Expect record opening: Baahubali 2 likely to rake in Rs 1,000 crore

The movie has stirred a box-office storm even before it hits the screens on Friday

Nearly two years after releasing the first part of his magnum opus “Bahubali-The Beginning”, director S S Rajmouli is all set to release the concluding part of the saga.

“Bahubali 2: The Conclusion” has stirred a box-office storm even before it hits the screens on Friday.

The first part, which ended at perhaps the most titillating junctures in the recent cinema history, opened to blockbuster collections in the range of Rs 50 crore on day one and went on to collect a massive Rs 650 crore (gross) at the worldwide box-office. The Rs 200-crore franchise is expected to take a record opening, getting close to or even exceeding its predecessor’s record.

Starring Telugu actors Prabhas and Rana Dagubatti along with Tamannaah and Anushka Shetty, the film will be released in as many as 6,500 screens in the country, including 3D and IMAX — the third film from India to be released in IMAX format (the first two being Dhoom 3 in 2013 and Bang Bang in 2015).

With no other movie releasing on the same day as Bahubali-2, the movie is well-positioned to break box-office records in the southern states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. (READMORE...)

Veteran Bollywood star Vinod Khanna dies at 70

He worked in more than 100 films

Vinod Khanna, the yesteryears Bollywood superstar, died at the age of 70 on Thursday. He was battling cancer.

He worked in more than 100 films.

He was an active politician, and a sitting Member of Parliament from Gurdaspur, Punjab. Vinod Khanna was born on 6 October, 1946.

He is survived by his wife Kavita Khanna, sons Rahul, Akshaye and Sakshi, and daughter Shraddha Khanna. Before marrying Kavita, Vinod Khanna was married to Getanjali but they later got divorced.

His polupar movies include Mere Apne, Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Gaddaar (1973 film), Jail Yatra, Imitihaan, Inkaar, Kuchhe Dhaage, Amar Akbar Anthony, Rajput, Qurbani, Kudrat, Dayavan, Kaarnama,Suryaa: An Awakening and Jurm.

Vinod Khanna received the Filmfare award in the best supporting actor category for Haath Ki Safaai, and in 1999 he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award, and again in 2007 he won a lifetime achievement award at the Zee Cine Awards.

In late 2016 and early 2017, news about his detoriating health started coming in, this kept him away from a public eye. In his last days he was surrounded by all his children and wife Kavita. (READMORE...)

PM Modi launches UDAN scheme from Shimla; now fly to Himachal for Rs 2,000

Air India subsidiary Alliance Air will operate the Delhi-Shimla flight

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the UDAN regional connectivity scheme on Thursday from Shimla that will allow tourists to fly to Shimla from New Delhi for just Rs 2,000.

Modi during his day-long visit to the Queen of Hills launched the central government's UDAN, or "Ude Desh ka Har Nagarik" scheme, building efficient regional air connectivity, from Jubbarhatti, the tabletop airport located 2,196 metre above sea-level and some 22 km from here.

Accompanied by Himachal Governor Acharya Devvrat, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and Union Ministers P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Jayant Sinha and J.P. Nadda, Modi simultaneously flagged off the inaugural UDAN flights on the Kadapa-Hyderabad and Nanded-Hyderabad sectors through video conferencing.

The Shimla Airport had been shut for scheduled flights since September 6, 2012, affecting tourists and business travellers to the state.

Air India subsidiary Alliance Air will operate the Delhi-Shimla flight.

The seating capacity of airlines under the UDAN scheme will range from 19 to 78 and 50 per cent of the seats in every flight will have a fare cap of Rs 2,500 per seat per hour.

The airline companies chosen are Airline Allied Services (Alliance Air), SpiceJet, Turbo Megha Airways, Air Deccan and Air Odisha.

The operations under the scheme are intended to provide air connectivity to un-served and remote routes with airfare being capped at Rs 2,500 for an hour's journey of around 500 km, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement. (READMORE...)

Sensex at 30,000: What's next, when to invest and is there a bubble?

Here is a compilation of what leading experts and market veterans think about recent rally

After rallying nearly 1.5% since the start of the week, the markets are consolidating in trade on Thursday. Buoyed by liquidity, developments at the global levels and better-than-expected March quarter results of companies, the Nifty50 and the S&P BSE Sensex have scaled new highs.

Will this momentum continue? Here is a quick compilation of what leading experts and market veterans think about the recent rally. They also highlight their concerns.

