CBSE Class 12 board exams: Narendra Modi to chair crucial meeting today, but any decision unlikely, say reports

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to preside over a crucial meeting on decisions related to Class 12 board exams today (Tuesday) along with Union Defence Minister Rajanth Singh and other senior officials, media reported quoting unnamed government sources.

"PM Modi would be briefed on all possible options post extensive discussions with all states and other stakeholders," News18 reported. However, several news reports also said that any decision is unlikely today.

Tuesday's meeting will be held in the backdrop of growing uncertainty over the CBSE and state board Class 12 Board exams, and growing clamour to cancel the exams. A petition has also been filed in the Supreme Court by advocate Mamata Sharma, asking all stakeholders to call off the CBSE Class 12 board exams this year. The petitioner has requested the apex court to advise the board to declare the results based on past assessment.

The central government is expected to give its final answer to the court on 3 June.

As for today's meeting, Union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal may not be joining as he has been admitted to AIIMS following complications due to COVID-19. According to News18, Singh might attend the meeting.

The Union defence minister was the chair of the high-level meeting held on 22 May on board exams held between chief ministers, Union minister and govt and board officials.

In a meeting held last month on Class 12 board exams, several states had reportedly favoured organising exams in the same schools where the students were enrolled into. Usually, students are allotted centres, which are different from the schools they are enrolled.

However, in the past, both Delhi and Maharashtra have sought alternatives to exams.

“Keeping in mind the ongoing pandemic situation and the projection that children are vulnerable to new strains of coronavirus, the option of a 'non-examination route' for class 12th students should be actively examined,” Maharashtra Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad had said earlier.

According to reports, UP and Tamil Nadu are among states who claim to be ready to hold exams. Bihar has already held exams and declared results too while Chhattisgarh Board exams started today.

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Supreme Court stays Delhi HC's order holding IGST on imported oxygen concentrators as 'unconstitutional'

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Tuesday stayed a Delhi High Court order holding as "unconstitutional the imposition of Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) by the Centre on import of oxygen concentrators by individuals for personal use.

A special bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah issued notice on the plea and sought response from the petitioner, who filed a PIL before the high court.

We are staying the operation of the Delhi High Court order till further orders, the bench said.

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The top court was hearing an appeal field by Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) against the 21 May, high court order.

Attorney General KK Venugopal said the GST council will meet on 8 June and deliberate on granting exemption to essential items related to COVID-19, including oxygen concentrators.

Venugopal said that the high court did not consider that IGST exemption had been already granted to the states and other government agencies on the import of oxygen concentrators. According to the high court, Article 21 is violated if you impose tax on them, he said.

"Earlier the IGST was 77 percent. We brought it down to 28 percent and it was further brought down to 12 percent but they still say that Article 21 is violated," Venugopal said.

On 28 May, it was decided that a group of ministers will submit its report on 8 June, on any tax exemption to be provided on import of essential commodities related to COVID, he added.

The top law officer submitted that the high court order trenches upon the issue of policy and ties the hand of GST council even before any decision is taken.

The bench noted the submission of the Attorney General and posted the matter for further hearing after four weeks.

On 21 May, the Delhi High Court had quashed the 1 May notification issued by the Ministry of Finance which says that such oxygen concentrators imported for personal use, irrespective of whether they are a gift or otherwise, will be charged with an IGST of 12 percent.

The high court had said that the individuals will have to give an undertaking to the authorities that the oxygen concentrator is being imported for personal use and not commercial use.

The High Court had given its verdict on a plea challenging imposition of IGST on the import of oxygen concentrators as gift for personal use.

It had earlier directed that the oxygen concentrator being imported by the 85-year-old petitioner be released by the custom authorities, subject to his depositing with the court an amount equivalent to the IGST payable.

The court had on 21 May ordered that the money be released to the man, who was suffering from COVID-19 with accrued interest.

The man had claimed that his nephew had sent an oxygen concentrator for him as a gift from the US to ameliorate his condition.

The petitioner had challenged imposition of IGST on import of oxygen concentrators for personal use, as the essential equipment is already in shortage in the country during the COVID-19 pandemic.

His plea had said that the May 1 notification was violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution, since the same is arbitrary and infringes the right to life of patients reeling under the COVID-19 pandemic.

