Tax holiday for start ups extended till March 2022

China parried question on condemning the military coup in Myanmar  which attracted a barrage of condemnation from international community and a demand for the restoration of democracy. In a cautious reaction over the arrests of top leaders including President Win Myint, top leader and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, and members of her governing party, Chinese Foreign Ministry said, we have noted what happened in Myanmar, and we are learning more information.Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a daily press briefing in Beijing on Monday, "We hope that all sides in Myanmar will properly handle their differences under the constitutional and legal framework and maintain political and social stability." He also parried questions over reports that the coup was a setback to Beijing, especially to the USD nine billion China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), which provides access to China to the Indian Ocean.

-In order to incentivise start-ups in the country, the Government has extended the eligibility for claiming tax holiday for start-ups by one more year - till 31stof March, 2022. The Government has also extended the capital gains exemption for investment in start-ups by one more year - till 31stof March, 2022 to incentivise funding of the start-ups.The Government has increased FDI limit from 49 to 74 per cent in Insurance Companies and allowed foreign ownership and control with safeguards.The Government has proposed to infuse 20 thousand crore rupees to re-capitalized Public Sector Banks. 

-To provide adequate credit to farmers, the government has enhanced the agricultural credit target to 16.5 lakh crore rupees in next fiscal with focus on ensuring increased credit flows to animal husbandry, dairy, and fisheries.Government has also enhanced the allocation to the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund from 30,000 to 40,000 crore rupees.It has enlarged the scope of Operation Green Scheme to include 22 perishable products besides tomatoes, onions, and potatoes.Government has also decided to integrate 1,000 more mandis with e-NAM to ensure transparency and competitiveness in the agricultural market.The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund will be made available to APMCs for augmenting their infrastructure facilities.

-Alleging that the NDA government is not open to criticism, CPI(M) leader Mohammed Salim on Monday said his Twitter account was suspended during the day, after he compared the Union Budget with a trading platform, and slammed the Centre over its handling of the farmers stir.Salim told reporters that his account as well those of others were blocked temporarily, "at the behest of the IT department of the Centre".Twitter had blocked several accounts and tweets after the government asked the microblogging platform to take action against 250 handles and posts which contained "false and provocative content" related to the ongoing farmers' agitation, according to sources."To my knowledge, 250 twitter accounts, including mine, were blocked in the country. Accounts that shared posts with the 'farmergenocide' hashtag were targeted," he stated.

-Eighteen patrolling units were rolled out for various state and national highways across Odisha on Monday by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.Patnaik said that these units will play a crucial role in saving the lives of accident victims on highways.He said the state government has a target of creating 36 patrolling units in various accident-prone stretches.The functioning and experience of these 18 units in the first phase will guide the government for further action and future initiatives, he added.Patnaik asked officials to start more sensitisation initiatives for drivers on various road safety mechanisms and laws relating to it.The introduction of the highway patrolling will help reduce the time for taking an accident victim from the spot of an accident to the nearest hospital, he said."The quicker we can take an injured person to hospitals, the better is the chance of survival," Patnaik said. Around 4,000 people die in road mishaps in Odisha every year, an official said.