Arun has been associated with India International Times since 2018 and he has been a key reporter in covering science and space related stories. He can be reached at arunKnn@indiainternationaltimes.com.
In a repetition of several such incidents where the patients are declared dead without proper checks, a hospital in Warangal, Telangana declared a four-day-old baby dead on Sunday but when she started moving at the cremation grounds, parents realised the faux pas but in vain.
The baby delivered at a private hospital weighed just 450 grams and was brought to MGM hospital in Warangal for neonatal intensive care unit, which has ventilator and oxygen facilities.
On Sunday morning at 11.30 am, the doctor on duty declared the baby dead and issued a death certificate too when parents decided to take the body to the cremation ground for the final rites.
When they found the baby moving, they rushed back to the same hospital where doctors again declared the baby dead, causing commotion and outrage among the relatives for their negligence in declaring the baby dead in the first instance and thus denying proper care. The parents said the doctors failed to properly check the ECG to determine the baby’s condition before declaring the baby dead.
Two weeks ago, in Delhi Safdarjung Hospital too a newborn, weighing around 460 gm was not revived after an abortion citing international norm but the baby was found alive later. Doctors who said, “It was technically an abortion because the delivery took place in the 20th week of pregnancy. Internationally, the norm says such children should not be revived,” failed to explain how they missed that the child was still breathing.
I could have buried my child if he hadn’t started kicking from inside the plastic packet,” said the father who had filed a complaint of negligence with the police.
A short and crisp video unveiled by President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the launch of the Goods and Services Tax in the majestic Central Hall of Parliament captured the clear objective behind country’s most important tax reform till date. Unlike what economists and other commentators have been telling us as to how the GST would push the country’s Gross Domestic Product and make life easier for the trade and industry, the launch film showed a much broader aspect of the modern taxation that has the country’s people, especially those economically less privileged at its core.
In his inspirational speech at mid-night of June 30, minutes before the roll out, Prime Minister, referred to GST as a life changing instrument for the poor particularly in eastern Uttar Pradesh, other eastern states and the North East. Even as they are blessed with rich natural resources, these states have not been able to fully exploit the same for their development.
On face of it, one might ask, how is GST going to be of great benefits to the poor of the country, or is it that the same old “trickle down “ theory is supposed to play a role , via trade and industry. To an extent, it could be so, but the very character of the GST would ensure in realising what the Prime Minister said before the country’s most distinguished audience. The country’s mature polity and cooperative federalism has finally delivered a system, which is people –centric and not necessarily manufacturer centric.
Unlike the excise or other levies, the GST that subsumes seven Central and eight state taxes, is not source or manufacturer based but a destination or consumer centric. In plain and simple language, the states which have more consumers would stand to gain immensely in terms of tax buoyancy that would then be channelled in the welfare schemes for the people and overall economic development of the states. Surely, states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal and North East, which did not have much of a manufacturing base and were losing on revenue would stand to gain while the developed and manufacturing hubs would be compensated at least for five years of the GST launch. More the consumers, higher is the tax collection in a state; though the consumers need to be economically empowered!
The growth impetus to these states which could not keep pace with the states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu or Karnataka in manufacturing, would come from trade which in turn would generate huge resources for ploughing back into development efforts. Such a vibrancy would then lead to interest of investors, both domestic and global, into manufacturing and related service sectors, opening vistas for job creation for millions of people.
“GST is a system that ends the imbalances in the country’s trade. It also boosts the exports of the country. This system not only provides impetus to already developed states but also provides the opportunity to the backward states to develop. Our states are enriched with natural resources – look at Bihar, eastern UP, West Bengal, the north east, Odisha. They are all brimming with natural resources. When they will get a single tax regime I can see clearly that whatever deficiency is there those will be removed and this art of the country will move ahead. All the states of India will get equal opportunity for development”, the PM put the context right.
Besides, the one nation –one- tax from “Ganga Nagar to Itanagar “ in the words of Modi, would surely make life easier for the industry, trade and common person in different ways, encouraging honest way for the economic transactions. This is why, the GST has been dubbed as ‘Good and Simple Tax’ that would bring in a new governance culture.
Both the PM and the President gave full credit to different political parties and governments at the Centre and the states in making the GST a reality. “This is not a Sidhi (realisation) of one government or a party; it is a fruit of common efforts”, the Prime Minister said. The President, who had himself played a pivotal role in the progressive journey of the GST as Finance Minister in the previous government, had some apt words:
“The new era in taxation…. is the result of a broad consensus arrived at between the Centre and States. This consensus took not only time but also effort to build. The effort came from persons across the political spectrum who set aside narrow partisan considerations and put the nation’s interests first. It is a tribute to the maturity and wisdom of India’s democracy”.
One of the principal advantages of the new tax regime would be doing away with the cascading effect resulting from ‘tax on tax’. Through a robust IT infrastructure, the system of input credit ensures that it gets passed and adjusted against the tax liabilities. This would only help the consumers. “The prices of goods and services will come down. In the earlier system, the credit for excise duty, service tax, VAT and other indirect taxes did not get passed to the last vendor. But, in the GST, such credit goes to the supplier at the last stage of the value chain which then gets transferred to the consumers,” said noted tax expert Brij Bhushan.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley too has been impressing upon the industry to pass on any gains which accrue following the GST roll out. He hoped that the government may not have to use the powers vested in it through the Anti-Profiteering Authority to ensure that the benefits get passed on to the common citizens.
