“I shall be failing in my national duty if I did not speak up even now against the mess the finance minister has made of the economy.”
GST//Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will meet the chief of the Goods and Services Tax Network AB Pandey today to discuss fixing glitches in the implementation of the mega tax reform. The industry bodies and exporters will also be a part of the meeting to discuss problems they are facing in filing tax returns and on refunds under the new national tax regime. Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the country's top bureaucrats to “handhold” traders to resolve their problems relating to GST.
Challenges like the GST Network portal, the IT backbone of the new tax process, crashing repeatedly is said to have compounded confusion and Mr Jaitley will discuss that, sources said.
Sources in the Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) will raise the issue of significant delays in GST refunds and will also suggest an e-wallet facility for exporters to the Finance Minister.
Exporters have complained about working capital being blocked since the launch of GST in July brought in sweeping changes in the way taxes are paid and have sought quicker refunds. Exporters have also sought that export benefit scrips be allowed to pay taxes. The meeting follows up one held by Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu with industry leaders earlier.
The government is under attack from the opposition, particularly the Congress, on the way it has implemented GST. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has accused the government of crushing small business with a complicated process, criticising the need to fill multiple forms under the new rules and has said his party will pressure the government to simplify the procedure.
In a stinging critique of the government’s handling of the economy yesterday, senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha said, “a badly conceived and poorly implemented GST has played havoc with businesses and sunk many of them.”
The Prime Minister reiterated that small businesses must register with the GST Network to take advantage of business opportunities and said the common man and the trader must benefit from this “pathbreaking” decision.
The Finance Minister had earlier this month constituted a Group of Ministers to monitor and resolve the IT challenges faced in the implementation of GST. Arun Jaitley has also set up a committee under Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia on exports to look into problems faced by the export sector and to recommend to the GST Council a suitable strategy for helping the exporters post-GST.
Is the economy in a “mess”?
Meanwhile, Former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha broke his silence on the economy and wrote a piece in The Indian Express that essentially tore the government apart on its economic policies, particularly Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s handling of the situation. Mr Sinha has predicted that the economy may not recover in time for the next Lok Sabha elections. Union Minister Jayant Sinha, who is Yashwant Sinha’s son, has also written a piece in The Times of India in which he defended the government's policy decisions. Yashwant Sinha, accused Arun Jaitley for making a “mess” of the economy and blamed it partly on what he called a hurried launch of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and notes ban. He also blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s shock move to ban high value currency last year. The BJP veteran, has pointed to the slowdown in economic growth and warned that the economy is unlikely to recover by the next national election in 2019. Stressing that the “short-sighted” decisions are being rushed by the central government, Yashwant Sinha reiterated that there is no denying that the economy has hit a rough spot. “I stand by my analysis,” he added. However, Arun Jaitley, in his caustic rejoinder to the criticism of the state of the economy, obliquely referred to Yashwant Sinha as “a job applicant at 80”. BJP
PLAYBOY FOUNDER HUGH HEFNER DIES AT 91
DEATH// Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, who helped usher in the 1960s sexual revolution with his groundbreaking men's magazine and built a business empire around his libertine lifestyle, died on Wednesday at the age of 91, Playboy Enterprises said. Hefner, once called the “prophet of pop hedonism” by Time magazine, peacefully passed away at his home, Playboy Enterprises said in a statement. Hefner was sometimes characterized as an oversexed Peter Pan as he kept a harem of young blondes that numbered as many as seven at his legendary Playboy Mansion. This was chronicled in “The Girls Next Door,” a TV reality show that aired from 2005 through 2010. He said that thanks to the impotency-fighting drug Viagra he continued exercising his libido into his 80s. “I’m never going to grow up,” Hefner said in a CNN interview when he was 82. Hefner settled down somewhat in 2012 at age 86 when he took Crystal Harris, who was 60 years younger, as his third wife.
DOKLAM PROBLEM GONE, FOR NOW
DIPLOMACY// The quarrel between India and China over a territory that China and India’s friend Bhutan both claimed as their own is over, with both sides pulling back their soldiers in the area. The quarrel may have developed into a larger war, had both sides not come to an agreement. The problem started two months ago when the Chinese began building a road in Doklam, an area in Bhutan close to the Indian and Chinese borders. India became worried as control of Doklam brought the Chinese close to the ‘chicken neck’, a narrow patch of land in northern West Bengal that is the only land connection between north-eastern India and the rest of the country. So, India stepped up to help Bhutan, leading to a stand-off between India and China. With an agreement reached between India and China, the Chinese have stopped building the road and both sides have pulled back their soldiers. Everyone who was worried about war can now heave a sigh of relief! The Doklam handling tells us that there’s indeed an effective way to talk tough issues with China, and not by giving in or speaking out, but by showing up and conversing relentlessly to find convergences.
