GST collection crosses Rs 1.1 lakh crore in January
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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GST collections have crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore mark for the third month in a row in January with improved compliance and plugging of evasion, sources said on Friday.
GST collections have crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore mark for the third month in a row in January with improved compliance and plugging of evasion, sources said on Friday.
According to provisional numbers, total GST revenue was Rs 1.1 lakh crore in January, they said.
The GST collection is in line with the target set by Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey after a high-level meeting with senior tax officials earlier this month.
Domestic GST collection during the month so far is around Rs 86,453 crore while Rs 23,597 crore has been collected through IGST and cess collection.
The total collection of GST revenue in December has come at Rs 1.03 lakh crore.
Going by the provisional numbers, growth in the domestic GST collection comes about to 11.5 per cent while the IGST on import of goods contracted by 6 per cent, sources said.
The number of GSTR 3B returns filed till Thursday was 82.8 lakh.
The government this month set an ambitious target of Rs 1.1 lakh crore monthly GST revenue for the remaining part of the current fiscal and asked taxmen to step up efforts to achieve the goal.
To augment revenue collection, the Revenue Secretary revised GST collection target to Rs 1.25 lakh crore for the last month of this financial year with specific focus on fraudulent input tax credit (ITC) claims as found in data analytics review.
It was empahsised GST authorities would look into the mismatch of supply and purchase invoices, data analytics of mismatch in GSTR-1, GSTR-2A and GSTR-3B, failure of filing returns, over invoicing, recuperation of fake or excess refunds availed beyond the permissible limits etc.
Around 40,000 companies have been red-flagged for excess or fraudulent ITC availment and other tax related wrongful issues through data analytics, out of 1.2 crore GST registrants and focus would be on these identified taxpayers, sources said.
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Sachin Bansal-backed UGro Capital reports profit within a year
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Within 10 months of operations, non-banking lender UGro Capital has become profitable with a net income of Rs 7 crore in the December quarter. In the previous quarter, it had a net loss of Rs 3.3 crore. The company’s disbursals crossed Rs 1,000 crore as of end-December with an active loan book of Rs 753 …
Within 10 months of operations, non-banking lender UGro Capital has become profitable with a net income of Rs 7 crore in the December quarter.
In the previous quarter, it had a net loss of Rs 3.3 crore. The company’s disbursals crossed Rs 1,000 crore as of end-December with an active loan book of Rs 753 crore of which 67 per cent is secured, the company said in a statement on Friday.
The numbers are not comparable as the company was not operational this quarter last year.
Total income rose to Rs 23.7 crore from Rs 20.5 crore in the second quarter, a growth of 15.4 percent.
During the December quarter, it announced co-origination partnerships with SBI, Bank of Baroda and ICICI Bank.
The company has raised Rs 194 crore in debt during the quarter, while its networth rose to Rs 901 crore, which includes Rs 66.2 crore of equity infusion from the exercise of warrants.
It has borrowed Rs 50 crore from Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal.
The numbers reflect the conservative underwriting strategies the company has implemented in the previous quarter, Shachindra Nath, executive chairman and managing director, said.
“We are proud of becoming the first fintech platform to achieve profitability within a year of operations,” he added.
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Where China did well and India lacked, CEA Krishnamurthy Subramanian explains
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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A day before Union Budget 2020-21, nance minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey in the parliament on Friday. CEA Krishnamurthy Subramanian said China has been doing better in export because of the specialisation they have achieved, especially in the labour intensive sectors.
The Economic Survey authored by chief economic adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian has made a case for ”wealth creation” in the country by promoting pro-business policies and strengthening the invisible hand of the market.
Subramanian explained to CNBC-TV18 why the Chinese export performance has been far better than India.
He said China has been doing better in export because of the specialisation they have achieved, especially in the labour intensive sectors.
“We have gone and looked at what are called as network products, these are six industries where the manufacturing happens across global value chains and the opportunity here is of $8 trillion worldwide exports and that is the opportunity that India can grab.”
