Morning Brief: Time Running Out For GST: Jaitley; Pakistan Told To Vacate Gilgit-Baltistan And PoK; SC Going Paperless

Good Morning, Swarajya Readers! Here's What You Need To Know Today.

Time Running Out For GST, Says Jaitley: The government on Thursday emphasised the urgency to pass the GST laws during the current session of Parliament, saying the Centre and the states would otherwise lose their right to collect indirect taxes after 15 September. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in the Rajya Sabha that the government is keen to roll out the GST on 1 July and other aspects like bringing petroleum and land under its ambit will be considered after the first year of implementation of the new system of indirect tax collection.

Vacate PoK And Gilgit-Baltistan: India Tells Pakistan: In response to Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit favouring resolution to Kashmir dispute as per the “aspirations of Kashmiris”, India has said the only issue is the illegal occupation of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit-Baltistan by Pakistan. Union Minister Jitendra Singh reiterated India’s demand that Pakistan should vacate illegal occupation of these areas.

Ram Temple By 2024: Swamy: Bilateral talks are not enough to pave the way for the Ram temple, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentarian Subramanian Swamy said on Thursday. He claimed that the temple will be constructed at Ayodhya by 2024. Flagging off a ‘Tiranga Yatra’ organised by local BJP leader Amarpreet Singh Kale to honour those martyred in the Indian freedom struggle, Swamy said his party will ensure that the structure is constructed even if it’s through “parliamentary legislation”.

SC Going Paperless: Chief Justice of India J S Khehar declared on Thursday that the Supreme Court (SC) will go almost paperless in six to seven months. "We will electronically pick up records from trial courts and high courts. There will be no need for appellants to file those records. The appeal just has to state the grounds on which the petitioner is challenging a judgment in the SC," said the bench, also comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud and Sanjay K Kaul.

Aseemanand Granted Bail In Mecca Masjid Bomb Blast Case: Former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh worker Swami Aseemanand was granted conditional bail in the 2007 Mecca Masjid bomb blast case by a Hyderabad court on Thursday. This comes after a National Investigation Agency Special Court in Rajasthan held three persons guilty in the 2007 Ajmer blast case, but acquitted Aseemanand and six others. Nine people were killed in the Mecca Masjid blast during Friday prayers at the historic mosque on 18 May 2007.

New Push To Transform Five UP Cities: A project to transform five major cities in Uttar Pradesh – Varanasi, Agra, Mathura, Ayodhya and Gorakhpur – was among several projects discussed during a meeting between Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Tourism and Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma. Adityanath assured Sharma of fast-tracking the projects to change the faces of five cities ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

TB Is India’s Ticking Time Bomb, Warns Top Physician: A leading Mumbai physician has warned that tuberculosis (TB) is India’s ticking time bomb. He urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take immediate steps to tackle the disease that kills one Indian every minute. “Give us the new drugs we need to treat, give us the labs and tests to diagnose early, give us more funds,’’ said Dr Zarir Udwadia said on the eve of the World TB Day on 24 March. “Give us social change, because TB is the perfect expression of an imperfect civilisation.’’

Government Rules Out Farm Loan Waivers: The Union government on Thursday ruled out farm loan waivers, but said states can utilise their own resources for this purpose. Finance Minister clarified that the Centre will not adopt a selective approach by helping one state and not the others. “This issue (loan waiver) has cropped up in several states. The Centre has its policies for agriculture sector under which we provide interest subvention and other support. We will continue to give all that.”

Belgium Terror Attack Foiled As IS Claims London Assault: On a day when a potential terror attack was foiled in Antwerp, Belgium, the so-called Islamic State claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attack by a man named Khalid Masood, who ploughed an SUV into pedestrians on London's Westminster Bridge. In Antwerp, a Frenchman of north African origin, Mohamed R, tried to drive a car into a crowd in a shopping street but people jumped out of the way. Belgian security forces found a rifle as well as bladed weapons in the car.

MUST READ OP-EDS

Of Swayamsevaks And Intellectuals: Exemplary works are not enough to establish the hegemony of alternative narratives. That requires intellectual rigour. The challenge is to decolonise the Indian mind and ensure the revitalisation of India’s cultural and intellectual legacies.

The Coming Inflation Trade-Off: The onus of lowering inflation – and keeping it there – is now as much a fiscal goal as it is a monetary policy goal. A tight monetary policy may not bring down the sticky part of core inflation, and may end up reducing demand.

Making The Case For India’s Naval Build-Up: Navies regard aircraft carriers – not battleships – as the core of their war-fighting plans. Critics of the aircraft carrier fail to appreciate the political objectives that maritime power is meant to further.

American Economic Policy’s Impact On Indian Business: The new goods and services tax in India should also encourage American firms to invest in India since they now face a single tax throughout India.

SWARAJYA SPECIAL

London Terror: To Win The War, The West Needs To Empower Reformist Muslims: If the world is to become a saner place, it is Islam that needs to be secularised, and this task can be done only by Muslims.

We hope you enjoyed reading our morning brief. Have a great day ahead!

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