Life insurers feel that their premium income has remained stagnant since the industry was brought under service tax in 2012. The present service tax rate is 14. As of March 2016, life insurers exposure to such debt instruments stood at Rs 15 trillion.Life insurers are making 50 per cent of their investments in central and state securities.5 lakh employees of life insurance companies, the industry has paid Rs 25,000 crore in the form of taxes alone, he said. In fact, we are doing what the government was supposed to do by covering social security needs of the public," he said.Since life insurers are passing on service tax to customers, it has impacted their premium income growth which has been stagnant since then. "We have to pass it on to customers and they don't find investing in insurance attractive anymore," he added.""We have been urging the government to exempt insurance premium from GST because we are doing a yeoman service to the nation.5 per cent 'Swachh Bharat' cess.

Meanwhile, non-life insurers have already submitted their recommendations before the GST Council, the first meeting of which was held in New Delhi on September 22-23, demanding differential rates for their products.Forget service tax, the government has imposed a host of other taxes on life insurance premium which include income tax and 'Swachh Bharat' cess, he said and pointed out that in contrast, other financial products like fixed deposits, debentures, mutual funds, equities, NPS etc are exempted from these taxes.25 trillion per annum since 2012 after the service tax was imposed by the government on premium income.Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has been repeatedly calling for ending tax exemptions to have lower GST rates as exemptions are forcing the government to impose higher rate of tax on other taxable items/sectors."Life insurers' new business premium has remained stagnant at around Rs 1.

The demand comes as the first two-day GST Council meeting that ended on Friday in the National Capital, decided to meet on October 17-19 to finalise the maximum and minimum rates in the single national taxation regime.Moreover, investment under NPS is exempt from any tax under section 80(C) and even a special window has been opened under section which allows one to invest Rs 50,000 extra to save income tax payment. "Keeping this in view, we feel that a step-motherly treatment is being meted out to us and hence we are all set to China o-ring write a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi soon," Manickam said, adding "we have already made a host of representations on the topic to the finance ministry in the past.Life insurers, who are set to write to the Prime Minister seeking exemption from the new tax regime, feel that their premium income has remained stagnant since the industry was brought under service tax in 2012.Similarly, PF, at a time when an employee retires is not taxable at all. Life insurers have paid Rs 7,000 crore in service tax to the government last year.A resolution to this effect was passed during the annual general meeting of the Life Insurance Council held here on September 16.The Life Insurance Council, which is the umbrella body of 24 life insurers, is all set to write to the Prime minister in this regard shortly, as their representations to the finance ministry in the past have not been successful, a senior council executive said."If it is a government-run scheme through which the government wants to reach out to the poor, then the GST rate must be on a lower side," he said, adding, "we also want a centralised registration facility in GST as we are operating nationally.

There are four state-owned, and 17 private sector and two specialised general insurers in the country and majority of them are participating in the government-run scheme like Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.Mumbai: As the GST rollout plans gathers momentum, life insurers sought exemption from the new taxation regime on premium income, while general insurers have demanded differential rates for their products."We want differential rating for our various types of products looking at the end beneficiary of these schemes," General Insurance Council secretary R Chandrasekaran said

Mumbai figured twice in the study for being among the six cities, that also includes Kolkata, that will be exposed to coastal flooding by the 2070s and also for faring worse in its waste disposal management, with 12 per cent being burnt openly, jeopardising the health of millions of residents.”“These worrying trends (across the world) are also making it increasingly hard for the world to feed itself,” the report warned, adding, “Increasing unsustainable consumption patterns have led to worsening air pollution, water scarcity and waste generation, threatening human and environmental health.” UNEP’s executive director Achim Steiner said: “Today, thanks to this report, we now know more about the state of the world’s environment than ever before.” The report recommended encouraging “sustainable consumption and production” to reduce environmental pressures, implementation of measures to reduce pollution, investment in environmentally sound. The number of record-breaking rainfall events increased in the region by 56 per cent over the 1981-2010 period,” the report said. With these assessments, UNEP has presented the world with the very latest evidence on the state of the world’s environment, providing them with the tools they need anticipate and avoid the damage that is being done to our planet,” adding.

“If current trends continue and the world fails to enact solutions that improve current patterns of production and consumption, if we fail to use natural resources sustainably, then the state of the world’s environment will continue to decline.Water-related diseases and unsafe water contribute to 1.While noting that population growth, rapid urbanization, rising levels of consumption, desertification, land degradation and climate change in all regions has led to severe water scarcity, for Asia-Pacific it pointed out that “unprecedented economic growth” is putting heavy pressure on the ecosystems even though it lifted millions out of poverty. The report also flagged that deforestation and waste were other reasons threatening the environment in the Asia-Pacific region.8 million disability-adjusted life years in the region as well.

