PM’s ADDRESS ON THE EVE OF TEACHERS’ DAY
The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, addressed the Awardee Teachers on the eve of Teachers’ Day in New Delhi today. Following is the text of the Prime Minister’s address on the occasion:
“I am indeed very happy to be with you today, on the eve of Teachers’ Day. We celebrate 5th September, the birth anniversary of Dr Radhakrishnan, our former President, as Teachers’ Day all over the country to honour and to express our nation’s gratitude to all teachers for their dedicated service to the nation. Teachers’ Day is the ideal day of telling our teachers that we feel blessed because of their presence in our lives. I join you in remembering Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, the great scholar, the great philosopher, the great teacher and above all a great educationist.
Teaching has always been considered a noble profession. My own years as a teacher have been the most satisfying and fulfilling in my life. Through teachers flow the values and culture of a nation and its people. Teachers’ own value system, their character and their behaviour directly influence our children. But, misinformation and limited learning behaviours, that children sometimes internalize, can also be traced back to teachers' lack of knowledge, poor understanding, or biases. We must guard against these negative features.
Teachers are invariably seen as front-line participants in educational reform, critical to successful quality schooling in our country. But, sadly, teachers are often excluded from policy-making, governance and management of our educational system as also from day-to-day instructional strategies and decision making. In our endeavour for educational reforms we must, therefore, emphasize the empowerment of teachers and that includes real opportunity for them to share policy perspectives and decision-making in pursuit of educational development and reforms. It is my belief that all teachers are creative, talented people; teachers respond remarkably when they are respected and included in the decision-making integral to their work in the classroom. They gain a sense of ownership over their work and their classrooms, when they are involved in the development of the curriculum, designing of the syllabus, making and selecting of teaching materials and in training programmes leading to their own intellectual and professional development.
One critical area that all teachers must reflect upon is equality and inclusiveness of our educational system. Numerous programmes have been initiated in our country that focus on equality and inclusiveness paying particular attention to the girl child, or children from the scheduled caste or scheduled tribe or minority communities, or for differently-abled children with special needs and problems. Such programmes will result in an empowered youth and citizenship, only if their teachers are empowered supporters of equality and inclusiveness. If efforts to increase student access, learning and retention in elementary and secondary education are to succeed and make headway, relevant and empowering teacher education is of critical importance. This is particularly true of women teachers who must serve as positive role models for our society at large.
Our Government is committed to provide quality education to all. The Right to Education Act was passed by the Parliament last year. The Right to Education Act and Article 21-A of our Constitution guaranteeing elementary education as a Fundamental Right, have now become operational with effect from 1st April 2010. I compliment and pay tribute to my colleague Shri Kapil Sibal for the zeal, dedication and enthusiasm that he has brought to bear on the work of this most important ministry of Union Government, that Human Resource Development Ministry is. I had on that occasion addressed the nation and recounted my own childhood experience of studying in extremely difficult and adverse circumstances. Time has come for all of us to change this situation and ensure that every child in this country of ours has the opportunity to exercise his or her right to an education of equitable quality, and thereby making the Right to Education a grand national movement. Today, you have both challenge and opportunity to provide good quality education to all our children. Through you, our nation aspires to build in our children a commitment to the values of democracy, and the values of equality, justice, freedom, secularism, respect for human dignity and human rights. I urge you to develop in our children independence of thought, action and capacity of carefully considered, decision making which is based on reason and understanding. Through you, our children must develop a sensitivity to others’ well-being and feelings. Through you, our children must develop the ability to work and participate in economic and social processes and in processes of social change.
These aspirations for our children necessarily mean that the school environment should be free from fear, trauma and anxiety. No child, irrespective of caste, gender or community to which he or she belongs should dread the thought of going to school. The RTE Act bans corporal punishment and mental harassment. It also bans detention and expulsion. These provisions have led many teachers to question how discipline will be maintained in the classroom. The answer to this important issue was given by the well known philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti: “Discipline is an easy way to control a child, but it does not help him to understand the problems involved in living… If the teacher can give full attention to each child, observing and helping him, then compulsion or domination or discipline in any form may be unnecessary”.
The educational system in our country is at a very critical juncture. We have to maintain the fine balance between tradition and continuity, between tradition and modernity on the one hand, and innovation and change on the other. As teachers, you are the most important nation builders, you constitute our nation’s most precious national resource, and we look to you to guide our children in their quest for knowledge, truth and in their capacity to lead a life of dignity and self respect.
With these words, I congratulate each one of you – the distinguished Teacher Awardees - on winning this very prestigious national award. It is a small token of our nation’s gratitude to the great fraternity of teachers in our country. On the occasion of the Teachers Day I extend my heartfelt warm greetings to all members of the teaching community and wish each one of you success and fulfillment in your personal life and vocation.”
******
AD/LV
(Release ID :65554)
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Time it right
by D. Sathiyaseelan.
Aerobics: Way to fitness.
Exercise has lots of benefit for all age groups but starting early is crucial.
Daily exercise has profound benefits. It increases energy levels, helps maintain healthy weight, prevents osteoporosis, certain forms of cancer, heart diseases later in life and premature death. Exercise also leads to improved academic performance and establishes lifelong healthy physical activity.
Adolescents can reap numerous psychological benefits from physical activity. (“A 2006 study showed higher levels of sport participation and physical activity were linked to lower levels of depression, and that exercise can encourage better self-perception”)
Aerobic exercise conditions your body to perform longer, faster, and more efficiently. After 20 or more minutes of continuous slow running, your body releases powerful hormones (called endorphins) that start pumping through your bloodstream, producing a strong “runner's high” that does wonders for your self-esteem.
Cardiovascular training strengthens the heart and improves its efficiency. The resting heart rate comes down after regular exercise, which means that the efficiency of the heart's pumping capacity increases without undue strain. Aerobic exercises increases oxygen intake. This improves overall functioning of all organs especially the brain.
Mechanical loading on skeletal tissue by resistance exercise effectively stimulates an increase in bone formation in young adults and slows bone loss in middle age. Muscle strengthening activities promote the development and maintenance of metabolically active lean muscle mass, and is important for enhancing glucose metabolism. Despite the misconception that weight training arrests bone growth, it actually enhances growth in teenagers. It's great fun to chat with friends and talking slows your pace, so you'll exercise longer. That was one ad that got it right: “walk and talk”; “talk and walk”.
13-17 years
Get involved in sport activities to stay active and healthy. Even if you are not an achiever in sports, it doesn't matter. Just play to be fit. If you excel in any sport, then do strength and conditioning exercises along with good flexibility programme to improve your performance.
17-21 years
This is the ideal age to hit the gym. Get a fitness assessment done by your physiotherapist, and get a clear idea about your fitness level. Move on the right track to achieve your goal and motivate your peers for the right thing .Learn the correct exercise technique to avoid injuries. Proper posture and breathing technique is the basis of weight training. Exercises designed to correct the posture and core strength, help to avoid injuries and improves great look.
21-30 years
Don't indulge in last moment exercises as a preparation for marriage. If you demand more from your trainer at last moment, the level may be too strong to cause injury. It's important to have a “sound body with a sound mind”. Get a friend to work out with you to add some fun to your routine.
Recommendations from ACSM and AHA
Do moderately intense cardio 30 minutes a day, five days a week
Do vigorously intense cardio 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week
Do 8-10 strength-training exercises, 8-12 repetitions of each exercise twice a week.
Moderate-intensity physical activity means working hard enough to raise your heart rate and break into a sweat, and still be able to carry on a conversation.
To lose weight or maintain weight loss, 60 to 90 minutes of physical activity may be necessary.
The 30-minute recommendation is for the average healthy adult to maintain health and reduce the risk of chronic disease.
Physical activity can be accumulated through a variety of activities, not just running. Walking is a great way to do moderate-intensity physical activity.
After 20 or more minutes of continuous slow running, your body releases powerful hormones that start pumping through your bloodstream, producing a strong “runner's high” that does wonders for your self-esteem.
(D.Sathiyaseelan is a Physiotherapist with FitnessOne Group India )
by D. Sathiyaseelan.
Aerobics: Way to fitness.
Exercise has lots of benefit for all age groups but starting early is crucial.
Daily exercise has profound benefits. It increases energy levels, helps maintain healthy weight, prevents osteoporosis, certain forms of cancer, heart diseases later in life and premature death. Exercise also leads to improved academic performance and establishes lifelong healthy physical activity.
Adolescents can reap numerous psychological benefits from physical activity. (“A 2006 study showed higher levels of sport participation and physical activity were linked to lower levels of depression, and that exercise can encourage better self-perception”)
Aerobic exercise conditions your body to perform longer, faster, and more efficiently. After 20 or more minutes of continuous slow running, your body releases powerful hormones (called endorphins) that start pumping through your bloodstream, producing a strong “runner's high” that does wonders for your self-esteem.
Cardiovascular training strengthens the heart and improves its efficiency. The resting heart rate comes down after regular exercise, which means that the efficiency of the heart's pumping capacity increases without undue strain. Aerobic exercises increases oxygen intake. This improves overall functioning of all organs especially the brain.
Mechanical loading on skeletal tissue by resistance exercise effectively stimulates an increase in bone formation in young adults and slows bone loss in middle age. Muscle strengthening activities promote the development and maintenance of metabolically active lean muscle mass, and is important for enhancing glucose metabolism. Despite the misconception that weight training arrests bone growth, it actually enhances growth in teenagers. It's great fun to chat with friends and talking slows your pace, so you'll exercise longer. That was one ad that got it right: “walk and talk”; “talk and walk”.
13-17 years
Get involved in sport activities to stay active and healthy. Even if you are not an achiever in sports, it doesn't matter. Just play to be fit. If you excel in any sport, then do strength and conditioning exercises along with good flexibility programme to improve your performance.
17-21 years
This is the ideal age to hit the gym. Get a fitness assessment done by your physiotherapist, and get a clear idea about your fitness level. Move on the right track to achieve your goal and motivate your peers for the right thing .Learn the correct exercise technique to avoid injuries. Proper posture and breathing technique is the basis of weight training. Exercises designed to correct the posture and core strength, help to avoid injuries and improves great look.
21-30 years
Don't indulge in last moment exercises as a preparation for marriage. If you demand more from your trainer at last moment, the level may be too strong to cause injury. It's important to have a “sound body with a sound mind”. Get a friend to work out with you to add some fun to your routine.
Recommendations from ACSM and AHA
Do moderately intense cardio 30 minutes a day, five days a week
Do vigorously intense cardio 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week
Do 8-10 strength-training exercises, 8-12 repetitions of each exercise twice a week.
Moderate-intensity physical activity means working hard enough to raise your heart rate and break into a sweat, and still be able to carry on a conversation.
To lose weight or maintain weight loss, 60 to 90 minutes of physical activity may be necessary.
The 30-minute recommendation is for the average healthy adult to maintain health and reduce the risk of chronic disease.