RAAMDEO AGRAWAL, CO-FOUNDER, MOTILAL OSWAL FINANCIAL SERVICES

It is an iconic closing for the Sensex. However, concerns still remain as to what will happen to the fundamentals as the valuations are getting stretched. The recent movement has been driven by liquidity. The political situation in India has become stable and recent elections show the popularity of BJP in the country. The markets are excited about what Mr Modi will do with so much political capital in his hand and look forward to more reforms going ahead. One can invest at the current levels from three – five year perspective.

S NAREN, ED & CIO, ICICI PRUDENTIAL AMC

We believe that we are in the midst of a good economic cycle. However, markets have gone up much faster than the change in economic cycle. We believe price-to-earnings (PE) for the markets looks expensive but price-to-book value and market-cap to GDP ratio is above average but not significantly higher than average level.

NIRMAL JAIN, CHAIRMAN, IIFL GROUP

I think the markets look good from a medium-to-long term perspective. The government is doing a great job by putting the right policies in place. If one invests for three years, investors will make money. Once the corporate earnings start growing at 15 – 20 per cent, the market levels will reflect that going ahead. (READMORE...)

MCD election 2017: Threat for AAP govt, Delhi may see early Assembly polls

As Gujarat CM, Modi replaced at least a third of all sitting legislators before assembly polls

The results of the Delhi civic polls lead to some obvious conclusions, and not so obvious near-term possibilities. These include fresh assembly polls in Delhi by the end of the year, the likelihood of several incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha members might be replaced in 2019 Lok Sabha polls and more leaders quitting the Congress party.

1. Modi wave

The BJP victory in the polls is primarily because of the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, brilliantly leveraged by party chief Amit Shah with deft organisational work.

It is true that BJP won the last two civic polls as well, but the party campaign in Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls focused on Modi’s leadership, not of any local leaders. Today, Shah credited the victory to Modi's leadership.

The emphatic win also suggests that the party has recovered the vote share it received in 2014 Lok Sabha polls, which slipped out of its hand in the 2015 assembly polls. In 2014, the BJP won all seven Lok Sabha seats and a vote share of over 45 per cent. This reduced to 34 per cent in 2015 assembly polls, where Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won 67 of the 70-seats.

The Uttar Pradesh assembly polls have contributed to BJP’s popularity in areas where migrants from eastern UP and Bihar predominate. There was a time when AAP held sway on the ‘purabiyas’ of Delhi.

2. Alarm bells for BJP Lok Sabha MPs

The BJP fielded fresh faces in 267 of 272 municipal wards. It helped BJP beat anti-incumbency, and present itself as a new and improved version under Modi. This should worry incumbent legislators and Lok Sabha members of the party.

As Gujarat chief minister, Modi used to replace at least a third of all sitting legislators before every assembly polls. He led the party to three consecutive assembly victories in 2002, 2007 and 2012. It is likely that Modi and Shah could replace party’s sitting legislators in the forthcoming polls in Gujarat and Karnataka.

Several of BJP’s UP legislators are also hopeful of contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, and party bosses have indicated to them to nurse their putative Lok Sabha constituencies, most of which currently have sitting BJP MPs. (READMORE...)

MCD Election Results 2017 LIVE: AAP hit by Modi wave, won't accept defeat

Get live updates and latest news on Delhi MCD Election 2017 results along with photos, videos

MCD election result LIVE: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading in all three municipal corporations - North Delhi Municipal Corporation, South Delhi Municipal Corporation and East Delhi Municipal Corporation in the national capital. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress are in the race for the second spot in the three civic bodies. Other parties which contested the election include Swaraj India, the political arm of Swaraj Abhiyan - co-founded by activists Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan, BSP, SP.

Currently, BJP is leading in 188 seats, AAP is ahead in 43, Congress is leading in 28 seats while the other parties are set to grab around 10 seats. 

12:46 PM
BJP didn't sweep streets in 10 years but swept MCD polls again; here's why

12:45 PM
MCD election result: EVM 'manipulation' is the 'bitter truth', claims AAP

12:43 PM
Think President should dismiss Delhi Govt and order fresh elections. AAP support has evaporated. It was done in 1977, SC also upheld it: Subramanian Swamy

12:40 PM
MCD overall: 270/272
BJP: 185
Congress: 27
AAP: 47
Others: 11

12:31 PM
Kejriwal turned the MCD election "into a personal referendum on his popularity," says Yogendra Yadav

12:28 PM
Taking responsibility for defeat in all 3 wards, I offer to resign as MLA and from all party posts: Alka Lamba, AAP

