No old notes for fuel from Saturday, toll collection to resume

New Delhi, Dec 1 (PTI) Amid reports of misuse, government today put an end to the use of old Rs 500 notes for buying fuel at petrol pumps and purchasing tickets at airports from Saturday, while exemption for payment of toll on highways will also end tomorrow.

Earlier, these facilities and the toll exemption were to continue till December 15.

All toll plazas on National Highways have been equipped with card swipe (PoS) machines through which people can make payments using their credit or debit cards, although people will be allowed to use old 500 notes for paying toll above Rs 200 or for purchasing FASTags from midnight of December 2.

The government had last week extended the time period of use of invalid currency notes for making payment of public utility bills, buying petrol, mobile recharge, rail tickets and air tickets at airport till December 15.

However, it has decided to withdraw the facility for use of old 500 notes at airports and petrol pumps from midnight of December 2.

The ministry said that processes of production, dispatch and distribution of currency notes have been continuing and more cash is flowing into the system steadily and digital transactions have also made an impressive progress and are expected to significantly improve during the coming days.

"Now, therefore, as digital transaction options have been increasing across different sections of the economy, it has been observed that the outlets of the oil and gas marketing companies are better equipped to accept payments through digital means," it said while removing petrol pumps from exempted list.

The ministry however clarified that supply of LPG continues to be in the exempted category for the purpose of payment through old Rs 500 bank notes.

While junking old 500 and 1,000 rupee notes on November 8, the government had allowed their use for utility bill payments for 72 hours.

This deadline was extended twice. When the last one was to expire on November 24, government amended it to state that only the old 500 rupee notes could be used for payment of utility bills like electricity and water, school fees, pre- paid mobile top-up, fuel purchase and airline ticket booking.

While old notes will continue to be accepted for other utility bill payments as well as at railway ticketing counters and counters of government or public sector undertaking buses for purchase of tickets till December 15, they will be discontinued for purchase of fuel and airline tickets at airport counters.

Continued terror cannot be "new normal" in ties: India to Pak

New Delhi, Dec 1 (PTI) Talking tough in the wake of attack on army camp in Nagrota, India today made it clear that talks with Pakistan cannot take place in an atmosphere of "continued terror", which it will never accept as "new normal" in the bilateral relationship.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup also said the government is awaiting detailed information on the specifics of the Nagrota attack before it decides on the next steps.

"But I do wish to emphasise that the government takes this incident very seriously and will do what it feels is required for our national security," he asserted.

Asked if there would be bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Heart of Asia (HoA) Conference in Amritsar on December 3 and 4, he said, "We have not received any request from Pakistan for a bilateral meeting.

"India has always been open to talks but obviously it cannot be that talks take place in an atmosphere of continued terrorism. India will never accept continued terrorism as the new normal in the bilateral relationship," Swarup said.

India's sharp remarks come two days ahead of the conference where Pakistan will be represented by Sartaj Aziz, Foreign Affairs Advisor to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Earlier, Pakistani media reports had quoted officials as having said there would not be a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the HoA meet on Afghanistan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani will jointly inaugurate the ministerial deliberations on Sunday where the Indian delegation will be led by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the absence of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who is ill.

Hitting out at Pakistan, Swarup said Pakistan is a country which has a long record of carrying out cross border terrorism which it regards as an instrument of state policy and which puts Islamabad at odds with the rest of the international community.

On the criticism that the attacks increased after the surgical strikes, he said, "It was our assessment at that point of time that there was an imminent threat based on hard intelligence about the location of armed terrorists who were ready to infiltrate from across the LoC and carry out terrorist activities on our side.

"This imminent threat was successfully neutralised through the surgical strikes. We should not look only at what happened but also at what did not happen, what was prevented through successful neutralisation of terrorists." 

On the appointment of Pakistan's new army chief, he said it is an internal matter of Pakistan. India will judge Pakistan by its behaviour and its track record and not by change of persons, he added.

Infra sector growth jumps to 6-month high of 6.6 pc in Oct

New Delhi, Nov 30 (PTI) Infrastructure sector recorded a growth rate of 6.6 per cent in October -- the highest in last six months -- on the back of impressive performance by steel and refinery products.

