Income Tax Department carried out search and seizure operations on 06.07.2022 on a major Bengaluru-based pharmaceutical group, engaged in the business of manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceutical products and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API). The group has presence in over 50 countries. The search action covered around 36 premises spread across 9 States.

During the course of the search operations, substantial incriminating evidence, in the form of documents and digital data, has been found and seized. The initial gleaning of the evidence has revealed that the group has been debiting in its books of account unallowable expenses on account of distribution of freebies to the medical professionals under the head “Sales and Promotion”. These freebies included travel expenses, perquisites and gifts etc. to doctors and medical professionals for promoting the group’s products under the heads “Promotion and Propaganda”, “Seminars and Symposiums”, “Medical Advisories” etc. The evidence indicates that the group has adopted unethical practices to promote its products/ brands. The quantum of such freebies detected is estimated to be around Rs. 1000 crore.

The group is also found to have claimed artificially inflated deduction under special provisions in respect of certain incomes, by resorting to suppression of expenses and over-appropriation of revenue to the unit eligible for such deduction.  Various other means of tax evasion, including inadequate allocation of research and development expenses to eligible units and inflated claim of weighted deduction under section 35 (2AB), have also been detected. The quantum of tax sought to be evaded through such means is estimated at over Rs. 300 crore.

Instances of violation of provisions of tax deduction at source under section 194C of the Income-tax Act, 1961 have also been detected in respect of transactions under contracts entered into with the third-party bulk drug manufacturers.

During the search action, unaccounted cash amounting to Rs. 1.20 crore and unaccounted gold and diamond jewellery worth more than Rs. 1.40 crore have also been seized. Further investigations are in progress.

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the construction of Taranga Hill-Ambaji- Abu Road new rail line to be constructed by Ministry of Railways at an estimated cost of Rs.2798.16 crore.

The total length of the new rail line will be 116.65 kms.  The project will be completed by 2026-27. The project will generate direct employment during construction for about 40 lakh mandays.

In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji’s vision of a New India, the project is going to enhance connectivity and improve mobility leading to overall socio economic development of the region.

Ambaji is a famous important pilgrimage destination and is one of the 51 Shaktipeeths in India and attracts millions of devotees from Gujarat as well as other parts of the country and abroad every year. The construction of this line will facilitate easy travel for these millions of devotees. Further, the devotees visiting the Ajitnath Jain temple (one of the 24 holy Jain Tirthankaras) at Taranga Hill would also be greatly benefitted by this connectivity.  This railway new line between Taranga Hill-Ambaji- Abu Road will connect these two important religious sports with railway’s main network.

This line will facilitate faster movement of agricultural and local products and also provide improved mobility of the people in the region within the state of Gujarat and Rajasthan and also to other parts of the country. This project will also provide alternative route for existing Ahmedabad-Abu Road railway line.

The alignment of the proposed doubling will traverse through Sirohi district of Rajasthan and Banaskantha and Mahesana districts of Gujarat. The construction of new rail line will attract investment and lead to overall socio-economic development of the region.

Sri Lanka’s embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday fled to the Maldives on a military jet, hours before he was supposed to step down in the face of a public revolt against him and his family for mishandling the economy that has bankrupted the country.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has declared a state of emergency in the country and a curfew in the Western province has been imposed as protesters gathered near his office at Flower Road in Colombo. He has also ordered the security forces to arrest people acting in a riotous manner.

President Rajapaksa, 73, left the country along with his wife and two security officers on a military jet, a brief statement from the Sri Lanka Air Force said.

“On government request and in terms of powers available to a President under the Constitution, with complete approval from the ministry of defence, the President, his wife and two security officials were provided a Sri Lanka Air Force plane to depart from the Katunayake international airport for the Maldives in the early hours of July 13,” the statement said.

The Prime Minister’s Office also confirmed that the President had left the country.

Rajapaksa, who enjoys immunity from prosecution while he is president, fled the country before resigning to avoid the possibility of arrest by the new government.

On Saturday, Rajapaksa had announced to step down on Wednesday after thousands of protesters stormed his official residence, blaming him for the unprecedented economic crisis that has brought the country to its knees.

