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At the GST Council Meeting, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman bust the myth that the Centre would continue to prop up states for revenue loss while rolling out GST reforms. The minister who had at the start of her media briefing thanked every member state for making it possible to roll out the two slab GST — 5 % and 18 % — made it clear that as far as “loss of revenue” was concerned it wouldn’t be just the states that would lose revenue, even the Centre would see a drop in earnings. “The Centre may be a one-third partner. The states put together can be two-thirds partners. But we are all in it together. So, anything that is gained or lost is for everybody. It’s not as if states have lost. If all of us have lost, all of us have lost…In the GST Council, the Centre and the states are together in it. Nobody is a donor and nobody is a done…” The new GST slab would be effective from September 22, the first day of Navratri. Sin goods will continue at the existing rates of 28% GST and compensation cess, where applicable, till the loan and interest payment obligations under the compensation cess account are completely discharged. Once it is cleared it will be40% GST for sin goods. All states unanimously voted in favour of GST rationalisation, as the collective intent was to provide relief to common man. When mocked about the 40% tax on sin goods by the Congress, Sitharaman couldn’t help asking if the Congress was demanding 5% GST on tobacco and gutkha? She pointed out how the Congress could not implement GST while in office as it was not trusted by anyone.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has emerged unscathed and stronger post the Maratha agitation that disrupted Mumbai and challenged his leadership. The Maratha stir for reservations was seen as an attempt to embarrass Fadnavis’ government and it did falter badly initially attracting even the ire of the Mumbai High Court. The Maratha stir did test the Mahayuti government’s resilience, its stability and coalition strength as fears arose about the stir being pitchforked to destabilise Fadnavis government on the verge of upcoming local self-government polls. The chief minister seemed to lack vocal support from his own coalition partners who clearly chose to weigh in with the politically influential Maratha lobby. The Opposition too was unsparing with its jibes. Supriya Sule of the NCP-SP chided him for having broken her party and her family, while Sharad Pawar kept pushing the ball to the Centre recommending amendments. But, Fadnavis managed to end the stir, bring Mumbai back to normalcy and save his own leadership by giving away very little; the demanded government resolution may not withstand legal scrutiny, suggest legal hawks. Fadnavis may have faltered in handling the stir but he did manage to end it well on his own terms. He refused to meet the agitators and went about attending to Amit Shah on his two-day visit, attending to his duties and even visiting Ganesh pandals in Mumbai during the stir. Fadnavis managed to take the credit for facilitating reservations for the Marathas while his Maratha deputies were relegated to the sidelines. While giving up his fast, Manoj Jarange Patil meekly did mention his wish to withdraw stir in front of the CM and two deputy CMs. He gave in after realizing the government was in no further mood to entertain him.
Tamil Nadu Congress MP Sudha Ramakrishnan is much relieved to have got back the chain that was snatched from her during morning walk in Chanakyapuri’s diplomatic enclave early August. It took the Delhi Police two days to crack the case and nab the culprit. However, the process of recovering the stolen ornament via Patiala court was a bit long drawn. Reminiscing about the special place the chain had in her life she said she always wore it only because of the Tirupati Balaji pendant. She had bought it with her hard-earned money when she started out as a lawyer “I hold the pendant very close to my heart. I bought it from Vummidi Bangaru in Chennai.” It is the same place from where the Modi government had got Sengol for the Lok Sabha in 2023. “In fact, soon after I lost it, friends were telling me that I will never find it as the chain-snatchers normally melt the ornaments. I was so disheartened that I had promised myself never to bother praying to Balaji if I didn’t get my pendant back. Next day, I received a call from Delhi Police, asking me to reach the court.” In Patiala House she was apparently shown an array of different gold chains and pendants. “That’s when I realised, I was probably blessed as an MP.” As per Delhi Police data, 2,503 cases of snatching occurred in the Capital in the first six months of this year.
