Heena Sharma Blog

The total number of Covid-19 cases in India stands at 81,970, out of which 27,920 have been cured and 2,649 have died due to the infectious disease, leaving behind 51,401 active cases so far, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The country now is just a whisker from overtaking China — from where the virus originated. In view of the surge in daily new cases in Maharashtra, the state government is likely to extend lockdown in major coronavirus hotspots, including Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad, Malegaon and Solapur, till May 31, according to media reports. Read More

The total number of Covid-19 cases in India stands at 78,003, out of which 26,235 have been cured and 2,549 have died due to the pandemic, leaving behind 49,219 active cases so far, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Yesterday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave details of a Rs 20-trillion economic package. In her announcements she focused mainly on MSMEs, NBFCs, power discoms, real estate sector and organised sector employees. Additionally, she said the definition of MSMEs would be altered and that the government would disallow global participation in its procurement tenders for up to Rs 200 crore. Read More

The Federation of All India Farmer Associations (FAIFA) has urged Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to correct an error in cigarette taxation under the new tax regime, which did not account for the cascading effect on excise duty that existed in the pre-GST system. FAIFA is a non-profit organisation that represents the cause of farmers and farm workers of commercial crops across the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Gujarat. In a letter written to the Finance Minister, which has also been submitted to various concerned Ministries including the PMO, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Labour, the association has highlighted that error in cigarette taxation has inadvertently increased compensation cess rates that has resulted in additional taxes of around 13 per cent above the pre-GST levels. "Any additional burden caused by the increase in compensation cess rates will put furth...

The Centre is considering increasing the personal income tax threshold in next month’s budget, according to people familiar with the matter, as authorities seek to kickstart consumption in the economy. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman may raise the tax exemption limit for working-age individuals to Rs 300,000 ($4,316) of their annual income, up from the current Rs 250,000, the people said, asking not to be identified as they aren’t authorised to speak publicly about the proposals. The tax measures haven’t been finalised yet. Any tax exemptions will add stimulus to an economy that’s slowed sharply this year, with growth reaching a five-year low of 5.8 per cent in the first three months of the year. The proposed tax move would put at least Rs 2,500 more in the hands of each of India’s 50 million taxpayers. It could also add to pressure on the budget deficit, which is pegged at 3.4 per cent of gross domestic product for the current fiscal year that began on April 1. The f...

The I-T department alleged that the trio had not disclosed Rs 53.7 mn worth of property they jointly own in Cambridge and Rs 32.8 mn worth of properties in the USA Current Affairs News : A magistrate court in Chennai on Monday directed former Union finance minister P Chidambaram's family members to appear in court on August 20 without fail in connection with the black money case . Chief Metropolitan Magistrate S Malarvizhi ordered the personal appearance of Chidambaram's wife Nalini, son Karti and his wife Srinidhi on August 20 since they failed to do so on Monday. According to the Income Tax Department, Karti had not disclosed his bank account in Metro Bank, the UK, and investments he had made in Nano Holdings LLC, USA. Also, the department said Karti had failed to disclose investments made by Chess Global Advisory, a company co-owned by him, which is an offence under the Black Money Act. The department stated that the trio had not disclosed Rs 53.7 ...