Physical activity can be accumulated through a variety of activities, not just running. Walking is a great way to do moderate-intensity physical activity.
After 20 or more minutes of continuous slow running, your body releases powerful hormones that start pumping through your bloodstream, producing a strong “runner's high” that does wonders for your self-esteem.
(D.Sathiyaseelan is a Physiotherapist with FitnessOne Group India )
Physical activity can reduce genetic obesity by 40 per cent
New findings from a study suggest that the genetic predisposition to obesity can be reduced by an average of 40 per cent through increased physical activity. Although the whole population can benefit from a physically active lifestyle, in part through reduced obesity risk, the study shows that individuals with a genetic predisposition to obesity can benefit even more. The study was published in PLoS Medicine
The authors used a cohort study of 20,430 people living in Norwich, UK and examined 12 different genetic variants which are known to increase the risk of obesity. The researchers tested how many of these variants each study participants had inherited from either parent.
They then assessed the overall genetic susceptibility to obesity by summing the number of variants inherited into a ‘genetic predisposition score.'
Most individuals inherited between 10 and 13 variants, but some had inherited more than 17 variants, while others fewer than 6. In addition the researchers assessed occupational and leisure-time physical activities in each individual by using a validated self-administered questionnaire.
The researchers then used modelling techniques to examine whether a higher ‘genetic predisposition score' was associated with a higher body mass index (BMI)/obesity risk and, most importantly, they also tested whether a physically active lifestyle could attenuate the genetic influence on BMI and obesity risk.
The researchers found that each additional genetic variant in the score was associated with an increase in BMI equivalent to 445g in body weight for a person 1.70 m tall, and the size of this effect was greater in inactive people than in active people.
Furthermore, in the total sample each additional obesity-susceptibility variant increased the odds of obesity by 1.1-fold.
However, the increased odds per variant for obesity risk were 40 per cent lower in physically active individuals compared to physically inactive individuals
New findings from a study suggest that the genetic predisposition to obesity can be reduced by an average of 40 per cent through increased physical activity. Although the whole population can benefit from a physically active lifestyle, in part through reduced obesity risk, the study shows that individuals with a genetic predisposition to obesity can benefit even more. The study was published in PLoS Medicine
The authors used a cohort study of 20,430 people living in Norwich, UK and examined 12 different genetic variants which are known to increase the risk of obesity. The researchers tested how many of these variants each study participants had inherited from either parent.
They then assessed the overall genetic susceptibility to obesity by summing the number of variants inherited into a ‘genetic predisposition score.'
Most individuals inherited between 10 and 13 variants, but some had inherited more than 17 variants, while others fewer than 6. In addition the researchers assessed occupational and leisure-time physical activities in each individual by using a validated self-administered questionnaire.
The researchers then used modelling techniques to examine whether a higher ‘genetic predisposition score' was associated with a higher body mass index (BMI)/obesity risk and, most importantly, they also tested whether a physically active lifestyle could attenuate the genetic influence on BMI and obesity risk.
The researchers found that each additional genetic variant in the score was associated with an increase in BMI equivalent to 445g in body weight for a person 1.70 m tall, and the size of this effect was greater in inactive people than in active people.
Furthermore, in the total sample each additional obesity-susceptibility variant increased the odds of obesity by 1.1-fold.
However, the increased odds per variant for obesity risk were 40 per cent lower in physically active individuals compared to physically inactive individuals
Northeast demands government umbrella policy to subsidize ecological fertilization in agriculture
Government officials, civil society representatives, academicians and farmer representatives from north eastern states today urged the Central Government to create an umbrella policy to subsidize and support ecological fertilization in agriculture.
The consensus demand came out of the Northeast conference deliberations organized by Rashtriya Gramin Vikas Nidhi (RGVN) and Greenpeace India as part of the nationwide "Living Soils" campaign.
In her message to conference participants, Assam's Agriculture Minister Pramila Rani Brahma said: "Indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers has an adverse impact on the life of the soil. Further it leads to its deterioration. Organic biomass in large quantities' is required to support life in soil and to maintain its structure and texture. Hence generation and application of biomass is critical to ensure soil health."
"Bringing all the schemes and policies that support ecological fertilization under one umbrella and raising the support for all components of ecological fertilization will not only help to save the soil but also will contribute to the livelihood security of the farmers," she added.
"A proper research backed scientific approach to promote ecological fertilization supplemented by policy support and incentives by the Central Government and respective State Governments will go a long way in preserving soil health which is crucial in achieving food security without compromise on health and environment. Putting in place an umbrella policy encompassing all aspects of ecological fertilization and soil health will enable us achieve this important objective," said Dr Mukul Sangma, Chief Minister of Meghalaya in his message which was read out at the conference.
"Sikkim has adopted a policy to go completely organic by 2015 and we have already phased out the usage of chemical fertilizers. Improved package of practices are being developed. A support system for ecological fertilization will help the farmers of Sikkim in a big way and will help to ensure food security in the state," said S K Sinha, Principal Director of Agriculture, Government of Sikkim.
Dr Purkaysta, Joint Director-Agriculture, Arunachal Pradesh, said: "More than 81 percent of Arunachal Pradesh is organic by default. A support system for ecological fertilization will contribute to the food security of the state."
The conference and the demand assumes significance in the context of Central Government acknowledging the problems associated with intensive chemical fertilization and initiating a reform in its fertilizer subsidy policy.
Dr Amiya Sharma, Executive Director, RGVN, who presided over the inaugural session said," We cannot continue to tax the environment for satisfying our greed. Protection of soil is important for maintaining life on this earth."
The conference signed a charter of demands to the Central Government, the summary of which is as follows:
1. The indiscriminate usage of chemical fertilizers needs to be checked at the earliest through proper policy measures at the Central and State Government level.
. Central Government should create an umbrella policy to support all components of ecological fertilization which includes: eneration of biomass, for bulk addition of organic matter in the soil for maintaining proper soil health: This includes promotion of livestock as integral part of the farm, providing infrastructure facilities to farmers for proper collection and usage of livestock manure. Sole cropping/intercropping/bund cropping of green manure crops, planting of Green manure trees etc.
Promotion of nutrient intensive ecological fertilizers (such as composts) romotion of biofertilizers
Recycling of farm and house hold waste.
Crop rotations to enrich soil (eg: to include pulses and leguminous crops)
Eco bonus for maintaining soil health
3. Documentation, Research and promotion of indigenous traditional knowledge to maintain soil health.
4. Promotion of eco-friendly soil amelioration techniques.
5. Convergence of policies in the rural sector: Ecological fertilizer production can open up employment opportunities in rural areas and hence can find synergy with Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarentee Scheme. (ANI)
SEARCH
Government officials, civil society representatives, academicians and farmer representatives from north eastern states today urged the Central Government to create an umbrella policy to subsidize and support ecological fertilization in agriculture.
The consensus demand came out of the Northeast conference deliberations organized by Rashtriya Gramin Vikas Nidhi (RGVN) and Greenpeace India as part of the nationwide "Living Soils" campaign.
In her message to conference participants, Assam's Agriculture Minister Pramila Rani Brahma said: "Indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers has an adverse impact on the life of the soil. Further it leads to its deterioration. Organic biomass in large quantities' is required to support life in soil and to maintain its structure and texture. Hence generation and application of biomass is critical to ensure soil health."
"Bringing all the schemes and policies that support ecological fertilization under one umbrella and raising the support for all components of ecological fertilization will not only help to save the soil but also will contribute to the livelihood security of the farmers," she added.
"A proper research backed scientific approach to promote ecological fertilization supplemented by policy support and incentives by the Central Government and respective State Governments will go a long way in preserving soil health which is crucial in achieving food security without compromise on health and environment. Putting in place an umbrella policy encompassing all aspects of ecological fertilization and soil health will enable us achieve this important objective," said Dr Mukul Sangma, Chief Minister of Meghalaya in his message which was read out at the conference.
"Sikkim has adopted a policy to go completely organic by 2015 and we have already phased out the usage of chemical fertilizers. Improved package of practices are being developed. A support system for ecological fertilization will help the farmers of Sikkim in a big way and will help to ensure food security in the state," said S K Sinha, Principal Director of Agriculture, Government of Sikkim.
Dr Purkaysta, Joint Director-Agriculture, Arunachal Pradesh, said: "More than 81 percent of Arunachal Pradesh is organic by default. A support system for ecological fertilization will contribute to the food security of the state."
The conference and the demand assumes significance in the context of Central Government acknowledging the problems associated with intensive chemical fertilization and initiating a reform in its fertilizer subsidy policy.
Dr Amiya Sharma, Executive Director, RGVN, who presided over the inaugural session said," We cannot continue to tax the environment for satisfying our greed. Protection of soil is important for maintaining life on this earth."
The conference signed a charter of demands to the Central Government, the summary of which is as follows:
1. The indiscriminate usage of chemical fertilizers needs to be checked at the earliest through proper policy measures at the Central and State Government level.
. Central Government should create an umbrella policy to support all components of ecological fertilization which includes: eneration of biomass, for bulk addition of organic matter in the soil for maintaining proper soil health: This includes promotion of livestock as integral part of the farm, providing infrastructure facilities to farmers for proper collection and usage of livestock manure. Sole cropping/intercropping/bund cropping of green manure crops, planting of Green manure trees etc.
Promotion of nutrient intensive ecological fertilizers (such as composts) romotion of biofertilizers
Recycling of farm and house hold waste.
