UN expert on the right to housing to visit India
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Cabinet approves recommendations of 14th Finance Commission
Cabinet approves recommendations of 14th Finance Commission on fiscal deficit targets and additional fiscal deficit to States during 2015-20
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, has given its approval to Recommendations on Fiscal Deficit Targets and Additional Fiscal Deficit to States during Fourteenth Finance Commission award period 2015-20.
FFC has adopted the fiscal deficit threshold limit of 3% of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) for the States. Further, FFC has provided a year-to-year flexibility for additional fiscal deficit to States. FFC, taking into account the development needs and the current macro- economic requirement, provided additional headroom to a maximum of 0.5% over and above the normal limit of 3% in any given year to the States that have a favourable debt-GSDP ratio and interest payments-revenue receipts ratio in the previous two years. However, the flexibility in availing the additional fiscal deficit will be available to State if there is no revenue deficit in the year in which borrowing limits are to be fixed and immediately preceding year.
For the year 2016-17, the following fiscal parameters need to be taken into account before determining states eligibility for additional borrowings of 0.5% of GSDP recommended by FFC:
Ø The revenue position of the State as per Finance Account for t-2 and as available from Revised Estimates for t-1. To illustrate, for the year 2016-17, the revenue position of the State for 2014-15 (actual as per Finance Accounts) and 2015-16 (RE) would be relevant.
Ø The IP/TRR ratio and Debt/GSDP ratio based on the data as contained in Finance Account for t-2. To illustrate, for determining States’ eligibility for 2016-17, the IP/TRR ratio and Debt/GSDP ratio as disclosed in Finance Account of States for 2014-15 would be relevant.
There is no financial implication for Government of India as the borrowings are made by the respective State Governments within the fiscal deficit limits laid down by Finance Commission and incorporated in FRBMA of the States. However, the State will get additional space to raise borrowings which may result in much needed Government Expenditure for Capital projects/ infrastructure.
Mandeo Singh Pathania powers ahead with a 66
Harendra Gupta rises to second
Pune, April 6, 2016: Mandeo Singh Pathania of Greater Noida powered two shots ahead in round two of the inaugural Pune Open after he carded a sublime six-under-66. Pathania’s second round effort took his total to nine-under-135. Chandigarh’s Harendra Gupta shot the day’s best score of seven-under-65 that propelled him to second place at seven-under-137 at the Rs. 30 lakh event.
Mandeo Singh Pathania (69-66), lying overnight tied fifth, posted a bogey-free 66 to take pole position at the halfway stage. The 33-year-old from the Jaypee Greens Golf Resort picked up three strokes from a range of six to 10 feet and also capitalized on three of the four par-5s with birdies.
Mandeo, a former winner on the PGTI, who spent most of last year playing professional golf in Canada, could’ve drained an eagle as well had he not missed a five-footer on the fourth. Pathania, known for his long-hitting is using the opportunity of playing at the Pune Open to tune his game before he heads back to Canada to play pro golf in the summer.
Mandeo said, “It was a perfect day of golf for me. I didn’t spray the ball and didn’t commit any errors. I was consistent off the tee and holed a lot of putts. Another round of six-under tomorrow would be ideal as it would place me in the lead going into the final day.
“The weather-break today didn’t really bother me as I’ve got used to such things having played in Canada last year. I’m now looking forward to going back and playing on the Canadian Tour in the summer. However, my target this year is to make it to the Web.com Tour with a good performance at the qualifiers later this year.
“This round has really lifted my confidence and will help me sharpen my game further in what is an extremely important season for me.”
Harendra Gupta (72-65), who began the day in tied 30th seven off the lead, climbed into contention on Wednesday thanks to his improved ball-striking. The 31-year-old made good use of the advice he received on his swing from Bangladeshi professional Md Sayum last week in Dhaka.
Harendra, a winner of eight professional titles, got into his rhythm with the eagle on the par-5 ninth where he found the green in two and converted a 15-footer. Gupta thereafter accumulated five birdies on the back-nine by landing it within six feet on most occasions.
