BHUBANESWAR l friday l april 02, 2021 l `7.00 l PAGES 12 l JEYPORE EDITION record GST mop-up in March ’21 as collections touch `1.24L-cr The revenue crossed the `1-lakh-crore mark for the 6th straight month. This month’s tally is 27% above the March ’20 collection Highest since introduction of GST Of the total revenue, Central GST stood at `22,973 crore, State GST was `29,329 crore, integrated GST accounted for `62,842 crore (including `31,097 crore collected on import of goods) while cess amounted to `8,757 crore (including `935 crore on import of goods). The finance ministry said March’s figures are the highest since the introduction of GST Marker of post pandemic recovery? ■ ■ The steady increase in GST collections over the past six months could be a marker of rapid economic recovery post pandemic Closer monitoring against fake-billing, deep data analytics using data from multiple sources and effective tax administration have also contributed to the increase in GST revenue | P10 `58,852 cr Revenue of Centre and states for CGST; the earning is `60,559 crore for SGST Despite Covid-19 pandemic, Odisha posts 0.56% GST growth in 2020-21 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar The Covid-19 pandemic leading to a negative growth of 24 per cent (pc) during the first five months of the 2020-21 fiscal notwithstanding, Odisha has made a rebound, posting a positive growth of 0.56 pc in overall annual GST collection in the State. Official sources said the gross GST collection (CGST, IGST, SGST and Cess) was `29,852 crore in the financial year against `29,687 crore in 2019-20. With `954.62 crore, Odisha has recorded highest ever SGST collection in March against `785.35 crore collected in the same month last year. The March collection was the highest in a month since implementation of GST in July 2017. The previous highest SGST collec- tion was `927.60 crore in April 2019. Gross GST collection in March was `3,285.29, recording a rise of around 25 pc over 2,641.95 crore during the corresponding month last year. This was the highest growth in gross GST collection among major states of the country during the month as also for the fourth consecutive month. The growth was 20 pc, 25 pc and 20 pc in December 2020, January and February 2021 respectively in comparison to the corresponding period of previous fiscal. The VAT collection from petrol and liquor was `1,518.61 crore in March which is also the highest during the current financial year. It exceeded the collection of `1,116.28 crore in March 2020 registering a growth of 36.04 pc. Overall VAT revenue during 2020-21 has also turned positive with a growth of 3.46 pc despite poor collection during first quarter of the last fiscal. Collection from petroleum products registered a growth of 41.85 pc with `1,225.93 crore last month against `864.26 crore in March last year. The VAT from liquor also recorded a growth of 16.13 pc with collection of `292.62 crore in March against `252.01 crore in the same month last year. Officials attributed the growth in GST collection to strict compliance. Apart from regular admitted tax, substantial collection has come from payment by defaulters against matured demand and deposit of tax deducted at source (TDS) by the government agencies (primarily engineering divisions). Collec- tion of arrear tax (pre-GST period) has also gone up by almost 50 pc with collection of `189 crore. The record collection of SGST in March is despite below par performance in some of the sectors due to adverse impact of the pandemic. “The overall loss of SGST during 2020-21 was around `429.85 crore with gross annual collection of `8,292.15 crore against `8722 crore during 2019-20,” said an official. 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 Vax drive on off days too in April, as govt aims to raise coverage Cover all E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e eligible The Centre has urged all states to focus on vaccinating the priority groups. They have been asked to actively identify districts with surge and inoculate all eligible people @ New Delhi On a day the Covid-19 inoculation for all people above the age of 45 began, the Centre on Thursday said the shots would be given on all days, including gazetted holidays, throughout April at all public and private vaccination centres. The decision seeks to arrest a steep decline in the number of people getting vaccinated against the backdrop of sharp rise in number of cases amid the outbreak of the second wave. Till Thursday over 63 million people have been vac, cinated, translating into just 4.5 doses per 100 people. The fresh measure was recommended by the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration and was taken after detailed deliberations with all states on Wednesday the health minis, try said. The rationale behind the decision is to optimally utilise all vaccination centres for increased coverage. Cases have been growing exponentially since