By the time Bengal polls begin, only Mamata Banerjee will be left in TMC, says Amit Shah at Howrah

Slamming West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday claimed that members of the ruling Trinamool Congress were joining the BJP "in droves" because Mamata has "failed the people".

Shah, who has been actively campaigning for the BJP in the poll-bound state for the last few weeks, made the remarks while addressing the BJP's Howrah rally via video-conferencing.

Reiterating his statement that Mamata "will be left alone" by the time the Assembly election is held, Shah contended,  "Mamata should think why so many TMC leaders are joining the BJP. It is because she has failed the people of the state."

Shah cancelled his visit to West Bengal on Friday citing "unavoidable circumstances" and the "situation in Delhi", The Indian Express reported.

Shah also accused Mamata of working towards "bhatija kalyan" (serving her nephew). He claimed that the TMC, which boasts of the slogan 'Maa Mati Mansuh (mother, land and people)', actually indulges in extortion, corruption and appeasement.

Shah also stated that the BJP will form the next government in the state and bring about development.

"I want to make it clear that the BJP would come to power in the state after the elections. While the Modi government is working towards 'jan kalyan' (serving people), the Mamata Banerjee government is working towards 'bhatija kalyan' (serving her nephew) in Bengal," Shah said.

Former TMC leaders Rajib Banerjee, Baishali Dalmiya, Prabir Ghoshal, Rathin Chakraborti, and Rudranil Ghosh attended the rally, The Times of India reported.

Senior BJP leaders such as Union minister Smriti Irani, party general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, and West Bengal BJP vice-president Mukul Roy were also present.

The report quoted Rajib as saying, "We want a double-engine government in West Bengal. We want Bharatiya Janata party government both at the Centre and the state for a sonar Bangla. (golden Bengal)." 

Banerjee joined the BJP in Delhi on Saturday along with a few other leaders of the state's ruling party, after meeting Shah.

Banerjee and MLAs Prabir Ghosal and Baishali Dalmiya, who was recently expelled from the TMC, and former Howrah Mayor Rathin Chakraborty, flew to Delhi on a special plane, and met central BJP leaders.

"They have joined the BJP," party general secretary Vijayvargiya told PTI on Saturday.

Former TMC MLA Parthasarathi Chattopadhyay and actor Rudranil Ghosh had also accompanied them on their visit to meet BJP leaders in the National Capital.

BJP national vice-president Mukul Roy and Vijayvargiya arrived in Delhi with them.

The TMC, which has been facing dissent from a number of leaders ahead of the assembly election due in April-May, said that those who are leaving do not have long political history.

Earlier in the day, Banerjee said he had a word with Union Home Minister Amit Shah who called him to the National Capital.

"After I resigned from the TMC, I received a call from the BJP leadership... Amit Shah ji told me to come over to Delhi. He also requested me to pass on the information to five other important public figures who wanted to serve people in a better way to accompany me.

"If I get an assurance on the state's development, if I get an assurance that I can work for the betterment of people, I will join the BJP," he told reporters at the Kolkata airport.

When asked what role does he expect to play in the BJP, Banerjee said it is for the party to decide.

"I want to work for the people. So whatever role is assigned to me, I will accept," he said. Instead of mudslinging at each other, the Centre and the West Bengal government should work together for the people of the state.

With inputs from PTI

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Expelled AIADMK leader VK Sasikala discharged from Bengaluru hospital after recovering from COVID-19

Bengaluru: Expelled AIADMK leader VK Sasikala was discharged from a hospital in Bengaluru on Sunday after recovering from COVID-19, days after she was set free by the prison officials on completion her jail term in a corruption case, authorities said.

The family has decided to take Sasikala, close aide of late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, to Chennai, sources close to her said, adding the hospital has advised her to be under self-quarantine for sometime.

Sasikala was admitted to the Victoria Hospital after she tested positive for COVID-19 recently while under judicial custody.

Prison authorities in Bengaluru had formally released her on 27 January after she completed the four-year jail term in a Rs 66 crore disproportionate assets case.

On the advice of doctors, she remained in the hospital and was discharged on Sunday after her latest test reports came negative for COVID-19, hospital officials said.

A huge crowd of her supporters greeted Sasikala as she came out of the hospital. More than 300 police personnel were deployed in the area
to ensure law and order, police said.

Sambasivan, one of her supporters from Hosur in the border district of Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu, told PTI that this was like a festival for him. Her release comes ahead of the Assembly elections likely in April-May this year in Tamil Nadu.

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Farmers protest: Amarinder Singh calls for all-party meeting in Punjab on 2 Feb to show united front over stir

Chandigarh: Alleging that farmers from Punjab are being beaten up by police and "assaulted by goons" at their protest site on Delhi borders, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh called an all-party meeting on Tuesday to show unity and evolve a consensus on the way forward on the three contentious Central farm laws.

The meeting will be held at 11 am at Punjab Bhawan, according to a government statement issued Sunday. "This is not the time to stand on ego but to come together to save our state and our people," the chief minister told the parties.

As per the government statement, the meeting will discuss the situation arising out of the recent developments in the ongoing farmers' agitation in Delhi, especially in view of the Republic Day violence, "the Singhu border attack on farmers, and the massive vilification campaign against them".

Singh urged all parties to join the meeting in a spirit of unity, in support of the farmers and in the interest of Punjab. The chief minister said the "crisis" triggered by the farm laws was a matter of concern for the entire state and its people.

"Only through collective efforts of all Punjabis, and all the political parties of the state, can the crisis be tackled effectively and the farmers' interests be protected," he said.

"Our farmers are dying out there at the Delhi borders for more than two months now. They are being beaten up by the police and assaulted by goons. They are being harassed by being deprived of basic amenities," Singh said.

With a large number of farmers from Punjab at the receiving end of this battering, he said, it was imperative for all parties of the state to come together to evolve a cohesive strategy on the issue.

He expressed hope that all political parties in Punjab will put aside their differences to find a solution to the problem, which, he said, touches every Punjabi.

Farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, have been camping at Delhi's borders for over two months now, demanding scrapping of the farm laws and a legal guarantee on the minimum support price for crops.

After briefly appearing to be fizzling out following the Republic Day violence in Delhi, the farmers' stir against the agri laws seems to be reviving with more and more of farmers groups heading to the national capital from various parts of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

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First time in 13 years, Delhi records most number of 'cold wave' days in January, says IMD

New Delhi: Delhi recorded seven "cold wave" days in January, the maximum in the month since 2008, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Sunday.

In the plains, the IMD declares a cold wave if the minimum temperature dips to four degrees Celsius. A severe cold wave is when the minimum temperature is two degrees Celsius or less.

"The number of cold wave days in January this year was the maximum since 2008 when 12 such days were recorded," Kuldeep Srivastava, the head of the IMD's regional forecasting centre here, said.

Only one "cold wave" day each was recorded in 2020 and 2019. The city had recorded six "cold wave" days in January 2013.

Srivastava said only one western disturbance affected the plains of northwest India this January, leading to more cloudless nights and therefore, more "cold wave" days.

Clouds trap some of the outgoing infrared radiation, warming the ground. The minimum temperature falls in the absence of a cloud cover.

A cold wave swept the national capital on Sunday morning, with the minimum temperature dipping to 3.1 degrees Celsius.

This is the fourth "cold wave" day in Delhi in a week.

The minimum temperature settled at 2.1 degrees Celsius and 3.8 degrees Celsius in the national capital on Tuesday and Thursday respectively due to the cold and dry northwesterly winds barreling through the plains, the IMD said.

Cold wave conditions prevailed in Delhi on Friday too with the minimum temperature settling at four degrees Celsius, five notches below normal.

On New Year's Day, the city had recorded a minimum temperature of 1.1 degrees Celsius, the lowest for the month in 15 years.

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Farmers tractor rally violence: 38 cases filed, 84 arrested; a look at action taken by police so far across India

Five days since the violence during the farmers’ tractor day parade on Republic Day, a host of police cases have been filed in multiple states, including Delhi, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The Delhi Police have so far filed 38 cases and arrested 84 people in connection to the case.

Cases have been filed in five states so far, the latest being in Delhi on Saturday, against Congress Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor and six journalists over their allegedly “misleading” tweets on the violence and death of a protester during the farmers’ tractor rally in Delhi on Republic Day.

In addition to cases against journalists for 'misleading' tweets, police have also issued lookout notices against farmer leaders named in an FIR and invoked sedition charges in a case of the Red Fort incident.

