margin for oxygen concentrators capped

 https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1724330

In view of the extraordinary circumstances arising due to the COVID pandemic that has resulted in recent volatility in Maximum Retail Prices (MRP) of Oxygen Concentrators, the Government has decided to step-in to regulate the price of Oxygen Concentrators. As per information collected by the government, margin at the level of distributor currently ranges up to 198%.

By invoking extraordinary powers under Para 19 of the DPCO, 2013 in larger public interest NPPA has capped the Trade Margin up to 70% on Price to Distributor (PTD) level on Oxygen Concentrators. Earlier, in February 2019 NPPA had successfully capped the Trade Margin on Anti-cancer Drugs. Based on the notified Trade Margin, NPPA has instructed the manufacturers / importers to report revised MRP within three days. Revised MRPs will be informed in public domain within a week by NPPA.

Every retailer, dealer, hospital and institution shall display price list as furnished by the manufacturer, on a conspicuous part of the business premises in a manner so as to be easily accessible to any person wishing to consult the same. The manufacturers / importers not complying with the revised MRP after Trade Margin capping, shall be liable to deposit the overcharged amount along with interest @15% and penalty up to 100% under the provisions of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 read with Essential Commodities Act, 1955. State Drug Controllers (SDCs) shall monitor the compliance of the order to ensure that no manufacturer, distributer, retailer shall sell Oxygen Concentrators to any consumer at a price exceeding the revised MRP, to prevent instances of black-marketing.

 The Order shall be applicable up to 30th November 2021, subject to review.

With the spurt in cases under COVID 2.0 pandemic in the country, demand for Medical Oxygen has gone considerably. The Government is striving to ensure uninterrupted supply of Oxygen and Oxygen Concentrators in adequate quantity in the country during the pandemic. Oxygen Concentrator is a Non-Scheduled Drug and presently under voluntary licensing framework of Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO). Its price is being monitored under the provisions of DPCO 2013.

PLI for white goods - guidelines

 Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade(DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India todaynotified theProduction Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for White Goods (Air Conditioners and LED Lights) manufacturers in India. The objective of the scheme is to create complete component ecosystem in India and make India an integral part of the global supply chains. With due consultations with industry and other stakeholders, DPIIT issued detailed Scheme Guidelinesfor effective operation and smooth implementation of the Scheme. The Scheme is expected to attract global investments, enhance manufacturing and generate large scale employment opportunities.

The PLI Scheme will be implemented within the overall financial limits of Rs. 6,238 Crores (Six thousand two hundred thirty-eight Crore) over a period of 5 years during FY 2021-22 to FY 2028-29.Eligible Investment made in terms of Scheme guidelines, on April 1, 2021 or thereafter, shall be reckoned for considering the incentive under the Scheme.

Detailed Scheme Guidelines may be accessed at https://dipp.gov.in/production-linked-incentive-scheme/production-linked-incentive-scheme-pli-white-goods.

Theapplication window for the Scheme shall be open from 15th June 2021 to 15th September, 2021.

Companies meeting the pre-qualification criteria for different target segments will be eligible to participate in the Scheme. Incentives shall be open to companies making brown field or green field Investments. Thresholds of cumulative incremental investment and incremental sales of manufactured goods over the base year would have to be met for claiming incentives.

An entity availing benefits under any other PLI Scheme of Govt. India may take benefits under other applicable schemes of Govt. of India or schemes of State governments.

A number of global and domestic companies, including a number of MSMEs are likely to benefit from the Scheme.The Scheme is expected to be instrumental in achieving growth rates that are much higher than existing ones for AC and LED industries, develop complete component eco-systems in India and create global champions manufacturing in India.

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1724514

new income tax portal

 https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1724807

The Income Tax Department is launching its new e-filing portal www.incometax.gov.in on 7th June, 2021. The new e-filing portal is aimed at providing taxpayer convenience and a modern, seamless experience to taxpayers. Some of the highlights of the new portal are detailed hereunder:

• New taxpayer friendly portal integrated with immediate processing of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) to issue quick refunds to taxpayers;
• All interactions and uploads or pending actions will be displayed on a single dashboard for follow-up action by taxpayer;
• Free of cost ITR preparation software available with interactive questions to help taxpayers for ITRs 1, 4 (online and offline) and ITR 2 (offline) to begin with; Facility for preparation of ITRs 3, 5, 6, 7 will be made available shortly;
• Taxpayers will be able to proactively update their profile to provide certain details of income including salary, house property, business/profession which will be used in pre-filling their ITR. Detailed enablement of pre-filling with salary income, interest, dividend and capital gains will be available after TDS and SFT statements are uploaded (due date is June 30th, 2021);
• New call center for taxpayer assistance for promt response to taxpayer queries. Detailed FAQs, User Manuals, Videos and chatbot/live agent also provided;
• Functionalities for filing Income Tax Forms, Add tax professionals, Submit responses to Notices in Faceless Scrutiny or Appeals would be available.

It is clarified that the new tax payment system will be launched on June 18th, 2021 after the advance tax instalment date to avoid any taxpayer inconvenience.The mobile app will also be released subsequent to the initial launch of the portal, to enable taxpayers to get familiar with the various features. Familiarization with the new system may take some time, so, the Department requests the patience of all taxpayers/stakeholders for the initial period after the launch of the new portal and while other functionalities get released since this is a major transition. This is another initiative by CBDT towards providing ease of compliance to its taxpayers and other stakeholders.

