Today's Hot Stories - April 02, 2014 - PT education

Today's Hot Stories - April 02, 2014 

10 Headlines for Today

(1) Kumar Vishwas, Smriti Irani engage in war of words
(2) Politicians’ sons, daughters contesting at least 50 seats; Congress fields majority
(3) 5 dead as tsunami hits Chile
(4) SC recalls order in Reliance gas dispute case
(5) TRAI allows hike in cable TV rates in non-digitised areas
(6) Lufthansa cancels 900 flights due to strike
(7) Pallikal drops to 12th in latest world rankings
(8) West Indies stumps Pakistan
(9) Serena Williams upset in Charleston
(10) Madurai students win NASA’s space settlement design contest

5 Stories for Today

(1) On Amroha’s sugarcane fields, bitter community divides in the open
(2) Syrians adjust to life without limbs
(3) New company law becomes reality with robust governance norms
(4) Virtual worth: Paperless currencies usher in new age
(5) Direct Taxes Code draft retains exemption limit; proposes 35% super-rich tax

(1) On Amroha’s sugarcane fields, bitter community divides in the open


Muslims could find common cause with Jats earlier, but the Muzaffarnagar riots put an end to the unity

The Muzaffarnagar riots have left deep scars in this western Uttar Pradesh sugarcane belt, breaking apart the affable Jat-Muslim relations. As feared, new political equations are taking shape on religious lines, eroding, for instance, the traditional Jat-Muslim vote base of the Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD).

Traditionally, Muslims here have supported the farmer leader and before him, his father, former Prime Minister Charan Singh. Being farmers themselves, Muslims could find common cause with Jats. But the clashes that broke out between the two communities six months ago put an end to the unity. In the meantime, the BJP has managed to make inroads into the divided Jat community, while Muslims have vowed to back only the party that can halt the Narendra Modi juggernaut.

“Riots have taken place under various regimes, including the Congress but party leaders have assuaged the feelings [puchkara hai] of both communities. In Modi’s case, he only said he was ashamed [sharminda] [for the 2002 Gujarat riots],” says a lawyer from the Muslim community.

An interaction with several farmers revealed that the Jat community is split on backing the RLD. But, post-riots, apprehending a Hindu-Muslim polarisation, Mr. Ajit Singh has astutely fielded Rakesh Tikait, Bhartiya Kisan Union’s fiery farm leader and a Jat, as party candidate to prevent the community from gravitating towards the BJP.

The BJP initially tried to woo Mr. Tikait, 44. But after the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance’s pre-election “gift” of Jat reservation under the Other Backward Classes category in jobs and educational institutions, he jumped onto the RLD-Congress bandwagon.

But now it appears that while Jat reservation will make a majority of the community stay with the RLD-Congress combine, the youth are ready to break ranks to seek the jobs Mr. Modi promises.

Disenchanted with the Congress, Muslims are looking for a non-BJP party that can secure their interests. “For 60 years, we have voted for the Congress but have remained where we were,” says Junaid Ahmed, a lawyer at Athsaini in the Garhmukteshwar Assembly segment.

The confusion within the Muslim community has helped the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) come into reckoning despite its poor handling of the riots. On the other hand, the emerging Dalit-Muslim combination has boosted the chances of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Speaking to The Hindu, several Muslims say that faced with a Hobson’s choice and the fact that the SP is in power in the State, they are willing to repose their faith in its leader, Mulayam Singh Yadav. The party’s choice of a Muslim candidate, Humera Akhtar, wife of Kamal Akhtar, Minister of State in the Akhilesh Yadav government, has softened many hearts. Kari Sadakat Hussain, Principal of Masjid Darusalam and Madrasa Jamia Islamia in Saroorpur village, says: “Except for dange [riots], we have no shikayat [complaint] with the SP.”

Campaign meeting

At a farmers’ meeting at Para Khalsa in the Dhanura segment, Mr. Tikait makes a call for abjuring politics based on caste and religion. He then highlights the plight of sugarcane growers who have not been paid their dues since 2013, pushing them into debt and deprivation.

The leader, son of the famed Mahendra Singh Tikait, breaks down recalling his days of penury. “The farmer has remained where he was. All policies are for industry. I intend to be your voice in Parliament,” he says. Everybody around nods in approval.

Locked in a fierce four-cornered contest, Mr. Tikait is grappling with the unprecedented money power unleashed by BJP candidate Kanwar Singh Tanwar, a Gujjar real estate magnate from Delhi. BSP candidate Haji Shabban is a former MLA from the Hasanpur segment. Expelled RLD MP Devendra Nagpal has turned a rebel and has thrown his lot behind the SP candidate, making the battle even more intense.

Muslims, Mr. Junaid Ahmed says, will close ranks on the penultimate day of election so that a division in vote does not help the BJP.

