GST panel to explore levy of calamity cess GST Council has constituted a Group of Ministers to suggest policies for levying a special calamity cess in case of natural disasters in states. The seven-member GoM, headed by UP Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna, will examine the feasibility of levy of cess by states for revenue mobilisation in case of a calamity, besides exploring whether it should be restricted to specific sectors or be across the board tirupati l friday l march 07, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI gadkari fiat Faulty road proj reports under ‘FIR’e pa r v e z s u lta n @ New Delhi UNION minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari on Thursday recommended registration of a police case against those responsible for faulty detailed project reports (DPRs) for road construction that result in deaths in road accidents. Gadkari said he had observed ‘thousands of mistakes’ in DPRs and blamed civil engineers for the spike in road accident rates and fatalities across India. “The most important culprits are civil engineers… I am directly taking the name because after 10 years of my experience, I Nitin Gadkari am coming to this conclusion. The most important culprit is who makes the DPR. And there are thousands of mistakes…persons who are responsible, we should register an FIR against them and take them in custody said Gadkari. ,” The minister was speaking at the Global Road Infratech Summit & Expo (The GRIS 2025) organised by International Road Federation (IRF) India Chapter in Delhi. Gadkari has been vocal about poor quality of DPRs. In the past too, he has blamed the reports for delay in projects and road accidents. Khalistani bid to CM lauds Rao’s book on world history heckle Jaishankar at London rapped E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Visakhapatnam Govt assails misuse of democratic freedom; UK claims its police acted swiftly, none held J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Taking strong exception to Khalistani supporters breaching the security of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in London, India on Thursday said it expects the UK to live up to its diplomatic obligations while deploring the “misuse of democratic freedoms”. “We have seen the footage of a breach of security during the visit of EAM to the UK. We condemn the provocative activities of this small group of separatists and extremists. We deplore their misuse of democratic freedoms. We expect the host government in such cases to fully live up to their diplomatic obligations,” the External Affairs Ministry said. Later, the UK strongly condemned the security breach, saying such attempts to “intimidate, threaten, or disrupt” public events are “completely unacceptable”. The incident occurred when a group of pro-Khalistan extremists tried to disrupt Jaishankar’s visit for a discussion at Chatham House in London. The breach took place as the minister was leaving the venue after the event. A video circulating online shows an individual aggres- Video grab of the heckler Strongly condemn it: UK foreign office “We strongly condemn the incident that took place outside Chatham House” during the visit, a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said on Thursday sively charging toward Jaishankar’s convoy Taking advan. tage of the police officers’ brief hesitation, the protester tore the Tricolour while others in the group shouted slogans from a distance. Earlier, Jaishankar held talks with the UK’s Secretary of State for Home, Yvette Cooper, focusing on issues such as trafficking and extremism. Former minister Daggubati Venkateswara Rao’s book ‘Prapancha Charitra’ was released at a programme held at GITAM Deemed to be University in the city on Thursday . Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and former Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu attended the programme as chief guests. Speaking on the occasion, Naidu described the book as a significant contribution to Telugu literature, highlighting its extensive coverage of world history and human evolution. “Writing a book in Telugu that spans thousands of years of history is great,” he said. Naidu noted that the book covers various aspects, including ancient traditions, agriculture, wars, religious influences, governance, language, and architecture, besides exploring future technological advancements, he said. Reflecting on Rao’s journey, Naidu described him as a deep thinker, and recalled their shared experiences under former Chief Minister NT Rama Rao’s leadership. He noted that Rao, a doctor by profession, chose politics over medicine, serving as an MLA five times, as a minister, and as an MP . Naidu recalled entering poli- ‘Prapancha Charitra’ covers various aspects, including ancient traditions, agriculture, wars, religious influences, language, and architecture, besides exploring future technologies N Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister 30,000+ taxpayers declare foreign assets worth `29,208 cr in spl drive d i pa k m o n d a l @ New Delhi A special drive to ‘nudge’ taxpayers to disclose their foreign assets and income has resulted in over 30,000 taxpayers declaring foreign assets worth `29,208 crore and additional foreign income of `1,090 crore, according to gover nment sources. The campaign also made 6,734 taxpayers change their residential status from resident to nonresident. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) launched the compliance-cum-awareness campaign on 17 November 2024, urging taxpayers to declare their foreign assets and income in revised income tax returns (ITRs) for assessment year (AY) 2024-25. As part of the campaign, SMS and emails were sent to 19,501 taxpayers with high foreign account balances or significant foreign income from interest or dividends above a specified threshold. The tax department also organised 30 outreach sessions, seminars and webinars across India, engaging over 8,500 participants directly . Government sources said approximately 62% of taxpayers approached by the department responded positively voluntar, ily revising their ITRs to declare foreign assets and income. The number of taxpayers disclosing foreign assets and income on a voluntary basis has steadily grown from 60,000 in AY2021-22 to 231,452 taxpayers in AY 2024-25. “This year, due to extensive outreach and awareness efforts, voluntary disclosures witnessed a significant 45.17% growth compared to AY 202324,” said a source. “At the heart of this campaign lies the Trust First approach, which prioritises voluntary compliance over enforcement,” it added. tics alongside Venkaiah Naidu in 1978, and praised his unwavering energy and sharp wit. He highlighted Venkaiah Naidu’s rise from a humble background to becoming the Vice-President of India. He also recalled an incident when GITAM University faced demolition under the previous government, and noted founder MVVS Murthy’s efforts to establish it as a premier educational institution. He credited India’s economic transformation to the 1991 refor ms initiated by for mer Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao. He remarked that while people once considered America the best, today, Indians are being recognised globally  P4 . express read Rana seeks US SC stay on extradition New Delhi: Weeks after US President Donald Trump announced Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Rana’s extradition to India, the convict made a last-ditch plea before the US Supreme Court seeking a stay on the decision. Rana claimed he faces risk if handed over to India. Nagababu to file nomination today Vijayawada: Jana Sena Party candidate K Nagababu will file his nomination papers for the MLC elections under the MLAs’ quota on Friday. The JSP office has readied his nomination papers. As many as 10 JSP MLAs have proposed the candidature of Nagababu for the MLC post.