Here are some important reports from the biggest newspapers of India.
1) Panama papers: Tax queries go out to all the names revealed
Units of the Income Tax (Investigation) across the country have dispatched detailed questionnaires to all Indian clients of Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca who were named by The Indian Express as part of an ongoing investigation. Officials said that the communications have already been dispatched to around 50 people in different cities and that these are in two parts. The first is a clarification on whether they are the persons named in The Indian Express report and whether they gave comments attributed to them on the offshore entities listed against their names.
The second communication is a more detailed questionnaire which has sought replies on the following: permissions sought by the client before incorporating the offshore entity; the manner in which money was routed for opening it; details of shareholders/directors/beneficial owners of the offshore entity; details of transactions and deposits in it; details of assets maintained by it; the extent of deposits made in the entity under the Liberalised Remittance. The clients have been given three days to respond.
2) Malegaon blast: NIA said 9 Muslims not linked to explosion, now opposes their discharge
Two years after it told a Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court in Mumbai that it did not have any evidence to link nine Muslim men to the September 2006 Malegaon bombings, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) went back on its stand Tuesday and opposed discharging the men of terror charges, as per report in the The Indian Express.
The nine men — Noorul Huda, Shabbir Ahmed, Raees Ahmed, Salman Farsi, Farogh Magdumi, Shaikh Mohammed Ali, Asif Khan, Mohammed Zahid and Abrar Ahmed — were arrested in 2006 for the Malegaon blasts that killed 37 and injured over 100. In November 2011, they were granted bail. Mumbai Sessions Judge V V Patil will now pass a final order on April 25.
3) 'Dead' man from Kerala temple fire wakes up, family cremates wrong body
A 'dead' man woke up in a hospital in Kerala while his family performed his last rites, believing they had found him among those who died in the temple fire accident in Kollam district.
As per a report in The Hindustan Times, Pramod, who was employed with the contractor who organised the banned fireworks display at the Puttingal temple in Paravur, was among the unconscious recuperating at a hospital in Attingal, about 25 km away. He regained consciousness on Monday night and managed to contact his family on Tuesday. His family however mistakenly identified another corpse as his given that many of the bodies recovered from the accident site were covered in black ash.
4) Kejriwal offers Grade-IV job to Vemula's brother who has MSc degree
The Delhi government has offered a clerical job to the brother of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula whose suicide triggered a debate on campus discrimination and led to a confrontation between student groups and the BJP-led government at the Centre.
Raja Vemula – a Masters degree holder in applied geology - said on Tuesday he was yet to accept the job, offered on "compassionate grounds". As reported in Hindustan Times, Delhi chief minister Kejriwal made an announcement on a job to Rohith's brother after meeting the Dalit student's mother in Delhi on February 24.
5) UP CM Akhilesh Yadav offers help to families of students killed in Ukraine
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has directed officials concerned to extend all possible help to the families of the two Indian students who were stabbed to death in Ukraine and another who sustained injuries in the attack. Pranav Shandilya of Muzaffarnagar and Ankur Singh of Ghaziabad were stabbed to death in Ukraine on April 10. Inderjeet Singh Chauhan of Agra also sustained injuries in the attack and is hospitalized.
"The Chief Minister has directed the district magistrates concerned and the Resident Commissioner of UP in New Delhi to extend all possible help to aggrieved families and coordinate with Indian Embassy in Ukraine to ensure that the bodies are brought back," as per a report in The Indian Express quoting an official spokesman.
6) Under-20 abortions reveal urban India's liberal attitudes
Most abortions reported in urban areas are below the age group of 20, pointing to a more liberal attitude towards sex and earlier engagement in sexual activity, reveals a government health survey.
The NSSO survey found that among all pregnancies reported, 77% in rural and 74% in urban areas ended with a live birth while abortion was only 2% in rural and 3% in urban India. But the highest 14% abortions were seen in the youngest age-group of those below the age of 20 in urban areas, as reported in The Times of India. The survey also found that pregnancy wastage was highest at 21% also in the youngest age group of less than 20 years.
7) Women to get more time for MPhil, PhD
Acting on suggestions made by HRD minister Smriti Irani last week, the University Grants Commission (UGC) on Tuesday decided to relax criteria for women and disabled candidates pursuing MPhil and PhD degrees. Women and those with more than 40% disability will now get a year extra to complete their MPhil papers and two years more to submit PhD theses. All women candidates will also be provided maternity leave and child care leave for up to 240 days once while they pursue these two degrees.
As per a report in The Times of India, in case a woman scholar needs to relocate because of marriage or otherwise during her study, she would be allowed to get research data transferred to the university to which she intends to shift provided all other regulatory conditions are followed and the research work does not pertain to a project secured by the parent institution or her supervisor from any funding agency.
8) Do away with learner's licence test: Arvind Kejriwal
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday suggested doing away with mandatory objective tests for obtaining a learner's driving licence during his meeting with Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari. While multiple sources said that Kejriwal was of the opinion that the present provision only provides room for corruption, road safety experts disagreed and warned any such move would be contrary to best practices which have helped cut road deaths.
The Times of India has learnt that during the meeting Kejriwal pointed out how regional transport offices have become dens of corruption and motor licensing officers use their discretion while issuing learner's licences to candidates. "He said since the applicant starts to learn driving after getting the licence, so he/ she can learn the necessary norms and stringent tests should be conducted while giving the final licence to a driver," said an official, who was present in the meeting.
9) Panama Papers: Initial inquiries suggest 90% Indians have used RBI's liberalised remittance scheme
Preliminary inquiries into accounts of about 500 Indians featuring in the Panama Papers don't appear to indicate large-scale wrongdoing, with most in accordance with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) rules, a government official said as reported in the Economic Times.
"About 90% of these accounts have used RBI's liberalised remittance scheme (LRS) but the rest should be prepared to face the music," he said, underscoring the government's intent to take action against those who didn't use last year's one-time amnesty before India's stringent black money law kicked in.
10) Flipkart to expand sales of two-wheelers nationwide; to begin with TVS Motor's entire range
Online retailer Flipkart, which forayed into the automotive space a year back, will commence nationwide sales of two-wheelers starting next month, as per a report in the Economic Times.
Flipkart had started sales of the entire range of TVS Motor's motorcycles and scooters in Bengaluru on a pilot basis in March. While the TVS Motor's portfolio would be made available nationally on its site from May, products from all major two-wheeler brands would be added in the next two to three months.
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