It said the notification unconstitutionally mandates that the petitioner and other similarly placed Indian citizens to pay IGST on something as crucial as oxygen concentrator which is been gifted to them specifically for their personal use under the present circumstances wherein there is a nationwide crisis owing to the unavailability of oxygen concentrators and similar medical equipment.

The high court had earlier said this petition represents one of those rare writ actions, whereby, a notification issued in the realm of a tax statute has been assailed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

"That tax is an exaction by the state is well known. That its levy and collection, ordinarily, does not encompass equity, is also, well known. But, presently, we are living in difficult times and, therefore, perhaps, the petitioner has invoked Article 21 of the Constitution," it had said.

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Petrol, diesel sales fell 17% in last month as COVID-19 curbs stifle demand

New Delhi: India's petrol and diesel sales fell by about 17 per cent in May from a month ago as restrictions clamped to curb the world's worst outbreak of coronavirus infections stifled demand.

Sales of petrol — used in cars and motorcycles — fell to 1.79 million tonne in May, the lowest in a year, according to the preliminary data of state-owned fuel retailers.

While the consumption was almost 13 per cent higher than demand in May 2020, it was 28 per cent lower than pre-COVID levels of 2.49 million tonne.

India was under one of the world's strictest lockdowns in May last year, which brought all mobility and economic activity to a grinding halt.

This year, though the infection rate is much severe, restrictions are localised. Personal mobility is not as hampered as last year and more factories have remained open while cargo movement between states too hasn't been as badly affected.

Demand for diesel — the most used fuel in the country — fell to 4.89 million tonne in May 2021, down 17 per cent from the previous month and 30 per cent from May 2019.

With airlines continuing to operate at less capacity, jet fuel (ATF) sales in May were 2,48,000 tonne, down 34 per cent over April 2021 and 61.3 per cent over May 2019. Jet fuel sales in May 2020 were 1,09,000 tonne.

Sales volume of cooking gas LPG fell 6 per cent year-on-year to 2.16 million tonne in May 2021 but was 6 per cent higher than 2.03 million tonne sold in May 2019.

LPG was the only fuel to have registered growth during the lockdown last year as the government gave free cylinders as part of the COVID-19 relief package.

India's new coronavirus cases have fallen from over 4 lakh to 1.27 lakh and deaths from the infection dropped to 2,795 from over 4,000 a few weeks back, according to health ministry data released on Tuesday.

"We were near pre-COVID level in March 2021, but new restrictions due to the second COVID-19 wave have temporarily reduced demand for both personal mobility and industrial goods movement," an industry official said. "Local fuel consumption will start to look up this month when second pandemic wave is expected to weaken."

Declining fuel sales reduced crude intake by refiners, reducing the operating run rate by 85-86 per cent.

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World Milk Day 2021: This year's theme focusses on 'Sustainability in the dairy sector’

The World Milk Day is observed every year on 1 June to recognise the importance of milk as a global food. The main objective of this day is to focus on activities that are connected to the dairy sector. The World Milk Day was established by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations in 2001. The date, 1 June was chosen because many countries were observing the milk day during that time of the year. Since then, the benefits of milk and dairy products have been active through campaigns, events, and programs across the world.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic this year, no major event has been lined up for World Milk Day. However, the official website of World Milk Day urges people to shift to social media and spread the word.

Theme of World Milk Day 2021:

Amid the pandemic, World Milk Day 2021 will be celebrated with a theme focusing on sustainability in the dairy sector along with empowering the environment, nutrition, and socio-economic. The objective is to spread the importance of milk and dairy products in the diet regularly. The day also notifies special importance for India as it is one of the largest producers of milk across the world.

Significance of World Milk Day 2021:

Despite being a great source of nutrition for millions of people, milk and dairy products are also a means of livelihood. Looking into economical value and standards, the dairy products market is an important component of the global economy.

How can drinking milk improve your health?

Milk is an important part of a healthy, balanced diet for every individual. Below are few benefits of drinking milk every day:

-        Drinking milk has always been associated with healthy bones and flawless skin. The combination of nutrients, including calcium, phosphorus, and potassium help in the combination. So, for maintaining strong and healthy bones, all these nutrients are essential

-        Milk has always been impressive because of its nutritional profile. It is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals not just for children but adults also

-        Milk is a rich source of protein; with just one cup containing 8 grams, it helps the body in growth and development, cellular repair, and immune system regulation

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Over a crore Indians lost their jobs in second COVID-19 wave, income declined in 97% families: CMIE

Mumbai: Over 10 million Indians have lost their jobs because of the second wave of COVID-19, and around 97 percent of households' incomes have declined since the beginning of the pandemic last year, Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) chief executive Mahesh Vyas said on Monday.