While even the President Pranab Mukherjee said that there could be disruptions in the initial stage, such a thing would be constructive disruption. Once we are through the teething troubles and initial period of adjustment, GST would prove to be a people-centric, capable of transforming lives. (PIB Feature)
Nirupam Sen, India’s former Permanent Representative to the UN, died in New Delhi on Sunday aged 70.
Nirupam Sen, a 1969 batch IFS officer, was India’s Permanent Representative from September 2004 to March 2009 and served as Special Senior Advisor to the UN General Assembly President. He also served as India’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Bulgaria and Norway during his career.
“Saddened at the passing of illustrious diplomat Ambassador Nirupam Sen. My condolences to his friends and family,” West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted.
Besides his former Indian Foreign Service colleagues, the Communist Party of India party general secretary Sudhakar Reddy was among those who gave him the final send off.
Nirupam Sen served in Oslo, Sofia (Bulgaria) and Colombo. He was figured in Wikileaks which revealed that his deputy in the Permanent Mission told a U.S. diplomat that South Block had given him the power to override Mr. Sen in view of his lack of sympathy for U.S. global policies.
A strong supporter of India’s tradition of non-alignment, Mr. Sen was perceived as close to Nehruvian policies in the Indian foreign policy establishment.
“He was close to the Leftist concerns and his work reflected that often. Most recently, he spoke about the centenary of the October Revolution and his introduction of the revolution impressed all,” Sumit Chakravartty, Editor, Mainstream, said.
Revenue Secretary, Government of India, Dr. Hasmukh Adhia clarified on seven misconceptions about newly implemented law relating to Goods and Services Tax (GST) through a series of tweets from his twitter handle @adhia03 on Sunday.
These myths relating to GST and Reality of each one is given below.
Myth 1: Do I need to generate all invoices on computer/ internet only.
Reality 1: Invoices can be generated manually also.
Myth 2: I need internet all the time to do business under GST.
Reality 2: Internet would be needed only while filing monthly return of GST.
Myth 3: I have provisional ID but waiting for final ID to do business.
Reality 3: Provisional ID will be your final GSTIN number. So start business.
Myth 4: My item of trade was earlier exempt so I will need new registration before starting business now.
Reality 4: You can continue doing business and get registered within 30 days.
Myth 5: There are 3 returns per month to be filed.
Reality 5: There is only 1 return with 3 parts, out of which first part is to be filed by dealer
and two other parts would be auto populated by computer.
Myth 6: Even small dealers will have to file invoice wise details in the return.
Reality 6: Those in retail business (B2C) need to file only summary of total sales.
Myth 7: New GST rate is higher compared to earlier VAT.
Reality 7: It appears higher because excise duty and other taxes which were invisible earlier are now subsumed in GST and so visible now.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday released a photo book titled “President Pranab Mukherjee – A Statesman”, at an event in Rashtrapati Bhawan and presented the first copy of the book to the President.
Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said that in his view, we can be more history conscious as a society, and preserve aspects of our history much better.
He said that the Presidency is much more than protocol. Through the photographs in the book, we see the human side of our President and we feel proud, the Prime Minister said.
Narendra Modi said that two pictures of Mahatma Gandhi, one with a broom, and the other, seeing something through a microscope, show what a diverse personality he had.
Newspapers show some aspects of a leader, but there are more aspects to a leader than only what is published in the papers, the Prime Minister said.
He said that it is his privilege that he got to work with Pranab Mukherjee. Recounting his experiences, the Prime Minister said that several times, he had got to work with leaders and workers of very different ideologies.
He added that he will never forget that when he came to Delhi, he had someone like “Pranab Da” to guide him. He said President Pranab Mukherjee had guided him like a father figure, He said the President would even tell him to take adequate rest, and take care of his health.
Speaking on the occasion, the President expressed his gratitude to The Statesman for bringing out a photo essay on the 13th Presidency. He said that art and creative abilities transcend the boundaries of time and geographical borders. Their appeal is universal. He appreciated the wonderful photos taken by Varun Joshi from The Statesman that feature in the photo essay.
He also expressed his gratitude and deep appreciation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was present on the occasion to release the book.
The book “President Pranab Mukherjee – A Statesman” has been published by The Statesman, one of India’s oldest English-language newspapers. This book, a comprehensive photographic record of India’s 13th President, covers Mukherjee’s Presidency and documents his various roles including those as a humane first citizen, as a thought-leader , as a patron of educational institutions & the arts and as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces etc.
Contraceptive pills have become popular now but the impact will lead to higher risk of breast cancer later in life, warn scientists.
Researchers from the University of Michigan found that some commonly prescribed birth control pills can quadruple the levels of synthetic estrogen and progesterone hormones, which increase the risk of breast cancers. The treatment of breast cancer is mainly focused on hormone therapy.
