Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Extends Income Tax Return Filing Deadline in J&K, Ladakh Union Territories to November 30,2019 Thursday Oct 31,2019

 The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Thursday Oct 31,2019 extended the deadline for filing of income tax returns to November 30 in the newly-created Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

The policy-making body for the Income Tax Department issued an order stating that "on consideration of reports of disturbances in internet facility in certain areas of Jammu and Kashmir, the CBDT...further extends the due date for filing of ITRs and tax audit reports to November 30 in respect of all categories of income tax assessees in the UTs of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh..."

It said the ITRs filed by individual taxpayers, post the set deadline of August 31, will be considered valid till November 30.

Internet facilities have been clamped down in Jammu and Kashmir following the Centre's decision to abrogate provisions of Article 370 on August 5.

In the aftermath of the decision, Jammu and Kashmir has been bifurcated into UTs of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh 

Twitter bans all political advertising Wed Oct 30,2019

Twitter said Wednesday Oct 30,2019 it was banning all political advertising from its micro-blogging site because social media ads can help politicians and organizations gain an unfair advantage.

"While internet advertising is incredibly powerful and very effective for commercial advertisers, that power brings significant risks to politics, where it can be used to influence votes to affect the lives of millions,"

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted. President Trump's campaign accused Twitter of trying to "silence conservatives."

Twitter's policy contrasts with that of Facebook, which has faced intense criticism for saying earlier this month that it would not block or pull misleading or false campaign ads.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said recently in testimony to Congress that policing political ads would restrict politicians' free expression

Modi - Xi Second Informal Summit In Mamallapuram,Tamil Nadu Oct 11 -12.2019

 

2019 British Parliamentary Election - UK MPs back Boris Johnson's December 12 election plan by a mammoth majority

The UK is set to go to the polls on 12 December after MPs backed Boris Johnson's call for an election following months of Brexit deadlock by a margin of 438 votes to 20, the House of Commons approved legislation paving the way for the first December election since 1923.

More than 100 Labour MPs did not take part or abstained in Tuesday Oct 29,2019's crucial vote, while 11 voted against an election.

A total of 127 Labour MPs, including its leader Jermy Corbyn, supported the election.

The Labour Party had so far refused to back an early poll until the threat of a no-deal crash out by  October 31,2019 had been taken off the table, a condition which was met with the new Brexit deadline now being January 31, 2020.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said his party would "now launch the most ambitious and radical campaign for real change that our country has ever seen".

It will mark the first December-poll since 1923 once the House of Lords passes the legislation and it becomes law by the end of the week. Once that happens, there will be a five-week campaign up to the polling day.

The development marks a win for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's bid for a pre-Christmas poll to try and win a public mandate in favour of his BREXIT plan

The UK prime minister can only hold an early election with the support of MPs, who have previously blocked it three times. Efforts by Opposition MPs to lower the voting age to 16 and also allow EU nationals to take part had earlier failed as the changes were not selected for debate by the Deputy Speaker.

But with MPs overall backing a December poll, a pre-Christmas election was certain. One proposed change to the early election motion that was considered was a call by the Labour party, backed by the other Opposition parties, to hold the poll three days earlier, on Dec 09,2019

Can financial creditor sell assets of firms in liquidation?National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT)to decide

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has reserved its judgment on whether a secured financial creditor can sell the assets of a corporate debtor back to the promoter if there are no resolution plans and the firm has to be liquidated.

The judgment is likely to have a big impact on the insolvency process and will decide if errant promoters have one last shot at regaining control of their company and its assets, experts said.

Sanaa Syntex, a Mumbai-based fabric trading company, was admitted for insolvency proceedings in August 2017. The company, however, found no takers, following which the Mumbai Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) ordered its liquidation.