March, with Thursday’s 72,330 marking the highest single-day infection tally since October. While the first week of March recorded an average of 16,740 cases daily the numbers rose four, fold to 62,000 by the last week. Odisha clocks 2L jabs on Day 1 of Phase-III drive A health worker collects swab sample from a student of Rama Devi Women’s University in Bhubaneswar on Thursday | Express E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar Odisha on Thursday clocked a massive two lakh Covid-19 vaccinations as the Phase-III drive for inoculation of people above 45 years, irrespective of comorbidities, commenced across all the districts. The State had set a target of vaccinating two lakh people daily from April 1 and achieved it on the first day with eligible people turning up in large numbers at the government and private vax centres. Of a total 2,03,162 vaccinations on the day, 1,22,473 were people above 45 years, besides 77,042 senior citizens and 3,647 healthcare and frontline workers. “As many as 1,21,855 people aged 45 to 59 years irrespective of health condition have got the first dose and the rest in the age bracket have received the second dose. It will definitely send a positive message among others who are still hesitating to get vaccinated,” Director of Family Welfare Dr Bijay Panigrahi said. The State had set up 1,342 centres for vaccination. Three districts achieved over 100 per cent coverage with Khurda topping the list with 101 pc. As six districts fell behind, the government has directed the collectors and municipal commissioners to review their performance and make required arrangement to meet the target. Additional Chief Secretary of Health PK Mohapatra said Angul, Balangir, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Sundargarh and Bargarh have vaccinated less than 70 pc of the target. “The district officials have been asked to monitor closely and achieve the daily target, including the backlog,” he said. As the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has announced to hold the vaccination sessions on all days at all centres (both public and private) including the gazette holidays in April in view of the surge in Covid-19 cases, the State government has directed the districts to augment the arrangement and increase the number of vaccination centres to achieve the target. So far, a total of 26,14,175 doses of vaccines have been administered in the State. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is slated to review district-wise performance on Tuesday . ODISHA TALLY 394 3,41,311 3,37,212 1921 2125 New cases Total cases Recovered Death Active cases Sporadic incidents of violence reported elsewhere in West Bengal also; voting percentage high in Assam Phase II Figures that matter WEST BENGAL 10,620 ballot units and an equal polling in Bengal’s number 30 Assembly of control constituencies, units and including VVPATs used Nandigram in Bengal 80.43% ASSAM 77.21% in Assam’s 39 Assembly constituencies 10,819 ballot units, 10,592 control units and as many VVPATs used in Assam E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kolkata/Guwahati West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee arriving at a polling station during the second phase of Assembly polls at Boyal in Nandigram on Thursday | PTI After SOS calls from candidates and PMO stinker, savings rate cut nixed A N U R A D H A S H U K L A @ New Delhi The finance ministry on Thursday rescinded its controversial order slashing interest rates on small savings within 12 hours of issuing it, following social media backlash, panic calls from BJP functionaries of poll-bound states, and a sharply worded directive from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). On Wednesday evening, the ministry had issued an order cutting interest rates applicable on various small savings schemes by 50-110 basis points for April-June 2021 period. The decision, announced a day before phase-2 voting in Bengal and Assam, drew widespread criticism. Sources said some BJP candidates, too, made calls to the PMO. West Bengal contributes the most to small savings, according to National Savings Institute data. Of the total gross small savings collections of `5.96 lakh crore in FY18, collections from West Bengal were `90,000 crore. Early on Thursday morn- ing, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman took upon herself to do damage control. “The interest rates of small savings schemes will continue to be the same as in the last quarter of 2020-21. Orders issued by oversight shall be withdrawn,” she tweeted. Sources said the order was supposed to be made public next week but got out early due to “bureaucratic error”. “As it was financial year-end closing (March 31), the order went public. It has been corrected now,” said an official. A high voter turnout of 80.43% and 77.21% was recorded in West Bengal and Assam, respectively on Thursday but the , highlight of the second phase of polling