1. Pakistan Using UN Forum for Malicious Agenda: India
Hours After Pakistan called on the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to not remain “indifferent” after India revoked J&K’s special status under Article 370, New Delhi Tuesday hit out at Islamabad for “misusing” the platform for “malicious political agendas under the garb of human rights”.
Without naming Pakistan, India said this “fabricated narrative” comes from the “epicentre of global terrorism”, where “ringleaders were sheltered for years”. “This nation conducts cross-border terrorism as a form of ‘alternate diplomacy’,” Ministry of External Affairs Secretary (East) Vijay Thakur Singh said, while presenting the country statement at the 42nd session of the UNHRC in Geneva.
(Source: The Indian Express)
2. J&K: Govt to Buy Apples Directly From Farmers
Days after apple growers from Kashmir met Home Minister Amit Shah and expressed fears of massive losses this season due to restrictions on movement, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided to oversee a centralised procurement of apples from the Valley.
Sources in the Home Ministry said the government has decided to procure about 12 metric tonnes of apples directly from local mandis in Srinagar, Anantnag and Baramulla. At a meeting with Shah last week, apple growers from J&K, along with panchayat members, had apprised him of the difficulties they were facing in taking their produce to markets because of the restrictions imposed since the scrapping of the state’s special status under Article 370.
(Source: The Indian Express)
3. Money Laundering Case: ED Summons Shivakumar’s Daughter Aishwarya for Questioning
Karnataka Congress leader DK Shivakumar’s daughter, Aishwarya, was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday to depose before the agency on 12 September.
Shivakumar is currently in ED custody in connection with an alleged money laundering case.
Sources said Aishwarya has been summoned to seek clarification on a trip she took with her father to Singapore in 2017. They said she would be questioned over several documents associated with the trip and its connection to the money laundering case against Shivakumar. The agency is likely to record her statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they added.
4. Centre May Not Apply New TDS Rules to Some Sectors
The government may exempt certain businesses, particularly those dealing with farmers, from the 2 percent tax deducted at source (TDS) levied on cash withdrawal of over Rs 1 crore annually, two officials aware of the development said.
The levy, introduced in this year’s budget to discourage cash transactions, became applicable from 1 September. The 2 percent TDS will be applicable from day one on all such withdrawals in case of those who have already exhausted the Rs 1 crore limit for the financial year 2019-20, the officials cited above said, requesting anonymity.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
5. Panel Calls for Tax Reforms in Mandis to Tackle Farm Distress
The government is preparing for a fresh round of reforms in “agricultural marketing,” or the mandi system that controls buying and selling of farm produce, part of a five-year agenda to turn around the distressed farm sector, two officials familiar with the development said on condition of anonymity.
The interministerial panel for rural and agriculture sectors, one among 10 such committees formed to suggest various reforms, has identified persistent trade barriers within the mandi system that continue to hurt traders dealing in food commodities, which, in turn, affects farmers. This has been cited as a major reason for depressed agricultural markets, responsible for lower farm profits.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
6. Schedule for J&K Block Development Councils Polls to Be Announced in a Day or Two
The schedule for elections to 316 Block Development Councils (BDCs) in Jammu and Kashmir will be announced in a day or two, with the polls to be completed before the State is formally declared a Union Territory on 31 October.
Senior sources in the Union Home Ministry confirmed this development to The Hindu. The polls will take forward the process towards full devolution of rural and urban local bodies. After the December 2018 panchayat polls in the state, both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah had announced their intention to hold these polls.
(Source: The Hindu)
7. ‘Ashamed’: Archbishop Of Canterbury Lays Down At Jallianwala Memorial
The Archbishop of Britain's Canterbury visited Amritsar's Jallianwala Bagh national memorial today and lay face down on the floor mourning the tragedy, saying he is "ashamed of the crime committed" there. With a sizeable gathering present at the memorial, Archbishop Justin Welby also read out a prayer seeking God's forgiveness for the terrible atrocity.
"You have remembered what they have done and their memory will live. I'm ashamed and sorry for the crime committed here, as a religious leader I mourn the tragedy," Archbishop Justin Welby said.
(Source: NDTV)
8. After Urmila Matondkar Resigns, Milind Deora Slams ‘Mumbai North Leaders’
The "Mumbai North leaders" must be held accountable for actor-turned-politician Urmila Matondkar's resignation from the Congress, party leader Milind Deora said on Tuesday.
"After Urmila Matondkar decided to fight the Lok Sabha elections from Mumbai North, I supported her campaign wholeheartedly as the (Mumbai Congress) President. I stood by her when she was let down by those who brought her into the party. Fully agree that Mumbai North leaders must be held accountable!" he tweeted.
(Source: NDTV)
9. Millennials Prefer Ola, Uber to New Cars: Finance Minister on Auto Crisis
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today said millennials' preference for Uber and Ola cabs over committing money to EMIs for new cars had affected the auto sector, which has seen double-digit fall in sales for both two and four-wheeler manufacturers, as well as a 70 percent drop for truck makers Ashok Leyland. The minister said the Centre was actively working to solve the crisis in the automobile sector, which has seen the loss of lakhs of jobs, and was "constantly interacting with different segments" to resolve the issue.
"Automobile sector, in particular, has been affected by several things. These include BS6 (Bharat Stage 6) movement, the registration fee issue that has been deferred till June and the mindset of millennials, who are now preferring not to commit EMIs to buying automobiles but prefer to use Ola or Uber or take the metro," Ms Sitharaman said.
(Source: NDTV)
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