Police file case against Shashi Tharoor, Rajdeep Sardesai across five states

Delhi

The Delhi Police has filed a case against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai, The Caravan magazine and others for allegedly misleading the public. The case has been registered at the IP Estate police station under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, police said.

Uttar Pradesh

Last week, Tharoor and six journalists had also been booked by the Noida Police for sedition, among other charges, over the violence during the farmers' tractor rally in Delhi, officials had said.

The FIR was lodged at the Sector 20 police station in Noida following a complaint by a resident who alleged that "digital broadcast" and "social media posts" by these people were responsible for the violence during a tractor rally by farmers in the national capital.

The journalists named in the FIR are Mrinal Pande, Rajdeep Sardesai, Vinod Jose, Zafar Agha, Paresh Nath and Anant Nath

According to The Indian Express, the complainant stated that the accused spread fake news about protester Navreet Singh’s death in Delhi on 26 January by blaming Delhi Police to “instigate violence”.

Navreet Singh died of head injuries when his tractor toppled after hitting a police barricade. The post mortem ruled out any bullet injuries. The complainant stated that the “accused” posted tweets that day and spread fake news about Singh’s death by calling it “killing”.

Haryana

Another similar case was filed in Gurugram against the same people for their allegedly “misleading” tweets on the violence and death of a protester during the farmers’ tractor rally in Delhi on Republic Day.

Karnataka

In Bengaluru, a social activist named Rakesh Shetty, alias Rakesh BS, filed a complaint of sedition, criminal conspiracy and other charges against the same six journalists and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.

According to the complainant, the tweets by those named in the FIR amounted to incitement, damaging of national integrity, creation of enmity between different religious groups and division in society.

As per The New India Express, the FIR stated, “The tweets have spread hate and disrupted national integration by spreading hate between religions, besides hurting religious feelings.”

Madhya Pradesh

As per The Indian Express, four separate FIRs have been filed naming Tharoor and the six journalists for allegedly instigating farmers with unverified and unauthentic information for “personal and professional advantage” in Madhya Pradesh

The FIRs have been registered in Bhopal, Hoshangabad and Betul districts, based on written applications by complainants who have submitted almost similar applications.

Delhi Police detain journalist 

On Saturday night, the Delhi Police detained a journalist from the Singhu border for allegedly misbehaving with a station house officer on duty at the protest site.

Mandeep Punia, a freelance journalist and contributor to the Caravan magazine, was detained while he was on an assignment to cover the clashes that broke out at Singhu on Friday.

Hours before his detention, Punia had posted a Facebook Live about the Singhu violence on Friday, detailing how men claiming to be locals had pelted stones at the protest site in full view of the police, reports The NewsMinute.

The police told PTI that some people, including Punia, were trying to remove the barricades put up to cordon off the site of farmers' protest at the Singhu border. The police have said that the journalist misbehaved with police personnel and was detained for the same.

Another journalist, Dharmender Singh from Online News India, was also picked by the police. The Indian Express reported that Singh was allowed to go later after he showed his identity card, while according to the Newslaundry, both Punia and Singh were taken to Alipur police station.

UP Police file FIR against journalist

The Uttar Pradesh Police has filed a case against The Wire’s Founding Editor Siddharth Varadarajan for tweeting an article published on the news website reporting that the farmer who was killed during a tractor rally on Republic Day had died in police firing.

The article, published on Friday, cited the family of Navreet Singh. They rejected the Delhi Police’s claims that the farmer had died after his tractor overturned. The family alleged that the man was shot.

What’s the IPC provision for “malicious prosecution”? Here is the UP Police indulging in it, filing an FIR against me for tweeting about what the grandfather of farmer who was killed in the tractor parade had said on the record! https://t.co/yRMAXtAXKm

— Siddharth (@svaradarajan) January 31, 2021

The FIR was filed on a complaint by one Sanju Turaha, a resident of Rampur district, according to The Print.

On Saturday evening, the Rampur district magistrate had responded to Varadarajan’s tweet sharing the article. “We ardently request you to please let’s be sticking to facts and facts only,” he wrote. “We hope our request will be sincerely taken up by you.”

The official also attached a denial note by the three government medical officers who conducted the postmortem, claiming that none of them had spoken to anybody from the media, or made any statement about the autopsy.

We ardently request you to please let's be sticking to facts and facts only. We hope our request will be sincerely taken up by you. Thank you.
Here is the official declaration. pic.twitter.com/2dowcoMriM

— DM Rampur (@DeoRampur) January 30, 2021

Delhi Police issue lookout notices 

Last week, on Wednesday, the police named as many as 37 farmer leaders, including Swaraj India President Yogendra Yadav and Bharatiya Kisan Union’s Haryana unit President Gurnam Singh Chaduni, in the first information report in connection with the violence.

The FIR also named social activist Medha Patkar and Bharatiya Kisan Union Spokesperson Rakesh Tikait, according to a copy viewed by Scroll.in.

Other farmer leaders who have been listed in the FIR are Darshan Pal, Gurnam Singh Chanduni, Kulwant Singh Sandhu, Satnam Singh Pannu, Joginder Singh Ugraha, Surjeet Singh Phool, Jagjeet Singh Dalewal, Balbir Singh Rajewal and Harinder Singh Lakhoval.

Delhi Police file 38 cases so far

The Delhi police have registered 38 FIRs so far. Nine of these 38 FIRs were transferred to the crime branch of the Delhi Police for investigation, reports Scroll.in. The Delhi Police have also appealed to the public, including media personnel, to help identify those behind the violence, by sharing videos or photos of the incident with them.

Police had asked nine farmer leaders to join the investigation in the case on Friday, but no one turned up.

According to officials, the special investigation team of Delhi Police has asked farmer leaders Rakesh Tikait, Pawan Kumar, Raj Kishore Singh, Tajender Singh Virk, Jitender Singh, Trilochan Singh, Gurmukh Singh, Harpreet Singh and Jagtar Singh Bajwa to join the investigation. The notices were forwarded through WhatsApp to them.

The tractor march by farmers protesting against the three recent agriculture laws had turned violent on 26 January, leading to chaotic scenes on the streets of the national capital on Republic Day.

While the police have alleged that farmer leaders made inflammatory speeches, and were involved in the violence during the tractor parade, farmers have denied the allegations and blamed “antisocial elements” for the chaos.

With inputs from PTI

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Farmers tractor rally violence: 38 cases filed, 84 arrested; a look at action taken by Delhi Police so far across India

Five days since the violence during the farmers’ tractor day parade on Republic Day, a host of police cases have been filed in multiple states, including Delhi, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The Delhi Police have so far filed 38 cases and arrested 84 people in connection to the case.

Cases have been filed in five states so far, the latest being in Delhi on Saturday, against Congress Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor and six journalists over their allegedly “misleading” tweets on the violence and death of a protester during the farmers’ tractor rally in Delhi on Republic Day.

In addition to cases against journalists over the violence, police have also issued lookout notices against farmer leaders named in an FIR and invoked sedition charges in a case of the Red Fort incident.

Police file case against Shashi Tharoor, Rajdeep Sardesai across five states

Delhi

The Delhi Police has filed a case against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai, The Caravan magazine and others for allegedly misleading the public. The case has been registered at the IP Estate police station under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, police said.

Uttar Pradesh

Last week, Tharoor and six journalists had also been booked by the Noida Police for sedition, among other charges, over the violence during the farmers' tractor rally in Delhi, officials had said.

The FIR was lodged at the Sector 20 police station in Noida following a complaint by a resident who alleged that "digital broadcast" and "social media posts" by these people were responsible for the violence during a tractor rally by farmers in the national capital.

The journalists named in the FIR are Mrinal Pande, Rajdeep Sardesai, Vinod Jose, Zafar Agha, Paresh Nath and Anant Nath

According to The Indian Express, the complainant stated that the accused spread fake news about protester Navreet Singh’s death in Delhi on 26 January by blaming Delhi Police to “instigate violence”.

Navreet Singh died of head injuries when his tractor toppled after hitting a police barricade. The post mortem ruled out any bullet injuries. The complainant stated that the “accused” posted tweets that day and spread fake news about Singh’s death by calling it “killing”.

Haryana

Another similar case was filed in Gurugram against the same people for their allegedly “misleading” tweets on the violence and death of a protester during the farmers’ tractor rally in Delhi on Republic Day.

Karnataka

In Bengaluru, a social activist named Rakesh Shetty, alias Rakesh BS, filed a complaint of sedition, criminal conspiracy and other charges against the same six journalists and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.