12:27 PM
Follow
Piyush Goyal ✔ @PiyushGoyal
Congratulations to Shri @AmitShah, Shri @ManojTiwariMP & all the hard-working BJP Karyakartas for the iconic victory in Delhi MCD elections.
11:53 PM - 25 Apr 2017
101 101 Retweets 243 243 likes

12:26 PM
This victory stands for the sincere trust & support that people have placed in PM Modi's vision of 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas': Piyush Goyal

12:25 PM
Congratulations to BJP karyakartas and Delhi BJP President Manoj Tiwari on registering an emphatic victory in MCD polls: Rajnath Singh (READMORE...)https://goo.gl/1ayPYy

MCD Election Results 2017 LIVE: BJP leads; AAP blames EVMs; Congress shows grace

Get live updates and latest news on Delhi MCD Election 2017 results along with photos, videos

MCD election result LIVE: The Delhi civic election result will be declared today. The counting of votes polled in 270 wards of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) and North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) began at 8 am. BJP is set to have a clear mandate. The Congress party makes a surprise comeback and is at number 2 in the MCD South and MCD East, with Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party in last place. In the MCD North, where the BJP already has a big lead, AAP is a poor second. A win today will add to the BJP's list of victories in state and local elections across the country. For AAP, which swept assembly elections in Delhi two years ago, the Delhi civic elections are a fight to remain politically relevant after losing the Punjab and Goa elections last month.

• 11:06 AM

  MCD result: BJP's Gurjeet Kaur wins from Bhajan Pura in MCD East

  11:05 AM

  AAP's Ashutosh: Difficult to digest that people haven't voted for AAP despite halving electricity rates, giving free water, improving schools and hospitals

• 11:02 AM

  MCD overall: 270/272

  BJP: 189

  Congress: 32

  AAP: 41

  Others: 8

• 10:57 AM

  Winning and losing is a part of democracy, one must accept mandate of the people with maturity: Nitin Gadkari

• 10:55 AM

  First win coming in for AAP in MCD election results 2017: Ashok Kumar of AAP wins Shakurpur of North Delhi

• 10:49 AM

  I did not campaign in MCD election because I was not asked to by the Congress party: Sheila Dikshit

• 10:46 AM

  "Lesson & message" for "EVM Vilaap Mandli"- Instead of blaming EVM, respect people’s mandate & do introspection: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi |(READMORE...)

MCD Election Results 2017 LIVE: BJP wins, AAP routed, Congress makes surprise comeback in Delhi

Get live updates and latest news on Delhi MCD Election 2017 results along with photos, videos

MCD election result LIVE: The Delhi civic election result will be declared today. The counting of votes polled in 270 wards of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) and North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) began at 8 am. BJP is set to have a clear mandate. The Congress party makes a surprise comeback and is at number 2 in the MCD South and MCD East, with Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party in last place. In the MCD North, where the BJP already has a big lead, AAP is a poor second. A win today will add to the BJP's list of victories in state and local elections across the country. For AAP, which swept assembly elections in Delhi two years ago, the Delhi civic elections are a fight to remain politically relevant after losing the Punjab and Goa elections last month.

• 09:55 AM

  BJP, Congress and AAP key players in the contest 3/3

• 09:53 AM

  Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress are neck and neck as they scramble for the number 2 slot.

• 09:52 AM

  MCD Election result: The trends across all television channels are now quite uniform. The BJP is not facing any competition either from the Congress or the AAP.

• 09:51 AM

  The BJP is leading in all three corporations. But the party said it will not celebrate its victory. “It is because of the Sukma incident,” BJP’s Delhi spokesperson Aman Sinha said. Maoists killed 25 paramilitary personnel and injured six in Chhattisgarh’s south Sukma region on Monday, in an ambush possibly to thwart a crucial road link the government believes would hurt the rebels.
  
  

• 09:45 AM

  BJP respects the supreme sacrifice of our brave jawans, will not celebrate MCD victory : Manoj Tiwari, BJP

  09:42 AM

  MCD Election First results: BJP wins from Janakpuri West and Janakpuri East

• 09:41 AM

  MCD overall: 270/270
  BJP: 184
  Congress: 40
  AAP: 37
  Others: 9

• 09:38 AM

  Delhi has made its preference for the BJP: Yogendra Yadav, the founder of Swaraj India

• 09:37 AM

  Trends out for all 270 seats for MCD Polls. BJP leading on 183 seats, Congress on 40 & AAP on 37 wards

• 09:35 AM

  No celebrations for the prospective victory as we are sad because of Sukhma incidents that claimed lives of jawans: Manoj Tiwari

• 09:34 AM

  Sisodia among other leaders reached Kejriwal's Civil Lines residence here as counting trends for the Delhi Municipal Corporation polls showed the Aam Aadmi Party trailing at third spot | (READMORE...)
   