The blood tests on women who use birth control pills contained much higher levels of hormones compared to those who did not and the results showed that 4 out of 7 formulations tested were found to quadruple the levels of progestin, a synthetic version of the hormone progesterone.
Another test showed 40% higher exposure to ethinyl estradiol, synthetic estrogen, another major cause for breast cancer.
Study’s lead author Beverly Strassmann said that there is an urgent need for pharma companies to redesign the birth control pills so they do not cause breast cancer among women. Their research showed that one percent of breast cancer cases are caused by the use of oral contraceptive pills.
“Not enough has changed over the generations of these drugs and given how many people take hormonal birth control worldwide – millions – the pharmaceutical industry shouldn’t rest on its laurels,” she said.
In a previous study, birth control pills were found to have caused a small but significant increase in the risk of the most common type of stroke. The study published in the journal MedLink Neurology in 2015 showed that “the risk seems higher and, in most cases, oral contraceptive use should be discouraged.”
Marisa McGinley, Sarkis Morales-Vidal, and Jose Biller of Loyola University Medical Center and Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine studied about 100 million women worldwide who used oral contraceptives. Birth control pills increase the risk 1.9 times, to 8.5 strokes per 100,000 women, which means one out of 24,000 women would experience the stroke.
Early versions of the pill contained doses of synthetic estrogen as high as 150 micrograms, though they have come down to 20 to 35 micrograms now and not more than 50 micrograms. In the United States, there are about 40 brands of oral contraceptives and 21 brands of emergency contraceptive pills.
Samsung Electronics, which has recalled millions of units of Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, will refurbish them and sell them 30 percent discounted price in South Korea beginning Friday, July 7, 2017.
The Galaxy Note 7 faced several instances of battery fires and was banned in aircraft last year when it was launched, forcing the mobile giant to recall them. Now Samsung wants to resell them with replaced batteries manufactured by different makers.
Samsung said in a statement that 400,000 phones, dubbed the Galaxy Note 7 Fan Edition, will be put on sale in its home country priced at 699,600 won ($611), which is 30 percent lower than the Note 7’s original launch price.
The new units meant for sale are from recalled, unsealed Galaxy Note 7 handsets and making use of some unused Note 7 components, said the company. Since the battery was the main problem, the replaced battery will have a lower capacity than those of the original Note 7s, but have passed new safety measures, it said.
To recall, Samsung faced unprecedented criticism over a higher capacity battery that was used in its highly advertised Galaxy Note 7 when it was launched in October last year.
Within two months, amid several instances of the smartphone catching fire from its batteries, Samsung had to recall all the units that had cost the world’s biggest smartphone maker by volume a staggering amount of $5 billion and damaged its reputation, though its next launch Galaxy S8 was smooth and successful.
Samsung will decide soon whether to sell the refurbished Note 7s in other markets, but not in India and the United States, where it faced legal ban.
Here are the features or specs of Samsung Galaxy Note 7:
NETWORK
Technology
GSM / HSPA / LTE
LAUNCH
Announced
2016, August. Released 2016, September
Status
Discontinued
BODY
Dimensions
153.5 x 73.9 x 7.9 mm (6.04 x 2.91 x 0.31 in)
Weight
169 g (5.96 oz)
Build
Corning Gorilla Glass 5 back panel
SIM
Single SIM (Nano-SIM) or Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
– IP68 certified – dust/water proof over 1.5 meter and 30 minutes
– Stylus
– Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified)
In a glaring oversight, an ICSE Class 6 science textbook shows a “mosque” as a source of noise pollution depicting a man below closing his ears to the sound from loudspeakers from mosques.
Other noise-producing symbols like train, car and plane were seen in the picture but the osque has triggered uproar. While the textbook is not published directly or prescribed by the ICSE, it has denied any role in dipicting a religious symbol in the textbook in a negative tone.
Gerry Arathoon, Secretary of the Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations, told news agency PTI, “If any book with objectionable content is being taught at certain schools, it is for schools and publisher to ensure such a thing does not happen.”
However, social media is abuzz with an online petition launched to demand ban on the book and the private publisher has apologised for the mistake and assured to remove the offensive picture.
Hemant Gupta of Selina Publishers, said, “We do apologise if it has hurt the sentiments of anyone,” as the picture consisted of “a structure resembling a portion of a fort and other noise producing objects in a noisy city”.
The textbook row follows similar controversy when Bollywood singer Sonu Nigam said he was woken up by the sound of “azaan” or early morning prayers from mosques over loudspeakers. Before the controversy subsided, the ICSE textbook row had hit the social media.
Religious portions in textbooks have often triggered major controversies and recently a Class 9 Hindi textbook has referred to Jesus Christ as a demon. Another tongue-in cheek description in Class 12 textbook on physical education suggested ideal feminine body size as 36-24-36.
Flaxseed is the new sought-after supplement in faily diet owing to its component lignans which help women to get regular menstrual cycle and also reduce the risk of breast cancer, show recent research findings.