According to the complainant, the tweets by those named in the FIR amounted to incitement, damaging of national integrity, creation of enmity between different religious groups and division in society.

As per The New India Express, the FIR stated, “The tweets have spread hate and disrupted national integration by spreading hate between religions, besides hurting religious feelings.”

Madhya Pradesh

As per The Indian Express, four separate FIRs have been filed naming Tharoor and the six journalists for allegedly instigating farmers with unverified and unauthentic information for “personal and professional advantage” in Madhya Pradesh

The FIRs have been registered in Bhopal, Hoshangabad and Betul districts, based on written applications by complainants who have submitted almost similar applications.

Delhi Police detain journalist 

On Saturday night, the Delhi Police detained a journalist from the Singhu border for allegedly misbehaving with a station house officer on duty at the protest site.

Mandeep Punia, a freelance journalist and contributor to the Caravan magazine, was detained while he was on an assignment to cover the clashes that broke out at Singhu on Friday.

Hours before his detention, Punia had posted a Facebook Live about the Singhu violence on Friday, detailing how men claiming to be locals had pelted stones at the protest site in full view of the police, reports The NewsMinute.

The police told PTI that some people, including Punia, were trying to remove the barricades put up to cordon off the site of farmers' protest at the Singhu border. The police have said that the journalist misbehaved with police personnel and was detained for the same.

Another journalist, Dharmender Singh from Online News India, was also picked by the police. The Indian Express reported that Singh was allowed to go later after he showed his identity card, while according to the Newslaundry, both Punia and Singh were taken to Alipur police station.

UP Police file FIR against journalist

The Uttar Pradesh Police has filed a case against The Wire’s Founding Editor Siddharth Varadarajan for tweeting an article published on the news website reporting that the farmer who was killed during a tractor rally on Republic Day had died in police firing.

The article, published on Friday, cited the family of Navreet Singh. They rejected the Delhi Police’s claims that the farmer had died after his tractor overturned. The family alleged that the man was shot.

What’s the IPC provision for “malicious prosecution”? Here is the UP Police indulging in it, filing an FIR against me for tweeting about what the grandfather of farmer who was killed in the tractor parade had said on the record! https://t.co/yRMAXtAXKm

— Siddharth (@svaradarajan) January 31, 2021

The FIR was filed on a complaint by one Sanju Turaha, a resident of Rampur district, according to The Print.

On Saturday evening, the Rampur district magistrate had responded to Varadarajan’s tweet sharing the article. “We ardently request you to please let’s be sticking to facts and facts only,” he wrote. “We hope our request will be sincerely taken up by you.”

The official also attached a denial note by the three government medical officers who conducted the postmortem, claiming that none of them had spoken to anybody from the media, or made any statement about the autopsy.

We ardently request you to please let's be sticking to facts and facts only. We hope our request will be sincerely taken up by you. Thank you.
Here is the official declaration. pic.twitter.com/2dowcoMriM

— DM Rampur (@DeoRampur) January 30, 2021

Delhi Police issue lookout notices 

Last week, on Wednesday, the police named as many as 37 farmer leaders, including Swaraj India President Yogendra Yadav and Bharatiya Kisan Union’s Haryana unit President Gurnam Singh Chaduni, in the first information report in connection with the violence.

The FIR also named social activist Medha Patkar and Bharatiya Kisan Union Spokesperson Rakesh Tikait, according to a copy viewed by Scroll.in.

Other farmer leaders who have been listed in the FIR are Darshan Pal, Gurnam Singh Chanduni, Kulwant Singh Sandhu, Satnam Singh Pannu, Joginder Singh Ugraha, Surjeet Singh Phool, Jagjeet Singh Dalewal, Balbir Singh Rajewal and Harinder Singh Lakhoval.

Police file 38 cases so far

The Delhi police have registered 38 FIRs so far. Nine of these 38 FIRs were transferred to the crime branch of the Delhi Police for investigation, reports Scroll.in. The Delhi Police have also appealed to the public, including media personnel, to help identify those behind the violence, by sharing videos or photos of the incident with them.

Police had asked nine farmer leaders to join the investigation in the case on Friday, but no one turned up.

According to officials, the special investigation team of Delhi Police has asked farmer leaders Rakesh Tikait, Pawan Kumar, Raj Kishore Singh, Tajender Singh Virk, Jitender Singh, Trilochan Singh, Gurmukh Singh, Harpreet Singh and Jagtar Singh Bajwa to join the investigation. The notices were forwarded through WhatsApp to them.

The tractor march by farmers protesting against the three recent agriculture laws had turned violent on 26 January, leading to chaotic scenes on the streets of the national capital on Republic Day.

While the police have alleged that farmer leaders made inflammatory speeches, and were involved in the violence during the tractor parade, farmers have denied the allegations and blamed “antisocial elements” for the chaos.

With inputs from PTI

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Chirag Paswan invited to Union Budget session meeting but won't attend due to health reasons, says LJP

 

New Delhi: Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) president Chirag Paswan is among the leaders invited to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) meeting to discuss the ruling bloc's agenda for the Budget session of Parliament, party sources said.

However, Paswan will not be attending the meeting due to health reasons, they said, adding that he also skipped the all-party meet.

The invite to Paswan from Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi to the meeting of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies assumes significance as it comes in the backdrop of the LJP walking out of the NDA in Bihar due to its opposition to Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and contesting the state Assembly polls on its own.

Though the LJP could win only one seat in the Bihar polls, it inflicted serious damage on the JD(U), the tally of which fell to 43 from 71, triggering a backlash from Kumar's party, with some of its leaders questioning if Paswan could still be in the NDA at the Centre.

A vocal supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Paswan has maintained that he remains an ally of the BJP at the Centre. Senior leaders of the saffron party had also criticised him for fielding candidates against the JD(U) in the Bihar polls.

The invite to Paswan for the NDA meeting indicates that the BJP, which has lost a few key allies, continues to see the LJP, which was founded by towering Dalit leader Ram Vilas Paswan, as a partner.

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Mann Ki Baat: Narendra Modi discusses importance of platform to create next-generation thought leaders and writers

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the country was very pained at seeing the dishonour to the Tricolour on Republic Day, referring to the religious flag incident at the Red Fort during the farmers' tractor parade.

In his monthly Mann ki Baat radio broadcast, Modi also said the government is committed to modernising agriculture and is taking many steps in this regard.

"In Delhi, on January 26, the country was very pained seeing the dishonour to the Tricolour," he said.

Thousands of protesting farmers had breached the monument on January 26 after deviating from their tractor rally route triggering a conflict with the police. A section of protesting farmers hoisted flags from some domes of the iconic monument in the National Capital.

During Mann Ki Baat, Modi also spoke about a platform to create next-generation thought-leaders and writers. He said that a scheme has also been announced to "attract, nurture and promote young writers who will tell our stories the way we want".

In his broadcast, the prime minister also said that India has not only rolled out the world's largest vaccination drive but is also vaccinating its citizens at the fastest rate.

The country has vaccinated over 30 lakh corona warriors in 15 days, he said, adding the US and the UK took 18 and 36 days to reach this figure.

He said the government is committed to modernising agriculture and is taking many steps in this regard. Modi added that the government's efforts in this direction will continue.

The prime minister's remarks come amid ongoing protests by thousands of farmers, mostly from Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, at several border points into Delhi since November-end, demanding a repeal of the three new agri laws and a legal guarantee to the minimum support system for their crops.

Modi also touched upon the Padma awards announced last week, and said the country has continued the recent tradition of honouring unsung heroes.

The prime minister also hailed the Indian cricket team's performance in its historic series win in Australia, saying the team's hard work and teamwork was inspirational.

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Farmers' protests: Delhi Police detains freelance journalist Mandeep Punia at Singhu, claims he 'misbehaved' with cops

The Delhi Police detained Mandeep Punia, a freelance journalist, at the Singhu border protest site on Saturday. The police alleged that Punia had "misbehaved" with a station house officer (SHO) at Singhu, reports said.

Punia has written for The Caravan and Junputh. Citing purported videos of the detention, reports said that "police personnel in riot gear (were seen) dragging Punia away".

The Indian Express quoted police officials as saying that another journalist, Dharmender Singh, was also "briefly picked up and later let go after he showed his press ID".