Gupta, who has a top-5 finish and two other top-20s to his credit so far this season, said, “It’s been a long time since I’ve felt so good about my hitting and iron-play. I wasn’t in good hitting form till recently since there was something troubling me about my swing. But I got some sound advice from my friend and fellow professional Md Sayum during the event in Dhaka last week that helped me sort out the issue.
“Sayum pointed out that I needed to make a slight change in my position during impact with the ball. I made the necessary change and have since been striking it well. I’m also feeling mentally stronger this week having addressed the problem with my swing.
“Once I was two-under at the turn today, I knew a score of five to six-under would put in a good position. I just kept hitting it close to set up birdies on the back-nine.”
Pratap Atwal, the round one leader, followed up his opening round 65 with a 73 in round two, to slip to tied third at six-under-138. Pratap sank an eagle and a birdie but also dropped two bogeys and a double-bogey on Wednesday.
Ranjit Singh shot a second straight 69 courtesy his sharp chipping and putting to join Atwal in tied third. Ranjit, who made four birdies and a bogey on day two, chipped-in for birdie on the second and almost holed it from the bunker for eagle on the fourth.
Gaganjeet Bhullar’s second round 71 placed him fifth at five-under-139. Chiragh Kumar returned a 74 in round two to be placed tied 11th at three-under-141. Rashid Khan’s 71 meant he was a further shot back in tied 13th.
Bengaluru’s Udayan Mane, Delhi’s Himmat Singh Rai were in tied 21st at one-under-143. Rookies Aman Raj of Patna and Noida-based Samarth Dwivedi, both playing their first professional event, also took a share of 21st place.
Pravin Pathare and Sagar Raghuvanshi were the highest-placed among the Pune golfers. Pathare and Raghuvanshi closed round two in tied 27thplace with totals of even-par-144.
The day witnessed a 40-minute weather suspension due to lightning between 1520 hrs and 1600 hrs local time. The cut fell at two-over-146. Fifty professionals made the cut.
“The kiss of life”: launch of the book of Emraan Hashmi
Penguin Books India cordially invites you to attend the
cover of the launch of the book of Emraan Hashmi
cover of the launch of the book of Emraan Hashmi
“The kiss of life”:
how a superhero & my son defeated cancer
with
Emraan Hashmi
Chief Guest:
ARVIND KEJRIWAL
Guest of Honour:
Shri.Kapil Mishra
Shri.Kapil Mishra
Time : 5:30 p.m
Date : 7th April (Thursday)
Venue : India Islamic Cultural Centre,
Date : 7th April (Thursday)
Venue : India Islamic Cultural Centre,
You are requested to send correspondents/photographers/camera crew for the Book Launch.
MUDRA LOANS ARE NOT GIVEN TO ACTUAL BENEFICIARIES
TRADERS NATIONAL CONCLAVE DECIDES TO LAUNCH CAMPAIGN FOR LESS CASH ECONOMY
MUDRA LOANS ARE NOT GIVEN TO ACTUAL BENEFICIARIES
MUDRA LOANS ARE NOT GIVEN TO ACTUAL BENEFICIARIES
About 10 thousand trade leaders from all over the Country at last day of three days national traders conclave of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) firmly remains dedicated to its cause and in line with Prime Minister’s vision of a ‘Digital,’ ‘Clean’, ‘Skilled’, and ‘Financially Included’ India and resolved to launch an aggressive national campaign for promoting greater usage of Debit/Credit Card payments among trading community of India for being a part of less cash economy vision of Prime Minister.
CAIT National President B.C.Bhartia & Secretary General Mr.Praveen Khandelwal said that traders of the Country supports the government of India’s leadership in establishing a vision for a modern, LESS CASH economy which brings about greater economic growth, more efficient delivery of goods and services, more purchasing power for consumers, access to new markets and consumers for merchants, a level playing field for small and medium sized businesses against larger competitors, less costly than cash, reduced leakages/corruption and enhanced revenues.
