Govt hikes import duty on gold jewellery to 15%

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September 18, 2013
New Delhi, Sep 18: The government raised customs duty on imported jewellery from 10 per cent to 15 per cent to protect the domestic industry, a move that is expected to have immediate ramifications in the UAE, the most sought-after jewellery shopping centre for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs).

Ministry of Finance on Tuesday set duty on jewellery higher than the 10 per cent levied on raw gold in a move to protect the domestic jewellery industry.

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“To protect the interests of small artisans, the customs duty on articles of jewellery ... is being increased,” the ministry said.

The government has also curbed raw gold imports through measures including three duty hikes this year to a record 10 per cent. The Reserve Bank of India has put tight restrictions on importers that have sharply curtailed supplies.

India imported gold jewellery worth $137.57 million in the four months from April to July this year — a fraction of overall bullion imports, which were $2.9 billion in July alone.

For Dubai's jewellery retailers, who have been hoping for a big sales boost with the advent of the festival season in India, the move came at the right time.

Shamlal Ahmad, Managing Director International Operations, Malabar Gold, a leading jewellery chain in the GCC and India, said NRI consumers and local jewellery trade would stand to benefit from the raised duty as a substantial price gap has been building up between prices in the UAE and what the same would cost in India since New Delhi started to raise duty as part of a series of curbs to slash its widening current account gap and support a weak rupee.

Precious metal analysts in Dubai said while Indian jewellery fabrication, which jumped by 25 per cent in the first half to almost 350 tonnes, will get a boost while it will also have positive implications on Gulf's gold jewellery business with NRIs rushing in to exploit the more attractive price advantage here. Dubai's tax-free status has made it one of the cheapest places to buy gold in the world.

The hike in import duty on jewellery had been a demand from the industry to ensure the viability of the domestic jewellery manufacturing, and avoid imports of cheaper jewellery from the GCC, Thailand and Malaysia.

All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation hailed the move as very positive for the local industry and hoped it will support thejewellery-manufacturing sector.

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News Network
May 17,2024

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Hubballi, May 17: Karnataka Police have arrested the killer, Vishwa, also known as Girish, in the sensational Anjali Ambigera murder case, police said on Friday.

Preliminary investigations reveal that Vishwa was a habitual thief who exploited innocent young women. The accused is also a drunkard and was caught while attempting to commit theft. He was also part of a gang which stole bikes.

The accused targeted gullible young women, enacting a drama of love and playing the emotional card to forcefully extort gold, silver, and cash from them. When Anjali did not agree to any of his attempts to rob her and outrightly rejected his offer to go with him to Mysuru city, he brutally killed her.

The police had formed two teams to hunt down the killer. One of the teams was searching in the south Karnataka region, and another team, which launched a hunt in Davanagere, nabbed him. The accused was arrested by the police on Thursday.

The police could not catch him sooner as the killer did not carry a mobile phone and did not use his phone for 15 days, before murdering Anjali. The jurisdictional Bendigeri Police were aware of the killer's history, but even after the complaint by the girl’s family, they showed "utter negligence".

The 24-year-old Vishwa entered Anjali Ambigera's (20) residence at 5.30 A.M. on Wednesday and stabbed the young woman multiple times before she could react. Vishwa dragged Anjali Ambigera all over the house, kicking and stabbing her. Later, he pushed her into the kitchen where he stabbed her repeatedly.

Despite efforts by Anjali’s grandmother and two sisters to stop the attacker, he killed her and managed to flee. The incident occurred in the Veerapura Oni area within the jurisdiction of the Bendigeri Police Station.

Vishwa had been blackmailing Anjali and pressurising her to accompany him to Mysuru without informing her parents. The incident which took place close on the heels of MCA student Neha Hiremath’s brutal murder by the jilted lover has raised concern over the safety of women all across the state.

The BJP had demanded the resignation of Home Minister G. Parameshwara while the Congress leaders have also demanded that the Hubballi-Dharwad Police Commissioner Renuka Sukumar should be transferred for failing to sensitise the police force regarding issues of women’s safety.

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News Network
May 7,2024

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The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) on Monday responded to Karnataka’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) regarding a blue corner notice issued against JDS MP Prajwal Revanna.

In its response, Interpol said that all 196 member countries were alerted to identify and report if Prajwal Revanna is spotted at any port in their jurisdiction.

The Karnataka government issued a Blue Corner Notice on Sunday against Prajwal Revanna, who is facing allegations of sexual abuse by his staff members.

A Blue Corner Notice is issued by the international police cooperation body to collect additional information from its member countries about a person’s identity, location or activities about a crime.

The notice was issued after the 33-year-old Hassan MP reportedly flew to Germany soon after the Karnataka State Commission for Women chairperson Nagalakshmi Chowdhary wrote to the CM to order a probe into the sexual allegations against Prajwal.

Last week, the anticipatory bail application of Prajwal Revanna was also denied by Justice Santosh Gajanana Bhat’s bench of People’s Representative Court in Bengaluru.

Earlier, his MLA father and son of former Prime Minster HD Deve Gowda, HD Revanna was remanded to Karnataka SIT custody in a kidnapping-related sex scandal case.

His arrest came after the kidnapped victim was rescued from Revanna’s close assistant Rajasekhar’s farmhouse in Kalenahalli, Hunsur Taluk after the SIT conducted the rescue operation to find her, the police said.

The abduction case was filed by the son of a woman who worked at the Revannas’ house for nearly five years. He alleged that his mother was kidnapped from her home on April 29 by Satish Babanna a relative of Revanna.

The Karnataka Sex Scandal case pertains to explicit video clips allegedly involving the 33-year-old Prajwal, grandson of JD(S) patriarch and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, which went viral on social media.

Those videos began to make rounds in Hassan in recent days, following which the state government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the sexual abuse allegations against the MP.

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May 4,2024

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Mangaluru, May 4: A tragic incident unfurled last evening in Subrahmanya of Kadaba taluk in Dakshina Kananda, where a young gentleman, who had recently entered the bonds of matrimony a mere ten days hence, met his untimely demise due to a lightning strike.

As twilight descended, a tempestuous thunderstorm, accompanied by billowing rain clouds, cast its shadow over the locale.

Somasundar was diligently engaged in the task of piling up dried nuts in the yard to shield them from the impending deluge, when fate cruelly intervened, subjecting him to the fatal force of a lightning bolt.

Despite the expeditious efforts to convey him to Kadaba Community Hospital subsequent to his sudden indisposition, he tragically succumbed to his injuries. 

Somasundar, who operated a car washing enterprise in proximity to Subrahmanya, is mourned by his mother, sister, and wife.

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