Expectations high in Dakshina Kannada as SSLC exams begin

Bengaluru, Mar 4: The Karnataka High Court has issued a notice to the state government in connection with the denial of retirement benefits to a retired deputy commissioner of commercial taxes who had fought against the illegal iron ore lobby.

Justice G Narendra also directed the state to respond to the notice before March 9, stating the reasons for withholding the officer’s retirement benefits.

Advocate Ramananda, appearing for the retired officer Josephat Andrews, explained that the single-judge bench also warned the government of stringent action.

Petitioner Josephat Andrews said his retirement benefits amounting to Rs 25.88 lakh were being withheld since 2014.

In 2009, Andrews detected a huge scam involving Vijaya Leasing, a company associated with former minister Gali Janardhan Reddy. Immediately he wrote to his higher officials explaining to them how the department was owed Rs 1,400 crore in taxes by the company. Immediately after that, Andrews was transferred to Bengaluru.

The media exposed the scam in 2012. Thereafter, to harass the officer, Andrews was served notice for allegedly not conducting an inspection of M/s Vijaya Leasing, which was controlled by the family of then tourism minister Gali Janardhana Reddy, on July 11, 2012.  He was discharged by a full departmental enquiry.

The petitioner was issued a second show cause notice on Jan 29, 2014 on the same charges. Before his retirement, he was docked two increments, denied promotional benefits and his pension was reduced without following due process.

He was served yet another notice with charges that he did not inspect goods vehicles, and an order was passed on April 30, 2019 reducing his pension by 5 per cent, an unprecedented punitive action.

This order was quashed by the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal (KAT), which also ordered payment of retirement benefits to Andrews within five months. However, the benefits were not released to him.  

“Rule 214 of the Karnataka Civil Services Rules (KCSR) make it clear that no enquiry can be held four years after an officer’s retirement.  Belying all statutory rules and precedents of the Supreme Court, Josephat Andrews’ retirement benefits were withheld for five years. Andrews therefore approached the High Court,” advocate Ramananda explained.

Josephat Andrews recalled to Deccan Chronicle that although mining activity was in full swing in 2008, the commercial tax department maintained that it had nothing to do with mining. “I travelled to Gujarat, Maharashtra and Bellary to investigate. I found tax evasion of thousands of crores. When I visited M/s the Vijaya Leasing facility – it was operating from an old oil mill premises–within 20 minutes I got calls from Ali, a person claiming to be the personal assistant of Gali Janardhan Reddy. He told me to get out of the premises as it belonged to his boss. Then calls came from minister Sreeramulu and MLA Nagendra. 

Within minutes 200-300 rowdies gathered around the building and my superior asked me to come back. Instead of filing a police complaint and forming a special team to deal with the situation, the department transferred me to Bengaluru,” he explained.

Talking about the High Court directive, Josephat Andrews said, “I have suffered a lot. Instead of getting a reward for increasing revenues by Rs 2,000 crore, I was punished.”

New Delhi, June 27: The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led union government of India is not ready to stop all imports from aggressive China in spite of mount calls to boycott Chinese products in India.

The Centre is reportedly considering to stop only non-essential imports from the neighbouring country.

However, the Inward shipment in sectors such as automobiles, pharmaceuticals, certain electronics and others will continue until a domestic alternative is found.

“India will gradually move towards import substitution. It will not happen overnight. In the meantime, attention has to be paid on production and job creation. We cannot throttle our industry. There are certain absolutely essential imports. Needless to say, those will keep going,” official sources said.

Sources said that both the government and the industry are in the process of identifying products that can be domestically manufactured in the medium term. There are certain chemicals, automotive components, handicrafts, cosmetics, agriculture items and certain consumer electronics, which can be manufactured domestically in the short to medium term. The government is doing all it can to raise the capacity of domestic industries.

However, there are certain other imports in the automobile and the pharmaceutical sectors which cannot be done away within the short to medium term. Their domestic production at the moment may not be that cost-effective.

The six-crore strong traders’ body CAIT has been at the forefront of such a demand and has launched a campaign to celebrate Indian Diwali this year with a total absence of Chinese goods.

“Ease of doing business, capital availability at lower rates and globally competitive logistics and energy costs are some of the prerequisites that the government should look into to ensure the growth of the domestic auto component industry,” according to Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) Director General Vinnie Mehta.

Maruti Suzuki Chairman R C Bhargava said, “People who are boycotting Chinese goods have to remember that in some cases it may lead to their being asked to pay more for the same product."

Meanwhile, domestic rating agency Acuite Ratings & Research has analysed the current import portfolio from China and found 40 sub-sectors have the potential to lower their import dependency on China. These sectors contribute to $33.6 billion worth of imports from China and about 25% of these imports can be substituted by local manufacturing without any significant additional investments.

Bengaluru, Apr 28: Ayurveda company, TotalAyurvedaCare.com recently launched a novel telemedicine platform that blends traditional Ayurvedic practices with modern technology, giving patients face-to-face interactions with Ayurvedic doctors.

Through the website, patients can book an appointment with a doctor and receive a consultation. Following this consultation, the doctor will prescribe Ayurvedic medicines and provide nutritional advice.

"COVID-19 has brought many unexpected changes to our lives, especially in the healthcare sectors where patients are now asked not to visit hospitals or doctors clinics unless it is a dire emergency. While social distancing and hand washing are some of the keys to containing the spread of the virus, we realized that boosting one's immunity plays a very vital role in keeping healthy. Our Telemedicine portal is ideal as patients can have access to Ayurvedic doctors at the comfort of their homes while minimizing risk to both patient and doctor", said Ed Lateef, Founder and CEO of TotalAyurvedaCare.com.

"The holistic care and treatment is completely personalized for every individual. With highly qualified and experienced doctors, we are on a mission to make the global community a healthy and happy place with Ayurveda. The online platform of TotalAyurvedaCare.com is for everyone to transform their lives. Ayurveda is the science of life and longevity and teaches us about the power of nature, its cycles, and its elements. We understand that Ayurveda is aimed at not only treating the condition but also helps to maintain the balance of soul and mind", he added.

TotalAyurvedaCare's objective is to increase accessibility of Ayurvedic treatments, with the streamlined website allowing patients to register for online consultation easily.

During the registration process, the patient will have to select their condition, doctor of choice and schedule the appointment. Payments occur online through a secured payment gateway.

Currently, the platform supports payment methods including netbanking, debit card, credit card, and PayTM. The platform also allows patients to review their doctors.

TotalAyurvedaCare.com is a division of Total Herbal Care, a company with strategic interests in herbal brands. Founded by Ed Lateef in 2001, for the retail and distribution of Ayurvedic products in the US, it also began operations in Europe in 2003 and then was merged with The Himalaya Drug Company LTD Europe (SIA The Himalaya Drug Company), which was co-founded by Ed Lateef.

As a part of their launch, TotalAyurvedaCare.com is offering free appointments of 30 minutes each for the first 200 participants. The online Ayurvedic Doctor consultation from Total Ayurveda Care is suitable for all the age groups including children.

The highly qualified and experienced Ayurvedic physicians offer personalized consultation for multiple health issues like diabetes, obesity, skin conditions, hair issues, hypertension, stress, anxiety, gastrointestinal problems, etc.

Total Ayurveda Care also offers specialized nutritional consulting, which is based on your current state of health, dietary habits and health issues.