Modi govt plan on generic drugs makes pharma companies, doctors jittery

The Narendra Modi govt is planning to bring law to make doctors compulsorily prescribe generic drugs

To make health care affordable in the country, the Narendra Modi-led central government is looking to make it mandatory for doctors to prescribe generic drugs. As reported earlier, the health ministry, in line with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s Union Budget announcement, has started work on amending the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.

ALSO READ: Budget impact: Drug firms may be forced to market generics, not brands

After the Act has been amended, doctors will not be allowed to mention brand names in their prescriptions. Instead, they will have to mention the generic name of a drug. The prime minister’s Monday announcement on this has made the pharmaceutical industry jittery. Generic drugs' share of the market, 80 per cent at present (20 per cent is accounted for by branded and patented drugs), is expected to go up to 90 per cent in the next three years.

The managing director of a domestic pharmaceutical company who does not wish to be named says the move is a serious one and will shift the thrust from quality to price.

Some industry veterans view this from the angle of marketing ethics. Veeramani, formerly the president of the Indian Drug Manufacturers' Association (IDMA), says the move will keep a check on doctors and ensure the medical fraternity doesn’t favour any company. However, he fears the problem will now shift from the doctor’s desk to the chemist’s. “Now, (since the doctor will mention only the generic name of a drug on the prescription), the chemist might sell medicines that suit him the best. He might push those that yield him better profits.” There are over 800,000 chemists in India.

The pharma industry, meanwhile, does not seem enthused. Industry players believe the idea will complicate things for doctors and be very difficult to implement. Doctors may face difficulty in prescribing combination drugs or medicines with multiple ingredients, analysts say. (readmore...)

Nation wants to know: Arnab Goswami gets a legal notice for the phrase

Goswami says the phrase belonged to the people and not to any media group

Who owns “nation wants to know”? That seems to be the question that will probably be answered by the courts. The catch-phrase popularised by former Times Now anchor, Arnab Goswami has become a bone of contention now.

According to a report in the newspaper Mint, Times Group has sent a legal notice to Arnab Goswami asking him not to use the phrase on his own news channel “Republic TV”. Arnab Goswami’s new channel has been in the news ever since it was announced late last year but its much anticipated launch has been delayed due to unspecified reasons.

Times Now is a channel owned by the Times Group and they contend that “nation wants to know” is their intellectual property. Goswami became synonymous with the use of this phrase.

Arnab has released an audio clip on YouTube informing people that he has received this notice. He has not revealed the name of the group that has sent him the notice. “A media group has sent me a six-page letter threatening me with imprisonment if I ever use the phrase ‘Nation wants to know’. They say that they own the phrase.”

He further explained that the phrase belongs to “you, to me and to all of us, every citizen of this country. Every Indian has a right to use that phrase. And this phrase comes from the heart. Every Indian, through his or her questioning spirit, can use the phrase Nation Wants to Know.”

He says the media group has been trying to delay the launch of Republic TV(readmore...)

No consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav: Is Pak raising strains with India?

Yesterday, Pak Army ruled out consular access to Jadhav, saying he was not eligible as per laws

Strongly condemning Pakistan for not giving consular access to alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, defence experts on Tuesday said such decision was against international norms and conventions and alleged that Islamabad was deliberately dragging this case to heighten tensions with India.

Defence expert Qamar Agha said Pakistan court should be trusted as they have their allegiance towards the army.

"It's against the international norms and conventions to refuse to grant consular access. Secondly, you know a good legal case was missing. India has a right for consular access. I think we should not trust the Pakistan court either as most judges of the court have allegiance towards Jamaat-e-Islami and judiciary is totally committed to army," Agha told ANI.

Expressing similar views, defence expert Shankar Prasad said, "Pakistan is trying to heighten the level of tensions with India so that international community begins to feel that this is a flash point in South East Asia. Therefore, they need to intervene and mediate in talks."

Yesterday, the Pakistan Army ruled out consular access to Jadhav, saying he was not eligible for it as per the laws.

"Kulbhushan is not eligible for consular access nor will be granted consular access," said Pakistan Armed Forces spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor. (readmore...)