It is believed that Jagdeep Dhankhar is merely biding his time to lash out against Modi government next week for his sudden exit as Vice-President of India on July 21. He will apparently speak up on September 10, that is a day after the Vice-President’s election on September 9. Just to puncture the celebratory mood in the NDA camp over the possible victory margin in the vice-presidential election of CP Radhakrishnan. A month after he stepped down as V-P, Dhankhar recently vacated his official residence and moved into a farmhouse owned by Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) chief Abhay Chautala in Delhi’s Chattarpur Enclave, a stop-gap arrangement till he gets an alternative official accommodation. The choice of the farmhouse by Dhankhar is being projected as a political statement. The ties between Dhankhar and the Chautalas go back nearly 40 years, to 1989, when Abhay’s grandfather Devi Lal – Haryana’s foremost Jat leader and then chief minister – identified the young lawyer from Rajasthan as a potential “leader”. In turn, Dhankhar, also a Jat, always referred to Devi Lal as his “mentor”. Dhankhar’s association with the Chautalas began when he caught Devi Lal’s eye for organising reportedly 500 vehicles from Rajasthan for a rally held on September 25, 1989, to mark Devi Lal’s birthday, at Boat Club near India Gate. In the 1989 Lok Sabha elections, Devi Lal offered Dhankhar the Janata Dal ticket from the Jhunjhunu Lok Sabha seat, and actively campaigned for him. Dhankhar, now it is learnt, is going to be chief guest at Devi Lal Farmers rally in Jhind on September 25. where he is likely to reveal his political mind. There are speculations Jayant Choudhary, a minister in Modi govt may join Dhankhar rally? Looks like Dhankhar wants to lead Jat movement in north India.
At a time when the Modi government is thinking of handing a bonanza to the Indian consumers and kickstarting the economy, the Opposition is already thinking of ways and means to create hurdles. At a meeting convened at Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi, 8 eight Opposition ruled states resolved to demand protection of their revenue interests when the GST rationalisation exercise comes up before the GST Council at its 56th meeting on September 3-4. The biggest cut in GST is expected now, and apprehensions about revenue losses to states have surfaced. These states estimate a revenue loss to be around Rs 50,000 crore during this financial year and nearly Rs 1.5 lakh crore next financial year. While NDA-ruled states are backing the Centre’s strategy of cutting GST, the Opposition-ruled states do not want to grapple with potential revenue losses, especially at a time when Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Kerala are heading for Assembly elections. Besides, the Congress has a political problem with GST cuts. That is because the GST cuts were part of PM Modi’s Independence Day speech when he promised GST cuts on items used by common people as a Diwali bonanza. The Opposition states are demanding a 5-year compensation for the rate cut, the sort of compensation that they received when GST was introduced in 2017. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh demanded compensation to all states for a period of five years with 2024-25 as the base year, since their revenues are bound to be adversely impacted by the rate cuts. He also wanted additional levies on ‘sin’ and luxury goods over and above the proposed 40% should be fully transferred to states. Today the Centre gets close to 17-18% of its revenue from various cesses that are not shared with the states.
IPL franchises are powerhouses, and they will have their way. Never mind if some great players will have a falling out with them and walk away. In the matter of a few days, Rajasthan Royals saw Rahul Dravid walking away after being offered another role rather than that of the Chief Coach that he valued as the Karnataka cricket brain fancies himself more in team and player management around the cricket rather than as being part of the expanding cricket business. Just a week earlier, another legend in Ravi Ashwin decided to hang up his IPL boots and look for opportunities both on the field in leagues such as the popular Big Bash in Australia and other T20 club competitions. He fell out with his old franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) that had picked him up again in an auction, paying a fancy Rs 10 crore for a player who had retired from international cricket. An intelligent player who has made a name as one of the game’s deep thinkers about the game and its demands on technique, would now like to look at a coaching or managerial position in any franchise, if need be outside India. Ashwin fell out with CSK after he had aired thoughts about how much they may have paid “under the table’ for Dewald Brevis who was with Mumbai Indians earlier. The billion-dollar franchise did not take kindly to being called a cheat. And it has reason to fear any illegality as it once lost two years when it was banished from the IPL for one of its owning family members betting on the game. What the fracas at CSK reveals is the IPL franchises are not to be toyed with. They will hire and fire at will.