United Nations report touted the Asia-Pacific region as the world’s most disaster-prone region, accounting for 91 per cent of the world’s deaths due to natural disasters China auto door seal Manufacturers Sounding a note of caution, a United Nations report touted the Asia-Pacific region as the world’s most disaster-prone region, accounting for 91 per cent of the world’s deaths due to natural disasters in the last century.The assessment comes ahead of the United Nations Environment Asse-mbly and has six separate reports giving details of environmental issues affecting each of the world’s six regions — the Pan-European region, North America, Asia and the Pacific, West Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Africa. Increased demand for fossil fuels and natural resources - extensive agriculture, palm oil and rubber plantations, aquaculture and the illegal trade in wildlife – are causing environmental degradation and biodiversity loss. “Uncontrolled dumping, which is still the main waste disposal method in the region, is also a major source of disease.“Asia-Pacific continues to be the world’s most disaster prone region,” said the report titled Global Environmental Out-look (GEO-6): Regional Assessments released by the United Nations Environment Programme.The report prepared with over a 1,203 scientists, hundreds of institutions and more than 160 governments involved, also noted the Asia-Pacific region for its acute contamination of water sources by human and industrial waste, including pharmaceutical and personal care, resulting in the consumption of water contaminated by human feces by about 30 per cent of the population. In Mumbai, for example, about 12 per cent of total municipal solid waste is burned either openly on the streets or in landfills, a practice that releases black carbon, dioxins and carcinogenic furans,” the report points out, adding, “In Southeast Asia, the average area deforested annually is more than one million hectares, resulting in the release of hundreds of millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide every year (between 2005 and 2015).8 million deaths annually and 24

Malta closed its airspace to the effort last year. Sea-Watch spokesman Ruben Neugebauer called the grounding political, saying that the group is in compliance with Italian and national norms.The country became a major crossing point for migrants to Europe after the overthrow and death of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, when the North African nation was thrown into chaos, armed militias proliferated and central authority collapsed.In Europe, meanwhile, two humanitarian groups that have been flying search-and-rescue missions for migrants out of the Italian island of Lampedusa say their planes have been grounded by Italy’s civil aviation authority. Rights groups say those efforts have left migrants at the mercy of brutal armed groups or confined in squalid detention centers that lack adequate food and water. One month ago, up to 150 Europe-bound migrants, including women and children, were missing and feared drowned when two boats carrying about 300 people capsized off Libya.Neugebauer said it is important to have the planes in the air because they document human rights violations by ships that do not respond to rescue calls. (Photo: AP) Cairo: A boat carrying dozens of migrants bound for Europe capsized Tuesday in the Mediterranean Sea off Libya, with at least 40 people missing and presumed drowned, U N officials said, as a support group reported it had gotten a call from someone on the vessel “crying and shouting” that passengers had died already. In January, 17 died or were missing off Libya and in May, about 65 drowned when their boat sank off Tunisia.”Libya’s coast guard says it has intercepted hundreds of migrants at sea so far in August.

The U N’s migration agency said a total of 859 migrants have died in the Mediterranean as of Aug, 22.At least 6,000 migrants from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and other nations are locked in dozens of detention facilities in Libya run by militias accused of torture and other abuses.More than 3,000 migrants are in danger because the detention centers in and around Tripoli are close to fighting between forces loyal to Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter and an array of militias loosely aligned with a UN-recognized government since April. The coast guard gave a lower estimate for those missing and feared drowned, saying it was 15 to 20 people.Gassim told rubber seal strip Manufacturers The Associated Press that five people were confirmed dead, including a woman and a child from Morocco whose bodies were recovered near the western town of Khoms, around 120 kilometers (75 miles) east of Tripoli. Malta generally has accepted migrants rescued in its area of responsibility. human rights chief said could amount to a war crime. The group said it received a call from migrants on the boat, who “were in severe distress, crying and shouting, telling us that people had died already.In recent years, the European Union has partnered with the coast guard and other Libyan forces to try to stop the dangerous sea crossings.The German group Sea-Watch and the French nongovernmental organization Pilotes Volontaires confirmed their flights have been grounded. There are limited supplies for the migrants, who often end up there after arduous journeys at the mercy of abusive traffickers who hold them for ransom from their families.

