RJD LEADER SHAHABUDDIN DIES OF COVID-19 AT DELHI HOSPITAL

Gangster-politician Mohammad Shahabuddin who tested positive for Covid-19 nearly 10 days ago died at a Delhi hospital on Saturday morning, according to officials at Tihar prison where the former Rashtriya Janata Dal lawmaker had spent the last four years on orders of the Supreme Court.

Tihar prison officials shifted 53-year-old Shahabuddin to Deen Dayal Upadhyay hospital on April 21 after his condition deteriorated.

The four-time parliamentarian from Bihar’s Siwan tested positive for the disease on April 20, according to director general (prisons) Sandeep Goel.

This is the fifth death in five days of a Tihar prisoner due to the viral illness.

NEW DELHI: The Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection in April this year was an all-time high at ₹1,41,384 crore as compared to an all-time low revenue of ₹32,172 crore in April 2020, which was mainly due to a nationwide lockdown that hit the economy hard, according to official data.

The collection in April this year is over 14% higher than the previous record of ₹1,23,902 crore in March 2021. The GST collections maintained the ₹1 lakh crore benchmark trend for the seventh consecutive month.

“Despite the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic affecting several parts of the country, Indian businesses have once again shown remarkable resilience by not only complying with the return filing requirements but also paying their GST dues in a timely manner during the month,” the Union finance ministry said in a statement.

The steady growth in GST revenues for the last seven months indicates a sustained economic recovery during this period, the statement said. After remaining in a contraction mode for six straight months since March 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic and a nationwide lockdown, GST collections entered an annualised positive growth path since September last year. A 68-day nationwide lockdown from March 25 last year had a devastating impact on the economy and consequently, the GST collections. It led to a 24.4% contraction of the economy in the first quarter of 2020-21, and a 7.3% contraction in the second quarter, before it expanded by 0.4% in the three months ended December 31. Overall, the economy is expected to contract by 8% in 2020-21.

Although the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on April 7 estimated that the economy would grow at 10.5% in 2021-22 with a 26.2% growth in the first quarter of the current financial year, experts have doubts. “Much would depend on the economic impact of Covid’s second wave currently sweeping the Indian economy. At least the projected growth at 26.2% in 1QFY22 by the RBI would be significantly adversely impacted,” said EY India chief policy adviser DK Srivastava.

MS Mani, senior director at consultancy firm Deloitte India, said: “The all-time high collections which relates to supplies made in March 21 could now give way to muted collections in the coming months due to the lower economic activities in April.” Rajat Bose, partner at law firm Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, said: “Since it’s the year end, most companies close their books and raise invoices during the financial close. That is perhaps one of the reasons for the spurt in GST collections in April. The real challenge lies ahead as most parts of the country are again in a lockdown and most industries are temporarily shut.” According to the finance ministry, out of the ₹1,41,384 crore gross GST collection in April this year, ₹27,837 crore is central GST, ₹35,621 is state GST and ₹68,481 crore is integrated GST, including ₹29,599 crore collected on import of goods, and ₹9,445 crore cess.