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After Apex rap, Center to submit list of all foreign bank account holders

October 29, 2014

New Delhi, Oct 29: The government will today submit the names of all Indians with foreign bank accounts following a severe reprimand from the Supreme Court which is monitoring the attempts to recover untaxed or black money stashed abroad.

Foreign Bank"Why are you providing a protective umbrella to foreign bank account holders?" asked the judges. "We can't leave the issue of bringing back black money to government. It will never happen during our time," they added, stating that they will rely more now on a special committee of retired judges and regulators appointed by the Supreme Court to map the recovery of black money.

Both the previous government headed by Dr Manmohan Singh and the new government have argued in court that tax treaties with other countries prohibit the disclosure of names till charges are framed.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government will respect the court order and it will be up to the judges to determine whether to publicly disclose the list that will be furnished by Wednesday. "There are 600 odd names in the list - we will give the list in a sealed cover and I'm sure the court will take appropriate steps to maintain their confidentiality," said Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi.

On Monday, the government named eight people in the top court who are being prosecuted for allegedly hiding undeclared cash in Swiss and other banks. Critics have accused the government of using tax treaties as a cop-out to shield rich and powerful citizens.

The government on Tuesday said once it has completed investigations against Indians who hold bank accounts in countries like Germany and Switzerland, it will provide all information to the Supreme Court. "You do not do anything. Just pass on the information of account holders to us and we will pass orders for a further probe," said the frustrated court.

The Supreme Court has been monitoring the investigations into black money since 2009, based on a petition filed by noted lawyer Ram Jethmalani.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

New Delhi, Jul 30: India's gold demand in 2020 is expected to fall to the lowest level in 26 years with domestic bullion prices hitting a record high and as falling disposable incomes could curtail retail purchases, the World Gold Council (WGC) said on Thursday.

Lower demand by the world's second-biggest bullion consumer could limit a rally in global prices, which hit a record high earlier this month, although it could also reduce India's trade deficit and support the ailing rupee.

"Fast rising gold prices could act as headwinds," said Somasundaram PR, the managing director of WGC's Indian operations.

Local gold futures have jumped 35% so far this year after rising a quarter in 2019.

India's gold consumption in the first half of 2020 plunged 56% on-year to 165.6 tonnes. Meanwhile, the coronavirus-triggered lockdown also slashed demand by 70% in the June quarter to 63.7 tonnes, the lowest in more than a decade, the WGC said in a report published on Thursday.

Millions of Indians have lost their jobs or taken a pay cut after the country imposed a lockdown on its 1.3 billion people to curb the spread of the virus that has infected more than 1.5 million Indians.

Consumption is generally high during the June quarter due to weddings and key festivals such as Akshaya Tritiya, but lockdown restrictions kept shoppers indoors this year.

The weak demand in the first half could drag down India's gold consumption in 2020 to the lowest since 1994, when demand stood at 415 tonnes, Somasundaram said, adding that it is still difficult to provide an estimate for full-year demand as the coronavirus crisis is still unfolding.

"Indian demand has previously jumped as much as 300 tonnes in a quarter. Latent demand could come out in the second half," Somasundaram said.

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Agencies
June 2,2020

Lucknow, Jun 2: Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Tuesday said protests in the US after the death of George Floyd, an African-American man, is a clear message to the world that a common man's life has value.

She said this is also guaranteed by the India Constitution, but the governments don't follow it, resulting in the current plight of migrants workers.

Floyd, a 46-year-old restaurant worker from Houston, died in Minneapolis on Monday after a white police officer pinned him to the ground. Video footage showed the officer kneeling on Floyd's neck as he gasped for breath, sparking widespread protests across the US.

"Floyd's killing by police and the 'Black lives matter' agitation in the US have given a clear message to the world that a common man's life has value and it should not be taken for granted," Mayawati said in a tweet in Hindi.

"India's constitution guarantees independence, security, self-respect and pride and governments should give special attention to it. If it was followed, crores of migrants labourers would not have to witness such bad days," she added.

She also demanded better coordination between states to check the spread of coronavirus and said Centre should intervene.

"While coronavirus patients are rising, there is lack of coordination between states and with the Centre, and allegation and counter-allegations are going on and sealing of state borders is unjustified and it is weakening the fight against the virus.  The Centre should intervene," she said in a separate tweet.

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News Network
January 2,2020

Perambalur, Jan 2: Veteran Tamil writer Nellai Kannan was arrested in Perambalur for criticizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah during a protest against Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

The Tirunelveli Police had registered the FIR against the writer for the speech delivered at a meeting, which was called by the Social Democratic Party of India on December 29 last year.

The police have booked him on the basis of multiple complaints filed by BJP leaders.

Kannan has been booked under Sections 504, 505(1) and 505(2) of the Indian Penal Code.

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