Page 9 - Government

GST an engine for driving consumption, helped household save on bills: Govt

Goods and Services Tax (GST) has acted as an engine for driving domestic consumption and helped households save on monthly bills since its implementation six years ago, the government said on Friday.. Giving a comparison of the tax rates of various goods pre and post-GST rollout, the government said from streamlining processes to boosting investments, GST has been a catalyst for progress. "The implementation of GST has made it easier for taxpayers to comply with tax law and this can be seen in the fact that the number of registered taxpayers has increased from 1.03 crore that enrolled into GST by April 1, 2018 to 1.36 crore by April 1, 2023," the office of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tweeted. A nationwide GST, which subsumed 17 local levies like excise duty, service tax and VAT and 13 cesses, was rolled out at the stroke of midnight on July 1, 2017. Under GST a four-rate structure that exempts or imposes a low rate of 5 per cent tax on essential items and a top rate of 28 p

Made effort to remove India from UN report on children in armed clash: Govt

The government was consistently making efforts to exclude India from the UN's annual report on the impact of armed conflict on children, the Women and Child Development Ministry has said after the country did not feature in the report for the first time since 2010. The United Nations has removed India from its annual report on the impact of armed conflict on children, citing "measures taken by the government to better protect" them. In a statement, the Women and Child Development Ministry said, "The ongoing engagement of the Government of India with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General sped up after an inter-ministerial meeting in November 2021." The meeting was attended by Secretary of the Ministry of Women and Child Development Indevar Pandey, Ministry of External Affairs, Permanent Mission of India at New York, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and Virginia Gamba, the special representative of the Secretary-General for Children and the UN officials in New Delhi. The m

Uttarakhand CM lays foundation for Aroma Park in Kashipur, allots plot

The Uttarakhand government implemented the Aroma Park Policy 2018, under which 46 industries related to aroma and perfumery are being established in Sidkul Kashipur

Negotiating with Centre for rice for Anna Bhagya scheme: K'taka CM

A day after the Centre refused to give rice to Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said the state has invited quotations from three central agencies to supply rice for the Anna Bhagya scheme offering five kg extra rice to the BPL families. He said the negotiations for prices were underway with these agencies. He also slammed the Centre for refusing to provide rice to his government for the scheme which is one of the five guarantees, that was supposed to start immediately after the Congress came to power in Karnataka. "What we have done is we have sought quotations from the National Consumers' Cooperative Federation (NCCF), Kendriya Bhandar and National Agriculture Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED). They have given us quotation," the Chief Minister told reporters. He said, "We are negotiating with them. Today the negotiations will happen. After that we will get to know the quantity, quality and price of rice will be decided." When asked about purchasing from t

Coal Ministry nod to hike in wage of Coal India non-executive employees

The Coal Ministry has said it approved a wage revision agreement that was reached with trade unions for non-executive employees of Coal India Limited. The agreement provides for a 19 per cent of minimum guaranteed benefit from July 1, 2021, on emoluments - basic, Variable Dearness Allowance (VDA), Special Dearness Allowance (SDA) and attendance bonus besides a 25 per cent increase in allowances. In a communication to Coal India, the ministry said, "The MoA (memorandum of agreement) for NCWA-XI as signed by Coal India Limited, Singareni Collieries Company Limited and trade union representatives, has been confirmed." The agreement was reached in May by the Joint Bipartite Committee for the Coal Industry (JBCCI)-XI consisting of representatives of CIL management, Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), five central trade unions - BMS, HMS, AITUC, CITU and Indian National Mine Workers' Federation (INMF). The agreement will benefit around 2.81 lakh employees of CIL & SCCL who ...

Mandatory footwear quality standards to come into force from July 1

It was also informed that the BIS has revised five standards on footwear specifications, and the industry has been given an additional time of six months till January 1, 2024, to comply with the QCOs

I have very good working relationship with govt: Bengal Governor Bose

West Bengal Governor Dr CV Ananda Bose on Saturday said he has an "excellent working relationship" with the Mamata Banerjee government despite "agreements and disagreements." Bose said there have been discussions between him and the state government on sensitive issues, but every time they were held "respecting each other's turf". In an interview with PTI at the Raj Bhavan, Bose said his primary goal is the welfare of West Bengal's people and he never faced any hurdles from the state government. "I have a very good working relationship with the state government. There can be agreements and disagreements. There can also be divergence of interests and priorities. That's what keeps the government going. We discuss sensitive issues but always maintain the Lakshman Rekha' and never try to redraw it," Bose said. The 'Lakshman Rekha', as depicted in the Ramayana, is a line drawn by Lakshman around their dwelling where he was staying with his elder brother Rama and sister-in-law Sita in th

