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The Hindu Business Line, BY: SHISHIR SINHA NEW DELHI, MAY 4 The Goods and Services Tax Network - Special Purpose Vehicle (GSTN-SPV) will cease to be a private company and morph into a 100 per cent government owned entity. The GST Council, headed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, approved a proposal for the conversion at its 27th meeting here on Friday. GSTN is the IT backbone of the unified indirect tax system. Currently, the Centre and State Governments hold 24.5 per cent stake each in GSTN; non-governmental institutions hold the other 51 per cent. These institutions include HDFC, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, NSE Strategic Investment Co and LIC Housing Finance Ltd. Following the GSTN’s metamorphosis, the Centre will hold 50 per cent, and the remaining stake will be held by States governments on a pro rata basis. A Finance Ministry statement said the GST Council decided that the entire 51 per cent stake held by the non-governmental institutions in GSTN — amounting...

The Hindu Business Line,  MUMBAI, MAY 4 The Reserve Bank of India has asked banks authorised to deal in foreign exchange (Authorised Dealer-I Banks) to share data with the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI). This directive comes in the wake of the government making rules (in December 2017) to exercise powers conferred by the relevant sections of the Customs Act, requiring a banking company to furnish, electronically, information relating to foreign exchange transactions made or received by any person to the receiving authority (DRI). “All AD Category I banks are advised to ensure compliance with the same with immediate effect,” the RBI said. DRI is the apex intelligence and investigative agency for matters relating to violation of the Customs Act. Under the new rules, in the case of inward remittances, the agency can seek information relating to a remittee’s name, address, permanent account number (PAN), Goods and Service Tax Identification Number (GSTIN), Aadh...

The Hindu Business Line,  BY: AMRITA NAIR-GHASWALLA,   May 04, 2018 MUMBAI, MAY 4, 2018 The Akash surface-to-air missile defence system is once again in the news with the Army looking to order another batch, despite having previously discarded the idea in favour of Israel’s quick-reaction surface-to-air missiles (QR-SAMs). Confirming that a new order is in the works, a Defence Ministry official said the missiles would be “greatly enhanced” to perform to their fullest capability. Capabilities “Akash can fly at supersonic speeds, ranging from Mach 2.8 to 3.5, and engage aerial targets up to a range of 30 km. The kill probability of the missile is 88 per cent and can be increased to 98.5 per cent by launching a second missile after five seconds of launching the first. These features will enhance the system,” said the official. The indigenous missile was officially inducted into the Indian Army in 2015. Though the Army initially planned to add additional A...