Dismissing as "untenable" India's assertion that Beijing's construction of road in the disputed Doklam area poses "serious security implications", China's official news agency on Sunday asked New Delhi not to deviate consensus on developing bilateral relations.

Asking India to withdraw its troops from the area to end the current standoff, Xinhua news agency in a commentary said, "It is well known that the Sikkim section of the China-India boundary has been demarcated by the 1890 Sino-British treaty".

"After India's independence, the Indian government has repeatedly confirmed it in writing, acknowledging that the two sides have no objection to the border between the two sides of the Sikkim section," it said.

The Indian border troops' attempt to stop the Chinese military from constructing the road in the Doklam area has "cast a shadow over China-India relations", the commentary titled 'Don't deviate from the consensus on developing China-India relations' said, reiterating China's official stand on the issue.

While China has cited the Sino-British Treaty to buttress its claims, the ministry of external affairs in New Delhi in a statement yesterday said that "where the boundary in the Sikkim sector is concerned, India and China had reached an understanding also in 2012 reconfirming their mutual agreement on the 'basis of the alignment'".

"Further discussions regarding finalisation of the boundary have been taking place under the Special Representatives framework," it had said.

But, Xinhua said there were a lot of evidence, including images, that the Indian military has violated the historic treaty and the commitment of successive Indian governments.

It also referred to the Chinese Foreign Ministry's release of two photographs and a map on the issue. The map shows Doklam, a disputed territory between China and Bhutan, as part of Chinese territory.

Referring to the MEA statement, the commentary said "the Indian side has claimed that China's activities pose a 'serious security impact' to India, and it is untenable".

So far China has not officially responded to India's statement on this issue.

China's attempt to launch its second heavy-lift carrier rocket 'Long March-5 Y2' today failed after abnormity was detected during the flight, official media reported.

Abnormity was detected during the flight of the rocket, which blasted off at 7:23 pm (local time) from Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern province of Hainan, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Further investigation will be carried out, it said.

The rocket was due to carry the heaviest Shijian-18 satellite.

The launch was the last test for the Long March-5 series before its mission to send the Chang'e-5 lunar probe into space in the latter half of this year, which was to return with samples.

With a weight of 7.5 tonnes, Shijian-18 is China's latest technology experiment satellite and the heaviest satellite China has ever launched into space, an earlier report by Xinhua said.

It was aimed at testing China's new Dongfanghong-5 (DFH- 5) satellite platform and carry out in-orbit experiments including Q/V band satellite communication, satellite-ground laser communication technologies and an advanced Hull electric propulsion system, it said.

The Long March-5 made its maiden flight in November 2016 from Wenchang. It can carry a payload of 25 tonnes into low Earth orbit and 14 tonnes in geostationary orbit, over twice the capacity of previous Long March models.

The rocket uses environmentally friendly fuel, including kerosene, liquid hydrogen, and liquid oxygen, rather than highly toxic propellants, the report said.

In April this year, China had launched its first cargo spacecraft, Tianzhou-1, into space using the country's heaviest Long March-7 Y2 carrier rocket to dock with the orbiting experimental space station which was expected to be operationalised by 2022.

Tianzhou-1 was larger and heavier than Tiangong-2, which is 10.4 meters in length and has a maximum diameter of 3.35 meters,weighing 8.6 tonnes. 

Scotching rumour that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will not attend Rashtriya Janata Dal's proposed rally in Patna next month, the Janata Dal-United said its national president would attend the rally if he got an invitation.

"We will definitely participate in the rally if the RJD extends its invitation to our leader Nitish Kumar," Bihar JD-U chief spokesman Sanjay Singh told reporters.

Singh was addressing the media at the end of a day-long state executive meeting of the party.

A section in the media had reported that the JD-U would not participate in the RJD's "BJP hatao, desh bachao" rally, scheduled to be held on August 27 in Patna.

The JD-U and the RJD along with the Congress are the partners in the ruling grand alliance in the state.

The differences between the two major partners of the alliance surfaced ever since the JD-U unilaterally announced its support to former Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind, NDA's presidential nominee, without waiting for the united candidate of the Opposition.

