muslim holy sites of Mecca and Medina, can create a huge tourism-based ecosystem beyond oil, Ayodhya is sure to become the world's hottest religious tourism site in less than a decade, predicts R Jagannathan.
Dia shares the first pic of her son...Karisma remembers her Daddaji...
'Putting your life at stake defending your motherland is the best feeling you can get.'
odi said the country has rejected negativity and asserted that the winter session was a golden opportunity for the opposition.
Tuesday's violent clashes unfolded a day after the severe snub the Pakistan Supreme Court gave to the Musharraf establishment.
Addressing mediamen at Wishvkarma Gurudwara at Mandi Dabwali, the president of the Shiromani Akali Dal Amritsar (Panj-Pardhani) Daljit Singh Bittu said the Dera chief should be arrested and his activities should be stopped by the Union government. Protestors will pray at the Golden temple in Amritsar on July 19 before leaving for Delhi, Bittu added.
The painstakingly created Buddhist temples and gardens of Japan are a work of art, says Anjuli Bhargava.
Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi wrote a personal letter to her British counterpart Margaret Thatcher soon after the 1984 Operation Bluestar in an attempt to justify her decision to send army to flush out militants from the Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh shrine.
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