Snehal khanna Blog

The court rejected the government's argument that overcharging for pre-packed or packaged products was an offence under the Legal Metrology Act LATEST NEWS :  Can a hotel or a restaurant charge for a bottle of drinking water more than the maximum retail price marked on the container? The answer is yes. In a major blow to consumers, the Supreme Court on Tuesday held that hotels and restaurants are not bound by the maximum retail price (MRP) when they sell bottled mineral water and packaged food items. The court rejected the government’s argument that overcharging for pre-packed or packaged products was an offence under the Legal Metrology Act, which attracts a fine of Rs 25,000 or a jail term, according to ET. A bench headed by Justice Rohinton Nariman said the provisions of the law will not apply to hotels and restaurants, and these establishments cannot be prosecuted for selling such items above the MRP. “It is not a case of simple sale. Nobody goes to a ho...

The metro's daily average ridership came down to 24.2 lakh in October from 27.4 lakh in September, translating to a fall of around 11 per cent LATEST NEWS :  Delhi Metro lost over three lakh commuters a day after a steep fare hike came into effect in October, an RTI query has revealed. The metro's daily average ridership came down to 24.2 lakh in October from 27.4 lakh in September, translating to a fall of around 11 per cent. The Blue Line, considered the metro's busiest, lost over 30 lakh commuters, according to data shared by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) in response to an RTI query by a PTI correspondent. The 50-km corridor connects Dwarka to Noida. The metro currently has 218-km network across Delhi-NCR. The fall, in terms of absolute numbers, was over 19 lakh on the Yellow Line, another busy corridor which connects Gurgaon to north Delhi's Samaypur Badli, DMRC said. Ridership has come down several notches below the numbers ob...

In the first half of the meeting in Guwahati, the Council decided to trim the 28% bracket to just 50 items, against 227 currently LATEST NEWS  : The GST Council on Friday decided to keep only 50 items, mostly demerit, sin and luxury goods, in the top 28 per cent tax bracket, Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Modi said. In the first half of the meeting taking place in Guwahati, the Council decided to trim the 28 per cent slab to just 50 items as against 227 items currently. ALSO READ: 177 items to become cheaper as GST Council decides to trim 28% slab The second half will see discussions on easing compliance burden on taxpayers and making the composition scheme more attractive. Here are the other developments expected from the meeting: 1) Rate cut for AC restaurants: Those in the restaurant business are hoping for a much-needed relief to come their way. (Read more here) The GST Council meeting is likely to witness deliberations on a number of topics, includin...

Only 50 items, mostly demerit, sin and luxury goods, to remain in the highest tax bracket of 28% LATEST NEWS :  In a major relief to consumers and industry, the Goods & Services Tax (GST) Council on Friday decided to lower the rates for 177 items in the highest tax slab of 28 per cent. In the first half of the meeting taking place in Guwahati, the Council decided to trim the 28 per cent slab to just 50 items, as against 227 items currently. High-end items, including automobiles, washing machine, refrigerator, sin goods like paan masala and cigar are among these 50 items. This is the biggest reduction seen since the GST implementation on July 1. "We decided to also look into the remaining 62 items and see if there is a scope for reducing rates on those items as well," said a state government official. The Council decided to go beyond the recommendation of the fitment committee to thin the 28 per cent slab to 62 items and decided to additionally lower...

It was successfully test fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur along the Odisha coast LATEST NEWS :  India today successfully test-fired its first indigenously designed and developed long range sub-sonic cruise missile ' Nirbhay ', which has 1,000 km operational range and a capacity to carry warheads of up to 300 kg. It was successfully test fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur along the Odisha coast. This was the fifth experimental test of the homegrown missile system. Out of the four earlier trials since its maiden launch in 2013, only one was successful. Describing the trial a success, a defence statement said the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) achieved yet another feat, the successful test flight of 'Nirbhay' which can be deployed from multiple platforms. Today's flight test achieved all the mission objectives completely, from lift-off till the final splash, boosting the confide...

