L A T E S T      N E W S

All foreign bank accounts will be assessed by March 2015: AG

NEW DELHI: With the Centre submitting a list of 627 account holders in foreign banks to Supreme Court in the black money case, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi today said that the deadline for investigation under the Income Tax Act into these accounts is March 31, 2015.

He said that the court directed that the sealed envelope with the names be given to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) and also allowed the Centre to put its "problems regarding treaties with foreign nations" before the SIT.

"After that we shall request them to submit the report in the court by November 30," the AG said.

"There are about 627-628 accounts along with a status report which we have submitted in the Supreme Court today in a sealed cover. Last date for investigation and assessment into all these accounts is March 31, 2015.

"The court after hearing both sides, did not open the cover but directed that the sealed envelope be given to the SIT itself. The SIT will thereafter see what it has to do and proceed in accordance with law," Rohatgi said.

Speaking to the media immediately after the hearing, the AG also said that this same list had been submitted to the SIT in June earlier this year.

"The apex court has asked SIT to verify the list given by the government and carry on with probe in accordance with law," he said, adding, "The court has permitted us to place our problems regarding treaties with foreign nations before the SIT". -PTI

List of 627 foreign account holders submitted to SC 

NEW DELHI: The Central government on Wednesday submitted to the Supreme Court names of the 627 people who are holding accounts in foreign banks revealed to it by the French government.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi handed over two sealed envelopes to the apex court bench headed by Chief Justice HL Dattu.

Rohatgi said that half of these account holders are Indian residents and the other half are Non-Resident Indians. These accounts pertain up to 2006.
He said that action has been initiated into the matter. Some of them have paid taxes while others are under investigation.

He also told the court the Income Tax Act has been amended to extend the limitation period up to March 31, 2015, for recovering taxes from these account holders. Under the earlier provision, a limitation period for recovery of taxes was six years which in these cases came to an end in 2012.

The court directed that the sealed envelopes containing 627 names, including correspondence with the French government, be given to Special Investigation Team (SIT) chairman Justice M.B. Shah and vice chairman Justice Arijit Pasayat. The SIT was set up by the apex court July 4, 2011.

The court said the SIT will move into the matter in accordance with the law.
All the 627 accounts are at HSBC Bank in Geneva - the details of which India got from the French government.

These are also known as stolen data and when the Indian government approached the Swiss authorities for assistance, they refused to help, saying that they don't deal with stolen data.

However, HSBC Bank said that if the Indian authorities get an NOC from the account holders, then it would share the details. As a consequence, about 50-60 account holders gave their consent with NOC.

Rohatgi told the court that the government of India has only one request that care should be taken that nothing should impede in getting information from these countries and others on foreign accounts in future.

Directing further hearing of the matter Dec 3, the court said that the SIT team will submit its status report on the steps taken by it in pursuance to the list of 627 account holders.

On Tuesday, the central government was directed by the Supreme Court to furnish in a sealed envelope the list of all individuals and entities in its possession who have accounts in overseas banks, legitimate or otherwise.

The directive to this effect came a day after the government gave the court the names of seven individuals and one company, alleging they had funds in bank accounts abroad over which proceedings had been initiated for tax evasion.
-IANS

Congress steps up attack on Centre on black money issue

NEW DELHI: Daring the government to make public names of all those having foreign bank accounts, the Congress on Wednesday alleged that the BJP had “befooled” the public on the issue during the election campaign and questioned as to what happened to its promise of bringing back black money.

Slamming the ruling party for making “tall” promises on black money during the Lok Sabha polls, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said it had vowed to disclose “55,000 accounts” during the election campaign but “even Rs 55 has not come in five months” after it came to power.

The BJP, however, insisted that that the Centre was sincere in its intention to bring back the black money stashed abroad and was effectively working in this direction.

The Congress’ attack on the black money issue came as the Centre placed a list of 627 Indian account holders in HSBC bank, Geneva before the Supreme Court, complying with its direction.

