Latest news with #Sridharan
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Business Standard
15-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Levy of 28% GST on online money gaming flawed, firms tell Supreme Court
Online real-money gaming companies on Tuesday opposed the imposition of a 28 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on their services, arguing that the levy was fundamentally flawed and contrary to the legal framework. Senior advocate V Sridharan, appearing for the online gaming companies (petitioners), argued that the GST provisions before October 2023 were inadequate to impose a 28 per cent tax on online gaming operators in the manner attempted by the authorities. The government's reliance on Rule 31A of the GST Rules—pertaining to the value of supply in cases of lottery, betting, gambling and horse racing—was challenged on grounds that the rule lacked statutory authority under the Central GST Act. Sridharan argued that Rule 31A, which prescribed the valuation method for betting and gambling, did not comply with the mandatory two-step process under Section 15(5) of the CGST Act. Specifically, the rule was issued without first notifying 'actionable' claims as taxable supplies, rendering it ineffective and invalid, he said. He contended that attempts to tax actionable claims such as betting and gambling as 'goods' by amending the Goods Rate Notification were flawed. Until 1 October 2023, there was no entry for actionable claims in the Customs Tariff Schedule, making their classification as goods unsustainable under GST. The petitioners also argued the distinction between platform fees—on which GST is already paid—and prize pool contributions made by players, which are held in trust and returned to winners. The petition claimed that these deposits do not constitute consideration and thus cannot be taxed under GST. In online games, players compete against each other, while the operator merely provides the platform, the gaming companies submitted. As the supplier of platform services, the operator had discharged GST during the relevant period at the applicable rate. 'However, the operator does not make any other supplies and only holds the prize pool as a deposit to be settled in favour of the winner, who is decided between the players. Thus, the operator cannot be made liable for supplies made inter se between the players,' Sridharan said. The division bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan asked whether the entire game would be treated as a single transaction, to which Sridharan replied, 'GST is a contract-based tax.' The case highlights the absence of clear taxing provisions to enforce GST collection before the October 2023 overhaul. The petitioners concluded that attempts to retroactively impose GST without statutory backing violate fundamental tax principles and must be struck down as ultra vires. The Supreme Court has scheduled 25 July 2025 as the date for the final hearing in the case, which involves show-cause notices issued to several online gaming firms. With an estimated financial impact of ₹2.5 lakh crore, the case ranks among the largest tax battles in India's history. The matter will continue on Wednesday.
India Today
03-07-2025
- Business
- India Today
Is India's Rs 1 trillion RDI scheme inspired by China's Thousand Talents Plan? Not quite
In order to revitalise India's R&D ecosystem, the government has cleared the Rs 1 lakh crore Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme. The policy aims to inject much-needed capital into deep-tech sectors and strategic industries, primarily by offering startups and private players long-tenure, low-interest loans and equity details of the initiative emerged, comparisons began to surface. Most notably with China's controversial Thousand Talents Plan (TTP) (launched in 2008). That programme was Beijing's ambitious bid to bring home its brightest minds from across the globe. So, is India now trying to emulate China's Plan?advertisementNot quite. And the difference is more than cosmetic. 'The Rs. 1-trillion RDI scheme is a welcome move, but it's not cut from the same cloth as China's Thousand Talents Plan,' says Srinath Sridharan, Corporate Advisor & Independent Director on Corporate Boards. 'It's a financial intervention, not a people strategy.'China's TTP was designed with the aim of reversing brain drain. It dangled lucrative incentives, including research autonomy, leadership posts, lab funding, and generous salaries, to draw back Chinese-origin scientists, engineers, and tech entrepreneurs from elite institutions programme placed many of them directly into leadership roles in high-tech firms, especially in fields like AI, genomics, and quantum new scheme, by contrast, takes a different tack. There's no direct outreach to diaspora talent. No talk of any central mechanism to attract returning scientists. No coordinated effort is being made to fast-track them into institutions or give them decision-making authority in national R&D not about repatriating talent,' Sridharan argues. It's about unlocking capital to stimulate innovation at home. That's a fundamentally different design.'TWO MODELS, TWO MINDSETSWhere China's approach was centrally planned and state-directed, India's RDI scheme is built around market forces. The expectation is that funding will enable private players to take more risks in R&D-heavy companies (aka the sunrise sectors) — health tech, semiconductors, green energy — areas where returns are uncertain and therein lies the rub.'Innovation doesn't emerge from capital alone,' Sridharan cautions. 