Govt ups duty on gold to 10 pc, plans import curb

August 14, 2013

Govt_ups_dutyNew Delhi, Aug 14: Acting for the third time since January, the government on Tuesday raised import duty on gold to 10 per cent to stem import of the yellow metal, a key contributor to India's exorbitantly high current account deficit (CAD) and the consequent currency depreciation.

But concerns remained that a 10 per cent duty difference in gold prices in India and outside may lead to increase in smuggling.

Duty on the precious metal was hiked in June, when its import rose to $2.9 billion.

The government expects to garner an additional Rs 4,830 crore through hikes in duties on two other precious metals, platinum and silver.

The move comes after Finance Minister P Chidambaram said on Monday that the government would soon take measures to compress luxury and non-essential imports.

Gold is the biggest luxury import in India which does not contribute to economic growth in a significant way but is shipped into the country to meet the domestic consumption demand.

Soon after the announcement, the rupee recovered to 61.12 to the dollar from 61.66, but analysts said more structural reforms were needed to stem the fall in the India currency, which has lost more than 10 per cent against the dollar this year.

Revenue Secretary Sumit Bose said the government was working on the proposed hike in import duties on non-essential goods, but sources in the ministry say that import duty could be hiked on items such as high-end cars and LCD and LED TV sets.

The government raised the customs duty on gold from 4 per cent to 6 per cent in January, too, and thereafter to 8 per cent in June. Despite that, there was an 87 per cent increase in gold import in the four-month period from April to July. Gold import went up to 383 tonnes in the April-July period this year, as against 205 tonnes in the same period last year.

Bullion traders said that after the latest measure, gold prices could go up by Rs 600 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Finance J D Seelam said there have been apprehensions that a duty hike could lead to an increase in smuggling of gold or gold jewellery. In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, he said customs and other departments have been alerted to keep a vigil against smuggling.

During April-July, a total of 294 kg of gold, valued at Rs 75 crore, have been seized by the Customs Department.

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News Network
April 10,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 10: Eight foreign nationals from Italy and United Kingdom, who were undergoing treatment in Kerala, have recovered fully from COVID-19, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Thursday.

The state reported 12 more positive cases of coronavirus on Thursday taking the total number of confirmed cases to 357, Vijayan said as he cautioned that the strict vigil against the pandemic will continue.

While the northern districts of Kannur and Kasaragod reported four cases each, two cases were reported from Malappuram district and one each from Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram districts, Vijayan told reporters after a COVID-19 review meeting here.

Of the eight foreign nationals, seven were undergoing treatment at the Ernakulam Medical College Hospital and one in Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital, Vijayan said, adding that some of the patients were in a serious condition.

The seven foreigners from UK, admitted in Ernakulam medical college, were part of the group which had on March 15 tried to leave the country without permission while being under observation at Munnar, a hill station in the state.

The Italian tourist in Thiruvananthapuram was staying at a resort at Varkala near here and was admitted to hospital on March 13, Vijayan said.

"The recovery of this UK tourist group, which comprised of 83 and 76-year-olds is a testimony to our robust healthcare system and good treatment extended to these patients," the chief minister said.

It has been 100 days since the first COVID-19 case was reported in the state and since then, a total of 357 cases have been confirmed and currently, 258 patients are under treatment in different hospitals.

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News Network
February 11,2020

Thrissur, Feb 11: The latest test result of the woman medical student, who arrived here from China's Wuhan region and was the first positive case from India for the novel Coronavirus (nCoV), has come out negative, health officials said on Monday.

Her condition was "stable", they said.

According to the state health department as of now, 31 people are in isolation wards across various hospitals in the state.

"The blood test result of the first patient from Thrissur, from the National Institute of Virology (NIV) testing centre at Alappuzha, shows a negative result.

But we need confirmation from the NIV at Pune," a senior medical officer told news agency.

After the first positive case was reported from Thrissur, two other Keralite students from Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus, had tested positive in Alappuzha and Kasaragod districts.

The health department had earlier said those in isolation wards of various hospitals in the state have come down to 34.

"A total of 3,367 are under observation across the state, of which 3,336 are under home quarantine," a release issued by the health department said.

The department has already sent at least 364 samples for testing at the NIV at Pune and so far 337 results have returned negative.

The ''state calamity'' alert, which was declared on February 3, was withdrawn on Friday after no new positive cases of infection were detected.

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June 9,2020

Udupi, Jun 9: Karnataka Minister for Primary and Secondary School S Suresh Kumar on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of either postponing or cancelling SSLC exam in the State and it will start from June 25 as scheduled.

Replying to a question, the Minister said that Telangana and Tamil Nadu States might have cancelled the SSLC exam, but Karnataka will not follow them. "Will hold the examination from June 25 to July 4 by taking all care to protect the interests of the Children.

The SSLC exam was originally scheduled for March 27, but was postponed as lockdown was clamped following the spread of killer Coronavirus.

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