1. Cabinet Clears Key GST Amendments, 1% Inter-State Tax Dropped
India inched a step closer to a nationwide Goods and Services Tax (GST) as the Cabinet on Wednesday approved key constitutional amendments in the GST bill, including dropping the one percent additional tax on inter-state sales.
The Cabinet also agreed on compensating states for any loss of revenue in the first five years of GST subsuming all indirect tax levies, including VAT.
The decision came a day after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley met state finance ministers to come to a consensus on the bill that has been languishing in the Parliament due to political differences.
Read The Quint’s full story here.
Also Read: GST Bill: A Stalemate in Parliament
2. Bihar Scam Exam Board: Schools Cleared With Nothing to Show
An empty field, a closed godown, and a room with a few benches have been passed off as schools in Bihar, a new investigation by The Indian Express has revealed.
In an inspection across eight states, institutions that fall far short of basic affiliation criteria have also been granted affiliation, the report states.
This comes in the wake of the “toppers scam” in Bihar, where 24 people have been arrested under charges of corruption, including Bihar School Examination Board Chairman (BSEB) Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh.
Source: The Indian Express
3. Salman Khan’s Chinkara Case: My Family Was Threatened, Says Missing Driver
Two days after the Rajasthan High Court acquitted actor Salman Khan in the poaching cases, the sole eyewitness of the incident, Harish Dulani, claimed that he was repeatedly threatened.
Dulani, who was the driver of the Gypsy that was used by Khan and his friends for the alleged poaching, in an interview with NDTV said:
I am not an absconder. My father received threats, I got scared and moved out of a town near Jodhpur. If I had police protection, I could have given a statement. That was what I always intended.
Dulani, who went missing in 2002, maintained his claim that Khan shot the Chinkara, which could mean fresh trouble for the actor.
Source: The Indian Express
4. PM Modi is Frustrated, Can Get Me Killed: Arvind Kejriwal
In a scathing attack against him, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday released a video statement to volunteers and supporters of Aam Aadmi Party suggesting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi could get him “killed”.
Clearly referring to the piling cases and police action against his party members and MLAs in the past few months, Kejriwal dubbed Modi as the “mastermind” behind the “cycle of oppression” against them and alleged that he wished to “vanquish” the party.
Source: Hindustan Times
5. Prakash Javadekar Meets RSS, its Affiliates to Discuss New Education Policy
As part of his first formal interaction with the RSS since taking charge of the Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry, Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday held a meeting with senior functionaries of the Sangh and its affiliates to discuss the new national education policy.
Members of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Sanskrit Bharati and Shiksha Bachao Andolan, were among others at the meeting.
The agenda of the meeting was to deliberate upon the policy and ways to “instil nationalism, pride and ancient Indian values in modern education”.
Source: The Indian Express
6. Harish Rawat Makes U-Turn, Says No Chinese Incursion in Indian Territory
After earlier confirming Chinese incursion in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Wednesday evening made a U-turn on his statement, asserting that there is no need to be alarmed.
The presence of Chinese soldiers had increased in that area. However, I think that there is nothing to be alarmed as the activities were noticed in Chinese territory.
Source: The Indian Express
7. Cow Vigilantes Beat Up Two Muslim Women in MP on Suspicion of Carrying Beef
Two Muslim women in Madhya Pradesh were beaten up by Bajrang Dal workers at a railway station on Tuesday on the suspicion that they were carrying beef to sell in a marketplace.
The incident happened despite the police’s presence at the station.
Local doctors who examined the meat concluded that it was buffalo, not cow. The incident created an uproar in the Parliament on Wednesday as the Opposition protested growing cases of cow vigilantes seeking justice by attacking people.
Source: Deccan Chronicle
8. Lok Sabha Nod for Lokpal Act Amendment
The Lok Sabha cleared an amendment to the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013 on Wednesday, which defers the deadline for employees, public servants, and board members of NGOs who receive over Rs 1 crore in government funding or over Rs 10 lakh in foreign funding, to declare theirs and their spouses’ assets.
While the amendment was approved, opposition parties cautioned against moves to dilute the Bill. The Standing Committee is expected to give its report in Parliament’s next session.
Source: The Hindu
9. Dominant Castes Violating Law, Government Has to Uphold Democracy: Bezwada Wilson
Magsaysay award winner Bezwada Wilson on Wednesday said that eradicating manual scavenging has to be India’s top priority as caste-discrimination in the country will destroy BR Ambedkar’s dream of an egalitarian society.
Wilson strongly criticised the idea of “fundamentalism” and asserted that the brutal attack on Dalit youngsters in Una, Gujarat was indicative of how “anti-democratic” powers take the law into their own hands.
People want to tell Dalits what to eat, what to wear, how to live, but Dalits have started to resist. Dominant castes are violating the law and it is up to the government to uphold democracy.
Source: Hindustan Times
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