13:14 “15 miners struggling for air, PM poses for cameras”: Rahul Gandhi tweets:
With rescue operations suspended for the second day in a row, there seems to be no hope in sight for the 15 labourers trapped in a 370-foot-deep illegal coal mine in Ksan area of Lumthari village in Meghalaya.
Congress chief Rahul taunted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the incident. Taking to Twitter, he wrote, “15 miners have been struggling for air in a flooded coal mine for two weeks.
“Meanwhile, PM struts about on Bogibeel Bridge posing for cameras.
“His government refuses to organise high pressure pumps for the rescue.
“PM please save the miners.”
Rescue efforts so far have failed to extricate any of the labourers, who’ve been trapped for more than 13 days in the rat hole. Meanwhile, the water level in the flooded mine in East Jaintia Hills district has not receded, a senior official said. The fate of the workers now hangs in balance with authorities yet to touch base with them.
On December 13, nearly 20 miners entered the quarry owned by Krip Chullet. After reaching the bottom of the pit, they entered horizontal manholes, often termed as ‘rat-holes’, as each just about fits one person. The miners were trapped in the illegal pit after water from nearby Lytein River gushed into the mine. Five persons were able to climb out of the flooded mine, leaving the others behind.
13:12 India M&As overtake China: WSJ:
‘India Has a Banner Year for Deals and Overtakes China as a Favored Target,’ The Wall Street Journal noted this morning.
‘India is having its busiest year ever for corporate deal making, as foreign buyers are now spending more here than in China,’ The Journal reported from Mumbai.
‘In all, mergers and acquisitions targeting Indian companies totaled $93.7 billion this year up 52% from a year earlier which is the highest tally since the economy started opening up in the 1990s, according to Dealogic’, the Journal added.
12:11 Easy tips to keep in mind ahead of tax season: As we head into the provide-investment-proof season, information kind courtesy chartered accountant Raj Chawla:
>> Higher interest income exemption for senior citizens. The government has increased interest income exemption limit on bank and post office deposits to Rs 50,000 from Rs 10,000 earlier. In addition, for senior citizens, tax deduction at source will not be triggered if interest income is up to Rs 50,000.
>> Dividend distribution tax on dividends from equity mutual funds which were earlier tax-free, attracted tax at the rate of 10 per cent. Remember that dividends from equity mutual funds are tax-free in the hands of investors. But dividends from equity mutual funds are paid after deducting a dividend distribution tax of 11.648% (including cess), which reduces the in-hand return for investors.
>> Long- term capital gains tax on equities: From April 1, 2018, a new long term capital gains regime on equity instruments listed shares or equity oriented mutual funds came into effect. Earlier such gains on equity were exempt from tax. Now investors have to pay 10% tax on gains exceeding Rs 1 lakh a year. Equity holding beyond a year is considered long term. However, to soften the blow, the government introduced a grandfathering provision, which means that if listed shares or equity funds were acquired before February 1, there would be no levy of long- term capital gains tax.
>> Rs 40,000 standard deduction, one need not provide any documents and proof. A salaried individual or pensioner can claim standard deduction up to Rs 40,000 from his/her income.
>> Higher cess: The government raised the cess on income tax to 4% from 3% for individual taxpayers on the amount of income tax payable.
>> Tax exemption on NPS for the self-employed: Employees contributing to the National Pension System (NPS) were allowed to withdraw up to 40% of the total corpus without any tax at the time of maturity or closure of the account. The same benefit has now been extended to self-employed subscribers.
>> Lock-in period of 54EC bonds increased: Long-term profits from real estate sales are tax-free if invested in specific bonds under section 54EC. Till last year, you had to stay invested in the 54EC bonds for at least three years to enjoy the tax break, but from his year, your money will be locked in for five years.
>> Higher deduction on health insurance premiums: Senior citizens now can avail deduction of up to Rs 50,000 for health insurance premium under section 80D. Earlier the limit was Rs 30,000. Also, the deduction available for payment towards medical treatment of specified disease has been hiked to Rs 1 lakh for senior citizens.
>> Govt brings NPS on a par with PF, makes it tax-free; The Union Cabinet recently approved many changes in the NPS to make it more attractive for investors. NPS will be made fully tax-free on withdrawal. Subscribers will get full tax exemption on the 60% of the corpus that an investor is allowed to withdraw on maturity. This will help bring the NPS on a par with other taxsavings instruments like PPF where withdrawals are fully tax-free This is likely to be effective from April 1 next year.
>> More tax benefits on single premium health insurance policies: In cases where premium for health insurance for multiple years has been paid in one year, the deduction shall be allowed on proportionate basis for the number of years for which the benefit of health insurance is provided.
11:42 Golfer Jyoti Randhawa arrested on poaching charges in UP:
International golfer Jyoti Randhawa was arrested by Uttar Pradesh police in a poaching case in Motipur Range of Katerniaghat.