Crop rotations to enrich soil (eg: to include pulses and leguminous crops)
Eco bonus for maintaining soil health
3. Documentation, Research and promotion of indigenous traditional knowledge to maintain soil health.
4. Promotion of eco-friendly soil amelioration techniques.
5. Convergence of policies in the rural sector: Ecological fertilizer production can open up employment opportunities in rural areas and hence can find synergy with Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarentee Scheme. (ANI)
SEARCH
Friday, September 3, 2010
STATISTICS ON INDIAN ECONOMY BY NEONCARROT.CO.UK
some figures on employment
- number of regular employees of Indian Railways in 1997: 1,583,614 (standing
world record 2004) [GWR]
- number of people applying for 22,000 jobs advertised by the Indian Railway (2003):
740,000
- planned number of staff of Reuters news agency to work in Bangalore by 2006:
1,500 (or 10 % of Reuter's total workforce) [BBC Oct 04]
- number of Dalits employed to clean toilet pits (& remove night soil) in Bangalore:
10,000 - 15,000 estimate [BBC; Sep 2002]
- working population: 699.9 million [GTF; 2005]
- domestic workers in India: 14 million [approx 2003]
- women employed in rural areas: 31 % [approx 2003]
- women employed in cities: 11 % [approx 2003]
- people registered as unemployed with 936 employment exchanges: 41.6 million
(beginning 2004)
- * people employed: about 480 million [AT Jan 07]
- unemployment in Himachal Pradesh: 120,000 people or 20 % [HT Apr 04]
- employment in the unorganised sector: 91.39 % of work force [approx 2003]
- employed in agriculture: 50 % (2003)
- employment growth in agriculture: 0.01 % (2003)
employment in IT and BPO (Business Process Outsourcing)
- * number of people employed in overall IT industry in India (end 2006):
1.3 million directly -- 3 million indirectly [BBC Jan 07]
- staff employed in ITES-BPO : 2002/03: 171,100 -- 2003/04: 245,100
(ITES-BPO: IT enabled Services - Business Process Outsourcing) [GTF; 2005]
- staff employed in outsourced customer service: 2002/03: 65,000 -- 2003/04: 95,000
[GTF; 2005]
- annual employee attrition (staff turnover) in voice based BPO (i.e. outsourced
call centres): up to 70-80% in some voice BPOs [GTF; Jan 2006
- * number of people applying at Infosys in Bangalore: 1.4 million in 2006 [BBC Jan 07]
- * number of workers hired by Infosys in Bangalore per year: 30,000 [BBC Jan 07]
- * people employed by three major Indian IT firms (Infosys, Wipro, TCS):
2006: between 52,000 and 83,000 each-- 2001: between 10,000 and 20,000 each --
1996: between 1,000 and 9,000 each [BBC Jan 07]
- * people employed abroad by major IT firms: Wipro: 11,000 -- TCS: 20,000
[BBC Jan 07]
- annual salary hike in IT services 2003: 14% [2004]
- * levels of pay for legal professionals in India as used in LPO
(Legal Process Outsourcing): 10% - 15% of that of US lawyers [DNA May 06]
- * standard salary for call centre worker in India: around 1.2 lakh Rs
(120,000Rs or 1,600 GBP) per year or 10,000 Rs per year [BBC Jan 07]
- call centre salary in Gurgaon (in the state of Haryana, but more considered a
suburb of Delhi): 8,000 to 14,000 Rupees per month [2004]
- * number of members of WBITSA (West Bengali organisation representing
IT worker's rights): 500 [BBC Jan 07]
- * number of IT workers in West Bengal: 2006: 40,000 (incl. call centre staff)
[BBC Jan 07] -- 2004: 20,000 [BBC Oct 04]
statistics on income, wages, labour force etc
- average per capita income (GNI): 470 US Dollar (2003)
- average per capita income in Bihar: 4,616 Rupees (approx 80 Euro)
- official minimum wage in Jammu & Kashmir state: 1,800 Rs per month (or
60 Rupees per day, equiv to 1.2 Euro per day) for simple labourer
- official minimum wage in Himachal Pradesh: 65 Rupees per day (simple labourer)
- population living on less than 2 USD per day: 41.4 percent [v2020; Apr 2003]
- average monthly wage: 179 USD [GTF; 2005]
- India's working age population (15-60 years): 610 million (estimate 2003)
- growth of India's labour force: 1.9 % per year [BBC Jul 04]
- growth of job creation between 1994-2000: 1.07 % per annum
- estimate of wage increase over the next four decades: 800 % (estimate by IMF)
[BBC Jul 04]
- number of cabin crew working for Air India: 1,600 [BBC, Jan 2006]
- salary of senior Air Hostess in India: up to 75,000 Rs per month [BBC, Jan 2006]
- percentage of Air India's cabin crew being overweight or obese: 20 % [BBC, Jan 06]
- expected increase of passengers in the Indian aviation market: approx 45 million
over next 5 years [BBC, Jan 2006]
- monthly salary of 5 year old Police Officer in Chattisgarh: 2,500 Rs (the boy took
over the job from his father when he died, responsible for filing and bringing tea)
[BBC, Sep 2005]
- number of children working in Tamil Nadu districts of Kanchipuram and
Thiruvanamalai in silk industry: 10,000 estimate [BBC; Aug 2005]
- Indian child labourers: between 10.25 % to 19.90 % of all Indian children aged 9-15
[BBC; Aug 2005]
Indian IT industry & outsourcing / off-shoring (BPO) related data
- * contribution to India's GDP by Business Process Outsourcing (BPO):
estimated for Financial Year 2007: 5.4% -- Financial Year 2006: 4.8% [FE Jan 07]
- * exports of BPO services: 2006: 13bn GBP -- expected 2010: 30bn GBP [BBC Jan 07]
- * export of software services and IT-BPO in financial year 2006-07 according
to Nasscom: approx 16.3bn GBP (31bn USD) [FE Jan 07]
- * increase of world wide share of the global outsourcing market by Indian
companies: within the last 4 years from 0.5% to 7% [BBC Jan 07]
- revenue from BPO & call centres in fiscal year 2004-05: 5.2bn USD [c/net; Jun 05]
- revenue from export of software and services industry in fiscal year 2004-05:
17.2bn USD [c/net; Jun 2005]
- total revenue in software industry in fiscal year 2003-04: 15.9bn USD [GTF; 2005]
- export of goods and services of India's IT and outsourcing industries in fiscal
year 2003-04: 7 billion GBP [BBC sep 04]
- revenue percentage of software industry exports 2003-04: 78% [GTF; 2005]
- contribution of outsourcing to India's total software exports: 29 % [BBC sep 04]
- Bangalore's (Karnataka's state capital) revenue from overseas outsourcing: 32 %
of India's total overseas outsourcing revenue of 10 bn Euro [BBC Sep 04]
- * value of shares sold in 1999 by Bangalore based company Infosys:
approx 37 million GBP [BBC Jan 07]
- * current market value of major IT firms: Infosys: 17 billion GBP --
Wipro: 13bn GBP -- TCS: 13bn GBP (all figures approximately, with exchange rate
1.9 USD = 1 GBP) [BBC Jan 07]
- * current annual revenue of major IT firms: Infosys: 1.1 billion GBP --
Wipro: 1.2bn GBP -- TCS: 1.6bn GBP (all figures approximately,
with exchange rate 1.9 USD = 1 GBP) [BBC Jan 07]
- * area of the Infosys campus in Bangalore: 40 acres [BBC Jan 07]
- * number of major international companies which have IT operations in
Bangalore: more than 500 [BBC Jan 07]
- * concentration of IT sector in Bangalore: 40 percent of the whole of
India's IT industry [BBC Jan 07]
- * population in Bangalore: estimate for 2015: 10m -- 2006: 6.5m -- 1990: 2.8m --
1970: 1.6m [BBC Jan 07]
- * expected future share by India of the emerging global KPO market: 70% of
the estimated 17bn USD global KPO market (KPO: Knowledge Process
Outsourcing) [DNA May 06]
more on e-commerce on telecom & IT stats page
statistics on economic growth and GDP in India
- * growth of Indian economy for 2006-07: approx 9% [BBC Jan 07]
- * growth of Indian economy or GDP (Gross Domestic Product): 2005-06: 9% --
2006-07: 7.4% [DNA Jan 07]
- * economic growth in the manufacturing and industry sector (2005-06):
9.1 percent [DNA Jan 07]
- * economic growth in the IT and ITES sector: approx 20 percent [DNA Dec 06]
- * economic growth in the agricultural sector: 6 percent [DNA Jan 07]
- * percentage of India's GDP coming from services, manufacturing and industry:
77 percent [DNA Dec 06]
- * contribution to India's economy by the nearly 70% of the population living
off the land: 23 percent [DNA Dec 06]
- * Gross Domestic Savings (GDS): 2005-06: 32.4% of GDP -- 2004-05: 31.1% of GDP
- * yearly foreign investment: 2006: 6.3bn GBP estimate -- 2005: 4.2bn GBP --
2004: 2.1bn GBP [BBC Jan 07]
- economic growth in 2003: about 7 %
- growth of India's economy in the year 2004 to March: 8.2 % (the country's fastest
expansion in 15 years) [BBC Jul 04]
some data on government income and spending
- Indian foreign exchange reserves: March 2005: 137.55 bn USD [Rediff; Mar 05] --
mid Dec 2005: 144.05 bn USD -- end Dec 2005: 137.2 bn USD [IInfoLine; Jan 2006]
- India's Gold reserves end Dec 2005: 5.27 bn USD [IInfoLine; Jan 2006]
- India forex reserves 2004: over 80 billion Euro (cash + foreign investment)
- corporate tax rate: 35.88 % [GTF; 2005]
- VAT tax rate: 12.5 % [GTF; 2005]
- rate of inflation: 3.8 % [GTF; 2005] -- earlier about 6 % [BBC Jul 04]
- number of tax payers: 20 million (2 % of the population) [BBC Jul 04]
- money collected in income tax (per year): more than one trillion rupees (17.6 bn Euro)
[BBC Jul 04]
- lowest rate of income tax: 10 % (at annual income between 50,000 and 60,000 Rs,
equiv to 960-1150 Euro) [BBC Jul 04]
- top rate of income tax: 30 % (at annual income above 150,000 Rs,
equiv to 2880 Euro) [BBC Jul 04]
- increase of government 's gross tax collection for time period April - October 2003:
8.89 % up from previous year
- increase of military spending by government with new budget Jul 04: 18 %,
to 770 bn Rs (14.8 bn Euro) [BBC Jul 04]
various economic statistics and figures
- * India's share of global biotech market: approx 1.1% [DNA Jan 07]
- * revenues generated by the biotech sector: 2006: approx 61bn Rs (1.5bn USD) --
2005: approx 32bn Rs (780m USD) [DNA Jan 07]
- * number of companies comprising the biotech industry 2006: 280 [DNA Jan 07]
- percentage of organised retail sector in total retail sales: 3 % [BBC, Oct 2005]
- number of shopping malls 5 years ago: 0 (no malls, only shopping arcades existed)
[BBC, Oct 2005]
- number of shopping malls functional or under construction in Gurgaon 2004: 8
[HT Feb 2004]
- number of big shopping malls 2005: 100 [BBC, Oct 2005]
- expected number of big shopping malls 2007: 360 [BBC, Oct 2005]
- richest Indian according to Forbes list of 587 billionaires 2004: Azim Premji (58th
place on list, net worth Feb 04: 5.4 bn Euro; Apr 04: 5.8 bn Euro) [HT Feb 04]
- number of Indians in the Sunday Times 2004 list of the 1000 richest people in
Britain: 29 (of who the richest Indian is No 5 on the list: Steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal,
worth 3.5 bn GBP) [HT Apr 04]
- richest Indian woman: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw of Biocon (1,887 crore Rs,
230 million GBP) [HT Apr 04]
- average time it will take to get all clearances in Indian bureaucracy to set up a
new business: 88 days in India (as compared to 8 days in Singapore and 11 days in
Hong Kong) [BBC Jun 04]
- average time it will take to clear all formalities to close a firm if it becomes
