QBullet: TVF’s Arunabh Kumar Booked; Heat Blast Across India
The Quint brings to you the top stories making headlines in dailies across India.
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1. GST Gets Lok Sabha Green Signal: Decks Cleared for July Rollout of Uniform Tax Regime
Clearing the decks for the 1 July rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) that will subsume all Central and state taxes for a unified tax regime across the country, the Lok Sabha on Wednesday night showed the green light to four related crucial supplementary Bills.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who steered the passage of the Bills, told the House that the GST will make commodities “slightly cheaper” and rates would depend on whether the commodity is used by a rich person or a common man.
Hailing the historic move, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was present in Lok Sabha, tweeted in Hindi later: “Congratulations to all countrymen over passage of the GST Bill. New Year, New Law, New Bharat.”
(Source: The Indian Express)
2. TVF's CEO Arunabh Kumar Booked for Molestation in Mumbai
An FIR was on Wednesday registered against Arunabh Kumar, CEO of the digital entertainment start-up The Viral Fever (TVF), on molestation charges more than a week after a woman anonymously accused him of the same.
Kumar is at the centre of a controversy after a woman detailed the sexual harassment she faced while working for him as a subordinate in an anonymous blog post. Soon after, other women came forward with similar accusations.
It is, however, unclear on which woman’s complaint the FIR has been filed.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. Eight Coaches of Mahakaushal Express Train Derail in UP's Mahoba Town
Eight coaches of Mahakaushal Express derailed early on Thursday morning, news agency ANI reported.
The train derailed from its track near Kulapahar in Uttar Pradesh's Mahoba town.
Six people have been reportedly injured in the accident.
The district magistrate has reached the spot to take stock of the situation. Rescue operations are underway.
(Source: The Times of India)
4. Word of Wisdom for Africans in Greater Noida: Stay Home, We Will Send Food
“ATTENTION!!!” typed Zaharaddeen Muhammad into the small dialogue box on his smartphone. It was 1.30 pm on Wednesday and he was seated on the ground floor of the Kailash Hospital in Greater Noida. Across the hall was the emergency room where 24-year-old Kenyan student, Maria Burendi, was recovering after allegedly being beaten up by a group of men early in the morning while travelling in Greater Noida in a cab.
The latest allegation followed a mob attack on four Nigerian students at Pari Chowk on Monday evening. Since then, African nationals in Greater Noida have repeatedly been asked to stay indoors and not venture out – even for food and water.
(Source: The Indian Express)
5. Surya Namaskar Similar to Namaz, Says UP CM Adityanath
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath Yogi on Wednesday said Surya Namaskar has many similarities to the namaz offered by Muslims.
Aditynath was addressing a gathering on the inaugural day of the three-day UP yoga mahotsava here.
Muslim bodies have opposed yoga and Surya Namaskar calling it anti-Islam and stating that their religion does not permit any such practice.
Thanking Ayush ministry for holding yoga mahotsavs in various districts and promoting yoga in a big way, CM Adityanath Yogi said, "holding such programmes earlier in India would have been treated as communal."
(Source: The Times of India)
6. Highway Liquor Ban: SC Says Not Averse to Modifying Order, Seeks Suggestions
Noting that it was not averse to modifying its order of 15 December 2016 that bans liquor vends within 500 metres of state and national highways, the Supreme Court on Wednesday asked for suggestions on how to balance conflicting rights involved in the matter.
“We are not going to be an impediment in your (states’) revenue… But suggest us some measures,” a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India JS Khehar told Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi and several senior advocates representing various states that have moved the top court for modification in the order.
Some applications have been filed for a clarification on whether the order was applicable to restaurants and hotels along the highways serving liquor.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
7. Heat Blast Across India, Maharashtra Town Sizzles at 46.5°C
It's barely the end of March but temperatures across much of India are already racing to peak summer levels. Bhira town in Maharashtra recorded a searing 46.5 degrees on Tuesday – quite unheard of in March – as the Met office warned of heatwave conditions in parts of central, west and north India.
While IMD officials cautioned that the temperature reading in Bhira may not be very accurate, other places in Maharashtra were blazing as well. Akola recorded 44.1 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, as officials said a set of meteorological conditions had come together to cause the heat.
“Hot conditions, including heat waves, are likely to continue till Saturday (1 April), after which temperatures may drop by a degree or two,“ said M Mohapatra, DGM of IMD's National Weather Forecasting Centre.
(Source: The Times of India)
8. Health More Important, Stop All Sale of BS-III Vehicles from April: SC
Maintain that the “health of people is far, far more important than the commercial interests of manufacturers”, the Supreme Court on Wednesday imposed a complete ban on the sale of BS-III-compliant vehicles in India from 1 April onwards and rejected an appeal by some automakers to let them clear existing stock.
The Central government’s support for automobile companies in their bid to sell around 8.24 lakh vehicles in stock, which comply with BS-III emission norms, failed to cut much ice with a Bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta. The Bench said that all stakeholders were aware for the last six years that a better emission standard, BS-IV, would come in force from 1 April 2017, and therefore, piling up BS-III stock was a bad call on their part.
(Source: The Indian Express)
9. Accused of Sexual Harassment, Nalanda University Student Suspended
A student of Nalanda University (NU), accused in a sexual harassment case, was suspended on Wednesday and faces the prospect of rustication.
Upon approval from NU Chancellor Dr Vijay Bhatkar, the accused student was put under suspension, confirmed NU communications director Smita Polite.
Polite said the complaint regarding the sexual harassment came before the V-C in January and was referred to the internal complaints committee, which examined the case in the light of the evidence furnished and found the charges to be true.
Though the victim and a few other students alleged the harassment continued for several months, it was officially recorded in January itself. The session of both the students will end in a couple of months.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
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