The unemployment rate measured by the think-tank is expected to come at 12 percent at the end of May as against 8 percent in April, Vyas told PTI, adding this signifies that about 10 million or 1 crore Indians have lost jobs in this period.

Stating that the main reason for the job losses is "mainly the second wave" of COVID-19 infections, Vyas said, "As the economy opens up, part of the problem will be solved but not entirely."

He explained that people who lose jobs find it hard to get employment, specifying that while the informal sector jobs come back quickly, the formal sector and better quality job opportunities take up to a year to come back.

Unemployment rate had touched a record high of 23.5 percent in May 2020 because of the national lockdown. Many experts opine that the second wave of infections has peaked and states will slowly start to ease the economic activity-impacting restrictions in a calibrated fashion.

Vyas further said an unemployment rate of 3-4 percent should be considered as "normal" for the Indian economy, hinting that the unemployment number will have to decline for longer before the situation improves.

He said CMIE has completed a nation-wide survey of 1.75 lakh households in April which throws up worrying trends on income generation during the last one year — which has witnessed two waves of the pandemic.

Only 3 percent of those polled said they have witnessed an increase in incomes, while 55 percent said their incomes have declined, he said.

An additional 42 percent of the people said their incomes remained the same as that in the year-ago period.

"If we adjust for inflation, we find that 97 per centof the households in the country have witnessed a decline in incomes during the pandemic," he pointed out.

The labour participation rate, or the percentage of the working age population which is in the market, has come down to 40 percent as of now from the pre-pandemic levels of 42.5 percent, he added.

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Bank Holidays in June 2021: Banks to remain closed for nine days this month; check rbi.org.in for details

Banks in the country will remain shut for at least nine days including weekends in the month of June, as per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) holiday calendar. Available on its official website, the holiday calendar displays three festive holidays. Along with this, other holidays include the four Sundays of May, second and fourth Saturdays.

As per the RBI website, the first holiday will be on Tuesday, 15 June on the occasion of YMA Day and Raja Sankranti in Mizoram’s Aizwal and Odisha’s Bhubaneswar.

The month's second holiday will be on Friday, 25 June to mark the occasion of Guru Hargobind Ji’s birth anniversary. On this day, the lenders will remain closed in Jammu and Srinagar.

While the third festive holiday will be on Wednesday, 30 June in Aizwal and Mizoram on the occasion of Remna Ni.

Weekly offs will be on four Sundays — 6 June, 13 June, 20 June, 27 June and two Saturdays — 12 June and 26 June.

Check the full list of bank holidays in June here:

6 June: Weekly off (Sunday)

12 June: Second Saturday

13 June: Weekly off (Sunday)

15 June: YMA Day/Raja Sankranti – In Mizoram’s Aizwal and Odisha’s Bhubaneswar

20 June: Weekly off (Sunday)

25 June: Guru Hargobind Ji’s birthday – In Jammu and Srinagar

26 June: Fourth Saturday

27 June: Weekly off (Sunday)

30 June: Remna Ni - In Aizawl, Mizoram

The holidays have been notified under three brackets - the Negotiable Instruments Act, Banks’ Closing of Accounts, Holiday, and Real Time Gross Settlement Holiday. All the public, private, cooperative, foreign as well as regional banks will remain closed on the notified holidays in the above-mentioned regions or states.

However, customers will be able to make transactions easily through online modes like mobile and internet banking services as usual.

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Delhi HC quashes Air India's decision to terminate 48 pilots, orders payment of back wages

New Delhi: Coming to the aid of all Air India pilots whose services were terminated, including the contractual ones, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday quashed the national carrier's decision of last year and directed their reinstatement.

The direction was issued by Justice Jyoti Singh who also ordered that back wages would have to be paid to the reinstated pilots.

The court also said that extension of contract, in the future, of the contractual pilots would be at the discretion of Air India in view of their satisfactory performance.

The court said the detailed judgement would be available only on Wednesday.

The order was passed in response to over 40 petitions by pilots whose services were terminated by Air India on 13 August last year.

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