was the high drama in Nandigram, followed by Mamata Banerjee accusing the BJP of rigging the polls and the Election Commission of inaction. Sporadic violence was reported in other parts of Bengal, too, as voting took place in 30 assembly constituencies spread over East and West Midnapore, Bankura and South 24 Parganas districts. In Assam, polling for 39 seats across 13 districts was largely peaceful, barring one incident. Pitted against her aideturned-rival Suvendu Adhikari, the Bengal chief minister rushed to booth no. 7 at Boyal in Nandigram claiming she had received complaints that TMC’s polling agents were not allowed at the polling station. As she argued with senior police officers, BJP supporters as- sembled outside and raised Jai Sri Ram slogan. A group of TMC supporters, too, gathered and shouted Khela Hobe. As the two groups clashed, hurling stones and trading abuses, Mamata called up Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and alleged that bogus voting was taking place on a massive scale while central force remained mute spectators. The TMC chief wrote a complaint letter to the Election Commission, accusing it of inaction on 63 complaints lodged by her party and threatened to , move court. She accused the central forces and the EC of acting at the behest of Union home minister Amit Shah. The poll panel, however, cited its general observer’s report to state that there was no disruption in voting at polling station number 7. Despite her allegations of poll fraud, Mamata claimed victory even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi took potshots at her saying “your body language is showing you have accepted your defeat in Nandigram”. express read Panel defers decision on Sputnik V’s licence A subject expert committee of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation on Thursday deferred the decision to recommend Sputnik V shot for emergency license, and asked its applicant Dr Reddy’s Lab for additional data | P8 India for expert probe into coronavirus origin Days after the WHO chief spoke on the need for examining the findings of its report on Covid-19 origin that largely corroborated China’s claims, India’s foreign ministry said it, too, shared the need for an inquiry into the virus’ origin Over 40 children killed in Myanmar: Report At least 43 children are among at least 337 people killed in Myanmar since the February 1 coup, NGO Save the Children said on Thursday. “Children have witnessed violence and horror,” the group said in a statement. “It is clear that Myanmar is no longer a safe place for children,” it said | P9 commemorating the mahatma On Utkal Dibasa, CM Naveen Patnaik unveiled a bronze mural of Gandhiji at Bellevue square in Cuttack on Thursday | Express charisma, talent, effort Pradhan Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2019 for Rajinikanth E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E @ Chennai Rajini tweets ACTOR Rajinikanth will be awarded the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke award for 2019, as announced by Union I&B Minister Prakash Javdekar on Thursday He said, “A jury con. sisting of Asha Bhonsle, Mohanlal, Biswajit Chatterjee, Shankar Mahadevan and Subhash Ghai unanimously decided to nominate Rajinikanth for the award, and we’ve accepted it. For the last 50-odd years, he has been the uncrowned king of cinema. Through his charisma, talent, and efforts, he has made a place for himself in “My heartfelt thanks to the Central government, PM Modi, and Union Minister Prakash Javadekar and the jury for conferring upon me the prestigious award. I sincerely dedicate it to all those who have been part of my journey.” the hearts of people.” The actor now joins an illustrious list of film personalities to have been conferred this award, including his mentor K Balachander, Sivaji Ganesan, Satyajit Ray, Amitabh Bachchan, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Gulzar, Lata Mangeshkar, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, and K Vishwanath. He is set to become the fourth star from South Indian cinema after Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Sivaji Ganesan, and Rajkumar to be aw a r d e d t h e D a d a s a h e b Phalke. Having begun his career with a cameo in K Balachander’s Apoorva Raagangal (1975), Rajinikanth went on to act in over 160 films across Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam, and English languages. Tasting success as a stylish antagonist in many films like Aadu Puli Aatam, 16 Vayathinile, and Moondru Mudichu, he made the transition to ‘hero’ roles with Bairavi (1978), which was also the first film to give him the ‘Superstar’ sobriquet that would later become so iconic. donates year’s salary for Utkal varsity development UNION Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has contributed one year’s salary for development of his alma-mater Utkal University | P2
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