The Nagaland Legislative Assembly today ratified the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Constitution Amendment Bill.
The bill was endorsed by the House by a voice vote following a brief discussion.
Introducing the bill, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kiyanilie Peseyie said the revenue of the state would go up as tax evasion would be checked due to transparency and broadening of tax base.
“A purely consuming state like Nagaland will benefit even more since GST is based on the destination principle,” he said, adding, tax administration would improve since most of the activity would be online.
“Bhago yahan se” (go away from here)–a voice suddenly booms from a dark corner of a street in curfew-bound Srinagar as dusk falls.
This is the voice of a para-military personnel behind a concertina wire who tries to prevent movement of people on the main road here and is unwilling to listen to anyone even if one is carrying a curfew pass or has some emergency.
Srinagar like any other part of Kashmir is witnessing the longest spell of curfew since July 8 when unrest broke out in the Valley.
“This has become a daily routine. To walk just across the chowk, which is only 500 metres away, I have to take a detour of nearly two kilometres through narrow lanes and by-lanes to reach my aunt’s place,” says Mushtaq Mir, a resident of Rainawari locality in downtown city.
Mir is carrying some medicines for his aunt who has been suffering from age-related ailments.
Changing his path, Mir, accompanied by his wife, finally chose another route to reach his destination but not before a group of young boys try to block his way as he was sneaking from by-lanes.
Armed with ‘lathis’, stones and bottles filled with petrol and kerosene, youngsters will soon inquire every single detail from you and verify everything before letting you go, he said.
“The security forces at least give you a chance to retreat while with youngsters that option is also not available and you are allowed to cross only after every detail has been verified,” says his wife.
This broadly is the experience of an average Kashmiri in the Valley today who is caught between security forces and agitating youths with no end to this misery in sight.
Many such harrowing experiences of anguished residents were shared with a PTI correspondent on a quick round of the city.
“We are not inhuman but we have to act tough as a preventive measure. In case of a medical emergency, we take care and ensure that the patient reaches the hospital,” says a middle-rung paramilitary officer deployed at Rainawari chowk, who spoke on the condition of anonymity..PTI
Leading Indian actress Deepika Padukone has made her debut among the world’s top 10 highest paid actresses with earnings of USD 10 million dollars in a list alongside Hollywood heavyweights Oscar-winner Jennifer Lawrence, Julia Roberts and “Friends” star Jennifer Anniston.
Padukone, 30, is the only Indian actress and the sole newcomer in Forbes’ 2016 list of the ‘World’s Highest-Paid Actresses’, coming in on the 10th spot.
Forbes said Padukone has “scored box office gold” in Bollywood movies such as “Bajirao Mastani” and “Piku”.
While she earns less than her Hollywood counterparts for roles, Padukone “compensates with over a dozen lucrative endorsements”, which “have helped her hedge against a deep pay gap in Bollywood”.
The list shows her with earnings of USD 10 million.
Forbes said the Bangalore-bred Padukone, who made her Bollywood film debut in 2007 with Shahrukh Khan-starrer “Om Shanti Om”, has “since starred in several films that have crossed the USD 150 million or 100 crore mark a barometer for box office success in India”.
Padukone “has also become something of a style icon” launching her own label for an Indian online shopping site.
Making her Hollywood debut along “Fast and Furious” star Vin Diesel, she will be seen in 2017 in “xXx: Return of Xander Cage”.
Noting the gender pay gap in the Indian movie industry, “a discrepancy not uncommon in Hollywood” also, Forbes said though a top Indian male star might earn close to USD 5 million a movie, prominent Indian actresses rarely clear USD 1 million a film.
For the second year in a row, Oscar-winning “Hunger Games” actress Lawrence topped the list of the world’s highest-paid actresses, notching USD 46 million.
“Ghostbusters” starrer Melissa McCarthy is ranked second with earnings of USD 33 million.
The list includes “The Horse Whisperer”-starrer Scarlett Johansson on the third spot, Anniston on the 4th place followed by Chinese actress Fan Bingbing (5), Oscar-nominee Amy Adams (7) and “Pretty Woman”-starrer Roberts (8).
Forbes added that in an industry where a pay gap with male actors still exists, 90 per cent of the world’s highest- paid actresses supplement their on-screen earnings with endorsements.
Together, the world’s 10 highest-paid actresses tallied a combined USD 205 million between June 2015 and 2016, before fees and taxes.
“Though these select actresses earn more than most could dream of, their movie money is but a fraction of what many of their male counterparts pocket. While top actresses can negotiate eight figure upfront fees plus a cut of profits for leading parts in big budget movies, there are simply fewer of those roles available for women,” Forbes said.
It also noted that for women, the movie business is “notoriously ageist” but with “box office clout”, some of the highest-paid actresses have manoeuvred themselves into positions of economic power.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today told the Supreme Court that he had never blamed RSS as an institution that killed Mahatma Gandhi but had stated that a person associated with it was responsible for his assassination.
A bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and R F Nariman, which was hearing the petition filed by Gandhi challenging the summons issued to him as an accused in a defamation case, said it will dispose of the petition if the complainant agreed.
The bench noted that the Congress leader had filed an affidavit in the Bombay High Court while seeking quashing of the defamation complaint against him stating that, at an election rally, he had not blamed RSS as an institution for the assassination of Gandhi but a person associated with it.
The bench, which posted the matter for September 1, asked the complainant’s counsel and senior advocate U R Lalit to seek instruction whether the complainant was ready to end the case if Gandhi’s statement is taken on record.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Congress Vice President, drew the attention of the bench to the affidavit filed in the high court.
The bench, which heard the matter for about half-an-hour, said “what we understand is that the accused never blamed RSS as an institution that killed Mahatma Gandhi but the person associated with it.
A rousing state reception was accorded by the Haryana government to the Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik after she arrived this morning from Rio de Janeiro.
Sakshi touched down in the Capital in the wee hours and was received by the Ministers of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Haryana. Haryana’s sports and youth affairs minister Anil Vij, who was present in Rio as head of state delegation, accompanied the wrestler on the return flight.
Sakshi then travelled to Bahadurgarh in Jhajjar district, where Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar along with his senior cabinet colleagues Capt Abhimanyu and O P Dhankar, among others, welcomed the star athlete.
At the grand felicitation function at Bahadurgarh, Sakshi was handed a cheque of Rs 2.5 crore by the Chief Minister.
She was also appointed as Haryana’s brand ambassador for ‘Beti Padhao-Beti Bachao’ programme.
“It is a proud moment for us that girls of the country have done so well. Our two daughters, Sakshi Malik and P V Sindhu (who won a silver medal at the Rio Games), have made the nation proud,” Khattar said.
He said that sportspersons from Haryana have once again made the country and their state proud.
“Our government is taking a number of steps for the promotion of sports. Sakshi has made everyone proud including her country, her state, besides her coaches, her town Rohtak and her family,” Khattar said in the presence of Sakshi’s family members.
The CM said Sakshi, who is employed with the Railways, would be soon promoted.
“We have also offered her a Class II job in the Haryana Government. She has said that she will think over it and decide,” Khattar said.
On the occasion, Sakshi, in her brief speech, thanked everyone for their support and best wishes.
“I want everyone to support me in future as well so that I can win more medals for my country,” she said.
Hailing ‘Beti Padhao-Beti Bachao’ scheme, Sakshi said, “Now we have added Beti Khilao (encourage girls to take up sports) to this.”
The 23-year-old was also honoured with a traditional ‘pagri’ at Bahadurgarh.
Sakshi, who opened India’s medal account at the Rio Games, will make multiple stops before she reaches her native village, Mokhra, later in the day.
India today donated 18 fire fighting engines to Nepal to be utilised mostly by newly established municipalities in and around the Kathmandu valley.
Indian Ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae handed over the keys of the fire engines to Minister for Federal Affairs Hitraj Pandey at a function here.
These firefighters will be utilised mostly by newly- established municipalities in and around Kathmandu Valley for controlling fire.
One of the fire fighting engine will be used by the Kathmandu Metropolitan City.
The fire engines gifted by India will play an important role in saving life and property during the time of emergency, Pandey said while addressing the gathering at the function as he thanked the Indian government for its help.
Ambassador Rae said Nepal and India enjoy close ties and during the time of disasters they extend help to each other.PTI
The Madras High Court today declined to grant an interim stay on suspension of 79 DMK MLAs from the state Assembly but issued notice to the state Chief Secretary on petitions filed by leader of the opposition M K Stalin and another DMK member.
The petitions challenged their en masse suspension from the Assembly and sought a direction to declare all proceedings and actions taken as illegal, ultra vires and unconstitutional.
Declining to pass an interim order, the First Bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice R Mahadevan, said, “Since it is a matter of function of the House and the order has been passed by the Speaker, we are not inclined to pass interim orders.
“But there will be no question of making the prayer infructuous as ultimately the validity of the resolution would have to be decided as it may have other ramifications,” it said.
The bench directed the petitioners-Stalin and DMK MLA Thiagarajan– to serve private notices to the Speaker, P Dhanapal, and the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Secretary, and posted the matter for further hearing to September one.
When the matter came up, senior counsel for Stalin, Mohan Parasaran submitted that it was for the first time in the history of the Assembly that a resolution had been passed suspending en masse all opposition DMK MLAs.
In his plea, Stalin sought an interim direction to permit him and other suspended members to attend and participate in the present session.
He submitted that the blanket resolution to suspend all DMK members, who had signed the attendance register on the dat,e was without any basis or material. He said the majority of DMK members, including he himself, were not in the House when the resolution was passed by voice vote.
He submitted that the resolution was later modified to include the DMK members who had been present and those who had not signed the attendance register and alleged that the Speaker’s action was “unprecedented, motivated and biased which completely undermines democracy”. PTI.
