Nitish to skip opposition meet on VP pick

New Delhi, April 3: The Government on Thursday launched a mobile app developed in public-private partnership as part of efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus.

"The app, called 'AarogyaSetu' will enable people to assess themselves the risk for their catching the coronavirus infection," an official release said.

It said that the app will calculate this based on their interaction with others, using cutting edge Bluetooth technology, algorithms and artificial intelligence.

"Once installed in a smartphone through an easy and user-friendly process, the app detects other devices with AarogyaSetu installed that come in the proximity of that phone. The app can then calculate the risk of infection based on sophisticated parameters," the release said.

It said that the app will help the government take necessary timely steps for assessing risk of spread of COVID-19 infection and ensuring isolation where required.

"The app's design ensures privacy. The personal data collected by the app is encrypted using state-of-the-art technology and stays secure on the phone till it is needed for facilitating medical intervention," the release said.

It said the app is available in 11 languages and has highly scalable architecture.

"This app is a unique example of the nation's young talent coming together and pooling resources and efforts to respond to a global crisis. It is at once a bridge between public and private sectors, digital technology and health services delivery," the release said.

New Delhi, May 31: The income tax department has notified forms for filing income tax returns for the financial year 2019-20.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has notified Sahaj (ITR-1), Form ITR-2, Form ITR-3, Form Sugam (ITR-4), Form ITR-5, Form ITR-6, Form ITR-7 and Form ITR-V for the assessment year 2020-21.

The department has revised the I-T return forms for the financial year 2019-20 to allow assessees to avail benefits of various timeline extension granted by the government following the COVID-19 outbreak.

The government has extended various timelines under the Income Tax Act, 1961, through the Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation of Certain Provisions) Ordinance, 2020.

Accordingly, the time for making investment or payments for claiming deduction under Chapter-VIA-B of IT Act that include Section 80C (LIC, PPF, NSC etc.), 80D (Mediclaim) and 80G (Donations) for the financial year 2019-20 had been extended to June 30, 2020.

ClearTax founder and CEO Archit Gupta said, "The new forms require a separate table to disclose tax saving investment made in the first quarter of 2020 for availing them in FY 2019-20. Taxpayers must assess their tax liability for FY 2019-20 and make sure they are maximising their Section 80C benefits if not already done so."

Thiruvananthapuram , May 10: Issuing latest order in view of coronavirus outbreak, the Kerala government has ordered complete shut down on all Sundays.

"With a view to prevent the spread of COVID-19, improve the quality of life, reduce the carbon emissions, protect the environment and greenery of the State, the following protocol would be observed on Sundays across the State. Sundays will be observed as total shut down days until further orders," the order read.

Following activities will be permissible on Sundays:

A) Shops selling essential items

B) Collection and distribution of milk

C) Supply of Newspaper, media, hospitals, medical stores, medical labs and related institutions

D) No social gathering is permitted except for marriages and funerals

E) Departments, agencies and activities connected with the containment of COVID-19

F) Movement of goods vehicles

G) Agencies in the field of waste disposal

H) All manufacturing and processing activities of continuous nature and ongoing construction activities will be permitted

I) Take away counters of the hotel from 8 a.m to 9 p.m, online delivery up to 10 pm

J) Walking and cycling will be permitted.

K) In addition, the following roads mentioned in Annexure will be closed for motorised traffic except for movement of essential goods and emergency vehicles from 5 am to 10 am. During this time, non-motorised traffic such as walking and cycling will be permitted.

L) Movement of persons on Sundays are allowed only for health emergencies, Government servants on emergency duties and persons engaged in activities connected with Covid-19 containment, persons involved in the activities from (a) to (k) above, priests and other religious persons responsible for conducting rituals in worship places.

M) Any other movement of persons, if any in exigencies, shall only be with the travel passes obtained from District Collector or Police authorities concerned.