Singh asserted, "When we (JD-U) were part of NDA, we had supported UPA nominee Pranab Mukherjee. Now we have supported Ram Nath Kovind as an individual and not extended its (JDU's) support to BJP... We had also supported demonetisation. We are moving on our own agenda. We are not 'Pichhlaggu' (riding piggyback)."

Britain's Parliament has been hit by a new wave of cyber attack after hackers attempted to trick lawmakers into revealing their passwords, prompting officials to warn MPs and their aides to guard against such threats.

Politicians have been warned that hackers were posing as parliamentary officials asking for their passwords.

"This afternoon we've heard reports of parliamentary users being telephoned and asked for their parliamentary username and password," a message sent to MPs and staff earlier this week warned.

"The caller is informing users that they have been employed by the digital service to help with the cyber attack. These calls are not from the digital service. We will never ask you for your password."

According to 'The Sunday Telegraph', parliamentary officials have said that hackers are still attempting to gain access after a "sustained" assault last week lasted for more than 12 hours as unknown hackers repeatedly targeted "weak" passwords of staff.

Security sources told the newspaper the attack was the biggest they could remember.

The network affected is used by every MP, including British Prime Minister Theresa May, and her Cabinet ministers, for dealing with constituents.

It remains unclear whether the hackers were successful in gaining access as the investigation is ongoing.

The UK Cabinet Office, which blamed human error for the breach, said the details were publicly available on data.gov.uk, which publishes charts and graphs of public data and is widely used across UK government circles.

In a 'triumphant' day for the locals who relish the occasional peg or two, as many as 77 bars were reopened across the state after the liquor policy was renewed by the government led by the Left Democratic Front.

As of Saturday, 81 liquor bars submitted applications to the excise department, out which 77 were reopened today. Out of these, the maximum bars were Ernakulam-based, while Idukki had the least number.

The government is also proposing to open local toddy shops that were earlier sealed.

Elated customers, who rushed into bars to commemorate the new policy, said it was better to drink in bars than at home in front of their families.

Implementation of the GST will be positive for India's rating as it will lead to higher GDP growth and increased tax revenues, Moody's Investors Service said.

     

"Over the medium term, we expect that the GST will contribute to productivity gains and higher GDP growth by improving the ease of doing business, unifying the national market and enhancing India's attractiveness as a foreign investment destination," Moody's VP (Sovereign Risk Group) William Foster said.

     

The GST will also support higher government revenue generation through improved tax compliance and administration.

"Both will be positive for India's credit profile, which is constrained by a relatively low revenue base," Foster said.

     

Moody's has a 'Baa3' rating on India with a positive outlook.

The biggest tax reform in independent India was rolled out at the stroke of the mid-night -- the intervening night of June 30-July 1 -- by President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

     

The US-based agency expects improved tax compliance to be driven by incentivisation of tax credits in a GST system.      

It would also usher in greater ease of compliance through usage of a common, shared IT infrastructure between the central government and the states; and a reduction in the overall cost of compliance from simplified tax rates, uniform across the country.

    

"We expect the net impact of GST on government revenues to be positive," Foster said.

India has slipped to 88th place in terms of money parked by its citizens with Swiss banks, while the United Kingdom remains on the top.

     

Also, the money officially held by Indians with banks in Switzerland now accounts for a meagre 0.04 per cent of the total funds kept by all foreign clients in the Swiss banking system, as per an analysis of the latest figures compiled by the Swiss National Bank as on 2016-end.

     

India was placed at 75th position in 2015 and at 61st in the year before that, though it used to be among top-50 countries in terms of holdings in Swiss banks till 2007. The country was ranked highest at 37th place in the year 2004.

     

The latest data from Zurich-based SNB comes ahead of a new framework for automatic exchange of information between Switzerland and India to help check the black money menace.      

The funds, described by SNB as 'liabilities' of Swiss banks or 'amounts due to' their clients, are the official figures disclosed by the Swiss authorities and do not indicate to the quantum of the much-debated alleged black money held by Indians in the safe havens of Switzerland.

     

SNB's official figures also do not include the money that Indians, NRIs or others might have in Swiss banks in the names of entities from different countries.

     

There is a view that the Indians alleged to have parked their illicit money in Swiss banks in the past may have shifted the funds to other locations after a global clampdown began on the mighty banking secrecy practices in Switzerland.

