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Candidates must file tax, property details: EC
India to start getting Swiss bank details from April
Didi gifts passes to girl students
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International Women’s Day
Congress activists take part in a rally in support of women’s reservation Bill in New Delhi on Tuesday. — PTI
Boy uses Domestic Violence Act against estranged father
India, Brazil to cooperate on civil nuclear energy
AI pilots defer strike
False rape
case
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Candidates must file tax, property details: EC
New Delhi, March 8 The I-T returns and details of properties of the spouse and all the “dependents” of the candidates will also have to be furnished in the new affidavit. The new measures, according to sources, have been taken by the EC in consultation with the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in order to curb the use of blackmoney and illegal wealth in the electoral process. According to the new affidavit, the candidate has to furnish details of the “financial year for which the last I-T return has been filed and the total income shown in the (same) I-T return”. The candidate will also have to furnish the clause of “inheritance” in terms of immovable property categorised as agricultural land, non-agricultural land, commercial buildings and residential buildings. The ‘approximate current market value’ of such a property will also have to be provided in the new affidavit. The other features, in the new affidavit, in relation to criminal background, assets, liabilities and educational qualifications of the candidates, are more or less same as earlier. “Based on the experience since then, the Commission has made some modifications in the format of the affidavit for better and more effective dissemination of information to the electors about the background of the candidates,” the EC said in it’s letter to all recognised political parties and Chief Electoral Officers of all states and Union Territories. The EC had last year activated an Election Expenditure Monitoring (EEM) cell at the headquarters here to curb the use of illegal money with a senior IRS (Income Tax) officer at the helm. CEC Quraishi had recently made a strong pitch for providing tax benefits on donations only to those political parties, which prove their strength at the hustings, on the ground that exemptions on such funds have led to the mushrooming of several new parties. Observing that almost 75 to 80 per cent of registered political parties have not participated in any elections for the last several years, the CEC said that although the Commission has power to register political parties, it does not have the power to de-register them.
— PTI
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India to start getting Swiss bank details from April
New Delhi, March 8 “The amended DTAA (with Switzerland) will enable India to get banking information in specific cases for period beginning April 1, 2011, and thereafter,” Minister of State for Finance SS Palanimanickam informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply. The revised DTAA with Switzerland was signed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Micheline Calmy-Rey, head of Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. “While India has completed the formalities for the implementation of the revised DTAA, Switzerland has yet to ratify the agreement,” Mukherjee said in reply to another query. “The amending protocol will enter into force on completion of the internal process by Switzerland. Switzerland has informed that they have still not completed their internal process as the amending protocol has yet not been ratified by their Parliament,” Mukherjee said. The revised DTAA, according to Palanimanickam, will, “specifically provide for exchange of banking information as well as information without domestic interest”. The amending protocol, he added, “contains a provision wherein the requesting state has to provide the name of the person under examination or investigation and, if available, other particulars facilitating that person’s identification such as address, date of birth, marital status and tax identification number”. Pointing out the government does not have any verifiable information on the total amount of money deposited in Swiss banks by Indian nationals, Palanimanickam said the Finance Ministry was getting a fresh study done on unaccounted income and wealth within and outside the country. “The proposal (of study) was approved by the government in January 2011. The study is likely to be completed within 18 months,” he added. The government is committed to tax undisclosed income of Indian residents within and outside the country, the minister said.
— PTI
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Didi gifts passes to girl students
New Delhi, March 8
The announcement came in the Rajya Sabha during her reply to a debate on the Railway Budget for 2011-12, presented earlier last month. The minister announced that on the occasion of International Women’s Day, she was happy to announce that all girls studying up to college level would be able to avail themselves of the free monthly season tickets for rail travel. “This will encourage more and more girl children to receive education,” Mamata said in her reply. She also announced setting up vocational training centres for girls. Later, the demands for grants for Railway Budget for 2011-12 and supplementary demands for grants for Railways for 2010-11 were passed by voice vote and the Railways Appropriation Bill returned to the Lok Sabha. Earlier, participating in the debate, CPI-Marxist member Shyamal Chakraborty attacked the Railway Minister, saying the Railways had been spoiled. Mamata reacted sharply, calling it “dirty politics”. Chakraborty said contrary to the announcement of no rise in rates, “freight of essential items like sugar and salt were raised just before the Budget”. He said freight for iron ore, coal, steel and coke too were increased through various circulars. Increase in charges of coal, a vital input for power generation, could be gauged from the fact that the Kolaghat Thermal Power Station in West Bengal alone would pay an additional Rs 11,062 crore on account of price revision. Contending that the Railways was in a better financial health earlier, he said it has “become a burden now”. Mamata retorted by saying, “They are doing dirty politics.”