Subsequently, the liquidator moved to sell the company’s assets and distribute the realised amounts to the creditors under the rules of theInsolvency and Bankruptcy Code  (IBC). The State Bank of India (SBI), a financial creditor to the company, however, took “custody of the immovable mortgaged assets” of the company by “locking the premises of two units of factory situated in Gujarat”

The bank said it wanted to opt out of the liquidation process and realise its dues on its own. The bank had then said it wanted to sell the assets of the company back to the erstwhile promoters as the process was no longer under the IBC

The Mumbai Bench of the NCLT had, while allowing SBI to opt out of the liquidation process, barred the bank from selling the assets to the promoters or any other persons ineligible under Section 29 (A) of the IBC

Section 29A of the IBC bars non-performing asset (NPA) holders, including promoters, from taking part in the resolution process.

The bank then approached the NCLAT with a plea that it should be allowed to sell the assets out of the liquidation process and keep the amount realised. The liquidator of the company, however, opposed the bid of the bank and said that allowing such a move would “shake entire dynamics of the claims of other stakeholders”.

“It is to be understood that if secured creditor is allowed to realise the secured interests through channels of promoters who are barred under the IBC, the same will corrupt the very purpose of the Code,” the liquidator said in a written submission to the NCLAT

Remembering Indira Gandhi on her 35th death anniversary Thursday Oct 31,2014

Today is the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's 35th death anniversary

Indira Gandhi was the daughter of the former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and was a well-known leader all over the world. She is remembered for her leadership and takes credit for introducing the Green Revolution in India. Her strong academic background helped her hold various key positions.

Indira Gandhi was the Chairperson of the National Integration Council of A.I.C.C. and the President of the All India Youth Congress in 1956. She became the President of Indian National Congress (INC) in 1959 and served till 1960 and then again from January 1978

Indira Gandhi served as Prime Minister from January 1966 to March 1977 and again from January 1980 until her assassination in October 1984, making her the second longest-serving Indian Prime Minister after her father Jawahar Lal Nehru

The 1971 Indo-Pakistan war was the direct after-effect of the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan, which was brought by the Awami League led by Mujibar Rahman against the military brutality launched by the Pakistan President Yahya Khan.

The military specifically targeted the Hindu minority population and committed atrocious acts of torture throughout the country. As a result, about 10 million East Pakistani citizens fled the country and sought refuge in India. The overwhelming refugee situation prompted Indira Gandhi to support Awami League’s struggle for freedom against West Pakistan.

ndia provided logistical support and also sent troops to fight against West Pakistan. The war concluded on 16 December 1971 in Dhaka, after the Eastern Command of the Pakistani Armed Forces signed the Instrument of Surrender and that marked the birth of the new nation of Bangladesh. India’s triumph in the war of 1971 against Pakistan enhanced the popularity of Indira Gandhi as a shrewd political leader.

IndiraGandhi was widely criticised for declaring the historic moment of Emergency in India in 1975 for a period of 21 months. This period was often referred to as the ‘dark age of independent India.’

Operation Blue Star is also evidence of the Indira Gandhi’s firm mindset. Operation Blue Star was an Indian military operation which occurred between 1 June and 8 June 1984, ordered by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in order to establish control over the Harmandir Sahib Complex.

The operation resulted in the death of Bhindranwale and a high casualty figure among the army, civilians and militants. The assault on Golden Temple was heavily criticised by Sikhs worldwide and had led to several Sikhs resigning from administrative positions

On 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi’s bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh fired a total of 31 bullets on Indira Gandhi from their service weapons as a revenge of the Golden Temple assault at her residence – 1, Safdarjung Road in New Delhi and she succumbed to her injuries.

Oman and Scotland beat Hong Kong and UAE,Qualify for the 2020 T20I Wed Oct 30,2019

Oman defeated Hong Kong by just 12 runs on Wednesday Oct 30,2019 in a do-or-die T20 World Cup qualifier to reach the finals in Australia along with Scotland who thrashed United Arab Emirates by 90 runs.