“It is wrong for any political party to try to fool the people by taking credit for anything. You have been promising as a party in power some 55,000 accounts some nine months in the election campaign. Even Rs 55 has not come in five months. What you have done today is entirely on yesterday’s court order,” Singhvi said.

His colleague and Congress leader Manish Tewari said, “During the last five years, the BJP has been shouting that if they have the names, they will make it public and bring back the black money within 100 days and distribute it among the public.

“So, they have to stand by their words. L.K. Advani had come up with an adjournment motion in 2011 on the issue of black money. Therefore, the government should immediately make public all those names.”

Defending the action of presenting the names before the apex court, BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the government is sensitive to the issue, is sincere in its actions and is working in this direction effectively.

To a question on government bowing to the Supreme Court order while disclosing names, he said, “It is not a question of bowing down. Our intention is to bring back the black money wherever it is parked in the world.

“There is a legal process and the government is working strongly in this direction.” Naqvi said the government has been working in this direction right from day one with all sincerity and entered into understanding with other countries and encouraged them to cooperate and with SIT.

“This resulted in disclosure of some things one after another. The government has respected whatever the court has said and whatever the information the government had, it has given it,” he said.

The apex court on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team to go through the list and take appropriate action in accordance with law. A bench headed by Chief Justice H.L. Dattu did not open the sealed envelope containing the names placed by the Centre and said that it would be opened only by chairman and vice-chairman of the SIT.

It asked the SIT to submit a status report of its probe by November-end. — PTI

Saradha scam: ED attaches assets worth Rs 60 crore

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday attached assets, including a school, a cement factory and few resorts, worth Rs 60 crore in West Bengal in connection with its money laundering probe into the multi-crore Saradha chit funds scam case.

The agency, while issuing its seventh attachment of properties order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, seized an operational school called Linclon High School, a cement factory by the name Landmark Cement Factory and a number of flats and resorts spread in various places in West Bengal.

The attachment order issued by the Kolkata office of the agency said the total conservative value of these assets is about Rs 60 crore but the actual market price of these immovable assets would be three-four times higher that the official valuation.

“A resort in Lataguri, residential flats in Siliguri, several tracts of land in Malda and South 24 Parganas district and accounts of East Bengal and United Mohun Bagan have been attached under PMLA laws,” ED sources said.

A flat in Odisha’s Cuttack and several other real estate properties associated directly or indirectly with jailed Saradha group chairman Sudipta Sen and his associates have been attached, they said.

The sources said the ED found these assets to be largely under benami heads which have been procured through multi-layered financial transactions by Mr. Sen and his associates which gave suspicion of money laundering.

The ED has already attached assets worth Rs 400 crore in this ponzi scheme case which is alleged to have duped numerous investors in West Bengal, Assam and Odisha.

The agency issued the order after its Eastern Zone Special Director Yogesh Gupta met the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money in Delhi recently which appreciated the agency’s probe in this case and reviewed its attachment orders issued till now.

An attachment order under PMLA is meant to deprive the accused from the benefits of his or her illegally acquired assets. — PTI

Marans summoned in Aircel-Maxis deal case

NEW DELHI: Former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran, his brother Kalanithi and six others, including Malaysian business tycoon T. Ananda Krishnan were on Wednesday summoned as accused by a special 2G court in connection with Aircel-Maxis deal case.

Special CBI Judge O.P. Saini took cognisance of the CBI’s chargesheet filed against eight accused, including four companies, and summoned them on March 2, 2015.

“I have carefully gone through the copy of the FIR, chargesheet, statement of witnesses and related documents comprised in the voluminous record of the case. On the perusal of the record, I am satisfied that there is enough incriminating material on record to proceed against the accused. Accordingly, I take cognisance of the case,” Judge Saini said.

Besides the Maran brothers, the CBI has named Malaysian national Augustus Ralph Marshall and four firms — Sun Direct TV Pvt Ltd, Maxis Communication Berhad, Astro All Asia Network PLC and South Asia Entertainment Holding Ltd — as accused.

