COIMBATORE  TUESDAY  MARCH 09, 2021  `7.00  PAGES 16  LATE CITY EDITION CENTRE PLANS PERSONAL INCOME TAX REFORMS NEW REGIME TAX-INEFFICIENT, SAY EXPERTS The finance ministry wants to reduce the confusion among taxpayers due to the dual tax system introduced in the Budget 50% SIMPLIFIED SYSTEM LIKELY BY NEXT YEAR In the Budget for 2021-22, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had proposed a new tax regime with lower rates for those willing to forego all exemptions. Taxpayers who wanted to enjoy exemptions were given the option to continue with the old structure. However, according to tax experts, taxpayers would end up paying more tax under the new system ■ ■ The finance ministry will analyse this year’s tax filing data to figure out what structure taxpayers in different categories prefer. “Only after analysing, will we go for an overhaul,” said an official Sources said the Department of Revenue is likely to come up with a new, simplified tax structure in the next financial year 70 NO. OF DEDUCTIONS AND EXEMPTIONS NOT ALLOWED IN THE NEW TAX REGIME CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOGGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ WARANGAL ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI quota cap EPS promises `1.5K/month to women family heads could be up for review EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Chennai The legal issues framed by the court for consideration Constitution bench seeks views of all states on reservation and their position on Article 342A Whether Indira Sawhney case verdict needs to be referred to larger bench for relook? E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ New Delhi Whether the Maharashtra reservation law is covered by exceptional circumstances as was contemplated in Indra Sawhney case? Whether the 102nd Amendment deprives state legislatures the power to enact a legislation determining the socially and economically backward classes? Whether states’ power to legislate in relation to any backward class under Articles 15(4) and 16(4) is abridged by Article 342(A) read with Article 366(26c)? Whether Article 342A abrogates states power to legislate in respect of “any backward class of citizens” and affects the federal policy structure? 28 DAYS TO GO ALMOST 30 years after it applied a 50% cap on reservation, the Supreme Court on Monday sought responses from all states on whether the ruling needs to be revisited. The ceiling was imposed by a nine-judge Constitution Bench in the Indira Sahwney case in 1992, also called the Mandal verdict. States were also asked to respond to a 2018 Constitution (102nd Amendment) Act, which gave constitutional recognition to National Commission for Backward Classes. Article 342A was introduced via the amendment, through which the competence of states to make laws on reservation for backward classes was taken away . “In view of the question of seminal importance on Article 342A, states have to be given opportunity to make their submissions,” a fivejudge bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan said. States have been asked to make submissions on whether they considered Article 342A ag ainst the federal structure of the Constitution. Hearing a petition challenging a 2018 Maharashtra law to provide reservation to Marathas, the bench said it will now consider the law in light of larger questions of law. It has scheduled the hearing for March 15. The Maharashtra State Reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act, 2018, provided for a 16% reservation to Maratha community In 2019, the Bombay High . Court upheld the law, but reduced the reservation to 12% for admission to educational institutions and 13% for employment. The order was challenged in the Supreme Court, saying it violated the 50% reservation cap. A WISHLIST FROM THE STATE’S INDUSTRIES FOR THE NEW GOVT | P2 ‘CONSIDER PLEA OF DRIVERS ON POLL DUTY TO CAST POSTAL VOTES’ | P2 BJP STILL IN TALKS WITH NR CONG OVER PUDUCHERRY ALLIANCE | P4 TTV DHINAKARAN JOINS HANDS WITH AIMIM, GIVES IT THREE SEATS | P4 EXPRESS READ Crude prices cross $70 after attack on S Arabia Oil prices rose on Monday after Saudi Arabian oil facilities were targeted by drone strikes just days after the largest crude exporting nations in the world said they would not increase output. Brent crude, the international standard, surpassed $70 per barrel for the first time in over a year. 3 killed, 200 cordoned off by Myanmar forces On a day three more anti-coup protesters were shot dead in Myanmar as agitators across the country sought to paralyse the economy with strike action, the UN on Monday said security forces had cordoned off some 200 protesters in Yangon, voicing concern about their safety. ON the occasion of International Women’s Day, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Monday made two electoral promises: Women family heads will be given `1,500 per month, and each of their families will get six gas cylinders free per year. He added that many more people-friendly announcements would be part of the soon-to-be-released election manifesto. Palaniswami’s announcement came a day after DMK president MK Stalin promised `1,000 per month to all women ration card holders. Asked about the similarity between his and the DMK’s announcement, the Chief Minister said, “We have been finalising the election manifesto for UNUSUAL GLITCH How a PSU bank sent Kotak Bank users into a tizzy E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ New Delhi AN unusual technical glitch on Monday saw several Kotaka Mahindra Bank account holders getting wrong debit messages, creating panic among customers, some of whom took to social media to report the issue. “Massive technical glitch in Kotak Bank, it seems. Rs. 81,972 debited from my account (I don’t even have that much in all my a/cs put together). Call centre exec says ppl have lost Rs 6 lakh+ or Rs 1 lakh +, so i shouldn’t worry Wait . for 24 hours, she said,” tweeted an irate customer of the private lender. When contacted, a Kotak Mahindra Bank spokesperson told TNIE that the issue has been resolved and that it was not widespread. With more users tweeting that they had also received such debit messages, the Mumbaibased private bank later issued a short statement saying the glitch was due to wrong settlement claims by a public sector lender for Kotak debit cards used on the PSU bank’s point of sales (POS) terminals. “A PSU bank has claimed wrong amounts in the settlement file for card transactions done at merchant establishments