Amazon to take on Paytm, Flipkart's PhonePe with its digital wallet licence

In the next few months it will get into railways, utilities and insurance payments

Amazon India has received a payments wallet license from the Reserve Bank of India, as it looks to boost savings and retain customers within is ecosystem as it takes on rivals Flipkart, and Alibaba's Paytm.

The US retailer is looking to allow users to shop on its platform, make offline payments, buy bus and rail tickets and pay for utilities through its digital wallet. This will put the company squarely against Paytm and Flipkart-owned PhonePe, apart from number two player FreeCharge.

All three players are betting on the payments space to engage the growing base on online shoppers in India. Paytm's parent Alibaba, pioneered the use of digital wallets to dominate the e-commerce market in China.

PhonePe uses the Unified Payment Interface (UPI), the peer to peer payment technology platform that allows users with a mobile phone transact digitally. Flipkart is looking to aggressively invest in PhonePe from its $ 1.4 billion kitty it raised earlier this week from Tencent, Microsoft and eBay.

"We are pleased to receive our PPI license from the RBI. Our focus is providing customers a convenient and trusted cashless payments experience. RBI is on the process of finalising the guidelines for PPIs. We look forward to seeing a continuation of the low limit wallet dispensation with simplified KYC & authentication," Sriram Jagannathan, VP Payments, Amazon India. (readmore...)

Petrol, diesel prices to be revised daily in 5 cities from May 1: Sources

State refiners currently revise fuel prices every fortnight

India's state-owned fuel retailers plan to implement daily revision of fuel price in five cities from May 1 ahead of a nationwide roll out of the scheme, industry sources said.

To begin with, daily revision of fuel prices will be implemented in Puducherry and Vizag in southern India, Udaipur in the West, Jamshedpur in the East and Chandigarh in the North, they said.

State refiners currently revise fuel prices every fortnight to reflect volatility in the currency and global oil markets.

State refiners - Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) - operate 90 per cent of the retail outlets in the country.

The three have upto 200 fuel stations in the five cities, the sources said.

The roll out of "daily dynamic pricing" in five cities will help them identify the problems ahead of a nationwide roll out of the scheme later this year, the sources, who did not wish to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter, said.No immediate comment was available from the state refiners.

Indian private fuel retailers - Reliance Industries and Essar Oil - are expected to follow their state peers, the sources added. (readmore...)

In a first, SC orders BSNL to shut mobile tower over cancer patient's plea

Development comes despite repeated claims by the Centre that no such health hazard exists

n a first, the Supreme court has ordered that a BSNL mobile phone tower in Gwalior shut down on the plea of a 42-year old cancer patient, reported ET Telecom on Wednesday.

This the first time that a mobile tower has been ordered to be deactivated on the grounds that the electromagnetic radiation emanating from it has caused cancer in an individual, the report added. 

Harish Chand Tiwari, a domestic help who had been working in Gwalior's Dal Baazar area, had moved the apex court last year, complaining that a BSNL mobile phone tower, which was installed on the roof of the house neighbouring the one he worked in, had exposed him to constant harmful electromagnetic radiation for the past 14 years.

According to the report, Tiwari claimed before the apex court that the tower, which was illegally installed in the residential area in 2002 and was situated less than 20 metre from the house where he worked, was the cause behind his Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

The order by a bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Navin Sinha said: "We direct that the particular mobile tower operated by BSNL in the area mentioned in the petition filed by Harish Chand Tiwari, shall be deactivated by the BSNL within seven days from today."

The development comes as the long-standing debate about the health hazards associated with cell towers continues.

Furthermore, as reported earlier, India's safety factor in such matters is 10 times stiffer than in 90 per cent countries that follow standards set by the International Commission on Non-ionising Radiation Protection. In September 2012, the Department of Telecom had reduced the permissible radiation limits for tower firms to 10 times lower than recommended by World Health Organization. It had also asked the operators to maintain a certain distance from a building, depending on the number of antennae they want to install. (readmore...)

Reliance Jio brings in new offer for Prime members; Airtel sees red

Airtel calls it 'old wine in a new bottle'

Barely a week after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) asked Reliance Jio to withdraw its complimentary offer, the telecom operator on Tuesday announced a new plan of 1 GB 4G data for three months at Rs 309 for its Prime members.

Rival Airtel, however, dubbed it as a case of “old wine in a new bottle.”

