Of the 788 candidates contesting 89 seats in the first phase of Gujarat Assembly polls, 211 are 'crorepatis', with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party accounting for 79 such nominees, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) said in a report on Thursday.
Less than half the ministers in Team Yogi are not long-term BJP members. Many old-timers have been dropped.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has initiated discussions with banks to address financial stress in the telecom sector, particularly Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) that urgently requires fund infusion to stay afloat. There was a meeting of DOT officials and senior bankers on Friday on the issue of Vodafone, sources said, adding that banks have been asked to look for a solution within the prudential guidelines. According to sources, senior officials from the country's biggest lenders State Bank of India and Bank of Baroda were also present among others in the meeting. More such meetings are expected to take place in the coming days, they said.
Vodafone further said it has "always been confident" that no tax is due on the company. The government in August enacted a law to end all retrospective taxation imposed on indirect transfer of Indian assets. The rules under the law seek to withdraw tax demands made using a 2012 retrospective legislation to tax the indirect transfer of Indian assets and also refund the amount paid in these cases without any interest. Asked if the company has filed an application with the Indian government to settle the retrospective tax dispute, a Vodafone spokesperson said, "We can confirm we have filed an application".
With disruptions continuing, the productivity of Rajya Sabha fell to 13.70 per cent during the second week of the ongoing monsoon session from 32.20 per cent during the first week, resulting in an overall productivity of 21.60 per cent for the first two weeks.
In its first decision, the Punjab cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday approved filling up 25,000 vacant posts in various state departments, including 10,000 in the police force.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in poll-bound Karnataka on Friday sought to woo farmers, women and younger generation with a slew of welfare measures in its last budget in the current term, also earmarking Rs 1000 crore towards development and renovation of various temples and maths in the state.
The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside a Punjab and Haryana high court order granting an interim stay on a Haryana law providing 75 per cent quota in private sector jobs for residents of the state.
United States Ambassador to India Timothy J Roemer on Monday called on Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari and is understood to have discussed the nuclear liability bill, which is being opposed by the party. Sources said Roemer called on Gadkari to discuss the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill and allay apprehensions expressed by the BJP about the proposed legislation. BJP is opposing the Bill.
The committee has given its recommendations to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who will take necessary action, the sources pointed out.
The finance ministry has proposed to decriminalise a host of minor offences, including those relating to cheque bounce and repayment of loans, in as many as 19 legislations to help businesses tide over the crisis caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The 19 legislations include Negotiable Instruments Act (cheque bounce), SARFAESI Act (repayment of bank loans), LIC Act, PFRDA Act, RBI Act, NHB Act, Banking Regulation Act and Chit Funds Act.
For the first time, Andhra Pradesh will made public the details of the assets held by members of Legislative Assembly by displaying the information on website. The MLAs have been asked to furnish details of their assets and liabilities to the Speaker within the next 15 days so that it can be put up on website.
Once passed by Parliament, the bill will replace an ordinance promulgated on December 30 last which provides for a fine of 10,000 or five times the cash held, whichever is higher, on holding of more than 10 banned 1,000 and 500 rupee notes.
As a Parliamentary panel races to submit its report on the nuclear liability bill, Bharatiya Janata Party appears to have dug its heels asking the government to clarify whether the draft legislation was India-specific or being enacted to fulfil requirements of international treaties.
Facing stiff opposition over the Nuclear Liability Bill, the government on Friday said it will consult all political parties before tabling the draft legislation in Parliament. "
The Parliamentary panel examining the controversial nuclear liability bill is expected to finalise its report in time for introduction of the draft legislation during the monsoon session beginning July 26. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment on Forests is examining the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010 that was introduced in the Lok Sabha on May 7 amid stiff resistance from a united Opposition.
Once it gets the nod of the President and becomes an Act, the law would require Indian carriers to pay compensation amount that is equivalent to the rates paid by their global counterparts.
The government on Thursday brought a bill in the Lok Sabha to withdraw all back tax demands on companies such as Cairn Energy and Vodafone and said it will refund the money collected to enforce such levies.
The onus of the tax dues of Rs 22,100 crore on Vodafone India's British parent could also fall on the merged entity.
Pakistan's Election Commission on Friday disqualified former prime minister Imran Khan for five years in the Toshakhana case for hiding proceeds from the sale of gifts he received from foreign leaders.
