New Delhi : Tasmania-based Women’s Legal Service in collaboration with TRS Law Offices (India) has launched a website for women in the country to educate them about their legal rights.
The website, www.girlsgottaknow.in, has different heads such as relationship, employment, partying, renting, money and others.
“Women’s Legal Service Tasmania is excited to be collaborating with TRS Law Offices and see this as a fantastic opportunity not only to see an innovative Tasmanian project adapted to Indian market, but to play a small but supportive role in the huge work being undertaken in delivering information to the young women of India,” Susan Fahey, CEO of Women’s Legal Service Tasmania, said.
She said the project has been supported by the Australian Government.
Talish Ray, a partner with TRS law offices, said it would be an opportunity to educate women in an accurate and focused manner.
“It is available on the Internet as a comprehensive resource in a format that would engage the audience,” Ray said.
“Under every section a brief description about the situation, and legal options available are mentioned. Indian women have got least legal knowledge and this unawareness, often does them more harm than good,” a press release issued by the law office said.
Islamabad, Dec 3 : The US House of Representatives has passed a defence bill that pledges USD 900 million in economic and other assistance to Pakistan, a significant portion of which is dependent of a Pentagon certification that the country is taking demonstrable steps against the dreaded Haqqani Network.
The US National Defence Authorisation Act for fiscal year 2017 was passed in the House of Representatives yesterday.
The bill limits the overall amount available for reimbursement to USD 1.1 billion, of which USD 900 million is available for reimbursement to Pakistan.
It extends Congressional notification and certification requirements regarding reimbursements to Pakistan. The bill specifies that certain reimbursements to Pakistan are ineligible for a national security waiver unless Department of Defense makes specified certifications regarding the activities of Pakistan with respect to the Haqqani Network.
According to Dawn newspaper, the bill conditions USD 450 m from this assistance to a certification.
This year the amount was USD 300 million, which was not released after Defence Secretary Ashton Carter refused to certify in Pakistan’s favour.
The bill is schedule for a vote in the Senate next week. Since it is a consensus bill, it is unlikely to face any opposition.
The bill notes that the United States and Pakistan continue to have many critical shared interests, both economic- and security-related, which could be the foundation for a positive and mutually beneficial partnership.”
In a conference report, which combines the House and Senate versions of a legislation, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee John McCain had underlined the importance of a continued relationship between the United States and Pakistan.
He noted that the bill “refocuses security assistance to Pakistan on activities that directly support US national security interests”.
BANJUL, Gambia (AP) — Gambia’s president of 22 years acknowledged his election defeat on state television Friday night, vowing to step down hours after news of the results prompted thousands to celebrate in the streets in an unprecedented display of disdain for his rule.
With cameras rolling, Yahya Jammeh called the winner, opposition coalition leader Adama Barrow, on a mobile phone to praise the election and vow not to contest the result.
“Allah is telling me my time is up and I hand over graciously with gratitude toward the Gambian people and gratitude toward you,” Jammeh said.
It was a stunning turn of events in a country where critics have long alleged votes are rigged. Just five years ago, Jammeh said he could stay in power for a billion years.
According to the electoral commission’s tally, Barrow received 45 percent of Thursday’s vote compared to Jammeh’s 36 percent.
Many Gambians stayed up all night Thursday listening to the radio and tallying results as they were read out constituency by constituency.
Once the results were announced on Friday, some tore down posters of Jammeh as the military stood by. Men in pickup trucks rode through the streets of Banjul screaming “Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!”
For the tens of thousands watching abroad from political exile, it was a day they thought might never come.
Speaking by phone from Washington, Gambian activist Pasamba Jow said the election was a “great victory” for the country and the entire African continent, though he anticipated a “difficult task of rebuilding our country and healing our nation.”
Nevertheless, Jammeh had projected confidence, saying his victory was all but assured by God and predicting “the biggest landslide in the history of the country” after he voted.
New Delhi, Dec 2 : Citing constitutional compulsion, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today sought to drive home the point that the Goods and Services Tax has to roll out before September 16 next year as the existing indirect taxes will come to an end by then and it would not be possible to run the country without revenue collection.
He made a pitch for widening the tax base, saying efforts are on to make taxation process far simpler and make rates more reasonable.
For instance, he said, the GST Council is deliberating on ways to reduce the taxation process, including assessment by tax officials.
“Today, each person gets assessed thrice, in each of the three taxations (including VAT and central excise). Now, you will only be assessed once and what one authority assesses, others will have to accept that assessment,” he said.
Terming GST as a game changer, Jaitley said: “The Constitution does not permit delay in GST implementation. The government notified GST on September 16 and the constitutional amendment itself says the current indirect tax system can continue for one year, after which the GST has to come.”
So, if as on September 16, 2017, there is no GST, then there is no taxation in the country, he reasoned.