A .22 rifle has also been recovered.
Randhawa was ranked in the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking several times between 2004 and 2009. He was previously married to Bollywood actress Chitrangada Singh. The couple divorced in April 2014.
More details are awaited.
11:34 Another Indonesian tsunami may be imminent, experts fear:
Extreme weather around the Anak Krakatoa volcano in Indonesia could trigger another devastating tsunami, experts warned, as the death toll from Saturdays disaster rose to 429.
At least 154 others are still missing and 1,485 were injured from the tsunami, caused by an eruption of Anak Krakatoa, that hit coastal areas around the narrow Sunda Strait between the countrys two most populous islands, Java and Sumatra.
11:08 BJP neta tries to shove stick in disabled man’s mouth:
A BJP leader has been caught on camera assaulting a differently-abled man and trying to shove a stick in his mouth when the latter declared that he would vote for Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. The victim was also reportedly arrested for breach of peace.
The incident unfolded when BJP leader Mohammad Mian accompanied Sambhal district president Rajesh Singhal and other BJP workers to meet sub-divisional magistrate Dipender Yadav at the collectorate.
On seeing the BJP workers, the victim, identified as 22-year-old Manoj Gujjar, started raising slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and in favour of former CM Akhilesh Yadav. Vote Akhilesh ko hi dunga (I will vote only for Akhilesh), he said.
Angered, Mian reportedly took a stick out of his vehicle and started assaulting Gujjar. When SDM Singhal heard about the incident, he ordered the arrest of Gujjar for breach of the peace and sent him to jail
10:49 Companies won’t be held liable, says Noida DM after backlash over namaz notice:
The district administration of Noida has assured that companies would not be held liable if their employees offer namaz at public parks in the city after a notice issued by a local police officer sparked outrage.
In damage control mode over the diktat, district magistrate BN Singh, said, Companies and business houses are not liable for employees’ religious beliefs and prayers. The district administration will talk to the companies and clear their doubts.”
Police chief Ajay Pal Sharma, who had till Tuesday said the order was necessitated by people congregating without permission, said the notice was not specific to any one religion and was concerned all religious public gatherings.
This despite the specific wording of the notice. We want to inform you that there is no permission from the administration to conduct any kind of religious activity including namaz offered on Friday in the Authority park in Sector 58, the notice, which was issued last week from the Sector 58 police station, said.
The district magistrate said that the notice only concerned the Noida Authority Park in Sector 58 and not the entire city. Singh said the SHO had acted with “bonafide”, and not “malafide”, intentions.
10:29 Pregnant woman given HIV infected blood in Tamil Nadu government hospital:
A 24-year-old pregnant woman in Tamil Nadu contracted HIV after infected blood was pumped into her during a blood transfusion at a government hospital in Virudhunagar district.
Three lab technicians were suspended for alleged lapses over the last two years.
The woman was administered blood from an HIV-positive young man on December 3 after lab technicians at a government blood bank found nothing wrong in the tests. But soon after that, he was tested positive for HIV at a private laboratory when he went to get his blood tested to apply for a job abroad. By the time he alerted the government hospital, his blood was already transfused into the pregnant woman.
Investigations revealed that the man was tested positive for HIV and Hepatitis B two years ago by a government lab after he donated his blood. However, neither did the lab officials store his medical records nor did they inform him of the test results.
The pregnant woman was put on anti-retroviral treatment after she was tested HIV-positive. Whether the baby would be infected with HIV would be known only after its birth, authorities said.
10:05 Will implement odd-even scheme whenever required: Kejriwal:
With the national capital battling ‘severe’ air pollution, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the Delhi government will implement odd-even scheme, to regulate plying of private vehicles in the city, whenever it is required.
He said the Delhi government was taking several steps for reducing pollution levels in the national capital.
In view of the city’s ‘severe’ air quality, the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority on Monday banned industrial activities in pollution hot spots and construction work across Delhi-NCR till Wednesday.
“Whenever the odd-even (scheme) is required, we will definitely implement it,” Kejriwal told reporters here.
“We all have to be participants in reducing pollution. The Delhi government is taking several steps. We have carried out large-scale tree plantation drive. The government will procure 3000 buses soon. Also, we sanctioned a large phase of Metro… We are making all efforts on our part,” he said.
Asked about the Centre’s role in reducing pollution levels, the chief minister said the Union government should call a meeting of neighbouring states as “air has no boundary”.
Delhi’s air quality remained in the ‘severe’ category for the fourth consecutive day on Tuesday as meteorological conditions continued to be unfavourable for dispersion of pollutants, authorities said.
The city is facing its worst pollution crisis since Diwali.
— PTI
09:39 Bank workers at it again: Second nation-wide strike within a week:
Banking operations will be affected today as close to 10 lakh employees of various public sector and some of the private and foreign banks are on a day-long strike to protest against the proposed merger of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with Bank of Baroda.
