No need for knee jerk reaction due to high crude oil prices: Jaitley
New Delhi, Sep 5 : Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said that there was no need for a "knee jerk" reaction due to high prices of global crude oil.
"There is no straight-line movement of global crude oil prices," Jaitley said at a media briefing after the meeting of the Union Cabinet.
According to Jaitley, crude oil prices edged higher in April and May whereas they calmed down in June and July
"As I am saying these are not situations which merit knee-jerk and panic reaction. There is no straight-line movement in global oil prices," the minister said.
When asked about the country's preparations to deal with any upsurge in global crude oil prices, Jaitley at a press briefing here said: "Policy formulation is never a rigid process."
Recently, geo-political factors such as trade wars fears, upcoming Iran sanctions and conflicts in Middle East along with supply side constraints have led to a sharp increase in global crude oil prices.
The rise in global crude oil prices pushes the domestic cost of petrol and diesel higher as the country is a net importer of crude oil.
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I-T Department sends notice to actor-director Prithviraj Sukumaran over co-produced films
New Delhi: The Income Tax (I-T) Department has sent a notice to actor and director Prithviraj Sukumaran asking for more details about the money he earned from some films he co-produced. The notice was reportedly served during the last week of March by the I-T office in Kochi. He has been asked to respond by the end of April.
The department is seeking clarification on the income from a few movies Prithviraj was involved in as a co-producer. This comes at a time when the actor has been receiving criticism from right-wing groups over what seemed to be references to the 2002 Gujarat riots in his latest film L2: Empuraan, starring Mohanlal, which released on March 27.
On April 4, 2025, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out searches at the offices of Gokulam Gopalan, a Kerala-based businessman and one of the producers of L2: Empuraan, along with a few others. These searches were part of an investigation into alleged violations of foreign exchange rules.
The I-T notice to Prithviraj is believed to be linked to an ongoing investigation that began in December 2022 into suspected tax evasion within the Malayalam film industry.
At the time, tax officials had raided the homes and offices of several producers, including Antony Perumbavoor, Anto Joseph, and Listin Stephen, over concerns about unreported income, cash deals, and overseas investments. Prithviraj’s premises were also searched during that operation.
