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India on Wednesday denied making any payments - either in cash or cryptocurrency - to Iran to secure safe passage for its vessels through the Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions in the region. The clarification came after two Indian vessels had to turn back from the Strait of Hormuz after Iranian forces fired upon them as they attempted to cross the crucial waterway on April 18. Before turning back, the captain of Indian tanker Sanmar Herald, in an audio recording that has surfaced, is heard pleading with Iranian forces to stop firing despite prior clearance to pass the Strait of Hormuz. "This is motor vessel, Sanmar Herald. You gave me clearance to go, my name is second on your list... You are firing now. Let me turn back." While New Delhi has consistently rejected claims of any financial arrangements with Tehran for ship movement through the critical energy corridors, some reports linked the April 18 incident to a crypto scam. Reports suggest scammers are offering shipowner
The AIIMS Smart Card started on a pilot basis in some departments of the premier health institute here would be rolled out across all sections by March 31 for enabling all kinds of payments, the AIIMS Delhi said on Wednesday. Subsequently, no cash payment shall be accepted at any counters other than at the 'AIIMS Smart Card' top-up counters which shall be operationalised in multiple locations and shall operate on 24x7 basis, it said. The AIIMS Smart Card will be the only way to make payments for all investigations and procedures other than electronic payments via UPI, debit cards, credit cards, etc, the AIIMS said. In the order, its Director Dr M Srinivas referred to an office memorandum issued on November 17, 2022, advising that 'AIIMS Smart Card' facility for patients and attendants be started with effect from April 15, 2023 in collaboration with SBI Bank. This was done to move to digital payments mode and to improve patient convenience so that they don't have to stand in queues
The seizure of "unaccounted" cash after Income Tax department raids against an Odisha-based distillery group and its linked entities is expected to reach Rs 290 crore, making it the "highest-ever" black money haul by any agency in a single operation, official sources said Saturday. The tax department has deployed about 40 large and small machines to count currency notes and brought in more department and bank staffers to finish the counting process, which began on December 6 following raids against Boudh Distillery Pvt Ltd and others, they said. Besides these, more vehicles have also been requisitioned by the department to transport the seized cash to government banks in the state. A premises linked to Congress' Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand, Dhiraj Prasad Sahu, were also covered as part of the searches, the sources said. Efforts to seek a response from the MP and an e-mail sent by PTI to the distillery group did not fructify. Tax sleuths are now recording the statements of variou