New Delhi, April 02: Not quoting the permanent account number (PAN) can cost the contractors and sub-contractors dear, as the budget proposal of taxing them at up to 20 percent instead of 1-2 percent comes into effect from Tuesday.
The provision, made in budget 2009-10, is applicable from today and is aimed at plugging the loopholes leading to tax evasion and compelling more and more people to obtain PAN.
New Delhi, April 02: To improve the implementation of the Right to Information Act, a high-powered Committee on Government Performance headed by the Prime Minister has asked all Central ministries and departments to prepare a strategy plan for the next few years.
As part of its preparation, the Department of Personnel and Training has sought replies from stakeholders to a questionnaire on the performance and implementation of the RTI Act by April 15.
Washington, April 02: Rejecting the Pakistani demand for American mediation on its water dispute with India, a top Obama Administration official has said that Islamabad has the option to go to the independent arbitration panel set up for the issue.
Hyderabad, April 02: In the latest twist in the Sania Mirza- Shoaib Malik wedding saga, Ayesha Siddiqui, alleged first wife of Malik, has now broken her silence and criticized her claimed husband for infidelity.
“I have all the necessary documents to prove that Shoaib Malik is my husband. We all stayed away from each other for our respective career, and if he wants to marry any one he should first publicly divorce me,” Ayesha told.
Hyderabad, April 02: In a major relief to debt-ridden weavers in Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister K Rosaiah today decided to waive the overdue principal and overdue interest of all weavers as on March 31, 2010.
This will cover loans taken under Artisan Credit Cards Scheme/Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana (PMRY), Rajiv Yuva Shakti Yojana (RYS).
Allahabad, April 02: The Allahabad High Court Thursday stayed the Aligarh Muslim University’s suspension of teacher S.R. Siras for “gross professional misconduct”.
Hearing the teacher’s plea, a division bench of Justice Sunil Ambwani and Justice K.N. Pandey also stayed the order of the varsity administration directing Siras, a teacher in the Modern Indian Languages department, to vacate his official accommodation.
Siras was suspended Feb 9 after he was filmed while allegedly having consensual sex with a local rickshaw-puller.
Karachi, April 02: A Hindu organisation in Pakistan on Thursday said there were land disputes in some of the temples here, but denied that any shrine of Lord Krishna had been demolished in the county’s financial hub.
“There is a problem of land occupation with some temples particularly with the Swami Narayan temple located around M.A. Jinnah road but otherwise there has been no case of temple demolition,” said Dr Ramesh Kumar, the Patron of Pakistan Hindu Council (PHC).
Kumar and General-Secretary of PHC Hari Motwani denied any knowledge of a temple being demolished in the city.
Chicago, April 02: A Pakistani-origin taxi driver, with suspected links to HuJI chief Ilyas Kashmiri, has been indicted on charges of “knowingly” attempting to aid al Qaeda.
The FBI, which arrested Raja Lahrasib Khan on March 26, has accused the cabbie for attempting to provide material support and funds to al Qaeda via Pakistan-based terrorist Kashmiri.
Washington, April 02: Ruling out once again a US role in resolving either Kashmir or water issues between India and Pakistan, a senior official has said it was for the two countries to work things out. “It’s like water. Kashmir always comes up in everything,” assistant secretary of state For South And Central Asian affairs Robert Blake told reporters on Thursday in a briefing about his recent trip to India, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Lahore, April 02: The Pakistan Cricket Board has told all-rounder Rana Naved to file a formal appeal against his ban and fine instead of sending legal notices to them.
Rana had sent a legal notice to the board yesterday seeking the reasons for his 12-month ban and the fine of Rs two million imposed on him by the board last month on the basis of an inquiry into the national team’s tour to Australia.
Islamabad, April 02: Pakistan has no objection to India’s relations with Afghanistan but these ties should not assume the dimension of encircling the country, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said.
Qureshi made the remarks while briefing the Senate or upper house of parliament on Wednesday night on the recent strategic dialogue between the US and Pakistan.
The US has recognised Pakistan’s legitimate concerns about its interests in Afghanistan, which need to be addressed, he said.
Hyderabad, April 02: Chief Minister K Rosaiah on Thursday downplayed conspiracy theories and said there was no evidence yet to suggest that communal violence in Hyderabad had been engineered.
Speaking to a TV channel, he also sought to defend the late YSR’s son Jagan Mohan Reddy against whom some Congress leaders had been pointing fingers.
Washington, April 02: So a scientist walks into a shopping mall to watch people laugh. There’s no punchline. Laughter is a serious scientific subject, one that researchers are still trying to figure out.
Laughing is primal, our first way of communicating. Apes laugh. So do dogs and rats. Babies laugh long before they speak. No one teaches you how to laugh. You just do. And often you laugh involuntarily, in a specific rhythm and in certain spots in conversation.