     

Swiss banks have also said Indians have "few deposits" in Swiss banks compared to other global financial hubs like Singapore and Hong Kong amid stepped-up efforts to check the black money menace.

The total money held in Swiss banks by foreign clients from across the world, incidentally rose by a small margin from 1.41 trillion Swiss francs (CHF) to CHF 1.42 trillion during 2016.

     

In terms of individual countries, the UK accounted for the largest chunk at about CHF 359 (over 25 per cent) of the total foreign money with Swiss banks.

The US came second with nearly CHF 177 billion or about 14 per cent. No other country accounted for a double-digit percentage share, while others in the top-ten included West Indies, France, Bahamas, Germany, Guernsey, Jersey, Hong Kong and Luxembourg.

     

Indians' share not even one-hundredth of the total money.

     

India is now ranked 88th with 676 million Swiss francs (about Rs 4,500 crore) -- a record low after falling for three consecutive years amid a continuing clampdown on the suspected black money stashed behind their famed secrecy walls.

The share of Indians' money in the total foreign funds of Swiss banks also fell to 0.04 per cent (from 0.08 per cent in 2015).

Pakistan continued to remain placed higher than India at 71st place (although down from 69th in 2015) with about CHF 1.4 billion -- though down to below 0.1 per cent of total foreign money parked with Swiss banks.

India was also the lowest ranked among the BRICS nations -- Russia was ranked 19th (CHF 15.6 billion), China 25th (CHF 9.6 billion), Brazil 52nd (CHF 2.7 billion) and South Africa 61st (CHF 2.2 billion).

Among these five, only China has moved up.

Pakistan Foreign Office on Sunday rejected India's demand for consular access to Indian citizen Kulbhushan Jadhav for the 18th time, saying New Delhi is trying to deny the facts by calling Jadhav an ordinary prisoner.

Pakistan FO said that it was "travesty of logic" to link the case of Jadhav with civilian prisoners, a day after India sought early consular access to its national sentenced to death by a military court.

"Indian attempt to equate Commander Jadhav's case with civilian prisoners and fishermen is a travesty of logic," the foreign office said in a statement.

The FO remarks came a day after the two countries exchanged a list of prisoners lodged in each other's jails.

According to the list Pakistan shared with India, at least 546 Indian nationals, including nearly 500 fishermen, are languishing in jails in that country.

"Commander Jadhav is a serving Indian Naval officer and sent to Pakistan by its intelligence agency RAW for espionage, terrorism and subversive activities which resulted in loss of many innocent lives and damage to property," the FO said.

It said Pakistan remains committed to the implementation of the 2008 Agreement on Consular access, which stipulates the exchange of comprehensive lists of nationals of each country in the other country's jails twice a year on January 1 and July 1.

Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman of India's largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel, took home an annual pay package of Rs 30.1 crore for 2016-17.

The package was over 8 per cent higher than the previous year, when Mittal had drawn Rs 27.8 crore.

Mittal, who was last year re-appointed as Chairman of the company for another five years, received salary and allowances of Rs 20.13 crore, while the performance-linked incentive stood at Rs 9 crore during FY17.

That alongwith Rs 1 crore worth of perquisites, took his overall remuneration to Rs 30.14 crore for the year just ended, as per the latest annual report of the telecom company. 

Bharti Airtel Managing Director and CEO (India and South Asia) Gopal Vittal earned Rs 9.28 crore during FY17, which is almost 50 per cent higher than the previous fiscal.

During the year, he received salary and allowances worth Rs 6.46 crore, Rs 2.82 crore as performance-linked incentive and Rs 28,800 in perquisites.

Vittal was also granted 1.5 lakh stock options on August 8, 2016 under ESOP Scheme 2005, with vesting period spread over 3 years.

Besides, the annual report said Vittal's remuneration does not include perquisite value of Rs 3.1 crore towards the value of Stock Options exercised during the year.

Vittal had drawn Rs 6.21 crore in the previous year.

Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel last week informed the stock exchange that its shareholders will meet on July 24 to consider, among other proposals, re-appointment of Vittal as the Managing Director of the company for a further period of five years with effect from February 1, 2018.