"Punia was standing with the protesters and he didn’t have a press ID card. He was trying to move through the barricades which were kept to segregate and secure the area. An altercation broke out between police personnel and him. He misbehaved… there was some manhandling as well. He was then detained," the report further quoted a police official as saying.

An editor at The Caravan, Hartosh Singh Bal, tweeted that an FIR has been filed against Punia at the Alipur police station.

we have been informed by addl DCP J. Meena that FIR 52/21 PS Alipur has been filed under sections 186, 332, 353 IPC, we'll take whatever legal recourse is necessary. We've learnt Mandeep had spent the morning trying to track down those from bjp claiming to be 'locals' at Singhu https://t.co/VBUfXAmfs5

— Hartosh Singh Bal (@HartoshSinghBal) January 30, 2021

Prominent journalists and activists raised the issue of Punia's arrest on Twitter, demanding that he be freed from police custody.

The police should release Mandeep Punia immediately and stop intimidating and harassing journalists. Mandeep interned with @thewire_in a couple of years back and rural reporting is his passion. https://t.co/AUYyfxKYjW

— Siddharth (@svaradarajan) January 30, 2021

Just not done.
I have known Mandeep to be a passionate and committed journalist.
Picking up someone like him, without any legal basis, is another instance of growing threat to free media.
Release Mandeep Punia immediately. pic.twitter.com/CQmheGqAU4

— Yogendra Yadav (@_YogendraYadav) January 30, 2021

Solidarity with Mandeep Punia. Is he ok ? https://t.co/3W0fPEOVGW

— Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) January 31, 2021

Release Mandeep Punia and Dharmender Singh immediately https://t.co/XwxbCD6jtP

— Rohini Singh (@rohini_sgh) January 30, 2021

The Delhi Police has filed cases against several journalists covering the two-month-long farmers' protest since the violence that broke out on Republic Day. Politicians like Congress MP Shashi Tharoor have also been booked for various charges, including sedition.

On Saturday, the Delhi Police filed a case against senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai, The Caravan magazine, and Tharoor for allegedly misleading the public about the death of a protester at the ITO during the violence on Republic Day. The case has been registered at the IP Estate police station under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, PTI reported.

Earlier in the week, six journalists were booked by the Noida Police for sedition, among other charges, over the violence during farmers' tractor rally. The FIR was lodged at the Sector 20 police station in Noida following a complaint by a resident who alleged that "digital broadcast" and "social media posts" by these people were responsible for the violence.

The journalists named in the FIR are Mrinal Pande, Rajdeep Sardesai, Vinod Jose, Zafar Agha, Paresh Nath and Anant Nath. An unidentified person has also been named in the FIR.

With inputs from PTI

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Active COVID-19 cases remain below 2 lakh for twelfth straight day; 13,052 cases reported in past 24 hours

New Delhi: With 13,052 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India's COVID-19 tally has gone up to 1,07,46,183, while the number of people who have recuperated from the disease has surged to 1,04,23,125, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday.

The national recovery rate has climbed to 96.99 per cent.

The death toll increased to 1,54,274 with 127 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,04,23,125. The COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.44 per cent.

The total COVID-19 active cases remained below 2 lakh for the 12th consecutive day.

There are 1,68,784 active coronavirus infections in the country which comprises 1.57 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.

India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on 7 August, 30 lakh on 23 August, 40 lakh on 5 September and 50 lakh on 16 September. It went past 60 lakh on 28 September, 70 lakh on 11 October, crossed 80 lakh on 29 October, 90 lakh on 20 November and surpassed the one-crore mark on 19 December.

According to the ICMR, 19,65,88,372 samples have been tested up to 30 January with 7,50,964 samples being tested on Saturday.

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Pune court rejects plea to stop 'Covishield' trademark use by Serum Institute of India

Pune: A local court has rejected an application seeking an injunction against the use of 'Covishield' as a brand name by the vaccine-maker Serum Institute of India (SII), the company said on Saturday.

SII is producing a coronavirus vaccine named Covishield, co-developed by the University of Oxford and British-Swedish company AstraZeneca. The Indian government has purchased 11 million doses of Covishield vaccine.

While the court order was not available immediately, the lawyer of Cutis-Biotech, which had filed the suit, said it would file an appeal in the high court.

On 4 January, Cutis-Biotech, a pharmaceutical firm, filed a suit in the civil court claiming it was a prior user of the brand name Covishield and sought to restrain SII from using the name.

SII had told the court that the two companies operate in different product categories and there is no scope for confusion over the trademark.

"Court has rejected the application," said SII's lawyer Hitesh Jain.

Advocate Aditya Soni, the lawyer of Cutis-Biotech, said the order copy was not yet available, but operative order was read out in the court. "We will file an appeal against the order in the high court," he said.

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Upcoming Budget to be part of series of ‘mini Budgets’ that FM gave in 2020, says Narendra Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had to give four-five mini-budgets in the form of packages in 2020 and expressed confidence that the upcoming budget would also be seen as part of that series.

In his remarks to the media before the commencement of Parliament's Budget Session, Modi said the first session of this decade commences on Friday and emphasised that this decade is very important for the bright future of India.

Keeping in mind this decade, there should be discussions and presentation of different views this session, he said.

The prime minister expressed confidence that MPs will not shy away from contributing to make full use of Parliament for fulfilling people's aspirations.

"Probably for the first time in India's history, the finance minister had to give four-five mini budgets in 2020 in the form of different packages," he said.

"Therefore, I am confident that this budget will also be seen as part of the series of the four-five mini budgets," Modi said

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VK Sasikala to be discharged from Bengaluru hospital today after completing COVID-19 treatment

Bengaluru: Expelled AIADMK leader VK Sasikala, undergoing treatment for COVID-19 in a hospital, would be discharged on Sunday, a bulletin said.

"Sasikala Natarajan completed 10 days of treatment today. She has been asymptomatic and maintaining saturation without oxygen for the past three days. As per protocol, she can be discharged from the hospital," Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute said in the bulletin.

"The team of doctors attending to her has taken the decision that she is fit for discharge and she will be discharged tomorrow, but has been advised home quarantine," it said.

Sasikala was released on Wednesday after she completed four years of imprisonment in a jail here in a case of disproportionate assets.

Being treated for COVID-19, the 66-year-old close aide of former Tamil Nadu chief minister late J Jayalalithaa had remained in the hospital.

Sasikala's return to Tamil Nadu is of political significance as it comes at a time when the southern state is going for Assembly polls in April-May.

Her supporters expect their 'Chinnamma' as Sasikala is called by her supporters to gain control of the AIADMK, from which she was expelled as an interim general secretary.

The ruling AIADMK, led by Chief Minister K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam, had time and again asserted that there was no scope for Sasikala being inducted again in the party.

After Jayalalithaa's death in December 2016, Sasikala was set to become the chief minister in early 2017 with the party naming her interim general secretary and following her election as AIADMK legislature party leader.

However, with the Supreme Court restoring the trial court's judgement convicting her in the assets case, she facilitated the election of Palaniswami as the AIADMK legislature party leader and made him the chief minister.

Before going to prison in Bengaluru, she had visited the mausoleum of Jayalalithaa in Chennai and made a dramatic vow, though she did not openly declare what it was all about.

Along with her sister-in-law J Ilavarasi and late Jayalalithaa's disowned foster son V N Sudhakaran, she was convicted in the Rs 66-crore disproportionate assets case which bars her from contesting elections for six years from the date of her release.

The 27 September, 2014 order of the Special Court awarding imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10 crore each was upheld by the Supreme Court on 14 February, 2017.

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Union Budget 2021: Abolish tax on dividends for retail investors to consider equity investments

The year 2020 has brought unprecedented upheaval in the lives of people and businesses across the globe. For the investor community too it was a time of volatility and uncertainty. While the world is warming up and adjusting to the new normal, many people and businesses are still reeling from the economic impact of COVID-19. With the Union Budget 2021-2022 announcement some hours away, here are some expectations from retail investors for this year’s Budget.

Equity-related mutual funds

Indexation assists investors in paying taxes on the real value of the investments as compared to the nominal value. At present, the government offers indexation benefits for gold investments, debt mutual funds, and real estate. However, equity-related funds are not eligible to be considered. From 2018, Long-term Capital Gains (LTCG) is taxed at 10 percent sans any indexation benefits. While the LTCG up to Rs 1 lakh is exempted from tax every year, the impact on the tax liability is not substantial. Also, this rule incentivises investors to book profits every year as opposed to staying invested for a longer period.