insolvent: more than 11 years in India (as compared to less than 7 months in Singapore
and one year in Hong Kong) [BBC Jun 04]
stats on Indian import, export and domestic market
- * estimated value of the matchmaking and marriage industry: Rs 50,000-80,000 crore
(approx 6.25-10 bn GBP) [EB Jan 07]
- * growth of the matchmaking and marriage industry: 25% per year [EB Jan 07]
- * number of marriages performed in India: 1 crore (10 million) [EB Jan 07]
- * minimum spending on weddings: by middle-income family in India:
approx Rs 140 lakh (34,000 USD) -- by equivalent American family in the US:
approx Rs 100 lakh (26,000 USD) [IND Dec 06]
- * value of the online matchmaking industry:
financial year 2006-07: expected 90 crore Rs (11.5m GBP) --
financial year 2005-06: estimated 58 crore Rs (7.4m GBP) [EI Jan 07]
more on online matchmaking industry see e-commerce (Telecom & IT)
- vehicle export: 221,000 (April - September 2003)
- cars sold in the month of August 2003: 53,177
- units sold by motorcycle company Hero Honda in 2003-2004: 2.07 million (with a
turnover of 5,997 crore Rs, equiv to 1.15 billion Euro) [HT Apr 2004]
- India mercury imports: 531 tonnes per annum
- India's consumption of globally produced mercury: 50 %
- increase of gold jewellery exports from India from 2003 to 2004: 68 % (to 2 bn Euro
a year till Mar 04) [HT May 04]
- share of US as destination for India's gold jewellery exports: 40 % (2004)
- India's annual import of scrap metal: 3.65 m metric tonnes (worth 580 million Euro)
[BBC Oct 04]
- number of containers filled with metal scrap arriving in India's ports: 500 containers
per day [BBC Oct 04]
- amount of hazardous and potentially hazardous wastes entering India illegally
1998-1999: 100,887 tonnes (acc to Greenpeace) [BBC Sep 2000]
source: http://www.neoncarrot.co.uk/
- number of regular employees of Indian Railways in 1997: 1,583,614 (standing
world record 2004) [GWR]
- number of people applying for 22,000 jobs advertised by the Indian Railway (2003):
740,000
- planned number of staff of Reuters news agency to work in Bangalore by 2006:
1,500 (or 10 % of Reuter's total workforce) [BBC Oct 04]
- number of Dalits employed to clean toilet pits (& remove night soil) in Bangalore:
10,000 - 15,000 estimate [BBC; Sep 2002]
- working population: 699.9 million [GTF; 2005]
- domestic workers in India: 14 million [approx 2003]
- women employed in rural areas: 31 % [approx 2003]
- women employed in cities: 11 % [approx 2003]
- people registered as unemployed with 936 employment exchanges: 41.6 million
(beginning 2004)
- * people employed: about 480 million [AT Jan 07]
- unemployment in Himachal Pradesh: 120,000 people or 20 % [HT Apr 04]
- employment in the unorganised sector: 91.39 % of work force [approx 2003]
- employed in agriculture: 50 % (2003)
- employment growth in agriculture: 0.01 % (2003)
employment in IT and BPO (Business Process Outsourcing)
- * number of people employed in overall IT industry in India (end 2006):
1.3 million directly -- 3 million indirectly [BBC Jan 07]
- staff employed in ITES-BPO : 2002/03: 171,100 -- 2003/04: 245,100
(ITES-BPO: IT enabled Services - Business Process Outsourcing) [GTF; 2005]
- staff employed in outsourced customer service: 2002/03: 65,000 -- 2003/04: 95,000
[GTF; 2005]
- annual employee attrition (staff turnover) in voice based BPO (i.e. outsourced
call centres): up to 70-80% in some voice BPOs [GTF; Jan 2006
- * number of people applying at Infosys in Bangalore: 1.4 million in 2006 [BBC Jan 07]
- * number of workers hired by Infosys in Bangalore per year: 30,000 [BBC Jan 07]
- * people employed by three major Indian IT firms (Infosys, Wipro, TCS):
2006: between 52,000 and 83,000 each-- 2001: between 10,000 and 20,000 each --
1996: between 1,000 and 9,000 each [BBC Jan 07]
- * people employed abroad by major IT firms: Wipro: 11,000 -- TCS: 20,000
[BBC Jan 07]
- annual salary hike in IT services 2003: 14% [2004]
- * levels of pay for legal professionals in India as used in LPO
(Legal Process Outsourcing): 10% - 15% of that of US lawyers [DNA May 06]
- * standard salary for call centre worker in India: around 1.2 lakh Rs
(120,000Rs or 1,600 GBP) per year or 10,000 Rs per year [BBC Jan 07]
- call centre salary in Gurgaon (in the state of Haryana, but more considered a
suburb of Delhi): 8,000 to 14,000 Rupees per month [2004]
- * number of members of WBITSA (West Bengali organisation representing
IT worker's rights): 500 [BBC Jan 07]
- * number of IT workers in West Bengal: 2006: 40,000 (incl. call centre staff)
[BBC Jan 07] -- 2004: 20,000 [BBC Oct 04]
statistics on income, wages, labour force etc
- average per capita income (GNI): 470 US Dollar (2003)
- average per capita income in Bihar: 4,616 Rupees (approx 80 Euro)
- official minimum wage in Jammu & Kashmir state: 1,800 Rs per month (or
60 Rupees per day, equiv to 1.2 Euro per day) for simple labourer
- official minimum wage in Himachal Pradesh: 65 Rupees per day (simple labourer)
- population living on less than 2 USD per day: 41.4 percent [v2020; Apr 2003]
- average monthly wage: 179 USD [GTF; 2005]
- India's working age population (15-60 years): 610 million (estimate 2003)
- growth of India's labour force: 1.9 % per year [BBC Jul 04]
- growth of job creation between 1994-2000: 1.07 % per annum
- estimate of wage increase over the next four decades: 800 % (estimate by IMF)
[BBC Jul 04]
- number of cabin crew working for Air India: 1,600 [BBC, Jan 2006]
- salary of senior Air Hostess in India: up to 75,000 Rs per month [BBC, Jan 2006]
- percentage of Air India's cabin crew being overweight or obese: 20 % [BBC, Jan 06]
- expected increase of passengers in the Indian aviation market: approx 45 million
over next 5 years [BBC, Jan 2006]
- monthly salary of 5 year old Police Officer in Chattisgarh: 2,500 Rs (the boy took
over the job from his father when he died, responsible for filing and bringing tea)
[BBC, Sep 2005]
- number of children working in Tamil Nadu districts of Kanchipuram and
Thiruvanamalai in silk industry: 10,000 estimate [BBC; Aug 2005]
- Indian child labourers: between 10.25 % to 19.90 % of all Indian children aged 9-15
[BBC; Aug 2005]
Indian IT industry & outsourcing / off-shoring (BPO) related data
- * contribution to India's GDP by Business Process Outsourcing (BPO):
estimated for Financial Year 2007: 5.4% -- Financial Year 2006: 4.8% [FE Jan 07]
- * exports of BPO services: 2006: 13bn GBP -- expected 2010: 30bn GBP [BBC Jan 07]
- * export of software services and IT-BPO in financial year 2006-07 according
to Nasscom: approx 16.3bn GBP (31bn USD) [FE Jan 07]
- * increase of world wide share of the global outsourcing market by Indian
companies: within the last 4 years from 0.5% to 7% [BBC Jan 07]
- revenue from BPO & call centres in fiscal year 2004-05: 5.2bn USD [c/net; Jun 05]
- revenue from export of software and services industry in fiscal year 2004-05:
17.2bn USD [c/net; Jun 2005]
- total revenue in software industry in fiscal year 2003-04: 15.9bn USD [GTF; 2005]
- export of goods and services of India's IT and outsourcing industries in fiscal
year 2003-04: 7 billion GBP [BBC sep 04]
- revenue percentage of software industry exports 2003-04: 78% [GTF; 2005]
- contribution of outsourcing to India's total software exports: 29 % [BBC sep 04]
- Bangalore's (Karnataka's state capital) revenue from overseas outsourcing: 32 %
of India's total overseas outsourcing revenue of 10 bn Euro [BBC Sep 04]
- * value of shares sold in 1999 by Bangalore based company Infosys:
approx 37 million GBP [BBC Jan 07]
- * current market value of major IT firms: Infosys: 17 billion GBP --
Wipro: 13bn GBP -- TCS: 13bn GBP (all figures approximately, with exchange rate
1.9 USD = 1 GBP) [BBC Jan 07]
- * current annual revenue of major IT firms: Infosys: 1.1 billion GBP --
Wipro: 1.2bn GBP -- TCS: 1.6bn GBP (all figures approximately,
with exchange rate 1.9 USD = 1 GBP) [BBC Jan 07]
- * area of the Infosys campus in Bangalore: 40 acres [BBC Jan 07]
- * number of major international companies which have IT operations in
Bangalore: more than 500 [BBC Jan 07]
- * concentration of IT sector in Bangalore: 40 percent of the whole of
India's IT industry [BBC Jan 07]
- * population in Bangalore: estimate for 2015: 10m -- 2006: 6.5m -- 1990: 2.8m --
1970: 1.6m [BBC Jan 07]
- * expected future share by India of the emerging global KPO market: 70% of
the estimated 17bn USD global KPO market (KPO: Knowledge Process
Outsourcing) [DNA May 06]
more on e-commerce on telecom & IT stats page
statistics on economic growth and GDP in India
- * growth of Indian economy for 2006-07: approx 9% [BBC Jan 07]
- * growth of Indian economy or GDP (Gross Domestic Product): 2005-06: 9% --
2006-07: 7.4% [DNA Jan 07]
- * economic growth in the manufacturing and industry sector (2005-06):
9.1 percent [DNA Jan 07]
- * economic growth in the IT and ITES sector: approx 20 percent [DNA Dec 06]
- * economic growth in the agricultural sector: 6 percent [DNA Jan 07]
- * percentage of India's GDP coming from services, manufacturing and industry:
77 percent [DNA Dec 06]
- * contribution to India's economy by the nearly 70% of the population living
off the land: 23 percent [DNA Dec 06]
- * Gross Domestic Savings (GDS): 2005-06: 32.4% of GDP -- 2004-05: 31.1% of GDP
- * yearly foreign investment: 2006: 6.3bn GBP estimate -- 2005: 4.2bn GBP --
2004: 2.1bn GBP [BBC Jan 07]
- economic growth in 2003: about 7 %
- growth of India's economy in the year 2004 to March: 8.2 % (the country's fastest
expansion in 15 years) [BBC Jul 04]
some data on government income and spending
- Indian foreign exchange reserves: March 2005: 137.55 bn USD [Rediff; Mar 05] --
mid Dec 2005: 144.05 bn USD -- end Dec 2005: 137.2 bn USD [IInfoLine; Jan 2006]
- India's Gold reserves end Dec 2005: 5.27 bn USD [IInfoLine; Jan 2006]
- India forex reserves 2004: over 80 billion Euro (cash + foreign investment)
- corporate tax rate: 35.88 % [GTF; 2005]
- VAT tax rate: 12.5 % [GTF; 2005]
- rate of inflation: 3.8 % [GTF; 2005] -- earlier about 6 % [BBC Jul 04]
- number of tax payers: 20 million (2 % of the population) [BBC Jul 04]
- money collected in income tax (per year): more than one trillion rupees (17.6 bn Euro)
[BBC Jul 04]
- lowest rate of income tax: 10 % (at annual income between 50,000 and 60,000 Rs,
equiv to 960-1150 Euro) [BBC Jul 04]
- top rate of income tax: 30 % (at annual income above 150,000 Rs,
equiv to 2880 Euro) [BBC Jul 04]
- increase of government 's gross tax collection for time period April - October 2003:
8.89 % up from previous year
- increase of military spending by government with new budget Jul 04: 18 %,
to 770 bn Rs (14.8 bn Euro) [BBC Jul 04]
various economic statistics and figures
- * India's share of global biotech market: approx 1.1% [DNA Jan 07]
- * revenues generated by the biotech sector: 2006: approx 61bn Rs (1.5bn USD) --
2005: approx 32bn Rs (780m USD) [DNA Jan 07]
- * number of companies comprising the biotech industry 2006: 280 [DNA Jan 07]