Source: The Hindu

(2) Syrians adjust to life without limbs


Grimacing, Mustafa Ahmad slid the scarred stump just below his right knee into his new prosthetic leg. Extending his arms for balance, he slowly rose and hobbled across the packed dirt floor toward the door of his ramshackle tent.

Wild-haired children peered through a gap in the plastic sheet that serves as the wall of his tent, trying to catch a glimpse of the procedure that finally fitted Ahmad with a prosthesis, more than two years after losing his leg during a bombing raid on his hometown in northern Syria.

"I feel like I want to take a long walk, to go see my friends and neighbors," he said later, his forehead glistening with perspiration. "I feel like my leg is back. I feel normal, like I'm back the way I was."

Syria's civil war, which entered its fourth year last month, has killed more than 150,000 people, but an often overlooked figure is the number of wounded: more than 500,000, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. An untold number of those, there's no reliable estimate, suffered traumatic injuries that have left them physically handicapped.

Syria's conflict is not unique in this regard. All wars maim and kill. What varies is the weapon associated with the carnage. In Cambodia, it was land mines. In Iraq, roadside bombs and suicide bombings. In Syria's case, the culprit is largely artillery and airstrikes.

It was shrapnel from a government airstrike in November 2011 on the town of Deif Hafer in Aleppo province that tore off part of Ahmad's leg.

"When I first woke up in the hospital, I felt pain and I knew my leg was gone," said the shy 19-year-old with a mop of dark hair. "I felt that I was done. I could no longer walk or work or go out. It was me and my bed. I lost all hope."

With few options in Syria, Ahmad initially used crutches to get around. He and his father later cobbled together a homemade prosthesis out of plastic and socks. He used it for six months before tossing it aside.

"It wasn't very comfortable," he said. "It hurt my leg, and it was short so I limped when I walked."

As violence ravaged northern Syria in early 2013, Ahmad, his parents and 11 siblings left Deir Hafer for Lebanon. They now live at the edge of a plowed field in a cluster of flimsy shelters hammered together out of wood, nails and plastic sheeting outside the town of Jib Janine in the Bekaa Valley.

He received his new prosthetic leg from Handicap International, a non-governmental organization that, among other things, helps Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan who have lost limbs in the war.

"The hardest thing in the past two years was feeling that I didn't have anyone. It was over for me, I felt that I was done. I was thinking I'd never get a leg and would never be able to walk again," he said. "Now that I got the leg, I can get a job, go and come as I please, see my friends."

Once outside the tent, Ahmad slowly limped down a dirt path running along a small ditch. Old men and women observed quietly from their tents. Children scampered across the dusty earth to catch his every move.

The amount of time needed to adjust to a new limb varies, said Henri Bonnin, a field director for Handicap International. Older adults generally struggle more than young people, as do amputees who lose their leg above the knee. Another determining factor is the quality of the original surgery, which varies widely in a conflict like Syria's where many amputations take place in a field hospital or makeshift clinic.

"These are emergency amputations, so it's not an orthopedic surgeon, it's a general surgeon or a dentist who is performing this," Bonnin said. "It's done in a severe emergency to save a patient's life."

Under such conditions, many doctors cut the bone straight across, not at an angle as they should to create a better stump, he said. If the stump is flat instead of cylindrical, patients need a second or third surgery - a painful procedure - to correct the problem and allow for prosthesis.

The physical toll is grueling and apparent to all. But just as difficult for many Syrians is the psychological side of losing a limb.

That has been the case for 34-year-old Reem Diab. On Oct. 25, 2012, a shell slammed into her house in the town of Khan Sheikoun in central Syria, killing her husband, Mustafa, and her 15-year-old daughter, Batoul.

For months afterward, Diab was an emotional wreck. Her hair was falling out. Simple tasks proved overwhelming.

But what also haunted her, she said, was the fear that her surviving daughter and two sons would be terrified of their mother and the stump that ended just below her right hip. She refused to see them, and sent them to live with their uncle and grandmother instead.

"Psychologically, I was not welcoming of anyone, not even my children," Diab said. "I did not want them to see me in this situation and not be able to cope with it."

She came to Lebanon two months after her amputation, and was fitted with a prosthetic leg in April 2013. A physiotherapist and psycho-social worker from Handicap International visited her for more than a dozen sessions to help with her physical and mental rehabilitation. She slowly adjusted to the prosthesis, although it's been difficult.

"It's not like your actual leg," she said. "It feels like a strange object. There's no balance."

She now lives with her children in a tent set up on the roof of a building in Chtaura, Lebanon. Her mother, father, five brothers and their families share the rooftop with them, cramming into a few rooms slapped together from concrete blocks.

Urged on by a physiotherapist, Diab limped down the concrete stairs and into the dusty street outside, where she hobbled along the pavement, wincing as she walked.