The soon to be released film Manusi led by singer and talented actor Andrea Jeremiah directed by Aram fame Gopi Nainar has a parallel story of its own to recount before release. Manushi is swinging like a pendulum between the Central Board Of Film Certification Board (CBFC), the filmmakers and the Madras High Court. For added misery to producer Vetrimaaran, the film is ready, yet its public viewing is uncertain. So what’s delaying it? The CBFC is apparently unhappy with the film’s potshots at the government, fiery dialogues and what is apparently seen as a mix up with communist ideology. So Vetrimaaran, approached the CBFC and the Madras HC after several cuts of scenes, dialogues chopped and probably ended up making an impactful film, insipid and inane; falling between two stools. CBFC did not give any certificate so the producer approached the HC. Recently, Sun Pictures’ got ‘A’ certificate for Rajini starrer Coolie. Sun Pictures moved the court to get ‘UA’ instead of ‘A’. Probably the makers wanted the youth and kids to view this masterpiece. The Court promptly set aside the plea. But like the Scottish folklore of Robert Bruce, producer Vetrimaaran try again approach seem to have with the HC. He approached the court, objected to the multiple cuts and changes. This time, Judge Anand Venkatesh watched the movie. He was so moved by Manusi and its portrayal of “the dark underbelly of power”. His review of this film was carried in all media. All one can say is that the learned Judge taught movie reviewers to fully understand the nuances of a film before reviewing it. He also ordered a few changes in the film but more importantly, the CBFC had to issue a certificate for release within two weeks.
What happens when the bride and groom opt for an ethical living, that too in a muslim wedding? A wedding ceremony in Parappanangadi, Malappuram, Kerala has kicked up a larger social and religious issue, thanks to the unconventional mehr involved — ethical investment. The groom, Farsind, the son of a prominent Islamic scholar and comparative religion expert MM Akbar gifted his bride not the traditional ornaments or cash, but financial shares. And, this novel gesture, rooted in both personal conviction and religious adherence, has sparked admiration, debate and curiosity. In the Islamic custom, the mehr is a gift from the groom to the bride and it forms an integral of the marriage contract. While it often takes the form of gold or cash, religious scholars have long supported the idea that mehr can be anything of value, provided it is agreed upon by both parties. “Minha, the bride, has no interest in gold said Akbar. ‘She preferred something with lasting value and spiritual integrity. As a family we respect that”. The decision was made after consulting both the bride and father, Habeeburahman, who were both aligned in their preference for a more ethically grounded mehr: The mehr comprised 614 shares of four companies — Hyundai Motors, Godrej Agrovet, Nava Ltd and Genesys International — chosen from their alignment with Sharia principles. It did not take long for the couple’s wedding clips to go viral. The video of the family accepting shares struck a chord with netizens. While many applauded the move as a step towards financial literacy and ethical living, it has emerged as a subject for debate especially since it involves the conservative muslim community.
Sixty-one-year old Govinda, who ruled Bollywood throughout the 90s and then saw years of no work, seems to be in the news for all the wrong reasons. The rumours of his divorce from Sunita has been making headlines at regular intervals. While some dismiss it as a publicity stunt, a few film insiders say it’s for real. A few days back there were reports that wife Sunita and her son Yashvardhan were spotted in the family court, Bandra, Mumbai’s western suburb. A few days later paparazzi got an invite from Govinda-Sunita for the Ganpati festival just to indicate all is well between the couple. Not only those close to the couple say that there were issues and Sunita had been vocal about it. And few it’s a publicity stunt to invite attention. Again, people close to Sunita, she did move the court in December 2024 alleging cheating and desertion. During this time there were strong rumours of some Marathi actress entering Govinda’s life. The latest buzz is that counselling is on and the next court hearing is at the end of the year. Ideally, his diehard fans would want Govinda who has acted in over 165 films to make a big comeback and save his marriage. Wishful thinking!
