Daily Bulletin: Pramod Sawant is new Goa CM; BJP's first list of candidates likely; UK court issues warrant against NiMo; day's top stories

Goa gets a new chief minister Goa Assembly Speaker Pramod Sawant took oath as the new chief minister of the state, at the Raj Bhavan, in the early hours of Tuesday . In addition, 11 other leaders, who were part of the previous Goa cabinet, including Sudhin Dhavalikar of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), Vijay Sardesai of the Goa Forward Party (GFP) and BJP MLA Vishwajit Rane, took oath as cabinet ministers. [caption id=“attachment_6285351” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Goa’s new chief minister Pramod Sawant taking oath at Raj Bhavan Tuesday. Screengrab from ANI Twitter[/caption] The oath was administered by Goa Governor Mridula Sinha. Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Nitin Gadkari was also present at the ceremony. Forty-three-year-old Sawant represents Sanquelim Assembly constituency. His wife, Sulakshana Sawant is the president of the women’s wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Goa. The chief minister’s post fell vacant following the death of Manohar Parrikar on Sunday evening after prolonged illness. BJP ‘first list’ expected, Congress campaign heats up As the BJP readies its battle plan for the Lok Sabha elections, its first list of candidates is expected to be released on Tuesday, after the Central Election Committee of the party holds a meeting in the evening. Meanwhile, Congress president Rahul Gandhi will address an election rally at Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh and a party meeting at the Manipur capital of Imphal. His sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will begin day two of her boat trip  on the Ganga with a visit to the Maulana Ismail Chishti Majar in Mirzapur. The Congress general secretary for Uttar Pradesh East will also tour Bhatauli, Devri and Chunar. The Election Commission of India will convene a meeting of the country heads of major social media companies and platforms to discuss issues related to the use of social media in the forthcoming election. Police arrest auditor in Mumbai bridge collapse case Police have arrested auditor Neeraj Desai whose firm had carried out the structural audit on the foot overbridge near Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Station and declared it safe for use despite signs of corrosion. The collapse had left six people dead. “We detained Desai on Sunday after ascertaining negligence on his part and arrested him,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone I) Abhishek Trimukhe told reporters . Police also recorded statements of other officials, including Additional Municipal Commissioner, BMC, Sanjay Darade, he said. CRPF jawan killed in clash with Maoists One CRPF jawan died and four others were injured in an IED blast followed by an exchange of fire between security forces and Maoists in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district on Monday. Troops of 231 Battalion of CRPF, along with the state police, were on road security duty when the blast hit them. The blast was followed by firing from Maoists between Kondapara and Kamal posts. UK court issues warrant against Nirav Modi United Kingdom’s Westminster Court has issued an arrest warrant against fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, accused in the $2 billion PNB fraud case, according to media reports. The arrest warrant was issued against Modi by a London court and he is to be produced in court on 25 March, said News18 in a tweet. According to a report by a UK newspaper that took the Indian media by storm last week, Modi is currently living in a three-bedroom flat occupying half of a floor of the landmark Centre Point tower block in London, where the rent is estimated to be ‎£17,000 a month. According to investigating agencies, Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, in connivance with certain bank officials, cheated PNB to the tune of Rs 14,000 crore through issuance of fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs). GST Council meet today The GST Council in its 34th meeting on Tuesday is expected to take up various issues including the implementation of lower GST rates for the real estate sector. The meeting is likely to deliberate only the transition provision and related issues for the implementation of lower GST rates for the real estate sector, sources said, adding, no issues related to rate is in the agenda as the model code of conduct is in force. In the previous meeting (24 February), the high-powered GST Council slashed tax rates for under-construction flats to 5 percent and affordable homes to 1 percent, effective 1 April. The council is expected to give its nod on new rules on how far builders can make use of credit for taxes paid on raw materials and services in settling their final tax liability as the real estate sector moves to a new tax regime from 1 April, sources said. Currently, the goods and services tax (GST) is levied at 12 percent with input tax credit (ITC) on payments made for under-construction property or ready-to-move-in flats where completion certificate is not issued at the time of sale. For affordable housing units, the existing tax rate is 8 percent. DGCA to meet with airlines to discuss airfare hikes The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has called a meeting on Tuesday noon to discuss with airlines the upward spiral in airfares as Jet Airways continues to ground its aircraft and cancel a significant number of flights, a government official said. According to the official, after the DGCA grounded all 12 of SpiceJet’s 737 Max aircraft on 13 March following the Ethiopian Airlines crash, that killed 157 people, the problem of rising airfares in Indian market has “aggravated”. “DGCA has called a meeting at Tuesday noon to discuss the airfare rise because of a significant number of cancellations done by Jet Airways in the last few weeks,” the government official told PTI. Cash-strapped Jet Airways on Monday said it has grounded four more planes, taking the number of aircraft that are non-operational due to non-payment of lease rentals to 41. Etihad Airport services, in a notification to its passengers on Sunday, said, “Jet Airways has cancelled all their flights from Abu Dhabi with immediate effect from March 18 due to operational reasons”. Xiaomi Redmi Go to launch in India today Xiaomi is expected to launch its very first Android Go-powered smartphone in India, at 12 noon on Tuesday. The Redmi Go which will likely be Xiaomi’s most affordable smartphone yet will feature the option of running in 20 Indian languages and will also support the Google Assistant in Hindi. Madhuri Dixit-produced Netflix film set for 29 March release Madhuri Dixit’s production debut, Marathi film 15th August, will release on Netflix on 29 March, the streaming service announced on Monday. Set in a Mumbai chawl, the film follows the course of a series of zany mishaps that occur on a single day, as its residents prepare for the Independence Day flag-hoisting ceremony. The film revolves around how extraordinary events unfold on a not-so-typical Independence Day - when a lover, in his quest to win over his beloved, ends up creating complete mayhem, compelling residents to unite and help him out of his mess.