However, growth rate of power generation, fertiliser production and cement output fell considerably on year-on-year basis. Coal production continued to fall for the third straight month.

The growth rate of eight infrastructure sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity -- was 3.8 per cent in October 2015. It was 5 per cent in September 2016.

The core sectors, which contribute 38 per cent to the total industrial production, expanded by 4.9 per cent in April-October compared to 2.8 per cent growth in the similar period of last financial year.

As per the official data released today, steel production jumped 16.9 per cent in October against contraction of 5.5 per cent in the year-ago period.

The output of refinery products soared by 15.1 per cent in October. The sector had declined by 4.4 per cent in October last year.

Growth in fertiliser and electricity generation was at 0.8 per cent and 2.8 per cent, respectively, in October 2016, against 16.8 percent and 13.8 per cent, respectively in October 2015.

Coal production declined by 1.6 per cent in October as against a growth of 6.6 per cent in the year-ago period.

Natural gas and crude oil output during October fell by 1.4 per cent and 3.2 per cent, respectively.

National anthem must be played before screening of films: SC

New Delhi, Nov 30 (PTI) The Supreme Court today directed that cinema halls across the country must play the national anthem before the screening of a film and people should stand up as a mark of respect.

The court also directed that the national flag should be shown on screen when the anthem is played.

"People must feel this is my country and this is my motherland," a bench of justices Dipak Misra and Amitava Roy said while stressing that it is the duty of every citizen of the country to show respect to the national anthem and the flag.

"At the root of protocol for national anthem, is respect for national identity, integrity and constitutional patriotism," the bench said while directing the Centre that the order should be given effect in a week's time and be circulated to all States and Union Territories through chief secretaries.

It also said no person should take commercial benefits by playing the anthem and that it should not be dramatised.

The apex court said the anthem should not be printed or displayed on undesirable objects, and also barred it from being played on variety shows and its abridged version anywhere.

Directing that its order be shown in electronic and print media and be followed in letter and spirit, the court said, "Time has come when people should feel they live in a nation" and "even in Shastras, nationalism was accepted."

The court's directions came on a PIL filed by Shyam Narayan Chouksey seeking directions that the national anthem should be played in cinema halls across the country before a film begins and proper norms and protocol be fixed regarding its playing and singing at official functions and the programmes where constitutional dignitaries are present.

The apex court had last month issued notice to the Centre asking it to specify what would constitute disrespect to the national anthem.

PMO to notify CMs'' panel on making India less-cash economy

New Delhi, Nov 29 (PTI) Seeking to neutralise political turmoil over demonetisation within and outside Parliament, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is likely to shortly notify a committee of chief ministers to suggest ways to make India a less-cash economy.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has already spoken to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to head the chief ministers' panel, for which Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik are also being co-opted.

Sources said Jaitley had spoken to all the three chief ministers. Incidentally, the three were among the first to back Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement of junking old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.

The panel, which will be notified by the PMO, will also review the ground-level situation following the decision to demonetise high-value currency and suggest possible ways to ease hardships and inconvenience.

Besides assessing the public impact, it is to come up with a road map for a less-cash economy.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan would also be part of the committee. However, there is no decision on who will be picked from Congress and Left-ruled states.

The sources said names of chief ministers of Puducherry and Uttarakhand, V Narayanasamy and Harish Rawat, respectively, have been mooted from among the Congress fold.

The final call on the issue will have to be taken by the party, they said, adding that Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar is also believed to be in the reckoning from among Left states.

While the demonetisation issue has rocked Parliament for past several days, the opposition parties organised nation-wide protest against the issue on Monday.

Pay 50% tax on unaccounted deposits, or 85% if caught: Govt

New Delhi, Nov 28 (PTI) Providing yet another opportunity to black money holders to legalise their wealth, government has proposed to tax at 50 per cent the unaccounted demonetised cash that is disclosed voluntarily till December 30, after which a steep up to 85 per cent tax and penalty will be levied on undisclosed wealth that is discovered by authorities.

The Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016, introduced on Monday in the Lok Sabha by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, nearly three weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi banned high denomination currency notes, also provides for immunity from being questioned on the source of funds.

It amends the Income Tax Act to also provide for black money declarants having to mandatorily park 25 per cent of that wealth in zero-interest, four-year-no-withdrawal scheme.