Odisha is now preparing for the biggest leap in the aviation space thanks to the backing of Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu. He wants to make flying affordable even for those wearing ‘chappals’. In months ahead Odisha government is keen to promote sea planes at Chilika and Hirakud dam. In fact, the minister had announced the creation of the Chilika Water airdrome. It also wants to start heli-taxi from Bhubaneswar-Puri as well apart from pursuing Puri International airport which has already received Centres go-ahead. In terms of spread, the Odisha government is planning to develop 14 airports and 15 heliports across districts who are without air connectivity and also convert 22 unused airstrips by upgrading it suitably. The Odisha government also wants to have a world class aviation flying school and training centre at Dhenkanal for tribal girls including UAV training and aero-sports. The Odisha government has already signed a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) agreement with Mumbai-based Air Works, to establish a state-of-the-art facility at Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar. Sources say this facility will also be used for skill development training and jobs for Odisha youth. In the past 14 months, Odisha has been connected with 15 new destinations already
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has been having a testing time in its attempts to make Maharashtra’s state festival of Ganeshotsav eco-friendly. Though the Bombay High Court relented on its ban on Plaster of Paris (PoP) idols this year, it insisted that idols below 6 ft must be immersed only in artificial ponds and not in the 70 natural water bodies including lakes, rivers or seashores earmarked for immersions. In a bid to incentivise clay idols, the BMC has been providing free clay to Ganesh idol makers. This year, the BMC also provided free eco-friendly colours to artisans to reduce pollution in water bodies. Over 990 metric tonnes of clay along with 10,800 litres of paint in five different colours were given free to over 500 idol makers in the city to reduce water pollution. For the first time this year, the BMC plans to collect the PoP from the immersed idols from the city’s 288 artificial ponds and process it at a facility at Bhiwandi, close to Mumbai. This follows consultations with over 12 institutions on ways to handle the PoP waste. Senior officials have already warned that water from these artificial ponds should not be allowed into natural water bodies. Flower waste will be recycled into fertilisers. Considering the scale and popularity of the Ganesh festival, managing environmental concerns has been a huge challenge for the BMC. Last year, the city had seen 1557 community Ganesh idols and over 77,874 households Ganesh being immersed. However, this year, immersions of over 35,000 Ganesh idols have been reported within the very first two days of the festival.
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Editor’s Note: Short Post Noticed By People Who Matter
Four years have zipped by and we are crossing another milestone on 31st January 2025 – it’s our 4th Anniversary. It feels good.
Looking back at the 1460 days, I must say Short Post has made its mark with people who matter via 4000 stories published in the areas of politics, business, entertainment and sports. All made possible by the unflinching commitment and dedication of our senior editors, most of whom have been part of this journey from Day One.
Small pack, big impact is in essence the story of Short Post which was launched at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. It shows our conviction. In all humility, I can say, we have created a new niche in the news segment space like Hindustan Unilever which created a new segment, when it launched CloseUp Gel.
Yes, we have created a brand (in a limited sense), created demand (readers) and created supply (senior journalists). But we are facing teething problems like all start-ups. What makes us happy and confident is the recognition of our efforts. For instance, we have an arrangement with the OPEN Magazine, part of the $4.5 billion Kolkata-based Sanjiv Goenka-RPG Group. This arrangement sees around 10 Short Post stories posted on OPEN Magazine website every week. This arrangement is testimony that our content has been well received! Also, I may add that the Maharashtra government has recognised Short Post and has allowed our senior editor to cover the Assembly sessions. Ditto: Odisha.
Our goal is to ensure that Short Post becomes a habit. I would like people to keep checking their smartphones to know the latest Authentic Gossip. As regards AI and the fear of it disrupting all businesses including media. On that, personally, I have no such fear as I am confident AI cannot smell news particularly Authentic Gossip. That’s the place we are well entrenched.