Editor's Pick: Top stories for 29 March'17

Goods and Services Tax Bill passed by Lok Sabha

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday approved four supplementary legislations related to the historic Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime bringing it a step closer to its July 1 target of rollout. The legislations were passed after negation of a host of amendments moved by the Opposition parties.

Earlier during the 7-hour debate over the bill, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley allayed apprehensions of a spike in prices of goods and commodities after the roll out of the GST. Jaitley assured that tax rates will be kept at the current levels so as not to have any inflationary impact.

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Finance Bill passed in Rajya Sabha after five amendments

The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the Finance Bill after five amendments raised by the Opposition parties were adopted following a fiery debate after it was presented by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Of the five opposition amendments, three were moved by the Congress member Digvijaya Singh and two by Sitaram Yechury of CPI(M).

Earlier while defending Aadhar, Jaitley said it was a great initiative by the previous UPA government, and said that the NDA government was merely expanding it.

 "As far as benefits are concerned, you can produce Aadhar. If you don't have one, you can produce other ID and simultaneously apply for it," Jaitley said.
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Aadhar agency that tweeted Cricketer Dhoni's details blacklisted

Hours after Sakshi Dhoni, wife of former captain MS Dhoni expressed privacy concerns regarding Aadhar and complained to Union IT minister Ravishankar Prasad, the agency responsible for the gaffe was blacklisted for 10 years.

MS Dhoni's Aadhar details were tweeted out by a volunteer of the Common Service Centre in Ranchi who was involved in Aadhaar implementation.

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Sale, Registration of BS III compliant vehicles banned by SC
 

IN a bid to fight air pollution, the Supreme Court on Wednesday banned the sale and registration of vehicles which are not BS-IV compliant from April 1, 2017 across the country.

Observing that the “Health of the people is far more important than the commercial interest of automobile manufactures,” the court said that from April 1, all new vehicles that are to be sold in India will have to meet the Bharat Stage-IV emission norm standards.

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Oppo India Fires Chinese Employee Who Tore Indian Flag

A day after its employee from China reportedly tore the Indian national flag and dumped it in a dustbin, Oppo India the mobile manufacturer said that it has fired him.

The incident had attracted huge protests at the Noida Sector 63 facility with Oppo India employees joining the protest against the Chinese employee who was a production manager.

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TVF CEO Arunabh Kumar Booked for Molestation

Days after Arunabh Kumar, the CEO and founder of The Viral Fever (TVF), one of India's leading digital studios was accused by several women of having sexually molested them, the Mumbai police on Wednesday booked him.

Earlier, according to reports Mumbai Police was planning to shut the case after no women came forward to lodge a complaint against Kumar. In an official statement, TVF had termed these allegations as "ludicrous" and "defamatory".