IST Tuesday’s shipwreck was the latest maritime disaster involving migrants seeking a better life in Europe.The coast guard gave a lower estimate for those missing and feared drowned, saying it was 15 to 20 people.Also Tuesday, hard-line Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini banned a German humanitarian ship carrying migrants rescued off Libya from entering Italian territorial waters.At least 44 people were killed in July by an airstrike on a detention center for migrants near the Libyan capital in an attack that the UN.Tuesday’s shipwreck was the latest maritime disaster involving migrants seeking a better life in Europe. Lifeline has urged the German government to help identify a safe harbor. The positions have led to numerous standoffs.Italy’s civil aviation authority, ENAC, confirmed the groundings, saying the aircraft are approved for recreational and not professional use.“If today’s tragic numbers are confirmed, the number of people drowned in the Mediterranean in 2019 will have reached close to 900,” said Charlie Yaxley, a spokesman for the U N refugee agency, who gave the estimate of at least 40 dead or missing, among them women and children, based on eyewitness accounts of the survi

The philosophy of wireless carriers and smartphone companies, Kroub said, can be “let’s deal with these claims as they arrive, because we don’t know who will knock on our door next.Huawei may be more inclined to monetize its US patents now that the US government has limited its ability to sell products in the country, Kroub said.Kroub said Huawei’s licensing demand could reflect“desperation to come up with ways of generating revenue in the US market, especially considering the traditional ways of offering products and selling things to business is closed to them. (Photo: AP) Huawei is demanding Verizon Communications Inc pay USD 1 billion to license the rights to patented technology, signalling a potential shift in the embattled Chinese company’s strategy for the US market.”.The following explains why the patent dispute is not unusual and how it could be resolved.Legal experts said Huawei is likely prepared to go to court.Has Huawei been an aggressive enforcer of its patents?Huawei has long been known for defending itself against US patent infringement claims, rather than bringing them.While some licensing disputes are resolved without lawsuits, litigation is fairly common. “It happens all the time. Huawei may end up going to a US court and suing Verizon for alleged patent infringement.

While such injunctions are rarely granted in the United States, the threat of one can motivate a defendant to settle with the patent owner.George Koomullil, a patent analyst at Pleasanton, California-based technology company Relecura, said that 10 or 15 years ago Huawei applied for a relatively modest number of patents.Large companies like Verizon will try to identify patents they might be violating, said Gaston Kroub, a patent lawyer in New York. But that could be changing. Huawei and Samsung Electronics Co recently settled a global legal battle on confidential terms. Given the broader geopolitical context, any issue involving Huawei has implications for our entire industry and also raise national and international concerns. But the company has been more aggressive about applying for patents since around 2007, and particularly in recent years, Koomullil said.”However, Young said.

The fee would cover licensing of more than 230 patents. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the letter on Wednesday.”Huawei did not respond to a request for comment. But that can be a challenge because so many patents are granted every year, Kroub said.Last month, the Trump administration banned Huawei from buying vital US technology without special approval and effectively barring its equipment from US telecom networks.“I don’t know how you can make a demand of USD 1 billion and not be prepared for the answer to be no, at least at first, and for the need to litigate,” Kroub said. Nokia, for example, routinely brings in more than USD 1 billion a year from licensing its patents to others.A Huawei executive made the demand in a February letter, a person briefed on the matter told Reuters.In a lawsuit, a patent owner can ask a judge to block sales of infringing products.“Sophisticated companies like Verizon understand that they could be approached by licensors of any stripe at any time,” Kroub said.A defendant in a patent case typically argues that it does not actually infringe the asserted patents, or wholesale rubber seal strip that they were mistakenly issued and should be revoked.”Tom Cotter, a professor of patent law at the University of Minnesota, said it was possible Huawei executives believe Verizon has been infringing their US patents for some time but for business reasons waited until now to seek compensation.”What happens if Verizon does not pay?Huawei may end up going to a US court and suing Verizon for alleged patent infringement.

It is not unusual for these firms to try to make money from their massive patent portfolios. There are millions of US patents in force, and a typical smartphone implicates hundreds of thousands of them.Verizon spokesman Rich Young declined to comment “regarding this specific issue because it’s a potential legal matter.Republican Senator Marco Rubio said on Twitter on Thursday that the demand against Verizon was an “attempt by (Huawei) to retaliate against the US by setting the stage for baseless, but costly, patent claims.”Franklin Turner, a government contracts lawyer at McCarter & English in Washington, said the patent licensing demand may also be a way for Huawei to “retaliate” against the United States. As technology has advanced, it has become harder to avoid violating — or “infringing” — patent rights.Patent owners “may not enforce their patents for a period of time, but they can choose to do to so whenever they want to,” Cotter said.How common is patent licensing?Patent licensing is very common, particularly in complex industries like telecommunications