Odisha Calls Special Assembly Session To Ratify GST Bill

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Tuesday decided to convene a special session of the state Assembly on September 1 to ratify the GST bill, which was passed by the Parliament earlier this month.

The state cabinet headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik approved to convene the special session of the Assembly to pass the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Constitution Amendment Bill.

Notably, the GST bill needs to be ratified by at least 15 state legislatures before the President can notify the GST council which will decide the new tax rate and other issues.

The state cabinet also approved to defer the ensuing monsoon session of the state Assembly given Nuakhai festival in Western Odisha.

Now, the monsoon session of the Odisha Assembly would begin from September 21 instead of September 7.

It was about to begin from September 7.

The state cabinet also approved the formation of a Higher Education Council to advise the government on various aspects of the higher education in the state.

The chairperson of the council will be the Higher Education minister of the state while vice-chairman would an academician or an administrator.