Why India can grab now is because these countries are now at a stage where their exports in this particular sector and network products are coming down and that is why there is a space for it to occupy, he added.
“What is very important to grab this opportunity is — it is a model where we import components, assemble those components here in India and export those. So, it is in that context that we are saying that the trade policy needs to enable such import of components and thereby enable exports as well.”
The survey expects economic growth to rebound in the next financial year on account of a low base — it projects GDP growth at around 6-6.5 percent in FY21. That’s an optimistic projection considering both the IMF and the World Bank have pegged India’s growth at 5.8 percent.
The survey however highlights that the economy is expected to pose challenges on the fiscal front. It says that rationalisation of subsidies, especially food subsidy, could help expand the fiscal headroom.
The economic survey makes a case for systematic examination of areas where government needlessly intervenes and undermines markets. It says that some interventions that were apt in a different economic setting may have lost their relevance in a transformed economy.
The survey also bats for aggressive divestment of central public sector units. The survey pitches for integrating “Assemble in India for the world” into Make in India.
It says India would create about 4 crore well-paid jobs by 2025 in the process.
(For more watch this video)
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Indian-American filmmakers Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan win Oscar nominations for “St. Louis Superman”, an American tale
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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“My earliest memories are of my father and me watching movies together when I was 6 or 7 years old,” says Smriti Mundhra, the daughter of the late Indian film director Jag Mundhra.
“My earliest memories are of my father and me watching movies together when I was 6 or 7 years old,” says Smriti Mundhra, the daughter of the late Indian film director Jag Mundhra. “He was so passionate about cinema – he would take me to see movies that were way over my head and explained shots, sequencing, storytelling.”
She remembers going to see Mira Nair’s “Salaam Bombay!” in the theatre when she was 8-years-old. After the show, Jag Mundra told her, “You know who made this film? An Indian woman! So don’t ever think that can’t be you one day.”
Fast forward to 2020: Smriti Mundhra has been nominated for an Oscar for the short documentary “St. Louis Superman” which she has co-directed with Sami Khan who is also an Indian-American filmmaker.
The team behind St. Louis Superman – Poh Si Teng, Smriti Mundhra, Bruce Franks Jr. Sami Khan and Cheyenne Tan.
Both young Indian-Americans gravitated toward cinema and the ups and downs of creating a name and a life in Hollywood which is not exactly known for its open door to filmmakers of colour. “When I couldn’t get my feature film financed after five years of trying, I turned to documentaries,” says Mundhra.
She also co-produced ‘Punching at the Sun’, an official selection of the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, as well as over one dozen award-winning short films, including the 2010 Sundance Film Festival official selection and Women in Film award winner “New Media.” “Suitable Girl” premiered at Tribeca in 2017 and won the Albert Maysles Award for Best New Documentary Director. In the past five years, she has made an award-winning feature doc, a Netflix doc series, and two short docs and is now an Academy Award nominee.
Sami Khan completed NBC Universal’s Director’s Fellowship on the SyFy show ’12 Monkeys’. He taught filmmaking at Columbia University, the TIFF Lightbox, and Brooklyn College where his teaching is focused on empowering young people of colour. His fiction feature debut ‘Khoya‘ as writer-director was selected for the Tribeca Film Institute’s All Access fellowship and was co-produced by the filmmakers behind Cannes’ prize-winner ‘The Lunchbox’, and received financial backing from Spike Lee.
St. Louis Superman.
Khan’s work in fiction and nonfiction has been supported by IFP, the Berlinale, the TIFF Talent Lab, and the Sundance and Tribeca Film Institutes and screened at leading festivals including Toronto, Tribeca, and Mumbai
Both Mudhra and Khan did their MFA from Columbia University. Recalls Mundhra, “Sami and I have been friends for years. We went to film school together and he’s my husband’s best friend. I think Sami is a filmmaker of remarkable integrity and talent and I always wanted to work with him. This project felt like the perfect fit.”
“St. Louis Superman” is set in St. Louis and is the real-life story of Bruce Franks Jr., a battle rapper, activist and state legislator. Known as Superman to his constituents he is an offbeat political figure who has turned immense personal tragedy into a trajectory to effect change in the daily violence around him.