Tech giant Apple has slashed prices of products, including iPhone, iPad and Mac, as it looks to pass on the benefits accrued from the recently rolled out GST to customers. 

The iPhone 7 Plus (256GB version) -- the most premium device in Apple's smartphone portfolio -- will be available at Rs 85,400. This is Rs 6,600 cheaper than the earlier price tag of Rs 92,000.

Similarly, price of iPhone SE (128GB) has been reduced by Rs 2,200 to Rs 35,000.

The new prices listed on the company's website is upto 7.2 per cent lower than previous iPhone prices.

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro (512GB) will see its price coming down from over Rs one lakh to Rs 97,000.

Apple declined to comment on whether the price reduction was on account of GST, which will see smartphones being taxed at 12 per cent as compared to an earlier range of 8-18 per cent depending on the states.

Interestingly, the government has also introduced a 10 per cent basic customs duty on mobile phones and certain parts, in a bid to promote domestic manufacturing.

However, domestic players like Micromax and Lava are unlikely to revise their prices after GST implementation.

India is an important market for Apple and this move could help the US-based firm further consolidate its position here.

According to industry estimates, Apple has a 44 per cent share of the premium market (USD 400 and above), while rival Samsung had 41 per cent share in the January-March 2017 quarter. Other players in the category include the likes of OnePlus, LG, Sony and HTC.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi today accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of reverting to its "original agenda" by raising issues like Ram temple and cow protection as it had failed to deliver on its poll promises of economic revival and job creation.

The Lok Sabha member from Hyderabad also said that a law banning cow slaughter across the country, as mooted by BJP eader Subramanian Swamy, cannot be formulated as the matter was a state subject.

"All this cow, Ram Mandir (issues) are part and parcel of the BJP (agenda). Basically, the aim and objective is to make India a 'Hindu Rashtra'," Owaisi alleged while talking to PTI.

"The BJP has completely failed to provide jobs... (They had) promised creation of two crore jobs a year. They have failed to revive the economy.

"You have seen lot of ceasefire violations (by Pakistan). These are the core issues where the BJP has failed to deliver. So they have reverted back to their original agenda," Owaisi alleged.

While the Vishwa Hindu Parishad has reportedly started stock-piling stones for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, BJP MP from Unnao Sakshi Maharaj recently said the date of construction would be finalised at a religious congregation scheduled in November in Karnataka.

To a question regarding a recent proposal to set up 'cow sanctuaries' and initiating a 'Project Cow' on the lines on 'Project Tiger', Owaisi said India has 550 million farm animals but there was only 40 per cent fodder for them.

According to the National Seismological Centre, the epicentre was at Bitijor Bagaincha of south-eastern Nepal in Okhaldhunga district. 

The seismic event was recorded at 7:43 am.

The NSC recorded a significant aftershock of the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, The Himalayan Times reported. 

The tremor was also felt in adjoining districts and in the Kathmandu Valley. Nepal was hit by a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 2015 that left nearly, 9,000 people dead and as many as 22,000 injured.

A mild earthquake measuring 4.7 on the Richter scale was also felt today in northeastern Sylhet region of Bangladesh. 

However, there was no immediate report of any damage or casualty. 

In February this year, Nepal was hit by two earthquakes and the effects of one of them were also felt in the Kathmandu Valley.

From the humble Maruti-800 to the Rs 2.62 crore BMW i8 hybrid, Sachin Tendulkar has seen, driven and owned them all.

The cricket legend has now thrown his weight behind the government's plan to have an all electric car fleet by 2030 in India, saying the present generation has a responsibility to look after the planet and hand it over to the next in a better shape.

Although the road to having environment-friendly mobility solutions is going to be long and winding, Tendulkar believes that it is never too soon to make a start with real intent.

"It is about looking after the planet. It becomes our responsibility to look after the planet and make sure that when the next generation takes over, it is in better shape," Tendulkar told PTI.

He was responding to a query on his views on alternative fuels and environmental-friendly mobility solutions, considering rising concerns over pollution in India.

Referring to the government's initiative to have an all electric car fleet by 2030, he said it was a step in the right direction.

"I think the world is going in that direction," he said.

Yet, the master blaster, known for his whirlwind run scoring, sees the journey to eco-friendly vehicles being more like playing a long innings in a Test match.