 

Miracle in Milan

 Vittoria da Sica's phantasmagorical masterpiece "Miracle in Milan" (1951) starring Francesco Golisano, Brunella Bovo among others. 

Toto (Francesco Golisano) is found in a cabbage patch by an old lady who nurses him until her falling health. The boy grows to be an obedient nice good humored person, stayed in a hostel and then set out on his own to live in a shanty town amongst the poor. 

The poor have nothing, absolutely nothing to live by, they live in ramshackle houses with barely anything to eat, hardly any money coming by, eking out a marginal existence. Among those staying in the shanty is Edvidge (Brunella Bovo) who is a maid to a family. 

The shanty town is obviously an occupied property belonging to somebody else so they come to take possession of the same, but the shanty unites against the outsiders. In the meanwhile oil is accidentally discovered in the midst of the square and the owner again comes back to forcibly take possession of the property. 

Toto in despair goes up to climb a totem pole where his mother hands him a good luck dove. What happens next is miraculous. 

Vittoria de Sica has stayed close to his neo realist style of film making. The film is shot in actual location with a ragtag band of actors, which shows the brutal reality of poverty in Milan. The special effects shown later in the movie is quite spectacular for a 1951 production. The film got a Cannes and a Fipresci. 

The main characters Brunella Bovo and Francesco Golisano have acted quite well in the movie. 

The Traitor's Niche

 

Magnificently written satire by Ismail Kadare about what happens in totalitarian regimes. And superbly translated by John Hodgson who brings alive this book originally written in Albanian. 

At the main square in the city of Constantinople, there is a kind of a cove in which traitor's head is kept there for public viewing. The severed heads of all the traitors of the rulers are kept there and there are elaborate rules and regulations governing it including inspection twice a day, a weekly visit by a medical doctor, treatment with honey and ice etc. 

Kadare brilliantly goes on to devour whatever respectability totalitarian regimes have in their midst by tearing into them in such brutally savage fashion unimaginable in any literature before. There is Abdullah the keeper of the traitor's niche he gets married but is unable to consummate his marriage. There is Tundj Hata, the courier whose job is to deliver the decree to the traitors and bring their heads back to the capital city. En route he makes some money of his own by displaying the head to the gullible villagers. 

There is Ali Pasha, an 82 year old who has a 22 year old wife and Hurshid Pasha his rival and then there is Lala Shahini all luminous characters in the book. Shahini's role is interesting - he works in the Department of Archive and he has to erase the languages, cultures, styles, patterns of the people - to brainwash them basically. Then there is a Tower of Psst Psst which captures all the whisperings of people anywhere in the country and they are banished to a swamp. 

Breathtakingly brilliant book. Goodreads 5/5 

Los Olividados

 

Luis Bunuel's stunning masterpiece on poverty in Mexico, Los Olvidados (1951).

Staying close to the non realist style of film making, Luis Bunuel crafts an absolute masterpiece. Its about a group of destitute children eking out a living in Mexico. El Jaibo (Roberto Cobo) has escaped a juvenile jail and is back with his group of friends, one of which is Pedro (Alfonso Mejia). Pedro is one of many children of his mother and he always feels his mother does not love him enough. There's a scene where he pityingly asks his mother to love him and she repels him with brute force. 

Jaibo is out to take revenge on Julien who he feels ratted on him to be sent to the juvenule jail. In the fracas that ensues, Julien is killed and Pedro becomes an accomplice. Pedro is shit scared and immediately sets about doing the right things like taking up a job as an apprentice with a blacksmith. There Jaibo confronts him again and asks him to keep quiet and coolly steals a costly silver knife from the workplace. 

The blacksmith sends police to Pedro's house to arrest him for stealing a knife. His mom confronts him but he says he did not steal anything. They visit a police headquarters which sends Pedro to a reform school called the Farm. Again Jaibo confronts him there and steals 50 pesos from Pedro. 

The movie stays close to a new realist cinema that you can expect from Luis Bunuel. Its an old black and white print but enough to see the raw poverty of the village in Mexico. Everybody is struggling to make money there, Pedro's mom does washing for a dozen houses, a blind singer makes money by singing, life is tough, life is hard, there is crime, grinding poverty. 

Most of the characters are kids and they have all acted very well.  

tankers carrying oxygen exempt from toll fee

 https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1717066

In order to provide uninterrupted passage for tankers and containers carrying Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) across National Highways, the user fee for such vehicles at Toll Plazas has been exempted. Keeping in view the current unprecedented demand of the Medical Oxygen across the country due to COVID-19 Pandemic, containers carrying Liquid Medical Oxygen will be treated at par with other emergency vehicles such as ambulances for a period of two months or till further orders.

Although the toll plazas have nearly zero waiting time after implementation of FASTag, National Highways Authority of India is already providing priority passage to such vehicles for quick and seamless transportation of medical oxygen. Instructions have also been issued by NHAI to all its officials and other stakeholders to assist the government and private efforts to fight the pandemic in helping them in pro-active manner.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has created huge demand of Liquid Medical Oxygen across the country. During the ongoing crisis, the timely delivery of Liquid Medical Oxygen to hospitals and medical centers is of paramount importance to save lives of patients critically affected by COVID-19. Exemption of payment of user fee at the Toll Plazas will ensure faster movement of Medical Oxygen on the National Highways.