Punjab announces further relaxations in Covid restrictions

President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu have greeted people on the eve of Eid-ul-Zuha.In his message President Kovind said, Eid-ul-Zuha is a festival to express gratitude to the spirit of love, selflessness and sacrifice, and to work together for unity and fraternity in an inclusive society. He said, the festival is also an opportunity to share our happiness and help the poor and destitute people. In his message,Vice President Naidu said, the festival of sacrifice, Eid-ul-Zuha, exemplifies ultimate devotion to God. He said, festivals are occasions for families and communities to come together and celebrate. The Vice President appealed to everyone to celebrate Eid by taking utmost precautions and adhering to Covid safety norms. He hoped that Eid-ul-Zuha will bring peace, harmony and happiness in our lives.

-The Central Board of Direct Taxes, CBDT has granted further relaxation in electronic filing of Income Tax Forms 15CA and 15CB and extended the date of filing from 15th July to 15th August, 2021. The taxpayers can now submit the these forms in manual format to the authorized dealers till 15th of next month.The CBDT in a statement said that authorized dealers are advised to accept such forms for the purpose of foreign remittances. A facility will be provided on the new e-filing portal to upload these forms at a later date for the purpose of generation of the Document Identification Number. As per the Income-tax Act, 1961, there is a requirement to furnish form 15CA and 15CB electronically. Presently, taxpayers upload the Form 15CA, along with the Chartered Accountant Certificate in Form 15CB, wherever applicable, on the e-filing portal, before submitting the copy to the authorized dealer for any foreign remittance.

-In Punjab, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday announced  further relaxations in the Covid restrictions including opening of  Schools for Classes 10, 11, and 12  from July 26, increase in the number of people in indoor gatherings to 150 and outdoors to 300, subject to an upper limit of 50% of the capacity. Chief Minister said  only those teachers and staff shall be allowed to be physically present who are fully vaccinated. Physical presence of the students shall be purely at the consent of the parents and the option of virtual classes shall be continued.He said that  Covid positivity rate has declined to 0.3 %, with reproduction number (Rt) at 0.75  (lower than the national average) in the state. He said, If the situation remains under control, the remaining classes shall similarly be allowed to open from 2nd August. With respect to social gatherings, the Chief Minister said artists, singers shall be allowed at such functions/celebrations in all areas, with adherence  to Covid protocol.

-Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa reviewed the situation in districts affected by incessant rainfall. Speaking to the Deputy Commissioners of these districts, the Chief Minister issued instructions to identify areas prone to flood and landslide and deploy teams to mitigate the impact of rain. He has said that crop and property loss details must be prepared at an earliest so that people adversely affected can be compensated. He said that funds will be released for the purchase of advanced equipment necessary to carry out relief measures. Kodagu, Ballary, Hassana, Udupi, Shivamogga, Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada, Chickmagaluru, Vijayapura, Kalburgi, Mysuru, Koppala and Belagavi  district officials were present during the video conference with the Chief Minister on Tuesday.

-Taking a big leap towards the pollution free public transport system, Uttar Pradesh Government started the trial run of electric buses  in Lucknow. Very soon the buses will be  running in 14 cities of the state.The prototype type four buses will ply for around 180 km daily. After the success of the trial 700 buses will start running in 14 cities. These AC luxury AC buses have comfortable seats and many security features also which includes GPS tracking system cctv. Panic button and automatic doors. These buses will have normal fare like any other bus and it can run for 120 km in 45 minutes after one time charging. 600 buses will run in cities like Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Jhansi, Aligarh, Moradabad and Bareilly with the help of Central Government funding while state government will fund for the buses in Mathura Vrindavan Gorakhpur and Shahjahanpur.