Citizens Financial News

By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Johann M Cherian

New Delhi (India), July 17: The inaugural City Champions Summit today recognised and awarded 15 top Indian organisations driving urban transformation. The 15 innovators honoured at the event were chosen by a 9-member jury from across the country.

The European Union says the American candidate to become one of the bloc’s chief economists will now not take up the position because of the political controversy it has stirred

informal employees are prioritising factors such as prestige and career potential over wages today, says a Quess Corp report. The report by leading business service provider Quess Corp titled ‘New Collar Generation Report' uncovers the aspirations of India's informal economy post-pandemic.

Former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) chief Uddhav Thackeray Wednesday met his former ally and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar for the first time after the NCP leader joined the Eknath Shinde government. The meeting came after Thackeray, a member of the state legislative council, attended the house proceedings for a brief period and also a day after the former Chief Minister was present in a key meeting with other opposition parties in Bengaluru.

Aadhaar-PAN Link latest news (July 19): Amid concerns raised by certain NRIs/OCIs regarding their Permanent Account Numbers (PANs) becoming inoperative, the Income Tax Department has issued fresh clarifications and suggestions.

The Income Tax Department on Tuesday said Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and foreign citizens whose permanent account numbers have become inoperative due to non-linking with Aadhaar should submit proof of their residential status to the jurisdictional assessing officer for operationalising the PAN.The department said concerns have been raised by certain NRIs/Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) regarding their PANs (Permanent Account Numbers) becoming inoperative.

Mumbai may also get a reserved compartment in Mumbai local. In response to a public interest litigation filed in 2022, Indian Railways reportedly said that it is considering the reservation of one luggage compartment specifically for senior citizens in local trains. As per ToI, the PIL highlighted that approximately 50,000 elderly commuters travel daily on suburban trains in Mumbai, facing difficulties in finding seats, as the limited 14 seats dedicated to seniors in the second class are often occupied by younger passengers during peak hours.

forest department of Bengal has embarked on a significant endeavor to enhance the green cover of the region. A mass afforestation drive was recently organized, with the objective of planting white and red sandalwood trees along Red Road, one of the prominent thoroughfares in the state. The main goal of the initiative is to successfully repopulate these specific trees in other states such as Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.

Income Tax Returns (ITRs), 7 days early this year, compared to the preceding year! Over 3 crore ITRs for AY 2023-24 have already been filed till 18th of July this year as compared to 3 crore ITRs filed till 25th of July last year," the income tax department tweeted.   Out of the 3.06 crore ITRs filed till 18th July, 2023, 2.81 crore ITRs have been e-verified i.e. more than 91% ITRs filed have been e-verified! Out of the e-verified ITRs, more than 1.50 crore ITRs have already been processed, read the tweet.

India has significantly improved its passport ranking by rising 5 spots from last years and is now ranked 80th in the latest Henley Passport Index. Owning to this, Indians can travel to 57 destinations completely visa free or visas on arrival arrangements.  However, it is to be noted here that India has scored poorly in mobility.

NDA alliance whose political campaigns and speeches have largely focused on evoking patriotism. The Opposition and the NDA alliance both held meetings recently, showcasing their number strength and setting the tone for their 2024 Lok Sabha campaign. The Hindi tagline, Jeetega Bharat, means «India will win» and is likely to be replicated in several regional languages, sources told PTI.

Gruha Lakshmi Yojana would be able to register for free without being lured by any middleman. Under the Gruha Lakshmi scheme, women heads of households across the state would receive ₹2,000 every month. As per the minister, this scheme would benefit as many as 12.8 million families in the state.

Reuters. She was visiting Vasanello, a village north of Rome In Greece, authorities told citizens close to a forest fire in Dervenochoria, north of Athens, to shut doors and windows as smoke approached. Extreme weather conditions are affecting Americans across the country.

A lawyer representing Chinese citizens in Florida has told a federal judge that a new law banning them and some other foreign nationals from purchasing property in large swaths of the state violates federal housing discrimination laws

French President Emmanuel Macron isn't happy that the European Union head office plans to hire an American expert as its chief competition economist

I am glad to note that India’s longest-serving chief statistician, T.C.A. Anant, found some useful insights in my recent Carnegie Endowment working paper, India’s Statistical System: Past, Present, Future (shorturl.at/FIJOU). But he objects to the narrative of a long decline in India’s official statistical system in his Mint column last week (shorturl.at/chrM6).

Taj Mahal in Agra.  According to reports, this is the first time in forty five years that the Yamuna waters have breached embankments to reach the walls of Taj Mahal.  “The water level has been rising continuously for the past 3 days. The situation is under control currently. Wherever the flow of water has increased, all precautionary measures have been taken," said Ankit Khandelwal, Municipal Commissioner, Agra to news agency ANI.

While Non-Resident Indians NRIs are not required to obtain an Aadhaar number, the recent conclusion of the deadline for linking PAN and Aadhaar numbers caused distress for many NRIs, as their PAN cards have become 'inoperative.' To allay these fears, the Income Tax Department issued three clarifications. Firstly, ITD has mapped the residential status of NRIs in case they have filed the ITR in any of the last 3 AYs or they have intimated their residential status to the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer (JAO). The PANs have been rendered inoperative, in case any one of the above-mentioned criteria is not met. NRIs whose PANs are inoperative have been asked to intimate their residential status to their respective JAO along with supporting documents with a request to update their residential status in the PAN database. Details of JAO can be found here.

Road accidents claim around 1.5 million lives in India every year, contributing 11 per cent to the total number of such fatalities globally, according to a FICCI-EY report. Globally, at least one life is lost every 24 seconds due to road traffic injury, said the report released on Tuesday. As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), road crash is the 8th leading cause of death with more than 1.3 billion deaths and 50 million serious injuries. It is the leading cause of death amongst youth and kids aged 5 to 29 years, it said. «1st rank in road fatalities is held by India (11 per cent share in the world). Every year India loses 1.5 million lives in road crashes...Every year we lose a number of people the size of the population of Estonia,» the report titled 'Road Safety in India — Navigating through nuances' said. India is a signatory to Brasilia Declaration which aims to half the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic crashes by 2030. The report was released by Tukuni Sahu, Minister for Transport, Water Resources & Commerce, government of Odisha, in the national capital.

Tesla is due to hold a question-and-answer session on Tuesday for citizens in the German state of Brandenburg on the ramifications of a planned expansion of its EV and battery plant which would make the site the biggest car plant in the country. The event could help the U.S. carmaker prevent delays to securing the go-ahead from local authorities for the expansion plans similar to those it faced in preparing to open the plant, when numerous citizen objections put it behind schedule.