Oman and Scotland join Namibia, Netherlands, Papua New Guinea and Ireland, who had already booked their places in the 2020 T20I WC

Chasing just 135 to win, Hong Kong collapsed to 18-5 with left-arm seamer Bilal Khan taking three of the wickets to fall on his way to match figures of 4/23

Scott McKechnie, who top scored with 44 off 46 balls, helped steady the ship with a partnership of 52 for the sixth wicket with Haroon Arshad (20) but Hong Kong struggled to get the ball away in the tough, heavy conditions and finished on 122/9

Oman had also found it hard going, slipping to 42-6 by the end of the ninth over.

However, they were indebted to opener Jatinder Singh, who carried his bat for 67 with seven boundaries and a six, as well as tail-enders Aamir Kaleem (17) and Naseem Khushi (26 off just nine balls) to take them to a defendable target.

George Munsey belted 65 as Scotland made 198 before UAE were all out for 108, with nine balls left.
Mark Watt and Safyaan Sharif took three wickets for the Scots

Scotland had struggled in group play and finished only fourth in their seven-team group

Hosts UAE, whose squad had been diminished by the suspension of four players after corruption investigations, only narrowly missed an automatic World Cup berth when they finished third in their group on net run rate.

Former IAS officer Radha Krishna Mathur sworn-in as the first Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh Thursday Oct 31,2019

Former IAS officer Radha Krishna Mathur was Thursday Oct 31,2019 sworn-in as the first Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, which officially became a Union Territory after the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir.

Mathur, who will turn 66 in a month, is a 1977-batch IAS officer from Tripura. He retired as the defence secretary in 2015 and was appointed as the chief information commissioner in December of the same year.

He completed his tenure in November last year after attaining the age of 65 years

Mathur was administered oath by Jammu and Kashmir High Court Justice Gita Mittal. The event was attended by officials of the Leh and Kargil hill councils, Army and paramilitary forces, religious leaders and the general public.

Former IAS officer Radha Krishna Mathur sworn in as Jammu and Kashmir’s first Lieutenant Governor

Former Gujarat cadre IAS officer Girish Chandra Murmu was on Thursday Oct 31,2019 appointed as the first Lieutenant Governor of the newly-formed Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Murmu, who will turn 60 next month, is a 1985 batch Gujarat cadre officer and was previously serving as the Expenditure Secretary in the Union Finance Ministry. Murmu also held important administrative positions during the tenure of Narendra Modi as chief minister of Gujarat.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Justice Gita Mittal administered the oath to Murmu at a simple function held at Raj Bhawan at the foothills of the Zaberwan range.

BJP leader Jugal Kishore and Rajya Sabha MP and PDP member Nazir Laway were among the over 250 guests present at the function.

A native of Mayurbhans in Odisha, Girish Chandra Murmu did his MA in Political Science from Utkal University while he completed his MBA in Public Services from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom.

Previously, Murmu has served as Additional Principal Secretary in the Home Ministry for seven years under CM Modi and has been a troubleshooter for the Gujarat government in cases ranging from 2002 riots to the alleged fake encounters in Gujarat

Lebanon Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigns after mass protests Tuesday Oct 29,2019

Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri has turned in his resignation to President Michel Aoun, satisfying one of the main demands of the country's protest movement.

The announcement on Tuesday Oct 29,2019 came on the back of 13 days of mass protests demanding the departure of the country's entire political elite amid growing anger over official corruption, poor public services and years of economic mismanagement.

"We have reached a deadlock and we need a shock in order to brave through the crisis," Hariri said in a televised statement from the capital, Beirut.

"I'm heading to the presidential palace to tender the resignation of the government ... This is in response to the will and demand of the thousands of Lebanese demanding change," he added

2019 Bangladesh Tour of India - Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) agree to play day-night Test against India at Eden Gardens,Kolkata during nov 22-26,2019

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB)has agreed to play the second Test of the forthcoming series against India as a day-night fixture.

