The government on Jan 7  said GST officers have detected 29,273 bogus firms involved in fake Input Tax Credit (ITC) claims of Rs 44,015 crore in eight months till December 2023 during a drive against fake registration, which helped save revenue of Rs 4,646 crore.

In the October-December quarter, 4,153 bogus firms that involved suspected ITC evasion of around Rs 12,036 crore were detected.

As many as 2,358 of these bogus firms were detected by the Central GST Authorities.

Maharashtra topped the list with 926 bogus firms detected, followed by Rajasthan (507), Delhi (483) and Haryana (424).

The detection during the December quarter protected revenue of Rs 1,317 crore of which Rs 319 crore has been realised and Rs 997 crore has been protected by blocking ITC.

As many as 41 persons were arrested in these cases while 31 of these arrests were made by Central GST Authorities, the finance ministry said.

During the December quarter, the suspected tax evasion by 926 bogus firms in Maharashtra worked out to be Rs 2,201 crore.

11 persons were arrested.

In the case of Delhi, the suspected tax evasion by 483 bogus firms was Rs 3,028 crore and 11 people were arrested.

In case of Andhra Pradesh, the suspected tax evasion by 19 bogus firms was Rs 765 crore, while in case of Haryana 424 bogus firms were detected involved in the evasion Rs 624 crore.

In Uttar Pradesh, 443 bogus firms were detected involved in suspected GST evasion of Rs 1,645 crore.

Five persons were arrested in the state during the quarter.

To curb fraud in Goods and Services Tax (GST) and increase compliance, the GST formations, under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) and the State/UT Governments, across the country are carrying out a focused drive on the issue of non-existent / bogus registrations and issuance of fake invoices without any underlying supply of goods and service The ministry said the Government has taken various measures to strengthen the GST registration process.

Pilot projects of biometric based Aadhar authentication at the time of registration have been launched in the States of Gujarat, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh.

Besides, the Government has endeavoured to curtail evasion of tax through measures such as sequential filing of GST returns, system generated intimation for reconciliation of the gap in tax liability in GSTR-1 & GSTR- 3B returns and of the gap between ITC available as per GSTR-2B & ITC availed in GSTR-3B returns, use of data analytics and risk parameters for detection of fake ITC, etc, the ministry added.

Kerala-headquartered Federal Bank on Jan 6 said it started the search for a new managing director & CEO after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) turned down the private bank's request for a one-year extension for the incumbent MD & CEO Shyam Srinivasan.

On October 6 last year, the Federal Bank had written to the RBI seeking a one-year extension for Shyam Srinivasan as MD & CEO following the expiry of his current three-year term on September 22, 2024.

Srinivasan has been the bank's MD & CEO since 2010.

However, on January 4 the bank received a communication from the RBI asking it to submit a fresh proposal containing a panel of at least two fresh names for the appointment as its MD & CEO. The RBI said a new name to lead the Federal Bank is after taking into consideration the "longer-term requirements of the bank".

The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) sacked Fernando Diniz as coach of the men's national team on Jan 6 ,  after a string of lackluster results for the "Selecao" in World Cup qualifying.

Fans had hoped Diniz, 49, who also coaches Rio de Janeiro club Fluminense, would restore the thrilling "samba football" that made the five-time world champions famous.

But since taking the job in July, he had struggled to deliver, with Brazil currently sixth place in South America's 2026 World Cup qualifiers, the last automatic qualifying spot from the continent.

The decision came a day after a Supreme Court judge ordered the reinstatement of the CBF's president, Ednaldo Rodrigues, who had been ousted by a lower-court ruling on December 7 that found irregularities in his 2022 election.

FIFA and the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) had refused to accept Rodrigues's ouster, warning the CBF it could be barred from international competitions if there was external interference in its affairs.

Rodrigues, the first black president in CBF history, had been leading negotiations to sign Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti as coach.

That bid fell apart on December 29 when Ancelotti extended his contract with the Spanish giants.

Diniz presided over just two wins in his six months coaching Brazil, and had racked up a humiliating three straight losses in World Cup qualifiers, including at home to arch-rivals Argentina in November.

Brazilian media reports suggested his successor could be Dorival Junior, current coach of Sao Paulo.

Australia, following their eight-wicket win in the third and final Test against Pakistan at Sydney are on 56.25 percentage points and have pushed India to the second spot in the latest World Test Championship (WTC) standings issued by ICC on Jan 6 .

