-The Financial Express   Come next financial year, the PAN card is likely to become the most potent tool for the Income Tax Department to unearth black money, tax evasion and instances of criminal financing in the country. A recent directive of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to the I-T Dept has asked its officials to launch a special drive against those who have "not furnished their PAN (Permanent Account Number)"...

-The Business Standard   Its guarantee of non-duplication can have far-reaching cost benefits but it has deep design flaws that can be compromised. PRAVEEN CHAKRAVARTY Former Volunteer, Financial Inclusion, UIDAI* “Aadhaar is an unadulterated identity programme that answers the question: Is the individual who he or she claims to be?”   The word “unique”, and not “identity”, is central to the unique identity programme or Aadhaar. It may be true that the vast majority of people possess some...

—PTI The Bombay High Court on Monday allowed the Times Now news channel to furnish a corporate guarantee instead of a bank guarantee of Rs. 80 crore in connection with the defamation case filed by former Supreme Court judge P.B. Sawant. Times Global Broadcasting Company (TGBC), which runs Times Now, had sought modification of the High Court's September order, wherein it was asked to deposit Rs. 20 crore with the Court, and...

The Election Commission's crackdown on candidates using black money in electioneering has forced politicians to come up with innovative methods. Two ATM vans, belonging to two private banks, were seized with nearly Rs 13 crore cash in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh last week by Income Tax's flying squad, a part of which has remained unclaimed for the last four days. The EC has written to RBI to instruct the two large private...

-The Times of India   Deputy commissioner Pooja Singhal on Friday handed over a cheque for Rs 25,000 to Kabutri Kuarn, the widow of anMGNREGA job card holder from Hotai village under Panki block, Jaggu Bhuiyan (45), who was found hanging from a tree on January 7 in the village. Singhal also made a fixed deposit of Rs 50,000 in her and her sons' names for a period of three years in a...