“So, you have a constitutional compulsion to have a Goods and Services Tax in place before September 16 (2017), otherwise the country doesn’t run, and the tax is absolutely essential. Therefore, our intention is it gets implemented from April 1, 2017, that was the original intention,” he said.
Jaitley made the point that states should not oppose every reform for the sake of opposition because that makes investors wary.
“The states must welcome the decision and I can only tell you, if some states are seen as opposing every reform, then investors in the country and the ones coming from outside, must decide which are the states they want to invest in,” he cautioned.
“So, if your state is seen on the wrong side of the reform, then investors are going to be very wary of those states.
New Delhi : Tata Sons today told the Delhi High Court that it has every intention of paying the arbitral award of USD 1.17 billion in favour of Japanese telecom major NTT Docomo, but has been unable to do so due to lack of permission from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Even as Tata Sons made the submission before Justice S Muralidhar, RBI contended in the court that the shareholding agreement between the two companies permitting transfer of funds abroad was illegal as it violated Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) Regulations.
“It is not a question of permission, it is prohibition,” the lawyer for RBI said while seeking intervention by the central bank of India. However, Tata Sons said its agreement with Docomo was perfectly consistent with Indian laws.
The court, thereafter, issued notice to Docomo and Tata on RBI’s plea seeking intervention and listed the matter for hearing on December 21.
The issue pertains to the exit of Docomo from the two companies’ joint venture, Tata Teleservices Ltd (TTSL), for alleged breach of agreement by Tata and enforcement of the damages awarded by the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) in favour of the Japanese company for the same.
The matter had gone to arbitration as Tata was unable to find a buyer for Docomo’s 26.5 per cent stake in TTSL for 50 per cent of the acquisition price, which came to around Rs 58.45 per share, and the Japanese company was not willing to accept the “fair market value”, of Rs 23.44, that the Indian company was willing to pay as per the shareholding agreement.
Under the agreement, either Tata had to find a buyer for Docomo’s shares at 50 per cent of acquisition price or buy its shares at fair market value, both leading to transfer of funds outside India which RBI has termed as illegal.
During the hearing, Tata said it wants to make payment as its reputation is at stake but at the same time does not want to “fall foul” of FEMA regulations. It also said that it has deposited the entire amount with the court which shows it was willing to pay it.
The court, however, wondered why Tata did not challenge the refusal by RBI if its reputation was at stake and said it was the obligation of the Indian company to explore some alternative structure to ensure payment to Docomo.
“Otherwise, it would mean if you invest money in India, you cannot take it back,” the court said when Tata said one alternative solution was to pay the money in India instead of transferring it out of the country.
The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination has declared the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) Board Examination, and Indian School Certificate (ISC) Board Examination timetable for 2017.
The ICSE Grade 10 examination will begin on February 27, 2017 and end on March 31, 2017.
While, the ISC Class 12 board examination will begin on February 6 (with its practical examination) and get over on April 5, 2017.
Berne/New Delhi, Dec 1 : Moving ahead on automatic sharing of details on suspected black money, Switzerland today initiated its statutory consultation process for bringing into force Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) on tax matters with India and some other countries from January 1, 2018.
The process will continue till March 15, 2017, Swiss Federal Department of Finance (FDF) said in a statement.
“The AEOI with these countries should enter into force on January 1, 2018 so that data can start to be exchanged in 2019,” it added.
The launch of consultation process follows signing of a Joint Declaration between India and Switzerland on November 22 for implementation of AEOI, which provides that both countries will start collecting data in accordance with the global standards in 2018 and exchange it from 2019 onwards.
Switzerland today also launched consultations on introducing AEOI with Andorra, Argentina, Barbados, Bermuda, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Chile, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Israel, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, New Zealand, San Marino, Seychelles, South Africa, Turks and Caicos Islands and Uruguay.
FDF said: “The introduction of the AEOI with these countries confirms Switzerland’s international commitment to implementing the AEOI standard.
“Switzerland is thus extending its network of AEOI partner states. This will contribute to strengthening the competitiveness, the credibility and integrity of Switzerland’s financial centre.”
It added: “Important criteria for the acceptance of these countries were in particular the high demands in terms of adherence to the principle of speciality and the safeguarding of confidentiality for the data delivered, which are prerequisites for the introduction of the AEOI.”
Switzerland said the automatic exchange of information with these countries will be implemented based on the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information (MCAA). The MCAA is based on the international standard for the exchange of information developed by the OECD.
Switzerland is already in the process of introducing AEOI in 2017 with all of the EU states including Gibraltar and with Australia. The same applies to Iceland, Norway, Japan, Canada, South Korea and the British crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.
“The entry into force of the AEOI with these countries and territories is conditional on approval by Parliament in the 2016 winter session,” FDF said.
Switzerland has been at the centre of the debate on black money allegedly stashed by Indians abroad and was known for very strong banking secrecy walls till a few years, before they began wilting under global pressure.