LATEST NEWS  : The government may review the requirement of filing at least three returns every month under the GST regime with a view to easing compliance burden of taxpayers, officials said. Presently, businesses have to file returns in GSTR-1, GSTR-2 and GSTR-3 forms for every month. These forms detail outward supplies of taxable goods and/or services, inward supplies for claiming input tax credit and monthly return. The review follows businesses complaining problems in matching invoices while filing July returns. "There will be a review of the norms to file GSTR-1, 2 and 3. Businesses have complained of trouble in invoice matching while filing GSTR-2. It would be reviewed whether matching of invoices would be pursued in the coming months," a senior government official told PTI. Under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime rolled out from July 1, the government has allowed businesses to file initial returns and pay taxes by filing up form GSTR-3B by th...

It has a 2.5D glass HD quality display and is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 Octa-Core 64bit processor running on the Android 7.0 LATEST NEWS : Chinese tech giant Huawei's sub-brand Honor on Thursday launched the Holly 4 Plus smartphone with a 4000mAh battery and 8MP front camera for Rs 13,999, in India. The device available in grey, gold and silver colours, will be available November 3, across all Honor partner stores. "Holly 4 Plus has been curated to meet the preferences of our consumers better. "The device is another offering with an aim to cater to the diverse Indian market and serve it in the best way possible," said P. Sanjeev, Vice President - Sales, Huawei Consumer Business Group India, in a statement. Holly 4 Plus comes with a sleek 8.2mm thin body with a metal finish and a rear fingerprint scanner. It has a 2.5D glass HD quality display and is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 Octa-Core 64bit processor running on...

Revenue rises 7% to Rs 10,314 cr LATEST NEWS : ITC Ltd reported almost 6% rise in net profit at Rs 2,640 cr for the September quarter as against Rs 2,500 crore in year-ago period. Revenue increased 7% to Rs 10,314 crore as compared to Rs 9,661 crore in September 2016. Diversified group ITC Ltd today reported a 5.59 per cent increase in its standalone net profit at Rs 2,639.84 crore for the quarter ended September 2017, riding on lower expenses. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 2,500.03 crore during July-September of 2016, ITC Ltd said in a regulatory filing. Total income during the quarter under review was Rs 10,258.13 crore as against Rs 14,091.96 crore in the year-ago period. The company said total income from operations during the quarter is not comparable with the previous periods due to introduction of GST from July 1. Consequent on introduction of GST, central excise, VAT etc have been replaced by the one unified tax. In accordance with Indian ac...

You can upgrade to an Air India flight if the latter has the same service route allotted on the same day. LATEST NEWS  : Passengers with unconfirmed AC-I or AC-II tickets for Rajdhani Express may soon be able to fly to their destination  by paying the difference, if any, in the price of the train and air tickets, reports Times of India. The same was talked about last year when Ashwani Lohani was the Air India chairman. However, he did not get a positive response from the Railways. He said that if AI approaches Railways with this proposal, the latter will accept it. It must be noted that many passengers end up with unconfirmed AC-I AC-II tickets. As reported earlier, Railways came up with dynamic pricing model in which, only the first 10 per cent of the tickets sold in premium trains will be available at the original listed price. After that, for every 10 per cent tickets sold, the fare goes up by 10 per cent. However, after the sale of 50 per cent of ticke...

Ahmed El Sheikh to replace Shivakumar, who will join Aditya Birla group LATEST NEWS : Nearly four years after joining PepsiCo India as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, D Shivakumar, 57, has called it quits. The company announced on Monday that Shivakumar would be leaving PepsiCo India on December 31. Leading the company at a time when the Rs 14,000-crore domestic soft-drink market was reeling under a slowdown, Shivakumar, who is called Shiv, would join Aditya Birla group as head, corporate strategy and business development. This is effective January 2018, it is reliably learnt. Aditya Birla group has already internally announced Shivakumar’s appointment, persons in the know said. He would report directly to group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla. Sanjeev Chadha, chief executive officer of Asia, Middle East and North Africa (AMENA) sector, PepsiCo, said that Ahmed El Sheikh, senior vice-president and general manager for the company’s Egypt & Jordan regio...

