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Rishi Sunak’s Spiritual Visit to Akshardham During G20 Summit

Sharing his impressions of his visit, the Prime Minister said: “My wife and I were delighted to visit Swaminarayan Akshardham for darshan and puja this morning…reports Asian Lite News

The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, accompanied by his wife Akshata Murthy, visited BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham in New Delhi, India, on Sunday 10 September 2023 during his official trip to the city for the G20 summit.

The PM and his convoy arrived at 6.45 in the morning. They were warmly welcomed in a traditional Hindu manner symbolising goodwill and friendship. Mr Sunak was then greeted by swamis, as well as senior leaders from Akshardham Mandir, who relayed a special message on behalf of His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj, spiritual leader of BAPS. His Holiness had extended his personal wishes and prayers for him and the other delegates. He wrote, “In the spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, we pray for you and all the attendees: May the summit be a resounding success in collectively helping the whole world towards peace, righteous prosperity, and global harmony.”

During his visit, the Prime Minister was given an overview of Swaminarayan Akshardham – a 100-acre spiritual and cultural complex that portrays the traditions and ancient architecture of India and promotes the timeless Hindu spiritual messages of faith, devotion and harmony.

Inside the main mandir, Mr Sunak and his wife paid their respects to the sacred images and admired the art and architecture. The couple also performed abhishek (ritual pouring of water) on the murti of Shri Nilkanth Varni Maharaj, and offered prayers for world peace, progress and harmony.

Sharing his impressions of his visit, the Prime Minister said: “My wife and I were delighted to visit Swaminarayan Akshardham for darshan and puja this morning.

We were amazed and awed by the beauty of this temple and its universal message of peace, harmony, and becoming a better human being. This is not only a place of worship, but a landmark that also portrays India’s values, culture and contributions to the world.

We see today in Britain these very same values and culture through the positive contributions the British Indian community makes to our country.

I was honoured to have received the blessings of His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj conveyed to me this morning, and I understand that His Holiness is inaugurating another beautiful Swaminarayan Akshardham temple in Robbinsville, USA very soon.

I would like to send my very best wishes to His Holiness and all the devotees of BAPS ahead of the opening.”

Brahmavihari Swami, the senior swami of the sanstha, added: “It was an honour to welcome the Prime Minister to Swaminarayan Akshardham and share His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj’s message of peace, unity and public service. The UK’s relationship with India is built on a bond of friendship and fostered by cultural exchanges as well as a vibrant Indian diaspora in the UK. We were delighted to strengthen this relationship through this visit.”

Despite the inclement weather conditions, the Prime Minister dedicated almost one hour to partake in the act of darshan and prayer at the temple.

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Akshata to get almost £6.7m in Infosys dividends

A spokesperson for Murty said: “Akshata Murty pays UK tax as well as relevant foreign tax on all her worldwide income.”…reports Asian Lite News

The prime minister’s wife, Akshata Murty, will receive nearly £6.7mn in dividend payments from her shares in the technology company Infosys this summer.

India’s second biggest IT company, co-founded by Rishi Sunak’s father in law, revealed the latest dividend for shareholders in annual results on Thursday.

The payment, which is due to be distributed in July, will bring Murty’s earnings from Infosys to £13m for this financial year. The company announced a first dividend after its financial results in October, of which Murty’s share was an estimated £6.25m.

It earlier emerged that Murty, who has invested in a string of small businesses in the UK, had used non-domicile status to save money on her tax bill in April last year, while her husband was chancellor and the couple were living in Downing Street.

Responding to public criticism she said she would no longer claim the status on a remittance basis, which lets non-doms play a flat fee of £30,000 a year in exchange for shielding overseas earning from British tax. Under this arrangement only money brought in or “remitted” to the UK is taxed here.

A spokesperson for Murty said: “Akshata Murty pays UK tax as well as relevant foreign tax on all her worldwide income.”

While she has promised to pay UK tax on all her income, Murty retains non-dom status. Her family could therefore be exempt from inheritance tax on any assets she holds abroad in the event of her death.

When she issued a statement in April 2022, Murty said she would, from then on “pay UK tax on an arising basis” on all her “worldwide income, including dividends and capital gains, wherever in the world that income arises”.