According to the American Institute for Cancer Research, flax seed contains lignans, also called phytoestrogens, bearing a chemical structure similar to estrogen but unlike estrogen that increases the risk of breast cancer, these brown seeds do not increase cancer risk but be more protective.
In studies conducted on animals, it was shown that lignans isolated from flaxseed help women during the menstrual period and post-menopausal period by lowering the risk of breast cancer. It was also observed that flaxseed did not interfere with the effectiveness of the anti-estrogen medication tamoxifen, said the AICR study. The higher blood levels of lignans show prominent cancer-protective features, said the study.
“For people who wish to consume flaxseed as a source of omega-3 fat or dietary fiber, studies do not support fears that flaxseed could increase incidence or recurrence of breast cancer,” says Karen Collins. However, more research is to be done before recommending it as a medication for breast cancer, said Collins in the paper.
In a previous study conducted from 2002 to 2005, the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) researchers used the MARIE study to take blood samples of 1,140 women who had been diagnosed with postmenopausal breast cancer. After a mean observation time of six years, they related enterolactone levels to clinical disease progression.
Compared to the study subjects with the lowest enterolactone levels, the women with the highest blood levels of this biomarker had an approximately 40 percent lower mortality risk. When the scientists additionally took account of the incidence of metastasis and secondary tumors, they obtained a similar result: Women with the highest enterolactone levels also had a lower risk for such an unfavorable disease progression.
“We now have first clear evidence showing that lignans lower not only the risk of developing postmenopausal breast cancer, but also the mortality risk,” said Jenny Chang-Claude.
There had been prior studies to determine the lignan intake by means of dietary surveys. But the results of such surveys are often unreliable and, in addition, there are big differences in the way individuals actually process the plant substances into effective metabolic products. Therefore, the Heidelberg team chose the more reliable measurement of biomarkers.
Otherwise, flax seeds have other potential medicinal properties, besides preventing growth of harmful cancer cells, even for prostate cancer. Since these seeds are found to catalyze insulin secretion in the body to regulate blood-sugar levels, diabetics are often advised to make it part of their daily diet.
In menopausal women, flaxseeds help them fight complications by maintaining balance in body hormones and reducing the risk of osteoporosis. It is also helpful in lowering bad cholesterol due to its rich nutrients.
The flipside of flaxseeds is that they are rich in calorie levels, 150 grams in four tablespoons.
NASA’s Juno spacecraft is all set for another manoeuvre on July 10, flying directly over Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, the gas giant’s iconic, 10,000-mile-wide (16,000-kilometer-wide) storm.
This meanoeuvre will be humanity’s first close-up view of the gigantic storm being monitored since 1830 and possibly existing for more than 350 years on Jupiter, making it mysterious and puzzling.
“Jupiter’s mysterious Great Red Spot is probably the best-known feature of Jupiter,” said Scott Bolton, principal investigator of Juno from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. “This monumental storm has raged on the solar system’s biggest planet for centuries. Now, Juno and her cloud-penetrating science instruments will dive in to see how deep the roots of this storm go, and help us understand how this giant storm works and what makes it so special,” said a NASA report.
The July 10 flyby will Juno’s sixth on to the gas giant’s mysterious cloud tops. Since Juno’s perijove is on Monday, July 10, at 6:55 pm PDT (9:55 pm EDT), Juno will be about 2,200 miles (3,500 kilometers) above the planet’s cloud tops.
In its closest reach lasting for 11 minutes and 33 seconds, Juno will cover another 24,713 miles (39,771 kilometers) and will be directly above the coiling crimson cloud tops of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, said NASA. The spacecraft will bee about 5,600 miles (9,000 kilometers) above the Giant Red Spot clouds and all its 8 instruments and its camera JunoCam, will be directly on the storm during the flyby.
“The success of science collection at Jupiter is a testament to the dedication, creativity and technical abilities of the NASA-Juno team,” said Rick Nybakken, project manager for Juno from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. “Each new orbit brings us closer to the heart of Jupiter’s radiation belt, but so far the spacecraft has weathered the storm of electrons surrounding Jupiter better than we could have ever imagined.”
As US is celebrating its Independence Day on July 4, Juno will have logged exactly one year in Jupiter orbit.
NASA satellites have detected from space that the number of fires across tropical forests in South America, the Eurasian Steppe, and the savannas of Africa are increasingly declining due to settled lifestyle than previous nomadic lifestyle in the regions.
The transition is leading intensified agriculture and steep drop in the use of fire leading to decline of forest fires, said researchers from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
The total acreage burned by fires declined annually by 24% from 1998 to 2015, said a research paper based on NASA satellite data and ground-based socioeconomic information. The beneficiaries are mainly the savannas and grasslands, which witnessed fires burning out half the size of the US every year, said Niels Andela, a research scientist at Goddard and lead author.
In traditional savanna cultures, people often set fires to keep grazing lands productive and free of shrubs. Since many of these communities have shifted to cultivate more permanent fields and to build more houses, roads and villages, the use of fire declines.eading organisaed governance that controls fires. By 2015, savanna fires in Africa had declined by 270,000 square miles (700,000 square km), almost equivalent to an area the size of Texas.
