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here could be sops, after the pain. Sensing the growing frustration among the middle classes and the poor in India over dry   and long queues at banks after demonetisation of big notes, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is learnt to be sending out feelers to finance minister Arun Jaitley   to relax the income-tax   slabs, even if marginally, in the Union Budget. "This would help consolidate the   BJP   position among the salaried class," a source said. The budget announcements will come right before five states, with population of around 250 million, go to polls. The budget is slated to be early this time, perhaps on February 1. Get more information visit at: https://goo.gl/wzqCiI

Centre’s decision to withdraw Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes may have taken many by surprise but back in March, 2016, State Bank of India’s research report ‘SBI Ecowatch ’ had a clear pointer to the possibility of ‘demonetisation’ being on the anvil. The report, authored by SBI’s chief economic adviser Soumya Kanti Ghosh and his team, had cited an ‘unusual rise’ in currency with public, estimated to have risen 25 per cent year-on-year in April-January of 2015-16 fiscal. “Currency with public grew by 25 per cent during the period April-January FY16 as against corresponding period last year. Earlier to that, currency with public grew by 57.2 per cent during the same period in FY11. Even the YoY growth in currency with public increased by 12.3 per cent as of Jan 2016. This recent growth in currency with public is quite puzzling as none of the indicators validates this growth as nominal growth has collapsed,” the report stated. Get more information visit at: https://goo.gl/5ZcRUd ...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of senior ministers past midnight on Monday to review the demonetisation process and its impact so far. The meeting, held at the prime minister's residence, saw Cabinet Ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Venkaiah Naidu, Piyush Goyal and other top officials of the Finance Ministry in attendance. Get more information visit at:  goo.gl/I4MRr5 Speaking to news agency ANI, Economic Affairs Secretary (EAS) Shaktikanta Das said that PM Modi took stock of the availability of cash. RBI assured him that there was enough cash available for circulation in the system, Das said. The EAS spelled out a list of steps that will be come into effect from Monday, including granting exemption to "certain category of transactions" where  old series of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes can be accepted in foreign investment approvals.

Sleuths of  Customs Air Intelligence  wing on Monday seized 1,096 grams of gold worth Rs 33.56 lakhs at  Mangaluru International Airport . The gold was being smuggled from Dubai. In this connection, the customs official have arrested a passenger who landed in Mangaluru by  Air India flight IX814 . The accused was later presented before N  Sunil Kumar Singh , principal civil judge (senior division) and chief judicial magistrate, Mangaluru, who remanded him to judicial custody. In a release, M Subramanyam, commissioner of customs, said the gold was being smuggled in the form of objects of various shapes and sizes, all painted with silver colour. These objects included chain and bracelets beads, buckles of chappals, key chain rings, woolen jacket buttons and others. Subramanyam said it is an usual approach by smugglers to devise a new mode of concealment as officers detect older means of smuggling with ease.

There were serpentine queues at fuel stations in Chennai as they continued to accept Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency  notes which are no more legal tenders. However, most petrol stations wanted the customers either to give change or fill fuel for the full amount given - mostly Rs 500. "I wanted petrol only for Rs 200, but the petrol bunk attendant did not have change. He insisted me to fill petrol for Rs 500 which I gave or wait till he got change. Being a school working day I had to rush with my fuel tank brimming," said S Ananya, a homemaker at Abhiramapuram. Similar was the scene at other fuel stations. Business at small vegetable outlets in Mylapore and Raja Annamalaipuram were less than normal. Most customers purchased vegetables only for less than Rs 100 as vendors refused to accept Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes. Roadside eateries in various parts of the city were doing more or less normal business. Original article:  http://bit.ly/2fYSoy8   ...