He arrived in the capital of the Maldives, Male, at around 03:00 local time (22:00 GMT), BBC reported.

He was received by a Maldivian government representative at the Velana airport and taken to an undisclosed location under police escort, sources said, quoting Maldivian officials.

Rajapaksa’s escape to the Maldives was negotiated by the Maldivian Majlis (Parliament) Speaker and former president Mohamed Nasheed, sources in the Maldives capital Male said.

The Maldivian government’s argument is that Rajapaksa is still the President of Sri Lanka, and that he hasn’t resigned or handed over his powers to a successor. Therefore, if he wanted to travel to the Maldives, it could not have been denied, sources said.

Thirteen people accompanied Rajapaksa to the Maldives. They arrived in an AN32 aircraft, according to TV news channels.

Reports say that initial requests to land a military aircraft in the Maldives were refused by the Civil Aviation Authority in Maldives, but later landing was authorised on the request of Speaker Nasheed.

Rajapaksa is expected to be in the Maldives on transit before flying to another destination which is yet to be known.

He is likely to send his resignation letter only after reaching his final destination on Wednesday evening, Sri Lanka’s The Morning news portal reported, citing highly placed government sources.

It is learnt that the Rajapaksa’s resignation letter would be sent to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena at around 8 pm Sri Lanka time, it added.

Meanwhile, the High Commission of India in Sri Lanka categorically denied “baseless and speculative” media reports that it facilitated the escape of Rajapaksa to the Maldives.

“It is reiterated that India will continue to support the people of Sri Lanka as they seek to realize their aspirations for prosperity and progress through democratic means and values, established democratic institutions and constitutional framework, the India mission tweeted.

As the news of Rajapaksa’s departure spread, an enthusiastic crowd gathered in Galle Face Green chanting the popular phrase Aragalayata Jayawewa, or Victory to the struggle in Sinhalese and “Go home Gota”.

The Police fired tear gas on protesters who had gathered near the PM office. The protesters broke through a barricade despite tear gas and stormed the prime minister’s office, calling for his resignation.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe has already said he was willing to resign and make way for an all-party government to take over.

Citing sources, BBC also reported that Rajapaksa’s younger brother and former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa has also left the country.

Basil, the 71-year-old leader who is being widely held responsible for the country’s worst economic crisis which has heaped misery on the people, is a US passport holder.

On Monday night, both Rajapaksa and his brother Basil were turned back at the Colombo airport as they attempted to leave the country amid mounting anger against the powerful family for mishandling the island’s worst economic crisis.

Basil resigned as finance minister in early April as street protests intensified against shortages of fuel, food and other necessities and quit his seat in parliament in June.

Sri Lanka’s political parties have stepped up efforts to form an all-party government and subsequently elect a new President on July 20 to prevent the bankrupt nation sliding further into anarchy.

A meeting was held early this week between the main opposition Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) and former president Maithripala Sirisena’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).

Parties have begun campaigning for the support of possible candidates. The SJB said they will campaign for the appointment of Sajith Premadasa as the interim President.

Premadasa said on Monday that his party was ready to lead the country at the presidential and prime ministerial level and develop the economy.

Under the Sri Lankan Constitution, if both the president and prime minister resign, the Speaker of parliament will serve as acting president for a maximum of 30 days.

The Parliament will elect a new president within 30 days from one of its members, who will hold the office for the remaining two years of the current term.

The political uncertainty prevails in Sri Lanka where the distribution of cooking gas has resumed alongside the delivery of fuel to retailers by the Indian Oil Company after a stoppage on Sunday. Long queues are still seen at fuel pumps.

The protesters continue to occupy the three main buildings in the capital, the President’s House, the presidential secretariat and the prime minister’s official residence, Temple Trees, calling for their resignations.

Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million people, is under the grip of an unprecedented economic turmoil, the worst in seven decades, leaving millions struggling to buy food, medicine, fuel and other essentials. Prime Minister Wickremesinghe last week said Sri Lanka is now a bankrupt country.