They further said that CAIT believes that by allowing competition, payments will benefit from a “race-to-the-top” in security, innovation, technology, services and lower cost as companies compete in a free market. The CAIT is going to lead on multiple fronts to push adoption of measures for India to become a ‘less cash’ economy in partnership with MasterCard, a global technological leader in payments
Both Mr. Bhartia & Mr. Khandelwal said that CAIT is committed to train the 6 crore small merchants and promote the digitization of payments among Indian traders as technology adoption will be a major business driver in order to stay relevant in today’s business world.The CAIT supports Financial Inclusion by bringing the un-organized segments of the economy within the ambit of the formal financial systems through its partnership with MasterCard and lead bank of the Country HDFC Bank. The CAIT advocates a government policy that fosters competition and a free market in the electronic payments space that enables choice and self-determination for merchants, traders and consumers.
During the Conclave, the trade leaders across the Country made resented voices for non availability of MUDRA loans to actual beneficiaries for whom the MUDRA has been launched. It is deeply regretted that inspite of specific declaration of the Prime Minister, so far no concrete steps have been taken to make MUDRA as a regulator by passing a legislation in the Parliament. The Banks in the Country are playing bureaucratic techniques in depriving the actual beneficiaries from availing the loans under MUDRA. It has demanded the Government to form a mechanism to monitor disbursement of loans under MUDRA and as per the policy laid down by the Prime Minister, Non Banking Finance Companies, Micro Finance Institutions, Trust & Societies should be registered, accredited and rated and should be given the task of giving loans to last mile borrowers.
India beat Japan in Sultan Azlan Shah Cup opener
India beat Japan in Sultan Azlan Shah Cup opener
~ Harmanpreet Singh scored India’s opener in 25th minute ~
~ Sardar Singh’s winning goal came in 32nd minute ~
Ipoh, Malaysia, 6 April 2016: Five time Champions India defeated Japan 2-1 in their opener match of the 25th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
Despite starting the game strongly and India holding almost 84 per cent of the possession in the first five minutes, the first quarter ended goal less as Japan defended strongly to deny them any openings.
In the second minute of the second quarter, Japan added to the surprise, by winning the first PC of the match and duly converted it to score the opener.
Soon after India got their act together and started stringing together the sort of game the crowd had come in expecting, with the equaliser for India coming through the stick of Harmanpreet Singh in the 25th minute via their first PC. The teams went into the break locked at 1-1.
The second half saw India come out with a changed game plan, and a complete shift in body language. Captain Sardar Singh, took the reins of the midfield and started bossing the Japanese, and was unsurprisingly, the scorer of their second goal in the 32nd minute. In a move that started at the edge of the circle, with India passing the ball around, Sardar Singh’s dart forward to receive Jasjit’s pass and the subsequent finish from a tight angle, ensured that India took the lead.
From then on it was a one-sided display, albeit with no more goals, as India held the possession, and kept control of the game for large periods of time. Ramandeep once again went close, with a great bit of individual play as he burst past four Japanese defenders and Sardar Singh was denied by the goalkeeper in the fourth quarter. India closed out the match to win 2-1.
Speaking after the match Chief Coach Roelant Oltmans said “When players haven’t played competitive matches for a while, they lack a certain amount of match sharpness and that was evident in our play in the first half. But, we changed that, and came out with the victory, which is the important thing. A huge amount of credit must also go to Japan, for having given us a tough outing. They are a young team and must be applauded.”
India next play Australia at 13:35 pm IST on 7th April, 2016.
LIVE Streaming Details: Star Sports 1/HD and Star Sports 3/HD
Online Stream: www.starsports.com
ADR analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 523 candidates
Dear Friends,
Assam Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 523 candidates out of 525 candidates who are contesting in the Second phase of Assam Assembly Elections to be held on 11 April 2016. Please find below an analysis of the financial background of these candidates.
