1. No Meeting Scheduled on 23 May in Delhi, Says Stalin
DMK president M K Stalin on Monday said there was no meeting of alliance partners scheduled on May 23 by the Congress, and it was only the media that was talking about such a meeting. He made the remarks while rubbishing the predictions made by exit polls, though they had given the DMK the advantage in Tamil Nadu.
“Who said there is a meeting of alliance parties on May 23? You (media) only are putting out such information. We will get to know the results of the polls on the night of May 23. Only after we know the results can such meetings be organised and only then will they be fruitful. We are waiting for that,” Stalin told reporters. The DMK leader said the party would not go by the exit poll predictions and would wait for the actual results on May 23.
(Source: The Hindu)
2. Madras University Seeks Funds to Construct New Buildings
The University of Madras has sought funds from the state government to complete construction of buildings at the Taramani campus, said Vice-Chancellor P Duraisamy.
According to officials, due to paucity of funds, the university authorities had to stop construction of new buildings at the Taramani campus in 2014. The new buildings are necessary for the Taramani campus as a few old buildings are in a dilapidated state, marred by seepage of water during rains.
Officials said that owing to water-logging, faculties face a lot of problems in conducting classes and as a result, academic activities get affected. The buildings on the Taramani campus were built decades ago. “If new buildings come up, then we can shift some of our departments to it. Besides, it will also help us in accommodating more students so we can plan to expand existing departments or open new courses,” said an official.
(Source: The New Indian Express)
3. Will DMK Apologise, Asks Ramadoss
PMK founder S Ramadoss on Monday claimed that there was no justification to conduct repolling in eight booths in Dharmapuri Lok Sabha constituency.He argued that the percentage of votes polled during repolling showed that the DMK’s allegations that the booths were captured on April 18 by PMK cadre were unfounded.
In a statement, he said that the percentage of votes polled on Sunday was more or less similar to the votes polled on April 18. He said that 89.90% of votes were polled in these eight booths on April 18. “Around 89.67% of votes were recorded in repolling. Only 14 votes were polled less. Similarly, two booths in Jaliputhur village saw 723 and 708 votes being polled - exactly the same number that was polled in April 18. In four booths in Nathamedu, more votes have been polled in three of them,” he said.
(Source: The Hindu)
4. 8,000 Temporary Teachers to Receive April Dues
The School Education Department, through an order on Tuesday, sanctioned funds to clear the salary for April, due to 8,462 temporary teachers. This has come much to the relief of temporary teachers, who get paid Rs 7,500 per month. Even though temporary teachers do just as much work as permanent employees, they get paid two or three times lesser than permanent employees.
In 2011, the State government had filled in vacancies of 1,590 postgraduate teachers and 6,872 graduate teachers using temporary staff, in order to meet the 1:40 teacher-student ratio. However, the contract with which they were employed, was repeatedly extended until March 31, 2019.
(Source: The New Indian Express)
5. Most Builders Opt for 12% GST Slab for Ongoing Projects
Most real estate developers across the State have opted for the old Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate of 12% for ongoing residential projects, as they feel the rate is more beneficial owing to the availability of input tax credit, allowing them to pass on the benefits to the consumers.
Earlier this year, the GST Council had taken a decision that for all new projects launched after April 1, 2019, builders would charge 5% GST from buyers, but they cannot avail themselves of the input tax credit. For affordable housing projects, the rate was cut to 1% from 8% earlier. Builders claim credit on input costs incurred on steel, cement and sand, used for under-construction buildings, to offset their GST liabilities.
(Source: The Hindu)
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