LATEST NEWS :Hundreds and thousands of trucks kept off the roads across the country on Monday beginning a two-day strike to protest against the GST and calling for an end to daily revision of fuel prices. The strike sparked price rise due to an imminent disruption in supplies of essential commodities ahead of Diwali. The decision to strike, which began at 8 a.m., came after last minute negotiations between the government and the transporters failed to resolve the logjam over their demands, Harish Sabharwal, Additional Vice President (North) of the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), said. "We are going on a nationwide chakka jam today (Monday) and tomorrow (Tuesday). Negotiations with the government did not yield any results as they did not agree to our demands. The truckers will suffer a loss of Rs 2,000 crore. We are compelled to suffer this loss," said Sabharwal, also a member in the Road Safety Council of the Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and...

A rich list is an annual map of wealth creation largely based on stock value and real estate LATEST NEWS    :   Biotechnology pioneer Kiran Mazumdar -Shaw has not given much thought to the latest list of 100 rich persons in India in which she also figures, but says it reflects the state of the economy. The chairperson and managing director of Bengaluru- headquartered Biocon Ltd, with a fortune of $2.16 billion, was placed at the 72nd position on Forbes magazine's annual 'India Rich List 2017'. "A rich list is an annual map of wealth creation largely based on stock value and real estate. I don't give it much thought other than it reflects the state of the economy," she told PTI. Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani emerged as India's wealthiest for the 10th straight year as his net worth swelled to $38 billion (nearly Rs 2.5 lakh crore) while the wealth of 100 richest rose by 26 per cent despite economic hiccups. More than four-f...

GE won a $2.6 billion contract in 2015 to supply 1,000 diesel locomotives LATEST NEWS  : Surprise policy shifts, consisting of an obvious U-turn over a locomotive cope with preferred electric, chance undermining high Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship ‘Make in India’ initiative, which targets to create millions of jobs and enhance increase, enterprise executives say. GE won a $2.6 billion agreement in 2015 to deliver 1,000 diesel locomotives - the largest direct funding in India with the aid of a U.S. company and the primary deal awarded to a foreign company after India allowed one hundred percentage foreign investment in its railways - a part of efforts to overhaul its creaking, colonial-technology infrastructure. however the railways ministry said ultimate week it wouldn’t need diesel in spite of everything - hoping to shop on fuel and maintenance fees - and advised GE may need to make electric powered engines instead. electric engines are typically used for...

The Rs 16,320-cr scheme aims at providing 'last mile electricity connectivity to all rural and urban households' LATEST NEWS :  With energy focus reaping benefits for the ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh elections earlier this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today unveiled a new flagship programme of 'Saubhagya - Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana' to energise last mile power delivery. The Rs 16,320-crore scheme aims at providing 'last mile electricity connectivity to all rural and urban households'. The announcement, made at the headquarters of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, will reinforce the ruling party's electricity-for-all target, which was recently advanced from 2019 to 2018. The Union government would provide 60% funds for the programme amounting to Rs 12,320 crore. For special category states, the Centre’s contribution would be 85%. State governments and their utilities would provide 10% funds. In the case of special categor...

Since July 3, the bank announced the stock split plan the stock outperformed the market by surging 29% against 3.5% rise in Sensex LATSET NEWS :  Yes Bank hit a new high of Rs 383, up 2% on BSE in early morning trade after the stock turned ex-stock split in the ratio of 1:5 with effect from today. The board of Yes Bank on July 26, 2017 had approved stock split in the ratio of 5 for 1, i.e. sub-division of 1 equity share of face value of Rs 10 each fully paid up into 5 equity shares of Rs 2 each fully paid up. The bank has fixed Friday, September 22, 2017 as record date for determining the eligibility of shareholders, with regards to sub-division equity shares. In order to facilitate affordability of the company’s shares for investors at large and to enhance the liquidity of the company’s equity shares in the stock market, the most of companies proposed to bring down the nominal face value of equity shares. Since July 3, the bank announced the stock split pl...

