Three international airlines reschedule timings due to Bhogi

CHENNAI:
International Airlines have rescheduled international flights to and from Chennai Airport from January 13 anticipating poor visibility due to Bhogi celebrations, according to Chennai Airport sources.

The arrival of Oman Air (WY0251) flight to Chennai has been delayed by three hours on January 13, January 14 and January 15 as the timing has been revised to 9.30am (usual time 6.300am) while the departure of yje flight (WY0252) has been rescheduled to 10.20am (usual departure time 7.30am).

Similarly, the timings of inbound and outbound Air Asia and Emirates flights have been rescheduled. The inbound Air Asia Berhad flight AK0011 from Kualalumpur which was to land in Chennai on 7.25am will now arrive at 9.35am while the departure of the flight AK010 which was scheduled at 8.05am is rescheduled to 10.15am. Similarly, Emirates flight EK0544 from Dubai which was to arrive at 8.15am has been rescheduled to 9.45am while the departure timing of flight EK0545 to Dubai (9.45am) has been rescheduled to 10.50am.

Last year, three international flights were diverted to Hyderabad due to poor visibility.

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writingonblog uncensored: Reconsider 18% GST on FSI paid to local authoritie...

writingonblog uncensored: Reconsider 18% GST on FSI paid to local authoritie...: CHENNAI: The Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI) has urged the Union Finance minister Nirmala Sith...

Reconsider 18% GST on FSI paid to local authorities, plea by CREDAI to FM

CHENNAI:
The Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI) has urged the Union Finance minister Nirmala Sithraman to reconsider the proposition of charging 18% goods and service tax (GST) on Floor Space Index (FSI)/ Additional FSI charges paid to local authorities for real estate projects as it would push the housing prices by approximately 10% across various parts of the country.

In a letter addressed to the Finance Minister, CREDAI said this move would have a substantial incremental impact on project costs."Imposing GST on these charges, either retrospectively or prospectively, would also affect not just housing demand but also supply as it would raise significant economic and viability concerns," CREDAI said.

Already burdened by rising raw material costs, any such additional charges will make affordable housing projects economically unviable, potentially pushing the prices upwards by 7-10% and directly impacting the purchasing power of the middle-class segment – which constitutes 70% of total homebuyers. Additionally, Developers are also excluded from claiming Input Tax Credit (ITC) on GST and this move will further accrue costs and lead to double taxation, increasing prices as a direct consequence, CREDAI said in a statement.
 
CREDAI claimed that retrospective clarification of GST on such payments would burden Real Estate Developers with an enormous amount of unforeseen liabilities, disrupting the financial and cost planning of on-going and completed projects. "The resulting financial pressures could potentially lead to stalled developments and jeopardize the financial security of homebuyers invested in these projects. Even prospective application would substantially elevate construction costs, imposing additional financial burdens on end consumers and deteriorate housing affordability issues, hindering the collective mission towards ‘Housing for All’," the statement added.

Provision of FSI and levy of various charges and fees squarely fall within the functions envisaged in the twelfth schedule of the constitution thereby excluding the same from levy of GST, the statement added.

writingonblog uncensored: TN regulatory framework could result in 'White Lis...

writingonblog uncensored: TN regulatory framework could result in 'White Lis...: C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu could become one of the first states to have a white list of any online gaming sites after it comes wit...

TN regulatory framework could result in 'White List' for online games

C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI:
Tamil Nadu could become one of the first states to have a white list of any online gaming sites after it comes with regulation to requlate pay-to-play money gaming in the state.

"Getting registered with the Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority (TNOGA) is a kind of white list," according to Md  Nasimuddin Chairperson of TNOGA, which is coming out with a regulatory framework. Anuraag Saxena, CEO, of EGF, told The New Indian Express  that the gaming industry, with projections indicating the sector to grow from $3.1 billion to $8.92 billion in the next five years, is the lone industry which is pushing for enhanced regulation as there is no White List of gaming sites in the country.

Home to over 568 million gamers, making India the largest gaming market globally, the country still lacks a signalling mechanism for a player or person to understand which gaming platform is legitimate and which is not. However, sources in Meity said that the state is only coming out with legislation on betting and gambling which is a state subject. However, sources  did not elaborate over when the centre will be coming out with its ownm legislation to regulate online gaming.

"We need some reference book or manual or list, which a consumer can look up to and say, yes, this is a legitimate gaming operator, this is an illegitimate good. We do need some certification, licensing or whatever you want to call it. Funds and banks need to know which companies they can put money in safely. Larger ecosystem players, telecom companies, payment gateways and advertisers. Everybody needs to know," Saxena said.

Saxena said that because there is an absence of regulations or White list, EGF in partnership with Social and Media Matters is launching responsible agreement initiative in  across multiple states. The initiative rolled out interactive workshops across 30 colleges in five Indian states including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh. The tailored workshop reiterates EGF’s commitment to player protection and addresses the rising need for responsible gaming literacy among young adults engaged in digital entertainment.

"While various stakeholders try and figure out how to help consumers, we thought we should do our bit because otherwise everybody seems to be batting up the wrong tree to be honest," said Saxena.

On the  growing addiction among the younsters and adults to online games, Saxena said that the awareness is required from the consumer's end. "Right. now, if you put a time or a money limit or whatever or an operator, the consumer will jump operators and go to some other operator. We need to build capability within a user, all the tools that are available to the user, so that problem gaming does not happen. So that they play responsibly, they play within a limit, they take breaks, he said.

Should there be a clamp that those below 16 should not play online games as was the social media ban for minors by Australian government, Saxena said that, "it is the government's responsibility to protect minors with whatever kind of predatory behavior, violence that could happen in games. On the other hand, we must recognize that we are a constitutional democracy. Right. So we cannot behave like a nanny state when it comes to adults, when it comes to grownups." Nasimuddin also clarified that TNOGA is not thinking of any such clamp on social media or gaming.

writingonblog uncensored: Chennai airport shuts ops for 7 hours

writingonblog uncensored: Chennai airport shuts ops for 7 hours:  Chennai airportC Shivakumar @ CHENNAI: Chennai Airport operations will be closed from 12.30pm to 7pm due crosswinds following Cyclone Fenga...

Chennai airport shuts ops for 7 hours

 Chennai airportC Shivakumar @ CHENNAI:
Chennai Airport operations will be closed from 12.30pm to 7pm due crosswinds following Cyclone Fengal. The decision was taken following a meeting with top airport officials after the 11am weather bulletin was released by the metrology department.

"In view of Cyclonic Storm ‘Fengal’, Stakeholder Airlines have raised  a Safety concern due to estimated higher crosswinds as predicted by IMD ( above 35 knots). After stakeholders consultation it was decided by Airport Management to close down Airport Operations with effect from 1230 hours to 17pm," Chennai airport spokesperson said.

Flight schedules have been impacted with airlines diverting flights to other cities like Bengaluru, while Indigo Airline has temporarily stopped operations at Chennai airport due to bad weather.

Earlier, Indigo had informed that there will be no arrival and departure flights at Chennai Airport. They have temporarily stopped operations due to bad weather in Chennai.

Sources said that the Indigo flight from Abu Dhabi which was supposed to land at 8.10am was diverted to Bengaluru. Similarly, an Air India Express flight to Singapore was canceled due to technical issues.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan Airlines from Chennai to Colombo which was set to depart at 9.40am has been cancelled for the day due to bad weather.  Many flights like those from Port Blair to Chennai and Delhi to chennai have been diverted to Bengaluru.