Jamaica, April 02: West Indies’ hopes of lifting the World Twenty20 title on home soil were boosted on Thursday when pace bowler Jerome Taylor and batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan were both named in the 15-man squad.
Taylor and Sarwan missed the recent one-day series win over Zimbabwe through injuries picked up on the tour of Australia.
The team, which is captained by Chris Gayle, are in Group D in the first stage of the April 30-May 16 tournament, along with England and Ireland.
Bangalore, April 02: Deccan Chargers skipper Adam Gilchrist said some tactical mistakes and inconsistency had cost his team the match against the Kolkata Knight Riders. Gilchrist gave Pragyan Ojha an over to bowl with Ganguly striking the ball well, and though Ganguly got out in the over it was not before he took Ojha for 21 runs.
Kolkata, April 02: Under pressure for his team’s dismal show in IPL III, Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Sourav Ganguly today said outside things have never worried him as he always had faith in his abilities.
Following four losses by the Knight Riders, there had been demonstration in South Kolkata today against Ganguly but the ace left-hander said that’s okay once in a while.
Srinagar, April 02: Militants attacked the Kashmir rail network for the first time, blowing up nearly two feet of track in Pulwama district, resulting in suspension of rail service linking South Kashmir with North Kashmir.
The ultras detonated an IED at Galbug, 43.6 km from here, around 10 pm last night, damaging two feet rail track, police said, adding there were no casualties.
Rail service on the track has been suspended.
This is for the first time that militants have targeted the railway service, started in the valley two years ago.
Advice and opinion are pouring in from all quarters after Sania Mirza publicly acknowledged her relationship with former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik. Greater interest now revolves around the country the tennis star will represent after her marriage to the cricketer later this month.
London, April 02: Megan Fox is tired of people comparing her to Angelina Jolie. The 23 year old actress has been trying to overcome being compared to Angelina ever since soaring to stardom with her role in “Transformers” She feels that magazines make the comparison because they want to “put her in a box.”
Her desire is so strong to overcome the comparisons that she recently turned down what many would call the opportunity of a lifetime. She was offered the chance to play “Laura Croft” in the “Tomb Raider” movie series which originally starred Angelina Jolie.
Kabul, April 02: President Hamid Karzai accused the West yesterday of trying to ruin Afghanistan’s elections, intensifying a showdown with parliament over whether foreigners will oversee a parliamentary vote this year.
Mr Karzai’s international reputation took a battering after a UN-backed fraud watchdog threw out a third of the votes cast for him in last year’s presidential election. He is now wrangling with parliament and the United Nations over fraud protection measures for a parliamentary vote due in September.
Karachi, April 02: The Pakistan Cricket Board has started preparations of its ‘home’ series against South Africa in the United Arab Emirates after the Proteas refused to tour the trouble-torn country.
South Africa were scheduled to tour Pakistan in October-November for the series of Tests and one-day internationals but conveyed to the PCB they were not inclined to play in Pakistan in the present security situation.
“We have agreed to host the series at neutral venues in the UAE and we are in the process of finalising dates and venues,” PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt said.
Mumbai, April 02: Mariah Gomes made her B-Town debut with an item song in Teen Patti. But the Brazilian model has now secured a full-fledged role opposite Prateik Babbar in Rohan Sippy’s Dum Maro Dum.
A professional model, Mariah landed the role in Sippy’s film after he watched the song Niyat Kharab Hai in Teen Patti. After an audition, the hottie was signed on to play Prateik’s love interest in the film. Confirming this, she says, “Yes I have signed Dum Maro Dum, but I can’t say anything more.”
New Delhi, April 02: From the icy heights of the Himalayas to the palm-fringed beaches of Kerala, Indian officials yesterday began the world’s largest census to record and detail the country’s constantly growing population of more than 1.2 billion people.
In what has been termed the biggest administrative exercise ever undertaken, around 2.5 million officials began fanning out to undertake the count that is recorded every 10 years.
Mumbai, April 02: Though they have been around for decades, Anil Kapoor and Ajay Devgn have never featured in a film together. Director Priyadarshan, a favourite of both stars, might just have the honour of helming a film featuring the two.
Buzz is that Priyan is planning a film called Bullet Train with the duo. The project is in the extremely initial stages with plans to shoot it entirely in London.
Devgan is currently working with Priyan in Aakrosh (formerly called Garam Hawa) along with Akshaye Khanna and Bipasha Basu.
Mexico City, April 02: With 958 killings, March 2010 was Mexico’s “bloodiest month” ever since President Felipe Calderon launched a military operation against the drug cartels in December 2006, a media report has said.
The figure brings the total number of gangland killings during the Calderon administration to 18,757, El Universal newspaper said Thursday.
More than 2,550 people have died so far this year.
Chihuahua state in the northern border accounted for the majority of deaths — 670 — with the state’s largest city, Ciudad Juarez, being termed Mexico’s “murder capital”.