The nation-wide strike would impact banking services like deposits and withdrawal at branches, cheque clearances and issuance of demand drafts, among others.
In September, the government had announced merger of state-owned Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with the larger peer Bank of Baroda.
The merged entity will have a combined business of Rs 14.82 trillion, making it the third largest bank after State Bank of India and HDFC Bank.
The unions are claiming that the merger is not in the interest of banks or their customers and will in fact be detrimental to both.
The government wants banks to grow in size through this amalgamation but even if all public sector banks are bundled into one, the merged entity cannot find a place among the top 10 globally, said United Forum of Bank Unions, which has called for the one-day strike.
“This merger will see a large number of branches getting closed and customers will have to face hardships as already banks are burdened with the implementation of various government schemes such as Jan Dhan Yojana, Mudra, social security insurance, and Prime Minister’s housing scheme, among others,” the union said.
— PTI
09:21 ‘Can’t say who will be next prime minister,’ says Ramdev:
With months to go for the 2019 general elections, yoga guru Ramdev said the political situation in the country is currently complex and it was difficult to predict who would win the polls.
“Now the political situation is very difficult. We cannot say who will [be] the next prime minister or who will lead the country, but situation is very interesting…” Ramdev said in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai.
The comments come two weeks after assembly elections in five states, in which the Congress managed to win three heartland states from the BJP – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. While K Chandrashekar Rao’s Telangana Rashtra Samithi retained Telangana, the Congress lost Mizoram to the Mizo National Front.
Ramdev said he is not going to support any person or oppose any party in the Lok Sabha elections due next year.
“I am not focusing on politics,” he said.
“We don’t have a political or religious agenda but we want a spiritual country and a spiritual world. Through yoga and Vedic practices, we are making a divine, prosperous and spiritual India,” said Ramdev.
Ramdev, 52, had supported the BJP’s national election campaign in 2014. A year later, he was named Haryana’s brand ambassador and then granted cabinet minister rank. He was allotted a car with a beacon, security personnel and an escort vehicle whenever he visited the state.
09:00 No foreign visit on cards as PM Modi focuses on 2019 polls:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not expected to make any foreign visits in the first four months of the coming year in order to focus on local issues ahead of the general elections, senior government officials familiar with the development said to Hindustan Times on condition of anonymity.
To be sure, they added, there are no major multilateral events in the coming months at least not any that require the PMs participation. In the last year, Modi made 14 overseas visits.
In addition to his prime ministerial responsibilities, Modi is also the BJPs most important campaigner. The party has faced its most significant losses in the past five years in the recent elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh.
Modi will also participate in the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebrations in Varanasi during January 21-23.
The prime ministers most recent foreign visits were to Japan in October, Singapore (for events related to the Asean Summit), the Maldives (for President Ibrahim Solihs swearing-in) and Argentina (for the G20 Summit) in November.
08:25 Pehla vote Modi ko: BJP’s plan to woo first-time voters in MP:
The BJP lost the state election, but its Madhya Pradesh unit has started preparing for the Lok Sabha elections. The unit has set up what it calls the NaMo network to recruit young workers for the party.
They will be contacted via missed calls and WhatsApp messages and will be expected to work as volunteers during the 2019 election.
The party is also planning to start a new campaign to woo first-time voters in the state. The campaign has been propitiously branded ‘Pehla vote Modi ko’ (‘My first vote for Modi’).
— Business Standard
08:03 Deve Gowda upset over being left out of Bogibeel Bridge inauguration :
Former prime minister and JD-S supremo HD Deve Gowda, who had laid the foundation of the Bogibeel Bridge during his tenure, expressed disappointment at not being invited for the inauguration of the country’s longest rail road bridge in Assam.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 4.9-km-long bridge at Bogibeel across Brahmaputra River, built at a cost of Rs 5,900 crore on Tuesday. The foundation stone for the project was laid by Gowda when he was the prime minister in 1997.
“Railway line to Kashmir, Delhi Metro and Bogibeel rail road bridge were among the projects I had sanctioned (as prime minister). I had sanctioned the budget of Rs 100 crore for each of these projects and laid their foundation stones. People have forgotten today,” Gowda said.
Replying to a question from reporters on the sidelines of a function here as to how he felt about the inauguration of the project started by him, the former prime minister said he had given the nod for many projects.
To a question whether he received an invitation, Gowda quipped, “Aiyo Rama! Who will remember me? Some newspapers might have mentioned about it.”
08:00 Not my business to decide on successor: Dalai Lama tells HT:
Not my business to decide on successor: Dalai Lama tells Hindustan Times
His Holiness told the newspaper’s Sishir Gupta that the dialogue process for reincarnation had not started. This, he said, should be decided at an international conference after his natural death.
Source: Rediff