Announcing its new offer, Jio said under the Rs 309 plan, it would provide “unlimited SMS, calling and data (1GB per day at 4G speed) for three months on the first recharge”. For Rs 509, the company is offering unlimited SMS, calling and double the data (2GB per day) for three months on the first recharge.

“Considering the special benefits that are available to Jio Prime members, customers who were unable to subscribe to Jio Prime for any reason can continue to do so by paying Rs 408 or Rs 608 (Jio Prime and recharge price) to avail these benefits,” said Jio in a statement.

The benefits of the plan would be available right away. Jio customers who have not got their first recharge, need to do so by 15 April.

Objecting to the offer, incumbent Bharti Airtel hoped that the “authority (Trai) will act against this provocative disregard of their direction”.

“We are surprised to see what Jio is doing. It violates the spirit of the Trai directive and essentially continues with a similar plan now masquerading under a different name. This is a classic example of old wine in a new bottle," an Airtel spokesperson said.

Stating that the industry was in a “very weak” position and “continues to bleed”, Airtel said the financial impact that telcos are seeing does no good to customers, in the long term.(readmore...)

PAN, TAN to be issued in a day for ease of doing business

CBDT and MCA tied up to issue TAN, PAN in one day

In another move to improve ease of doing business in India, the Income Tax Department has tied up with the Corporate Affairs Ministry (MCA) to issue Permanent Account Numbers (PAN) and Tax Deduction Account Numbers (TAN) within a day, an official said on Tuesday.

"The Central Board of Direct Taxes has tied up with MCA to issue Permanent Account Number (PAN) and Tax Deduction Account Number (TAN) in one day," a Finance Ministry statement said.

"Applicant companies submit a common application form SPICe (INC 32) on the MCA portal and once the data of incorporation is sent to the Central Board of Direct Taxes by MCA, the PAN and TAN are issued immediately without any further intervention from the applicant," it said.

During the last fiscal ended March 31, "19,704 newly incorporated companies were allotted PAN in this manner," it added.

During March 2017, of the 10,894 newly incorporated companies, PAN was allotted within four hours in 95.63 per cent of the cases and within one day in all cases. 

Similarly, TAN was allotted to all such companies within four hours in 94.7 per cent cases, and within one day in 99.73 per cent cases, the Ministry said.

The Income Tax Department has also introduced the electronic PAN Card (E-PAN), which is sent by e-mail, in addition to the issue of the physical PAN Card, to all applicants, including to the individuals who have been allotted PAN, the statement added.(readmore...)

Premeditated murder: India warns Pak after 'spy' Jadhav sentenced to death

Pakistan described Jadhav as an Indian Naval officer attached to the Research and Analysis Wing

India on Monday issued a stern warning after Pakistan sentenced to death an Indian 'spy' caught last year on charges of espionage and waging war against Islamabad.

The Indian External Affairs Ministry said

Jadhav,whose family lives in Mumbai, was sentenced "without observing basic norms of law and justice" and if he was hanged, it would be "premeditated murder".

Pakistan said earlier that a Field General Court Martial awarded the capital punishment and Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had confirmed it.

A Pakistani statement described Jadhav, who allegedly used the alias Hussein Mubarak Patel, as an Indian Naval officer attached to the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

Jadhav was arrested on March 3, 2016, reportedly in Balochistan, for "involvement in espionage and sabotage activities against Pakistan".

"He confessed before a Magistrate and the court that he was tasked by RAW to plan, coordinate and organise espionage, sabotage activities aiming to destabilize and wage war against Pakistan by impeding the efforts of law enforcement agencies for restoring peace in Balochistan and Karachi," the statement said.

Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar handed Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit a demarche warning that if Jadhav was hanged, "the government and people of India will regard it as a case of premeditated murder".

It accused Islamabad of abducting Jadhav from Iran and "his subsequent presence in Pakistan has never been explained credibly".

It said the Indian High Commission in Islamabad sought consular access to Jadhav 13 times between March 25, 2016 and March 31, 2017 but was not given permission to meet him.

"The proceedings that have led to the sentence against Jadhav are farcical in the absence of any credible evidence against him. (readmore...)

Settle PF claims on your phone through mobile app UMANG

EPFO receives close to 1 crore applications manually for various settlements

Nearly four crore members of retirement fund body Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) will soon be able to settle their claims like EPF withdrawal through mobile application UMANG.

"The EPFO is developing online claims settlement process by receiving application online," Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

The minister also said, "The application will be integrated with Unified Mobile App for new-age governance, (UMANG) App, to receive the claims online. However, the timeframe to roll out the same has not been finalised."