India logged 16,906 new coronavirus infections pushing the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 4,36,69,850, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.
The death toll climbed to 5,25,519 with 45 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

The active Covid cases have increased to 1,32,457. They comprise 0.30 % of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.49 per cent, the health ministry said.

An increase of 1,414 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 3.68 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 4.26 per cent, according to the ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,30,11,874, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.20 per cent.

According to the ministry, 199.12 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23 last year. It crossed the four-crore mark on January 25 this year.

The 45 new fatalities include 17 from Kerala, 13 from Maharashtra, five from West Bengal, two from Gujarat and one each from Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Odisha, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

A total of 5,25,519 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 1,47,991 from Maharashtra, 70,170 from Kerala, 40,125 from Karnataka, 38,028 from Tamil Nadu, 26,285 from Delhi, 23,548 from Uttar Pradesh and 21,251 from West Bengal.

The ministry stressed that more than 70 % of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

“Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

Ace India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin believes that ODI cricket needs to find its relevance as the 50-over format is turning out to be an extended form of T20 cricket without “ebbs and flows”.

Bilateral ODIs across the globe is fast losing relevance and some like former India head coach Ravi Shastri want more franchise-based T20 leagues than these kind of series.

“It’s a question of relevance and I think ODI cricket needs to find its relevance. It needs to find its spot,” Ashwin, who has 151 wickets in 113 ODIs, said on the upcoming show of the ‘Vaughany and Tuffers Cricket club podcast’.

The podcast is hosted by former England captain Maichael Vaughan and left-arm spinner Phil Tuffnell.

“The greatest beauty of one day cricket is sorry was the ebbs and flows of the game. People used to bide their time and take the game deep. The one-day format used to be a format where bowlers had a say,” added the 35-year-old.

Ashwin, himself a “cricket nut” admitted that he switched his TV off after a point while watching an ODI game.

“Even me as a cricket badger and a cricket nut, I switch off the TV after a point and that’s frankly very scary for the format of the game. When those ebbs and flows go missing, it’s not cricket anymore. It is just an extended form of T20,” he maintained.

Currently, two new balls are used in an ODI innings but Ashwin pushed for returning to the old format where one was ball used, saying it would then be an even contest.

“I think one ball is something that would work and spinners would come into the game to bowl more at the back end. Reverse swing might come back in, which is crucial for the game,” the tweaker, who has 442 Test wickets, added.

Ashwin’s comments have come at a time when South Africa decided to withdraw from the ODI series in Australia, which was scheduled to be played in January because of crammed schedule and launch of its domestic T20 competition.

“I would also say we need to go back to the ball we used around 2010. I don’t think we use the same ones anymore,” the off-spinner signed off.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday greeted people on ‘Guru Purnima’ and described it as a day to express gratitude to all exemplary teachers who have inspired and mentored humankind.

Greetings on Guru Purnima. This is a day of expressing gratitude to all exemplary Gurus who have inspired us, mentored us and taught us so much about life. Our society attaches immense importance to learning and wisdom. May the blessings of our Gurus take India to newer heights,” he tweeted.

Modi also extended his wishes on the occasion of ‘Ashadha Purnima’, a sacred day especially for Buddhists.

Greetings on the sacred occasion of Ashadha Purnima. We recall the noble teachings of Lord Buddha and reiterate our commitment to realise his enlightened vision of a just and compassionate society,” he said.

The Buddha is believed to have delivered his first sermon on this day after attaining enlightenment.

The prime minister also posted a video clip that included his previous remarks paying tributes to the Buddha.

A Delhi court on Tuesday posted for July 14 hearing on a bail plea filed by Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair in a case related to an objectionable tweet he had posted in 2018 against a Hindu deity.

Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala adjourned the hearing for Thursday after the prosecution sought time for a detailed argument in the matter.

SPP Atul Srivastava, appearing through video conference, urged the court to adjourn the matter, saying that a separate case against Zubair was scheduled for hearing before the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

At this, advocate Vrinda Grover, appearing for the accused, urged the court to take up the matter on Wednesday.

