GST Bill: Additional 1% tax gone but rate not to be fixed in Constitution.

To bring the Congress on board the Goods and Services Tax (GST) reform, the government Wednesday cleared changes in the Constitutional Amendment Bill including doing away with the additional 1 per cent tax by producing states and compensating all states for any revenue loss in the first five years post the GST rollout.

Government sources said the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, decided not to accede to the main Congress demand of specifying the GST rate in the Constitution itself. It is likely to be part of the GST Bill that will be legislated separately by both the Centre and states.

The move by the Centre to step up the compensation package comes in the wake of a concerted demand by states at Tuesday’s meeting of the empowered committee of state finance ministers, where a majority of states sought changes in the wording of the Bill to effectively guarantee full compensation for five years against any loss of revenue.

Sources said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had a short discussion Wednesday with Congress Deputy Leader in Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma, and will likely offer Thursday a draft of the changes to the Constitutional Amendment Bill to senior Congress leaders. A meeting with CPM’s Sitaram Yechury and leaders of some other political parties is also slated.

The Congress demand for further strengthening of the grievance redressal mechanism was also discussed by the Cabinet, government sources said. The Opposition party wanted ‘stronger’ language in Article 279A (11) of the Bill that relates to the mechanism that the Goods and Services Tax Council would adopt for dispute resolution. 

“The party will go through the draft with a fine-tooth comb tomorrow. We are inching towards a resolution,” a Congress leader told The Indian Express.

The amendments were taken up by the Cabinet after Jaitley assured the state finance ministers to include in the Bill the mechanism of compensating states for all the loss of revenue for five years.

While the select committee of Rajya Sabha had in its report recommended 100 per cent compensation for probable loss of revenue for five years, the Bill provides that the Centre will give 100 per cent compensation to states for first three years, 75 per cent and 50 per cent for the next two years.

With the amendments in place, the Centre will constitutionally guarantee the states against any revenue loss from the transition to GST on account of subsuming of all indirect levies in the first five years of the introduction of the new tax regime. Hiking the compensation formula is likely to impact the financials of the Union government in the fourth and fifth years post the GST rollout.

The government will likely move the amendments to the Bill in Rajya Sabha after Jaitley meets the leaders of the Congress and other parties, including the Left, in the Upper House to forge a consensus. Once it is cleared in Rajya Sabha, the government will table the amended Bill again in Lok Sabha.

COURTESY:http://indianexpress.com/

Prabhudeva Tamannaah starrer "DEVI"

Initially, the makers of director Vijay’s upcoming horror film had the title Devi(L) but now for tax exemption, they have changed it to Devi. The latest update is that the film’s TN distributor Aaura Cinemas have officially announced that they are planning to release Devi on September 9 (9-9-2016) Prabhu Deva and Tamannaah will be seen playing the lead roles in the film while Soon Sood plays the baddie. Other than these there actors, Amy Jackson and Farah Khan have been roped in for a special cameo in the film, which has cinematography by Manush Nandan of Manmathan Ambu fame. GV Prakash Kumar, Sajid Wajid and Vishal have composed all the songs in Devi while Gopi Sundar is taking care of the background score. 

COURTESY: http://www.sify.com/movies/prabhu-deva-tamannaah-starrer-devi-on-sep-9-news-tamil-qh0pwqjbiabia.html

Kabali director Pa Ranjith: Rajinikanth approved politics, dialogue, rhetoric in film

As per the latest reports Kabali has made more than Rs 200 crore from ticket sales and is set to make history in Tamil cinema. But director Pa Ranjith is his usual calm self when you chat with him about the film and its success. In this exclusive interview with Firstpost, he talks about the film, the controversies around it and more:

This is not the usual Rajinikanth film. Were you very nervous before the release of Kabali?

Yes, I was. Everyone’s expectations were high and people expected the film to be like Baasha. And I knew it wasn’t. The day it released and people saw the film, I was relaxed.

Pa Ranjith. Image from YouTube

There were negative reviews of the film.

Only some were negative. Most reviews were positive and people have appreciated the film. The movie is running houseful in many theatres and the people are going with their families to watch the film. They like it.

When you wrote the script initially was it about the oppression of a community — in this case Tamils in Malaysia?

Yes. The script I gave Rajini sir was the one which was made into the film. In fact, Rajini sir liked the script and it was after his approval that the entire project came together. All the politics, dialogues and rhetoric in the film had his approval. Rajini sir liked the film.

There was a controversy after the release that you were referring to the Dalits in the film.

My film does not refer to any particular caste or community — it only speaks about people who are marginalised and oppressed. This can be about any caste and community. I wanted to raise an important issue and I did it through this film.

Do you think this particular issue is important right now?

Yes, I do. Look at all the incidents happening around you. Look at what’s happening in society. Don’t you think this is an important issue that needs to be spoken about? Where is the equality in society? There has to be change in society and people have to talk about these issues.

Why did you cast Bollywood actress Radhika Apte for the role instead of a Tamil actress?

I like Radhika Apte and she is talented. Considering it was Rajini sir’s film I could have cast any top Bollywood actress for this role. But the role required someone who is a talented actress. And I felt she was apt for the role. But Dhansika and Riythvika are Tamil actresses.

Winston Chao was not a strong villain the film. Your take.

The role needed a Chinese actor and we cast him with the belief that he would be ideal. But I take your feedback.