Financial Background
· Share of wealth among candidates : The share of wealth among the candidates contesting in the Second phase of assembly elections Assam is as follows:
Value of assets (Rs.)
|
No of candidates
|
Percentage of Candidates
|
5 cr and above
|
29
|
6%
|
2 crores to 5 crores
|
49
|
9%
|
50 lakhs to 2 crores
|
104
|
20%
|
10 lakhs to 50 lakhs
|
167
|
32%
|
less than 10 lakhs
|
174
|
33%
|
Table: Share of wealth among contesting candidates
· High asset candidates*: The 3 richest candidates contesting in the Second Phase of the Assam Assembly Elections are given below:
S.No.
|
Name
|
District
|
Constituency
|
Party Name
|
Movable Assets (Rs)
|
Immovable Assets (Rs)
|
Total Assets (Rs)
|
PAN Given
|
1
|
SOUTH SALMARA
|
SALMARA SOUTH
|
AIUDF
|
10,81,45,406
|
44,00,66,929
|
54,82,12,335
54 Crore+ |
Y
| |
2
|
BONGAIGAON
|
BONGAIGAON
|
IND
|
25,34,93,031
|
25,08,64,000
|
50,43,57,031
50 Crore+ |
Y
| |
3
|
NALBARI
|
BARKHETRY
|
BJP
|
3,43,52,302
|
13,79,65,000*
|
17,23,17,302
17 Crore+ |
Y
|
Table: Top three candidates with highest declared assets
* on assets value indicates that the candidate has not provided the total in their affidavits, it has been calculated on the basis of details provided by them in the same
· Crorepati Candidates: Out of the 523 candidates analysed, 125 (24%) are crorepatis.
· Party wise Crorepati Candidates: 30 (53%) out of 57 fielded by INC, 19 (54%)out of 35 candidates from BJP, 9 (47%) out of 19 candidates from Asom Gana Parishad,12 (26%) out of 47 candidates fielded by AIUDF, 6 (60%) out of 10 candidates ofBodoland Peoples Front and 39 (18%)out of 216 Independentcandidates have declared assets worth more than Rs. 1 crore.
· Average assets: The average of assets per candidate contesting in Second Phase of the Assam Assembly Elections is Rs 1.26 Crores.
· Party wise average assets: Among major parties, the average assets per candidate for 57 INC candidates is Rs 2.64 Crores,35 BJP candidates have average assets of Rs 2.46 Crores, 47 AIUDF candidates have average assets worthRs 2.44 Crores, 11 SUCI(C) candidates hae average assets worth Rs 26.43 Lakhs,19 Asom Gana Parishad candidates have average assets worth Rs 1.37 Crores,average assets of 9 CPI(M) candidates areRs 82.64 Lakhs, 5 CPI candidates have average assets ofRs 10.88 Lakhsand 216 Independent candidates have average assets of Rs. 96.94 Lakhs.
· Low asset candidates: The three candidates with lowest assets are as follows:
S.No.
|
Name
|
District
|
Constituency
|
Party Name
|
Movable Assets (Rs)
|
Immovable Assets (Rs)
|
Total Assets (Rs)
|
PAN Given
|
1
|
KAMRUP METRO
|
JALUKBARI
|
IND
|
282
|
0
|
282
2 Hund+ |
Y
| |
2
|
NALBARI
|
NALBARI
|
SUCI(C)
|
2,000
|
0
|
2,000
2 Thou+ |
N
| |
3
|
GOALPARA
|
JALESWAR
|
Bhartiya Rashtrawadi Party
|
2,500
|
0
|
2,500
2 Thou+ |
Y
|
Table: Candidates with declared lowest assets
· Candidates with high liabilities: The top three candidates with highest liabilities are as given below;
S.No.
