February 2020

Industry views on direct tax dispute scheme will be considered: Revenue Secretary NEW DELHI : Revenue secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey said on Sunday that suggestions received from industry on the proposed scheme to resolve 4,83,000 direct tax related disputes will be considered for inclusion in the set of guidelines to make it a success. At a post-budget interaction with businesses and traders in Kolkata, Pandey said that ‘The Direct Tax Vivad se Vishwas Bill, 2020’ is currently in Parliament and various suggestions have been noted. It incorporates the demand to include a scheme for tax disputes where assessment orders have been...

RSS ideologue P Parameswaran was a scholar, writer and orator Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue, P Parameswaran (93), died in Mayannur in Palakkad district in the early hours of Sunday. A thinker, writer and orator he was the recipient of Padma Shri and Padma Vibushan and many other awards. Born in 1927 in Muhamma in Alappuzha district he studied in SB College Changanassery and University College in Thiruvananthapuram. He was attracted to Sangh ideology at a young age and later became a ‘pracharak,’ full-time worker of the RSS in 1951 and devoted his life to it. Source: Hindustan Times

Raj Thackeray leads MNS rally against ‘Bangladeshi and Pakistani infiltrators’ in Mumbai A much-hyped rally by Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) demanding the expulsion of Bangladeshi and Pakistani infiltrators began Sunday afternoon from the Hindu Gymkhana in South Mumbai, three hours behind schedule. It is the first rally by Thackeray after he steered the MNS towards a hardline Hindutva and changed the party flag. Thousands of party workers have come to city from outside Mumabi for the rally. Source: Hindustan Times

Send Rahul Gandhi to ‘political playschool’, says Naqvi on ‘danda’ remark Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on February 9 said Congress president Sonia Gandhi should send her son Rahul Gandhi to a “political playschool” so that he can learn “decency and language etiquettes”. Mr. Naqvi was replying to a question by reporters in Indore about Congress Lok Sabha member Rahul Gandhi’s recent remark that in the next six months, the youth would hit Prime Minister Narendra Modi with sticks if he doesn’t address the issue of unemployment in the country. Source: The Hindu

Indian-American woman to run for US Congress from Virginia An Indian-American woman, who raised her voice against alleged discrimination in admission of Asians in IV League schools, has announced that she will run for US House of Representatives, saying she wants to be a “voice, not a noise” for the community particularly the Hindus in the US. Andhra Pradesh-born Manga Anantatmula, who worked as a federal government contractor in defence acquisitions programme management, has already become a presumptive nominee of Republican party from the 11th Congressional District of Virginia, making her the first Indian origin candidate to run for the...

If India agrees to postpone debt by three years, we can convince others too, says Mahinda Rajapaksa On his first visit after being sworn in as Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi. Mr. Mahinda told The Hindu about his hopes for debt-restructuring, and also about projects now on the anvil, although his government will not carry forward the projects agreed to by the previous Sri Lankan government. Source: The Hindu

US presidency gains more power with Donald Trump’s acquittal US President Donald Trump’s impeachment acquittal has delivered the White House a fresh coat of power, sparking worries over the rise of an “imperial presidency.” His victory in the Senate trial on Wednesday accelerated a decades-long shift in the US government in which Congress has steadily ceded authority to the Oval Office. The presidency hit a low in the 1970s, after Congress wrested authority away following Richard Nixon’s Watergate abuses. Since then, each successive US leader has sought to further dominate the legislature. Source: Hindustan Times

Modi offers India’s help to China to deal with coronavirus outbreak Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written to Chinese President Xi Jinping, offering India’s assistance to China to deal with the coronavirus outbreak. In his letter, the Prime Minister expressed solidarity with the President and the people of China over the outbreak of the virus in the country, official sources said. Mr. Modi offered India’s assistance to China to face the challenge, besides conveying condolences at the unfortunate loss of lives due to the outbreak, they said. A total of 811 people have died of the coronavirus infection so far while the number...

Man City have been a ‘huge disappointment’ in the Premier League – Bernardo Silva Bernardo Silva has conceded that Manchester City‘s latest title defence has been a “huge disappointment”, but he still believes there is plenty for the English champions to play for between now and June. City have slipped 22 points behind runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool this season, with three draws and six defeats on their record after 25 fixtures. Source: Goal

Why Krishen Khanna still paints at 95 As Krishen Khanna leads you into his basement studio in Delhi, it is not the strong smell of colour or the bright canvases alone that strike you, but the artist’s grit and determination to “paint and paint some more.” “I am 95, I must use the remaining time as well as I can,” says one of India’s greatest modern painters. To mark his 95th birthday last fortnight, his latest show at Artoholics Gallery in Delhi has 16 of his new paintings on display, along with some sculptures, all done in the past year....