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It is set to be a packed Wednesday with several events lined up for the day.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to address the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) today in New York while many districts of Jammu and Kashmir are set to cast their votes in the second phase of the elections slated to take place.
A Group of Ministers (GoM) will meet to discuss the potential revisions of tax slab and rates while French President Emmanuel Macron is headed to Canada to hold bilateral talks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will hear Sharad Pawar-led party’s plea seeking that both factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) be given new poll symbols. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to attend the 9th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Uzbekistan.
Here are some of the events planned for the day ahead.
Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy to address UNGA
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to address the United Nations General Assembly today. As per the Ukrainska Pravda, Zelenskyy is expected to use the opportunity to hold talks with Ukraine’s partners about the Russian invasion.
Ukraine is seeking permission to use weapons provided by its partners against targets set deep in the Russian territory from where they launch bloody attacks on Ukrainian cities.
Second phase of Jammu and Kashmir elections
The second phase of the Jammu and Kashmir elections is set to take place today in 26 assembly seats. Some of the districts headed to polls are Budgam, Srinagar and Ganderbal in Kashmir and Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu.
Also See: In Photos: Jammu and Kashmir votes for the first time in 10 years
As per the Election Commission (EC), more than 2.5 million people are eligible to cast their votes in the second phase of the elections. Security arrangements have been tightened across the region in view of the polls.
During the first phase of the elections in the Union Territory, 61.38 per cent voter turnout was witnessed.
GoM to discuss GST tax slabs, rates revision
The ministerial panel on Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate rationalisation will meet on September 25 to discuss the tweaking of tax slabs and rates. The six-member Group of Ministers (GoM) under Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary, last met on August 22 and submitted a status report to the GST Council on September 9.
“The meeting of the GoM on rate rationalisation is scheduled for September 25 in Goa,” an official told PTI. The six-member GoM also includes Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna, Rajasthan Health Services Minister Gajendra Singh, and Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal.
During the August meeting, the panel tasked the fitment committee comprising tax officers from the Centre and states to analyse the implication of tax rate change on some items and gather more data. Currently, goods and services tax (GST) is a four-tier tax structure with slabs at 5, 12, 18, and 28 per cent.
French President Macron to visit Canada
The President of France Emmanuel Macron is set to visit Canada from September 25 to 26 to hold bilateral talks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Macron will visit Ottawa, Ontario and Montréal, Quebec.
As per an official statement by the Canadian government, the two leaders will discuss the support that Canada and France are providing to Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia’s war of aggression. They will also explore ways to strengthen our two countries’ capacity to respond to emerging threats, including countering disinformation and advancing other critical issues.
In Montréal, the Prime Minister will showcase to the President Canada’s innovation and highly skilled workforce in science, research, and technology, especially in artificial intelligence (AI). He will reaffirm Canada’s commitment to working together with France and other international partners on the responsible adoption of AI, including within the framework of the successive G7 Presidencies that Canada and France will hold, in 2025 and 2026 respectively, the official statement informed.
SC to hear Sharad Pawar-led party’s plea seeking both NCP factions be given new poll symbols
The Supreme Court is set to hear a plea filed by Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to allot new poll symbols to both factions ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections.
In an earlier hearing, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi who is appearing for te Sharad Pawar faction submitted that they want urgent listing of the matter in view of the assembly elections in Maharashtra. Singhvi said that till the matter is finally decided, both the groups should be given new symbols ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections.
The issue arose after the EC allotted the NCP symbol ‘clock’ to the group led by Ajit Pawar. Meanwhile, the NCP, founded by Sharad Pawar, had a ‘clock’ as its election symbol before its split. On March 19, the top court allowed the Sharad Pawar faction to use ‘Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar’ as its name along with the symbol of ‘Man blowing Turha’ ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in the country.
Finance Minister Sitharaman to attend AIIB annual meet in Uzbekistan
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to attend the 9th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) scheduled in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. She will also hold bilateral meetings with her counterparts from Uzbekistan, Qatar, China, and AIIB President.
As per a finance ministry notice, she will embark on an official visit to Uzbekistan from September 24 to 28. “In the Annual Meeting of AIIB, the Union Finance Minister will attend as the Indian Governor to the AIIB. India is the second largest shareholder of the bank. The multilateral discussions centred around a broad spectrum of important global issues relevant to the development agenda,” the finance ministry said.
As part of the official visit, she is expected to call on Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of Uzbekistan, informed news agency PTI. During the visit, the finance minisrtry said Sitharaman will sign a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) between India and Uzbekistan.
On this day…
Birth anniversary of co-founder of Jana Sangh Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya
Birth anniversary of renowned Indian space scientist Satish Dhawan
Birth anniversary of actor Feroze Khan
Birth anniversary of actor Michael Douglas
Birth anniversary of actor Will Smith
The first human blood transfusion was in 1818
The International Convention to Suppress the Slave Trade and Slavery was first signed in 1926
The Royal Jordanian Air Force was founded in 1955
Two terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammed raided the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar in 2002, killing 30 people
With inputs from agencies
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