The EPFO receives close to 1 crore applications manually for settlement of EPF withdrawals, pension fixation or getting group insurance benefit by the deceased.

A senior official said over 110 regional offices of the EPFO out of 123 field formations have already been connected with the central server. The official explained that it is a technical requirement for connecting all regional offices with the central server for rolling out the facility.

Earlier in February this year, EPFO Central Provident Fund Commissioner had said, "The process of connecting all field offices with a central server is going on. We may introduce the facility for online submission of all types of applications and claims like EPF withdrawal and pension settlement by May this year."

The EPFO has an ambitious plan to settle the claims within a few hours after filing of the application. For instance, it has plans to settle the EPF withdrawal claim within three hours of the filing. (readmore...)

Indian 'spy' Kulbhushan Jadhav sentenced to death in Pakistan

Jadhav was arrested on March 3 last year by Pakistan security officials in Balochistan

A Pakistani army court today sentenced alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav to death for "for his involvement in espionage and sabotage activities against Pakistan", the military announced.

"The spy has been tried through Field General Court Martial (FGCM) under Pakistan Army Act and awarded death sentence," the military's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa "has confirmed his death sentence awarded by FGCM," it added.

Jadhav was "arrested" on March 3 last year by Pakistan security officials in Balochistan after he entered from Iran. He has been accused by Pakistan of planning "subversive activities" in the country.

India has acknowledged Jadhav as a retired Indian Navy officer, but denied the allegation that he was in any way connected to the government. (readmore...)

E-wallets to the rescue: How to turn credit card money into hard cash

And it is free if done through e-wallets. But wallet companies can block repeat offenders

A few weeks earlier, Paytm had started charging its customers a two per cent fee for adding money to the wallet using their credit cards. However, the mobile wallet company withdrew the fee after a week, saying it would cause inconvenience to a large section of their customers.

So, how does one transfer credit card money into a bank account via an e-wallet? The mechanism is quite simple. A user sends money to the wallet through his credit card, say Rs 15,000. Well-established mobile wallets such as Paytm, MobiKwik and FreeCharge allow funds in the wallet to be sent to any bank account. All the person has to do is enter his account number and the National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) code. He can send the entire Rs 15,000 to any bank account he wishes to.

Most wallet companies don’t allow transfer of funds immediately. One can send the money to a bank account only after 48 hours. The best part: There are no charges on deposit or on withdrawal of money from the wallet. The wallet provider bears the cost.

It’s a smart way to get a hassle-free loan. An individual does not need to fill up an application form, share documents, wait for the approval, and so on. There’s no fear of rejection because of a low credit score. It can also be at zero cost if the person pays back the issuer before the due date. To many, it may look line an easy credit line, but it’s not.

A few do it to earn points on their credit card without actually spending on anything. But banks have to report to the income-tax

(I-T) department all users who spend over Rs 2 lakh on their credit cards annually. If your income doesn’t justify such spending, the tax authorities could call you to explain the source of money.

Wallets players are watching: Mobile wallet companies absorb the transaction cost levied by banks, as they are focusing on acquiring new customers and on making their services popular. They want users to transact using their wallets and not use it as a medium to rotate money. They have started analysing the spending patterns of users and blocking those who are using their wallets for “unintended purposes”.

“We use algorithms, machine learning and other technologies to understand the spending patterns of users. The technology platform gets smarter every day. Narrowing down on users who are rotating money and blocking them is not difficult,” says Daman Soni, vice-president (growth), MobiKwik. He further explains that when the company studied spending patterns, it realised that many users who added money from their credit card to their wallet and then transferred the funds to their bank account were first-timers trying to understand how the platform works.

Deepak Abbot, senior vice-president at Paytm, says the company constantly monitors all such activities and based on its algorithm restricts such behaviour. “We have several parameters to analyse the behaviour of such customers,” says Abbot.

Limits are low: Wallet accounts with limited Know Your Customer (KYC) have a transaction limit of just Rs 20,000. Only a few individuals would genuinely need such little amounts of cash. Even then they can swipe their credit cards at most places. Also, the cash is not instantly transferred from the wallet to the bank account. It takes around three working days and sometimes more. Accounts that are fully KYC compliant can store up to Rs 1 lakh. (readmore...)

Linking PAN to Aadhaar is now compulsory. Here's how to do it

1.08 cr assessees done with linking; over 25 cr PAN card holders, 111 cr Aadhaar holders in India

If you have not linked your Aadhaar with your PAN on the income tax portal yet, you should not delay it. As per latest circular from income tax (I-T) department, it is now mandatory to link Aadhaar and (PAN) permanent account number while filing tax returns.

