Current Events :
The constitutional offices of the lieutenant governors in Delhi and Puducherry are embroiled in a bitter and very public spat with the elected state governments. While the Supreme Court (SC) had to step in to resolve the Delhi turf war between L-G An…
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Chandigarh, September 23
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has urged the Centre for expeditious resolution of the issue of opening up of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor for preparedness of 550th birth anniversary of Sikhism’s founder Guru Nanak Dev.
Singh said that being a bilateral issue, this needed an active engagement of both India and Pakistan for its resolution.
Punjab CM said he had personally met the prime minister and the external affairs minister and requested them to take up the issue with Pakistan.
Speaking with reporters on Sunday after the ruling Congress swept the zila parishad and panchayat samiti polls, Singh said that he had even raised the issue during his visit to the neighbouring country during his previous stint as Punjab chief minister (2002-07).
“The issue is of enormous religious significance for the Sikh sangat,” he added.
Singh recalled that his grandfather, late Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, of the erstwhile Patiala State, had donated Rs 1.35 lakh to save the historic gurudwara of Sri Kartarpur Sahib from ravage by the Ravi river waters during the 1920s.
The chief minister, in response to a question, said his government was fully geared to commemorate the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of the first Sikh Guru.
The executive committee set up to monitor the progress of the commemoration of this mega event had already finalised the development works to be executed in the historic towns of Sultanpur Lodhi and Dera Baba Nanak.
Further, he said that on his request, the Centre had formed a national committee chaired by the Union Home Minister.
Earlier on Tuesday, Punjab Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu claimed that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has assured him of writing to the Pakistan government on opening up of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor.
Describing the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara as Sikhs’ “own Mecca”, Sidhu had said it is the responsibility of the Indian government to make a formal request for opening of the Kartarpur corridor.
Sidhu, who had gone to Pakistan in August to attend the oath taking ceremony of his friend Imran Khan as Pakistan’s prime Minister, had said the neighbouring country had already shown a “positive intent” in this regard. – PTI
New Delhi: The due date for filing of income tax return (ITR) for the financial year 2017-18 (assessment year 2018-19) is 31 July 2018. In a rush to meet the deadline, many taxpayers might end up making mistakes which might fetch them a notice from income tax authorities. “Though mistakes committed in ITR filing can be rectified by filing revised return, it would require extra time and efforts,” said Vishal Raheja, assistant manager at Taxmann, an online publisher on taxation and corporate laws.
Income tax return for the assessment year 2018-19 can be revised by 31 March 2019.
The income tax department has notified seven ITR forms for filing of return for FY 2017-18. ITR filing process starts from choosing the correct form, which depends on the nature of income and the status of the taxpayers. Some of the common mistakes that you should avoid committing during ITR filing:
(1) “Don’t presume that if tax has already been paid, you don’t need to file the return,” says Vishal Raheja of Taxmann. If you are resident in India, irrespective of tax liability, you have to file ITR if taxable income exceeds basic exemption limit, which is ₹ 3 lakh for senior citizens (age above 60 years), ₹ 5 lakh for super-senior citizens (above 80 years) and ₹ 2.5 lakh for all other individual taxpayers.
(2) If you choose the wrong ITR form, you may not report the complete information and the income tax department can issue a notice for under-reporting income.
3) However small the income may be, you should report it in our ITR, say tax experts. “Income tax department gets regular information from banks and financial institutions about your transactions which are reconciled with your ITR. If some tax has been deducted from your income but you don’t report the corresponding income in ITR, you might get a notice,” says Raheja.
(4) If you have changed jobs during the year, you have to report income earned from all the employers in your tax return. Further, “if any income of your minor child or spouse is required to be clubbed with your income then you have to report it,” he adds.
(5) Tax experts warn against claiming deductions in ITR for which you are not eligible for. “Some taxpayers claim fake deductions or inflate existing deductions to reduce their income tax liability or to claim refunds,” says Raheja.
(6) A taxpayer should also ensure that ITR data is in sync with that of Form 26AS. In case of any discrepancy, the income tax department could issue notice, seeking explanation for discrepancies in the figures of income or TDS appearing in Form 26AS and income tax return. Form 26AS is basically a consolidated tax credit statement that has all details of various taxes deducted on your income at source. Form 26AS can be accessed from the tax department’s website.
