QBullet: GST Meeting, Ram Rajya, Karan Johar’s Appeal And More
Read The Quint’s compilation of the top stories in national dailies across the country.
1. Four-Tier GST Structure Proposed: Low of 6 Percent to High of 26 Percent
A four-tier structure for Goods and Services Tax (GST) comprising a lower rate of 6 percent, two standard rates of 12 percent and 18 percent, and a higher rate of 26 percent with an additional cess for luxury and demerit goods were proposed in the third meeting of the GST Council Tuesday.
The higher rate for services under the indirect tax regime is proposed to be 18 percent, while essential services such as transportation are proposed to be taxed at 6 percent or 12 percent.
Around 70 percent of the taxable base is proposed to be taxed at either 18 percent, 12 percent or 6 percent, with more than 50 percent of the items to be taxed at 12 percent or 18 percent. Ultra-luxury items like high-end cars and demerit goods like tobacco, cigarettes, pan masala and aerated drinks, comprising about 25 percent of the taxable base, would attract an additional cess over and above the higher rate of 26 percent, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia told reporters after the meeting.
Source: The Indian Express
2. Dil in Mushkil, Karan Johar Says Alvida to Pak Actors
Call it patriotism or fear of veiled threats, but big names in Bollywood have been forced to do a double take.
A day after the MNS issued an oblique threat to multiplexes if they went ahead with the release of Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (ADHM) that features Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, an industry team sought, and was promised, police protection.
However, both Johar and Mukesh Bhatt (president of the Film & Television Producers Guild of India) also made conciliatory noises to those opposing the inclusion of Pakistani artistes, with Johar even saying he would not engage with actors from across the border in future.
Source: The Times of India
3. Ram Returns as ‘Poll Mascot’ Ahead of UP Polls as Tourism Min Visits Ayodhya
Union Minister Mahesh Sharma on Tuesday put on fast track a proposed Ramayana museum in Ayodhya, in what appeared to be a growing move by political parties to reopen the debate over the divisive Ram temple issue ahead of assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.
Though no party would say it officially yet, statements by leaders of different ideologies, including Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, indicated that the contentious issue was set to gather traction ahead of the vote early next year.
“I know many wonder kab hoga, kaise hoga (when and how it will happen)... But I wish to assure you that when the intention is pure, there is never any doubt about the result,” Sharma said. The government is also planning to hold an international Ramayana conclave in December.
Source: Hindustan Times
4. Surgical Strikes Like Israeli Army’s Exploits, Says Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi proudly put on display the surgical strikes in Pakistan last month during his public rally in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday.
In Mandi town to dedicate power projects, he told a packed Paddal stadium that only Israel was known for such operations until now, but the Indian Army has shown that it is no less. “I salute the Indian Army hundreds of times for this,” he said.
He also attacked Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on alleged corruption and said former BJP chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal was known for laying roads in the state especially in the rural areas, while Virbhadra was known for altogether different reasons.
Source: The Times of India
5. Cross-LoC Operations Happened in the Past Too, S Jaishankar Tells Panel
The army carried out “limited-calibre, target-specific, counter-terrorist operations” across the Line of Control in the past too but this was the first time the government went public with the 29 September surgical strikes as part of a strategy, a parliamentary panel on external affairs was told Tuesday.
The panel, headed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, was briefed by Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, Defence Secretary G Mohan Kumar, Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Bipin Rawat and Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Ministry of Home Affairs MK Singla. BSF DG KK Sharma was also present.
Source: The Indian Express
6. No Fire NoC, Bhubaneswar Hospital Lost Accreditation Two Months Ago
A day after a fire in the ICU and dialysis ward of the SUM Hospital in Bhubaneswar left 20 patients dead and another 105 injured, police arrested the hospital superintendent and three others, including its fire safety officer, on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
The Indian Express also learnt that the hospital lost its accreditation with the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH) two months ago. It was found lacking quality standards, including measures to deal with fire.
Source: The Indian Express
7. US Stands in Solidarity With India on Cross-LoC Strikes
The US supports cross-LoC strikes by India, US Ambassador Richard Verma said, adding that Washington has drastically cut assistance to Pakistan in the past five years over concerns on terror.
“India took the action it thought was necessary to defend itself, which we understand,” Ambassador Verma told The Hindu in his first interview since India launched strikes on ‘terror launch pads’ along the LoC after the terror attack on an Army camp in Uri, in which 19 Indian soldiers were killed.
In a rare admission that the US had spoken to the Pakistani leadership about the use of “proxies” as terror groups, Mr Verma also said it was important to “stand in solidarity with India on that front.”
Source: The Hindu
8. Odd-Even Scheme Had Little Impact, Didn’t Cut Delhi Pollution: Green Panel
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) asked authorities in the national capital on Tuesday to find a solution to growing air pollution in the city, considering a report that the odd-even road rationing formula tested this April had little impact.
The city of about 20 million, which ranks among the world’s top cities with foul air on a WHO list, has been struggling to clean up its air that contains a toxic cocktail of dust, smoke and gases from vehicle and factory exhausts.
Source: Hindustan Times
9. Isolate Terror, Not Nations Says Myanmar Leader Aung San Suu Kyi
One of the worst terror attacks in Myanmar’s recent history was blamed on a group led by a man trained in Pakistan but tackling terrorism cannot be only about isolating organisations or nations, the country’s de-facto ruler Aung San Suu Kyi said on Tuesday.
The world community needs to isolate terror itself and focus on the reasons why people resort to terrorism, Suu Kyi, who is Myanmar’s State Counsellor and foreign minister, said.
Her remarks came against the backdrop of India’s campaign to isolate Pakistan over using cross-border terrorism as a policy, an issue which figured prominently at the BRICS Summit and meeting of BIMSTEC leaders in Goa that was attended by Suu Kyi.
Source: Hindustan Times