Rajinikanth in and as Kabali

Your third film was with Rajinikanth and it’s a big hit. People’s expectations from you have sky-rocketed.

I will continue to make the kind of films I believe in. It is only when you start looking at people’s expectations and tweaking your stories and scripts according to that that things will go wrong. Whether it was Attakathi or Madras or Kabali, I wrote scripts that I believed in. I haven’t changed my thoughts or style according to expectations. And I will continue the same way.

The fact that Rajinikanth’s fans didn’t get tickets on the first day of release was an issue.

Yes, when I went to Kasi theatre to watch the film on the first day there were fans who stopped me outside the theatre and asked me for tickets. I told them I myself don’t have tickets!

You have worked with music director Santhosh Narayanan for all your films. Is he going to be part of your next film too?

Yes, he will. He will be on this journey with me. We are good friends.

When are you starting your next project with Suriya?

I need to first look at all the feedback and see how and if I can improve my films. Post-that I will start working on my script. The story has not been finalised yet.

COURTESY:http://www.firstpost.com/

TAMILNADU : 250 Dalit families in Tamil Nadu look to Islam

Kept out  temples, 250 Dalit families in Tamil Nadu look to Islam

At Pazhangkallimedu village in Nagapattinam district, 180 Dalit families have been denied permission by the Hindus to perform rituals during the temple festival.

Kept out of local temples, 250 Hindu Dalit families from two Tamil Nadu villages, Pazhangkallimedu and Nagapalli, say they are planning to convert to Islam.

At Pazhangkallimedu village in Nagapattinam district, 180 Dalit families say they want to be able to perform rituals on one day during the five-day annual temple festival. But with caste Hindus allegedly refusing them permission, six Dalit Hindus from the village have already embraced Islam

.

Local residents said volunteers of the Tamil Nadu Towheed Jamaat (TNTJ) distributed copies of the Quran in the village, while a Christian missionary also approached them. Meanwhile, leaders of outfits such as the Hindu Munnani and the Hindu Makkal Katchi have been urging them not to take the step and have been mediating between Dalit families and caste Hindus.

The coastal village of Pazhangkallimedu has about 400 families, 180 of them Dalits. Caste Hindus here mostly belong to the Pillai community, traditionally comprising landlords.

Senthil Kumar, a leader of the Dalit party, VCK, who is leading the protests, said the village youth suggested converting to Islam after the administration and the police failed to ensure worship rights for them in Bhadra Kaliamman temple.

“We want to perform Mandagapadi, or lead the rituals, on one of the five days of the annual temple festival. But we are denied that right. My parents and grandparents were slaves. I wish my generation does not have to face untouchability and insults. Conversion may be the only option for us,” he said.

Kumar said police are looking into the issue, and several petitions filed before the district collector have yielded no response.

A senior police officer said talks are on to end the stalemate. “There was a suggestion to allow Dalits to conduct puja during the day but they want the full 24 hours. Negotiations are on,” he said.

Abdul Rahiman of the TNTJ said, “After we got calls from some villagers, our volunteers visited them. They wanted to convert but that can’t be done so simply as Islam is a way of life and cannot be embraced out of anger. We suggested that they study about the religion and come back to us. We distributed copies of the Quran, like they requested. Six of them, who convinced us about their understanding of Islam, converted four days ago.”

But Arjun Sampath of the Hindu Makkal Katchi said there was no need for such outfits to intervene. “We spoke to both Dalits and non-Dalits. It is a government-run temple and the government has to take a decision. Most caste Hindu groups have no problem allowing Dalits to take part in the rituals. Some Muslim groups who recently built a mosque there have triggered this row and are trying to convert people,” he alleged.

Some 240 km away, in Nagapalli village in Karur, it’s a similar story for 70-odd Dalit families, who feel conversion is the only way to “end discrimination”.

P Vetrivel, president of the temple trust in the village, said his father built the structure seven years ago.

“There were many temples in our village, but we (the Dalits) had to build one separately. But for the last two years, after my father’s death, caste Hindu families who returned from Sri Lanka have been denying us entry and trying to occupy the temple. Neither the police nor the government have helped us. They started controlling the temple claiming we were not doing the rituals properly,” Vetrivel said.

Sri Mahasakthi Mariamman temple was built in 2009 by Dalits with a fund from the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Tamil Nadu government. A trust with a Dalit majority runs the temple. “Now they want to conduct festivals without Dalits,” Vetrivel said.

Like Nagapattinam, Nagapalli does not have Muslim families. But they cite the example of Aravakurichi town, where “some 40,000 Muslim families live peacefully”, to explain why they want to convert. “No Muslim or Hindu groups have approached us so far. We will contact them and take a call,” Vetrivel said.

The office of the Karur district collector said they will hold a peace meeting in two days. “Some 70 Dalit families are seeking rights to worship and take part in the festival, while an equal number of Hindu families — majority of them caste Hindus — are opposing them.

Most caste Hindus have returned from Sri Lanka,” said a senior officer.

The last religious conversion on such a scale in Tamil Nadu was witnessed in the early 1980s, when 800 Dalits converted to Islam at Meenakshipuram village near Tirunelveli. Despite senior political leaders, including Atal Bihari Vajpayee, visiting the villagers, they had refused to change their mind.

COURTESY: http://indianexpress.com/