Sonia Gandhi convenes meeting with CMs of Congress-ruled states today; NEET, JEE exams issue, GST to be discussed

New Delhi: Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi will hold a virtual meeting on Wednesday with Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled states and their counterparts of West Bengal, Maharashtra and Jharkhand on the issues related to Goods and Services Tax (GST) dues of states and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) (Main) and The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) (UG) exams. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue collections in July totalled Rs 87,422 crore, 14 percent less than in the past year as economic activities slowed down due to COVID-19 countrywide lockdown, the Union Finance Ministry said on 1 August. The total revenue earned by the Central government and the state governments after regular settlement in the month of July is Rs 39,467 crore for Central Goods and Service Tax (CGST) and Rs 40,256 crore for the Goods and Service Tax (SGST). The National Testing Agency (NTA) announced that the JEE (Main) will be held from 1 to 6 September and NEET (UG) on 13 September after the Supreme Court dismissed a petition seeking the postponement of the NEET and JEE. Many ministers have been opposing the Centre’s decision to conduct the exams. Earlier in the day, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging the Central Government to consider filing a review petition in the Supreme Court over the dates of NEET and JEE examinations.