Author: Himalayan Express

At the height of the Kargil War in 1999, Nana Patekar put his acting career on hold and sought permission to join the Indian Army at the war front, a chapter of his life that the veteran actor recalled years later during his appearance on “Kaun Banega Crorepati”.

Patekar, who died on Thursday at the age of 76 due to cardiac arrest in Goa, had rigourously trained with armed forces for his 1991 movie “Prahaar: The Final Attack”, in which he essayed the role of Major VS Chavan.

He trained with the Maratha Light Infantry for three years for the film, which he had also written and directed.

When the Kargil conflict broke out, Patekar approached senior army officers with a request to join the troops but was told that such permission could only be granted by the Defence Minister.

“I knew our Defence Minister George Fernandes ji, so I called him. Even he said it was impossible,” Patekar told megastar Amitabh Bachchan when he appeared on KBC in August 2024 when he was promoting the movie “Vanvaas”.

“I told him, ‘Commission toh six months mein hota hai, maine toh teen saal guzaare hain.’ He asked where, and I told him about my experience with the Maratha Light Infantry. Then he asked, ‘Kab jaana chahte ho?’ I told him, ‘Today.’”

The actor eventually received permission and travelled to the Kargil conflict zone in August 1999, where he spent time with Army personnel near the Line of Control.

Patekar said he spent around 60 days with the troops during the conflict, travelling to places including Dras, Leh, Kupwara, Baramulla and Sopore.

“I was 76 kg when I reached Srinagar. By the time I came back, I was 56 kg,” he recalled.

He said he was eventually a part of a Quick Reaction Team (QRT) and later helped at a military hospital in Srinagar.

“There, the bodies of martyred soldiers were brought in. It was deeply distressing, as many of the bodies were in a bad state. The mortal remains were carefully made presentable before being sent back to their hometowns. I worked there for six days.

“One day, I was roaming in the ward and one person shouted from behind, ‘Hey Nana.’ I knew that person and he was draped in a long sheet. I touched him and he was burning. He told me he had fever for past 4 days. He wanted go to back to battlefield but couldn’t. He then showed that his legs were cut off,” he recounted.

For Patekar, it as an act of heroism but service to country.

“I tell this to all actors. You have your own share of joys and sorrows in life. Keep performing from that space. Unless your definition of happiness and sorrow keeps changing, you won’t be able to sustain yourself for long.

“Go out and look around; there are all kinds of sorrows and joys. But your perception of happiness and sorrow should change,” he said. (PTI)

Air India will offer travel SIM cards to passengers for their overseas trips.

EasyRoam, an Air India-branded travel SIM card that offers international roaming services, has been developed in partnership with Tata Communications.

The ancillary product will be available for purchase as a physical SIM card as well as eSIM on a dedicated Air India-branded webpage, the airline said in a release on Thursday.

With the card, passengers will be able to access voice and data services during international travel.

Air India and Tata Communications are part of the Tata Group.

Initially, the SIM card will be provided free of cost while roaming pack charges will apply.

It will be available for 30 countries across North America, Europe (including the UK), Australia, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, the release said. (Agencies)

The Government on Thursday slammed US business tycoon Elon Musk over his allegations that Starlink’s satcom services are being blocked, and made it clear that demonstrating compliance with security norms is an absolute must for every satcom licensee in the country.

The Government also emphasised that a fair and non-discriminatory framework is in place for all telecom offerings, including satellite services.

Any suggestion that the framework or its application is unfair or discriminatory is baseless and misconceived, the government said in a statement.

On Wednesday, Musk alleged that “certain oligarchs” have blocked his company’s satellite communication services in India to maintain their monopoly in the country.

“A post is being circulated in social media regarding the fairness of India’s regulatory framework for satellite communication services and suggesting that it is being applied in a discriminatory manner.

“The Government has put in place a fair and non-discriminatory authorisation framework for all telecommunication services, including satellite communication services,” the telecom ministry said on Thursday.

The Government has granted licenses to three satellite communications companies — Musk-led Starlink, Jio Satcom and Eutelsat OneWeb, for starting operations in India.

However, all the companies need spectrum and security clearance before starting the service.

The telecom ministry said that under the terms and conditions of license, every such licensee is required to demonstrate compliance with security conditions.

“This is aimed at ensuring that services provided meet various security requirements to ensure safety of all users and their data. Security assessment as part of this process is currently under way in respect of all three licensees,” the ministry said.

The Ministry said that as and when this process is completed for a licensed entity, it may proceed to the next step of seeking assignment of spectrum.

“At present, all three entities are broadly at the same regulatory stage. As such, the suggestion that the framework or its application is unfair or discriminatory is baseless and misconceived,” the statement said. (PTI)

The GST Council, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising state ministers, on Thursday started deliberations on sweeping policy reforms, like scrapping arrest powers of GST officers and easier registration, under GST 2.0, to ensure ease of doing business by following a trust-based taxation approach.

In a little over a year’s time since the Council approved a complete overhaul of the tax rates and slabs under Goods and Services Tax (GST), the GST Council in its 57th meeting will deliberate on decriminalising the law by removing criminal liability for nine offences and softening the provisions for 24, and raising the threshold for initiating criminal prosecution to Rs 5 crore.