NPS Tax-saver to all investors

Last year, the Union Budget announced the launch of Tier-II of the National Pension Scheme (NPS). This had a shorter lock-in period when compared to the Tier-I lock-in requirement of up to retirement. However, Tier-II NPS funds were only made available to government employees.  After reducing the lock-in requirement, NPS funds can be compared with the Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS) schemes. Hence, investors expect the government to make Tier –II available to all retail investors to give them an additional option of investing in a tax-saving equity-related fund.

Tax on dividends

In 2020, interest rates dropped, and several investors felt a significant strain on their fixed, regular income. Moreover, the government had scrapped the Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) and made dividends taxable for all investors. Given the current state of the pandemic-hit economy, investors require an avenue to boost the fixed income section of their portfolios that can be easily replaced by equity shares of companies that have a history of offering good dividends. If the Budget manages to abolish tax on dividends or re-introduce DDT, then retail investors might start looking at equity investments for dividends as a replacement for fixed income too.

The Union Budget 2021-2022 will be the first one in the post-COVID world and the industry will be expecting concrete measures from the government in favour of a fast-tracked revival process for the economy. Particularly sectors such as retail, travel, tourism, and aviation, are facing an urgent need of a speedy recovery process in order to bounce back to normalcy. Increased and continuous support from the government in terms of enhanced infrastructure, enabling complete digitisation, and eradication of the aforementioned taxes will ensure that the Indian economy’s revival is well underway.

The writer is Co-Founder and COO, Groww

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Kafeel Khan, 80 others included in list of history-sheeters in UP's Gorakhpur, to be on police radar

Gorakhpur: Dr Kafeel Khan and 80 others have been included in the list of history-sheeters in Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh and they will be on the radar of police, officials said on Saturday.

History-sheets have been opened against the 81 people on the instruction of Senior Superintendent of Police Jogendra Kumar, they said, adding that the district now has a total of 1,543 history-sheeters, or persons with a criminal record.

Kafeel Khan's brother Adeel Khan, however, told PTI that the history-sheet against the doctor was opened on 18 June, 2020, but the information was given to the media on Friday.

In a video message released on Saturday, Kafeel Khan said, "The UP government has opened my history-sheet. They say that they will monitor me for life. Good, give two security guards who will keep an eye on me for 24 hours. At least, I will be able to save myself from fake cases."

"In Uttar Pradesh, the situation is such that the criminals are not monitored, but the history-sheet of innocent persons are opened," he added.

Khan was arrested in January 2020 after a speech he had delivered at the Aligarh Muslim University on 10 December, 2019 during the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protests. He was subsequently booked under the stringent National Security Act (NSA).

On 1 September, 2020, the Allahabad High Court had quashed Khan's detention under the NSA and ordered his immediate release, saying his speech at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) didn't promote hatred or violence.

In his video message, Khan also said he had written to the state government requesting it to reinstate him at his post in Gorakhpur's Baba Raghav Das (BRD) Medical College.

Khan hit the headlines after the 2017 tragedy at the BRD Medical College, in which several kids died due to lack of oxygen cylinders. Initially, he was hailed as a saviour for the children for arranging emergency oxygen cylinders but later, faced action, along with nine other doctors and staff members of the hospital, all of whom were released on bail later.

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SC withdraws approval for appointment of Justice Pushpa Ganediwala of Bombay HC as permanent judge

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Collegium is understood to have withdrawn its approval to a proposal for the appointment of an additional judge of the Bombay High Court, Justice PV Ganediwala, as a permanent judge of the court following her two controversial verdicts in sexual assault cases.

The decision was taken after the judge faced flak for her interpretation of sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, a source said.

Justice Pushpa Ganediwala recently acquitted a man accused of groping a 12-year-old girl's breast because he did not make skin-to-skin contact and days earlier, ruled that holding the hands of a five-year-old girl and unzipping the trousers do not amount to "sexual assault" under the POCSO Act.

On 27 January, the Supreme Court stayed the Bombay High Court order acquitting the man after Attorney General KK Venugopal said the order would set a dangerous precedent.

The collegium headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde, at a meeting held on 20 January, had okayed the proposal for making Justice Ganediwala a permanent judge.

In two other judgments this month, Justice Ganediwala acquitted two men accused of raping minor girls after noting that the testimonies of the victims did not inspire confidence to fix criminal liability on the accused.

"No doubt the testimony of the prosecutrix (victim) is sufficient for a conviction of the accused. However, the same ought to inspire the confidence of this court. It ought to be of sterling quality," she said in one of the judgments.

Justice Pushpa Virendra Ganediwala was born on 3 March, 1969, at Paratwada in Maharashtra's Amravati district.

She was a panel advocate for various banks and insurance companies and was also an honorary lecturer in various colleges of Amravati and gave lectures to the MBA and LLM students of the Amravati University.

She was directly appointed as a district judge in 2007 and was elevated as an additional judge of the Bombay High Court on 13 February, 2019.

Besides the CJI, justices N V Ramana and RF Nariman are part of the three-member collegium, which takes decisions with regard to high court judges.

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Union Budget 2021: Govt needs to emphasise skill development in education policy to support economy

For India to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 and to accomplish its vision of becoming a self-reliant $5 trillion economy, one of the fundamental requirements will be to focus and invest in education. In the recent past, the government has made significant strides in this sector, a monumental development being the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 reforms that are currently underway.

Therefore, the upcoming Union Budget 2021 will be key for two reasons; first, it is likely to provide an in-depth view of the implementation of NEP 2020 and secondly, this is the first Budget post-pandemic and hence, will be key about how the government plans to get the education sector back on track from the pandemic impact.

Union Budget 2021 must emphasise on the following segments:

We need to deepen our focus on skill development, right from the corporate sector to the low-income group youth ensuring Indians are equipped with the necessary skills to support and accelerate the economy. According to a survey report by FICCI, at least 9 percent Indians will be in jobs that do not exist currently and 37 percent of workforce will require radically changed skill sets to meet their employment demands.

Another report by McKinsey highlighted the fact that as many as 87 percent of surveyed executives said that their organizations were either experiencing skill gaps or were expecting them to happen within the next few years. The pandemic has emphasized the need to fill this gap and has put a spotlight on the need to re-skill and up-skill citizens across levels and sectors.

Hence, there is a need to grant appropriate stimulus to the skill development sector and ensure inclusive growth opportunities for all, as well as create a workforce that is ready to meet the global demands too.

Secondly, education infrastructure is another important segment which the Union Budget should focus on. The pandemic forced over 1.5 million schools across India to close overnight, emphasising the necessity for digital education. Although in the post-pandemic ecosystem, digital education has been embraced, India still needs to build capabilities to support blended learning completely. According to a UNICEF report, only 24 percent of Indian households have the internet to access e-education. Therefore, education infrastructure lending is a necessity to aid the development of K12 schools across the country.

As India shifts towards blended learning and the usage of technology become paramount, the government must consider granting ‘infrastructure status’ to education institutions to make quality education affordable and accessible for deserving Indian students. The focus from the government and easy availability of capital will induce an environment of innovation in the field of education, which can help bridge the demand and supply challenges in this sector.

Budget 2021 should implement reforms such as refinancing of retail education loans for lower ticket size. Such a financing scheme, similar to the one available to housing finance companies (HFCs), can provide a boost to the education loan segment and contribute to liquidity management for non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). This in turn would provide the necessary momentum for NBFCs to create a stronger customer proposition and contribute to building the economy at large.

The education sector is undoubtedly at the cusp of an exciting phase with policy push and technological advancements. We are positive about the growing inclination towards equitable and quality education and look forward to the upcoming Union Budget. We hope that the new directions will help bridge the existing educational gaps and secure a sustainable long-term growth structure that will further boost the economy.

The writer is CEO, Avanse Financial Services

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Three-day nationwide Polio Immunisation programme to begin from today with COVID-19 precautions

The nationwide Pulse Polio Immunisation (PPI) campaign will be undertaken today (Sunday, 31 January) covering children up to five years of age, with preventive measures for COVID-19, reports said.

The countrywide immunisation programme was earlier scheduled to start from 17 January, however, it was postponed due to the COVID-19 vaccination drive which started on 16 January.

According to toa report in Hindustan Times, the Pulse Polio immunisation programme was launched in 1995 following the World Health Organization's Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

While Polio has existed for a long time, it first became a major public health issue in the late Victorian times with major epidemics in Europe and the United States, a report in BBC said. The disease causes spinal and respiratory paralysis and can also kill victims. While it remains incurable, vaccines have helped in its nearly total eradication in modern times.