Thirty years ago his nine-year-old brother was shot and killed before his eyes and the trauma continues. This powerful film set in the mayhem of Ferguson is a page ripped out of today’s American life. Bruce Franks gets elected to the overwhelmingly white and Republican Missouri House of Representatives, and he needs to pass a vital bill.
This short film which seems to capture a lifetime in 28 minutes has won awards at Tribeca, Hot Docs, Big Sky, Traverse City, AFI Docs, and Indy Shorts. The film was produced by AJE Witness and was the first acquisition by non-fiction executive Sheila Nevins at MTV Documentary Films.
To watch “St. Louis Superman” is to be submerged into the daily life of Bruce Franks Jr.– you forget there are cameras around. In fact, the filmmakers actually moved in with Franks – so they were almost like flies on the wall and got the honest, searing film that they did.
Asked the most difficult thing about filming, Mudhra said, “Being careful not to re-traumatize Bruce. We asked him to open up to us in profound ways and relive some of his most painful memories. You want the process to be therapeutic, not rip open wounds.”
Asked about the power behind short films, Mundhra says they are more like a poem, rather than an essay. “Short films capture a moment in time. Plus, they’re short! Who wouldn’t commit 20-30 minutes to get into a great story?” More seriously she adds, “As documentary filmmakers, we bear witness to history. There’s no better use for cinema than that.”
An official photograph of the 2020 Oscar nominees.
“The short film categories at the Oscars are arguably the most exciting horserace of the night,” noted ‘Salon’ about the upcoming Oscars. “No one can predict who the members of the Academy will vote for in part because these are the least seen films at the Awards. But the documentary short films provide some of the year’s best and most dramatic, emotional, amusing, and heartrending stories.”
As the Academy Awards draw closer, the excitement builds. The two young filmmakers are having fun with all the notoriety and fame of being ‘Oscar nominees’, dressing for the glittering events but they also hope that “St. Louis Superman” will impact viewers with the powerful work and struggles of Bruce Franks and his very personal crusade against gun violence.
The two filmmakers are surrounded by a community of aspiring filmmakers and supporters. Sami Khan wrote on social media: “We’re here. For all the filmmakers who were told you don’t belong, we’re here for you. If you were told your voice doesn’t matter because of your race, class, age, gender, sexual orientation, or religion – we got you. Because we were counted out too. But we kept fighting for each other. And now, we’re here.”
Indeed, these two film directors show that by embracing the world and making connections across cultures and races, there are just so many options. Smriti Mundhra helmed Bumble’s first ad campaign for the Indian market starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas. She is now working on an eight-part documentary series for Netflix.
Sami Khan is co-director on “The Last Out”, an upcoming documentary about three Cuban baseball players and their precarious journey out of their homeland. He’s also involved with the television show ‘Transplant’ about a Syrian refugee who becomes the hero of a Toronto Emergency Room.
As the 94th Academy Awards ceremony draws nearer, it’s a waiting game. The other four Oscar contenders are: ‘In the Absence’, ‘Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (if you’re a girl)’, ‘Life Overtakes Me’ and ‘Life Run Cha Cha.”
Mundhra points out that “Oscar campaigning is designed to make us feel like competitors. But actually we are friends and colleagues. No matter whose name gets called on February 9, the rest of us will be cheering the loudest.”
“To my fellow filmmakers who are getting some shine right now and taking a leap forward in your careers, don’t forget to hold the door open for someone else. Use your leverage not just for yourself, but for others too. Especially those for whom the doors don’t open that easily.”
Lavina Melwani is a New York-based journalist who blogs at Lassi with Lavina.
Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout
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As coronavirus death toll rises in China, India bans export of all kind of respiratory masks
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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India on Friday banned exports of all kinds of personal protection equipment, including clothing and masks used to protect people from air borne particles.
India on Friday banned exports of all kinds of personal protection equipment, including clothing and masks used to protect people from airborne particles.