This will be the first day-night Test match for both the countries and Eden Gardens will host the contest

Bangladesh’s tour of India will begin on 3rd November 2019. The two teams will first collide in a T20I series before turning to red-ball cricket.

The first of the two Tests will take place at the Holkar Stadium in Indore and then Kolkata will host the historic day-night Test match from 22nd November to 26th November. The start time for this day-night match will be 2 PM IST.

The theory of day-night Tests was proposed to revive Test cricket. Australia and New Zealand were the first two sides to play a day-night Test match as the Trans-Tasman rivals kicked off the pink ball-era in November 2015.

Till date 11 day-night Tests have taken place and, a majority of them have been played in Australia.

Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan banned by ICC for failing to report corrupt approach

  Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan  has been banned by the ICC for two years, with one year suspended, for failing to report multiple approaches made to him by a bookie. 

Under the provisions of the ICC Code, Shakib chose to admit the charges and agreed to the sanction with the ICC in lieu of an Anti-Corruption Tribunal hearing. Subject to him satisfying the conditions in respect of the suspended part of the sanction, he will be free to resume international cricket on October 29, 2020. 

An official ICC release stated the following as the charges against Shakib: 

1. Article 2.4.4 - Failure to disclose to the ACU full details of any approaches or invitations he received to engage in Corrupt Conduct - in relation to the Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe Tri-Series in January 2018 and / or the 2018 IPL 

2. Article 2.4.4 - Failure to disclose to the ACU full details of any approaches or invitations he received to engage in Corrupt Conduct - in relation to a second approach in respect of the Tri-Series in January 2018 

3. Article 2.4.4 - Failure to disclose to the ACU full details of any approaches or invitations he received to engage in Corrupt Conduct - in relation to an IPL 2018 match between Sunrisers Hyderabad v Kings XI Punjab on 26 April 2018.

US House Of Representatives Recognises Armenian Genocide In Historic Vote Tuesday Oct 29,2019

The US House of Representatives took the historic step Tuesday Oct 29,2019 of passing a resolution officially recognizing the "Armenian genocide," a move sure to anger Turkey amid already-heightened tensions with Washington.

Cheers and applause erupted when the chamber voted 405 to 11 in support of the symbolic resolution "affirming the United States record on the Armenian Genocide," a first for the US Congress, where similar measures with such direct language have been introduced for decades but never passed.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was honored to join her colleagues "in solemn remembrance of one of the great atrocities of the 20th century: the systematic murder of more than 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children by the Ottoman Empire."

The Armenians say the mass killings of their people from 1915 to 1917 amounted to genocide, a claim recognized by some 30 countries.

Turkey strongly denies the accusation of genocide.

2019 Bangladesh Tour of India - Bangladesh T20 and Test Squad Announced

Mominul Haque has been named captain of the Bangladesh Test team while Mahmudullah will lead the T20I side in their upcoming tour of India in the wake of the suspension handed out to current incumbent Shakib Al Hasan by the International Cricket Council, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) reportedly announced on Tuesday Oct 29,2019

Taijul Islam has been named as Shakib's replacement in the Test and T20I sides. Mohammad Saifuddin, who was ruled out of the series with injury and Tamim Iqbal who is sitting out due to personal reasons, have been replaced by Abu Haider Rony and Mohammad Mithun respectively.

Pace spearhead Mustafizur Rahman also makes a return to the Test squad.

Bangladesh T20I squad: Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Naim, Mahmudullah (c), Afif Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Animul Islam, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Arafat Sunny, Al-Amin Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shaiful Islam, Abu Haider Rony, Mohammad Mithun, Taijul Islam.

Bangladesh Test squad: Shadman Islam, Imrul Kayes, Saif Hasan, Mominul Haque (c), Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Mohammad Mithun, Mossadek Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraj, Taijul Islam, Naeem Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Al Amin Hossain, Ebadot Hossain.