Earlier in the day, President Ram Nath Kovind launched the first round of the Pulse Polio Programme 2021 on Saturday by administering polio drops to some children at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

President Kovind launches the first round of Pulse Polio Programme 2021 by administering Polio drops to children at Rashtrapati Bhavan. pic.twitter.com/ukIiqGyq4R

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) January 30, 2021

President Kovind launches the first round of Pulse Polio Programme 2021 by administering Polio drops to children at Rashtrapati Bhavan. pic.twitter.com/ukIiqGyq4R — President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) January 30, 2021

The Polio drive will adhere to the COVID-19 protocols and guidelines and therefore, there will be mandatory masks, social distancing and hand hygiene during the drive. The government has advised senior citizens to not go to the immunisation camps with children due to the risks involved because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As per a report in Livemint.com, the three-day polio vaccination drive will continue till 2 February. The vaccination programme for the eradication of polio is organised twice a year. Reports suggest that the coronavirus vaccination drive may be put on hold for three days when polio immunisation drive goes on.

According to a report on polioeradication.org, India constituted over 60 percent of all global polio cases as recently as 2009, however, the country was "officially declared polio-free in 2014, along with the rest of the South-East Asia Region".

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VK Sasikala will be discharged from Bengaluru hospital today after completing COVID-19 treatment

Bengaluru: Expelled AIADMK leader VK Sasikala, undergoing treatment for COVID-19 in a hospital, would be discharged on Sunday, a bulletin said.

"Sasikala Natarajan completed 10 days of treatment today. She has been asymptomatic and maintaining saturation without oxygen for the past three days. As per protocol, she can be discharged from the hospital," Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute said in the bulletin.

"The team of doctors attending to her has taken the decision that she is fit for discharge and she will be discharged tomorrow, but has been advised home quarantine," it said.

Sasikala was released on Wednesday after she completed four years of imprisonment in a jail here in a case of disproportionate assets.

Being treated for COVID-19, the 66-year-old close aide of former Tamil Nadu chief minister late J Jayalalithaa had remained in the hospital.

Sasikala's return to Tamil Nadu is of political significance as it comes at a time when the southern state is going for Assembly polls in April-May.

Her supporters expect their 'Chinnamma' as Sasikala is called by her supporters to gain control of the AIADMK, from which she was expelled as an interim general secretary.

The ruling AIADMK, led by Chief Minister K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam, had time and again asserted that there was no scope for Sasikala being inducted again in the party.

After Jayalalithaa's death in December 2016, Sasikala was set to become the chief minister in early 2017 with the party naming her interim general secretary and following her election as AIADMK legislature party leader.

However, with the Supreme Court restoring the trial court's judgement convicting her in the assets case, she facilitated the election of Palaniswami as the AIADMK legislature party leader and made him the chief minister.

Before going to prison in Bengaluru, she had visited the mausoleum of Jayalalithaa in Chennai and made a dramatic vow, though she did not openly declare what it was all about.

Along with her sister-in-law J Ilavarasi and late Jayalalithaa's disowned foster son V N Sudhakaran, she was convicted in the Rs 66-crore disproportionate assets case which bars her from contesting elections for six years from the date of her release.

The 27 September, 2014 order of the Special Court awarding imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10 crore each was upheld by the Supreme Court on 14 February, 2017.

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Union Budget 2021: Govt should consider light touch regulatory regime to attract global lenders in IFSC

The International Financial Services Centre (IFSC)’s Gujarat International Finance Tech-City (GIFT) is the first smart city in India that is fast emerging as an attractive destination for financial services players. After the setting up of the International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA) [being the Unified Regulator for IFSC], it has witnessed some path-breaking regulations and policy announcements in a very short span of time for different aspects of financial services such as banking, stock-broking, investors in IFSC, etc.

Recently, the IFSCA permitted Global In-House Centres (GICs) of financial companies to be set up in IFSC. The Alternative Investment Funds regime is also attractive and it should see funds/fund managers setting up base in IFSC soon. One must also applaud the IFSCA on being very open to suggestions from investors and pro-development. The IFSCA works closely with the government to address the changing business environment/needs and providing more business opportunities/competitive advantages for units in IFSC. Whilst a lot has already been done, some of the key tax considerations which the government may address in the Budget 2021 to make IFSC more attractive are:

Banking units in IFSC

Banks set up in IFSC can invest through Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) route (post-seeking FPI license) into the domestic market and such income from FPI activity shall be governed by Section 115AD (special tax regime applicable for FPI). Such income is not eligible for a tax holiday. However, in order to encourage banks to set up in IFSC and to make it simpler for them to operate, the entire income of the banking unit, including income from FPI activity should be eligible for deduction under section 80LA.

Recently, non-delivery based forward trading has been permitted to banks in IFSC. In order to encourage their clients, i.e. the bank’s clients, such as hedge funds to also trade in the IFSC market, a tax exemption could be proposed for the foreign funds earning income from such trading, to move their trading to IFSC.  Without clarity on the taxation of NDF trades, there is an apprehension that it may be taxed at the maximum rate and hence the market may not pick up.

Relaxation of MAT for stock broking

The IFSCA has permitted eligible foreign entities to set up a branch office as a stockbroker or GIC. The income from such a branch would be eligible for tax holiday [section 80LA]. However, such a branch would be liable to pay tax on its book profits under the Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) provisions disregarding tax holiday otherwise available. These units should be exempted from MAT provisions or MAT rate should be reduced. This would reduce the imbalance between the overall tax cost for such branches vis-a-vis stock broking units of domestic entities in IFSC which would be paying tax under the concessional tax regime provided under section 115BAA of the Act (post-the tax holiday period) and to whom MAT provisions are not applicable.

Objective criteria for fund managers

In order to address the likely invocation of General Anti-Avoidance Rules (‘GAAR’) by tax officers, objective criteria for fund managers in IFSC (e.g. certain minimum activities, employees, etc.) must be laid down. Further, the criteria could vary depending on the size of the fund or it could be spelt out for each fund while granting approval depending on the peculiarities of each structure. This would address subjectivity around the applicability and invocation of the GAAR provisions and provide certainty.

Dividend, repatriation of funds

The earlier benefit of dividend being tax-free should be reinstated for dividend income earned by the parent companies from their subsidiaries incorporated in IFSC. Also, the buy-back/income distribution tax should not be made applicable to companies set up in IFSC. This shall allow companies in IFSC to upstream profits / repatriate the capital in a tax-efficient manner. For all foreign investors/lenders, the ability to repatriate capital and ease of winding up operations is very important. 

Therefore, this would give a good boost to foreign investors. Equally important is the ease of winding up operations and repatriating balance capital. These ease of business measures would go a long way in boosting the confidence of foreign investors to come to IFSC.

The above are only a few thoughts to make IFSC more attractive. There’s lots more coming up in IFSC like aircraft leasing, which has been recently recognized as a financial services activity.  It is important that a light-touch regulatory regime be put in place to attract global lenders.

On the tax front also, it is important to make it easy for both the lessor and lessee to avoid tax leakage. The authority could consider blanket exemption from withholding tax for interest received/earned by financer (i.e. entity undertaking lending to entities engaged in aircraft leasing activity) on loan advanced to the entity undertaking aircraft leasing activity; to the interest portion of finance lease rentals earned/received by SPV from the airlines; and lease rentals payable by airlines to SPV.

This would reduce the administrative burden of obtaining Nil withholding tax certificate under section 197 of the Act given that units in IFSC (i.e. Financer/SPV) would be claiming tax holiday.

The mutual funds and foreign lending companies are other new and exciting businesses in IFSC to watch out for.  Here also it will be important to put in easy and lucid tax and regulatory policies. 

So far one of the key complaints of the foreign investors was on the ease of doing business in India. IFSCA, with its attractive policies, a very proactive regulator and a conducive business environment seems to have addressed these concerns.

The writer is Partner and Head, Financial Services Tax, KPMG in India and Nilesh Pal, CA

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Union Budget 2021: Enhance tax benefit in interest on housing loan to Rs 3 lakh from current Rs 2 lakh

The Union Budget comes with a lot of expectations, especially amidst the recovery from the pandemic. We expect that the government’s agenda of ‘Housing for All’ will see a major push through this Budget as well.

As a Housing Finance Company (HFC) we also expect announcements which will enhance/ renew of prospective buyers towards owning a house and further propels investments in real estate as an asset class. Needless to say the real estate sector, along with manufacturing and services, is also a huge employment generator, and any positive activity in this sector aids the overall buoyancy in the economy.

