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Maha has maximum GST dues pending with Centre, Congress says ‘stepmom treatment’

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Maharashtra, which contributes the highest to the Centre’s GST kitty, has the maximum amount outstanding for the past two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, a RTI reply has revealed.

The revelations came in response to a RTI query filed by activist Binod Agarwal from the Ministry of Finance, Under Secretary (State Taxes-II) and CPIO Mahendra Nath.

State Congress General Secretary Sachin Sawant said that the RTI reply has confirmed what the Maha Vikas Aghadi government has been saying always – that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre is adopting a “step-motherly treatment” towards Maharashtra.

According to the RTI response, of the total GST compensation of Rs 277,752 crore due to states from April 2020-March 2021, Maharashtra’s share was the highest at Rs 40,398 crore.

From this amount, Rs 21,697.65 crore was released from cess proceeds and another Rs 11,977 crore, leaving an outstanding balance of Rs 6,723 crore to the state.

Similarly, for the period April 2021-July 2021, of the total GST compensation of Rs 111,419 crore due to states, Maharashtra accounted for Rs 15,060 crore, the highest.

From this amount, Rs 13,782.36 crore was by way of back to back loan, and Rs 1,278 crore is still outstanding to the state.

In fact, from April 2019 till November 2021, Maharashtra’s dues were Rs 50,374.68 crore, of which it received Rs 11,111.15 crore and Rs 13,782.30 crore as back to back loan, leaving a shortfall of Rs 25,481.23 crore.

In the past couple of years, the MVA government has been continuously pleading with the Centre to release its GST dues and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had shot off a letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the same in December 2019, a month after assuming office.

Thackeray met the PM in June to raise the issue along with other pending matters and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Congress have also raised the matter with the Centre on several occasions.

The ruling Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress leaders, including NCP President Sharad Pawar, have demanded on several occasions that the Centre should expedite the release of the state’s GST dues to help it tackle the Covid-19 pandemic and other issues effectively.

In September 2020, Thackeray had slammed the Centre for not giving its GST dues and forcing the state to take loans, and a month later demanded that if the GST system has failed “then the Centre should it” and revert back to the old system.

National

J&K CM Omar Abdullah makes passionate appeal for statehood restoration

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Jammu, June 6: During his welcome address to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Jammu and Kashmir’s (J&K) Katra town on Friday, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah made a passionate appeal for restoration of statehood.

During his welcome speech for the Prime Minister, CM Omar Abdullah said, “Jenab-e-Wallah (exalted sir), when you inaugurated the Katra railway station towards the end of my first term as the Chief Minister, Manoj Sinha ji was the Union Minister of State for Railways.

“He has been promoted as the Lieutenant-Governor while I have been demoted from the Chief Minister of a state to that of a Union Territory. I am confident that your goodself will soon address the issue and announce statehood to J&K”.

He also praised the Prime Minister for making the dream of a rail link to the Valley a reality.

“I was in class 8 and since then I have been hearing about a rail link to the Valley. The dream has been realised in your time sir.

“The start of the train service to the Valley will save us from the loot of the airlines companies who hike airfare to Jammu from Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000 whenever the Srinagar-Jammu highway gets blocked.

“I must also pay my gratitude to Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who declared the rail link to the Valley a national priority project and made financial allocations for it,” CM Omar said.

On the stage with PM Modi, CM Omar’s body language was very cordial as the PM engaged him in some close to ear talk.

He was also in the forefront of all the official functions on Friday, including the inauguration of the Chenab Railway Bridge, the Anji cable stayed railway bridge, the flag-off ceremony of two Vande Bharat trains, one from Katra to Srinagar and the other from Srinagar to Katra.

CM Omar was among the dignitaries who welcomed the PM on the stage before the latter’s address to the public in Katra stadium.

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Business

RBI reduces inflation forecast to 3.7 pc for 2025-26

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Mumbai, June 6: The RBI has revised its inflation outlook for 2025-26 downwards from the earlier forecast of 4 per cent to 3.7 per cent, Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra said on Friday.

Taking all these factors into consideration, and assuming a normal monsoon, CPI inflation for the financial year 2025-26 is now projected at 3.7 per cent, with Q1 at 2.9 per cent, Q2 at 3.4 per cent, Q3 at 3.9 per cent, and Q4 at 4.4 per cent.

He pointed out that Inflation has softened significantly over the last six months from above the tolerance band in October 2024 to well below the target, with signs of a broad-based moderation. The near-term and medium-term outlook now gives us the confidence of not only a durable alignment of headline inflation with the target of 4 per cent, as exuded in the last meeting, but also the belief that during the year, it is likely to undershoot the target at the margin.

While food inflation outlook remains soft, core inflation is expected to remain benign with easing of international commodity prices in line with the anticipated global growth slowdown, Malhotra explained.

He pointed out that CPI headline inflation continued its declining trajectory in March-April, with headline CPI inflation moderating to a nearly six-year low of 3.2 per cent (y-o-y) in April 2025. This was led mainly by food inflation, which recorded the sixth consecutive monthly decline.

Fuel group witnessed a reversal of deflationary conditions and recorded positive inflation prints during March and April, partly reflecting the hike in LPG prices. Core inflation remained largely steady and contained during March-April, despite the increase in gold prices exerting upward pressure, Malhotra said.

The outlook for inflation points towards benign prices across major constituents. The record wheat production and higher production of key pulses in the Rabi crop season should ensure an adequate supply of key food items. Going forward, the likely above normal monsoon along with its early onset augurs well for Kharif crop prospects.

Reflecting this, inflation expectations are showing a moderating trend, more so for the rural households. Most projections point towards continued moderation in the prices of key commodities, including crude oil, the RBI Governor said.

However, at the same time, Malhotra had a word of caution. “Notwithstanding these favourable prognoses, we need to remain watchful of weather-related uncertainties and still evolving tariff-related concerns with their attendant impact on global commodity prices,” he added.

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International

Man shot in targeted attack in Australian state of Queensland

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Sydney, June 6: A man has been hospitalised with serious injuries following a targeted shooting in the Australian state of Queensland.

The Queensland Police Service said on Friday that emergency services were deployed to a house in Parkwood, 65 kilometres southeast of Brisbane, around 7:50 p.m. on Thursday in response to reports that a man had sustained gunshot wounds to his leg and other injuries to his hand.

According to media, the 21-year-old man was found at the scene with serious injuries and was taken to hospital in a stable condition.

A police statement said that initial inquiries indicated that the incident was a targeted shooting and that there was no ongoing threat to the public.

An investigation into the attack was ongoing and police commenced a search for the perpetrator.

In a separate incident, Australian police are investigating a fatal stabbing in a remote outback mining town west of Sydney.

Emergency services were called to conduct a welfare check at a home in Broken Hill, over 900 kilometers from Sydney in the far west outback of the state of New South Wales (NSW), just after 11:50 p.m. on Thursday.

Police officers arrived at the scene where they found a man, believed to be aged in his 40s, with stab wounds to his neck.

He was treated by ambulance paramedics but could not be revived and was declared deceased.

Local police established a crime scene at the house and have commenced an investigation into the man’s death with assistance from the NSW Homicide Squad.

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