Pranav Mukul

The recent Supreme Court ruling asking private telecom companies to pay Rs 1.5 lakh crore in dues is the latest blow to a sector that’s reeling under debts of Rs 8 lakh cr. The Indian Express examines the events that have ended with one of the biggest players teetering on the brink of a collapse. Can the industry, with 117.3 crore cellphone subscribers at last count, survive this crisis?

An earlier deal with Tata Group fell through due to conflict of interest involving Tatas’ stake in Vistara and AirAsia India.

The new TCCCPR, 2018, mentions several steps, including a central registry wherein any telecom service provider could update the number of a suspected spammer or telemarketer.

In 2019, 1,280 wildlife-strikes occurred at all airports, slightly lower than 1,320 in 2018. In 2017, the number of incidents stood at 1,125, while in 2016 it was 839.

In India, the Station programme was a part of Google’s broader vision of bringing on the “next billion users” online.

Air India’s Pune-Delhi flight AI-852 was carrying 180 passengers and crew on board when the crew observed a jeep and a person on the runway.

AGR dues: Bharti Airtel wrote to DoT offering to pay Rs 10,000 crore by February 20. Vodafone India, which owes around Rs 53,000 crore did not comment on the issue.

In view of the coronavirus infection threat, the Centre has advised screening of passengers at 21 airports, international seaports and border crossings across the country.

According to the global earnings released by Uber on Friday, the total number of food deliveries in India by eats stood at 29 million during the quarter-ended December 31, down from 37 million in the September-quarter and 42 million in the June-quarter.

On Friday, pilots on an IndiGo-operated A320neo jet en route Kolkata witnessed engine vibrations shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad, following which the aircraft returned back to the airport.

In an interview with The Indian Express, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said “there has to be a balance” on protection for employees.

New Income Tax slabs: In absolute terms, out of 5.78 crore tax filers, about 5.3 crore (91.7 per cent) claimed deductions of less than Rs 2 lakh, including those under section 80C, Section 80D, section 80CCD(1B) (additional deduction of NPS), deduction for housing loan interest and standard deduction in 2018-19.

Pandey said a progressive and graded income-tax system is internationally considered to be one of the best practices, and differs from the indirect tax system, where the aim is to lower the number of tax slabs to reduce complexities.

ESOPs are significant component of compensation for employees of startups, and are currently taxable. “This leads to cash flow problem for the employees who do not sell their shares immediately and continue to hold the same for long term,” Sitharaman said.

100% tax exemptions proposed for investments made in infra projects before March 31, 2024.

The Centre has estimated revenues of Rs 1.33 lakh crore under the ‘other communication services’ head for 2020-21, 125 per cent higher than Rs 58,989.64 crore as per revised estimate of 2019-20.

For an initial check, screening camps have also been set up at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. The crew, which is also learnt to be under a seven-day lockdown, are unlikely to be allowed to meet even their families during this period.

Vistara and AirAsia India stood out among half a dozen national airlines and refraining from acting hastily on the Kamra incident while IndiGo, Air India, SpiceJet and GoAir banned him from taking their flights.

In his e-mail, Rohit Mateti, the pilot-in-command, describes the incident in detail and points out that while Kamra’s behaviour was “unacceptable and verbally abusive”, he complied with the crew’s instructions — and the offence “cannot be classified” even in the Level 1 category.