DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2024, LUCKNOW, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY SINCE 1932 STRONG MOMENTUM IN ECONOMY: FM Over `2 lakh cr: Highest monthly GST collection Audits, anti-evasion measures help boost gross GST collections in April AANCHAL MAGAZINE INSIDE PANIC IN DELHI NCR AS SCHOOLS GET BOMB THREAT EMAIL PAGE 9 `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM NEW DELHI, MAY 1 GROSS GOODS and Services tax (GST) collections rose 12.4 per cent to touch a record-high of Rs 2.10 lakh crore in April (for yearendsalesinMarch),datareleased bytheUnionFinanceMinistryon Wednesday showed. The increasewasdrivenmainlyby13.4 percentyear-on-yearhigherdomestictransactions,alongwitha higher compliance in the backdrop of anti-evasion measures and audits taken by authorities. Thisisthehighestlevelof GST collectionsrecordedsincetheindirect tax reform kicked in almostsevenyearsagoinJuly2017, andthefirsttimethattheoverall mop-up crossed the Rs 2 lakh croremark.Theprevioushighest levelwasregisteredinApril2023 at Rs 1.87 lakh crore, reflecting year-end sales of March 2023. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 High domestic transactions THE STRONG pickup in gross GST collections was reflective of the year-end momentum that was visible last year too, while audits and investigations by both Central and state GST authorities aided the mop-up. Sustainability of this figure will depend on the consumption demand amid the rising heatwave. President Murmu offers prayers at Ram CM tells PM to Temple: Living symbol of Indian ideals cancel Prajwal diplomatic passport; MP seeks a week MAULSHREE SETH LUCKNOW, MAY 1 PRESIDENT DROUPADI Murmu visited Ayodhya Wednesday wheresheprayedbeforetheidol of Ram Lalla in the sanctum sanctorum of the Ram Temple. ThiswasherfirstvisittoAyodhya followingtheconsecrationof the idol in the temple in January this year. ThePresident,whoseaircraft landed around 4.30 pm at the Maharishi Valmiki International Airport where she was received by UP Governor Anandiben Patel, offered prayers at the Hanuman Garhi temple and then at the Ram Temple. She performed aarti on the ghats of the Saryu river in the evening. She also visited the Kuber Teela. In a post on X, Rashtrapati Bhavan said, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 AKRAM M & KIRAN PARASHAR BENGALURU, MAY 1 President Droupadi Murmu offers prayers at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on Wednesday. ANI Riding on his work as 4-time CM, ‘Mama’ looks at Delhi 2nd innings ANAND MOHAN J DEWAS, MAY 1 SHIVRAJ SINGH Chouhan’s apparent exhaustionfromundertaking a 16-hour DECISION daily poll cam2024 paign dissipates as a group of children runs towards his convoy of bulletproof vehicles. Asthecrowdswells,thesecu- Chouhan on campaign trail in Vidisha. Anand Mohan J rity arrangement is thrown into disarray.Butthisdoesn'tdeterthe former Madhya Pradesh chief minister,whorollsdownthewindow and greets the children, while his wife Sadhna looks on. Chouhan, 65, is campaigning in a part of the Dewas belt which fallsunderVidishaLokSabhaconstituency,hishometurf,wherehe has returned to contest the Lok Sabha polls after about 20 years. A five-time MP from Vidisha, Chouhan wentontobecomethe CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 KARNATAKA CHIEF Minister Siddaramaiah wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday,urgingtheCentretocancel the diplomatic passport of JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna, who is at the centre of a sexual abuse case, and ensure his return by making use of diplomatic and police channels. The letter came even as Prajwal, the grandson of JD(S) founder and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, sought seven days to appear before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to probe the allegations ofsexualabuseagainsthim.Italso came on a day the SIT issued noticestothe33-year-oldleaderand his father H D Revanna, who are named as accused based on the complaint of one of the women. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE WORLD ISRAEL, PALESTINE SUPPORTERS CLASH IN UCLA PAGE 12 HC to DGP: Form team to Disquiet in Delhi over probe assault allegations US, Aussie reports on against Rae Bareli SP ‘Indian spy operations’ MANISH SAHU LUCKNOW, MAY 1 THE LUCKNOW bench of the Allahabad High Court has directedtheUttarPradeshDirector General of Police (DGP) to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate allegationsthata29-year-oldmanwas assaulted and falsely accused in theft cases after he allegedly refused to give his vehicle topolice personnel who claimed to be acting at the behest of the Superintendent of Police, Rae Bareli,AbhishekKumarAgarwal. The court ordered that the SITshouldcompriseofficerssenior to the officers facing the allegations, including SP Agarwal. It instructed that the SIT report should be submitted within two months, with the next hearing scheduled for July 3. The petitioner, Gomati Mishra(70), alleged thatherson Alakh Mishra was arrested by CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, MAY 1 REPORTS in the US and Australian media about operationsallegedly byIndian “intelligence officials” overseas has caught the establishment offguard and there is a sense of disquietinNewDelhiatwhatitsees as a “concerted pushback” from its key Western strategic partners, sources said. On Tuesday, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported that “Indian spies were kicked out of Australia after being caught trying to steal secrets about sensitive defence projects and airport security, as well as classified information on Australia's trade relationships”. The Australian and the Sydney Morning Herald said that two Indian“spies”wereaskedtoleave. “The so-called foreign ‘nest of spies’ disrupted by the Australian Security Intelligence CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 In this corner of UP, Akhilesh & Dimple pick up the baton, and Mulayam’s legacy PAGE 1 ANCHOR LALMANI VERMA MAINPURI, KANNAUJ, MAY 1 SAMAJWADI PARTY chief AkhileshYadavhasalotatstakein the coming Lok Sabha elections. Politics is just one part of it. From two seats in the coming two phases,AkhileshandwifeDimple are contesting. Both these con- Dimple Yadav campaigns in Mainpuri. Lalmani Verma stituencies — Kannauj and Mainpuri,respectively—hadbeen won in the past by SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav. As Akhilesh tries to fill his late father’s shoes, the result in these two adjoining constituencies, whichhehaschosentokeepclose home, will be closely tracked to see how far he has come. In2019,Dimplehadlostfrom Kannauj, later winning the Mainpuri seat held by Mulayam CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Lucknow
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