Supreme Court of India(SCI)Ruling '' Signed Carbon Copy as Good as Original in Evidence ''

The Supreme Court of India(SCI)has held that signed carbon copy of a document is as good as the original document and can be relied as evidence.

The SCI maintained that a carbon copy in this form will be admissible as a primary evidence under Section 62 of the Indian Evidence Act.

The bench, led by Justice Deepak Gupta, was dealing with an appeal against an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in a land dispute matter.

The high court had rejected the carbon copy as evidence. It said a carbon copy of a document, which is signed by both the parties, cannot be termed as an original document under Section 62 of the Evidence Act

But the SCI set aside this order.

"This finding of the High Court is absolutely incorrect and against the provision of Section 62 of the Evidence Act. This carbon copy was prepared in the same process as the original document and once it is signed by both the parties, it assumes the character of the original document," held the bench.

The SCI further pointed out that an explanatory provision in Section 62 that also talked about copying and printing from the original document. It has now remitted the matter back to the High Court to adjudicate the case afresh after taking on record the carbon copy.

2019 Botwsana General Election Wednesday Oct 23,2019

The ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) has won the general election after securing 29 national assembly seats, representing 51 percent of the vote, the chief justice announced on Friday.

Botswana voted on Wednesday Oct 23,2019 to elect 57 national assembly and 490 local government representatives, with the candidate of the winning party set to become president.

"Although vote counting is still ongoing, the numbers of parliament seats attained so far by the BDP obliges me to declare Mokgweetsi Masisi as the elected president of Botswana," said Chief Justice Terrence Rannowane.

President Masisi had been presented with a surprising challenge after former president Ian Khama broke away and announced his support for the opposition coalition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC).

Masisi campaigned on his record on tackling corruption, such as making a declaration of assets obligatory for public sector officials, and slashing bureaucracy for small businesses.
Khama stormed out of the BDP in May after accusing Masisi - his deputy until last year - of autocracy.

Khama hand-picked Masisi as his successor when he stepped down last year following two terms in office in the diamond-rich country. But Masisi moved away from some of Khama's policies, including by loosening restrictions on elephant hunting to appeal to rural voters.

About 931,000 of the country's 2.2 million people registered to vote in the parliamentary and local elections.

The 63 members of the  National Assembly consisted of 57 MPs elected in single-member constituencies by first past the post, four members appointed by the governing party, and two ex-officio members (the President and the Attorney General)

Voters are required to be citizens of Botswana and at least 18 years old who had been resident in the country for at least 12 months prior to voter registration.

People declared insane, holding dual citizenship, under a death sentence, convicted of an electoral offence or imprisoned for at least six months are not allowed to vote

Candidates need to be citizens of Botswana, at least 21 years old, without an undischarged bankruptcy, and be able to speak and read English sufficiently well to take part in parliamentary proceedings

What is Quantum Supremacy, claimed by Google?

On Wednesday Oct 23,2019 Google announced that it has achieved a breakthrough called quantum supremacy in computing.

Scientists have developed an experimental processor that took just 200 seconds, to complete a calculation that would have taken a classical computer 10,000 years.

What is quantum computing?

It derives from quantum mechanics, which deals with the behaviour of particles at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. At that tiny scale, many rules of classical physics cease to apply, and the unique rules of quantum physics come into play.
A quantum computer will seek to operate on the same principles of quantum mechanics. Developing such a computer has been the goal of scientists since the 1980s. By simulating the behaviour of atoms and particles, a quantum computer would perform extremely complicated tasks that are beyond the scope of classical computers, or would take an incredibly short time to perform tasks that would have taken years of work from a classical computer, as in this case.

What makes a quantum computer so powerful?