- percentage of organised retail sector in total retail sales: 3 % [BBC, Oct 2005]
- number of shopping malls 5 years ago: 0 (no malls, only shopping arcades existed)
[BBC, Oct 2005]
- number of shopping malls functional or under construction in Gurgaon 2004: 8
[HT Feb 2004]
- number of big shopping malls 2005: 100 [BBC, Oct 2005]
- expected number of big shopping malls 2007: 360 [BBC, Oct 2005]
- richest Indian according to Forbes list of 587 billionaires 2004: Azim Premji (58th
place on list, net worth Feb 04: 5.4 bn Euro; Apr 04: 5.8 bn Euro) [HT Feb 04]
- number of Indians in the Sunday Times 2004 list of the 1000 richest people in
Britain: 29 (of who the richest Indian is No 5 on the list: Steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal,
worth 3.5 bn GBP) [HT Apr 04]
- richest Indian woman: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw of Biocon (1,887 crore Rs,
230 million GBP) [HT Apr 04]
- average time it will take to get all clearances in Indian bureaucracy to set up a
new business: 88 days in India (as compared to 8 days in Singapore and 11 days in
Hong Kong) [BBC Jun 04]
- average time it will take to clear all formalities to close a firm if it becomes
insolvent: more than 11 years in India (as compared to less than 7 months in Singapore
and one year in Hong Kong) [BBC Jun 04]
stats on Indian import, export and domestic market
- * estimated value of the matchmaking and marriage industry: Rs 50,000-80,000 crore
(approx 6.25-10 bn GBP) [EB Jan 07]
- * growth of the matchmaking and marriage industry: 25% per year [EB Jan 07]
- * number of marriages performed in India: 1 crore (10 million) [EB Jan 07]
- * minimum spending on weddings: by middle-income family in India:
approx Rs 140 lakh (34,000 USD) -- by equivalent American family in the US:
approx Rs 100 lakh (26,000 USD) [IND Dec 06]
- * value of the online matchmaking industry:
financial year 2006-07: expected 90 crore Rs (11.5m GBP) --
financial year 2005-06: estimated 58 crore Rs (7.4m GBP) [EI Jan 07]
more on online matchmaking industry see e-commerce (Telecom & IT)
- vehicle export: 221,000 (April - September 2003)
- cars sold in the month of August 2003: 53,177
- units sold by motorcycle company Hero Honda in 2003-2004: 2.07 million (with a
turnover of 5,997 crore Rs, equiv to 1.15 billion Euro) [HT Apr 2004]
- India mercury imports: 531 tonnes per annum
- India's consumption of globally produced mercury: 50 %
- increase of gold jewellery exports from India from 2003 to 2004: 68 % (to 2 bn Euro
a year till Mar 04) [HT May 04]
- share of US as destination for India's gold jewellery exports: 40 % (2004)
- India's annual import of scrap metal: 3.65 m metric tonnes (worth 580 million Euro)
[BBC Oct 04]
- number of containers filled with metal scrap arriving in India's ports: 500 containers
per day [BBC Oct 04]
- amount of hazardous and potentially hazardous wastes entering India illegally
1998-1999: 100,887 tonnes (acc to Greenpeace) [BBC Sep 2000]
source: http://www.neoncarrot.co.uk/
Sikkim to hold 1st awareness camp on GST in the country
Sikkim Express Report
GANGTOK, September 1:
The Sikkim Chamber of Commerce has pioneered to organise the first awareness camp on Goods and Service Tax (GST) in association with the State Commercial and Taxes Department on September 7.
A press release issued by SCS informs that GST introduced for the first time in France 1945 and spread across 140 countries, will be applicable in India from April 1, 2011 and that people would have questions for this new system of taxing. “It is understood that with the implementation of GST all the other taxes like CST, VAT, Service Tax, Excise Duty, Cess etc. shall be subsumed in it,” said SCS, Organising Secretary Sat Bhagwan Agarwal in the release. Mr. Agarwal added that all businesses whether engaged in the sales or supply of services would be impacted by GST system as GST is a consumer based levy. The tax will be collected by the States where the goods or services actually are consumed, he said.
The programme to be held on September 7 at Hotel Tashi Delek will have Special Secretary, Commercial Taxes Department HB Rai as the keynote speaker. He will also chair the camp as the chief guest, while Deputy Commissioner Manoj Rai will deliver talk on GST, Asst. Director, Computer Cell Vikash Diyali will explain E Services on tax compliance and Deputy Commissioner, (Cess and Professional Taxes) MN Dahal will speak on Environment Cess.
SCS has also invited members from all the Trade, Hotel and Industrial Bodies to attend the camp.
Sikkim Express Report
GANGTOK, September 1:
The Sikkim Chamber of Commerce has pioneered to organise the first awareness camp on Goods and Service Tax (GST) in association with the State Commercial and Taxes Department on September 7.
A press release issued by SCS informs that GST introduced for the first time in France 1945 and spread across 140 countries, will be applicable in India from April 1, 2011 and that people would have questions for this new system of taxing. “It is understood that with the implementation of GST all the other taxes like CST, VAT, Service Tax, Excise Duty, Cess etc. shall be subsumed in it,” said SCS, Organising Secretary Sat Bhagwan Agarwal in the release. Mr. Agarwal added that all businesses whether engaged in the sales or supply of services would be impacted by GST system as GST is a consumer based levy. The tax will be collected by the States where the goods or services actually are consumed, he said.
The programme to be held on September 7 at Hotel Tashi Delek will have Special Secretary, Commercial Taxes Department HB Rai as the keynote speaker. He will also chair the camp as the chief guest, while Deputy Commissioner Manoj Rai will deliver talk on GST, Asst. Director, Computer Cell Vikash Diyali will explain E Services on tax compliance and Deputy Commissioner, (Cess and Professional Taxes) MN Dahal will speak on Environment Cess.
SCS has also invited members from all the Trade, Hotel and Industrial Bodies to attend the camp.
SIKKIM: Nandok to be organic zone to grow vegs & fruits: CM
Gangtok: Nandok will be declared an organic zone to grow vegetables and fruits as Sikkim will be the first organic state in the country by 2015. This was said by Chief Minister Dr. Pawan Chamling Wednesday, September 1. He was speaking as chief guest at a Syari Constituency level meeting of Sikkim Democratic Front held at Nandok Secondary School ground. He mentioned
that organic certification process is underway.
Chief Minister said, at present in 18000 hectare land organic vegetables are being grown and the Government plan is to add 18000 hectare land every year to grow organic vegetables. It is also planned that 1000 people will be trained in one year and they will teach farmers about the importanance of organic vegetables, he said.
He said there are only two classes at present in Sikkim – one of farmers and the other of Government job holders – and the farmers are slighted as a lower class. “We want to upgrade farmers and make them equal to others and thereby Sikkim will become classless by 2013”, he said.
Chief Minister mentioned that there are some reactionaries those who do not want Sikkim to become an organic state and creating obstacles. “Those people are anti-Sikkim and anti-people who create obstacle to development of the state”, he said. He appealed people not to believe such type of people who do not want development of the state.
Mentioning some unemployed in the state, he said Government has created many opportunity but they fail to use it. “We have to change our work culture”, he added.
Chief Minister assured to fulfill all demands the Syari constituency and urged for people’s initiative in the matter. He announced Rs 2 lakh for construction of a temple after the land is procured and registered.
Mr. KT Gyaltsen, Area MLA and Assembly Speaker, appealed to all teachers to reach school in time and wanted concerned officer village areas. “Everybody has a right in democracy but they have to know their responsibility also”, he said. He placed 12 demands of the Constituency to the Chief Minister.
On the occasion 23 Syari constituency also felicitated Chief Minister Dr. Chamling “for his dedication to the people and the state”. Chief Minsiter felicitated former Panchayat Arjun Chettri and Bir Bahadur Chettri’s families who expired few months back in an accident.
MLA Menlom Lepcha, Commerce and Industries Minister Neeru Sewa, Tourism Minister Bhim Dhungel, Rural Management and Development Minister CB Karki attended the programme, among others.
[FROM SIKKIM REPORTER / EDITED BY ASHOK CHATTERJEE]
Gangtok: Nandok will be declared an organic zone to grow vegetables and fruits as Sikkim will be the first organic state in the country by 2015. This was said by Chief Minister Dr. Pawan Chamling Wednesday, September 1. He was speaking as chief guest at a Syari Constituency level meeting of Sikkim Democratic Front held at Nandok Secondary School ground. He mentioned
that organic certification process is underway.
Chief Minister said, at present in 18000 hectare land organic vegetables are being grown and the Government plan is to add 18000 hectare land every year to grow organic vegetables. It is also planned that 1000 people will be trained in one year and they will teach farmers about the importanance of organic vegetables, he said.
He said there are only two classes at present in Sikkim – one of farmers and the other of Government job holders – and the farmers are slighted as a lower class. “We want to upgrade farmers and make them equal to others and thereby Sikkim will become classless by 2013”, he said.
Chief Minister mentioned that there are some reactionaries those who do not want Sikkim to become an organic state and creating obstacles. “Those people are anti-Sikkim and anti-people who create obstacle to development of the state”, he said. He appealed people not to believe such type of people who do not want development of the state.
Mentioning some unemployed in the state, he said Government has created many opportunity but they fail to use it. “We have to change our work culture”, he added.
Chief Minister assured to fulfill all demands the Syari constituency and urged for people’s initiative in the matter. He announced Rs 2 lakh for construction of a temple after the land is procured and registered.
Mr. KT Gyaltsen, Area MLA and Assembly Speaker, appealed to all teachers to reach school in time and wanted concerned officer village areas. “Everybody has a right in democracy but they have to know their responsibility also”, he said. He placed 12 demands of the Constituency to the Chief Minister.
On the occasion 23 Syari constituency also felicitated Chief Minister Dr. Chamling “for his dedication to the people and the state”. Chief Minsiter felicitated former Panchayat Arjun Chettri and Bir Bahadur Chettri’s families who expired few months back in an accident.