Pat Cummins' side is 2.09% points ahead of Rohit Sharma's India, who have 54.16 points.

Q1. The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the renaming of Ayodhya Airport as

1. Maharishi Valmiki International Airport, Ayodhyadham
2. Maryada Purushottam Ram International Airport, Ayodhyadham
3. Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya International Airport, Ayodhyadham
4. Maharishi Dayanand International Airport, Ayodhyadham
5. None of These

Q2. Name the former Indian captain who has lodged a criminal case at the Ranchi Civil Court against his former business partners Mihir Diwakar and Soma Das of Arka Sports and Management Limited for allegedly cheating him of Rs 15 crore ?

1. Ravi Shastri
2. Mohammad Azharuddin
3. Sourav Ganguly
4. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
5. None of These

Q3. What amount has been approved by the Centre for PRITHVI initiative for ease of research in earth sciences ?

1. Rs 2,707 crore
2. Rs 3,747 crore
3. Rs 4,797 crore
4. Rs 5,397 crore
5. None of These

Q4. Name the  Maldivian envoy to India  who was on Jan 8   summoned to the external affairs ministry and was conveyed strong concern over remarks posted on social media against Prime Minister Narendra Modi by several ministers of the Maldives ?

1. Malsha Shareef
2. Mariyam Shiuna
3. Abdulla Mahzoom
4. Ibrahim Shaheeb
5. None of These

Q5. In a demonstration of its expanding operational capabilities, the Indian Air Force (IAF) said it has successfully conducted a night-landing of C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft at the high-altitude airstrip of

1. Leh
2. Kargil
3. Ladakh
4. Tawang
5. None of These

Answers

1-------------1   Maharishi Valmiki International Airport, Ayodhyadham

2--------------4    Mahendra Singh Dhoni

3---------------3   Rs 4,797 crore

4--------------4   Ibrahim Shaheeb

5-------------2  Kargil

One of the main Muslim litigants of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit, Iqbal Ansari, has been invited to be a part of the consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla in the sanctum sanctorum of the upcoming temple in Ayodhya on January 22.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) office-bearers, led by Ganga Singh, visited Ansari at his residence in Kotia Panjitola near the Ram Path in Ayodhya and handed over the invitation card on behalf of Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust after the Juma Namaz.

Ansari was also invited to the 'bhoomipujan' ceremony of Ram Mandir performed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 5, 2020. He had even attended the gala event.

In fact, Iqbal Ansari’s father Hashim Ansari was the first and the oldest litigant of the vexed title suit. After his death at the age of 95 in 2016, Iqbal started pursuing the case in court.

The government has approved 'Prithvi Vigyan', an overarching initiative that would give it the flexibility to pursue research and use funds allocated to five different sub-schemes related to earth sciences over five years.

The total funds at the disposal of the Ministry of Earth Sciences is Rs 4,797 crore which collates allocations to the sub-schemes.

The sub-schemes are 'Atmosphere and Climate Research-Modelling Observing Systems and Services', 'Ocean Services, Modelling Application, Resources and Technology', 'Polar Science and Cryosphere Research', 'Seismology and Geosciences' and 'Research, Education, Training and Outreach'.

The new initiative, which was approved by the Union Cabinet at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will be called 'PRITHVI' and it would allow the ministry to award research projects to overseas institutes.

The objectives of the overarching "PRITHVI" scheme include augmentation and sustenance of long-term observations of the atmosphere, ocean, geosphere, cryosphere and solid earth to record vital signs of the earth system and change, development of modelling systems for understanding and predicting weather, ocean and climate hazards, and understanding the science of climate change It also includes exploration of polar and high seas regions of the earth towards discovery of new phenomena and resources, development of technology for exploration and sustainable harnessing of oceanic resources for societal applications, and translation of knowledge and insights from earth systems science into services for societal, environmental and economic benefit.

The ministry has 10 research institutes -- India Meteorological Department, National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting, Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology, National Centre for Coastal Research, National Centre for Seismology, National Institute of Ocean Technology, Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Service- Hyderabad, National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research-Goa, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology-Pune and National Centre for Earth Science Studies.

Former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has lodged a criminal case at the Ranchi Civil Court against his former business partners Mihir Diwakar and Soma Das of Arka Sports and Management Limited for allegedly cheating him of Rs 15 crore.

Dhoni, in his complaint, alleged that the company did not follow the conditions of an agreement signed in 2017 due to which he suffered a loss of Rs 15 crore.