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Here is a masonry blog layout with no sidebarPensioners’ body urges government to exempt pension from income tax
The body also referred to an apex court order where the Supreme Court had held that pension is valuable right vested in a government servant and that the right to receive pension is a property under Article 31 of the Constitution. If it is denied to an employee, a writ of mandamus could be issued to the state to properly consider the claim of the pensioner for payment of pension according to law, it added referring to the SC ruling.
Sports Minister Anurag Thakur launches Fit India Mobile App on National Sports Day
Subscribers joining NPS after 65 yrs of age can take up to 50 pc equity exposure
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has revised the guidelines on entry and exit following an increase in the maximum age for joining the NPS from 65 years to 70 years of age. The entry age for NPS has been revised to 18-70 years from 18-65 years.
Any Indian citizen and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) in the age group of 65-70 years can also join NPS and continue up to the age of 75 years, according to a PFRDA circular on the revised guidelines.
Govt brings new ‘BH’ registration series for personal vehicles to ensure seamless transfer across states
”This vehicle registration facility under ‘Bharat series (BH-series)’ will be available on voluntary basis to defense personnel, employees of central government/ state government/ central/ state public sector undertakings and private sector companies/organisations, which have their offices in four or more states/union territories,” the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) said in a statement. This scheme, it said, will facilitate free movement of personal vehicles across states/union territories of India upon relocation.
Govt extends deadlines for various I-T compliances, GST relief
While the income tax compliances, including filing of statement for equalisation levy and remittances, reporting by multinational enterprises etc, have been extended mainly due to difficulties in electronic filing on the new I-T portal, the deadline for GST amnesty scheme and also filing of GST return electronic verification code (EVC) have been extended until November 30 and October 31 respectively to assist taxpayers in the time of Covid-19 pandemic.
Global COVID-19 toll surpasses 4.5 million, US daily average for new cases increases
Climate Change: Insurers can afford to drop Oil and Gas—but many won’t
To date, just one insurer has promised to take “significant action” in this regard, according to analysts at Societe Generale SA.
Australia’s Suncorp was the first to announce it would no longer provide coverage for all new oil and gas production projects.While insurers (23 in all) have moved to end their underwriting of coal-related activities, they have been slow to act on oil and gas. That’s mainly because the insurance market for those fossil fuels is considerably larger, with estimated premiums of more than $17 billion in 2018, compared with $6 billion for coal power, said Peter Bosshard, program director at the Sunrise Project and global coordinator of Insure Our Future (IOF).
Japan’s Fukushima nuclear water to be released via undersea tunnel
The government decided in April to start discharging the water, after further treatment and dilution, into the Pacific Ocean in spring 2023 under safety standards set by regulators. The idea has been fiercely opposed by fishermen, residents and neighboring countries including China and South Korea.
The offshore discharge using a pipeline enclosed inside a concrete tunnel is an attempt to minimize the “reputational damage” that would occur if the contaminated water is released close to marine life off the Fukushima coast.
Half of hospitalised Covid patients have persisting symptoms after a year: Lancet study
“Our study is the largest to date to assess the health outcomes of hospitalised COVID-19 survivors after 12 months of becoming ill,” said Professor Bin Cao, from China-Japan Friendship Hospital.
“While most had made a good recovery, health problems persisted in some patients, especially those who had been critically ill during their hospital stay,” Cao said.
India adds 46,759 new COVID-19 infections, Kerala logs 32,801 cases
India administered more than 10 million vaccine doses in the past 24 hours, a national record that Prime Minister Narendra Modi called a “momentous feat” for the country ahead of fears of another surge in infections. India has administered more than 622 million vaccine doses in total, giving at least one dose to more than half of its 944 million adults.This has been achieved through 67,19,042 sessions.
Covid-19 not developed as biological weapon: US intelligence community
The Director of National Intelligence in a report, prepared at the direction of the president, on Friday said SARS-CoV-2 probably emerged and infected humans through an initial small-scale exposure that occurred no later than November 2019 with the first known cluster of COVID-19 cases arising in Wuhan, China in December 2019.
However, there was no unanimity among the intelligence community (IC) on the origins of the coronavirus.
Covid-19’s Delta variant doubles hospitalisation risk, finds study
“Our analysis highlights that in the absence of vaccination, any delta outbreaks will impose a greater burden on healthcare than an alpha epidemic,” said Anne Presanis, one of the study’s lead authors and a senior statistician at Cambridge. “Getting fully vaccinated is crucial for reducing an individual’s risk of symptomatic infection with delta.”
Jan Dhan accounts exceed 430 mn in 7 yrs, total deposits over Rs 1.46 trn
This national mission was launched to ensure people have access to financial services, namely, banking, remittance, credit, insurance, pension in an affordable manner.
On the road ahead, the finance ministry said, eligible PMJDY account holders will be sought to be covered under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY).
As on August 18, 2021, the number of total PMJDY accounts stood at 430.4 million. Of this, 55.47 per cent (23.87 crore) Jan-Dhan account holders are women and 66.69 per cent (28.70 crore) holders are in rural and semi-urban areas, the finance ministry said in a statement.
Out of total 430.4 million PMJDY accounts, 368.6 million or 85.6 per cent are operative, and the average deposit per account is Rs 3,398, as per the statement.
Increase in average deposit is another indication of increased usage of accounts and inculcation of saving habit among account holders, it said.
Air passenger volumes remain weak in contrast to robust cargo demand: AAPA
More than a year into the pandemic, strict border restrictions and quarantine measures continue to have a devastating impact on international air travel, said Subhas Menon, AAPA Director General.
“By contrast, air cargo remains the single bright spot for the region’s airlines, with strong external demand boosting cargo revenue. However, this remains largely insufficient in mitigating the drastic fall in passenger volumes.” Menon said progress in vaccination rollouts across the region remains slow as many countries still face challenges in procuring supplies and suffer from resource constraints.
Vaccine inequity causes ‘dangerous divergence’ in COVID survival rates – UN agency heads
HC to hear in Oct appeals of FB, WhatsApp in privacy policy matter
The case relates to the appeals of Facebook and WhatsApp against a single judge order dismissing their pleas against the probe CCI ordered into the instant messaging app’s new privacy policy.
CCI had contended that the new privacy policy of WhatsApp would lead to excessive data collection and “stalking” of consumers for targeted advertising to bring in more users and is therefore an alleged abuse of dominant position.
Climate Change: 80% of South Mumbai will be under water by 2050, Mumbai municipal commissioner
Mumbai municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal said that Mumbai is the first city in South Asia that is preparing its climate action plan and acting on it.
“Earlier, we used to hear about climate change events like melting glaciers, but not directly affecting us. But now it has come to our doorstep,” he added.
Chahal said that last year for the first time in 129 years, a cyclone (Nisarga) hit Mumbai and thereafter in the last 15 months, there have been three cyclones. After that, on August 5, 2020, about 5 to 5.5 feet water was accumulated at Nariman point.
FDI equity inflows up 168% to $17.57 bn during Q1FY22: Govt data
The data showed that the automobile industry has emerged as the top sector during the period under review with 27 per cent share of the total FDI equity inflows. It was followed by computer software and hardware (17 per cent) and services Sector (11 per cent).
Further, Karnataka is the top recipient state during April-June 2021, with 48 per cent share of the total FDI equity inflows. It was followed by Maharashtra (23 per cent) and Delhi (11 per cent).