MLA Menlom Lepcha, Commerce and Industries Minister Neeru Sewa, Tourism Minister Bhim Dhungel, Rural Management and Development Minister CB Karki attended the programme, among others.
[FROM SIKKIM REPORTER / EDITED BY ASHOK CHATTERJEE]
SIKKIM: Stranger in a strange land
BY CHARUKESI RAMADURAI
Nancy is the local schoolteacher at Lachung village in North Sikkim and has returned home recently after some years outside the state. She has been chatting non-stop with me in the darkness of the late evening about her school and students. Among other things, she says that Hindi is one of the languages taught in her school, as in all other schools in Sikkim now. In the middle of the conversation, she leans over and says confidentially: “It is for the Indian children, you know. Sikkimese children really don’t need Hindi.”
I am slightly taken aback but do not give it much thought. Till a few days later, when back in Gangtok, Norgey, the owner of the guest house we are staying in, tells me breezily, “Oh, but there is nothing much to shop for here in Sikkim, we do all our shopping in India”.
In the time I spend in Sikkim, India truly feels far away—and it is not just about what the people say. Like everywhere else in the country, children are out on the streets, but it is not cricket they are playing. It is football that rules here, the way it rules the streets of perhaps only Goa. It is Bhaichung Bhutia who smiles from posters and hoardings all over the market, kicking a careless ball and seeking votes for the reality dance competition he was once part of; from Soccer King to Dancing King, they proclaim.
Barely 2 hours out of Gangtok, on our way to Lachen—the base village for the trip to the high-altitude Gurudongmar Lake—we encounter groups of giggling, uniformed children waving down our vehicle for a ride. Our driver finally stops to take in Shaily, who gets into the front seat with him and starts chatting rapidly in the local language. She smiles diffidently when I ask her a question in Hindi but refuses to answer. At school 7km away, she hops off with a soft “Thank you bhaiyya, thank you didi” and disappears through the gate. All along the route, we see schoolchildren getting into and out of tourist vehicles, hitching rides with perfect strangers. The city cynic in me is horrified but our driver says this is normal in Sikkim: “Children have nothing to fear, madam.”
Apart from this distraction, the roads are quiet. No blaring horns, no overtaking on the hills, no stopping in the middle of the highway. I realize I am overly sensitive by this point but I keep thinking about how different Sikkim indeed is from the India I know. The “difference” is perhaps in my mind as much as it is in theirs.
For, in the general election last year, Sikkim had a record 83% voter turnout (compare this with just around 41% in Mumbai). In Gangtok, I keep meeting people who returned to their homes in towns and villages across the state just to vote. Sikkim became the 22nd Indian state in 1975, when the Chogyals (the royal family of Sikkim) gave up their right to the throne after 300 years—driven, people say, by fear of invasion from neighbouring China. It would be another 18 years before China finally gave up claims on Sikkim and accepted it as a part of India.
It’s perhaps no accident that the army is omnipresent in Sikkim. Most of the state is served by the 19th regiment from south India and the signboards and slogans on the rocks are written in Tamil, perhaps to keep the soldiers motivated. In conversation with one of them (in Tamil), I get a sense that these army men feel as much strangers in this part of the country as I do; the bitter cold, language, food and terrain all unfamiliar, perhaps even inhospitable.
After a pit stop at the “The world’s highest cafe at 15,000 feet”, proudly managed by the army, we pass only bunker after desolate bunker on our way to Gurudongmar Lake. There are no signboards to show where we are headed. Our driver forges ahead on the rocky terrain on what seems like pure instinct. The landscape is stark and stunning, the snow-capped mountains of the Kangchengyao range seem within touching distance. Most of this part of the drive is in monochrome, a dry brown with a few spots of snow visible in the distance. At the lake, the army makes its presence felt again, maintaining the tiny shrine on the shore and providing welcome cups of hot tea to visitors who feel rapidly breathless, sick and disoriented at that altitude (around 17,000ft).
Even within Sikkim there is no place that gives such a strong sense of being alien as Gurudongmar. Like many other Sikkim lakes, Gurudongmar (named after Guru Padmasambhava) is held sacred by locals; indeed, it is the most revered of them all. The lake remains frozen for most of the year but, when the ice melts, the waters are a clear, sparkling blue. Colourful prayer flags flutter in the breeze as a few brave souls walk down the steep steps for a stroll around the edge of the lake. The wind starts to get bitter, cutting through the layers of protective clothing we are ensconced in. Despite the acute discomfort, there is a desire to linger, but local legend has it that after noon the wind factor is so strong that stones start flying. And so we reluctantly head back towards Lachen village, and then back to Gangtok.
The next evening, I am strolling on MG Road, the cobble-stoned promenade in Gangtok where locals and visitors, young and old alike meet, shop and drink. I am here to shop for souvenirs—local tea and cherry brandy mainly—to take back to “India” with me. Kanchenjunga, the venerable protector deity, is an invisible presence in the far distance, revealing itself only in the post-monsoon winter months.
Sikkim, I learn, is known variously as Sukhim (new home) to the Nepalese, Denzong (valley of rice) to the Tibetans and Ney Mayal Lyang (paradise) to the Lepchas. It is the Lepcha interpretation that I agree with the most.
In the next few years, it will be possible to fly into the new airport coming up at Pakyong, close to Gangtok. Enhanced connectivity with the mainland may perhaps infuse a greater sense of belonging among locals. For now though, I have to make that long drive to Bagdogra for the return flight. Entering West Bengal, the cacophony of cab horns and traffic jams sounds unnaturally loud after two weeks of peaceful driving on Sikkim roads. Close to the airport, painted signs by the road say “Be Indian, Buy Indian”. I think they could have just as easily been “Be Indian, Bye Indian
source:livemint
BY CHARUKESI RAMADURAI
Nancy is the local schoolteacher at Lachung village in North Sikkim and has returned home recently after some years outside the state. She has been chatting non-stop with me in the darkness of the late evening about her school and students. Among other things, she says that Hindi is one of the languages taught in her school, as in all other schools in Sikkim now. In the middle of the conversation, she leans over and says confidentially: “It is for the Indian children, you know. Sikkimese children really don’t need Hindi.”
I am slightly taken aback but do not give it much thought. Till a few days later, when back in Gangtok, Norgey, the owner of the guest house we are staying in, tells me breezily, “Oh, but there is nothing much to shop for here in Sikkim, we do all our shopping in India”.
In the time I spend in Sikkim, India truly feels far away—and it is not just about what the people say. Like everywhere else in the country, children are out on the streets, but it is not cricket they are playing. It is football that rules here, the way it rules the streets of perhaps only Goa. It is Bhaichung Bhutia who smiles from posters and hoardings all over the market, kicking a careless ball and seeking votes for the reality dance competition he was once part of; from Soccer King to Dancing King, they proclaim.
Barely 2 hours out of Gangtok, on our way to Lachen—the base village for the trip to the high-altitude Gurudongmar Lake—we encounter groups of giggling, uniformed children waving down our vehicle for a ride. Our driver finally stops to take in Shaily, who gets into the front seat with him and starts chatting rapidly in the local language. She smiles diffidently when I ask her a question in Hindi but refuses to answer. At school 7km away, she hops off with a soft “Thank you bhaiyya, thank you didi” and disappears through the gate. All along the route, we see schoolchildren getting into and out of tourist vehicles, hitching rides with perfect strangers. The city cynic in me is horrified but our driver says this is normal in Sikkim: “Children have nothing to fear, madam.”
Apart from this distraction, the roads are quiet. No blaring horns, no overtaking on the hills, no stopping in the middle of the highway. I realize I am overly sensitive by this point but I keep thinking about how different Sikkim indeed is from the India I know. The “difference” is perhaps in my mind as much as it is in theirs.
For, in the general election last year, Sikkim had a record 83% voter turnout (compare this with just around 41% in Mumbai). In Gangtok, I keep meeting people who returned to their homes in towns and villages across the state just to vote. Sikkim became the 22nd Indian state in 1975, when the Chogyals (the royal family of Sikkim) gave up their right to the throne after 300 years—driven, people say, by fear of invasion from neighbouring China. It would be another 18 years before China finally gave up claims on Sikkim and accepted it as a part of India.
It’s perhaps no accident that the army is omnipresent in Sikkim. Most of the state is served by the 19th regiment from south India and the signboards and slogans on the rocks are written in Tamil, perhaps to keep the soldiers motivated. In conversation with one of them (in Tamil), I get a sense that these army men feel as much strangers in this part of the country as I do; the bitter cold, language, food and terrain all unfamiliar, perhaps even inhospitable.
After a pit stop at the “The world’s highest cafe at 15,000 feet”, proudly managed by the army, we pass only bunker after desolate bunker on our way to Gurudongmar Lake. There are no signboards to show where we are headed. Our driver forges ahead on the rocky terrain on what seems like pure instinct. The landscape is stark and stunning, the snow-capped mountains of the Kangchengyao range seem within touching distance. Most of this part of the drive is in monochrome, a dry brown with a few spots of snow visible in the distance. At the lake, the army makes its presence felt again, maintaining the tiny shrine on the shore and providing welcome cups of hot tea to visitors who feel rapidly breathless, sick and disoriented at that altitude (around 17,000ft).
Even within Sikkim there is no place that gives such a strong sense of being alien as Gurudongmar. Like many other Sikkim lakes, Gurudongmar (named after Guru Padmasambhava) is held sacred by locals; indeed, it is the most revered of them all. The lake remains frozen for most of the year but, when the ice melts, the waters are a clear, sparkling blue. Colourful prayer flags flutter in the breeze as a few brave souls walk down the steep steps for a stroll around the edge of the lake. The wind starts to get bitter, cutting through the layers of protective clothing we are ensconced in. Despite the acute discomfort, there is a desire to linger, but local legend has it that after noon the wind factor is so strong that stones start flying. And so we reluctantly head back towards Lachen village, and then back to Gangtok.
The next evening, I am strolling on MG Road, the cobble-stoned promenade in Gangtok where locals and visitors, young and old alike meet, shop and drink. I am here to shop for souvenirs—local tea and cherry brandy mainly—to take back to “India” with me. Kanchenjunga, the venerable protector deity, is an invisible presence in the far distance, revealing itself only in the post-monsoon winter months.
Sikkim, I learn, is known variously as Sukhim (new home) to the Nepalese, Denzong (valley of rice) to the Tibetans and Ney Mayal Lyang (paradise) to the Lepchas. It is the Lepcha interpretation that I agree with the most.
In the next few years, it will be possible to fly into the new airport coming up at Pakyong, close to Gangtok. Enhanced connectivity with the mainland may perhaps infuse a greater sense of belonging among locals. For now though, I have to make that long drive to Bagdogra for the return flight. Entering West Bengal, the cacophony of cab horns and traffic jams sounds unnaturally loud after two weeks of peaceful driving on Sikkim roads. Close to the airport, painted signs by the road say “Be Indian, Buy Indian”. I think they could have just as easily been “Be Indian, Bye Indian
source:livemint
Woman police officer dragged on road by subordinates in UP
PTI
In a shocking case, a woman police officer was dragged on the road by her subordinates in a vehicle after she objected to extortion by them in the name of traffic checking.
Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Kalpana Saxena, who is in hospital with a fractured hand and injuries on her head, said she had received information from an Army jawan last evening that some traffic constables were demanding bribes from truckers near the Jat regimental centre here.
“I rushed to the area along with the gunner and driver in a private car to catch them red handed. When I reached the area, I saw them extorting bribes from the truck drivers. The constables recognised me and tried to flee and crush me under their police vehicle,” the 1990 batch officer of the State’s Provincial Police Service said.
“I caught hold of the neck of the driver driving the vehicle and it dragged me for more than an kilometre in full public view. Finally, they threw me on the road,” Ms. Saxena said.
Police said one of the accused has been arrested and hunt is on to nab the two others.
They said that last evening Ms. Saxena got information that some constables were extorting money from the truck drivers after which she reached the spot with her driver and gunner.
After reaching the spot, when Ms. Saxena questioned the three constables present on the spot, they refused any extortion bid on which the officer asked her staff to check their pockets.
Sensing trouble, the three constables attacked Ms. Saxena and later attempted to flee.
While they were fleeing, Ms. Saxena caught hold of the collar of one the constables, but instead of stopping the vehicle, the policemen sped away dragging the officer.
DIG N K Srivastav said all the three constables have been suspended and FIR has been lodged at the Cantt police station in this regard.
“One of the accused Manoj Kumar had been arrested and efforts were being made to nab two others,” he said.
PTI
In a shocking case, a woman police officer was dragged on the road by her subordinates in a vehicle after she objected to extortion by them in the name of traffic checking.
Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Kalpana Saxena, who is in hospital with a fractured hand and injuries on her head, said she had received information from an Army jawan last evening that some traffic constables were demanding bribes from truckers near the Jat regimental centre here.
“I rushed to the area along with the gunner and driver in a private car to catch them red handed. When I reached the area, I saw them extorting bribes from the truck drivers. The constables recognised me and tried to flee and crush me under their police vehicle,” the 1990 batch officer of the State’s Provincial Police Service said.
“I caught hold of the neck of the driver driving the vehicle and it dragged me for more than an kilometre in full public view. Finally, they threw me on the road,” Ms. Saxena said.
Police said one of the accused has been arrested and hunt is on to nab the two others.
They said that last evening Ms. Saxena got information that some constables were extorting money from the truck drivers after which she reached the spot with her driver and gunner.
After reaching the spot, when Ms. Saxena questioned the three constables present on the spot, they refused any extortion bid on which the officer asked her staff to check their pockets.
Sensing trouble, the three constables attacked Ms. Saxena and later attempted to flee.
While they were fleeing, Ms. Saxena caught hold of the collar of one the constables, but instead of stopping the vehicle, the policemen sped away dragging the officer.
DIG N K Srivastav said all the three constables have been suspended and FIR has been lodged at the Cantt police station in this regard.
“One of the accused Manoj Kumar had been arrested and efforts were being made to nab two others,” he said.
The slippery slope of corruption
by Prabhudev Konana
Greater transparency, accountability, enforcement, and self-governance are essential to control the malaise.
An influential friend of mine once said that bribing someone with a briefcase full of cash is something that happens only in old movies: it was a thing of the past. But now cash is being taken in suitcases and gunny bags in vans to be paid as bribe. The new wealth and prosperity are, in fact, feeding a frenzy of corruption that is quickly causing the decay of societal morals and ethics. Even the national honour is up for auction in hosting the Commonwealth Games. A nation that aspires to be a superpower cannot take pride in its abysmal 84th place in the corruption perception index as measured by Transparency International.
Bribing is now considered an investment by many who seek government jobs. This investment, they assume, gives them a moral right to expect a return through more corruption. The public “servants” who dole it out seek greater investment. The honest and the financially weak often exit the government sector, only to reinforce this belief. The bureaucratic hierarchy itself is established based on the extent to which one can engage in corrupt practices, rather than on merit and honesty. The honest few with the determination to fight the system are either transferred to inconsequential roles or remain dejected and angry. The unabated corruption strengthens the power of public servants — which is truly a slippery slope.
For citizens and businesses, it is faster and more efficient to engage in immoral and illegal activities in their interactions with government. Those who can, or are willing to, engage in such activities are likely to have fewer headaches and greater rewards. There is academic literature that argues that bribing as a means to achieve ends in an environment of pervasive corruption and archaic policies actually helps growth. But the system penalises honest and weak citizens by means of bureaucratic delaying tactics.
A recent visit to certain industrial units in Bangalore was illuminating. Factory owners, it was found, resort to an annual ritual of bribing numerous government inspectors — those who handle factories and boilers, pollution, labour, excise levies and so on. It is a rational decision since this makes things cheaper and faster. The choice is between spending countless days providing every minute detail to the inspectors, some of whom expect fair “compensation” for being there, or focussing on one's core business. One business owner told me that the inspectors themselves were expected to share their bounty along the hierarchy; else they would be pursued negatively by others. The irony here is that government “servants” who are supposed to facilitate economic activity act as “masters” of businesses.
It is unfair to blame all the problems on the government. A not-too-trivial fraction of private citizens and business owners are equally responsible for the situation, and private sector corruption could be dwarfing government-led corruption — we will never know. Private entities transact on an all-cash basis in order to avoid paying taxes. Some business owners exploit labour without paying fair wages or subjecting them to pollutants and harsh working conditions. They inflate invoices for government subsidies or contracts. Some businesses receive thousands of acres of prime land at a fraction of the market value. A few businesses illegally tap into the electricity grid or tamper with electrical meters. A significant fraction of residential buildings do not conform to planning regulations. Businesses are set up without permits. Innocent farmers are exploited and stripped of their land at rates that are much below the market value — often with the help of the heavy-handedness by the government. The private sector flouts rules and regulations, feeding more corruption.
To prevent the exploitation of the system, the law-makers — who are part of the corrupt system — introduce greater regulations, inspections, and restrictions, without recognising that adding so-called “oversight” leads to even greater potential for corruption. Hernando de Soto, the Peruvian economist, famously said in his seminal book Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Thrives in the West and Fails Everywhere Else, that in most countries “it is very nearly as difficult to stay legal as it is to become legal.” He stated this in the context of private property rights and bureaucratic hurdles, but it applies to every aspect of government transactions.
Therefore, regulations are a double-edge sword. On the contrary, pursuing the perpetrators of corruption has been a comical exercise. In Karnataka, for example, less than 10 per cent of the government officials who were caught red-handed accepting bribes has been prosecuted. Even the laws are changed to make it harder to prosecute the culprits.
Maybe there is a need to think differently to put a lid on corruption and hopefully push it down incrementally.
Broken Window Syndrome
There is hope for improvement, and some clues can be found in my experience at the new Bengaluru International Airport. The once congested and dingy old airport, where clearing immigration and customs, collecting baggage, and using the toilet were severe challenges, has been replaced by a clean and spacious airport. Immigration and customs clearance are fast (except for those confusing forms), respectful, and organised. There is little corruption or bureaucratic nuisance. Why have attitudes changed?
Some argue that the numerous security cameras installed there prevent officials from engaging in corruption. Some suspect that training, higher salaries, and better governance including complaint services have lowered corruption. Maybe it is the new environment: clean and nice cubicles with computers bring forth a new attitude. It could be that people standing in queues treat government officials with respect and decency. It is possible that there is pride in projecting a positive image of the country. A significant fraction of the workforce being younger and probably untainted by corruption, may have contributed to the changing attitude.
There are many variables. But, the behaviour in the old, dingy airport supports the Broken Window Syndrome first studied by James Wilson and George Kelling in housing projects (government housing for economically poor families) in New York. They argued that when a window is broken in a building and it is not fixed, then over time the rest of the windows will be broken and soon that building will be infested with plunderers, leading to social breakdown. This can be applied to a building or a community at large. When a neighbour throws garbage in a street corner, everyone else will pursue it as fair game and quickly dump more garbage as there is no perceived cost. The same applies in the matter of observing traffic signals. Socially imposed regulations cease and disorder becomes the norm — to the great dissatisfaction of law-abiding citizens.
The new airport implodes those norms of broken windows and creates a modern vision for employees to respect. Let us hope we can replicate some of that in thousands of government buildings, hospitals, and railway and bus stations.
If security cameras can contribute to lowering corruption, then why not record all government-citizen interactions? There are costs, but it is worth the effort to put a lid on this moral decay. Maybe, honest neutral observers can be witness to government-citizen interactions. There are possibilities for corruption to occur by other means, but at least the honest ones are troubled less.
There is another point of view to reduce corruption. Stringent rules create corruption. When Customs duties on small electronic items were exorbitant and exemptions were available only to the extent of a few hundred rupees, both travellers and Customs officials found a common ground to bypass the rules through corruption. With higher exemptions in place and free import of gadgets such as laptops now, the opportunity for corruption has radically decreased. Maybe, rules must be designed to prevent incentives to cheat.
If corruption has to be controlled, there needs to be greater transparency, accountability, enforcement, and self-governance. All these are difficult to achieve, and require experimentation and different thinking. The slippery slope of corruption has a powerful downdraft where the weak and the honest suffer the most. Let us hope that the political, business, and bureaucratic establishments, with the help of pressure from the media and the citizenry, will wake up to fix the broken window of corruption.
(Prabhudev Konana is William H. Seay Centennial Professor and Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Texas at Austin: pkonana@mail.utexas.edu
by Prabhudev Konana
Greater transparency, accountability, enforcement, and self-governance are essential to control the malaise.
An influential friend of mine once said that bribing someone with a briefcase full of cash is something that happens only in old movies: it was a thing of the past. But now cash is being taken in suitcases and gunny bags in vans to be paid as bribe. The new wealth and prosperity are, in fact, feeding a frenzy of corruption that is quickly causing the decay of societal morals and ethics. Even the national honour is up for auction in hosting the Commonwealth Games. A nation that aspires to be a superpower cannot take pride in its abysmal 84th place in the corruption perception index as measured by Transparency International.
Bribing is now considered an investment by many who seek government jobs. This investment, they assume, gives them a moral right to expect a return through more corruption. The public “servants” who dole it out seek greater investment. The honest and the financially weak often exit the government sector, only to reinforce this belief. The bureaucratic hierarchy itself is established based on the extent to which one can engage in corrupt practices, rather than on merit and honesty. The honest few with the determination to fight the system are either transferred to inconsequential roles or remain dejected and angry. The unabated corruption strengthens the power of public servants — which is truly a slippery slope.
For citizens and businesses, it is faster and more efficient to engage in immoral and illegal activities in their interactions with government. Those who can, or are willing to, engage in such activities are likely to have fewer headaches and greater rewards. There is academic literature that argues that bribing as a means to achieve ends in an environment of pervasive corruption and archaic policies actually helps growth. But the system penalises honest and weak citizens by means of bureaucratic delaying tactics.
