BLOG FROM RAKESH KUMAR JHA

New Delhi, Nov 16: For the first time in 15 years, the Delhi Metro has decided to put a restriction on the baggage size that one carries. Now you can carry only those bags that have a width 45 centimetre and height of 25 centimetre. Bags that have width and height more than mentioned, will not be New Delhi, Nov 16:  For the first time in 15 years, the Delhi Metro has decided to put a restriction on the baggage size that one carries. Now you can carry only those bags that have a width 45 centimetre and height of 25 centimetre. Bags that have width and height more than mentioned, will not be allowed inside the Delhi Metro. The new decision by the Delhi Metro to cut the baggage size might not be appreciated and invited by the people who travel regularly to the airports and stations. Of the 28 lakh passengers who travel daily by the Delhi Metro, 40,000 use the airport line daily and the regular metro before that. Now the new ruling might create problems for...

The project has been approved for two postal pins in Delhi and one in Noida. If successful, the system might be used in larger administrative area. The digital address identity could be used as existing postal address. New Delhi, Nov 16:  The Union government is planning to map residential and professional addresses of individuals digitally. The department of posts has ordered a pilot project under which people will be given  a six-digit number for every property at three postal pin code locations. The government wants to use these e-locations to link them with information like property title and ownership, property tax records, information on utilities like electricity, water and gas, reported TOI. The project has been approved for two postal pins in Delhi and one in Noida. If successful, the system might be used in larger administrative area. The digital address identity could be used as existing postal address. (Also read:  How to apply for new Aadhaar C...

The IT spending in India is forecast to hit $87.1 billion in 2018 - an increase of 9.2 per cent from $79.7 billion (estimated) this year, Gartner said on Tuesday. Riding on the wave of digital transformation, the IT spending in India is forecast to hit $87.1 billion in 2018 – an increase of 9.2 per cent from $79.7 billion (estimated) this year, Gartner said on Tuesday. Enterprise software and IT services continue to exhibit strong growth, with devices segment driving the majority of overall IT spending in the country. Projected to grow at 17.9 per cent in 2017, software spending will grow another 15.3 per cent in 2018 to reach $5.7 billion. IT services spending is on pace to grow 15.7 per cent in 2017 to reach $12.6 billion, an increase of 13.8 per cent in 2018 to reach $14.3 billion. “The IT buying landscape is changing. Digital business transformation is creating connected platforms and new industry revenue streams,” said Ganesh Ramamoorthy, Managing Vice President at Gart...

In the last one year, Chinese brand Xiaomi's market share in India has gone from just 6 per cent to a staggeringly high 22 per cent, according to Counterpoint Research. That puts its share at par with South Korean giant Samsung that has maintained a steady lead for a while now with 23 per cent market share. So much so that Xiaomi and Samsung now contribute to almost half of the Indian smartphone market. But while Samsung has been at home in India for a very long time now, Xiaomi has been here for only three years. As of September 2017, three of the five most popular smartphones -- the Redmi Note 4, the Redmi 4 and the Redmi 4A -- sold in India were from Xiaomi, according to Counterpoint Research. The real star of the show has been the Redmi Note 4 though. It won't be wrong to say that the Redmi Note 4 has taken Xiaomi places as far as its Indian ambitions are concerned. The Redmi Note 4, in fact, still remains to be the gold standard to beat as far as value for money is con...

The GST Council brought the biggest restructuring of in the newly rolled out taxation regime last week at its 23rd meeting in Guwahati. But, there are still few things that the government should do to make GST more effective. The 23rd meeting of the GST Council in Guwahati last week brought sweeping changes in tax rates and eased compliance burden of the businesses, particularly on the smaller players. In the biggest GST restructuring, the GST Council reduced tax rates on over 200 items, ranging from chewing gum to chocolates to beauty products, wigs and wrist watches. This move is expected to provide major relief to both consumers and businesses. However, many feel that the decisions taken at Guwahati meet of the GST Council are only a step towards the kind of overhaul that the new tax regime requires. Much more is expected of the Narendra Modi government on GST front. Here are some of the steps that the Modi government may consider in future to make GST more effective to th...

New Delhi, November 11: The pay hike for central government employees under the 7th Pay Commission would come into effect from next year April, the Sen Times reported. The National Anomaly Committee (NAC) would submit its report on pay commission hike by the end of this year. As soon as there is a consent between […] New Delhi, November 11:  The pay hike for central government employees under the  7th Pay Commission  would come into effect from next year April, the Sen Times reported. The  National Anomaly Committee (NAC)  would submit its report on pay commission hike by the end of this year. As soon as there is a consent between NAC officials, the report would be sent to the cabinet for approval. Once the cabinet clears the nod, the hike is expected to be implemented from April 1, 2018. Earlier this year, several media reports suggest that the new pay hike will be implemented by January next year. On Thursday, around 10 central trade unio...

Businesses with an annual turnover of up to Rs 1.5 crore, which constitute 90 per cent of the taxpayer base but pay only 5-6 per cent of total tax, have been allowed to file returns and pay tax once in a quarter rather than monthly. New Delhi:  The GST Council on Friday approved changes to give relief to small and medium businesses on filing and payment of taxes, eased rules for exporters and cut tax rates on more than two dozen items as the government looks to boost the economic growth. Quarterly filing for small firms Businesses with an annual turnover of up to Rs 1.5 crore, which constitute 90 per cent of the taxpayer base but pay only 5-6 per cent of total tax, have been allowed to file returns and pay tax once in a quarter rather than monthly. Traders and small firms had been up in arms against the GST regime as they found the monthly filing drill to be exhaustive. Finance minister Arun Jaitley said that the GST council has taken stock and addressed the concerns of s...

At the 23rd GST Council Meeting as many as 178 items of daily use were shifted from the top tax bracket of 28 per cent to 18 per cent. These measures are expected to cost the exchequer around Rs 20,000 crore, government officials said In a move to shore up public spending and revive investor sentiment, the government cut down tax rates on 200 items, ranging from chocolates to wristwatches, in the biggest Goods and Services Tax (GST) revamp yet. The decision, meant to provide relief to consumers and businesses, was taken at the 23rd GST Council meeting in Guwahati, Assam, on Friday. As many as 178 items of daily use were shifted from the top tax bracket of 28 per cent to 18 per cent, while a uniform 5 per cent tax was prescribed for all restaurants, both air-conditioned and non-AC, Finance Minister  Arun Jaitley  said. Currently, 12 per cent GST is levied in non-AC restaurants and 18 per cent in air-conditioned ones. These measures are expected to cost the exchequer ...

Instagram, with over 800 million users, is one of the fastest growing social media platforms.  Instagram will let users add photos and videos to their Story, even if they took them more than 24 hours ago. “Starting today, you can add photos and videos to your story, even if you took them more than 24 hours ago. Now, you’ll be able to easily find and choose anything from your camera roll and share it instantly with friends,” the  Facebook -owned company said in a blog post. To share photos and video, just swipe up from the camera to open camera roll or gallery. Next, choose photo or video to share and hit send. For photo, video taken more than 24 hours ago, Instagram will show a new sticker to help help users add date for when it was taken. People can rotate, resize or remove the sticker from their Story before sharing. The update is available as part of Instagram version 22 for  iOS  and version 18 on  Android . Instagram, with over 800 million...