The prosecutor, however, said he was in Bhopal and will not be available for appearance before the court tomorrow.

Grover then said that some other prosecutor may argue the matter in case Srivastava was not available.

He can appear via VC. This bail was filed. It is a man’s liberty. Let it be taken up tomorrow. He may appear on VC, Grover said.

Srivastava then urged the court to post the matter for July 14, which was allowed by the judge.

During the brief hearing, the defence counsel opposed the police argument that the tweet posted by Zubair was highly provocative and more than sufficient to incite feeling of hatred amongst people which can be detrimental for maintenance of public tranquillity.

She said the image used in the tweet was from the Hrishikesh Mukherjee film, ‘Kissi Se Na Kehna’, released in 1983.

In over three decades, nobody had any objection. My tweet, other Twitter handles tweet the same thing, since 2018, no sentiment is hurt… After four years, what is so provocative that will create mayhem? Till date, none of these have been asked to be taken down. Fortunately, there is no disturbance in society, she said.

She sought the court’s permission to play a video from the movie in question.

The judge, however, said the counsel could play the video later on.

This Twitter profile (the complainant in the case) is made in 2021. He has only one follower. No algorithm can lead him to this tweet. Delhi Police finds it. While doing social media monitoring they would have certainly seen all other tweets with Twitter image and words, but they did not find anyone else. There is malafide writ large, she submitted.

A magisterial court had on July 2 dismissed Zubair’s bail plea and sent him to 14-day judicial custody (JC) in the case, citing the nature and gravity of the offences against the accused and observing that the matter was at an initial stage of investigation.

The court had sent him to JC after his five day custodial interrogation.

In its order, the court had noted the submission of the public prosecutor that investigation was at an initial stage and that there was every likelihood that police custody remand of accused would be required.

The judge also considered addition of new sections during the course of investigation while rejecting the bail application.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday offered prayers at Baba Baidyanath temple here, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas in the country, amid chants of vedic mantras.

The temple has been bedecked with lights and flowers for PM’s visit.

The shrine, around 270-km from the Jharkhand capital, attracts thousands of pilgrims every year on the occasion of Shravani Mela, set to commence on July 14.

Earlier in the day, he had laid foundation stones of projects and inaugurated development initiatives totaling Rs 16,800 crore.

“As soon as the prime minister reached the VIP door of the shrine, he was greeted with flowers amid sounds of conch-shell blowing by a group of 11 priests. He was then escorted to ‘Sammukh door’ (the front door) for Ganesh puja,” an official of the temple committee, Kartik Nath Thakur tol to media. He paid obeisance to Lord Shiva at the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, he added.

Former Himachal Pradesh BJP president Khimi Ram on Tuesday joined the Congress.

Ram, a former minister and deputy speaker in the state, said he takes pride in joining the party that helped the country attain freedom.

“I am not joining the Congress out of any anger towards the BJP. I have taken a well-thought out decision to take the Congress forward in Himachal Pradesh,” he said.

Ram said he is confident that the Congress will be able to form the government in the state as there is a lot of corruption, unemployment, inflation and pending employee issues including those related to the pension scheme.

“We will bring these issues before the people of the state and help form the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh,” he said.

AICC in-charge for Himachal Rajiv Shukla welcomed him into the Congress fold, and said it is an indication of the winds blowing in the state.

AICC Secretaries Sudhir Sharma and Tejinder Bittu were present on the occasion.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said the increase in power purchase adjustment cost (PPAC) won’t impact consumers.

“The people of Delhi who are getting free electricity will continue to get free electricity in future. The charge of electricity from 201 to 400 units is subsidised to half the rates, that too will continue. Come what may, the relief being given to the people of Delhi will not be affected. Whatever has happened that won’t impact consumers,” he said.

His remarks came in response to a media question during his visit to the families of the two people from Delhi killed in the Amarnath Yatra cloudburst.

The PPAC is a surcharge to compensate discoms for variations in the market-driven fuel costs. It is applied as a surcharge on total energy cost and fixed charge component of electricity bill, officials said.

The PPAC in Delhi has been increased by four per cent from June 11.