Govt may come out with logistics cost estimate by Sept: DPIIT Official

The government is working on a framework to assess the logistics cost in the country and is expected to get a realistic estimate by September, a senior DPIIT official said on Friday. At present, the government is going by certain estimates, which suggest that India's logistics cost stands at about 13-14 per cent of the country's GDP (gross domestic product). Special Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Sumita Dawra said that the government is coming out with its logistics cost framework. The framework would include elements of this cost and how to measure that. "So our framework is being done with the help of our technical partner and it's almost done. But then we have to calculate and I think by the month of September, we will have realistic logistics costs in the country. We will define what are the components and we will have our own estimates," she said while speaking at CII's conclave on trade facilitation. Logistics cost plays a ke

Govt should scrap anti-tobacco warning rules for OTTs: Prahlad Kakkar

The government should scrap the amendment made to display anti-tobacco warnings on content on entertainment apps as it is impractical to implement the rule, advertisement guru Prahlad Kakkar said on Friday. The health ministry on May 31 notified amendments in the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Amendment Rules, 2023. The rule mandates the inclusion of anti-tobacco health spots, warnings and disclaimers by publishers of online curated content or OTT Platforms in audio-visual programmes depicting the use of cigarettes and tobacco products. "I think it is impractical. I do not think it is applicable or effective or practical. There is no question of rolling back. it is about scrapping," Kakkar said during a panel discussion organised by a think tank. He said that the rule has been made to curtail OTT platforms. Kakkar alleged the government of adopting double standards and s

Govt's relationship with media platform is simply via prism of laws: MoS IT

The government's relationship with any social media platform is simply through the prism of compliance of law and rules, and therefore there is nothing personal or adversarial against one platform or the other, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has said. The platforms have to respect the Indian laws, the Minister of State for IT and Electronics asserted. Chandrasekhar, who was speaking at the inaugural edition of FinancialExpress.com's Digital Bharat Economy Conclave 2023 on Wednesday, made it clear that the government's relationship with any social media platform is simply through the prism of compliance of law and rules, and thus there is nothing personal or adversarial against one platform or the other. "But we certainly and consistently ask from these platforms to respect the Indian laws," he said. The minister also rebuffed claims of an alleged data breach of the CoWin platform (the Covid vaccination portal). "I would like to emphasise that there was no breach of the CoWin

Agri Min issues draft guidelines for registration of bio-stimulants

The agriculture ministry has come out with draft guidelines specifying efficacy data and trial reports required for registration of various categories of bio-stimulants under Schedule-VI of the FCO Amendment order 2021. It is mandatory for a person who wants to manufacture or import any bio-stimulant to list such bio-stimulant under Schedule VI of the Fertiliser (inorganic, organic or mixed) Control Amendment Order 2021, also called the FCO Amendment order. India is one of the few countries to define separate regulations for bio-stimulants. In 2021, the government notified bio-stimulant regulation through the FCO Amendment Order. As per this order, bio-stimulants will have to be first registered and prove efficacy before hitting the market. As per the draft guidelines for registration of bio-stimulants released on June 12, stakeholders should ensure that the data submitted along with the application for registration is authentic, replicable, utilizable and of good quality. The ...

Centre releases Rs 1.18 trillion as tax devolution to state govts

The government is releasing an additional advance installment to the states in this month

Govt is trying to protect Brij Bhushan, alleges wrestler Vinesh Phogat

The protesting wrestlers are sensing that WFI chief won't be arrested anytime soon with Vinesh Phogat alleging on Sunday that the government is trying to protect Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who is also a BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh. The wrestlers had halted their stir after getting an assurance from Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on June 7 that a charge-sheet will be filed against Singh by June 15. The wrestlers have been demanding Singh's arrest since they resumed their agitation against Singh on April 23 at Delhi's Jantar Mantar. The government has accepted several of wrestlers' demands, including that none of Singh's family members or associates will be allowed to contest the impending WFI polls. However, the wrestlers, led by Olympic medallists Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia and Phogat, have said they will not end their protest unless Singh is put behind bars. Phogat, the double world medallist, on Sunday joined the protesting farmers in Punjab and on her way spoke to media at Khatka

Government accords priority to keep prices under check: Piyush Goyal

Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said the government accords priority to keeping prices under check and that is the reason why inflation is low in India as compared to several developed nations. He said that a group of ministers regularly meets and discuss the price situation. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi gives priority to keep prices under check," Goyal told reporters here while briefing about increase of Rs 143 in the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy to Rs 2,183 per quintal for this year. He added that before 2014, the average inflation rate used to be at 10-12 per cent, but after the Modi government came to power the average rate of inflation in the last nine years has come down to 4.5 per cent. "On one side we are increasing MSP and on the other hand, we have kept the inflation under control," he said. The prices in India are much lower when compared to most of developed countries, where inflation is in double digits. Wholesale prices in India fel