The new vehicle will be on sale across Tata Motors' 650 authorised sales outlets in the country LATEST NEWS : The much-awaited Nexon is here and, according to reports, it is aggressively priced to challenge offerings from rivals Maruti Suzuki and Ford Motor.  Tata Motors on Thursday launched the Nexon , its first compact sports utility vehicle offering,  Livemint  reported. According to the financial daily, the prices start at Rs 5.85 lakh for the petrol variants and Rs 6.85 lakh for the diesel ones. Depending upon the variant, the compact SUV could cost you between Rs 5.85 lakh to Rs 9.45 lakh ex-showroom New Delhi, the  Economic Times  reported.  From Thursday, the new vehicle will be on sale across Tata Motors' 650 authorised sales outlets in the country.  Nexon, according to the financial daily's report, is the fourth product based on the 'Impact Design' philosophy, which the company claims brings together global and contempor...

Google might make a formal announcement for Pixelbook at its flagship phone launch event on October 4 LATEST NEWS :  Google is likely to launch a high-performance Chromebook called Google Pixelbook at a starting price of $1,199. Pixelbook will come in Silver, with 128GB ($1,199), 256GB ($1,399) and 512GB ($1,749) storage options, tech website Droid Life reported late on Tuesday. Unlike earlier Chromebook Pixel units, the new Pixelbook folds into a tablet and comes with official Pixelbook Pen which will be sold separately for $99. The Pixebool Pen is pressure sensitive, with tilt support and supposedly no lag, the report added. Google might make a formal announcement for Pixelbook at its flagship phone launch event on October 4. Also read this :  LG Q6+ with FullVision screen launched at Rs 17,990: Know features, specs

LATEST NEWS       :   China has vehemently rejected all reports of it ever offering a compromise to India by relocating its troops in the disputed Doklam border area. The Chinese Foreign Ministry reacted to a report where China had allegedly offered to move its troops back 100 meters, after India sought the pullback of Chinese troops by 250 metres. The Spokesperson's Office told China Daily that the report is not true, adding that "China will not trade its territorial sovereignty under any circumstances." "China's position on solving this incident is clear and firm. India must immediately and unconditionally withdraw all its trespassing troops and equipment back to the Indian side of the border," the office said in a statement. China could never accept India's "totally unreasonable" demand, said Zhao Xiaozhuo, a researcher at the PLA Academy of Military Science told China Daily, adding that India had honored the convention u...

At least 70 per cent people involved in opening shell companies are not even CAs but only entry operators. LATEST NEWS    :   This article was first published on Business Standard on Feb 20, 2017. Business Standard is republishing this article in light of Sebi imposing trading restrictions on suspected shell companies Lalbazar , one of the oldest areas of Kolkata and once the home of merchant princes of the East India Company, is now the residence to shell companies. Still famous for colonial-era commodities such as tea and dying goods and services such as typewriters and wedding bands, the bustling area in central Kolkata is almost synonymous with the city police headquarters, housed in a red brick building at 18 Lalbazar Street. Right across the street is the dilapidated Mercantile Buildings at 9/12. In its recent crackdown on shell companies, the income tax (I-T) department has identified this address as the home of 90 per cent — or 300 — of...

The incident happened close to 8 am near Khurja in Aligarh district in Uttar Pradesh LATEST NEWS : A major accident was averted on Wednesday when four coaches of the Delhi- Lucknow Shatabdi Express broke away from the train, officials said. The incident happened close to 8 am near Khurja in Aligarh district in Uttar Pradesh. Even as the coaches which got detached came to a standstill, the engine and other coaches went ahead, the officials said. "The coaches were later fixed to the engine," the official said. The train got delayed by over 30 minutes due to the incident. Also read this : Apple shares at record high on better than expected iPhone sales