We feel, keeping in mind the real estate price inflation over the last decade or so, as a first step, the government can consider enhancement in a tax benefit for interest in housing loan to Rs 3 lakh from the current levels of Rs 2 lakh. The limit can be higher up to Rs 4-5 lakh in metro locations, which will be in line with the real estate price difference which exists between metros and other major cities.

Also, the enhancement in 80C benefits especially with respect to limits for housing loan principal repayment by retail borrowers would be beneficial. The introduction of loss on housing property should be revisited and the limits on the same can be enhanced as well. This would encourage more end investments in the sector.

The initiative should be taken towards liquidity enhancement for small HFCs as well. Schemes/measures like Targeted Long Term Repo Operations or TLTRO and Partial Credit Guarantee or PCG etc., which have seen considerable success over the last few months, should be a part of business and be used by the regulator whenever there is an inherent need in system for the same. Also some kind of SOPs should be given to encourage mutual funds to move back into the debt capital markets so they can invest in long tenor bonds of investment-grade companies.

In the medium to long-term, the government may look at easing of External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) guidelines for HFCs. The investment concentration/group exposure limits etc. can be looked upon with a view to facilitating easier foreign currency borrowing for the sector.

In turn, this will ease the volatility in the domestic real estate markets. On the other hand, encouragement should be given to insurance funds/pension funds to invest in long term debt issuance of HFCs. This will help both parties on Asset Liability Management as HFCs look for long term debt and pension/insurance funds need long term debt investment avenues.

Introduction of housing bonds is another avenue which the government may look at where investment by retail investors is allowed. The finance minister may consider in granting special status to HFCs, at par with the banking sector. This will help in smoothening of any kind of Asset Liability Management mismatch for HFCs who are engaged in financing long tenor retail assets.

The thrust should be given to the initiative taken by the Prime Minister for the housing sector, which is ‘Housing for All’.

Overall, there are initiatives for both HFCs and the end-consumers which are expected, and we do hope that the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will look at the real estate sector favourably.

The writer MD and CEO, Shriram Housing Finance

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Union Budget 2021: Govt should speedily release GST refund dues to allow locked-up capital flow into economy

The current financial year 2020-21 has seen deep erosion in the economy with sources pegging the year to close with a contraction of 7.7 percent in the gross domestic product (GDP). However, after the steep drop in the first two quarters, the economy is seen to be recovering with positive GDP growth in the last two quarters. The manufacturing sector has shown a swift recovery from Q2 and is poised to deliver further growth provided the market is ready for it.

While the supply side has striven to recover its operations to pre-COVID levels, the demand is still lagging in several sectors of the economy. The government must focus its efforts firstly on improving demand in the domestic market. One major step towards this objective is to reduce the Goods and Service Tax (GST) rate for certain categories like furniture and air conditioners which are also identified as key thrust areas for investment by the government.

The inflationary pressure on commodities like metals and plastics will impact end-product prices -- both for the domestic and export markets. In order to improve demand, price of inputs and supply constraints should be managed within the bounds of the global markets. There should be predictability of prices and availability of the inputs over the short and medium-term which will, in turn, stabilise prices of the end-products, resulting in improved consumer confidence.

The government should speedily release all outstanding payments or tax refunds owed to service providers in the form of pending bills. This includes GST refund dues. This locked up capital would flow back into the economy through increased spending by the recipients.

On the supply side, import duty on components should be reduced in order to encourage local product manufacturing. The infrastructure for local component manufacturing for furniture is not yet well developed in India. The government should formulate standards for the import of finished goods and apply them effectively to prevent the import of sub-standard products into India.

In addition to the development of road and rail transport infrastructure, coastal and inland shipping should also be developed. It will reduce logistics costs and speed up supply substantially. While logistics has been given industry status, the warehousing space remains largely unorganised. The cold chain infrastructure also needs to be developed. The costs of exports from India should be benchmarked with leading ASEAN nations and corrective actions taken to make us more competitive.

Energy is a major factor in the economy. We must establish a national energy policy framework to support the development of a secure, sustainable and affordable energy system with the adoption of international best practices. There should be a greater focus on Renewable Energy and Open Access mechanism along with their cost-effectiveness and payment security. The implementation of renewable purchase obligations (RPOs) of utilities is very important.

We should continue to encourage investment in India’s energy sector and make the electric distribution companies (DISCOMs) debt-free and enable them to adopt the latest technologies. The government should adopt the direct benefit transfer approach for subsidy payments to consumers.

The writer is Executive Director and President, Godrej and Boyce Mfg. Co.

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Union Budget 2021: Govt should provide incentives to increase new GST registrations

The Goods and Service Tax (GST) is a comparatively new law in force that is triggered with various changes till it enters the area of perfection. It is natural to have changes and amendments in the law for a decent number of years after its application.

However, GST has witnessed so many amendment times and again that its original structure which was kept by the Parliament before the country seems to be taking new shape and a new variant of GST, considering the recent amendments and approach of amendments in the law, is quite brainstorming as well as full of complexities as far as taxpayer is concerned.

Here are some structural changes which I feel should be at the core of the discussion for smooth compliance with GST law:

Ensuring free flow of input tax credit

Recently various input tax credit (ITC) restriction measures have been introduced to fill up the loopholes, which fraudsters are taking advantages of.

The first and foremost change is the restriction in the claim of ITC. When an invoice is not furnished by the supplier or vendor, the ITC available before the amendment was 10 percent which is now replaced with 5 percent. Earlier, if you have made a bonafide purchase and the supplier failed to furnish the invoice details, a claim of 10 percent was allowed. The ITC will now be 105 percent of the invoice furnished. This rate is continuously reducing as ITC was 20 percent before, 10 percent and now it’s 5 percent . It can be said that this limit might abolish soon. This will hamper working capital requirement in small taxpayers resulting in the slow growth of the economy.

A threshold amount of Rs 25,000 to Rs. 50,000 per month shall be allowed to be claimed additionally (above 2A/2B)  along with above-said rule so that not only fraudsters can be stopped in time but small bonafide businessmen are also safeguarded adequately.

Cash crunch versus handholding of SME

Rule 86B is newly inserted that provides no ITC above 99 percent of Electronic Credit Ledger can be utilised by the taxpayer. This rule applies in cases where taxable supplies, i.e. turnover other than exempted supply of zero-rated supply above 50 lakhs per month. (These will majorly affect small and medium enterprises ranging from Rs 5 crore annual turnover to Rs 10-20 crores  per annum)

It is compulsory now to pay 1 percent in cash of Electronic cash ledger credit available. There are certain exceptions to this rule. Yet this provision will unnecessarily defeat the purpose of seamless credit being promised by the government at the time of the launch of GST.

More automation than manual

India is a vast country and more online automated processes and systems are required with ease of implementation. However, recently it has been noticed that complexities have been increased. Some of the noticeable manual powers given to GST Officers are:

• System-based registration had a time limit of 3 days earlier which is now extended to 7 days from the date of filing the registration application.
• Where the applicant has not opted for Adhaar verification and the department feels necessary to have physical verification for granting registration--the limit was of 7 days which is now extended to 30 days’ time limit.

GST registration cancellation/suspension powers to officers

The Goods and Service Tax department has the power to suspend the GSTIN of a holder in the following small irregularities:-

• If the GSTIN holder avails credit more than admissible under Rule 16 of CGST Act, 2017
• If there is variation in the taxable value and tax payable under GSTR 3B and GSTR 1
• If Rule 86B is violated department may cancel the registration.

The most draconian part is: there is no Concept of Opportunity of being heard before suspension to the GSTIN holder to safeguard its registration. It is a very crucial situation where the registration gets cancelled. Every business can fight against the raised orders of penalty and interest, but a registration being cancelled is a big issue as the supply will stop, the whole business will be stopped and for the same, no opportunity of being heard will be given is a grey provision.

Simplify GST return structure

The blocking of GSTR1 if GSTR3B is not filled. It was observed by the government that GSTR1 was filed by the taxpayer as the customer was getting credit and when it comes to payment of GST under GSTR3B, taxpayers were avoiding filing the return. Hence, Rule 59 was amended from blockage of E-way bill to blockage of GSTR1 as well.

Such provision applies when a monthly return is not filled GSTR3B for 2 months u/s 37, a quarterly return is not filled GSTR3B for the previous quarter and the Rule 86B is applicable-GSTR 3B not filled. There is a huge need to simplify this return process so that heavy compliance and the burden on the part of the taxpayer can be minimised.

