The New Indian Express wishes its reader a COIMBATORE l thursday l august 15, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 20 l LATE CITY EDITION 4 conferred second-highest gallantry award on I-Day eve Colonel Manpreet Singh, Rifleman Ravi Kumar, Major Malla Rama Naidu and J&K DySP Himayun Bhat were conferred the Kirti Chakra (From left) Col Manpreet Singh, Maj Malla Rama Gopal Naidu, Rifleman Ravi Kumar and J&K DySP Himayun Muzzammil Bhat Three kirti chakra awardees killed in action 18 conferred shaurya chakra Col Singh was killed in action during an anti-terror operation in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag last September. Col Singh was awarded Sena Medal during his tenure as second-in-command of the 19 Rashtriya Rifles. Bhat, who was deputy superintendant of J&K Police, also took party in the operation and was killed. Rifleman Ravi Kumar died fighting terrorists in Rajouri district last year ■ ■ Besides four Kirti Chakras, the list of gallantry awards include 18 Shaurya Chakras (four posthumous), one Bar to Sena Medal, 63 Sena Medals, 11 Nao Sena Medals and six Vayu Sena Medals Army’s Shaurya Chakra awardees include Col Pawan Singh, Major CVS Nikhil, Major Aashish Dhonchak and Major Tripatpreet Singh 103 Gallantry awards to armed forces and Central Armed Police Forces CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Tax bonanza for mineral states Army Captain killed in Jammu encounter F aya z w a n i @ Srinagar They can claim dues retrospectively from 2005: SC S U CHITRA K ALYAN M OHANTY @ New Delhi Soren: It’s big victory Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren said the ruling is a ‘big victory’, adding that the state expects to receive `1.36 lakh crore dues from the Centre MP, Raj to forego Responding to the govt’s submission that MP and Rajasthan don’t wish to collect dues, SC said it is up to the states to forego dues IN a boost to mineral-rich states but a major setback to mining companies and the Centre, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said that its July 25 judgment granting states the power to tax mineral rights and mineral-bearing land would apply retros p e c t iv e l y. T h e o r d e r empowers mining states such as Odisha, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh to recover royalty and tax dues on mineral rights and mineral-bearing lands worth thousands of crores of rupees with effect from April 1, 2005 from mining companies as well as the Central government. The apex court said the tax arrears can be paid to states over a staggered period of 12 years starting April 1, 2026. It also clarified that the states cannot impose any penalties for the dues. During the hearing on July 31, the Centre had opposed the demand of states for a refund of royalty levied on mines and minerals since 1989, saying the PSUs would lose more than `70,000 crore. Meanwhile, industry estimates put the total arrears at `1.5-2 lakh crore with the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries saying the verdict will further push the industry, which is already saddled with high taxation, into penury . In its judgment on July 25, a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court had held that states have competence and power to levy tax on mineral bearing lands. The majority 8:1 judgment authored by the Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud-led bench ruled that the power to tax mineral rights lies with the state legislature and not Parliament. PM’s economic advisory council member Shamika Ravi said the “spectre of retrospective taxation” is back, adding laws must protect against expropriation of property by individuals as well as by the state. Meanwhile, experts warned of a litany of litigation as states have been given unbridled powers to impose levies. Deepak Singh Army personnel near the site of an encounter between security forces and terrorists in Doda on Wednesday | PTI Gunfights on since tuesday night Terrorists slipped into Doda after a brief exchange of fire with forces in Udhampur on Tuesday evening, an official said. A search was conducted during the night, but they could not be located. Later, on Wednesday morning, fresh gunfights broke out in Doda An Army captain was killed in an encounter with terrorists in the dense Akar forests area of the Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir on the eve of Independence Day . An official said Captain Deepak Singh sustained serious injuries during the encounter on Wednesday. He died at a hospital. After the encounter, the terrorist fled and the Army along with the local police launched a search operation. During the search, a US-made M-4 rifle and three blood-stained backpacks were recovered. As the search continued, there were more exchanges of fire between the security forces and the terrorists. A terrorist was killed and a civilian was injured during one of these exchanges. As the operation stretched, specially trained para-commandos were rushed to the area to assist the troops. A security official said on Wednesday evening that the operation was going on. The official said they suspect three to four heavily armed militants are hiding in the forest area. The gunfire and blasts could heard outside the forest area. Home K’taka to close SBI, PNB accts Secy E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ B’luru Senior IAS officer Govind Mohan was on Wednesday appointed the next Union Home Secretary, succeeding Ajay Kumar Bhalla. He at present is Secretary, Ministry of Culture THE Karnataka government has decided to stop all its transactions with State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank citing financial irregularities in the deposits of the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board and Karnataka State Pollution Control Board. KIADB deposited `25 crore in PNB on September 14, 2011, as fixed deposit for one year. After a year, `13 crore was encashed. “However, in the second FD (for `12 crore) the money was not returned due to alleged irregularities by the bank officials,” reads a government circular. In the second instance, the KSPCB deposited `10 crore All govt dept, PSUs, boards, local bodies & universities should withdraw all deposits in SBI and PNB K’taka govt circular with the then State Bank of Mysuru as FD for one year in August 2013. “Bank officials by using fake documents adjusted the money to a loan taken by a private firm. Despite several meetings, the bank did not agree to return the money This case is now in . court,” the circular adds. The CAG in its report raised objections over both cases. It was also discussed in Public Accounts Committee meetings. The drastic decision was taken at one such meeting. express read Actor Khushbu Sundar resigns as NCW member Chennai: Actor Khushbu Sundar, a national executive member of the BJP, has resigned as a member of the National Commission for Women. The Ministry and Women and Child Development has accepted her resignation | P4 70% funds allotted for rly lines in TN slashed Chennai: The railway ministry has slashed 70% of funds from what was earmarked for new railway lines in Tamil Nadu for 2024-25 in the interim budget. A total of `246 crore have been allocated for eight new line projects, including Dharmapuri-Morappur (36 km) and Tindivanam-Nagari (180 km) lines, which is a major cut from `875 crore | P6
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