The CBI has chargesheeted them for the offences punishable under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and under relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The court in its two-page order allowed the contention of senior public prosecutor K.K. Goel that at least four months time may be granted for effecting service of summonses on the accused, as five of the eight are residing in different countries like Malaysia, Mauritius and the UK, while the remaining three are based in Chennai.

“Accordingly, issue summons to the accused persons for March 2, 2015. In view of the nature of the case, the prosecution is directed to take up the service of process on the accused person in right earnest and to endeavour to ensure that the court process qua each accused is returned to the court at least a week before the date fixed,” the court said. — PTI

White House computer system breached by hackers: report

WASHINGTON: Unclassified White House computer networks were breached by hackers recently resulting in temporary disruptions to some services with the Russian government thought to be behind the intrusion, according to a media report.

"In the course of assessing recent threats, we identified activity of concern on the unclassified Executive Office of the President network,"a White House official was quoted as saying by the Washington Post.


"We took immediate measures to evaluate and mitigate the activity...Unfortunately, some of that resulted in the disruption of regular services to users. But people were on it and are dealing with it," the official said.


White House officials said that the intruders did not damage any of the systems and that, to date, there is no evidence the classified network was hacked.


The FBI, Secret Service and National Security Agency are all involved in the investigation, the report said.


"Hackers thought to be working for the Russian government breached the unclassified White House computer networks in recent weeks...resulting in temporary disruptions to some services while cybersecurity teams worked to contain the intrusion," the paper said.


However, White House officials are not commenting on who was behind the intrusion or how much data, if any, was taken.


"Certainly a variety of actors find our networks to be attractive targets and seek access to sensitive information.


We are still assessing the activity of concern," the official said.


US officials were alerted to the breach by an ally, the paper quoted sources as saying.


Recent reports by security firms have identified cyber -­ espionage campaigns by Russian hackers thought to be working for the government.


Targets have included NATO, the Ukrainian government and US defense contractors. Russia is regarded by US officials as being in the top tier of states with cyber-capabilities.


In the case of the White House, the nature of the target is consistent with a state-sponsored campaign, the report quoted a source as saying.


The breach was discovered two to three weeks ago, it said.


Some staffers were asked to change their passwords.


Intranet or VPN access was shut off for a while, but the email system, apart from some minor delays, was never down, the report said.


The Russian intelligence service was believed to have been behind a breach of the US military's classified networks, which was discovered in 2008. -PTI 

Himachal to host 15 Ranji matches

SHIMLA: After hosting the India vs West Indies One-Day International (ODI) earlier this month, the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) is gearing up to hold 15 Ranji Trophy matches at three venues.

"Fifteen Ranji Trophy matches will be played at our three venues, including Dharamsala, from Nov 6 to Nov 14," HPCA press secretary Mohit Sood told IANS.
The other two venues are the Luhnu Stadium in Bilaspur and the Amtar Ground in Nadaun.

Sood said this is the highest number of Ranji matches allocated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to the HPCA in a season, and added that five matches would be played at each venue.

For Ranji matches international players like Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Ashish Nehra and Harbhajan Singh would be seen in action. National selector Vikram Rathour will visit the venues to monitor the performance of the players.

"It's a great achievement for a small association like HPCA to host 15 Ranji matches. We will try to hold more domestic fixtures at these venues which will definitely help honing local talent," HPCA president Anurag Thakur told IANS.

The HPCA is expecting a huge rush to witness the Ranji matches.

"We have extended an initiation to the local schools and educational institutions to send the students to witness the matches," said Vishal Jagota, secretary of Bilaspur Cricket Association.

The association has developed the Luhnu ground, which is ringed by backwaters of the Bhakra Dam.

"We hosted the first Ranji match here in 1998. From 2000 to 2011 there was no match. In 2012 again Ranji matches were played here. This time five matches will be played," Jagota added.

The Luhnu stadium comprises a gymnasium and five bowling machines. The boundary distance is approximately 77 metres on all sides of the ground.

The Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium, which was formerly known as the Amtar ground, was set up in 2004. It hosted Ranji, Vijay Hazare, Vinoo Mankad, Cooch Behar Under-19 and the Polly Umrigar Under-15 tournaments.

The HPCA's showpiece stadium in Dharamsala also has world-class indoor practice facilities, a room for video analysis, a lounge, restaurant, bar and banquet hall.
-IANS

Govt hikes wheat MSP by Rs 50 to Rs 1,450/qtl

NEW DELHI: The government today raised the minimum support price (MSP) for wheat by a nominal Rs 50 to 1,450 a quintal to encourage farmers to cover more area under the crop in the ongoing rabi season.

Wheat MSP stood at Rs 1,400 per quintal last year.


The sowing of wheat begins in October and harvesting starts from April onwards. The government procures wheat from farmers during April-June.


"The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the MSP for rabi crops of 2014-15 season to be marketed in 2015-16," an official statement said.


The support price of rabi crops has been increased in the range of Rs 50-125 per quintal as recommended by the government's advisory body Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices (CACP), it said.


"This will help in higher production through assured remunerative prices to the farmers," the statement added.


The rabi crops whose support prices hav been hiked include barley, gram, masur and mustard seed.


To boost pulses production, the CCEA has hiked the support price of masur dal by Rs 125 per quintal to Rs 3,075 per quintal, while gram MSP has been raised by Rs 75 per quintal to Rs 3,175 for 2014-15.


The support prices of mustard seed and safflower seed have been increased by Rs 50 per quintal each to Rs 3,100 and Rs 3,050, respectively.


Similarly, the MSP of barley has been increased by Rs 50 per quintal to Rs 1,150 for this year, the statement said.


In the case of wheat, the government buys the grain at the MSP, while for othe rabi crops it intervenes in the market when the prices fall below the support price.


The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED), National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation (NCCF), Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) and Small Farmers Agri Business Consortium (SFAC) will be the nodal agencies for procurement of oilseeds and pulses, and losses if any, incurred by the nodal agencies in such operations would be fully reimbursed, the statement said. -PTI

Haryana minister Dhankar condemns Hindu Mahasabha diktat

Haryana Minister for special teams to check drug menace

CHANDIGARH: Citing alarming situation of the drug menace in neighbouring Punjab, Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij today asked the Director General of Police to constitute special teams to check the drug abuse in the state.

Referring to the issue that the youths of Haryana may drift towards drugs, Vij said the effect could already be seen in the border areas of the state adjoining Punjab.

"I had a detailed discussion on this issue with the DGP (Haryana). I have directed him to constitute special teams to curb the menace of drugs in the state," Vij told reporters here after assuming charge of the ministries alloted to him.

Chief Minister M L Khattar yesterday alloted portfolios to Vij and other ministers of his Cabinet. Khattar along with nine ministers took oath on Sunday after the BJP stormed to power in Haryana after the October 15 polls.

Vij, the five-time MLA from Ambala Cantt, has been alloted the portfolios of Health, Sports and Youth Affairs.

The Minister said that he has directed officers to avoid sitting in their offices and instead go out in the field to evaluate the performance of their departments and submit their reports.

After assuming charge, Vij today presided over a meeting of senior officers of departments concerned at the Haryana Civil Secretariat here.

"I would myself visit the field to verify the facts stated in the reports submitted to me. Besides, feedback would also be taken from the party workers and the check teams. Officers found neglecting their duties would not be spared," he added.

Vij said the Khattar government believed in work and performance and it would be the priority of the government to provide facilities in government hospitals on the pattern of private institutes.

Asked about cleanliness in government hospitals, Vij said that he himself visited the Ambala Cantonment Hospital for surprise checking today and found that there was no arrangement for the disposal of biomedical waste.

"This issue needs to be dealt with immediately," he said.

Meanwhile, Vij recalled how his political opponents would make fun of him when he would talk about formation of BJP government in Haryana.

"They have been proved wrong and, for the first time, the BJP has formed government in the state with clear majority and my dream has come true," he said. PTI

'India has more specialists than general practitioners'