The rule which will be applicable from July 1, 2017 is aimed at tax evaders who hold multiple PAN cards to escape paying tax. Therefore, after linking both the Aadhaar and PAN, the government hopes to keep tabs on the taxable transactions of a particular individual or entity, whose identity and address will be verified by his Aadhaar card

By linking the two, entities will no longer have to submit their Income Tax acknowledgement to the I-T department, thus saving tax payers a lot of trouble.

When linking, make sure that name, date of birth and gender displayed on the income tax website matches with the detail on your Aadhaar Card. Here’s how to do it:

• The first step towards linking Aadhaar with PAN is to register on Income tax e-filing portal.
• If you are an already registered user on e-filing portal, login to e-filing portal of Income tax department by entering your PAN as User ID, date of birth and password.
• On logging in to the site, a pop up window will appear prompting you to link your PAN card with Aadhaar card.
• You can input your Aadhaar number enter ‘captcha’ code and click on ‘link now’.
• In case you have decided to link Aadhaar with PAN later click on ‘later’ button.
• On logging, if no pop up window appear, go to profile Setting and click on ‘link Aadhaar’.
• Enter your Aadhaar number enter captcha code and click on ‘link Aadhaar’.
• The system will match your name, date of birth and gender with PAN card and Aadhaar database, if detail matches, you will get the message “Aadhaar – PAN linking is completed successfully.”

Around 1.08 crore assessees have Aadhaar-linked PAN but the number is abysmally low as there are over 25 crore PAN card holders in the country, while Aadhaar has been issued to 111 crore people. According to statistics with the tax department, only six crore people file income tax returns at present. (readmore...)

Indians prefer Xiaomi over Samsung, Apple: Report

Android buyers looking to upgrade their devices in 2017 list Xiaomi as their preferred brand

Xiaomi has become the most preferred smartphone upgrade choice for Indian consumers in 2017, beating popular brands like Samsung and Apple, market research firm Strategy Analytics said on Friday.

According to the report, 26 per cent of potential Android buyers looking to upgrade their devices in 2017 list Xiaomi as their preferred brand.

"With an array of devices selling in the Indian market, it is remarkable that Xiaomi has witnessed a whopping 125 per cent growth in India and has become the most preferred brand for Android buyers looking for an upgrade in 2017," said Rajeev Nair, Senior Analyst, Strategy Analytics.

Xiaomi India has become the number one selling smartphone brand in the online market, with 29.3 per cent share, and the second largest smartphone brand in India with 10.7 per cent market share in the fourth quarter of 2016.

"Our phones are built with a vision to make technology innovation affordable to everyone. We do not compromise on our cost to value proposition, our fan engagement or our quality," added Manu Jain, Vice President and Managing Director, Xiaomi India. (readmore...)

Jio ends its Summer Surprise scheme after Trai order

All customers who have already subscribed to the offer would continue to be eligible for it

Complying with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (Trai’s) advice, Reliance Jio on Thursday withdrew its Summer Surprise offer. Announced last week, the scheme promised to provide complimentary services to every Jio Prime member for three months starting April 1.

The company confirmed complying with Trai’s advice. Under the scheme, all Prime members making their first recharge payment of Rs 303 (or higher) would have got three months’ complimentary services in addition to the benefits of their purchased plan.

All customers who have already subscribed to the offer would continue to be eligible for it, the company said.

Jio started billing customers from April 1. The company claimed about 72 million users had subscribed to its Jio Prime service.

The complimentary offers by Jio in the past have been a bone of contention with rivals Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular. The two companies appealed to the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) against Trai’s clean chit to Jio’s free offers

The TDSAT last month asked Trai to clarify whether Jio had informed it and its subscribers of the two free offers — “Jio Welcome Offer” and “Jio Happy New Year Offer” — being “distinct”.

Trai had approved Jio’s free voice calling and data plan on its mobile services, claiming it was not a violation of the regulatory guidelines on promotional offers. The issue of Jio’s promotional offers disrupting the telecom market and adversely impacting the government revenue from the mobile operators in the form of spectrum usage charge was flagged by the then telecom secretary J S Deepak.

He had asked the regulator to restrict the period of “promotional tariffs” offered by telecom companies.

At present, such offers could stretch to 90 days and had, according to Deepak, hit revenue to the tune of Rs 800 crore. (readmore...)