"My children got used to seeing me with the prosthetic," she said. "They asked me things like, 'Why did you leave us?' But they're happy that I can walk now."

Source: The Times of India

(3) New company law becomes reality with robust governance norms


The much awaited new Companies Act came into force on Tuesday, ushering in far-reaching changes in the way corporates are governed and interest of investors are protected in the country.

Right from compulsory spending on social welfare activities to mandatory requirement of woman director on boards to stronger disclosure regime, the Companies Act, 2013 has been finalised after exhaustive consultations with various stakeholders including general public.

To protect the interests of investors, the government has made it mandatory for public deposit—taking companies to insure such deposits, among others.

Spread across 470 sections, 29 chapters and 7 schedules, the voluminous legislation replaces the nearly six-decade old Companies Act. Apart from notifying all the schedules, the Corporate Affairs Ministry has so far notified about 19 chapters and more than 280 sections.

In a first-of-its-kind move, certain class of companies are now required to spend at least two per cent of their three year annual average net profit towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) works. In case, they are unable to shell out the requisite money, the same has to be explained to the government.

CSR would be applicable to entities having at least Rs 5 crore net profit, or Rs 1,000 crore turnover or Rs 500 crore net worth.

To ensure robust corporate governance framework, the law requires companies to mandatorily rotate their auditors, who would also have to report suspected fraud to the board.

Also certain class of corporates are needed to have a vigil mechanism that provides a platform for employees and directors to express their grievances.

Moreover, the Corporate Affairs Ministry - which is implementing the law - has brought in stringent disclosure norms especially for related party transactions and for beneficial investments made by companies both directly and indirectly.

Among others, e-voting has been made mandatory for listed companies and those having less than 1,000 shareholders.

“The new Act is now operational having wide and far ranging impacts. It significantly raises the bar on governance,” consultancy firm KPMG in India’s Partner and Head Sai Venkateshwaran said.

Nearly 60 per cent of the Companies Act, 2013, including rules, has been completed by the Ministry.

Certain provisions of the new Companies Act would not be coming into force immediately. These are related to National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA), Investor and Education Protection Fund and winding up of companies, among others.

Source: The Economic Times

(4) Virtual worth: Paperless currencies usher in new age


Heard someone say this? The person probably created a currency — in a manner of speaking. Anything of value that can be used to create a transaction between two people can be called money. Economists say that money is a unit of account, a medium of exchange, a measure of value and a store of value.

If you look at rupee notes, most of them carry a “promise” by the central bank governor — so it is just an IOU by an authorised state machinery.

But people, being what they are, get practical about creating their own “currencies” as long as it is honoured. In Africa, sea shells were used until the 19th century as money. But gold — practically useless but known for its short supply and lasting quality — has been the most popular non-currency form of money and is a standard for central banks.

Now, in the age of the Internet and digital technologies, money is undergoing an exciting makeover, with talk of virtual currencies, mobile wallets and software apps that pretty much do what gold has been doing for centuries and currency notes have been doing for a while.

But the path is not easy, as the controversy over bitcoin showed last week. The most popular of virtual currencies has been facing the wrath of central banks — either being banned or frowned upon with words of caution by governors.

Bitcoin, the best-known virtual currency, started circulating in 2009. Its current market value is estimated at around $8 billion, with up to 80,000 transactions occurring daily, according to accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

However, Washington’s Internal Revenue Service ruled last week that bitcoins are not currency but more like property — let us say a plot of land or a share or a painting — and subject to capital gains taxes.

Fresh concerns have emerged on the currency after the collapse of Mt Gox, a Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange that filed for bankruptcy after losing $650 million worth of the digital currency.

Meanwhile, other virtual currencies have been taking off — and influenced by politics. Just as countries can create barriers or impose controls on foreign exchange (like India’s recent curbs on gold imports or trade), and just as countries can print money, there have been attempts to create new kinds of digital currencies.

In Iceland, which saw its banking system more or less wiped off during the 2008 global financial crisis, there emerged auroracoin — a new currency now estimated to be worth $11.37. This currency is aimed at fighting capital controls imposed by the Iceland government.

“The power must be taken away from the politicians and given back to the people. Cryptocurrencies are a very important milestone in this fight for liberty. They bring the hope of a new era of free currencies, immune to the meddling of politicians and their cronies,” said a document signed by the apparently fictional creator of the currency – “Baldur Friggjar Odinsson.”

Here is the essence: Money is often a matter of perception and psychology and virtual currencies can emerge as “parallel currency”.

In Scotland, a venture capitalist is offering 1,000 “Scotcoins” to every resident adult of Scotland. In Ireland, there is a “Gaelcoin” being offered to Irish citizens, 50 free coins for each.

