-The Indian Express The meeting with Sitharaman comes days after the GST Council informed states that the GST and compensation cess collections in the last few months had become a “matter of concern”. Seven Opposition-ruled states and Union Territories — Punjab, Delhi, Puducherry, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh — made a forceful representation to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Wednesday demanding pending compensation under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime,...

-The Hindu The government is showing utter lack of will despite the availability of Verma committee’s suggestions The horrific violence, gang rape and murder of the young woman veterinarian on a national highway close to Hyderabad has led to national outrage and protests in several States. Around the same time in Tonk, Rajasthan, a six-year-old child, returning home after having attended a school sports competition, went missing. Later, her bloodied body was...

-The Hindu Letter to States flags falling collections The Centre has written to all the States voicing concern that due to the lower Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections, the compensation cess might not be enough to pay for losses arising out of the tax system. The communication comes at a time when several States, including Rajasthan, Kerala, Delhi, Punjab and West Bengal, have publicly urged the Centre to transfer pending compensation payments...

-The Hindu The provisions that empower the government to carry out such an exercise smack of arbitrariness On November 20, 2019 the Union Home Minister, Mr. Amit Shah, answered a starred question in the Rajya Sabha thus: “Preparation of National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC) is governed by the provisions of Section 14A of The Citizenship Act, 1955 and The Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules 2003....

-The Hindu Such an ambiguity has serious implications for the design and beneficiaries of schemes meant to help them Who is a farmer? What is the government’s definition of a farmer and how many farmers are there in India by that definition? Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar failed to answer that question when it was asked in Parliament last week. The government’s ambiguity has serious implications for the design and beneficiaries of the...