"That process is a lengthy process, change is not going to happen overnight. Results are not going to happen overnight ... (but) somewhere, we need to start and we need to have that intent. As long as we all are moving in the right direction results will follow," Tendulkar said.

Being an automobile enthusiast himself, he said electric vehicles can also provide what normal internal combustion engines offer.

In April this year, Power Minister Piyush Goyal had said that the government was looking at having an all electric car fleet by 2030 with an objective of lowering fuel import bill and running cost of vehicles.

Policy think-tank Niti Aayog has also proposed giving both fiscal and non-fiscal incentives and subsidies to push sales of electric vehicles while discouraging the use of petrol and diesel-run vehicles. 

Prime Minister or Darth Vader -- this is a question posed in front of the nation currently, after the latter's theme song, "The Imperial March", was played as Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded his address during the 68th Chartered Accountants Day celebrations in New Delhi on Saturday.

In his first speech post the midnight rollout of the much-anticipated goods and services tax, the prime minister was addressing the CA community about a spectrum of topics ranging from corruption to Indian Swiss bank accounts.

In what was looked at as keeping the tone of the speech alive, Prime Minister Modi was seen waving to his supporters as the Darth Vader's theme song played in the background.

Darth Vader is one of the most iconic villains in cinematic history. A ruthless commander put in charge of taking over the galaxy for the dark side.

Not only this left the nation pondering, twitteratis have raised doubts on this long-standing connection between the prime minister and Star Wars, drawing upon his previous 'Star wars' reference made in the United States during his previous official visit in 2014 under the tenure of former President Barack Obama.

In 2014 PM Modi famously stood at the annual Global Citizen Festival, in New York's Central Park with actor Hugh Jackman and had told a packed audience: "May the force be with you."

Here are some reactions from Twitter;

@alienesque18

Did they just play Darth Vader's music at the end of that Modi ICAI speech?!?! What happened there! #GST #ICAIspeech

@realslimsiddy

*Narendra Modi leaves the stage with the ominous theme music of Darth Vader. *

Obi wan : I felt a great disturbance in the force.#GST

Watch the video after the 3 hours,30 minute to hear the theme music

Ruling out any price rise post goods and services tax, former Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das has said such apprehensions are "misplaced" and initial hiccups in its implementation will be sorted out in the next 2-3 months.

Das also said that the Centre and states are well prepared for smooth implementation of the GST, which was launched on the midnight of June 30.

GST has subsumed all indirect taxes including VAT and octroi into single tax nationwide. It has been adopted by all states barring Jammu and Kashmir.

Asked if GST will result in spike in prices, Das said, "Not at all" and "it is misplaced" as people are looking at taxes from only one side.

People are looking at an increase in prices of goods/services on which taxes have been hiked. However, they are not seeing the input tax credit been made available to the industry, he said and urged people to look at the tax reform holistically.

Under input tax credit facility, the industry is taxed not on purchase of raw material but on value added products.

Das further said, "The other side of the story is that input tax credit will be available. That will have moderating impact on so called increase in tax rate.

"Therefore, the increase that people are talking about is not that much. You need to see the whole basket. You cannot pick up 5 items and say prices have gone up," he elaborated.

On concerns about glitches in GST rollout, Das said, "Any new system will have implementation issues. I think in a matter of 2-3 months, the glitches and hiccups are likely to come up. They will all be resolved."

He said that the industry could face problems in filing tax returns or may commit mistakes and not able to avail input tax credit and remain confused over applicable tax rates on various commodities, among others.

"Problems like this are bound to happen. Going forward, everything will get streamlined," he said.

On the day of its launch, President Pranab Mukherjee had described GST as a "disruptive change" that is bound to have some teething troubles which will have to be resolved quickly to ensure growth momentum in the economy is not impacted. 

Train passengers will soon have option of travelling in a new class of 'Economy AC coaches' with fares less than normal 3AC tariff.

The proposed fully AC train will have three-tier economy AC coaches besides AC-3, AC-2 and AC-1 classes as part of the transformation exercise. An added feature would be automatic doors.

However, the passengers will not require blankets in the economy AC class like other AC coaches as the temperature will be around 24-25 degrees.