The move assumes significance as there could be a spurt in demand for such products due to outbreak of deadly coronavirus that has claimed more than 200 lives in China while the number of confirmed cases reached near 10,000.
“Exports of all varieties of personal protection equipment including clothing and masks used to protect the wearer from airborne particles and/or any other respiratory masks or any other personal protective clothing (including coveralls and N95 masks)…is hereby prohibited with immediate effect till further orders,” the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) said in a notification.
Air India’s 423-seater jumbo B747 plane took off from the Delhi airport on Friday to evacuate Indian nationals from Wuhan as China deals with the novel coronavirus outbreak. Around 400 Indians are expected to be evacuated.
Air India chairman and managing director Ashwani Lohani said on Friday morning, “No service will take place in the plane. Whatever food is there will be kept in seat pockets. As there will be no service, there will be no interaction (between cabin crew and passengers).”
“Masks have been arranged for the crew and passengers. For our crew, we have also arranged a complete protective gear,” he added.
The government has reached out to over 600 Indians living in China’s Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, to ascertain their willingness to be brought back to India.
In a separate notification, the DGFT has also banned imports of stock lot papers. These are kind of discarded, improper sized and unused papers. The move aims at cutting down imports of non-essential items into the country.
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Budget 2020: A sneak peek at CNBC-TV18’s star studded coverage
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the union budget for the fiscal year 2020-21 on Saturday (February 1).
Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the union budget for the fiscal year 2020-21 on Saturday (February 1).
Sitharaman’s second Budget, to be presented on February 1, is expected to announce measures to restore economic growth and to set out a clear road map for achieving the ambitious target of $5 trillion economy by 2025.
Where can the budget be seen?
All national channels will telecast the budget live from the Parliament. You can watch the budget speech live on DD News’ Youtube channel, Lok Sabha TV.
To watch the budget speech live with live analysis go to CNCB-TV18.com click here.
For all major LIVE updates on the Budget speech, click the Budget 2020 tab on CNCB-TV18.com homepage and get instant updates on the live blog.
You can also download the CNBC-TV18 Online app from Google play store, and the iPhone store to get all important alerts, notifications on Union Budget 2020.
Commencement of union budget speech
The union finance minister will begin her budget speech at 11: 00 am in Parliament.
Readers can also download the budget document from the Government of India official website after the budget will be tabled in the Parliament.
Pre-Budget
CNCB-TV18.com will be covering the pre-budget session with well-known names like legendary investor Mark Mobius; Sajjid Chinoy, chief India economist, JPMorgan; Jahangir Aziz, head, emerging market economist, JPMorgan; Arundhati Bhattacharya, former State Bank of India (SBI) chairman among others will provide rolling coverage of the Budget 2020.
LIVE Budget Analysis
During the budget, HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh; C. Rangarajan, economist & former RBI Governor; Nirmal Jain, chairman of IIFL Finance, will give a minute-by-minute analysis of Nirmala Sitharaman’s announcements.
Post Budget
A galaxy of corporate bigwigs, market veterans and policymakers will scan each and every announcement of Nirmala Sitharaman during the budget and provide specific sector-wise analysis. For this, we have Amitabh Kant, NITI Aayog CEO; Sanjiv Goenka, RP-SG Group chairman will be present.
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Economic Survey 2020 sourced data from Wikipedia, ICRA, CMIE, among other private entities
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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The Economic Survey 2019-20 has sourced certain data from Wikipedia, which is not considered as reliable source of information.
The Economic Survey 2019-20 has sourced certain data from Wikipedia, which is not considered as reliable source of information.
Besides Wikipedia, the Survey has also relied on data from other private sources such as Bloomberg, ICRA, CMIE, Indian Institute of Management (Bengaluru), Forbes and the BSE.
Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia, created and edited by volunteers around the world and hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation.
Other sources from which data have been used include heritage.org, fraserinstitute.org and Ambit Capital.
Data have also been sourced from International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Reserve Bank of India, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India, CIBIL, National Sample Survey Office, Department of Consumer Affairs, United Nations, SIDBI.