“When land use intensifies on savannas, fire is used less and less as a tool. As soon as people invest in houses, crops and livestock, they don’t want these fires close by anymore. The way of doing agriculture changes, the practices change, and fire slowly disappears from the grassland landscape,” said Andela.
Fires in the savanna, like this one in South Africa, burn quickly through grasses, and help prevent trees and larger shrubs from taking root. CREDIT: Guido van der Werf / Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands
For their study, researchers used data derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) instruments on NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites, as well as other sources and compared it with trends in population, agriculture, livestock density and gross domestic product.
The scientists found a different pattern emerging in the rainforests close to the equator. Natural fires are rare in tropical forests, but as people settle an area they often burn to clear land for cropland and pastures. Once settled, they set fewer fires and the burned area declines.
The impact of a warming and drying climate is seen at higher latitudes in Canada and the American west, where fire has increased. Even in parts of China, India, Brazil and southern Africa, an increase in burned area is coming to light, said Doug Morton, a research scientist at Goddard and a co-author of the study.
“Climate change has increased fire risk in many regions, but satellite burned area data show that human activity has effectively counterbalanced that climate risk, especially across the global tropics,” Morton said.
The 24% decline in burned area may have contributed about 7% to the ability of global vegetation to absorb the increase in carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels and land use change.
Shatamanam Bhavati, says Sanskrit Hindu blessing hymn. It may come true going by the trend, say Canadian scientists. Humans, who live longer than any other species, barring trees and elephants, have many super centenarians who are crossing the 100-year-old threshold, pushing the lifespan further up.
Jeanne Calment of France who lived till she was 122 years old seeing both World Wars, Mussolini and democratic reforms later, buyoant economic growth of Italy and its underworld remains a mystery to scientists and medical community. Many Japanese women have reached nearly the same age and the clock kept on chaning faces in the last one decade.
When Canadaian Emma Morano lived up to 117 years, the researchers began to ponder if there is any end to it. Researchers from the McGill University in Canada have taken up a study of the increasing lifespan of the longest-living individuals from Japan, Italy, US, UK and France since 1968 and realised that there is no cap on how long one can live literally. Nor can there be a cap on maximum age one can live with modern medical amenities within the reach and the way Japan’s robust care for the elderly works.
“We just don’t know what the age limit might be. In fact, by extending trend lines, we can show that maximum and average lifespans, could continue to increase far into the foreseeable future,” said Siegfried Hekimi, from McGill University of Canada and the team lead.
A century ago, the average lifespan was around 60 years in developed countries while it was far below at 50 years in countries like India, bar those who practised yoga and lied on good food.
Moving forward, as of 1980, the average lifespan increased to 76 years while it is hovering around 70 years elsewhere, especially in developing countries like India. Now that the world has been shrunk to a global village, thanks to Internet, awareness is increasing, hospital care is at throwaway distance and many people have grown to be rich and educated. The lifespan average is now 82 years in Canada and around 76 years in India or other emerging economies.
However, Hekmi and his team found out that it is impossible to predict future lifespan of humans, which can move further up to a few hundred years, bringing the ancient Sanskrit blessing – Shatamanam Bhavati (Live for 1000 years) – come true. While nobody knows why the Hindu blessing of Shatamanam Bhavati was spelt out at every auspicious occasion when it was evrybody’s knowledge that one cannot live beyond 60 to 100 in ancient times too. But certainly there is an inherent meaning to its scope.
“Three hundred years ago, many people lived only short lives. If we would have told them that one day most humans might live up to 100, they would have said we were crazy,” said Hekimi. Now it is possible with the modern medical care, old age pension and other technology is there to help push the maximum lifespan of people beyond the 100 years to reach one day even 1000 years to make the Sanskrit wording “Shatamanam Bhavati” come true.
The research of Hekmi was published in the journal Nature.
Unlike what Congress proposed as a simple three-tier GST capping at 18%, the BJP-led NDA government has made it 4-slab and added 28% slab imposing one of the worst taxation system in the world, said Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala.
Besides the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the cess included, some products will be as costlier as 43% more than the existing prices, he said. The cascading effect will be another standstill in economic growth as it would affect the common man and daily purchasing power of many people, he said.
While the livelihood of shopkeepers, traders, micro and small businesses is at stake, the new tax regime defeats the very purpose of simplifying the tax structure. Addressing a Traders Sammelan of ‘Vyapar Bachao-Dukandar Bachao’ protest in Haryana, he said, “The GST in its current form will be a blow to the farmers, textile sector, small and medium businesses. It will lead to run away inflation for all goods of mass consumption.”
He revealed that the original proposal made by the UPA government was simple, transparent and not at all complicated. But the new BJP framed GST requires 37 returns to be filed by every taxpayer per year. “In case, a taxpayer is doing business in all 36 states/UTs, it will be 1,332 returns, which is shocking,” he revealed.
