Jaitley to chair GST Council meet on May 4

Finance Minister ArunJa it le yon Wednesday attended a Union Cabinet meeting, the first after he under went dialysis for a kidney ailment that kept him away from office for over three weeks. Sources said Ja it ley was likely to chaira GST Council meeting on May 4. The meeting, which has been called for simplification of tax return filing process, will be held through video-conferencing at the Prime Minister’ s Office.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday attended a meeting of the Union Cabinet, the first after he began dialysis for a kidney ailment that has kept him away from office for over three weeks now.

Jaitley, however, did not go to his office after the 90minute meeting of the Cabinet at the residence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sources said the minister had been clearing files from his residence where he had been confined since beginning of this month.

Jaitley has been undergoing dialysis twice a week and operates from a restricted access environment with no visitors allowed to meet him for the fear of him contracting an infection.

Earlier this week, he met Japanese Ambassador to India, Kenji Hiramatsu at his residence.

Sources said on May 4, Jaitley is likely to chair a meeting of the GST Council - the highest decision making body of the goods and services tax (GST) regime. The meeting, which has been called for simplification of tax return filing process, will be held through video-conferencing at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). The 65-year-old minister was admitted to the Delhi's premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on April 6, and was back home on April 9 after undergoing dialysis. Doctors have advised Jaitley to undergo dialysis twice a week to treat the kidney ailment and have decided to wait for some time to see if a kidney transplant surgery is essential.