Currently mail and express trains have sleeper, third AC, second AC and first AC classes while Rajdhani, Shatabdi and recently introduced Humsafar and Tejas trains are fully air-conditioned.

The railways is exploring an idea to introduce fully AC trains in select routes, aiming to provide comfort by facilitating AC travel for maximum passengers.

An exercise has been undertaken for a transformation in service by upgrading existing facilities in trains and stations and a separate cell has been created by the railways for this.

"There will not be any chilling effect like in other AC classes and the temperature will be fixed around 24-25 degrees. The aim is to make the passengers comfortable and not make them feel the outside heat," said a senior railway ministry official.

The recently launched Humsafar Express, comprising 3-AC coaches only, has become very popular.

The fully AC train with more economy AC coaches is expected to cater to more passengers.

However, the details of the Economy AC class are to be worked out before deciding for manufacturing such coaches, said the official. 

Read Sunetra Choudhury's column 

I wanted to implement GST with 18% maximum rate compared to 28% Today, but people prefer an Echo-nomist over an Economist. ~ MMS (2017)

Jet Airways vice president for security, Colonel Avneet Singh Bedi was arrested on Sunday on charges of land grabbing, news agency ANI reported.

He was taken into custody by Sahibabad Police early on Sunday morning for allegedly encroaching on Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation land illegally. 

An FIR has been registered against him in this regard.

Col Bedi joined Jet Airways in 2015 after serving in the Indian Army for over 40 years. He also held the post of senior vice president at Walmart India Ltd before joining the airliner.

IMAGE: Jet Airways vice president (Security) Col. Avneet Singh Bedi. Photograph: ANI

The home ministry has started the process of recruiting more women to achieve the target of 33 per cent in the two paramilitary forces -- the Central Reserve Police Force and the Central Industrial Security Force -- and 15 per cent in the Border Security Force, the Sashastra Seema Bal and the Indo Tibetan Border Police.

The 33 per cent reservation in constable-level posts in the CRPF and the CISF and 14-15 per cent posts in border guarding forces of the BSF, the and the ITBP will start immediately, a home ministry official said.

These forces together comprise around nine lakh personnel with only around 20,000 of them being women.

While the CRPF is primarily used for law-and-order duties, CISF personnel are deployed for security of airports, metro networks, vital installations and other government buildings.

Women empowerment and safety have been a priority of the government and the move was part of this initiative, the official said.

This reservation would be horizontal, it said.

The move came following the recommendation of the Committee on Empowerment of Women in its sixth report that there was an urgent need to provide due representation to women in paramilitary forces.

The CRPF, considered to be world's largest paramilitary force, are mostly deployed in law-and-order duties, anti-militancy operations in Jammu and Kashmir and anti-Naxal operations. It has just around 6,300 women in its ranks.

The government has found that women personnel constitute only a little over nine per cent in most of the police forces.

In March 20, 2015, the central government had approved reservation of 33 per cent for women horizontally and in each category (SC, ST, OBC and others) in direct recruitment in non-gazetted posts from constable to sub-inspector in the police forces of all Union Territories, including Delhi Police.

However, the decision is yet to be implemented fully.

Aadhaar-issuing authority Unique Identification Authority of India has asked states to ensure that all enrolments, even those by private agencies, shift to government or municipal premises from external sites by September this year.

The move will have a bearing on 25,000 active enrolment centres across India and ensure that they come under direct supervision of the authorities.

It is also expected to curb cases of overcharging by private operators as enrolment and updation can be closely monitored by the government, under the new arrangement.

UIDAI Chief Executive Officer Ajay Bhushan Pandey has written to the states asking them to identify centres within government premises for enrolment and updation activities by July 31.

The UIDAI has said the process of shifting enrolment operations to such centres should be completed by August 31, 2017.

When contacted, Pandey confirmed this saying the enrolment centres will have to shift from private locations into government premises such as district collectorates, zila parishad offices or municipal offices.

They could also be re-located at banks, block offices, taluk offices or other delivery offices run by state government where direct supervision can be ensured.

According to Pandey, shifting of the enrolment operations into state premises would result in greater convenience for residents.