'It needs minds... motivated, skilled, and empowered minds.'For India to consider shifting from brain drain to brain gain, we need more than just a funding mechanism. What's missing (and much-needed) is a long-term vision that connects all three: talent, infrastructure, and does one get there? First, by creating globally competitive research institutions with operational autonomy; second, ensuring urban ecosystems that can support the lifestyle, career, and educational expectations of those returning scientists; third, cutting the red tape that may end up slowing down or stifling scientific exploration; and above all, articulating a clear national innovation agenda with SUCCESS AND FALLOUTIt is true that China's TTP came with serious baggage. On the one hand, the Plan succeeded in attracting thousands of top-tier researchers and repositioned Beijing as a serious tech player. But it also triggered geopolitical concerns, especially in the U.S., where several scientists who were affiliated with the programme were accused of failing to disclose Chinese ties or funding. The Plan even led to investigations, terminations, and, in some cases, even criminal 2022, under international pressure and domestic recalibration, Beijing hurriedly retired the original TTP. Although some elements of it live on in other points out that India doesn't need to replicate the Chinese model as it were. But there's a lesson there for us: 'China got it right that talent follows purpose. If your system signals seriousness, autonomy, and ambition, top talent will pay attention.'THE ROAD AHEADIndia's RDI scheme has laid the financial groundwork. But unless there's an equally compelling plan to mobilise human capital both domestically and globally, the country could end up with capital-rich labs and boardrooms but a scarcity of scientific like building a space rocket and forgetting to train the astronauts. You can get off the ground, but not go India hopes to lead in frontier innovation by 2047, it must think beyond money. It must craft a story bold enough to bring its brightest minds home not just to participate, but to lead.- Ends advertisement
The Hindu
27-06-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Decoding the findings of a study linking night shifts with asthma problems in women
A recent study has found a correlation between working night shifts and asthma, especially in women. The study, 'Increased risk of asthma in female night shift workers' published in ERJ Open Research, based its findings on cross-sectional data from over 2,80,000 U.K. Biobank participants. The study builds on previous research that had found a higher risk of moderate or severe asthma in night shift employees. Researchers found that 5.3 per cent of the workers had asthma, with 1.9 per cent suffering from moderate or severe asthma (taking an asthma-preventer inhaler and at least one other asthma treatment, such as an oral steroid). The study's findings Led by Robert Maidstone of the University of Manchester, U.K., the study found that women who worked night shifts were more prone to moderate to severe asthma. Women who only worked night shifts were found to be around 50 per cent more likely to suffer from moderate or severe asthma compared to women who only worked in the daytime. Although it has been established that more adult women than men are prone to asthma the reason for this has been elusive. The researchers believe that testosterone, the male sex hormone, has a protective effect that prevents asthma triggers in men, and suggested that post-menopausal women could opt for hormone replacement therapy as it appears to have a protective effect. What is asthma? Asthma is a major noncommunicable disease (NCD), affecting both children and adults, and is the most common chronic disease among children. Inflammation and narrowing of the small airways in the lungs cause asthma symptoms, which can be any combination of cough, wheeze, shortness of breath and chest tightness. Inhaled medication can control asthma symptoms and allow people with asthma to lead a normal, active life. Avoiding asthma triggers can also help to reduce asthma symptoms. Asthma is often under-diagnosed and under-treated, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Source: WHO R. Sridharan, a Chennai-based specialist in treating allergies, concurs with the findings of the study. He explains that our body is regulated by the circadian rhythm (the internal clock managing the sleep-wake process). When a person's circadian rhythm changes as in the case of those working night shifts, they end up suffering from a number of health issues which could include acid reflux, gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD), obesity, obstructive sleep apnoea, besides hormonal changes. This can have a number of effects including increasing the chances of getting asthma, Dr. Sridharan said. While asthma can be triggered by allergies and pollution, obesity too, is linked with an increased risk of developing for asthma according to the United States National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. 'Obesity is common due to loss of normal sleep patterns,' said Dr. Sridharan, adding: 'What I am seeing is night duty people have more asthma and less controlled asthma and are prone for many asthma triggers,' he adds. Allergies, he says, are linked to low levels of immunity, again caused by disruptions to sleep and inadequate sleep, which could then trigger asthma. Dr. Sridharan however points out that as a specialist, of 30 patients in a day, he sees 25 with asthma, and both men and women and equally prone to the condition. Pulmonologist M. Koushik Muthu Raja said he had treated a few persons who work night shifts and presented with severe asthma. 'We have not understood the correlation in India because we don't have that many cases presented to our clinic so far,' he says. Asthma cannot be directly linked to night shifts, he explains, as there may be other reasons -- pollen allergies, colds and humidity -- with some individuals having more episodes in summer, while some others have increased episodes in winter. Besides, the standard guidelines for asthma have not listed night shifts as a risk factor as yet, he points out. 'We need to wait for larger studies from India in order to establish such a link. We need in-depth, robust randomised studies to find a direct correlation. A similar, large-scale study in India would help to understand the correlation between asthma and night shifts,' he says. According to the WHO, asthma cannot be cured but there are several treatments available. The most common treatment is to use an inhaler, which delivers medication directly to the lungs. Inhalers can help control the disease and enable people with asthma to enjoy a normal, active life, it says.
