-PTI Maharashtra, TN among States seeking relief; hold talks with Finance Minister New delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday initiated discussions on a farm loan waiver scheme with the Agriculture Ministry and some States in line with the BJP’s promise ahead of Uttar Pradesh elections. Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Tamil Nadu Finance Minister D Jayakumar were among those who met Jaitley to discuss various issues...

-The Times of India NEW delhi: In its drive against tax defaulters, the income tax department published a full-page advertisement in newspapers on Saturday naming 29 individuals and companies, asking them to `pay tax arrears immediately'. Many of these entities are `not traceable' in the department's records or have no assets to recover. The total arrears against them amounts to around Rs 448 crore. It seems the biggest tax defaulters are yet to...

-The Times of India NEW delhi: Vice-chairman of the special investigation team (SIT) on black money, Justice Arijit Pasayat, said on Friday that after demonetisation, the Centre has collected around Rs 6,000 crore as tax on unexplained cash deposits so far, and the amount could go up. Tax authorities sought explanation from individuals, who deposited substantial amount of cash after demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, either in their own...

-Livemint.com An agriculture ministry notification issued last week said the maximum sale price of BG-II Bt cotton will be Rs800 per 450gm packet of seeds New delhi: After a reduction in the retail price and royalty fees of genetically modified (GM) Bt cotton seeds last year, the agriculture ministry has kept prices unchanged for the upcoming Kharif crop season. According to a notification issued by the farm ministry on 10 March, maximum sale...

-PTI NEW delhi: Opposition today came down hard on the government for the "agrarian crisis" and demanded waiver of loans of farmers across the country and not only of those from Uttar Pradesh as promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during campaigning. During a debate on Demand for Grants for the Agriculture Ministry in the Lok Sabha, members from opposition parties said over 12,000 farmers had committed suicide last year and asked...