The Travancore royal family today came out against an audit report by former Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai over alleged theft of gold valuables from the Sree Padmanabha Swamy shrine here, saying it was never consulted in its preparation.
Adithya Varma, a member of the the erstwhile royal family which had earlier managed the centuries-old shrine, said, “Such huge difference in the figures (regarding the gold valuables) in the report is unbelievable.”
“It has pained us,” he said, adding they had not been consulted before the compilation of the report submitted in the Supreme Court.
“We have not been consulted before the report was prepared. If we were consulted, it would not have happened,” Varma told a regional channel here.
The royal family member also said old Malayalam numerals were used in the temple records and the “mistakes” in the figures might have happened while translating it.
His reaction came in the wake of reports that the Supreme Court-appointed committee, headed by Rai, had found ‘abnormal’ increase in the expenditure at the temple and gold pots valued at Rs 186 crore had gone missing and that it had recommended constitution of a panel to probe the “irregularities”.
The royals had said in a statement last week that Rai committee had submitted the report without seeking any type of explanation from temple Executive Officer, Treasurer or those in responsible positions during the period from April 2002 to April 2014 or from anyone from the royal family.
CPI(M) veteran and former chief minister V S Achuthanandan recently sought a CBI probe into the alleged theft.
One of the richest temples in south India, the shrine is now under the administration of a committee appointed by the apex court as a case is pending over issues related to its management. The Administrative Committee is headed by a district and sessions judge.
The temple, dedicated to Lord Padmanabha, shot to fame after treasures worth crores of rupees were found in the secret vaults of the temple basement four years ago.
India should shed its concerns over pollution and allow Chinese industries to shift their excess capacity to it which would be benificial to both countries, state media here said today.
“India may need to carefully think about whether it wants to resist or embrace the migration of China’s production capacity, which allegedly involves some investment in heavy polluting industries,” an article in the state-run Global Times said.
Referring to reports of China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) starting operations at its joint venture plant in Haryana to manufacture and repair locomotives, it said, “the partnership is hardly surprising seeing as India has one of the world’s largest railway network, creating a huge demand for engines and other railway equipment”.
“China’s train makers have an advanced production capacity and have been actively looking for cooperation ties in the world. What is odd is that the cooperation between the two countries has only just now come about,” it said.
State-run Xinhua news agency reported that the plant was set up with an investment USD 63.4 million and the Chinese side holds 51 percent of the share. The India plant will repair and manufacture railway locomotive engines.
The Global Times article said, “there have been some obstacles restricting Chinese enterprises’ access into India, where some people worry that boosting India-China production capacity ties may also bring heavy polluting production into the country”.
“But these concerns are unfounded. The venture plant in India will transform CRRC from a company that exports equipment to one that exports advanced production technology that includes more clean and green methods. Further, this move will boost India’s rail system and drive tax revenue for the local economy,” it said.
“In fact, a considerable part of China’s excess production capacity could be conductive in boosting the local economy if they can be transported to India. A large number of Chinese manufacturers have acquired far more advanced technology than some local Indian firms despite those Chinese enterprises suffered problems of overcapacity domestically,” the article said.
“India may want to consider offering more opportunities for Chinese manufacturers to invest in the country as both countries could enjoy great potential in production capacity cooperation,” it said.PTI
A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the gates of a local government headquarters in Somalia while another bomber targeted a nearby marketplace, killing at least 17 people and wounding more than 30 others, police said.
Abdisalam Yusuf with the police said one bomber rammed the car into a checkpoint in Galkayo town yesterday morning after reaching the main gate of Puntland’s local government.
Puntland, a semi-autonomous state in northern Somalia, controls the northern part of the town, while the southern part is controlled by rival regional state Galmudug.
Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke condemned the twin blasts, saying that “evil-doers” had targeted innocent civilians.
The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab group claimed responsibility for the attack. The town, unlike other parts of the country where al-Shabab continues a deadly guerrilla campaign, rarely sees such attacks.
The town’s main hospital received more than 15 wounded people, including some with horrific wounds, a nurse, Abdikareem Ali, told The Associated Press.
“Some of them were burnt beyond recognition. It was a dark day,” he said.
Some of the bodies were discovered in nearby houses destroyed by the blasts, said Col Muse Hassan, a senior police officer.
Al-Shabab is waging an insurgency against Somalia’s weak UN-backed government with the goal of establishing an Islamic emirate, ruled by a strict version of Shariah law.
More than 22,000 peacekeepers are deployed in Somalia in the multi-national African Union force. Al-Shabab opposes the presence of foreign troops in the country.
White House National Security Council spokesperson Ned Price issued a statement strongly condemning the bomb attacks in Puntland, accusing the terrorists of attempting “to weaken Somalia ahead of its historic scheduled political transition this autumn.”
Somalia faces key parliamentary elections next month and a presidential election in October. The country has been trying to rebuild after establishing its first functioning central government since 1991.PTI
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