Introduced amid opposition uproar over hardships caused by demonetisation, the Bill proposes a Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana 2016 wherein the unaccounted, now banned 500 and 1000 rupee notes, deposited in banks between November 10 and December 30, will be taxed at 30 per cent plus a 10 per cent penalty. A 33 per cent surcharge on the tax will take the total levy to 50 per cent.

Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia told the media later that "the disclosures in PMGKY scheme will ensure that no questions will be asked about the source of fund. It would ensure immunity from Wealth Tax, civil laws and other taxation laws.

But there is no immunity from FEMA, PMLA, Narcotics, and Black Money Act".

The Bill proposes to amend Section 115BBE of the Income Tax Act to provide for a steep 60 per cent tax and a 25 per cent surcharge on it (total 75 per cent) for black money holders who choose to disclose after PMGKY ends.

Another section inserted provides for an additional 10 per cent penalty on being established that the undeclared wealth is unaccounted or black money, taking the total incidence of levies to 85 per cent.

The scheme comes within two months of the close of domestic black money disclosure scheme wherein the total incidence of tax was 45 per cent. A total of Rs 65,250 crore in black money was brought to book by the close of the scheme on September 30.

"We have seen that some people were trying to convert black money to black again by using new currency," Adhia said adding that the provision has been amended to bring 75-85 per cent tax.

It proposes to make penalty provisions for wealth found during search and seizures more stringent by raising the fines to 30 per cent of the income discovered which is admitted by the assessee and taxes are paid.

This compares to levy of 10 per cent in such cases income admitted, returned and taxes paid and 20 per cent where income is not admitted but taxes are paid. In all other cases the levy remains at 60 per cent.

The current provisions of penalty on under-reporting of income at 50 per cent of the tax, and misreporting (200 per cent of tax) will remain and no changes are being made to them.

Trump claims 'millions voted illegally' cost him popular vote

Washington, Nov 28 (PTI) In an unprecedented move, US President-elect Donald Trump today alleged that "millions of people" voted illegally for Hillary Clinton that prevented him from winning the popular vote too, threatening a truce between them after their bitter White House race.

Trump, who offered no evidence for his claims, said that he would have won the popular votes in the US general election "if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally".

"In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally," Trump said in a first of the series of tweets.

He alleged that serious voter fraud were committed in three States of Virginia, New Hampshire and California where he lost.

The allegation by Trump, who won the required votes in the Electoral College to secure the presidency, comes as Democratic rival Hillary Clinton's lead in the popular vote over Trump has surpassed 2.0 million votes and is expected to grow to more than 2.5 million as ballots in populous states such as California continue to be tallied.

Clinton has 232 electoral college votes in her kitty as against 270 required to be declared as elected.

The Republican billionaire's allegations came as steps are being taken towards recounting of votes in the swing state of Wisconsin, which Trump won.

Earlier he described an impending recount of votes in Wisconsin as a "scam" and said the results of the presidential election should be respected instead of being challenged or "abused".

"It would have been much easier for me to win the so-called popular vote than the Electoral College in that I would only campaign in 3 or 4- - states instead of the 15 states that I visited. I would have won even more easily and convincingly (but smaller states are forgotten)!" Trump said in another tweet.

Soon he fired another tweet alleging voters fraud in three States. "Serious voter fraud in Virginia, New Hampshire and California - so why isn't the media reporting on this? Serious bias - big problem!" Trump said. .

KLF chief nabbed hours after escape from Punjab jail

New Delhi, Nov 28 (PTI) In a swift operation, chief of Khalistan Liberation Front militant outfit Harminder Singh Mintoo was arrested here last night within hours of his escape from Nabha jail in Punjab, with Delhi Police saying he was planning to flee abroad, to Malaysia or Germany.

However, high alert continued in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi as about 12 armed dreaded fugitives are still at large.

Two cars used by them in the escape have been found in Haryana's Kaithal district.

48-year-old Mintoo was nabbed from Nizamuddin railway station's parking area, marking the second arrest in the sensational jailbreak case of yesterday morning in which 8 people stormed the prison to free six inmates -- two militants and four dreaded criminals.

