GST on idlis, dosas, biryani: A tough question for Telangana's K T Rama Rao

K T Rama Rao or KTR, Telangana minister with many portfolios including IT, is easily accessible on Twitter. He acknowledges most problems raised by residents of Telangana on the social media platform with promise of swift action. On Saturday, he got a peculiar request. A resident of Boduppal town in Medchal district of the state tweeted that he was a vegetarian and had to pay GST on idlis and dosas he ate at local eateries, which shut down by 10 pm. On the other hand, his friends in Hyderabad were able to enjoy their biryani round the clock without having to pay GST on it. “Please do justice,” he tweeted. KTR responded, saying, “It’s a tough one.”

 

Waiting for VIP

The Mumbai monorail project is reportedly ready to start its services. The monorail would connect Chembur to Saat Rasta near the Mahalaxmi railway station. It is expected to take many cars off the road and help decongest Mumbai. So why hasn't it started commercial operations? Despite most of the infrastructure being in place and test trials over, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority or the MMRDA is said to be waiting for a VIP to spare some time and inaugurate the service.

 

Rajinikanth’s annual sojourn

Every year, superstar-turned-politician Rajinikanth heads to the caves in Dunagiri in Uttarakhand to meditate and spend time with local saints. Most of his earlier visits coincided with important events in his life. He left for his most recent trip on Saturday, about three months after announcing his entry into politics in December last year. At that time, he had said he would launch a political party and contest all 234 assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu in the elections due in 2021. However, he had refused to say if he would contest the national election in 2019.