log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline SUNDAY JUNE 23, 2024 MOVIES »PAGE 16 Facebook.com/thegoan The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) Instagram.com/thegoanonline 16 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME X, NO. 6 RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 PLAY & PAUSE »PAGE 13 LIVE SMART »PAGE 14 Celebrating traditions Melodies & memories Pride & Progress SPORTS »PAGE 8 ICC T20 World Cup: India beats Bangladesh by 50 runs MIFF bids glittering farewell: The Golden Thread bags Golden Conch Award CELEBRATING SUCCESS AND YOGA SECTORIAL OR THEMATIC MUTUAL FUNDS? West Indies thumps USA to improve Net Run Rate Soon-to-be married couple are all smiles at mehendi ceremony >> SEE PG 2 NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY: TURBULENCE AHEAD? MAGAZINE MAGAZ 9 Estate Planning prior to passing away - An ideal bequeathal Include tomatoes in your daily skincare routine 10 Achieving balance and well-being through yoga Embracing the ‘Susegad’ life at Café Aram in Panaji 11 The virtuous path of St John the Baptist IN SHORT >> Govt postpones NEET-PG exam NEW DELHI: The Union Health Ministry on Saturday said it has decided to postpone the NEET-PG entrance examination, scheduled to be held on June 23, as a “precautionary measure” in the wake of recent allegations on the integrity of certain competitive exams. Ministry of Health has decided to undertake a thorough assessment of the robustness of processes of the NEET-PG entrance examination, conducted by NTA for medical students, it said. Protection wall caves in at Pernem PERNEM: Occupants in a car had a lucky escape when a portion of a protection wall came crashing down on the NH66 highway at Malpem-Pernem on Saturday.  >> See pg 3 WEATHER >> Max: 29.2 C Min: 25 C Humidity: 85% TIDES Low: High: 05:10 18:07 12:28 22:59 This Pride Month, check out LGBTQIA+ startups that are making a difference Interest, penalty waived on tax dues for 3 years of GST rollout n TAX RATES TWEAKED; NO GST ON RAIL PLATFORM TICKETS n BIOMETRIC-BASED AADHAAR AUTHENTICATION MOOTED PTI Capturing Goa’s monsoon magic: A paradise for photographers & videographers Jeanne Merchant talks about her new song, musician-husband Salim, and more NEW DELHI The GST Council on Saturday decided to tweak tax rates on items, including accommodation services for students and solar cookers, and took a host of taxpayer-friendly measures including waiver of interest and penalty for demand notices issued in the first three years of GST rollout. Briefing reporters after the 53rd GST Council meeting, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Council has recommended to rollout the biometric-based Aadhaar authentication of registration applicants on pan-India basis in a phased manner. This will help check fraudulent registration done to avail input tax credit and evade taxes. To reduce litigation, the Council decided to fix a monetary limit for tax officers to file appeals before the GST KEY DECISIONS OF GST COUNCIL „„Monetary limit to file appeals before GST Appellate Tribunal, HC and SC at Rs 20 lakh, Rs 1 cr and Rs 2 cr „„Recommends to exempt Accommodation Services of up to Rs 20,000 per person per month „„Services provided by Indian Railways -- sale of platform tickets, facility of retiring rooms/waiting rooms etc exempt from GST „„Uniform rate of 12% on all milk cans meaning steel, iron, aluminum recommended „„Uniform GST rate of 12% on carton boxes and cases of both corrugated and non-corrugated paper or paper board „„All types of sprinklers, including fire water sprinklers to attract 12% GST „„12% tax for solar cookers too Appellate Tribunal, the High Court and the Supreme Court at Rs 20 lakh, Rs 1 crore and Rs 2 crore, respectively. The GST Council on Saturday recommended to exempt Accommodation Services of up to Rs 20,000 per person per month from GST. This is subject to the condition that these services are supplied for a minimum continuous period of 90 days. “It’s primarily meant for students,” Sitharaman said. In a taxpayer friendly move, the Council has decided to waive interest and penalties for demand notices issued under Section 73 of the CGST Act (for cases not involving fraud, suppression or wilful misstatement) for the fiscal years 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20, if the full tax demanded is paid by March 31, 2025. Also the Tax Collected at Source (TCS) rate for e-commerce suppliers has been cut from present 1 per cent to 0.5 per cent, which will ease the financial burden on the suppliers making supplies through E-commerce platform. Besides, services provided by Indian Railways to the general public, namely, sale of platform tickets, facility of retiring rooms/waiting rooms, cloak room services and battery-operated car services as well as intra-railway >Continued on P6 10,000 traders from Goa set to benefit PANAJI: Around 10,000 traders from Goa will benefit as the GST Council announced granting a one-time relaxation to thousands of small businessmen who, for various reasons, could not filed GST since 2017 and to allow them to claim Input Tax Credit. According to a press statement by the Chief Minister’s Office, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant raised concerns about small businessmen who had missed the GST return filing deadlines due to the Covid-19 pandemic, financial difficulties or technical issues.  >> See pg 3 Sawant makes case for `8,000 crore to boost infrastructure Focus on railways, dams THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The State has requested at least Rs 8,000 crore from the Centre for various developmental projects in Goa including Rs 300 crore for the exposition of the relics of St Francis Xavier at Old Goa. During a pre-budget meeting in Delhi on Saturday, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant placed before the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman the need for funding to upgrade railways, dams and other infrastructure. “We need much improved rail connectivity from Goa to major cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune... Vande Bharat or express trains to these destinations will help the passengers especially Goans,” Sawant said.   Sitharaman chaired the pre-budget meeting with Finance Ministers of all States and Union Territories. Sawant also mentioned about Konkan Railway route from Bengaluru to Mumbai via Goa stating some portion along this route Labour dept under lens; govt faces corruption challenge Inspector, accomplice in the spot for issuing fake receipts to unsuspecting shop owners VIBHA VERMA THE GOAN I PANAJI Exactly a year ago an audacious scam rocked the Excise Department, although it could now be overshadowed by a similar scam in the Labour Department orchestrated through a citizen’s service centre under the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology. This could prove a major headache for the government that asserts zero tolerance to corruption. While the scam occurred soon after the Covid outbreak when most government processes switched online, an errant Labour Inspector took advantage of the situation. In Pernem, where the Inspector was earlier posted, the registration process under the Shops and Establishment Act was allegedly manipulated. The Goan has reliably learnt that the Inspector and THE FAKE RECEIPT SAGA „„A Labour Inspector and his accomplice issued fake receipts to shop owners closely resembling original receipts „„Receipts allegedly generated by service centre that charged registration fees 200 times higher than original fees „„Shop owners remained unaware until one of them received a notice from the department „„An inquiry revealed that two girls from the service centre generated the fake receipts, which were then distributed to shop owners his accomplice -- a retired Labour officer -- were issuing fake receipts to unsuspecting shop owners. Closely resembling the original receipts, these were allegedly generated by a service centre that charged registration fees 200 times higher than the original fees owed to the Labour Department. “The affected shop owners remained unaware of the fraud until one of them re- ceived a notice from the department. An inquiry revealed that two girls from the service centre professionally generated the fake receipts, which were then distributed to shop owners by the errant Labour Inspector and his accomplice,” the source revealed. The department expects more complaints. While the government’s >Continued on P6 Health officials in tizzy as new dengue hotspots emerge in Canacona, Palolem THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Fast rising number of cases of dengue in far flung Canacona which is steadily emerging as a new hotspot is worrying health officials overseeing the battle against the threat of dengue. On Saturday, a dozen new confirmed and suspect cases came to light in the  single locality of Palolem, a tourist hotspot. Earlier the area already had over 40 people stricken by the disease and convalescing, thus raising the tally of dengue cases (both confirmed and suspect) in Palolem alone to over 60. The situation has driven a 9 dengue cases in Mapusa in June MAPUSA: Nine cases of dengue have been detected in Mapusa city this month, while around 17 cases have been reported by the Mapusa Urban Health Centre (UHC) during the last six months. Mapusa UHC Health Officer Dr Dinesh Parab and his teams have been conducting awareness campaigns across the city. According to sources, some fish vendors at the Mapusa fish market have contracted dengue. Water has accumulated at many locations around the market, turning them into mosquito-breeding sites.  >> See pg 3 sense of panic among the locals who have approached the health authorities at the Community Health Centre in Can- acona with a request to step in and take some adequate measures. Meanwhile, in the hinter- land of Canacona too cases of dengue was a cause of much concern in areas of the Gaondongrem panchayat comprising far-flung hamlets of mostly tribal inhabitants deep in the forest. Canacona’s sub-divisional officer, Madhu Narvekar along with health officials led by Dr Jose Tavares, visited the affected areas and met with villagers there.  Narvekar had ordered panchayat  officials to take the necessary preventive measures as instructed by the health department including fogging and other action to prevent mosquito breeding. >Continued on P6 Supported By MAJOR WORKS „„Rs 5,000 crore for railway projects „„Rs 300 crore for St Xavier’s exposition „„Rs 700 cr for water reservoirs „„Additional funds for replacing old pipelines is yet to be double tracked.  Maintaining it will enhance connectivity, Sawant also stressed the importance of strengthening internal connectivity within Goa, particularly the newly opened Mopa Airport. For railway projects, the CM has sought Rs 5,000 crore budget. In addition to this, Rs 300 crore for the St Francis Xavier exposition that will see lakhs of pilgrims from various parts of the world has been proposed.   The State further proposed Rs 700 crore for water reservoirs and additional funds for replacing old pipelines.