Govt gets Rs 4,185 cr through 3% stake sale in state-run Coal India

The government has mopped up Rs 4,185 crore through a three per cent stake sale in state-run Coal India. The holding of the government has come down to 63.13 per cent in the coal producer after the offer-for-sale (OFS), CIL said in a stock exchange filing. The government has received Rs 4,185 crore through a 3 per cent stake sale in state-run Coal India, as per the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) website. The government last week sold three per cent stake in CIL and the issue was oversubscribed by both retail and institutional investors. So far in the current fiscal, the government has mopped up Rs 4,235 crore from PSU stake sale. The full-year target from disinvestment has been pegged at Rs 51,000 crore.

Hand holding states, govt sellers to integrate with ONDC: DPIIT Joint Secy

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is hand-holding states and central government sellers like handicraft emporiums to gradually integrate with Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), a senior official said on Monday. ONDC is an initiative of the DPIIT to create a facilitative model to help small retailers take advantage of digital commerce. It is not an application, platform, intermediary or software but a set of specifications designed to foster open, unbundled, and interoperable open networks. Joint Secretary in the DPIIT Sanjiv said that supporting MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) has been a priority for the ONDC. "This will unlock value in the huge B2B (business-to-business) market by increasing access and discoverability of various businesses across the network. "As we look forward to the integration of credit in the ONDC, the business can hugely benefit from the open network ecosystem by being a part of the ONDC," he said here at

Government proposes to sell up to 3% stake in Coal India on June 1

The government on Wednesday proposed to sell up to three per cent stake in Coal India Ltd through the offer for sale route from June 1. The Offer for Sale (OFS) will be open for retail and non-retail investors on June 1 and 2. The proposal is to offload 9.24 crore shares amounting to a stake of 1.5 per cent in the coal producer. Besides, there will be a green shoe option for selling an equal amount of stake in case of over subscription, according to a regulatory filing. At the closing price of Rs 241.20 apiece on BSE on Wednesday, the sale of 3 per cent stake in Coal India would be worth around Rs 4,400 crore. "The seller proposes to sell up to 9,24,40,924 equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each of the company (representing 1.50 per cent of the total paid-up equity share capital of the company) (base offer size), on June 1st and 2nd for retail investors and non retail investors," the filing said. There will be an option to additionally sell 9,24,40,924 (1.50 per cent) equity .

Govt waives ISTS charges on offshore wind, green hydrogen, ammonia projects

In case a project is eligible for waiver of ISTS charges based on its original COD, the same benefit will continue to be made available if COD is extended by a BS web competent authority

Vivad Se Vishwas scheme to settle disputes in contracts begin from July 15

The Finance Ministry on Monday said the scheme to settle pending disputes related to government contracts under the Vivad Se Vishwas II will commence on July 15 and contractors will have time till October 31 to submit their claims. The Vivad se Vishwas II (Contractual Disputes) scheme was announced in 2023-24 Budget for settlement of pending disputes related to government contracts. Under the scheme, contractors would be offered settlement amounts depending on the status of a dispute. As per the scheme announced by the Department of Expenditure, in cases of disputes where court or arbitral order has been passed, the settlement amount would be 85 per cent or 65 per cent of the amount awarded by the court or the arbitral tribunal respectively. In the draft scheme, the Expenditure Department had proposed that the settlement amount would be 80 per cent in case of court orders and 60 per cent in case of arbitral awards. The expenditure department has improved the final scheme after ...

Govts of same ideology in Centre, state have benefitted Maha: CM Shinde

Governments of the same ideology are working in the Centre and state, because of which people of Maharashtra were getting benefits of various schemes, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said here on Friday. Criticising the Opposition parties' stand of boycotting the inauguration of the new Parliament building, Shinde claimed that they were doing so to deny credit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his work. Shinde was speaking at the inauguration of a 'Shasan Aplya Dari' event in Kannad area of Aurangabad, during which funds were disbursed to 1.49 lakh beneficiaries under various schemes. "Both the state and Centre have governments of the same ideology. Hence, people of Maharashtra are getting benefits of various schemes. The Centre has sanctioned proposals for urban development, roads and railways. Basic facilities have been sanctioned by the Centre without curtailing a single rupee," the chief minister said. He further expressed confidence that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also .