|
Name
|
District
|
Constituency
|
Party Name
|
Total Assets(Rs)
|
Liabilities (Rs)
|
PAN Given
|
1
|
BONGAIGAON
|
BONGAIGAON
|
IND
|
50,43,57,031
50 Crore+ |
18,51,36,234
18 Crore+ |
Y
| |
2
|
NAGAON
|
BARHAMPUR
|
INC
|
13,56,69,384
13 Crore+ |
8,61,21,363
8 Crore+ |
Y
| |
3
|
NAGAON
|
DHING
|
INC
|
7,83,09,413
7 Crore+ |
6,63,69,183
6 Crore+ |
Y
|
Table: Top three candidates with high liabilities
· Undeclared PAN: A total of 27 (5%) candidates have not declared their PAN details.
· Candidates with high income as declared in the ITR*: 10 candidates have declared total annual income of more than Rs 50 Lakhs. Top three candidates are as given below:
S.No.
|
Name
|
Party Name
|
Constituency
|
District Name
|
Total Asset (Rs)
|
The financial year for which the last income tax return has been filed by candidate
|
Total income shown by candidate in ITR (Self+Spouse+Dependent) (Rs)
|
Self income shown by candidate in ITR (Rs)
|
1
|
IND
|
BAGHBAR
|
BARPETA
|
3,33,65,552
3 Crore+
|
2015-2016
|
2,95,20,075
2 Crore+
|
2,09,86,348
2 Crore+
| |
2
|
INC
|
MANGALDOI (SC)
|
MANGALDOI (DARRANG)
|
2,10,61,904
2 Crore+
|
2015-2016
|
2,40,94,795
2 Crore+
|
1,05,17,904
1 Crore+
| |
3
|
AIUDF
|
SALMARA SOUTH
|
SOUTH SALMARA
|
54,82,12,335
54 Crore+
|
2014-2015
|
1,97,31,040
1 Crore+
|
1,95,92,840
1 Crore+
|
Table: Candidates with high income as declared in ITR
*Total income includes income of self, spouse and dependents
· Candidates who have not declared Income Tax Details*: 192 (37%) out of 523 candidates have not declared income tax details.
* Some candidates may be exempted from filing Income Tax Returns
· Candidates with high Assets who have not declared Income Tax Details*:12candidates with assets worth more than Rs. 50 Lakhs have not declared Income Tax details. The top three candidates with highest assets who have not declared their IT returns are as given below;
S.No.
|
Name
|
District
|
Constituency
|
Party Name
|
Total Income (Rs)
|
Movable Assets (Rs)
|
Immovable Assets (Rs)
|
Total Assets (Rs)
|
PAN Given
|
Self Income
|
1
|
NALBARI
|
NALBARI
|
CPI(M)
|
0
|
1,42,814*
|
5,14,00,000
|
5,15,42,814
5 Crore+
|
N
|
ITR not filed
| |
2
|
BILASIPARA
|
BILASIPARA EAST
|
IND
|
0
|
25,15,293
|
1,85,00,000
|
2,10,15,293
2 Crore+
|
Y
|
ITR not filed
| |
3
|
KAMRUP METRO
|
DISPUR
|
Bhartiya Rashtrawadi Party
|
277830
|
33,64,000
|
50,00,000
|
83,64,000
83 Lacs+
|
Y
|
ITR not filed
|
Table: Top three candidates with highest assets who have not declared ITR details
* Some candidates may be exempted from filing Income Tax Returns
Media and Journalist Helpline
+91 80103 94248
Email:adr@adrindia.org
|
Maj.Gen. Anil Verma (Retd)
Head
National Election Watch,
Association for Democratic Reforms
011 4165 4200,
+91 88264 79910
adr@adrIndia.org,
|
Prof Jagdeep Chhokar
IIM Ahmedabad (Retd.)
Founder Member,
National Election Watch, Association for Democratic
Reforms
+91 99996 20944
|
Prof Trilochan Sastry
IIM Bangalore
Founder Member,
National Election Watch,
Association for Democratic Reforms
+91 94483 53285
|
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Association for Democratic Reforms
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