The Survey is also marked by quotes from Shrimad Bhagavad Gita, Rig Veda, Adam Smith’s ‘An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations’, Kautilya’s Arthashastra, and Tamil saint and philosopher Thiruvalluvar’s treatise The Thirukural.
The Economic Survey advocates 10 new ideas that benefit markets as well as the economy.
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FMCG major ITC on Friday reported a 29.03 percent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 4,047.87 crore for the third quarter ended December 2019.
FMCG major ITC on Friday reported a 29.03 percent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 4,047.87 crore for the third quarter ended December 2019.
The company had posted a net profit of Rs 3,136.95 crore in October-December quarter of the previous fiscal.
Net sales during the quarter under review rose 5.71 per cent to Rs 13,220.30 crore as against Rs 12,506.05 crore in the corresponding period in previous fiscal, ITC said in a regulatory filing.
“The company posted a steady performance during the quarter amidst a particularly challenging operating environment,” ITC said in a post earning statement.
According to the company, the macro-economic environment continues to be adversely impacted as reflected in deceleration in GDP growth and persistent weakness in consumption demand and investments.
“Delayed arrival of the Kharif crop due to spatial variations in rainfall, especially close to the harvest season, commodity price inflation together with disruptions in certain parts of the country exacerbated the already challenging operating environment during the quarter,” ITC said.
“Expectations of a good Rabi crop and a slew of measures announced by the government in recent months including reduction in corporate tax rates, initiatives to boost infrastructure and promote exports, augur well for the revival of the economy,” it added.
ITC’s total expenses during the third quarter rose 5.25 per cent to Rs 8,779.14 crore as compared with Rs 8,340.61 crore in the year-ago quarter.
During the quarter, revenue from total FMCG business was up 4.66 per cent to Rs 9,265.31 crore as against Rs 8,852.05 crore in the year-ago period.
Total FMCG business comprises segments like cigarettes and FMCG-others.
Revenue from cigarettes stood at Rs 5,944.86 crore in the October-December quarter, up 5.31 per cent from Rs 5,645.05 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal.
“Performance during the quarter reflects the persistent weakness in the overall demand environment, especially in rural markets and wholesale channel, tight market liquidity conditions and the increasing salience of illicit trade especially at the premium end,” ITC said.
Revenue from FMCG-others segment was up 3.53 per cent to Rs 3,320.45 crore as against Rs 3,207 crore a year ago.
“The FMCG-Others Segment delivered a resilient performance during the quarter which witnessed a slowdown in overall growth rates both in urban and rural markets. Categories with relatively higher rural salience remain the most impacted,” it said.
FMCG-others segment of ITC consists of branded packaged foods like staples, snacks, meals, dairy and beverages, confections, apparel, education and stationery products, personal care products, safety matches and incense sticks.
ITC’s hotel business revenue rose 21.13 per cent to Rs 574.26 crore during the quarter as compared with Rs 474.06 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal.
“The business posted a strong performance during the quarter with segment revenue and segment EBITDA growing by 22.2 per cent and 40.1 per cent respectively. There was all-round improvement, with both existing and new properties recording robust increase in RevPAR (revenue per available room) and F&B sales. Higher room rates and operating leverage aided margin expansion,” ITC said.
Revenue from agri-business segment rose 10.43 per cent to Rs 2,258.87 crore as against Rs 2,045.38 crore in the December quarter of the previous fiscal.
“In the agri business segment, growth in segment revenue was driven by trading opportunities in oilseeds, pulses & coffee and scaling up of value added segments (spices and frozen snacks),” ITC said.
Subdued demand for leaf tobacco in international markets accentuated by relatively steeper depreciation in currencies of competing origins and adverse business mix weighed on segment results, it added.
Paperboards, paper and packaging segment revenue rose marginally by 0.83 per cent to Rs 1,555.36 crore as against Rs 1,542.51 crore of Q3/FY2018-19
“Paperboards, paper & packaging segment revenue witnessed muted growth on a relatively firm base due to slowdown in the FMCG and liquor industry and depressed realisations on softening of global pulp prices,” the company said.
