NIA charge-sheets JeM chief for Pathankot airbase attack
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a charge sheet against Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar, his brother Abdul Rauf Asghar and two others, S for plotting and orchestrating a fidayeen (suicide) attack at the Pathankot airbase on January 2.
The NIA charge sheet said there were only four terrorists at the airbase and the presence of any other terrorist could not be established till date. It, however, said investigations in this regard would continue.
Seven security personnel, including an NSG commando, were killed and 37 injured in the terror attack.
Witnesses from Pak.
The NIA has named 115 witnesses, including six protected witnesses and two men from Pakistan who helped identify the slain terrorists. The agency has also named a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent and a trial attorney of the U.S. Department of Justice as witnesses. Mohammed Sadeek, a resident of Ghalotiakalan in Pakistan's Sialkot district and Abdul Rahman Mogul, a resident of Polas in PoK’s Poonch district had helped identify voices and a couple of the terrorists.
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Manipur violence spreads, vehicles torched
The situation in Manipur remained tense on Monday with violence spreading to Senapati district where miscreants torched two vehicles even as Chief Minister Okram Ibobi appealed for peace among different ethnic groups of the State.
Night curfew was reimposed in Imphal West district this evening on the orders of the District Magistrate.
Curfew was imposed there at 6.30 p.m. on Sunday evening and lifted at 4 a.m. on Monday.
In a message, the Chief Minister appealed for peace and harmony among different ethnic groups of the State.
Indefinite curfew continues to remain in force in Imphal East district where mobile data services were suspended on Sunday to prevent spread of rumours. This will be in force till December 25.
Unidentified persons torched two vehicles including a passenger bus at Naga Taphou in Senapati district in the morning, a police officer said.
Last night around 10.30 p.m., four vehicles of former Minister Marung Makunga were vandalised at Saombung in Imphal East district, the police said.
The police were on high alert to contain any further outbreak of violence in the wake of Sunday’s incident at Imphal-Ukhrul Road where 22 vehicles were vandalised by a mob.
Indefinite curfew in Imphal East was clamped after locals vandalised vehicles on Imphal—Ukhrul road to protest against the ongoing economic blockade by the United Naga Council (UNC) on the national highways since November 1.
The landlocked State has been experiencing severe hardship in supply of essential items since November 1 after the UNC imposed an indefinite economic blockade on the two national highways that serve as lifelines for the State.
The UNC has been agitating against the government decision to create Sadar Hills and Jiribam into full fledged districts, claiming it would bifurcate ancestral lands of the Nagas in Manipur.
The Manipur Cabinet on December 9 decided to form seven new districts, bifurcating the existing nine. Four new districts have been formally inaugurated.
Tension escalated after militants ambushed the Manipur police and other State forces that left three policemen dead and 14 others injured on December 15.
The attack was followed by triple bomb blasts at Nagaram in Imphal West district allegedly by Manipur Naga People’s Front the very next day.
In another incident, suspected militants overpowered a small outpost of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) at Nungkao area on December 17 in Tamenglong district and fled with nine service weapons.
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Ultrasound devices to be mapped
Health Ministry to check diagnostic centres in every State to end malpractices
: In an attempt to identify unauthorised and unregistered diagnostic centres in the country, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoFW) has decided that all ultrasound machines in States will be mapped. The mapping will be carried out by the authorities in States visiting every centre and recording details of the devices.
On Sunday, the official handle of MoFW tweeted, “Ultrasound machines in the States will be mapped to identify unregistered/unauthorised facilities providing diagnostics.” While regularising the diagnostic facilities is the main aim, curbing sex determination tests and female foeticide is another important aspect of the move, which will help reduce the thousands of unregistered sonography centres that have mushroomed over the years.
An official from the Ministry explained that the exercise has already been undertaken by some States while others are in process. “The idea is to regulate all centres and thus monitor them thoroughly and minimise malpractices. Mapping will be carried out through a ground-level survey of all centres and ultrasound machines,” said the official, adding that the first intimation to carry out the exercise had come from the Supreme Court in 2013.
Unregulated machines and centres are misused for carrying out illegal sex determination tests. Since they are not registered, they don’t follow the rules of submitting Form F for every case, which is mandatory under the Pre Conception and Pre Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act. Form F is a document to be filled by radiologists carrying out ultrasound tests on any pregnant woman. While registered centres are mandated to keep all records, the centres running illegally get away with breaking the rules. “This is where couples looking for identifying the sex of their baby head to,” said the official.
Dr. Archana Patil, Additional Director of Health Services, Maharashtra, said the State has already taken up this exercise and all the machines have been mapped. “We have provided each registered machine with an unique alpha numeric number after the registration,” said Dr. Patil, adding the State has strengthened its survey and it is unlikely that any unregistered machines are in operation. As per the State’s records, there are 7,820 sonography centres and 10,817 ultrasound machines registered in Maharashtra.
While some doctors feel it is impossible that the State had reached out to every centre operating in Maharashtra, others believe the stringent norms implemented post the launch of the ‘Save Girl Child’ campaign in 2011 has changed the ground-level scenario.