But these are not the real deals in the age of digital technology. More practical and innovative applications are being spawned across the planet by merchants, companies and startups to focus not so much on money’s “store of value” but as “medium of exchange” and “unit of account”:

Telecom companies worldover, with support from central banks, are offering “mobile money” as a service.

Mobile wallet companies are helping users carry the equivalent of cash in their handsets (much like traveller’s cheques).

Technologies like near field communications (NFC) are being used to make the mobile phone an instrument of payment without your having to sign credit card vouchers—making the process more secure.

In general, software apps are being developed to substitute for money in various ways. Some companies like Starbucks allow “digital tipping” of its baristas through a mobile app.

Pre-paid cash cards are being used as swipe instruments where customers do not need credit cards or even bank accounts.

Next generation ATM machines will recognise your face through facial biometric technologies.

Who knows? Some day, you may not need even a mobile phone or ATM card to do a deal.

These developments are still evolving. Innovators, service providers, merchants and regulators are grappling with these in so many ways.

If the jump from gold coins to paper money was one big jump for the world, the shift to digital currencies could be a great leap forward.

Source: Hindustan Times

(5) Direct Taxes Code draft retains exemption limit; proposes 35% super-rich tax


As per the current structure, there is no tax on income of up to Rs 2 lakh per annum. The revised draft of the Direct Taxes Code Bill has retained the income tax exemption limit at Rs 2 lakh and introduced a fourth slab of 35 per cent on super-rich with income exceeding Rs 10 crore.

The revised draft of the Direct Taxes Code Bill has retained the income tax exemption limit at Rs 2 lakh and introduced a fourth slab of 35 percent on super-rich with income exceeding Rs 10 crore.

The fresh draft of the DTC Bill, posted on the website of the Finance Ministry today, has lowered the age for tax exemption for senior citizens to 60 years from 65 years.

The final view on the draft, which has been prepared by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, will be taken by the new government to be formed after the general elections are over in mid-May.

In another significant step, the draft has suggested that foreign companies with more than 20 per cent assets in India will be subjected to domestic tax laws.

The ministry has rejected the recommendations of the Standing Committee on Finance, headed by senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, to raise the income tax exemption limit to Rs 3 lakh and to adjust other slabs saying that it will lead to an annual loss of Rs 60,000 crore to the exchequer.

The Committee had proposed no tax on income of up to Rs 3 lakh per annum; 10 per cent for Rs 3-10 lakh; 20 per cent, for Rs 10-20 lakh and 30 per cent on annual income beyond Rs 20 lakh.

"The recommendation is not acceptable as it will result in huge revenue loss. The total revenue loss on account of recommended changes in PIT slabs and removal of cess works out to Rs 60,000 crore approximately," said the revised Direct Taxes Code Bill - 2013.

As per the current structure, there is no tax on income of up to Rs 2 lakh per annum; 10 per cent on Rs 2-5 lakh; 20 per cent on Rs 5-10 lakh and 30 per cent on income beyond Rs 10 lakh.

Although the revised DTC draft was to be taken up by the Cabinet in August 2013, it did not come up for discussion because of differences over introducing a fourth slab for the super-rich.

"With a view to maintaining overall progessivity in levy of income tax, the revised Code provides for a fourth slab for individuals, HUFs and artificial judicial persons. In their case if the total income exceeds Rs 10 crore, it is proposed to be taxed at the rate of 35 per cent," the draft said.

The DTC Bill, which aims to replace the existing I-T Act 1961 and overhaul the taxation system, has been pending since 2009 and has undergone various changes.

The fresh draft has rejected the recommendation of the Standing Committee to do away with the Securities Transaction Tax (STT), saying that "the recommendation is not acceptable as STT is required to regulate day trading".

Currently, STT is levied at different rates on sale and purchase of securities.

The draft proposes a 10 per cent tax on dividend earnings of over Rs 1 crore and a wealth tax of 0.25 per cent on assets of individuals, HUFs and trusts exceeding Rs 50 crore.

On the General Anti Avoidance Rules, the draft said they should be reviewed to bring in more clarity and the onus of proof should be on the tax authority.

As far as indirect transfers are concerned, the draft DTC has tightened the norms by suggesting that foreign companies having 20 per cent of their assets in India will have to abide by domestic laws.

Ernst & Young National Leader (International Tax Services) Jayesh Sanghvi said: "The proposals relating to the onus of proof with regard to GAAR are welcome. The reduction of the threshold from 50 per cent to 20 per cent for substantial value may continue to pose some uncertainties."

In his Budget speech, Chidambaram had said that the revised DTC was ready and will be placed in public domain for discussions.

The Finance Ministry said that of the 190 recommendations made by the Committee, 153 are proposed to be accepted wholly or with partial modifications.

Source: The Indian Express

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