The work came from Google’s research lab in the University of Santa Barbara, California. In their research paper published in the journal Nature, scientists have announced that their Sycamore computer has solved a problem that is considered intractable for classical computers. This was achieved by developing an architecture of what are known as “qubits”

“Qubits” is short for “quantum bits”, which are to quantum computers what bits are to traditional computers. Each bit holds information in the form of one of two values — either 1 or 0 — which can be connected into various combinations. On the other hand, a qubit can be both 0 and 1 at the same time. The more the number of qubits, the higher the amount of information, which increases exponentially compared to the information stored in the same number of bits.

What exactly has Google achieved?

From the development of a single superconducting qubit, the researchers proceeded to systems including an architecture of 54 qubits with Sycamore. One of these did not perform, the University of California, Santa Barbara said in a statement. This architecture led to the 53 qubits being entangled into a superposition state. Preparing this superposition state was accomplished in a matter of microseconds. The researchers then sampled from this distribution by measuring the qubits a million times in 200 seconds. The equivalent task for a state-of-the-art classical supercomputer would take approximately 10,000 years, they wrote in their paper.

What is Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) ?How will it impact Airtel, Vodafone Idea?

The Supreme Court Of India(SCI)Thursday Oct 24,2019 upheld the Department of Telecommunications’ (DoT) definition of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR), a contentious point among India’s telecom players and the source of a running battle between the government and industry for years. The ruling will have major ramifications for the telecom companies, especially the older service providers such as Airtel and Vodafone Idea.

What is AGR?

Telecom operators are required to pay licence fee and spectrum charges in the form of ‘revenue share’ to the Centre.

The revenue amount used to calculate this revenue share is termed as the AGR.

 According to the DoT, the calculations should incorporate all revenues earned by a telecom company – including from non-telecom sources such as deposit interests and sale of assets.

The companies, however, have been of the view that AGR should comprise the revenues generated from telecom services only and non-telecom revenues should be kept out of it.

How long has the fight been going on?

The slugfest between DoT and the telecom companies has been on since 2005, when the the Cellular Operators Association of India — the lobby group for players such as Airtel and Vodafone Idea — challenged the DoT’s definition for AGR calculation. Subsequently, in 2015, the TDSAT ruled that the AGR included all receipts, except capital receipts and revenue from non-core sources such as rent, profit on the sale of fixed assets, dividend, interest and miscellaneous income, etc.

The government, meanwhile, continued to raise the issue of under-reporting of revenues to duck charges. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), in a recent report, blamed the telecom companies for “understating revenues” to the tune of Rs 61,064.5 crore. The latest petition by the DoT was being heard in the Supreme Court, wherein the DoT sought interest, penalty and interest on penalty on the outstanding amount. These amounted to Rs 92,641 crore (disputed actual demand is Rs 23,189 crore, levy of Interest of Rs 41,650 crore, penalty of Rs 10,923 crore and interest on penalty of Rs16,878 crore)

All the appeals against the TDSAT order dated April 23, 2015, alongside multiple appeals and verdicts by the DoT and the industry in various forums including High Courts and the Supreme Court of India, were heard before the Bench of Justice Arun Mishra, Justice S Abdul and Justice MR Shah.

 The bench delivered the verdict Thursday and effectively upheld the definition of AGR calculation as stipulated by the DoT. That is bad news for an already beleaguered telecom sector, which would need to cough up the pending payments

White Bellbird, the World’s Loudest Bird

Bellbirds have the loudest bird calls yet documented in the world, according to a study which found that their mating songs pack more decibels than the screams of howler monkeys and the bellows of bisons.

According to the study, published in the journal Current Biology, the male white bellbird’s mating call is about three times louder than screaming phias — the previously loudest bird singer.

The researchers, including those from the University of Massachusetts in the U.S., said that the bellbird’s calls were so loud that they wondered how the females of the species listened to them at close range without permanent damage to their hearing.

Hong Kong extradition bill officially withdrawn Wednesday Oct 23,2019

Hong Kong`s legislature on Wednesday Oct 23,2019 formally withdrew planned legislation that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, but the move was unlikely to end months of unrest as it met just one of five demands of pro-democracy protesters.