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House favours women’s Bill, differs on quota
Sushma for 33% reservation to women, Speaker Meira Kumar turns poetic Vibha Sharma/TNS
New Delhi, March 8 But the concern could not have been expressed more aptly than how Meira Kumar did when she chose to recite a couplet after a debate on the issue during Zero Hour: “Pankh bhi hai, aakash bhi hai, phir yeh na ud pane ki majboori kyun? (there are wings and a sky that beckons, then why the helplessness in flying?). Expressing full support for the long-delayed Women Reservation Bill, the Speaker said she was willing to take an initiative by calling a meeting of political parties after the Assembly elections, a suggestion mooted by several members cutting across the political spectrum. Soon after Swaraj finished speaking, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee rose to assure her that the government was fully committed to bring in the Bill in the Lok Sabha. “We can resolve irreconcilable positions. On this day, let us resolve to pass the Bill in the Lok Sabha,” he said. Differences over the quota issue however came to the fore with SP, RJD and JD(U) warning against pushing the Bill in its original form in the Lok Sabha, as was done in Rajya Sabha. Mulayam Singh Yadav (SP), Sharad Yadav (JD-S) and Raghuvansh Prasad Singh (RJD) warned of dire consequences if quota within quota was not provided for women from backward classes, minorities and scheduled castes and tribes. Raising issues like discrimination at the ground level and violence, rape and dowry, in the Rajya Sabha as well, women members from the Congress, BJP, CPM and TDP demanded immediate passage of the Women’s Bill in the Lok Sabha. While women MPs sought a better deal for their lot, Chairman Hamid Ansari joined members in expressing concern that women still faced inequality and marginalisation in education, employment and health sectors. MPs get dose of Meira’s anger
New Delhi: She is often heard pleading for order in the Lok Sabha in her soft voice, but on International Women's Day, Speaker Meira Kumar sounded unusually furious at some male lawmakers who tried to disrupt proceedings. “Go back to your seats. I said go back to your seats,” she shouted at some SP members who were walking towards her podium to stall Question Hour. At this, the protesting SP members quietly walked back to their seats. Railway passes for girls
New Delhi: Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced that all girls up to the college level will get free monthly railway season tickets. The said this in the Rajya Sabha during her reply to a debate on the Railway Budget. “This will encourage more and more girl children to receive education,” she said. She also announced setting up vocational training centres for girls. 10.3% women in RS
Statistics reveal that women have only around 10.8 per cent representation in the Lower House and 10.3 per cent in the Upper House. The world’s largest democracy has only 60 women representatives out of the 544 in the Lok Sabha while there are 26 female MPs in the 242-member Rajya
Sabha.
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Boy uses Domestic Violence Act against estranged father
Pune, March 8 Acting on a plea filed by the boy under Section 20 (2) of the Act, Judicial Magistrate Umeshchandra More directed the father, reportedly a software professional, to pay the boy both educational and general day-to-day expenses till he attains the age of 18 years. The parents of the boy had obtained divorce with mutual consent in 2005 and he stays with his mother. The boy is reported to have taken the view that he feels rejected and depressed because of insufficient support from his father. He also requested that since his mother has been taking care of his education until now, it was time his father pitched in. The father has been directed to deposit Rs 12,000 in a bank account every year to meet the boy's daily expenses while the educational expenses would be paid directly to the school, Advocate Aseem Sarode, who appeared for the petitioner, said.
— PTI
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India, Brazil to cooperate on civil nuclear energy
New Delhi, March 8 The decision was taken at a meeting between External Affairs Minister SM Krishna and Brazil Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota during which they discussed a wide range of issues, including bilateral cooperation and international developments. The two sides agreed that the chairman of the Brazilian National Nuclear Energy Commission would visit India soon to hold detailed discussions with the Indian side for cooperation in the civil nuclear energy field. Brazil had voted in favour of India being given a waiver to undertake nuclear commerce at the 45-member cartel’s meeting in September 2008.
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New Delhi, March 8 “Following assurances from Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi and Civil Aviation Secretary Nasim Zaidi that they would ask Air India management to look into the issues, we have decided to defer the strike till March 15,” said Rishabh Kapoor, General Secretary of Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association (ICPA) said.@@Kapoor made the announcement after a marathon ten-hour meeting between the ICPA, Air India management and Chief Labour Commissioner as part of an attempt at conciliation this evening. The ICPA had served a notice, under Section 22 of the Industrial Disputes Act to airline CMD Arvind Jadhav, charging the management with having failed to address their grievances. — PTI
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HC comes down heavily on
accused
Shahira Naim/TNS
Lucknow, March 8 The penalty will be divided between Gandhi, the so-called rape victim and the state DGP. While dismissing the habeas corpus petition of the MLA from Lalji in Madhya Pradesh, Kishore Samrite, the division bench of Justices Uma Nath Singh and Satish Chandra of the Lucknow Bench of the court ordered the CBI to register a case against him, the website which the MLA claimed to be his source and the persons behind the framing Rahul Gandhi in the conspiracy.
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Woman jumps off 19th floor with kids Telangana MLAs to protest daily SP workers held Order returns to Andhra Assembly PM’s wife expresses concern over foeticide Bihar women MLAs have their say!
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New Delhi, March 8