Mint
23-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
War or peace! These mutual fund categories help investors create long term wealth
When fear over India-Pakistan conflict has dissipated, there is a new war in Iran that started Sunday, while Russia-Ukraine war has been going on for over three years now, and Israel-Palestine conflict, too, continues. Amid so much of geopolitical tension growing in the wake of Israel-Iran war, investors are likely to be circumspect. When there is uncertainty in the rest of the world, one can see optimism in defensive stocks and sectors which are likely to do well regardless of conflicts. 'When there is an uncertainty in the rest of the world, investors can invest in the defensive sectors such as healthcare, pharma, FMCG and consumer durables,' says Sridharan S., founder of Wealth Ladder Direct. I. Pharmaceuticals and healthcare funds: Sectoral funds are those mutual funds which invest a minimum of 80 percent of stocks in a particular sector or theme. A pharma fund, therefore, would typically invest 80 percent of its assets in pharmaceutical companies. For instance, HDFC Pharma and Healthcare Fund, ICICI Prudential PHD (Healthcare and Diagnostics) Fund, Kotak Healthcare Fund and Mirae Asset Healthcare Fund. These funds invest (over 80 percent) in the stocks of companies such as Sun Pharma, Divis Labs, Cipla, Lupin and Max Healthcare. II. Consumption or FMCG funds: These funds invest a minimum of 80 percent of their assets in consumption stocks. For instance, Sundaram Consumption Fund, Mahindra Manulife Consumption Fund, Baroda BNP Paribas India Consumption Fund and Kotak Consumption Fund. These mutual funds invest in the stocks of companies such as Hindustan Unilever (HUL), Titan, Eternal, United Spirits and ITC, among others While the sectors mentioned above are defensive, but is this advisable to allocate large sum of portfolio to one or two sectors only? After all, sectoral funds are riskier than other categories such as index or passive mutual funds. So should one really go big on the sectoral funds including consumption or healthcare? On this, experts believe that the maximum allocation to sectoral funds should not be more than 20 percent of portfolio. 'Investors are recommended not to invest more than 15 to 20 percent of their portfolio to sectoral or thematic funds. So one should refrain from investing more than that. During the time of conflict, investors can also track gold prices which obviously are a good bet,' adds Sridharan. Meanwhile, Preeti Zende, founder of Apna Dhan Financial Services, has a different view on this. 'For the last couple of years, investors have been facing volatile markets because of numerous geopolitical reasons such as Russia-Ukraine war, Israel-Hamas conflict, and now again Israel-Iran, where there is a war-like situation. But do retail investors really change their investments strategy? I do not think so. The tool to combat any kind of risk is asset allocation. One should keep on investing in equity, debt and gold as per the asset allocation required towards their financial goals,' she says. 'However, one can have some exposure to debt and gold but it is not recommended to make unnecessary changes in investment strategy as a knee-jerk reaction,' she adds. Note: This story is for informational purposes only. Please speak to a SEBI-registered investment advisor before making any investment related decision. For all personal finance updates, visit here
CBC
29-01-2025
- CBC
Tłı̨chǫ Government still developing N.W.T.'s Whatı̀ Falls for tourists, no timeline on opening
The Tłı̨chǫ Government in the N.W.T. is moving ahead with a plan to develop the Whatı̀ Falls for tourists but doesn't yet have a timeline on when the public can visit. The falls, approximately 20 kilometres from the community of Whatı̀, N.W.T., are sacred for Tłı̨chǫ people and the Indigenous government is working to balance the benefits of more visitors with preserving the pristine land and water. Nive Sridharan is a project coordinator with the Tłı̨chǫ Government's department of culture and lands protection and is working on the project at the falls. "It's a really beautiful area and so, wanting to make sure that it can be enjoyed by everyone — but also protect and preserve it as much as we can," she said. Sridharan said that with the all-season road that opened in 2021, there are new opportunities for local employment, training, economic development and educating the public on Tłı̨chǫ culture. And at each stage of development they're working closely to consult with the community, she said. Step one, Sridharan said, is setting up infrastructure to ensure safe access to the falls, like fencing and trails. She said the plan is also to build signs to inform visitors of the cultural significance of the site. Mike Nitsiza is an elder in Whatı̀. He says the falls, called Nailii in Tłı̨chǫ, is somewhere residents go to cleanse themselves and to pray. "I go there as often as I can," he said. Nitsiza said he wants to share the sacred site and would even consider working there himself, as a guide. "All my experience, knowledge — traditional and culture and spirituality — I want to pass it on," he said. He says it's essential that the falls be kept pristine. "As soon as it's been disrespected to the people, they'll probably close the area." Sridharan said the area is currently under construction and closed to everyone. She said there's no timeline at this point for when it will open. She said they're focused first on developing the day-use area, then they'll see about moving ahead with developing a campground.
