New Delhi, July 29 (IANS) The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Monday announced that President Droupadi Murmu will visit Fiji, New Zealand, and East Timor starting August 5.

The Ministry said the President will visit Fiji from August 5-6.

“This will be the first-ever visit by a Head of State from India to Fiji. President Murmu will be holding bilateral meetings with President Wiliame Katonivere and Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka,” the MEA said.

President Murmu will also address the Fijian Parliament and interact with the Indian diaspora there during her visit.

The MEA said the President’s three-nation tour underscores the importance India attaches to the bilateral relations with these countries.

During the second leg of her visit, the President will be in New Zealand from August 7-9.

“President Murmu will hold a bilateral meeting with Governor General Cindy Kiro and meet Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. She will also address an education conference and interact with the Indian community and friends of India there,” the MEA said.

On August 10, President Murmu will visit East Timor where she will hold a bilateral meeting with President Jose Ramos-Horta, while Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao will also call upon the Indian President during her visit.

“The President will also interact with the members of the Indian community. This will be the first-ever visit by a Head of State from India to East Timor,” the MEA said.

–IANS

dan/arm

Kolkata, July 29 (IANS) A man from West Bengal’s Nadia district was apprehended from a train by the Border Security Force (BSF) while attempting to smuggle a gold bar weighing 1 kg to Kolkata.

The accused has been taken to the Gede Border Outpost for further investigation. The value of the gold is estimated to be nearly Rs 69,05,000.

“The intelligence branch of the BSF informed the 32nd Battalion under the South Bengal Frontier of an attempt to smuggle gold by train from close to the India-Bangladesh border to Kolkata.

“BSF personnel in plainclothes boarded a Gede-Sealdah local train at the Majhdia station and succeeded in identifying the smuggler. He was taken off the train at Mayurhat Halt. One gold bar was found in his possession,” said A.K. Arya, DIG and spokesperson, BSF, South Bengal Frontier.

During interrogation, the man confessed that he had boarded the train at Banpur and was to get off at Payradanga. There, he was to hand over the gold bar to a man who would disclose a secret code.

The code was to be the serial number of a certain Re 1 currency note. From Payradanga, the gold was to be carried to Sealdah in Kolkata – a distance of 70 km – by someone else. According to an official, smugglers use several couriers for every consignment to evade the law enforcers.

“I again urge the border population to provide any information related to gold smuggling to BSF’s Seema Sathi Helpline number 14419 or send a WhatsApp or voice message to 9903472227. Those providing concrete information will be rewarded and their identities will not be disclosed,” Arya added.

–IANS

jayanta/arm

New Delhi, July 29 (IANS) The tax formations under Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) have detected Rs 36,374 crore worth of fake Input Tax credit (ITC) that involved 9,190 cases in the Financial Year 2023-24, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

The figures provided by the minister show a steady rise in the number of detections of such cases from 5,966 in 2021 to 7,231 in 2022-23.

The Minister stated the steps taken by the government to curb the ITC frauds include insertion of a new CGST rule to provide for risk-based biometric-based Aadhaar authentication of registration applicants who appear to be risky based on data analytics.

There has also been an amendment to CGST rules to provide for physical verification in high-risk cases, even when Aadhaar has been authenticated.

Besides, the change in rules requires furnishing a bank account as a part of the registration process to be in the name of the registered person and obtained on PAN of the registered person and also linked with Aadhaar in case of proprietorship firm and that the details of bank account will be required to be furnished within 30 days of grant of registration or before filing of GSTR-1, whichever is earlier.

Restrictions have been imposed on availing of ITC to invoices and debit notes furnished by the supplier in their statement of outward supplies.

The other steps introduced to check ITC frauds include –

* Filing of Form GSTR-1 made mandatory before filing of Form GSTR-3B for a tax period and filing of Form GSTR-1 made mandatorily sequential.

*Making the beneficial owner liable for penal action and prosecution similar to that of actual supplier/recipient, in cases where a supply has been made without the issuance of an invoice, or invoice has been issued without supply, or excess ITC has been availed/distributed.

*Amendment in Section 83 of the CGST Act to provide that provisional attachment of property can be done in respect of any other person who has retained benefits of such transactions.

*Restriction on generation of e-way bills by non- compliant taxpayers.

*Reduction in threshold limit for issue of e-invoice for B2B transactions from Rs 10 crore to Rs 5 crore from August 1, 2023.

*Regular use of data analytics to identify or track risky GST registrations to detect tax evasion.

–IANS

sps/pgh

Thiruvananthapuram, July 29 (IANS) Kerala State BJP president K. Surendran on Monday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for giving a third Vande Bharat train for the state which will run tri-weekly between Bengaluru and Kochi starting from Wednesday.

“On behalf of all Keralites, I extend heartfelt gratitude to PM @narendramodi Ji and Railway Minister @AshwiniVaishnaw Ji for launching the Ernakulam-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express from July 31. This triweekly service which is Kerala’s third Vande Bharat Express will significantly enhance connectivity between Kerala and Karnataka, reducing travel time and providing a comfortable journey for passengers,” Surendran said in a post on X.

The tri-weekly train will depart from Ernakulam at 12.50 p.m. on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. It will stop at Thrissur, Palakkad, Podanur, Tirupur, Erode and Salem and reach Bengaluru at 10 p.m. On its return, the train will depart at 5.30 a.m. and reach Ernakulam at 2.20 p.m. on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Mondays.

As of now, two Vande Bharat Express trains are operating in the state on the Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram-Mangaluru routes.

The two present Vande Bharat trains in the state have been hugely successful with a huge demand for tickets.

–IANS

sg/vd

Patna, July 29 (IANS) There’s good news for animal lovers as the number of tigers in the Valmikinagar Tiger Reserve (VTR) in Bihar’s West Champaran district has gone up to 54, including 16 cubs.

According to an official, the population of tigers in 2006 was just 6 which reached 10 in 2010, the number had reached 28 in 2014. In 2018, the number of tigers was 31 and the number reached 54 in 2023.

VTR, located in Valmikinagar block of West Champaran district, provides a natural habitat for wildlife. The reserve features ideal grasslands, forest cover, and several rivers, creating a perfect ecosystem for both herbivorous and carnivorous animals.

This combination of resources ensures that food and water are readily available, contributing to the thriving tiger population and the overall health of the reserve.

“Efforts are being made to increase the number of carnivorous animals in the Valmikinagar Tiger Reserve to strengthen the ecological cycle. Tigers of VTR, known for their agility, can hunt other animals in just 35 to 45 seconds,” said Neshamani, the chief forest conservator of VTR.

“A significant reason for the growing tiger population is enhanced security. VTR, situated on the Bihar-Nepal border, faces high risks of poaching. However, we have implemented adequate security measures to protect wildlife from poachers,” he said.

Tigers are territorial animals, marking their area through urination and living in dense forests. Of the eight types of tigers in the world, three have become extinct, highlighting the importance of conservation efforts at places like VTR to protect these majestic creatures.

–IANS

ajk/bg