(7) If you are filing ITR belatedly, then make sure that pay late filing fees before filing of ITR, say tax experts. “A late filing fees of ₹ 5,000 shall be charged if the return is filed between 01.08.2018 and 31.12.2018. The fees shall be ₹ 10,000 if return is filed between 01.01.2019 and 31.03.2019. The late filing shall be ₹ 1,000 for small taxpayers whose taxable income is up to ₹ 5 lakh,” says Raheja.
(8) If you fail to either e-verify your ITR or post it to Centralized Processing Centre (CPC) of the income tax department in Bengaluru, return will be treated as an invalid return. While filing ITR you are asked to digitally sign or e-verify it. In case, you do not e-verify your return, you can sign the acknowledgement copy of ITR and post it to CPC, Bangaluru. The acknowledgement has to be sent within 120 days of filing of the return.
THEY ARE FORCED TO KEEP THEIR VIEWS TO THEMSELVES AND AWAY FROM OLDER OFFICERS PROTECTING THE STATUS QUO
WASHINGTON: A younger generation of Pakistan Army officers tends to consider home-grown terrorists, an enemy they have personally fought, a more significant threat than India, according to a new study by an elite Pakistani training school for senior officers who go on to man the upper echelons of the force.
They are forced to keep their views to themselves though, to private dinner parties and smaller conversations, and away from older officers, who seek to enforce the traditional anti-India narrative to safeguard and perpetuate their own legacy, the study says.
The Quetta Experience, written by retired US Army colonel David O Smith, an alumnus of the Command and Staff College in Quetta, and published by the Washington-based Wilson Center, offers an inside look at Pakistan’s middle-level and senior officers, their thoughts, attitudes and angst as expressed in unguarded moments to or around their American classmates.
Smith interviewed US Army officers who attended the Quetta institution, which counts Indian Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw among its alumni, under a long-term US programme from 1977 to 2014, on what they saw there and heard from Pakistani classmates, the directing staff and faculty.
The study was completed in 2014 but a decision was taken then not to distribute it, fearing adverse impact on US Army officers serving at the Quetta facility. The US cancelled the programme in 2016 and Smith felt confident enough to publish it after he was told in late 2017 that it would not be resumed.
In the section on India, Smith charts changing attitudes of Pakistani officers based on accounts of their American classmates going back to 1977.
One US student heard a Pakistani officer describe India to his child as “evil”, another officer recalled widely held contempt for the Hindu religion. But changes were under way. And so it stayed for most of the 1980s.
According to the report, a US student from the 20092010 batch noted a “generational divide” between old and long-time Pakistani officers clinging to their longheld anti-India bias and the young crop of officers who were the “complete opposite”.
Srinagar, July 9
Northern Command chief Lt Gen Ranbir Singh arrived in Srinagar on a three-day visit to review the security scenario in the Kashmir valley.He was briefed by Chinar Corps chief Lt Gen AK Bhatt at Badamibagh Cantonment on the overall security situation and major operational, logistical and administrative aspects, an Army statement said. The Army commander also chaired a key security review meeting of the core group which was attended by senior officials from the Army, police, CRPF and other security agencies. — TNS
Maj-Gen Ashok K Mehta (retd)
former GOC in IPKF, Sri Lanka
Like in Nepal, India is competing with China to preserve its increasingly questionable strategic superiority in Sri Lanka. The ruling government’s heart is not with China. But the weight of the carry-over Rajapaksa debt makes it lean towards Beijing.With the outcome of the next set of central and provincial elections uncertain but advantage the Rajapaksas, India, like Nepal, has decided to distribute its eggs in more than one basket. BJP MP and trouble-shooter Subramanian Swamy, a congenital LTTE baiter, is a long-time friend and ally of the Rajapaksas and was the Indian VVIP in Colombo during their rule. Mahinda will deliver a talk on India-Sri Lanka relations: The way ahead this week at Delhi — the fixture an alibi for meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and NSA Ajit Doval who played a key role in Mahinda losing the elections in 2015 in his third crack at the job. While he has publicly accused India of regime change, he has kept open back channels. India will have to play its cards extra carefully this time.