The GST is against the basic needs of common man — roti, kapda aur makaan — as all these sectors are set for shocking rise in costs, he said. Giving examples, he said, “daily use items” like shampoos, deodrant attract 28 per cent, ACs/TVs/washing machines too attract 28%, furniture 28 %, computers/printers 28% and even small cars attract 28% and questioned the rationale in attacking the middle class which consumes most of these items.
He pointed out that even sanitary napkins, which are usually kept outside the tax regimes in many advanced and even poorer countries have been put under 12% tax regime on par with shoes and footwear. Even dialysis/blood test/X-ray/ultrasound etc. come under the same category, smacking the irrational treatment of medical services in the country, which may increase the medical bills for the common man.
Daily food items like tea/coffee/butter/biscuit/ curd/sweets/juices attract 12 pc to 28 pc, revealing the mindless aggressive attitude of the policy makers and tax administrators.
“Does it make sense to tax mineral water at 18 per cent even when caviar and prawns are taxed at 12 per cent or even when exotic imported fruits and vegetables are taxed at 0 per cent,” he asked.
Giving an example of taxing almonds and dry fruits at 12 per cent and cashew nuts at 5 per cent, he questioned the rationale behind such decision-making. It is everybody’s knowledge that almonds and dry fruits are good for health while cashew is fatty food and not advised for good health.
He questioned tax on man-made fiber and yarn, dyeing and printing and embroidery at 18% while the end product fabric is only 5 per cent, which means the service sector in textile would be hit badly and many may loose jobs.
While Indian farmer can’t compete with global farmer as there is a massive shortage of cold storage units in the country coupled with high indebtedness and suicides among the farmers, the government has imposed 18% tax on construction of cold storage units, which is more harmful to India and may increase imports.
This is what “Modi government’s method of governance: long on talks and short on delivery,” he told the protesters.
Salman Khan starrer ‘Tubelight’ for 2017 Eid release could not take off despite high expectations in Bollywood about the film that has a story line similar to many of his films earlier like “Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ or ‘Sultan’.
In seven days of its collection, the film grossed Rs.103 crore, with an estimated Rs 4.25 crore on Wednesday, according to Boxofficeindia.com figures. On its opening day Friday, the film collected Rs 20.75 crore followed by Rs 19.75 crore on Saturday and Rs 22.25 crore on Sunday, Rs.18.50 crore on Monday and Rs.11.75 crore on Tuesday, followed by a massive slide to single number at Rs.4.25 crore on Wednesday.
Despite good and bad reviews, never did Salman Khan’s film faced such low collections, hinting at revamp required for the actor’s past collection records. Based on Hollywoood flick, ‘Little Boy’ with a slight change in storyline to suit local conditions when the 1962 Sino-Indian War took place.
The film was also the last one by late Bollywood legend, Om Puri, while Chinese actress Zhu Zhu and child artist Martin Rey Tangu were roped in key roles. With director Kabir Khan, this is the second film by the duo after the massive success of ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’.
Here is a short list of his popular hit films:
Maine Pyar Kiya (1989)
Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994)
Karan Arjun (1995)
Dabangg (2010)
Ek Tha Tiger (2012)
Dabangg 2 (2012)
Kick (2014)
Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015)
Sultan (2016)
Tubelight (2017)
Salman Khan’s record has always been good in box office collections and he was marveled as the unique actor who could bring in moolah for the producers. His first film in 1988 ‘Biwi Ho To Aisi’ was just a passable one while his next film turned the table around as box office starrer with Sooraj R. Barjatya’s romantic family drama Maine Pyar Kiya in 1989, one of India’s highest-grossing films, besides winning several awards.
However success delued him again untill 1994 when “Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!!” with madhuri Dixit virtually thnundered the box office collections and awards for Salman Khan changing the course of his film career. Earning over Rs.135 crore, it was the biggest hit of 1994, breaking all previous records.
In 1995 his film with Shah Rukh Khan in Rakesh Roshan’s ‘Karan Arjun’ based on reincarnation theme went on to become the second biggest hit of the year. But again a spell of below average fillms followed until ‘Hum Saath-Saath Hain’ and ‘Biwi No.1’, both of which were the highest-grossing films of 1999.
It was almost a decade of ups and downs for his film career until ‘Dabangg’, which was released on Eid, 10 September 2010 that went on to earn Rs.215 crore becoming the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2010.
His next film two years later with Katrina Kaif ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ went on to become the second Bollywood film to gross over Rs.300 crore behind only ‘3 Idiots’ of Aamir Khan. In the same year 2012, ‘Dabangg 2’, a sequel of Dabangg, grossed Rs.250 crore.
His next film in 2014 was ‘Jai Ho’ that was just above average but followed by ‘Kick’ in the same year that entered the Rs.200 crore club.
In 2015, ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’, released on Eid became the second Bollywood film after ‘PK’ to enter Rs.300 crore club. Last year’s film on Eid, “Sultan” became the second film of Salman Khan to nett over 300 crores with a gross collection amount of Rs.583.26 crore worldwide. Compared to these box office collections, “Tubelight” is not only slow but never bright either like a typical tubelight after it glows.
An Indian-origin boy aged 11 took the famous Mensa Test for IQ measurement, totally unprepared and unaware of it and the results showed that the child prodigy has scored more than what Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking could have scored.