It would also discuss a common standard to be followed by GST officers across states for raising demands with a mandatory intimation to be sent before a formal notice, thereby giving opportunity to the taxpayer to be heard.

Also, if approved, no GST notice would be issued wherein the tax demand is less than ₹10,000. Such cases currently account for about 20 per cent of all cases by number and involve a negligible amount of tax.

To deal with the fake input tax credit and notices on mismatch in credit availed, the Council will also discuss ‘invoice matching system’ in GST monthly returns wherein reconciliation of buyer and supplier invoices will happen and tax credit can be legitimately claimed.

To make compliance easier for small businesses selling on e-commerce platforms, the Council is likely to allow them to use the platform’s warehouse as a registered place of business in states where they have no premises of their own. The small supplier only needs a place of business in one state where he would be required to complete physical verification and Aadhaar authentication, and registration in other states will be as per platform’s consent with no involvement of tax officer.

This would enables around 9.5 lakh small sellers to access a national market without opening physical offices across states, establishing tax parity across competing platform business models.

The proposed changes to the GST law would be implemented in a staggered manner beginning early next year.

The GST Council is also likely to discuss a proposal of taking up tax rate changes only once a year and making them effective from the beginning of next fiscal year, a move which would give stability to businesses.

The major change that the GST Council will deliberate on Thursday is amending the GST law and scrapping of arrest powers of GST officers, besides raising the threshold to ₹5 crore for launching prosecution.

For offences like late filing of returns classification disputes and delay in tax payment due to cash position, a taxpayer will be able to skip arrest by paying tax, interest, and a proportionate penalty. GST officers will focus on recovering taxes, while law enforcement agencies will deal in cases of legal proceedings.

Currently, GST officers have the power to arrest, after prior authorisation from a Commissioner-level officer, in cases of major offences where tax evasion, fraudulent input tax credit (ITC), or wrongful refunds exceed Rs 1 crore.

The Council would also deliberate on intelligence-led logistics and transit checks, wherein vehicles in transit will only be stopped based on specific prior authorisation by a senior officer and solely by the state of origin (except when documents are missing or buyer-liable tax applies).

This will eliminate multi-state road stoppages, drastically reduce transit times and freight costs, and make cargo movement predictable for domestic and export goods.

To streamline the GST registration process, the Council will discuss redesigning the forms so it can be completed correctly, easily with guidance at each step and the list of documents to be uploaded. If a taxpayer is registered in another state, his details are carried over and he may need to fill up only one form for obtaining registration in multiple states.

To make it easier for exporters of goods and services to claim refund and credit, the Council will also consider a proposal to make the definition of exports aligned with commercial activities earning foreign exchange and also remove ambiguity over the export status of services supplied through an Indian company’s overseas branch, sources said.

Further, the Council will also consider withdrawing IGST exemption on import of gold, silver and platinum imports by specified banks and nominated agencies.

Currently, imports of gold, silver, and platinum are subject to a 3 per cent IGST. However, this tax is exempt when these precious metals are imported by banks and nominated agencies, which are periodically listed by the government.

A proposal allow employers to claim input tax credit (ITC) on premiums paid for insurance coverage provided to employees will be discussed by the Council.

Under the Goods and Services Tax law, GST is exempt on individuals buying life or health policies for themselves or their family. However, when a company buys life or health cover for its employees, an 18 per cent GST is levied on that cover, and until now the business could not claim ITC on it.

The GST Council is also likely to consider recasting its tax officers’ committees, making them leaner as the indirect tax regime completed nine years since its rollout on July 1, 2017.

The structure of the committee, which supports the Council in overall functioning, is proposed to be recast into three consolidated bodies — the Secretariat, the implementation committee, and a single standing committee of officers.

Currently, the GST tax officers’ committee consists of the Secretariat, an implementation committee, eight standing committees, including Fitment and Law committees, and 18 sectoral groups. (Agencies)

Strength of devotees coming for Char Dham pilgrimage in Uttarakhand has set a new benchmark as it recorded more than 56 lakh footfalls in the ongoing pilgrimage season so far.

A statement issued by the state government stated that number of devotees coming to Char Dham Yatra in 2026 has crossed 56.18 lakh. This is more than previous all-time high figure of around 52 lakh devotees recorded in 2023.

Statement read that record number of pilgrims came to the Himalayan state to pay their obescience at Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines reflecting the growing religious tourism in Uttarakhand and the trust of devotees nationwide.

Reacting to the increasing number of devotees in Char Dham pilgrimage, Himachal Pradesh Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that it was possible by the extensive arrangements made by the state government for safe, easy and organised travel for the pilgrims.

Dhami added, “Every devotee coming to devbhoomi Uttarakhand is our guest. State government’s persistent effort is to ensure that pilgrim’s journey is safe, smooth and pleasant. Record rise in number of devotees in Char Dham Yatra is proof of state’s improved facilities for the devotees.”

CM claimed that efforts of the state administration, police, health department, SDRF, local bodies and shrine priests too contributed to the successful operation of the Char Dham Yatra.

“Facilities related to health services, traffic management, drinking water, sanitation, parking, accommodation, disaster management, and pilgrim convenience along Char Dham routes were continuously strengthened. Special emphasis is also laid on seamless coordination among relevant departments in the ongoing pilgrimage season” said Dhami. (Agencies)