PM set to meet Israeli counterpart in Tel Aviv
Narendra Modi will visit Israel, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj announced on Sunday. Dates for the trip are still being worked out, she said. This will make Modi the first Indian prime minister to visit the controversial country with which New Delhi established official relations only in 1991. However, Swaraj claimed that the visit does not represent a shift in India's position on the West Asian nation. New Delhi has traditionally been a strong ally of the Palestinian cause, though many believe this commitment has become weaker in recent years.
Simpler income tax forms introduced
The Union government on Sunday announced simplified income tax return forms that will not require detailed disclosures about bank accounts and foreign trips. A finance ministry statement said taxpayers will have to mentioned the bank accounts they hold, but are not required to mention their bank balances. In addition, taxpayers will have to note down their passport numbers in the new forms. However, providing details of all foreign travel and expenditure occurred is not a necessity. The move comes following criticism of a 14-page form that was notified two months ago, which both companies and individuals felt would complicate the filing process. The last date for filing returns has been extended to the end of August.
India will buy only 36 Rafale jets
India will buy only 36 Rafale warplanes instead of the 126 jets earlier included in a proposed $25-billion deal with France, defence minister Manohar Parrikar said on Sunday. Calling the deal economically unviable, Parrikar criticised the previous government for proceeding with it. "I also feel like having a BMW and Mercedes, but I don't because I can't afford it," Parrikar said. The Rafale deal was scrapped in April, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi deciding to buy the 36 jets in a government-to-government deal.
Delhi minister pressurised me, bureaucrat tells L-G
The senior bureaucrat at the centre of a turf war between the central and Delhi governments has accused a minister of the Aam Aadmi Party-led state government of trying to pressurise her to issue an illegal order. Shakuntala Gamlin, currently the principal secretary in the industries and power departments headed by Satyendra Jain, said the minister attempted to coerce her to push a proposal to convert leasehold industrial land to freehold. Jain denied the Gamlin's allegations, stating that he had only sought to examine the feasibility of the proposal.
PM asks veterans to be patient on pension demand
Amid uncertainty over the implementation of the One Rank One Pension policy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday on Sunday asked members of the defence forces to "wait for some more time". In his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio address, Modi said the further consideration was needed to resolve the complexities involved executing the plan to provide equal pension to all retired soldiers of the same rank, irrespective of their date of retirement. A retired war veteran had recently boycotted a gallantry even to protest the policy's delay.
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Narendra Modi will visit Israel, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj announced on Sunday. Dates for the trip are still being worked out, she said. This will make Modi the first Indian prime minister to visit the controversial country with which New Delhi established official relations only in 1991. However, Swaraj claimed that the visit does not represent a shift in India's position on the West Asian nation. New Delhi has traditionally been a strong ally of the Palestinian cause, though many believe this commitment has become weaker in recent years.
Simpler income tax forms introduced
The Union government on Sunday announced simplified income tax return forms that will not require detailed disclosures about bank accounts and foreign trips. A finance ministry statement said taxpayers will have to mentioned the bank accounts they hold, but are not required to mention their bank balances. In addition, taxpayers will have to note down their passport numbers in the new forms. However, providing details of all foreign travel and expenditure occurred is not a necessity. The move comes following criticism of a 14-page form that was notified two months ago, which both companies and individuals felt would complicate the filing process. The last date for filing returns has been extended to the end of August.
India will buy only 36 Rafale jets
India will buy only 36 Rafale warplanes instead of the 126 jets earlier included in a proposed $25-billion deal with France, defence minister Manohar Parrikar said on Sunday. Calling the deal economically unviable, Parrikar criticised the previous government for proceeding with it. "I also feel like having a BMW and Mercedes, but I don't because I can't afford it," Parrikar said. The Rafale deal was scrapped in April, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi deciding to buy the 36 jets in a government-to-government deal.
Delhi minister pressurised me, bureaucrat tells L-G
The senior bureaucrat at the centre of a turf war between the central and Delhi governments has accused a minister of the Aam Aadmi Party-led state government of trying to pressurise her to issue an illegal order. Shakuntala Gamlin, currently the principal secretary in the industries and power departments headed by Satyendra Jain, said the minister attempted to coerce her to push a proposal to convert leasehold industrial land to freehold. Jain denied the Gamlin's allegations, stating that he had only sought to examine the feasibility of the proposal.
PM asks veterans to be patient on pension demand
Amid uncertainty over the implementation of the One Rank One Pension policy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday on Sunday asked members of the defence forces to "wait for some more time". In his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio address, Modi said the further consideration was needed to resolve the complexities involved executing the plan to provide equal pension to all retired soldiers of the same rank, irrespective of their date of retirement. A retired war veteran had recently boycotted a gallantry even to protest the policy's delay.