INCREDIBLE SPEECH BY SUSHMA SWARAJ AT UN: MODI
DIPLOMACY// EAM Sushma Swaraj addressed the United Nations General Assembly last month. She spoke about several global challenges like terrorism, climate change, maritime security, unemployment, gender empowerment, nuclear proliferation and cyber security. Notably, showing mirror to Pakistan, Ms Swaraj highlighted the glaring difference between India and Pakistan. She mentioned, “On one side India is working to create IITs, IIMs, AIIMs and prepare scholars but on the other side Pakistan is creating terror institutions like LeT, JeM, HM.” DOKLAM
MYANMAR’S ROHINGAS: PEOPLE WITHOUT A NATION
ROHINGAS// Over the past few weeks, a steady stream of people have fled our neighboring country Myanmar, pouring into Bangladesh. These are the Rohingas, a group that is fleeing after fights broke out between them and Myanmar’s army. The Rohingas follow the Muslim religion and are a minority in Myanmar which is dominated by Buddhists, those who follow the religion founded by Gautama Buddha. Around a million Rohingas live in Myanmar but the country does not recognize most of them as its citizens. Hence conflicts have broken out between the country’s military and the Rohingas. In cases, other citizens of Myanmar have also turned against the Rohingas. Almost 400,000 Rohingas have fled Myanmar since August this year. The majority of them have moved across the border into Bangladesh, where many live in an area called Cox’s Bazar. To flee trouble in Myanmar, over a million Rohingas have left the country since the 1970’s. While Bangladesh has over 850,000 of them, 40,000 also live in India. India is not sure what to do with them, and the government has said that it fears that the Rohingas are a security threat to India. The government believes that some Rohingas may be plotting against India and could be looking to cause trouble in the country. It would like to send those staying in India without proper permission back to Myanmar. The fate of the Rohingas in India will be decided by the the Supreme Court.
Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is herself a winner of the Noble Peace Prize, has said that Myanmar’s military was not going after the Rohingas. Her statement has not been believed by many, and even an international body like the United Nations has accused Myanmar’s military of trying to wipe out the Rohingas. Stuck in Bangladesh, with no hope of returning home, the Rohingas, almost a million of them, have become Asia’s nationless people.
SINDHU’S “SWEET REVENGE
BADMINTON// Shuttler PV Sindhu beat Japanese player Nozomi Okuhara to win the Korea Open last Sunday. At the World Championships final a few weeks ago, the Japanese player had defeated Sindhu in the final. The Korea Open was also a hotly contested match with Sindhu finally winning 2220, 11-21, 21-18. Both players competed hard with long rallies for many points. At the World Championships, the match lasted one hour and 50 minuites, making it the second-longest women’s singles match in history. At the Korea Open too, the match lasted for an hour and 23 minutes with a key (important) point in the third game lasting 56 shots! Sindhu has become the first Indian to win the Korea Open. Sindhu told reporters after the match: “I am really very happy winning the Korea Open Super Series and I think it was a very good match. Again playing with Okuhara and definitely beating her may be a sweet revenge. Overall it was a good match and even she played very well.” Sindhu now goes on to play in the Japan Open and here’s hoping that her winning streak continues!
SARDAR SAROVAR DAM INAUGURATED
INAUGURATION// After a 54-year-long delay, the Sardar Sarovar Dam was finally inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 17. However, the prime minister’s comment that the dam faced numerous hurdles, did not go down well with the Congress, which called the inauguration an “election gimmick.” The world’s second largest dam, the Sardar Sarovar will supply water and electricity to three large states-Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. MYANMAR’S
MASSIVE EARTHQUAKE ROCKS MEXICO
CALAMITY// A massive earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter Scale, rocked central Mexico on Tuesday, September 19, . The capital city of the North American country, Mexico City, was also badly affected. The earthquake toppled many buildings, broke gas and electricity connections and caused fires. Around 330 people are feared dead. The new quake comes just two weeks after another powerful quake killed 98 people in southern Mexico. When the trembling started, millions of people fled into the streets and as buildings came down around them, the search for survivors began. A school, a supermarket and a factory were among the buildings that collapsed. Earthquakes of size 7 or above are regarded as major and are capable of causing widespread heavy damage. Another 11 aftershocks were registered after the initial quake at around lunchtime on Tuesday, the most powerful of which measured 4.9 on the Richter Scale. After a magnitude-7.1 earthquake shook Mexico last week, another earthquake struck on Saturday and caused buildings to sway in Mexico City. Saturday's earthquake registered a magnitude of 6.1 and struck the state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico, which endured the most damage. Some highways and a bridge that had been damaged in the earlier earthquake collapsed in Oaxaca. Sixty survivors have been pulled from the wreckage till now. The earthquake’s death toll (at the time of going to press) includes 19 children and six adults that were killed when the Enrique Rebsamen school on the city’s south side collapsed. Eleven children were rescued; however, news of a young girl still trapped at the school that gained attention across the nation and world proved false. Authorities stated that all students had been accounted for. The capital's mayor reports that 87 percent of the 7,649 properties examined have been deemed safe. However, roughly 1,000 are uninhabitable. Many of those who lost their homes are living with family or friends.