Taapsee Pannu breaks silence on I-T raids
Mumbai: Breaking her silence on the IT department raids against her, actor Taapsee Pannu on Saturday put out three tweets on an alleged bungalow in Paris, the alleged receipt of Rs 5 crore and her memory of 2013 raid .
On March 3, the Income Tax Department searched the homes and offices of Pannu and filmmaker Anurag Kashyap as well as his partners who launched the now shuttered production house Phantom Films.
Pannu posted a three-point statement on Twitter and also took a jibe at Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's statement that the actor was raided in 2013 as well.
Three days of intense search of 3 things primarily 1.The keys of the alleged' bungalow that I apparently own in Paris. Because summer holidays are around the corner, read the first post.
The second said, 2. The alleged' receipt worth 5 crores to frame n keep for future pitching coz I've been refused that money before.
The third dealt with Sitharaman's comment. 3. My memory of 2013 raid that happened with me according to our honourable finance minister P.S- not so sasti' anymore."
Sitharaman on Friday said the same people were raided in 2013 as well, but no issue was made out then as it is being done now. Refusing to comment on individual cases, she said it is in the national interest to know if some evasion is happening.
The searches targeting Pannu and Kashyap, known for their outspoken views on a range of issues, is part of a tax evasion probe against Phantom Films. They also covered Reliance Entertainment group CEO Shibhasish Sarkar and some executives of celebrity and talent management companies KWAN and Exceed, officials said.
The others searched included some employees of Phantom Films, which was dissolved in 2018, and its then promoters Kashyap, director-producer Vikramaditya Motwane, producer Vikas Bahl and producer-distributor Madhu Mantena.
The business transactions of films made under the banner of Phantom Films are also being probed.
Kashyap and Pannu, who worked together in the 2018 film "Manmarziyaan", are currently filming "Dobaara", a thriller.
3 days of intense search of 3 things primarily
— taapsee pannu (@taapsee) March 6, 2021
1. The keys of the “alleged” bungalow that I apparently own in Paris. Because summer holidays are around the corner
3. My memory of 2013 raid that happened with me according to our honourable finance minister ??
— taapsee pannu (@taapsee) March 6, 2021
P.S- “not so sasti” anymore ??♀️
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India to get first national security semiconductor fabrication plant
Wilmington (PTI): Under a transformative collaboration with the US, India will get a national security semiconductor fabrication plant that will produce chips for use in military hardware and next-generation telecommunications.
The India-US joint project was announced following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden in Wilmington on Saturday.
A joint fact sheet on Modi-Biden talks said the two leaders "hailed" the semiconductor project as a "watershed arrangement".
It will be the first ever India-US semiconductor fabrication partnership.
It is the first time ever the US military has agreed to do a partnership for these highly-value technologies with India and it is a watershed moment as it is as significant as the civil nuclear deal, people familiar with the matter said.
"President Biden and Prime Minister Modi hailed a watershed arrangement to establish a new semiconductor fabrication plant focused on advanced sensing, communication, and power electronics for national security, next-generation telecommunications, and green energy applications," the fact sheet noted.
It said the "fab, which will be established with the objective of manufacturing infrared, gallium nitride and silicon carbide semiconductors, will be enabled by support from the India semiconductor mission as well as a strategic technology partnership between Bharat Semi, 3rdiTech, and the US Space Force."
The Fab becomes not only India’s first, but one of the world's first multi-material fabs for national security, the people cited above said.
The fact sheet said Modi and Biden praised combined efforts to facilitate resilient, secure, and sustainable semiconductor supply chains including through GlobalFoundries' (GF) creation of the GF Kolkata Power Center in Kolkata.
It said the project will enhance mutually beneficial linkages in research and development in chip manufacturing.
"The leaders welcomed steps our industry is taking to build safe, secure, and resilient supply chains for US, Indian, and international automotive markets, including through Ford Motor Company's submission of a Letter of Intent to utilize its Chennai plant to manufacture for export to global markets," the document said.
It said Modi and Biden commended ongoing efforts to build more expansive cooperation around 5G deployment and next-generation telecommunications.
This includes the US Agency for International Development's plans to expand the Asia Open RAN Academy with an initial USD 7 million investment to grow this workforce training initiative worldwide, including in South Asia with Indian institutions.