Earlier, Parminder alias Penda was arrested yesterday in Shamli district of Uttar Pradesh, few hours after the jailbreak.

Mintoo, accused in 10 terror cases, was in touch with terror groups in Pakistan, Punjab Director General of Police Suresh Arora said.

Harminder was carrying a sophisticated semi-automatic pistol along with six live cartridges when he was arrested, Arvind Deep, Special Commissioner of Delhi Police's Special Cell, told reporters here today.

"He had bought a (train) ticket for Panvel and from there he had plans to go to Mumbai and then to Goa. He had good contacts in Goa since he had stayed there for 18 years from 1989 to 2007," Deep said while giving details of the arrest effected nearly 200 km from the scene of the crime.

Finally, Harminder planned to flee to Germany or Malaysia, where he had good contacts since he had stayed there, police sources said.

He was produced before a court here which sent him to seven days' police custody.

During interrogation, Harminder said the jailbreak was under planning for the last six months and its masterminds and executors were Gurpreet Singh Sekhon and Harjinder Singh who are members of a criminal gang, said DCP (Special Cell) P S Kushwah. .

SBI expects RBI nod on merger of associate banks soon

New Delhi, Nov 27 (PTI) State Bank of India (SBI) expects to soon receive RBI's approval for the detailed merger plan of its associate banks.

The detailed merger plan, including financial implications, HR and asset-liability issues are being vetted by the RBI, sources said, adding that the approval from the central bank is expected anytime soon.

The scheme of acquisition of all five associates along with the Report of the Expert Committee have been submitted to RBI for approval, sources said.

Upon approval, RBI will submit the scheme of acquisition as approved by it to the Government of India for approval and issue of order of acquisition.

Meanwhile, SBI has started the process of change of account number due to proposed merger of associate banks.

Earlier this year, the government cleared the proposal to merge SBI with its five associate banks -- State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Hyderabad -- and the new Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB).

In August, SBI had said that all its associate banks along with BMB will be merged into it and that will add an additional Rs 8 lakh crore to its assets, making it a banking behemoth with total assets of Rs 30 lakh crore, an increase of about 36 per cent.

With the merger of all the five associates and BMB, SBI will become a global-sized bank and could compete with the largest in the world, with 22,500 branches and 58,000 ATMs. It will have over 50 crore customers.

SBI has close to 16,500 branches, including 191 foreign offices spread across 36 countries.

SBI has already merged two of its associates -- State Bank of Saurashtra in 2008 and State Bank of Indore in 2010 -- with itself.

Last week, SBI Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya said that the merger of associate banks with SBI itself is on track and remains unaffected by the demonetisation move.

Sindhu enters semis, Saina bows out of Hong Kong Super Series

Kowloon (Hong Kong), Nov 25 (PTI) Olympic silver-medallist P V Sindhu entered the semifinals of the Hong Kong Super Series after posting a hard-fought victory over Singapore's Xiaoyu Liang even as Saina Nehwal bowed out here today.

Had the former World No. 1 and London Olympics bronze medallist Saina won her match, she would have met Sindhu in an all Indian battle in the semifinals.

The only time Saina and Sindhu clashed at the international circuit was at the 2014 India Grand Prix gold tournament and it was the senior shuttler who had the last laugh in a two-game match.

Earlier today, Sindhu, who clinched the China Open last week, staved off a stiff challenge from Xiaoyu Liang 21-17 21-23 21-18 in a quarterfinal match that lasted an hour and 19 minutes at the Hong Kong Coliseum.

Fifth-seeded Saina, meanwhile, failed to cross the hurdle as she was stunned by unseeded local shuttler Cheung Ngan Yi 8-21 21-18 19-21 in a contest that lasted an hour and 11 minutes. The Indian had earlier beaten Cheung Ngan Yi at the World Championships last year.

In the latest BWF rankings, Sindhu has jumped two places, courtesy her China Open win, to grab the ninth spot, while Saina, who is on a comeback trail after recovering from a serious injury, slipped five places to 11th, owing to her first round exit at the same event.

In the Destinational Dubai ranking for the BWF Super Series Final, Sindhu (38,490) is ahead of Saina (38,080) by a few points.

Hence, when the rankings come out next week, Sindhu is likely to qualify for the prestigious tournament, to be held next month.