No proposal to bring petroleum products under GST

The government  has said that there is no proposal right now to bring crude petroleum, petrol, diesel, aviation turbine fuel, natural gas under the Goods and Service Tax. In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the GST council has not made any recommendation for inclusion of these goods under GST. She said, the council may consider the issue of inclusion of these petroleum products at an appropriate time keeping in view the relevant factors including revenue implication. Replying to a supplementaries, the minister on Monday said, the Centre and States should work together to check the price rise of diesel and petrol. He urged the State Governments to reduce the tax on the petroleum products adding that the Centre will also take decisions following the State governments reduction of price. 

-Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar has said that the World has accepted India’s leadership position in terms of championing measures to mitigate climate change. He said that India is the only country in the G-20 forum implementing the Paris accord commitments on renewable energy and afforestation. Answering to a question in Rajya Sabha on Monday Javadekar informed that the country is committed to achieve the target of 175 GigaWatt solar power by 2022. He said, the government is also committed to achieve the upscaled target of 450 Gigawatt of renewable energy as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi by the year 2030. The Environment Minister said that the country has already overachieved in terms of its target of reduction in emission set under the Paris Agreement. He informed that with the assistance of the private players the government is marching ahead with robust results in terms of production of renewable energy, afforestation and substantial reduction in emissions.

-The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill 2021 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday. Minister of State for Home, G. Kishan Reddy introduced the Bill which amends the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act 1991 The Bill aims at promoting harmonious relations between the legislature and the executive and further defines the responsibilities of the elected Government and the Lieutenant Governor in the National Capital. It further seeks to ensure that the Lieutenant Governor is necessarily granted an opportunity to exercise the power in select category of cases. It also gives power to LG to make rules in matters which falls outside the preview of the Delhi Legislative Assembly. It has a provision that all executive action will be expressed to be taken in the name of the Lieutenant Governor. The legislation has been brought in view of the Supreme Court’s judgment in 2018 with regard to delegation of power between Delhi government and LG.

-The wholesale price-based inflation rose to 4.17 percent to hit 27 month high in February this year. The Commerce and Industry Ministry data release today showed that WPI rose mainly due to rise in food, fuel and manufactured goods prices. As compared to January this year, provisional food prices was up by 3.31 percent and manufactured products rose 5.81 percent in the reported month.WPI stood at 2.03 percent in January this year while rose to 2.26 percent in the same month last year. Retail inflation also climbed to a three-month high of 5.03 in February this year.

-Vice President  M. Venkaiah Naidu has  emphasized that India believes in promoting multilateralism and democratization of international governance architecture. In his interaction with the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Duarte Pacheco during a call-on in Delhi on Monday, Naidu  reiterated India’s commitment to democracy and an inclusive development paradigm. He said, This was also reflected in the supply of COVID-19 vaccines to several countries around the world. Naidu said that India also provided COVID-19 related medical supplies to more than 154 countries and Indian Rapid Response Teams were deployed in many countries to assist in pandemic response. He said, India has always acted as a responsible nation in such crises. Pointing out that India has been pro-actively associated with the IPU since 1949, the Vice President wanted IPU to focus on issues which enrich democratic governance. It should avoid becoming a forum for bilateral issues.