Modi, Rajnath assure to include Tulu in 8th schedule of constitution

Belagavi, Feb 22: A madrasa in Karnataka’s Belagavi district hosted a Hindu-Muslim mass marriage on its premises on Friday, sending a strong message of communal amity. As many as 76 Muslim couples and 25 Hindu couples entered marital life on the occasion.

Madarsa Al Arabia Anwarul Ulooma, an Islamic religious institute in Bailhongal, 50km from Belagavi district headquarters, played host to the event that was organised by Jamia Faizan-ul-Quran and Issa Foundation, which has conducted mass marriages on a bigger scale in Gujarat.

The mass marriage comes a month after the 100-year-old Cheravally Jamaat Masjid in Kerala’s Kayamkulam in Alappuzha hosted a Hindu wedding, complete with a vegetarian feast for 4,000 people. A Hindu priest led the rituals, and the couple sought the blessings of chief imam Riyasudeen Faizy of the mosque.

At Bailhongal, moulvis and pontiffs led the marriage proceedings and asked the couples to read passages from Quran and Bhagvad Gita.

The Hindu couples were gifted a copy of the Gita, and newly-married Muslim couples received a copy of Quran. The organisers provided each Hindu bride a mangalsutra. Bailhongal MLA Mahantesh Koujalagi blessed the couples at the event, which was attended by more than 4,000 people.

Mohammad Rafique A Naik, a member of Jamia Faizan-ul-Quran, said they have gifted each couple a refrigerator, an almirah and a tailoring machine. Ranjita Kalala, a bride who married a daily-wage labourer, said her family couldn’t afford the cost of a wedding, adding, “When we learnt about the Bailhongal madrassa’s plan, we agreed to sign up because it also sends out a message of communal harmony.”

New Delhi, Feb 1: The budget is a little more demanding of the non-resident Indian. Firstly, to be categorized a non-resident, an Indian now has to stay abroad for 240 days, against 182 previously. In other words, an Indian national, to claim the non-resident status, can’t stay in India for 120 days or more in a year.

“We've made changes in Income Tax Act where if an Indian citizen stays out of the country for more than 182 days, he becomes non-resident,” said Revenue Secy Ajay Bhushan Pandey. “Now in order to become non-resident, he has to stay out of the country for 240 days.”

The second rule is more deadly: a non-resident Indian, who is not taxed in the foreign country, will become taxable in India.

“If any Indian citizen is not a resident of any country in the world, he'll be deemed to be a resident of India and his worldwide income will be taxed,” said Pandey.

"It's a very big disadvantage for Indians residing overseas only to save on tax,"  said Dinesh Kanabar of Dhruva Advisors. He expects that many Indians stay abroad in countries, where the income tax is low or nil such as Dubai. Now they will be taxed in India if they are in the income tax bracket.

For Indians, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman revised income tax rats and proposed new tax slabs.

The new income tax rates will, however, not allow exemptions under Section 80C. Home loan exemption, insurance exemptions, the standard deduction will also not stay under the regime.

"The new tax regime will be optional and the taxpayers will be given the choice to either remain in the old regime with exemptions and deductions or opt for the new reduced tax rate without those exemptions," Sitharaman said while unveiling Budget.

Bengaluru, Mar 4: Seeking to allay fear among the citizens in the wake of Coronavirus scare, Karnataka Health Minister B Sriramulu on Wednesday made an appeal to the people not to pay heed to rumours spreading on social media.

In a series of tweets, Mr Sriramulu assured people that the government has taken adequate measures to ensure that the disease does not spread further. "Don't lend your ears to rumours about the Coronavirus in the social media. Rely only on the authentic information," he tweeted.

The minister's tweet came as Bengaluru reported the first case, after a techie from the city with a travel history to Dubai and interaction with Hong Kong-based people there, was admitted to a hospital in Hyderabad.

As panic gripped the city, Mr Sriramulu said the apartment where the software engineer was staying has been sanitised. Besides, his 25 colleagues have been identified. One of them has been admitted to the hospital as a precautionary measure and his blood sample has been sent for lab test.

"So far 40,207 people have been screened at the International airport. 251 blood tests have been done, of which 238 were found negative, while the rest of the reports are yet to come," Mr Sriramulu tweeted.

The health department said three people have been admitted to the isolation ward at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD).

Meanwhile, a parent appealed to people not to panic about the Coronavirus in the techie's apartment, where his son too resides. "My son is from the same apartment. To update everyone, there is absolutely nothing wrong here. It was more of panic on social media that created this," he said in a message.

He said that the man who is in Telengana and testedpositive stayed in this building on February 21. "His roommate was taken to hospital and has tested negative," he said. It is been two weeks since the incident. The virus cansurvive only for 48 hours under optimal conditions, he noted. "Everyone in this building is safe. Please educate yourself. Refrain from spreading panic and misinformation." he added.