She said: “I do this because I want to, not because the rules require me to. These new arrangements will begin immediately and will also be applied to the tax year just finished.”

It is unclear whether she receives the dividend payment directly from Infosys and therefore whether this would be realised as income, and taxed directly in the UK.

A spokesperson for Murty did not respond to a question about whether she used any offshore trusts to manage her finances.

Murty has used a tax haven for other business interests. In 2020 the Guardian revealed that she held shares in a restaurants business that funnelled investments through a letterbox company in the tax haven of Mauritius, in a structure that could allow its backers to avoid taxes in India.

Infosys shares fell in early trading on Thursday, after it revealed that its forecast sales would be lower than expected by analysts.

In January Infosys annual report also revealed that it was in dispute with HMRC over a corporation tax bill of around £20m. The company said it had filed an appeal against a tax assessment in the UK.

Neither Murty nor her father have a management role at Infosys.

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Akshata Murty loses £49 mn in one day from Infosys woes

It was also last year that the couple faced backlash after it emerged that Murty held non-domicile status in the UK and hadn’t been paying tax on overseas earnings…reports Asian Lite News

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s wife Akshata Murty experienced a paper loss of approximately £49 million after shares in Infosys Ltd, the Indian software giant co-founded by her father, Narayana Murthy, dropped 9.4 per cent on Monday.

Infosys saw its biggest intraday percentage drop since October 2019, and dragged other IT stocks, with the Nifty IT index dropping as much as 7.6 per cent.

After opening with a gap-down, Infosys shares slipped 12 per cent in intraday trade. The stock recovered towards the end of the session and closed at £12 forming a hammer candlestick pattern on daily charts. The last time Infosys shares hit a lower circuit was on March 23, 2020.

According to a Bloomberg report, Murty’s stake in Infosys is still more than $450 million. Akshata Murty owns a 0.95 per cent stake in Infosys. Sunak has often been criticised for his wife’s ‘non-domicile’ status in the UK and the opposition has often targeted him citing that Murty did not declare her earnings from Infosys dividend for tax purposes in the UK.

While Rishi Sunak’s office declined to comment, Murty’s wealth has been a recurring theme in her husband’s political career. In 2022, Murty earned £12.45 million in dividend income from her shares in Infosys. It was also last year that the couple faced backlash after it emerged that Murty held non-domicile status in the UK and hadn’t been paying tax on overseas earnings.

At that time, her spokesperson had stated that as a citizen of India, she was unable to hold citizenship of another country and that “she has always and will continue to pay UK taxes on all her UK income.”

Monday’s volatility in Infosys share may be viewed on the backdrop of Infosys Q4 results which were announced last week. The company posted weaker-than-expected results and analysts believe that Monday’s reaction was a knee-jerk response to Infosys Q4 results in which the company reported a revenue of £ 3.68 million, down 2.3 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis.

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Akshata moved to be seated next to India’s foreign minister 

Author and philanthropist Sudha Murthy was conferred with the Padma Bhushan for social work…reports Asian Lite News

Indian government officials displayed some quick thinking on Wednesday when they spotted Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy’s family sitting in the middle row during the Padma awards ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday.

Among the family members, who had gathered to witness Sudha Murthy receiving a Padma award, was Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s wife and First Lady Akshata Murthy. Sensing protocol, she was moved to the front row and seated next to foreign minister S Jaishankar before the function began.

Seated on her other side was the family of vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar while ministers like Anurag Thakur were also in the same row. Akshata stood next to Jaishankar as the national anthem was played at the beginning and end of the ceremony.

There was no British security with Akshata at the event, who was accompanied by father Narayana Murthy, brother Rohan Murthy and Sudha Murthy’s sister. The other family members, however, continued to sit alongside other families in the middle row. The family has always chosen to be low-key.

Author and philanthropist Sudha Murthy was conferred with the Padma Bhushan for social work.

After receiving the Padma Bhushan, Sudha Murty said, “I owe this award to the people of India. I hope my recognition today inspires the younger generation to take up social welfare as a vocation. It is needed for the continuous development of our great nation. I always feel that generosity of a few is hope for a million.”

Murty was the chairperson of Infosys Foundation until December 2021.

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