All states pass SGST Act, except J&K New Delhi, June 21 (IANS): With Kerala approving the State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) Act on Wednesday, Jammu and Kashmir remains the only state yet to pass the legislation ahead of the July 1 launch of the pan-India tax regime.“All states and union territories, except Jammu and Kashmir, have approved the SGST Act and are ready for the smooth roll-out of Goods and Services Tax (GST) with effect from July 1,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement here. Kerala issued an ordinance on Wednesday approving the State GST Act while West Bengal had issued the relevant ordinance on June 15. “Thus, almost the entire country, including 30 states and union territories, is now on board and ready for the GST,” the Finance Ministry said. Sebi eases norms for acquisition of distressed assets of listed companies Mumbai, June 21 (PTI): Markets regulator Sebi today relaxed takeover norms for acquisition of stressed assets to help the government and the RBI in their efforts to tackle bad loans. After a board meeting here today, Sebi Chairman Ajay Tyagi said the regulator has decided to ease norms for acquisition of distressed assets of listed companies. The board also approved a proposal to tighten the rules for participatory notes through imposition of a regulatory fee on issuers of such instruments. Tyagi, however, said there is no proposal to completely ban these instruments as they can be useful for new foreign investors looking to test the Indian markets. “Sebi would want foreign investors to come directly but P-notes also have their usefulness,” Tyagi told reporters here. Besides, Sebi would issue discussion paper for easier registration of foreign investors. Another discussion paper would be floated for ways to help develop equity derivatives markets. Sebi said it is examining NSE’s response to show-cause notice in co-location case and that it will engage forensic auditor in the case. “Sebi will probe if brokers made unfair gains in connivance with exchange officials,” Tyagi said. Historic Apple-1 computer bought for $365,000 New York, June 21 (IANS): Apple-1 -- the Cupertino-based tech giant’s first computer which debuted in 1976 and kicked off what would eventually become the world’s most profitable company -- has been bought by an unidentified person for $365,000. According to a Fortune report, auction house Christie’s sold the original and working Apple-1 computer at an auction at its New York City office last week. Although there were similar computers on sale from other manufacturers, Apple-1 came with a pre-assembled motherboard, which “put Apple far ahead of its competitors”, according to Christie’s auction listing. It is speculated that the recent Apple-1 sold at a lower price as it wasn’t a “pure” machine with extras like a green case and a different computer chip. In previous autions, one Apple-1 sold for as much as $905,000 and another for $671,400. According to Christie’s, nearly 50 historic Apple-1 computers still exist, with many being displayed at museums around the world like at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC. With 250 mn users, Instagram adds Live video replay to ‘Stories’ San Francisco, June 21 (IANS): Photo-sharing app Instagram has announced it will introduce an option to share a replay of a user’s Live video to ‘Stories’ feature for 24 hours. “We’re also celebrating 250 million daily users on Instagram ‘Stories’, up from 200 million announced in April,” the company said in a statement. Previously, all Live broadcasts disappeared once finished. That made them feel raw, spontaneous and urgent to watch. Starting June 21, “we’re introducing the option to share a replay of your Live video to Instagram ‘Stories’. Now, more of your friends and followers can catch up on what they missed”, Instagram said. When your broadcast has ended, you’ll be able to tap “Share” at the bottom of the screen to add your replay to Instagram ‘Stories’ for 24 hours. You can also tap the toggle and choose “Discard” and your Live video will disappear from the app as usual.