The maximum score in the test was around 140 and the boy, Arnav Sharma scored 162 in the Mensa Test.
The Mensa club, founded in 1946 in Oxford, has been on a unique mission to “identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity.” It conducts the Mensa test to enrol those who are highly intelligent and far above the average.
Just the top 2% of the United Kingdom are able to join the club and the India child prodigy has had a cake walk when he took the test and proved that he is far above than even the renowned scientists of the world — Einstein and Hawking.
The Mensa Club spokesperson said, “It is a high mark which only a small percentage of people in the country will achieve”.
The Mensa test consists of verbal reasoning ability and Arnav was apparently not sure that he could have done it so well. Arnav has a little brother and it is not known whether he is also a child prodigy.
Arnav, a student of Crossfields School, told The Independent, “I had no preparation at all for the exam but I was not nervous. My family were surprised but they were also very happy when I told them about the result.”
Arnav’s mother was equally upbeat. “He was counting up to more than 100 (when aged two and a half year old). That was when I stopped teaching him because I came to know that there is no end to his numbers,” she said.
When Independent reporter queried whether there was any other wizard in the family, the boy’s mother said her husband was not as clever though he is clever saying: “His dad is quite clever as well but not as clever.”
The Ministry of AYUSH has extended the last date for application to several seats for MD/PG in Ayurveda/Unani/Siddha and Homoeopathy Courses under Central Government Nomination (CGN) as per guidelines for the academic session 2017-18 from the eligible Government Teachers/Medical Officers (Doctors)/Research Officers.
These applications were invited through the concerned State /UT Governments up to 15.06.2017 and 30.06.2017 (NER). In view of administrative reasons, the ministry said it has decided to extend the last date for receiving through the concerned State Governments/UTs up to 31st July, 2017.
There are total 626 AYUSH Colleges in the country and two National Institutes to impart education in Ayurveda namely (i) National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur for Under-graduate and Post-graduate education and (ii) Institute of Post-Graduate Training and Research in Ayurveda, Jamnagar for Post-graduate education.
In addition the Government has established two new Ayurveda institutes during the academic session 2016-17 namely (i) All India Institute of Ayurveda, New Delhi for Post-graduate education and (ii) North Eastern Institute of Ayurveda & Homoeopathy, Shillong for Under-graduate education in Ayurveda.
Currently, India has five Central Councils for Research in Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Yoga and Naturopathy and Homoeopathy for undertaking, coordinating, formulating, developing and promoting research on scientific lines, through 82 peripheral institute/Centres/Units located all over India and also through collaborative studies with various universities, hospitals and institutes.
The research activities of the councils include medicinal plant research (Medico-ethno botanical survey, pharmacognosy and tissue culture), Drug Standardization Pharmacological Research, Clinical Research, Literary Research & Documentation, and other outreach activities. Further, Ministry of AYUSH runs Extra Mural Research (EMR) scheme to conduct the research on various aspects of AYUSH systems.
The Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National AYUSH Mission (NAM) was announced on 29th September 2014 for better access to AYUSH services such as strengthening of AYUSH educational institutions, facilitate the enforcement of quality control of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy drugs and sustainable availability of raw materials by promotion of medicinal plants in the States/UTs.
It is not because of romance with Ajay Devgn in her first film “Vijaypath” that Tabu is single even after 25 years but because both her cousin Sameer Arya and Ajay were bullies who would warn anybody who tried to speak to her on the street when she was young, revealed the actress.
Though acted in a couple of films before, Tabu entered Bollywood successfully with “Vajaypath”, which had set the career rolling both for her and for Ajay Devgn. “We did Vijaypath in ’94. It’s nice to be able to romance the same hero on screen even after 23 years,” said Tabu in a media interaction.
Tabu, who is returning to act with Ajay Devgn in “Golmaal Again” with Rohit Shetty, shared her younger days and her friendship with neighbourhood boy Ajay. She said she had given the responsibility of finding a groom to Ajay Devgn but in vain and hence, she remained single even to this day. However, she did not speak about Telugu actor Nagarjuna with whom she had acted in several hit films.
In her exclusive interview to Mumbai Mirror, Tabu is quoted to have said, “Yes, Ajay and I have known each other for 25 years. He was my cousin Sameer Arya’s neighbour and close buddy, a part of my growing up years and that has laid the foundation of our relationship. When I was young, Sameer and Ajay would spy on me, follow me around and threaten to beat up any boys who are caught talking to me. They were the big bullies and if I am single today, it is because of Ajay. I hope he repents and regrets what he did.”
Though said in a lighter way, Tabu is reportedly preparing for a lighter role in the upcoming film “Golmaal Again” with Ajay Devgn. She further told Mumbai Mirror that she had told him to find a boy to marry, which never happened and the erstwhile heart-throb of many leading actors in Bollywood and down the south remained single.
However, she quickly added that Ajay Devgn is one whom she can count on for any help. “If there is anyone I can count on, it’s Ajay,” she said conclusively.