Revenue from others segment, which includes information technology services, branded residences, among others, reported a 9.99 per cent growth at Rs 563.69 crore as against Rs 512.48 crore.
In a separate filing, ITC said its board has appointed Atul Jerath as Additional Non-Executive Director of the company.
Jerath is the Chief Underwriting Officer of The Oriental Insurance Company Ltd, overseeing a wide portfolio including property, health and aviation insurance, it added.
Shares of ITC on Friday closed 0.60 per cent higher at Rs 235.25 apiece on the BSE.
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RBI permission no longer required to offer cash withdrawal facility at PoS terminals
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Banks will no longer be required to obtain Reserve Bank of India’s permission to offer a cash withdrawal facility as PoS terminals, the regulator notified on Friday.
Banks will no longer be required to obtain Reserve Bank of India’s permission to offer a cash withdrawal facility as PoS terminals, the regulator notified on Friday.
Under the Payments and Settlements Systems Act of 2007, banks were so far required to take one-time permission from the RBI to offer the facility of cash withdrawal at Point of Sale (PoS) terminals deployed by them. However, under the revised norms, banks may provide such a facility based on the approval of their respective board. All other provisions with respect to this facility will continue, said RBI.
As per existing rules, all debit cards/open-loop prepaid cards issued by banks can be used to draw up to Rs 1,000 per day in Tier I and II centres and upto Rs 2,000 per day in Tier III to VI centres at any PoS terminal.
RBI has capped the customer charges, if any, on such cash withdrawals to not more than one percent of the transaction amount.
“The designated merchant establishments may be advised to clearly indicate/display the availability of this facility along with the charges, if any, payable by the customer” read the notification by RBI.
Banks will still to be required to submit data on cash withdrawals at PoS devices to the Department of Payment and Settlement Systems on a quarterly basis within 15 days of the end of the quarter.
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Google stops Internet Saathis programme in West Bengal after violence
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Panic over the proposed country-wide NRC and NPR and rumours that data was being collected for the purpose led to violence in West Bengal’s Birbhum district and internet giant Google to stop its digital awareness programme in the area, the district authorities said on Friday.
Panic over the proposed country-wide NRC and NPR and rumours that data was being collected for the purpose led to violence in West Bengal’s Birbhum district and internet giant Google to stop its digital awareness programme in the area, the district authorities said on Friday.
There was panic in the area over rumours that the data was being collected by women employees of an NGO employed as Internet Saathis which triggered a mob attack on the houses of two of them at Rampurhat on January 22.
Their houses were ransacked and set ablaze houses, the authorities and the family members of the two women said.
The Internet Saathis work in collaboration with Google to empower rural women use smartphones and the internet in their day to day lives. They woman had reportedly collected some general data as part of the training, the NGO said.
After the violence, the district administration ordered the NGO and Google to stop the programme.
“We were not kept in the loop about the programme. As it led to a panic among the people we had asked the NGO to stop the programme immediately. It has now been stopped,” Birbhum district magistrate Moumita Godara told PTI over phone.
The Internet Saathi Program was launched by Google in partnership with Tata Trusts in June 2015 and the women trainers were paid Rs 1500 per month, the NGO said.
When contacted, a Google spokesperson confirmed that the digital awareness programme has been stoppped.
“We, along with Tata Trusts, are in constant touch with more on ground partners to provide support needed to ensure the safety of internet saathis. As an immediate step, we have stopped the programme and will continue to coordinate with the local administration to dispel the rumours,” a Google statement said.
According to Azaruddin Mollah, the uncle of Saini Sultana one of the women whose house was ransacked and set ablaze, those working as internet saathis need to take down some details such as names, ages, addresses of beneficiaries for their own data base while imparting training.
“All of a sudden due to rumours that the two women were collecting data for NRC and NPR their houses were ransacked and set ablaze,” he told PTI over phone.
Sahidul, the grandfather of the other woman Chumki Khatun whose house too was set on fire, said, “Now the girls are all jobless. It is affecting our family income.
“We are also facing a sort of isolation in the village as some people are suspecting that we were collecting data for NRC,” he added.
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