"There are times when people find it difficult to locate enrolment centres and many times they complain to us. Or they may go to a centre and find it closed. At times, there are complaints of overcharging," he said adding that tighter control over private agencies will ensure that services are performed strictly as per prescribed norms and there are not deviations.

The latest move assumes significance as most government and other services such as benefits, subsidies and services like PAN, GST, bank accounts, passports and property registration now require Aadhaar.

Hence, it would be imperative for state governments to provide the facility of enrolments and updates at secure and convenient locations so residents are not inconvenienced.

In the letter to all the chief secretaries dated June 28, the UIDAI has said that states governments can set up their own enrolment centres within the government or municipal premises with their own personnel as enrolment operators. -- PTI

"The victim is admitted in the trauma centre and her condition is serious. We have informed her parents about the incident. We have already initiated a probe into it," Abhay Kumar Prasad, Additional director general of police, Lucknow said.

The acid attack victim, whom Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath met in the hospital a few months ago, again faced the same brutal act in Aliganj yesterday.

The Uttar Pradesh chief minister had earlier given a cheque of Rs one lakh as compensation to the victim's husband.

He also directed the police officials to immediately nab the accused and take strict action against the guilty.

The Dalit victim was attacked by the same group of suspects, marking the fourth such attack on her.

She was forced to drink a 'corrosive liquid' by unidentified persons, on train while she was returning to Lucknow from her village.

She was gang-raped earlier in 2008 and a case was registered in this regard in Unchahar town of Raebareli district.

She was first attacked with acid in 2011 followed by other serious attacks again in 2011, twice in 2012 and another in 2013. -- ANI

After the GST was rolled out on the midnight of June 30, theatre owners have been faced with a GST of 18 per cent, apart from the 30 per cent tax imposed by the municipal corporation, adding up to an enormous 48 per cent.

This new rate, as per a local theatre manager, will diminish their business in the state.

"Under the GST, the government charge is 18 per cent and the corporation charge is 30 per cent which totals to a whopping 48 per cent of tax. This is exorbitant and we cannot run with this tax structure. We cannot run the theatres," said Ramasamy, the manager of a local theatre.

Under the new tax regime, taxes of 28 per cent and 18 per cent will be levied for tickets costing over and under Rs 100 respectively, in addition to a municipal tax of 30 per cent imposed by the state government on theatres.

Tamil Nadu theatres will be halting advance bookings of tickets from Sunday and all shows across the state's theatres will be suspended starting next week, with film theatre associations demanding a roll back of the municipal tax.

The film industry is also expected to stage a protest on Monday. Earlier on Saturday, the TN film fraternity, together with all the South Indian industries, notified a collective representation being sent to the central government, requesting them to put the regional cinema in the 'least slab'.

President of Tamil Nadu's Film Producers Council, Vishal told ANI, "Of course, there will be adverse effects to every industry, not only film industry, but all sectors of business, especially regional cinema, which is fixed in the highest slab 28 per cent."

"It is going to make a big impact and we have given our representation. In fact, all South Indian industries have together sent a collective representation to the central government asking them to put regional cinema in the least slab because one crore film and a 1,000 crore Hollywood film is in the same tax slab, so that is definitely going to affect the regional cinema," Vishal added.

Vishal further stated that they have requested the Centre and the Union finance  minister to put the regional cinema in the least slab, non regional films in the next slab and the foreign language films in the highest slab, so that it does not affect the viewership.

Under the GST regime, exports will be zero-rated in entirety unlike the present system where refund of some of the taxes does not take place due to fragmented nature of indirect taxes between the Centre and the states.

However, GST will make India a common market with common tax rates and procedures and remove economic barriers.

GST is largely technology driven and will reduce the human interface to a great extent. GST is expected to improve ease of doing business in India. -- ANI

Police said these accused were arrested on June 28 and were initially sent to two-day police remand. 

Junaid, 17, was stabbed when he, along with his brothers, was returning home in Palwal district's Khandawli village after Eid shopping in Delhi on June 22. 

His brothers -- Hashim and Sakir -- who were also travelling in the train with him, were injured by a mob which also allegedly hurled slurs against them. 

Police has so far arrested five persons. Of the five, four held on June 28 are residents of Khambi village.

The fifth one was held earlier.  -- PTI