During the 2016 protest rally, the government was united, had a two-thirds majority and was seen to be acting against the corruption of the former regime, alleged human rights violations and constitutional reforms to settle the ethnic conflict. Although the government has established fast-track courts to deal with corruption and (Gotabaya has been banned from foreign travel by court) and Office of Missing Persons which has given its preliminary report recommending the President suspend military and police officers implicated in disappearances during the war, it is unlikely the government will take any action against them as the military has been placed by the JO on a pedestal. It would be treasonous to act against soldiers who bequeathed glorious victory.President Maithripala Sirisena has ruled out any early presidential poll. A new president has to be in place before January 9, 2020. My conversations with political pundits in Colombo suggested that a common candidate like in 2014-15 of the SLFP and UNP is highly unlikely now but there are still 16 months to go for elections. Rajapaksa’s candidature for a third term after the 19th amendment which put a bar on it will be tested in court for its retrospective application. Meanwhile, some scenarios are being tossed around.
First scenario
A three-way contest between Sirisena, Wickremesinghe and a JO candidate — Mahinda or Gotabaya, even Namal or a dark horse. Both Maithripala and Ranil want to become president. As neither is a likely winner on his own (though Ranil nearly made it in 2005, but for the Tamil vote), it could be a common candidate other than these two. Many names are being mentioned, among them Sajith Premadasa, son of Premadasa, former president of the UNP.
Second scenario
Repeat of 2014-15: A common candidate of the SLFP and UNP versus JO
Third scenario
The JO and SLFP rump getting together, ie the SLFP and Rajapaksa’s Sri Lanka People’s Party (SLPP) plus the dissident SLFPers all unite against the UNP. In other words, Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithripala Sirisena re-unite against Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Fourth scenario
Gotabhaya for president and Mahinda as prime minister and Ranil for president with Maithripala Sirisena for PM. Most unlikely.
If Mahinda Rajapaksa is allowed a third term, there is nothing to prevent former president Chandrika Kumaratunga who glued together the grand unity between Maithripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickremesinghe to put in her claim. She will be backed by the SLFP rump and many from the Mahinda lot. The story doing the rounds is that Mahinda does not want Gota to become president as he will not provide space for the rest of the Rajapaksa clan. Colombo’s grapevine also suggested that the US Ambassador in Sri Lanka had told Mahinda that Gota is not suitable presidential material. For any of the Rajapaksas to win, the party will require 70 per cent of the Sinhalese vote. At present, the line-up for the next president is complex and confused.
Besides the domestic factors, there is China which will be inclined towards a known Rajapaksa as opposed to a relatively less familiar Wickremesinghe or Sirisena. Similarly, the US and India could jointly back the same horse, but who, it is difficult to tell. Nobody in Colombo has the name of the winning horse. Nor is anyone prepared to guess.
The Indian Army has been pressing for fast-tracking the procurement. (File)
Sources said the nine-member delegation of experts will interact with leading manufacturers of assault rifles and close quarter battle carbines which are being procured for the Indian Army.
“The empowered committee for procurement of the weapons will hold meetings with leading manufacturers of these weapons and evaluate qualities of their rifles and carbines,” said a source.
In February, the defence ministry had approved purchase of 7.40 lakh assault rifles to bolster the strength of the armed forces.
In June last year, the Army had kick-started the initial process to procure around 44,600 carbines, nearly eight months after a tender for it was retracted.
Around half a dozen firms including a few global arms manufacturers had responded to the RFI.
In the last few months, the Defence Ministry has fast tracked procurement of rifles, carbines and LMGs to equip the soldiers on the border with modern and more effective equipment.
The Indian Army has been pressing for fast-tracking the procurement of various weapons systems considering the evolving security threats including along India’s borders with Pakistan and China.