managed by the PSU Bank’s POS. This has resulted in excess debit from customers’ bank accounts. All such excess debits have already been reversed”, said Rohit Rao, chief communication officer, Kotak Mahindra Group. However, it could not be immediately ascertained which state-owned had claimed the wrong amounts and if it was a technical glitch or human error. ` ‘ADICHANALLUR INHABITANTS GREW PADDY DURING IRON AGE’ S G O D S O N W I S E LY D A S S @ Thoothukudi THE people of Adichanallur, in Thoothukudi district, cultivated paddy and green gram as early as in the Iron Age, in the first millennium BCE. They were good at making wheels, and used them for pottery, according to the Adichanallur excavation report, which was prepared after a 15-year survey of the region. The 293-page report, which has been accessed by Express, is to be released this month. It was compiled by former director of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Dr Sathyabama Badhreenath, and is PRESS CLUSIVE based on the excavation conducted by ASI superintending archaeologist Dr T Sathyamurthy in 2004 and 2005, when Sathyabama was the deputy superintendent of archaeologists at Adichanallur. They found that the ancient residents of the region buried their dead with a customary offering of paddy. Many graves contained silicified rice husk, green gram, dormant vigna seeds, solanum seeds, and broken fragments of nutshell. CONTINUED ON P5 Burial site spread over 114 acres The Adichanallur archaeological site is on the banks of the Thamirabaraniabout river, 4 km west of Srivaikuntam in Thoothukudi district. The burial site is spread over 114 acres on either side of the TirunelveliSrivaikuntam road Poser to rape accused misreported, says CJI EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi EXPRESSING concern over misreporting of his remarks during a recent hearing in a rape case in which he had asked the accused if he would marry the victim, Chief Justice of India S A Bobde said the court has always had the highest respect for womanhood. “As an institution and as a bench in this court, we have always had the highest respect for the womanhood. We never asked the accused to marry the girl. We asked him ‘ re you going to A marry her’. There was complete misreporting,” the CJI said while pointing out that his questions to the lawyer for the accused were on the facts of that particular case alone. CJI Bobde’s remark came during the hearing of a different case filed by a 14-yearold who had sought permission to abort her 26-week-old foetus. She had alle gedly been raped by her cousin. The case was adjourned to Friday . Solicitor General Tushar Mehta concurred with the CJI. According to Section 165 of the Evidence Act, “The judge may , in order to discover or to obtain proper proof of relevant facts, ask any question he pleases, in any form, at any time, of any witness, or of the parties, about any fact relevant or irrelevant... and neither the parties nor their agents shall be entitled to make any objection to any such question or order...” ‘Up to Bar to protect reputation’ When an advocate sought a mechanism to deal with such situations, Chief Justice of India S A Bobde said, “Our reputation is always at the hands of the Bar.” the past 10 days, and this electoral promise was leaked s o m e h ow. S t a l i n u s e d i t to make his announcement.” When questioned on how such confidential information c o u l d h ave b e e n leaked from the AIADMK, Palaniswami said: “It is due to over-enthusiasm (of a few). When there is good news, it is natural to share it with others. That’s how this too might have been leaked. You newspersons who share the news know this well.” Responding to another question, he said, “Elections to the State Assembly and Lok Sabha are different from the results of the by-election to Vikravandi and Nanguneri Assembly constituencies. Our alliance registered a massive victory in those elections, and will repeat the performance in the Assembly elections.” Regarding an election survey that predicted a higher voter percentage for the DMKled alliance, the Chief Minister said, “The AIADMK has earned the goodwill of the people of Tamil Nadu through its multifarious schemes since 2011, and the people conveyed their wish that this government should continue, through the results of the by-elections to Vikravandi and Nanguneri constituencies.” CONTINUED ON P4 BJP axe set to fall on U’khand CM Rawat? Why he’s a liability While the trend is to vote out the incumbent govt, the BJP is keen to reverse it. The CM’s over -centralisation and lack of access to MLAs may play the spoiler, party leaders feel. Rawat is also accused of not addressed the concerns of people hit by infra projects, including roads and highways MANISH ANAND AND VINIT U PA D H YAY @ New Delhi/Dehradun TAKING a grim view of the poll prospects in Uttarakhand next year, the BJP is exploring leadership change in the hill state, while incumbent Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat is camped in Delhi trying to somehow avert his ouster. The BJP is likely to name Rawat’s successor after calling a meeting of all legislators in Dehradun. Union home minister Amit Shah is learnt to be acting on a report given by party vice president Raman Singh who was sent to Dehradun on Saturday as a Central observer along with party leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam. BJP chief J P Nadda has also reportedly briefed Shah about the Uttarakhand situation. Later, Rawat met Nadda. The embattled CM also called on the BJP media head and the Rajya Sabha MP Anil Baluni at his residence on Monday evening. Baluni, who is known to enjoy the trust of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah, is also reckoned as a contender for the chief minister’s position. “Leadership change appears imminent, for the BJP doesn’t want to repeat the Jharkhand experience when it persisted with the chief minister despite adverse reports against Raghubar Das. A section of the BJP MLAs in Uttarakhand has been up in arms against Rawat due to his working style,” said a senior BJP functionary . Union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank” is seen as a frontrunner to replace Rawat. Nishank counts on the support of RSS leaders and the top BJP leadership. State BJP chief Ajay Bhatt and Uttarakhand minister Satpal Maharaj are also nursing CM ambitions, sources said. “The immediate trigger was the police caning in Gairsain against people who were protesting against the widening of a road,” sources said.