When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin early this month during his visit to St.Petersburg that India and China never had any border skirmishes in recent decades, it had sent positive vibes which were finally stalled at the trijunction of India, Bhutan and China borders in Sikkim.
In its bid to construct a road along Bhutan and India at Sikkim border, China first asked India to respect Bhutan which has shared the border but never raised any issue over the road. When Bhutan joined India in support over the trijunction violation, Beijing reminded India of history.
India can never afford to forget history. In 1962, India and China had fought a war over the border in Ladakh region that took the toll in defeated India and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s health which deteriorated over what he described as a let down by China despite his support to them at international fora.
China is upset that India is egging Tibet and together raising objection to construct a road on a trijunction that is called Chicken’s Neck and strategically crucial or vulnerable for India.
“Donglang is part of China’s territory. This is indisputable. The Donglang area belonged to China since ancient times and it doesn’t belong to Bhutan,” asserted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang in Beijing, refuting India’s objection.
Besides lodging protest with New Delhi, China wanted to go aggressive by shutting the Nathu La pass in Sikkim for Indian pilgrims to Manasarovar. Defending the move, the Chinese spokesman said:
“For a long time in the interest of India-China relations, China provided great conveniences to the Indian pilgrims. Based on the consensus between the two countries’ leaders, and on the fact that the Sikkim sector boundary is delineated and recognised by two countries, the Chinese side in 2015 opened the Nathu La pass for Indian pilgrims,” he said.
“Now the suspension of the same is an emergency response to the situation there. I want to stress that the resumption of pilgrims pass requires necessary atmosphere and conditions. So the liability of the same totally lies with the Indian side and when it will be reopened depends on when or whether the Indian side will correct its errors,” he said.
Though China doesn’t have diplomatic relations with Bhutan, Lu said Bhutan is a universally recognised sovereign country and a third party should not interfere on behalf of Bhutan. Strange but Chinese over-reaction smacks of something more.
Of late, India and China relations have been smooth with bilateral trade and investment ballooning beyond the border constraints. Major mobile brands of Chinese mobile companies like Xiaomi, OnePlus and Oppo have become the top brands next only to Samsung, and machinery is mostly imported by India from China. But where will it lead to?
The global food giant McDonald which had made headlines in 1997 when it opened first outlets in India at Delhi with veg burgers replacing its iconic beef burgers elsewhere, hit an unexpected controversy almost 20 years later over ownership issue.
The franchisee given to Connaught Plaza Restaurants Pvt Ltd (CPRL) in North and Eastern India has run into trouble over the ownership of CPRL, which had been jointly owned by Vikram Bakshi and McDonald’s.
Refusing to renew the licence, McDonald’s told media that the restaurant licenses of these McDonald’s restaurants in Delhi “expired”, bringing curtains down on two-year-old controversy and ending 20-year-old partnership with Vikram Bakshi.
McDonald franchisee Vikram Bakshi at loggerheads with parent firm
McDonald’s India has been fighting over the control of CPRL and arbitration proceedings to settle the issue with Bakshi failed at the London Court of International Arbitration. With the expired licences, McDonald’s has decided to shut all the 43 restaurants owned by the joint venture.
McDonald’s India Pvt Ltd (MIPL) spokesperson Barry Sum said, “The Board of CPRL is working to obtain the required licenses. Pending this, CPRL is temporarily suspending the operations of the affected restaurants,” and all the 43 restaurants will face closure. MIPL said all the 1700 employees who will be affected will be paid salaries as usual until the suspension is revoked.
The McDonald’s franchisee for south and west is managed by Amit Jatia. Currently, McDonald’s has more than 320 million customers a year.
However, last year, its reputation faced critical test when news over its use of beef oil for french fries was assailed all over the country where Hindus shun beef and any beef-related products.
McDonald’s was followed by the entry of other US eateries such as Domino’s Pizza which has more than 500 restaurants across India, while KFC has more than 300 restaurants.
Dunkin Donuts has more than 30 outlets in India and Burger King has presence in major cities like Delhi and and Bangalore with more than 10 restaurants.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday, June 28, 2017, approved signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between India and the United States of America on Homeland Security.
The Memorandum of Cooperation will further strengthen bilateral security relations between India and the USA and will also help in coordination and interactions among the six Sub-Groups that are proposed to be formed under Homeland Security Dialogue between the two countries.
The Cabinet approval follows Prime Minister’s recent visit to the United States where he had talks with President Donald Trump and senior US officials on boosting bilateral cooperation, including upgrading security matters such as MALABAR joint exercise with US and Japan in the Indian Ocean.
The Cabinet also approved another MoU between India and Israel on National Campaign for Water Conservation in India, that will ensure conserving water for future generations.
The two countries will work together at the national, regional and international level to design, implement and monitor a professionally-designed National Water Conservation campaign in India. The Ministries agree to jointly work on the water conservation campaign to achieve the following objectives:
a.Put water conservation on the national agenda in India
b.Encouraging every citizen to save water in everyday life
c.Generating awareness about water
d.Promoting Re-use, Recharge and Recycling of water
e.Develop digital tools such as websites, mobile apps on water conservation