PS Randhawa
I wonder where the soldier has gone whom I saw in my childhood? In the school in my village, in the 1960s and ’70s, our classroom walls adorned huge posters of Subedar Joginder Singh, Major Somnath Sharma, Major Dhan Singh Thapa and other Param Vir Chakra awardees. That was the time when the wars of 1962, 1965 and 1971 had been fought. Our village soldiers who returned from the front narrated numerous tales of bravery. Hav Karam Singh, who was in the artillery and had a penchant for writing Punjabi poems, would recite them at the village gurdwara — Kadh-kadh topan chaldiyan (guns go blazing boom boom). A soldier coming on leave was revered and held in very high esteem. In any congregation, he was offered a place of pride. Old soldiers were part of village folklore. Our language books had poems eulogising the bravery of soldiers. I still remember a poem, ‘Wagan chhad de hanjhuan waliye ne pair dharan de mainu raqab utte, mere desh te bani e bheed bhaari tut paye ne wairy Punjab utte’ (O my bride with tearful looks, allow me to leave for war as the enemy has attacked my country and Punjab front has got activated). A number of stories of war heros were part of textbooks. Ballads of war and poems about soldiers featured predominantly in the Saturday Bal Sabha. No school function was complete without one or two items praising the soldiers and the Army. A soldier formed an important part of Punjab’s culture. A number of folk songs sung by women on weddings were about longings of brides for the soldier gone to war; a sample: ‘Pehli gaddi aave mera Hauldar ve” (May my Havildar come back in the first available train). Songs played on All India Radio such as, ‘Mahi ve lai ke chhuttian mahine dian aa” (O my beloved come home on leave for a month) and ‘Mahi aave jang jit ke, te main randion suhagan hovan’ (May my beloved come back after winning the war and I may become a bride again) are still fresh in my memory. Soldiering was the most revered profession in Punjab. Almost all the sportsmen of national and international fame were from the Army. Be it hockey, athletics, boxing, wrestling or any other sport; almost all were predominantly represented by soldiers. Most of the players preferred to join the Army. But now everything has changed. Heroes are synonymous only with films. A soldier does not find a place in Punjabi culture. Folk songs eulogising him are long forgotten. One hardly finds a chapter on brave soldiers in any textbook. Sportsmen do not join the Army. Veterans do not find a respectable place even in village meetings due to politics. That soldier of my childhood days is lost.
Shubhadeep Choudhury
Tribune News Service
Kolkata, June 28
Disappearance of 10 BSF jawans from a special train heading for Jammu is a case of French leave taken by the jawans, a BSF spokesperson here said.Personnel from the 83rd battalion of the BSF boarded the special train on Tuesday from a station in Murshidabad district of West Bengal. Their absence was first noticed at the Mughalsarai junction on Wednesday evening. The jawans found absent are believed to have disappeared from the train between Bardhaman station of West Bengal and Dhanbad in Jharkhand.“In all likelihood the jawans are from the Jharkhand area and they went to their respective homes,” RP Jaswal, DIG, posted in the BSF’s South Bengal Frontier Headquarters here, said.Special trains meant for security forces take a long time to reach their destinations. The 10 BSF jawans who disembarked en route are expected to reach Jammu on their own and report for duty. However, they will face disciplinary action for their unauthorised absence.A complaint has been filed with the Government Railway Police in Mughalsarai station, known now as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Nagar railway station, saying the jawans have gone “absent without leave”.Filing police complaint under such circumstances is routine, the DIG said.
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, June 28
Accusing the BJP government of playing politics on the blood of soldiers, the Congress on Thursday said the sacrifice of soldiers was a matter of pride, not politics.Reacting to the release of a video on the September 2016 surgical strikes on terrorist launch pads in Pakistan, the Congress said the “BJP was in a habit of using the valour of Army personnel for electoral benefits”.“Our forces have given a befitting reply to every challenge to India’s integrity, both internal and external. Decisive demolition of the terror infrastructure has been a hallmark of the untiring mettle of our armed forces. Conducting strategic ‘surgical strikes’ with utmost precision and effective penetration at different times in last two decades has been characteristic of the grit and determination of our forces,” Randeep Surjewala said, seeking to underscore the point that these strikes are not new.To drive home his point, Surjewala cited the following surgical strikes of the past – January 21, 2000 (Nadala Enclave across the Neelam River); September 18, 2003 (Baroh Sector, Poonch); June 19, 2008 (Bhattal Sector, Poonch); Aug 30 to September 1, 2011 (Sharda Sector, across Neelam River Valley in Kel); January 6, 2013 (Sawan Patra Checkpost); July 27, 28, 2013 (Nazapir Sector); August 6, 2013 (Neelam Valley); January 14, 2014 and September 28, 29 2016.The Congress said the BJP “shamelessly politicised the 2016 surgical strikes for the March 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections and went to the extent of organising “samman samaroh” of then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in Agra besides running a high voltage publicity campaign by pasting posters and hoardings giving credit of the strikes to the PM”.“BJP trashed every tradition of restraint by belligerent chest thumping to claim credit of surgical strike with an eye on political and electoral gain. BJP president Amit Shah went to the extent of claiming in October 2016 that the Army had crossed the LoC for the first time in 68 years,” Surjewala said, asking the BJP to restore benefits to Army personnel that it had cut over the past, including rations.Surjewala also drew attention of the BJP to the poor defence preparedness due to cuts in defence Budget allocations.