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Centre gives app-based taxis a boost
High-level panel’s report on surge pricing norms, removal of permit curbs accepted
A national policy to promote shared urban mobility over private vehicle use to cut congestion and pollution, and end restrictive taxi permit regimes is now before State governments, after the Union Transport Ministry accepted these and other recommendations of a high-level committee.
The panel has suggested that unreasonable restrictions that make taxi operations economically unviable should be avoided.
To encourage cheaper travel solutions and to reduce the number of cars on the road, sharing of seats by aggregator taxi companies has been given the green light. The States had been asked to place an appropriate cap on the duty hours of drivers for road safety and labour law protection.
The seven-member committee under the Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, set up in May 2016 to review the existing regulatory framework for taxis and other passenger vehicles, has recommended steps to encourage new forms of urban mobility like bike-sharing and e-rickshaws to create reliable alternatives to car ownership.
The panel viewed the taxi permit regime as being “highly onerous,” and one that limits the growth of the taxi and shared mobility industry. The States have now been asked to facilitate grant of permits for City Taxi and All India Tourist Taxi Permits (AITP) without any restriction on numbers.
City taxis can ply as street hailing cabs and also operate on aggregator platforms. To reduce delays and to embrace digital technology, online permits have been recommended. The committee has recommended online conversion of personal vehicles to commercial taxis on payment of requisite charges.
Taxi companies have been asked to comply with safety norms of transport departments and equip the vehicles with GPS.
Dynamic pricing allowed
Range-bound dynamic pricing is to be allowed to match demand and supply. The maximum tariff for normal cabs may be up to three times the minimum tariff. Maximum tariff may be allowed up to four times the minimum from midnight to 5 a.m.
The recommendations have been accepted by the MoRTH and report forwarded to the Secretaries, Transport, of all States for perusal, official sources told The Hindu .
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Malaysia calls for ASEAN-led probe into Rohingya issue
Malaysia’s Foreign Minister turned the screws on Aung San Suu Kyi at emergency talks in Myanmar on Monday, warning that an Army crackdown on the Rohingya minority could spark a regional migrant crisis.
More than 27,000 Muslim Rohingya have fled northwestern Myanmar for Bangladesh since the start of November to escape a military counter-insurgency operation. Myanmar’s Army says it is hunting militants behind deadly raids on police posts in October.
But Rohingya survivors have described rape, murder and arson at the hands of soldiers— accounts that have raised global alarm and galvanised protests around Southeast Asia. On Monday ASEAN Foreign Ministers held talks in Yangon on the crisis.
Malaysia called for an independent ASEAN-led investigation into the allegations of Army abuse.
Foreign Minister Anifah Aman also urged full humanitarian access to the locked-down area, where more than 130,000 people have been without aid for two months.
He warned the crackdown could trigger a repeat of last year’s boat crisis, when thousands of starving Rohingya were abandoned at sea by traffickers as they tried to flee southwards to Malaysia.
On Monday, Amnesty International joined the condemnation of Myanmar , saying the Army’s “widespread and systematic attack on a civilian population” may amount to crimes against humanity.
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I-T Act change to help small firms move to e-payment
The Centre will amend the Income Tax Act in Budget 2017 to reduce the rate of deemed profit from 8 to 6 per cent for small firms with a turnover of less than Rs.2 crore who receive their payments electronically, the Finance Ministry announced on Monday in a move which will promote digital payments.
While this should encourage the adoption of electronic payments, it could lead to some operational difficulties for companies that conduct their business both electronically and in cash, according to experts.
“In order to achieve the government’s mission of moving towards a less cash economy and to incentivise small traders/businesses to proactively accept payments by digital means, it has been decided to reduce the existing rate of deemed profit of eight per cent under section 44AD of the Act to six per cent in respect of the amount of total turnover or gross receipts received through banking channel/digital means for the financial year 2016-17,” an official statement said.
“Under the existing provisions of section 44AD of the Income-tax Act, 1961, in case of certain assessees (i.e. an individual, HUF or a partnership firm other than LLP) carrying on any business (other than transportation, agency, brokerage and commission) and having a turnover of Rs.2 crore or less, the profit is deemed to be eight per cent of the total turnover,” the statement said.
“There is a provision under the Income Tax Act for small business and service providers,” Amit Maheshwari, Managing Partner, Ashok Maheshwary and Associates told The Hindu. “If a business has a turnover of less than Rs.2 crore, it is not required to maintain books of account. In such cases, the Income Tax Department takes into account a deemed profit of eight per cent for tax purposes. The tax is computed on this eight per cent. This change does not apply to service providers.”
Electronic transactions
The statement clarified that this reduction in the rate of deemed profit would apply only to the revenue generated from electronic transactions with the rate remaining unchanged for revenue from cash receipts.
“This is a welcome measure to encourage a movement towards a digital economy and cashless transactions,” said Surendra Prakash Singh, Senior Director, Deloitte India. “This will not only incentivise businesses to disclose their true income but will also reduce the compliance costs for some small businesses.”
“If you receive your income in electronic form, then the rate of deemed income becomes six per cent from eight per cent,” Mr. Maheshwari said. “But what about people who have both cash income and electronic income? The Department will have to apply two different percentages on these companies.”
The government said the legislative amendment to make the required changes to the Income Tax Act will be carried out through the Finance Bill 2017.
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