FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. XLII No. 73 | INDORE | SUNDAY | AUGUST 24, 2025 | Pages 16 ` 4 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. 38281/83 N AT I O N A L WA F F L E DAY www.freepressjournal.in Sports Bist & Shafali Shine Bright in Brisbane P.16 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: INDORE WORLD UJJAIN PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Readers’ Corner Love & diplomacy: True ... P.6 Trump’s 2-week ultimatum again Cinema She Loves Me. She Loves Me... P.14 ‘GST REFORMS NO MORE A CHOICE, BUT NECESSITY’ By tration, return and refunds but the Council may dwell on e-way bills as well. Lastly, the Council may consider threshold for mismatch notices, blocking of ITC and provisional attachments to promote EoDB (Ease of Doing Business). l Rising GST collections: The average GDP growth of 6% versus mammoth growth of GST collections at 14.4% per annum proves that formalisation is taking its root. l Imports and domestic protection: Around 25% of GST is import driven. A rate reduction will reduce revenue and also lessen the protection of domestic industry; forcing it to compete with imports. l Balancing rates: Mr. Subramanian in 2016 had proposed an average rate of 15.6%. The tax incidence of VAT and central excise was added and every commodity was placed at a rate lower than the total KATNI MINING CONCLAVE | 3 MoUs signed; air cargo facility soon Anil Ambani’s house, RCom office raided Bizman stabbed dozen times in front of 10-yr-old son, dies Somendra Sharma Horrific end to business dispute Ex-Member MP Commercial Tax Appeal Board INDORE As per the Independence Day address of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ‘acche din’ (good days) are just round the corner for people of all sections of society, wherein all will have savings and get es- sential goods at cheaper rate following the GST rates cut. Broadly food items, garments (above Rs 1000), housing and electronics goods are sure to be attractive and shining this Deepawali. The immediate reason for lowering the GST rates may be to combat the tariff challenge imposed by the US, but it is also a fact that GST reforms are no more a choice but necessity. These structural reforms will go a long way for all stake-holders. Declaration by Prime Minister registration without the benefit of threshold and composition schemes. l Rate rationalisation- The end of cess is the obvious cushion for rationalisation. The Centre is proposing rate and slab reduction. Allocation of goods in a particular slab will be a debatable issue. Many existing exemptions are likely to go away for smooth functioning. Unanimous allocation will propel future enlargement of GST ambit. l Ease of living- It covers regis- Sudip Gupta The Union government has laid its views before the GST Council which will accept it in-toto. The Prime Minister has expounded three pillars of reforms: l Structural reforms – these include elimination of inverted duty structure in some sectors. However, the Council may consider other structural reforms like comprehensive definition of supply, threshold for registration, compulsory State gets Rs 56,440 cr investment proposals Our Staff Reporter Madhya Pradesh received investment proposals of Rs 56,440 crore in Katni Mining Conclave on Saturday. Three Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) were signed during the summit. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said that it is the right time for investment in the state. He exhorted investors to establish their industrial units in the state. Dubbing the summit as successful, he said that eight mining companies have given the proposal of Rs 56,440 crore. The state government has done MoU with Coal India Limited for search of critical mineral, processing and con- fp Briefs NEW DELHI Postal services to US suspended Postal services to the US have been temporarily suspended as the USbound air carriers have denied carrying shipments due to lack of clarity in new norms issued by the American customs department, Ministry of Communications said on Saturday. However, services will continue for letters, documents and gift items up to USD 100. Under an Executive Order issued by the US administration on July 30, 2025, goods valued above USD 100 will be subject to customs duties in America with effect from August 29 onwards. BENGALURU/NEW DELHI ED arrests Cong MLA Karnataka Congress MLA K C Veerendra 'Puppy' was arrested on Saturday under the antimoney laundering law from Sikkim in an alleged illegal online and offline betting case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said. The federal probe agency also said it seized Rs 12 crore in cash (including about Rs crore in foreign currency), gold jewellery worth Rs 6 crore, silver about 10 kg along with four vehicles following raids launched on Friday in multiple states. servation. An MoU has been also inked with TEXMin, Dhanbad for Artificial Intelligence, IT, Block Chain, Remote Sensing use etc. An MoU has been also signed with Indian Science Education and Research Institution, Bhopal for mining investigation research. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 hief Minister Mohan Yadav did virtual conversation with industrialists including Rajiv Mundra (Kolkata), JP Agrawal (Sri Lanka), Vivek Bhatia (Delhi) and Thomas Cherian (Hyderabad). The discussion remained focused on investment opportunities in the state. Investment Proposals Singhal Business Production Limited Vinmir Resources private Limited Ramnik Power and Alloys Mineware Advisors Production Ltd Mahakaushal Refractories Sayana Group Auctioned main mineral block (9 block) Auctioned coal mine (2 block) Total proposed investment Rs 15000 cr Rs 850 cr Rs 1,850 cr Rs 450 crore Rs 90 cr Rs 3000 cr Rs 32,774 cr Rs 1450 cr Rs 56,440 cr MUMBAI The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday raided the Mumbai residence of Reliance Communication Ltd. (RCom) Director Anil Ambani and the company’s corporate office in connection with a ₹2,929 crore fraud case lodged by the State Bank of India (SBI). The raids at Ambani’s Cuffe Parade residence ‘Sea Wind’ and the RCom office followed the registration of an FIR on Thursday against RCom, Ambani, unidentified public servants, and others. The agency has booked them on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, and criminal misconduct under the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act. C BHOPAL Why GST rate cut is required Gadkari, CM inaugurate state’s longest flyover Union Minister inaugurates road projects worth Rs 4,250 cr FP News Service JABALPUR Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, and Chief Minister Mohan Yadav inaugurated the state's longest and most modern flyover in Jabalpur on Saturday. The minister also inaugur- CARICATURE ROW Cartoonist issues public apology IANS INDORE Hemant Malviya, a cartoonist based in Madhya Pradesh's Indore, on Saturday, publicly apologised for a controversial caricature he shared earlier this year depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The apology, posted across Facebook (though IANS does not confirm if it is his official account), follows a directive from the Supreme Court, which is currently hearing the case surrounding the cartoon. Malviya's illustration, originally published on April 1, 2025, drew swift backlash after Indore resident Vinay Joshi lodged a formal complaint, alleging that the cartoon insulted religious and political sentiments. The Indore Police subsequently registered a case and arrested Malviya twoand-a-half months ago on charges of promoting enmity and hurting public sentiment.During a recent hearing, Malviya's legal team told the Supreme Court that he would issue a formal apology online. 4Continued on | P8 ated and laid foundation stones of road projects worth Rs 4,250 cr covering a total road distance of 174 kilometres in eastern Madhya Pradesh.