The cabinet also approved ordinance to amend the RBI Act to extinguish the liability on the old notes.
Speaking in Lok Sabha during the debate over the nuclear liability bill, Dr Singh said: "To say that this Bill is aimed at advancing US interest is far from truth. History will be the judge."
In the newly elected Rajasthan Legislative assembly, 145 out of the 199 members of Legislative Assembly are crorepatis. In a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms, it is stated that the crorepati percentage in the Rajasthan Assembly is 73 per cent.
The government may be waiting for the outcome of an arbitration initiated against its levy of Rs 10,247 crore retrospective tax on UK's Cairn Energy Plc before deciding on appealing against losing a tax case against Vodafone Group, sources said. An international arbitral tribunal is expected to give a decree within next few days on Cairn Energy Plc's challenge to the Indian government seeking Rs 10,247 crore in retrospective taxes. If the arbitration award in the Cairn cases goes against India, the government has to pay the British firm over Rs 7,600 crore to reverse the dividend and tax refund it had ceased and shares it sold to recover part of the tax demand.
Apart from physical access to handsets, metadata and backups are two common ways in which private communications can be broken.
'Given the possibility that our unstable northern and western borders may become 'live' at short notice, any major systemic change which impacts combat effectiveness should be brought about in a cautious and progressive manner.'
Chief Minister Adityanath has total assets worth over Rs 71 lakh, while Deputy CM Keshav Prasad has total assets of over Rs 9 crore.
Any transaction where the value of Indian assets exceeds 50% of the FTC would attract taxes in India.
The order comes a day after Trump accused Twitter of election interference, after it added fact-check links to two of his tweets.
Indian and American experts on Wednesday held detailed discussions on a range of implementation issues, including administrative, liability, technical and licensing matters to advance the operationalisation of Indo-US civil nuclear cooperation that has been in limbo for past 9 years.
The total worth of Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal's assets, both movable and immovable, have increased by over 71 per cent since the last assembly polls in 2016, despite not having bought any new immovable assets.
Google is committed to complying with local laws and engages constructively with governments as they scrutinise and adopt regulatory frameworks to keep pace with the fast evolving technology landscape, its CEO Sundar Pichai said on Thursday.
'At a time when the entire India-US relationship needs to be defined by President Trump and Prime Minister Modi, a fresh look at the liability issue has become urgent,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, former Governor for India at the IAEA.
From the resurrected cash-for-votes scandal to a rigged process favouring four foreign vendors -- and from new safety concerns to the special legislation that caps the foreign suppliers' accident liability by burdening the Indian taxpayer -- the nuclear deal's future looks more troubled than ever, says Brahma Chellaney.
With their landmark 2005 civil nuclear deal still in limbo, India and the United States have established an inter-agency contact group to sort out outstanding liability and technical issues to fast-track its full implementation.
Billionaire Anil Agarwal's mining group Vedanta on Monday said it has withdrawn cases in the Delhi high court as well as before an international arbitration tribunal to settle a Rs 20,495 crore retrospective tax dispute with the government. Post slapping of a Rs 10,247 crore tax demand on UK's Cairn Energy Plc for alleged capital gains made on a 2016 internal reorganisation prior to the listing of its India business, the Income Tax Department had sought Rs 20,495 crore in taxes (including penalty) from Cairn India for failing to deduct tax on capital gains made by its British parent. Cairn India was in 2011 bought by Agarwal's group and subsequently, the firm was merged with Vedanta Ltd.
The Parliamentary panel examining the nuclear liability bill on Wednesday decided to seek an extension for submitting its report on the controversial legislation. The decision to seek an extension came after top Bharatiya Janata Party leaders including L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley had a meeting with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee."The committee cannot hustle through the proceedings," said BJP leader Jaswant Singh.
The submission was made by the UN Special Rapporteurs on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression Irene Khan; on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association Clement Nyaletsossi Voule; and the right to privacy, Joseph Cannataci.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday announced a slew of legislations that would be brought in during the winter session of Parliament, including amendments to the NPA Act and regulation of credit information companies.
The private college and hospital has been in the thick of controversy following irregularities and fraud, raising questions on why the Chhattisgarh government wants to acquire the debt-ridden institution by paying double the amount of its valuation.