Changes concerning E-way bill

Earlier there was a provision that the E-way bill will be valid 100 km/day. That is before a recent amendment on every 100 km one day (24 hours) was provided, but now this limit has been made 200 km/day. This provision has made business difficult as now we need to travel more in less time and this structural change is very crucial for smooth functioning

Rationalisation of GST rates

GST, when introduced, was promised to be One Nation One Tax but due to the federal structure of our country, we were gifted CGST, SGST, and IGST. Moreover, tax rates are not one. These range from 3 percent to 28 percent in various slabs. Simplification in the form of a lower number of tax rates to ensure easement in the practical world is the need of the hour. The government may consider deriving two rates by merging 5 percent, 12 percent, and 18 percent.

Widening of GST base

A large part of government machinery is focused on increasing revenue collection from an already registered person. However, a substantial section of business (especially where cash is the major dealing mode) are still out of the ambit. The government should incentivise new registration so as to boost the tax base.

We may conclude that regarding the major aspects stated above, it was clarified by the government that such actions are only applicable to the taxpayers who are using malicious ways to save tax under the act. But none of the provisions had any kind of clarification that other genuine taxpayers will be safe.

It can be said that the government intended to clear the circulation of fake invoices and dummy business taking action but the genuine registered taxpayer will have to pay more attention to the provisions and compliances rather than doing business. Such amendments do not have revenue generation for the government but only rules and restrictions that will create a fear among the taxpayers.

The writer, a qualified CPA (Ireland) and Fellow Chartered Accountant (India) is founder and chairman, HostBooks Ltd

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NCERT releases admit card for NTS Stage-2 Examination 2020; steps to download hall ticket from ncert.nic.in

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) released the NTSE Stage 2 Exam 2020 admit card on 29 January. Students can download the NTSE Admit Card 2020 by logging into the official website ncert.nic.in.

According to a report in Jagran Josh, the NTSE Stage 2 Exam 2020 hall ticket has been released for students who have cleared the first stage and have qualified to participate in the all-India level test.

Here's how to download the NTSE Stage 2 Admit Card:

Step 1: Candidates need to visit the official website ncert.nic.in.

Step 2: Once there, they need to click on the NTSE icon and find the link for 'Admit card for NTS Stage-II Examination 2020'.

Step 3: Candidates will be redirected to a new page with input fields where they will have to enter their roll number, date of birth, and security captcha.

Step 4: Candidates need to verify all details and submit on the website.

Step 5: The NTSE Stage 2 Admit Card 2020 will be displayed on the screen. Candidates need to download the hall ticket and take a printout for future reference.

According to a report in Careers 360, students have to carry either their Aadhar card or school identity card to the exam centre during NTSE 2021. The admit card will have the student's name, category, state/UT, roll number, exam date, time and centre as well as instructions to follow.

Candidates must check the details mentioned on the NTSE admit card for errors and in case of any discrepancy, contact the state's liaison officer or a concerned person of respective school to get them rectified.

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Pune's Serum Institute of India applies for permission to start trials of 'Covovax' vaccine

Pune: Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla on Saturday said his company has applied to start the trials of another COVID-19 vaccine and that it hopes to launch it by June 2021.

The city-based firm has already produced 'Covishield' vaccine, co-developed by the University of Oxford and British-Swedish company AstraZeneca. The Centre has purchased 11 million doses of Covishield vaccine for the ongoing inoculation drive.

In a tweet, Poonawalla said, "Our partnership for a COVID-19 vaccine with @Novavax has also published excellent efficacy results. We have also applied to start trials in India. Hope to launch #COVOVAX by June 2021!"

The country launched its COVID-19 vaccination drive from 16 January in what Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called the world's largest inoculation programme with priority to be given to nearly three crore healthcare and frontline workers.

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Ex-West Bengal minister Rajib Banerjee, 5 former TMC MLAs to meet BJP top brass in Delhi today

Kolkata: Former West Bengal minister Rajib Banerjee, who recently quit the TMC, will Saturday fly with a few other disgruntled MLAs and leaders to New Delhi where they may join the BJP, sources in the saffron party said.

Banerjee and MLAs Prabir Ghosal and Baishali Dalmiya, who was recently expelled from the TMC, and former Howrah mayor Rathin Chakraborty, will be flying to the National Capital on a special plane, and meet central BJP leaders.

Former TMC MLA from Ranaghat Paschim in Nadia district Parthasarathi Chattopadhyay is also likely to accompany them.

Banerjee said he had a word with Union Home Minister Amit Shah who called him to Delhi.

"After I resigned from the TMC, I received a call from the BJP leadership.....Amit Shah ji told me to come over to Delhi. If I get assurances regarding the state's development, I will join the party," he told a Bengali news channel.

When asked what role does he expect to play in the BJP, Banerjee said it is for the party to decide.

"I want to work for the people. So whatever role is assigned to me, I will accept," he said.

BJP sources said the former TMC leaders will take a special flight to Delhi. They may join the BJP today or come back and be inducted into the party at Dumurjula stadium programme on Sunday, a senior BJP leader said.

According to BJP sources, these TMC leaders were supposed to join the saffron party during Shah's rally at Dumurjula in Howrah on Sunday. However, Shah's two-day visit to West Bengal was cancelled at the last minute following a blast outside the Israeli Embassy in Delhi.

Union minister Smriti Irani will now deputise for Shah at the programme.

Ghosal told reporters that he will be flying to Delhi this afternoon and will join the BJP.

The ruling TMC in West Bengal was rocked by a fresh bout of desertions on Friday with Rajib Banerjee quitting the party and several other leaders rallying behind him.

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UN urges countries to repatriate children from Syria, says 27,000 'remain stranded, abandoned to their fate'

United Nations: The UN counterterrorism chief is urging countries to repatriate the 27,000 children stranded in a massive camp in northeastern Syria, many of them sons and daughters of Islamic State extremists who once controlled large swathes of Iraq and Syria.

Vladimir Voronkov told an informal meeting of the UN Security Council on Friday that “the horrific situation of the children in Al Hol (camp) is one of the most pressing issues in the world today.”

The 27,000 children “remain stranded, abandoned to their fate,” vulnerable to be preyed on by Islamic State enforcers, “and at risk of radicalisation within the camp,” he said.

Al Hol, the largest camp for refugees and displaced Syrians in the country, is currently home to almost 62,000 residents, according to UN humanitarian officials. More than 80 percent are women and children, many of whom fled there after Islamic State militants lost their last Syrian stronghold in 2019. There are a number of other camps in the northeast as well.

Voronkov said there are children from 60 countries in the camps who are the responsibility of their member states, not of Syria or the groups that control the camps. Kurdish fighters are guarding Al-Hol and other camps as well as thousands of Islamic State fighters and boys in prisons.

He said a number of countries — including Russia and Kazakhstan that convened the virtual meeting — “have collectively repatriated nearly 1,000 children and their family members.”

Voronkov said the experiences of the returnees are being compiled "and what we see thus far is that fears of security risks have been unfounded".

The executive director of the UN Counterterrorism Centre stressed that children “must be treated primarily as victims” and youngsters under the age of 14 should not be detained or prosecuted.

History has shown that children are resilient and can recover from violent experiences if they are supported in reintegrating into communities, Voronkov said.

“Every effort should be made to ensure children are not kept in institutions but allowed to reintegrate with family members within their communities,” he said.

Virginia Gamba, the UN special representative for children and armed conflict, told the Security Council that children catalogued as being associated with armed groups including the Islamic State and al-Qaida "are the children who have been left adrift by conflict, like flotsam in the sea".

She echoed Voronkov’s call that they be treated “primarily as victims, not as security threats and that detention be used as a measure of last resort and for the shortest possible period".

The mental health, safety, and overall development of foreign children held for a long time “in dramatic conditions” in camps in northeast Syria and Iraq “are at stake”, Gamba said.

“They’re exposed to further trauma and stigmatization and are at risk because of their proximity to members of designated terrorist groups,” she said.

Children have a right to a nationality and identity and must not remain stateless, Gamba stressed.

Gamba said the repatriation of foreign children should be prioritised “with the best interest of the child,” and they must be assisted in reintegrating and getting an education, health care, and jobs.

“They must be given their childhood back in a safe environment where they can build a future away from violence,” Gamba said. “They deserve a chance at life, like any other child.”

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