TUESDAY www.thestatesman.com 19 JULY 2022 FIND US ONLINE Scan this with your smartphone twitter.com/TheStatesmanLtd facebook.com/thestatesman1875 Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR P5 WEATHER MOSTLY CLOUDY SKY. LIGHT RAIN/ THUNDERSHOWERS. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 34 AND 28 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. EMERGENCY DECLARED IN SRI LANKA GLOBAL FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR RUPEE DEPRECIATION RS STEWARDSHIP WAS A TESTING EXPERIENCE P8 STOKES ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT FROM ODI FORMAT P9 P12 New Parl session Voting held to elect India's next President off to rocky start RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY PM Modi, former PM Manmohan Singh among voters Max: 81% STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 18 JULY Min: 71% TEMPERATURE Max: 34°C SUN RISES 05:02 hrs MOON RISES 22:46 hrs Min: 28°C SUN SETS 18:22 hrs MOON SETS 10:31 hrs oting to elect the next President of India concluded today with NDA's Droupadi Murmu taking on joint Opposition nominee Yashwant Sinha in the battle for the highest constitutional post in the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, BJP chief J P Nadda, Union ministers, and MPs belonging to different political parties were among those who cast ballots at the Parliament House. Voting was simultaneously held in various state assemblies with the chiefs ministers and leaders of Opposition being among those who exercised their franchise. The Rajya Sabha Secretary General was the Returning Officer for the election. A total of 4,809 electors were expected to cast ballots in the electoral exercise. The electoral college consisted of elected MPs, and state legislators, including those from the National Capital Territory of Delhi V THUMBNAILS Vehicles move through the waterlogged road ANI after rainfall in Ajmer on Monday. 2 women killed in stampede in Shiva temple in Siwan: Two women died and another was injured in a stampede at a Shiva temple in Bihar's Siwan district on Monday morning. A large number of devotees assembled at Mahendra Nath temple in Siwan to offer Jal (Ganga water) on the "Shivling". When the gate of the temple opened at 3 a.m., the devotees rushed inside in large numbers leading to a stampede. Few women fell on the ground and were crushed by others. and the Union Territory of Puducherry. The counting of votes will take place on 21 July. The term of present incumbent Ram Nath Kovind ends on 24 July. In the high-profile contest, NDA's Murmu enjoyed the backing of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Janata Dal (Secular), Shiromani Akali Dal, both the factions of Shiv Sena and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). A former Governor of Jharkhand and a former Odisha minister, Murmu, if elected, will be the first tribal President of India and the country's second female president. Opposition's Sinha, a former Union Minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government who later joined the Trinamool Congress, was backed by the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Aam Aadmi Party, Samajwadi Party, and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Talking to reporters, Sinha appealed to the elec- tors to cast a ''conscience vote'' rather than going by the dictates of their parties. He alleged that government agencies were being misused to compel MPs and MLAs to vote for his rival in the fray. The system of the secret ballot was followed in the presidential election and the parties were not eligible to issue whips to their MPs and MLAs with regard to voting. The value of the vote of a Member of Parliament had gone down to 700 from 708 in this presidential poll due to the absence of a legislative assembly in Jammu and Kashmir. In accordance with the Election Commission’s directions, while MPs got a green-coloured ballot paper, the MLAs were provided a pink ballot paper to cast their vote. Separate colours helped the returning officers to ascertain the value of vote of each MLA and MP. Seeking to maintain the secrecy of voting, the EC had also issued a specially designed pen with violet ink to enable voters to mark their ballot papers in the presidential poll. SC to hear on 20 July plea of Thackeray camp against disqualification proceedings Civil aviation minister Scindia reviews safety norms with airline chiefs AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 18 JULY NEW DELHI, 18 JULY The Supreme Court on Monday posted for hearing the petition filed by the Uddhav Thackeray-led camp challenging the initiation of disqualification proceedings against them by the Speaker, along with the other petitions related to Maharashtra's political crisis on July 20. Senior advocate Devdutt Kamat mentioned the matter for hearing before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, which posted it along with other pending pleas coming up for hearing on Wednesday. "Maharashtra matters are listed on Wednesday. Request for tagging the same along with them," Kamat told the bench. A bench of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli is slated to hear on Wednesday the pleas filed by the Uddhav Thackeray-led camp and Eknath Shinde camp. Earlier, the top court had asked the Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Rahul Narwekar not to take any action on the new disqualification notices issued against the members of Shiv Sena. It had asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Maharashtra Governor, to inform its direction to the newly-appointed Assembly Speaker. The order of the bench had come after senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Uddhav Thackeray camp, mentioned the matter for urgent listing of the pleas saying the matters were posted for July 11 but were not listed today. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 18 JULY As expected, the Monsoon session of parliament got off to a rocky start. Amid sloganeering of the Opposition members demanding discussion over price rise, the Lok Sabha on Monday was adjourned for the day. The Lok Sabha proceedings will resume at 11 a.m. on July 19 (Tuesday). Earlier on Monday, soon after the proceedings of the Monsoon Session began, the House was adjourned till 2 p.m. However, the House resumed for the day amid sloganeering, after the voting for the Presidential candidate. As the House met for the first time in the Monsoon Session of Parliament, three MPs took oath as members of the Lok Sabha. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minis- Discuss all issues with open mind during Monsoon session: PM Modi’s appeal to MPs AGENCIES STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 18 JULY With an aim to review the security surveillance of the flights, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday chaired a one-onone meeting with heads of airline companies. The meeting was held to take note of safety norms. The meeting comes after several instances were reported in the country where flights were diverted citing safety or functioning issues. An Air India Express aircraft while operating from Calicut to Dubai was diverted to Muscat after a burning smell was observed from one of the vents in the forward galley of the flight on Saturday. A senior official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) confirmed that the Air India Express B737-800 aircraftVT-AXX operating flight IX-355 (CalicutDubai) was diverted to Muscat as, during Cruise, a burning smell came from one of the vents in the forward galley." "Crew carried out a non-nor- mal checklist for smoke, fire or fumes and diverted to Muscat and landed safely," he said. The official also said that the on-ground engineering inspections were carried out as a relevant task of the Fault Isolation Manual. He said that the Engine Ground run was carried out with both the ENGINE and auxiliary power unit (APU) operating. Another Indian flight, a Hyderabad-bound IndiGo airliner from Sharjah was diverted to Pakistan's Karachi airport after the pilot reported a technical defect. "IndiGo flight 6E-1406, operating from Sharjah to Hyderabad was diverted to Karachi. The pilot observed a ter Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi were among those present in the House. Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MPs staged a protest in front of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi on the first day of the session. There was a ruckus created by the Opposition party members following disruption in Rajya Sabha proceedings, leading to the adjournment of the House for the entire day. A joint Opposition including Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and Shiv Sena created ruckus at the pandemonium in the House after oath affirmation and obituary references. Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu requested the members to maintain the dignity of the House and let it further continue the proceedings in the normal way technical defect. Necessary procedures were followed and as a precaution, the aircraft was diverted to Karachi," IndiGo said in a press release. It further added that an additional flight will be sent to Karachi to fly the passengers to Hyderabad. Notably, this is the second Indian Airline to make a precautionary landing in Karachi in 2 weeks. The Union Minister had earlier chaired a high-level meeting with senior officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) over air safety after three emergency landings at airports in the country in the last 48 hours. Describing Parliament as a pilgrimage centre for dialogue and discussion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today appealed to the members of the two Houses to hold discussions on various issues with an open mind to make the Monsoon Session fruitful and productive. "This period is very important. It is the period of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. There is a special significance of 15th August and the coming 25 years- when the nation would celebrate 100 years of independence. It would be the time to make a resolution to decide our journey and the new heights we scale," he told media persons at the Parliament House just before the Monsoon Session began. "There should be dialogue in Parliament with an open mind, if necessary, there should be a debate. I urge all MPs to contemplate deeply and discuss matters to make this session as fruitful and productive as possible," Modi said. He said, "This Session is also important because elections for the office of President and Vice President are taking place right now. Voting (for the Presidential election) is taking place today. During this period, the new President and Vice President will begin guiding the nation." The PM said; ''We always consider the House as an efficient medium of communication, a pilgrimage centre. There should be criticism, there should be a very good type of analysis and analysis of things should be done in detail.'' He hoped everyone would cooperate as democracy runs only through everyone's efforts. ''The House runs only because of everyone's efforts.The House takes the best decision only with the efforts of everyone. And, therefore, while fulfilling our duties to enhance the dignity of the House, we should make the most use of this session in the national interest,'' he added. Second monkeypox case in New GST rates on pre-packaged labelled goods come into effect India reported from Kerala The recommendations on Goods and Services Tax rates that were made during the STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 18 JULY AGENCIES THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 18 JULY India reported the second confirmed Monkeypox case from Kannur district on Monday, confirmed officials from Union Health Ministry and National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). As per Kerala Health minister's office, a 31-year-old male has been infected with the virus. He is undergoing treatment in Pariyaram Medical College Kannur. "One more monkeypox confirmed in Kerala. The 31 year old man from Kannur is currently undergoing treatment at Pari- yaram Medical College. The patient's health condition is reported to be satisfactory," said Kerala Health Minister Veena George. The multidisciplinary central team of officials has been already deployed by the Union Health Ministry. Those in close contact with him have been put under surveillance, the minister added. Earlier on July 14 India reported the first Monkeypox case of a UAE traveller from Kerala. The Union Health Ministry on Friday released new guidelines for the management of the Monkey pox disease. The Ministry listed out points for the general masses to avoid the contradiction of the disease which included avoiding contact with dead or wild animals (rodents, monkeys). An official to agencies also said that no need to panic all fresh guidelines has been issued to all States and UTs. The changes relating to the GST rate, in pursuance of recommendations made by the GST Council at its 47th meeting, came into effect from today. One such change is moving from the imposition of GST on specified goods when bearing a registered brand or brand in respect of which an actionable claim or enforceable right in a court of law is available to the imposition of GST on such goods when“pre-packaged and labelled”. An official note said certain representations have been received seeking clarification on the scope of this change, particularly in respect of food items like pulses, flour, cereals, etc., as has been notified on 13 of July and the corresponding notifications for SGST and IGST. The note said that prior to 18 July, GST applied on specified goods when they were put up in a unit container and were bearing a registered brand name or were bearing a brand name in 47th GST Council meeting held in June come into effect today. Following is a list of items that will get costlier: 1 GST on paper knives, spoons, forks, ladles, skimmers, cake-servers increased from 4 12 % to 18 %. Curd, lassi, and puffed rice would attract GST at the rate of 5 per cent when pre-packaged and labelled. Here are some goods and services where GST has been slashed: 2 GST on petroleum/ coal bed methane will be increased from 1 5 % to 12 % . Pre-packaged and labelled pulses, and cereals like rice, wheat, and flour (atta) will now attract 5 per cent GST when branded and packed in a unit container. 3 respect of which an actionable claim or enforceable right in a court of law is available. With effect from today, this provision undergoes a change and GST has been made applicable to the supply of such "prepackaged and labelled" commodities attracting the provisions of the Legal Metrology Act. For example, items like pulses, cereals like rice, wheat, and Tax on the transport of goods and passengers by ropeways reduced from 18 % to 5 % Renting of truck or goods carriage where the cost of fuel is included will be cheaper as the tax is reduced from 18 % to 12 % 2 flour (atta), etc., earlier attracted GST at the rate of 5 per cent when branded and packed in a unit container.With effect from today, these items would attract GST when “prepackaged and labelled”. Additionally, certain other items such as Curd, Lassi, puffed rice, etc. when“prepackaged and labelled” would attract GST at the rate of 5 per cent. Essentially, this is a change in modalities of imposition of GST on branded specified goods to“pre-packaged and labelled” specified goods. For the purposes of GST, the expression ‘pre- packaged and labelled’ means a ‘pre-packaged commodity’ as defined in clause (l) of section 2 of the Legal Metrology Act, 2009, where the package in which the commodity is pre-packed, or a label securelyaffixedtheretoisrequired to bear the declarations under the provisions of the Legal Metrology Act and the rules made thereunder. In the context of food items (such as pulses, cereals like rice, wheat, flour etc), the supply of specified pre-packaged food articles would fall within the purview of the definition of 'pre-packaged commodity' under the Legal Metrology Act, 2009, and the rules made thereunder, if such pre-packaged and labelled packages contained a quantity up to 25 kg [or 25 litre] in terms of rule 3(a) of Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, subject to other exclusions provided in the Act and the Rules made thereunder. Thus, it is clarified that a single package of these items [cereals, pulses, flour, etc.] containing a quantity of more than 25 Kg/25 litre would not fall in the category of the pre-packaged and labeled commodity for the purposes of GST and would, therefore, not attract GST. but several members of the Opposition parties trooped into the well of the House and started sloganeering. The Opposition members raised issues while interrupting the ongoing speech of the Rajya Sabha Chairman, and started sloganeering against the Central government, saying "Tanasahi Nahi Chalegi (dictatorship will not go on)". Amid the din, Naidu continued the proceedings for a few minutes but he later adjourned the House for the day. "Some people (members of parliament) have come here intending to disrupt the proceedings...The House stands adjourned for the day to meet again on Tuesday," Naidu announced. Earlier, when the House assembled at 11 am, nearly 28 members took the oath of affirmation and obituary references were read in respect of several dignitaries who passed away recently. The Rajya Sabha also paid homage to former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, ex-UAE president Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and former Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki. FACT FILE TOTAL CASES 4,37,67,534 ACTIVE CASES 1,44,264 NEW CASES 16,935 NEW RECOVERIES 16,069 TOTAL DEATHS 5,25,760 UNION HEALTH MINISTRY FIGURES AS OF 8.00 A.M. MONDAY 18 JULY 2022 Bengal recorded 1,449 cases and 6 deaths India registers 16,935 fresh Covid cases in last 24 hours STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 18 JULY India reported 16,935 fresh Covid cases in the last 24 hours, stated the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday. With this, India’s active caseload now stands at 1,44,264 with active cases now constituting 0.33% of the country’s total positive cases. As per the data shared by the ministry, India’s recovery rate stands at 98.47% with 16,069 patients having recovered in the last 24 hours taking the cumulative tally of recovered patients to 4,30,97,510. While the weekly positivity rate in the country currently stands at 4.58 percent, the daily positivity rate shoots to 6.48 percent, as per the data. Besides, the health ministry stated that the last 24 hours saw a total of 2,61,470 COVID19 tests being conducted taking the cumulative tests to over 86.96 crores. Under the National vaccination drive, 200 crore vaccine doses have been administered so far. As per the data, COVID-19 vaccination for the age group 12-14 years was started on 16 March 2022. So far, more than 3.79 crore adolescents have been administered the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Similarly, the COVID-19 precaution dose administration for the age group 18-59 years also started from 10 April 2022 onwards.