A recent visit to certain industrial units in Bangalore was illuminating. Factory owners, it was found, resort to an annual ritual of bribing numerous government inspectors — those who handle factories and boilers, pollution, labour, excise levies and so on. It is a rational decision since this makes things cheaper and faster. The choice is between spending countless days providing every minute detail to the inspectors, some of whom expect fair “compensation” for being there, or focussing on one's core business. One business owner told me that the inspectors themselves were expected to share their bounty along the hierarchy; else they would be pursued negatively by others. The irony here is that government “servants” who are supposed to facilitate economic activity act as “masters” of businesses.
It is unfair to blame all the problems on the government. A not-too-trivial fraction of private citizens and business owners are equally responsible for the situation, and private sector corruption could be dwarfing government-led corruption — we will never know. Private entities transact on an all-cash basis in order to avoid paying taxes. Some business owners exploit labour without paying fair wages or subjecting them to pollutants and harsh working conditions. They inflate invoices for government subsidies or contracts. Some businesses receive thousands of acres of prime land at a fraction of the market value. A few businesses illegally tap into the electricity grid or tamper with electrical meters. A significant fraction of residential buildings do not conform to planning regulations. Businesses are set up without permits. Innocent farmers are exploited and stripped of their land at rates that are much below the market value — often with the help of the heavy-handedness by the government. The private sector flouts rules and regulations, feeding more corruption.
To prevent the exploitation of the system, the law-makers — who are part of the corrupt system — introduce greater regulations, inspections, and restrictions, without recognising that adding so-called “oversight” leads to even greater potential for corruption. Hernando de Soto, the Peruvian economist, famously said in his seminal book Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Thrives in the West and Fails Everywhere Else, that in most countries “it is very nearly as difficult to stay legal as it is to become legal.” He stated this in the context of private property rights and bureaucratic hurdles, but it applies to every aspect of government transactions.
Therefore, regulations are a double-edge sword. On the contrary, pursuing the perpetrators of corruption has been a comical exercise. In Karnataka, for example, less than 10 per cent of the government officials who were caught red-handed accepting bribes has been prosecuted. Even the laws are changed to make it harder to prosecute the culprits.
Maybe there is a need to think differently to put a lid on corruption and hopefully push it down incrementally.
Broken Window Syndrome
There is hope for improvement, and some clues can be found in my experience at the new Bengaluru International Airport. The once congested and dingy old airport, where clearing immigration and customs, collecting baggage, and using the toilet were severe challenges, has been replaced by a clean and spacious airport. Immigration and customs clearance are fast (except for those confusing forms), respectful, and organised. There is little corruption or bureaucratic nuisance. Why have attitudes changed?
Some argue that the numerous security cameras installed there prevent officials from engaging in corruption. Some suspect that training, higher salaries, and better governance including complaint services have lowered corruption. Maybe it is the new environment: clean and nice cubicles with computers bring forth a new attitude. It could be that people standing in queues treat government officials with respect and decency. It is possible that there is pride in projecting a positive image of the country. A significant fraction of the workforce being younger and probably untainted by corruption, may have contributed to the changing attitude.
There are many variables. But, the behaviour in the old, dingy airport supports the Broken Window Syndrome first studied by James Wilson and George Kelling in housing projects (government housing for economically poor families) in New York. They argued that when a window is broken in a building and it is not fixed, then over time the rest of the windows will be broken and soon that building will be infested with plunderers, leading to social breakdown. This can be applied to a building or a community at large. When a neighbour throws garbage in a street corner, everyone else will pursue it as fair game and quickly dump more garbage as there is no perceived cost. The same applies in the matter of observing traffic signals. Socially imposed regulations cease and disorder becomes the norm — to the great dissatisfaction of law-abiding citizens.
The new airport implodes those norms of broken windows and creates a modern vision for employees to respect. Let us hope we can replicate some of that in thousands of government buildings, hospitals, and railway and bus stations.
If security cameras can contribute to lowering corruption, then why not record all government-citizen interactions? There are costs, but it is worth the effort to put a lid on this moral decay. Maybe, honest neutral observers can be witness to government-citizen interactions. There are possibilities for corruption to occur by other means, but at least the honest ones are troubled less.
There is another point of view to reduce corruption. Stringent rules create corruption. When Customs duties on small electronic items were exorbitant and exemptions were available only to the extent of a few hundred rupees, both travellers and Customs officials found a common ground to bypass the rules through corruption. With higher exemptions in place and free import of gadgets such as laptops now, the opportunity for corruption has radically decreased. Maybe, rules must be designed to prevent incentives to cheat.
If corruption has to be controlled, there needs to be greater transparency, accountability, enforcement, and self-governance. All these are difficult to achieve, and require experimentation and different thinking. The slippery slope of corruption has a powerful downdraft where the weak and the honest suffer the most. Let us hope that the political, business, and bureaucratic establishments, with the help of pressure from the media and the citizenry, will wake up to fix the broken window of corruption.
(Prabhudev Konana is William H. Seay Centennial Professor and Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Texas at Austin: pkonana@mail.utexas.edu
SUCCESSION PLANNING - Whom to trust your child's future with?
BY H ARSHADA KARNIK
Stepping out of the house every morning for working parents living in nuclear families is distressing.
Leaving your child with a baby- sitter or at a day care centre and not knowing what exactly is happening in your absence is not easy. Yet you try to make up by ensuring that even dur- ing your absence, your child gets the best--you choose the best babysitter or a day care centre available and provide for everything that he may need while you are at office.
But what if this absence were to become permanent? Your first thought would be that your spouse would be around to take care. But what if worse comes to worst and both of you meet with a fatal accident and are not able to return home, ever? Who would take care of your child then and provide for his daily needs?
While the emotional scars on your child may take a lifetime to heal, you can at least secure his future financially. To do this, we recommend you plan your succession by creating a trust or providing for its cre- ation in your will.
A will is susceptible to misuse as your minor child wouldn't be in a position to use the inheri- tance in a way that is best for her.
Even a well meaning guardian may not be able to do justice to your plans. On the other hand, in a trust, you can specify exactly how, in what proportion and when your wealth goes to your child and serves what purpose.
“Trusts are gradually gaining popularity; 70% of our clients have opted to create one. It is still more popular among high net- worth individuals but the upper middle class is also fast catching up,“ says Sandeep Nerlekar, managing director and chief ex- ecutive officer, Warmond Trus- tees and Executors Pvt. Ltd, a trusteeship company that spe- cializes in succession planning.
Why does creating a trust make sense?
A trust deed can be worded exactly how you wish it to be. Hence, it enables you to secure the future of your child and give him a basic handbook to go back to in case of problems.
The children can be brought up more or less in the same way you would have liked them to grow up.
It's best to involve an unbi- ased third party to take care of the trust. “People are getting more comfortable with an in- dependent professional or in- stitutional trustee to secure the financial future of their chil- dren as they can benefit from his professionalism in manag- ing finances,“ says Adrish Ghosh, head (wealth advisory), Barclays Wealth India, the wealth management division of Barclays Bank Plc.
How to create a trust?
You can buy a stamp paper and get your trust deed printed on it. Alternatively, you can first get your trust deed printed on a legal paper and then go to any authorized bank to get the deed stamped. It is not manda- tory to register the trust in all states. However, if the assets mentioned in the trust include an immoveable property, then you would be required to regis- ter it at the sub-registrar's of- fice in most states. It is advis- able to have at least two trus- tees, but if you appoint a pro- fessional trust company, then that one institution suffices.
Costs: The cost of maintain- ing a trust depends on the scope of the work, asset size and the complexity of the as- sets. If the trustees are your own relatives and are doing the work out of goodwill, they may not charge you anything. How- ever, a professional may charge you an annual fee of anything between `200 per lakh and `1,000 per lakh of assets.
“You can create a living trust with an amount as small as `10,000 and transfer all your assets to it on your death through your will. If a couple leads a hand-to-mouth exis- tence, then creating a trust does not make sense. However, I would say that if the couple's total assets add up to `50 lakh or more, it is a good idea to create a trust or provide for the creation of one in your will,“ says Nerlekar.
Types of trust: There is a tes- tamentary trust and a living trust. Testamentary trust is cre- ated though a will and comes into existence on the death of the testator, one who writes the will. In case of a living trust, you may set aside a small amount as part of the trust cap- ital or regularly transfer money to it. “Creating a living trust eliminates the necessity for a probate (the process by which the court establishes the au- thenticity of a will), which a testamentary trust may have to undergo. The probate could take a minimum of five-six months since our courts are overburdened,“ says Anju Gandhy, partner, SN Gupta and Co., a law firm.
What to budget for?
The typical expenses you will have to account for are day-to- day expenses that the guardian will incur to raise your child, medical expenses and educa- tion and marriage expenses.
A regular income flow to the guardian for the upbringing of the child and the maintenance fees and expenses of the trust are also to be budgeted for.
“I usually advise my clients to set aside an adequate and fixed amount for each child for spe- cific big-ticket expenses. For in- stance, undergraduate studies, postgraduate studies and mar- riage. Since education is on the agenda for most parents, they allow the trustees to let the child dip into the marriage fund for education, if need be,“ says Ranjit Dani, principal planner, Think Consultants, a financial planning firm.
How do you divide the money?
If you have two or more chil- dren, making equitable distri- bution is the best you can do since you would not be around to take decisions and justify them. “The needs and capabili- ties of the children are likely to be different and, hence, their financial requirements will dif- fer. However, equality in distri- bution and vesting of the trust are generally widely accepted,“ says Ghosh.
“It is very essential to ensure that the funds allocated are not misused or abused and, hence, you need some amount of rigid- ity in the trust deed. So, though it may not be the best idea, most would prefer to divide the money and assets equally be- tween two children and not al- low them to dip into each oth- er's resources,“ says Dani.
Releasing the money Since the trust is created to ensure that your children have the money when they need it, the funds would have to be re- leased in instalments. Howev- er, once the children become self-sufficient and are mature enough to handle the money, the remaining assets can be distributed between them.
“There are two models that can be used. You could release the children's respective shares to them as and when they reach the stipulated age (usually 21-25 years) or release the funds to them when the young- est child reaches the stipulated
source:harshada.k@livemint.com
BY H ARSHADA KARNIK
Stepping out of the house every morning for working parents living in nuclear families is distressing.
Leaving your child with a baby- sitter or at a day care centre and not knowing what exactly is happening in your absence is not easy. Yet you try to make up by ensuring that even dur- ing your absence, your child gets the best--you choose the best babysitter or a day care centre available and provide for everything that he may need while you are at office.
But what if this absence were to become permanent? Your first thought would be that your spouse would be around to take care. But what if worse comes to worst and both of you meet with a fatal accident and are not able to return home, ever? Who would take care of your child then and provide for his daily needs?
While the emotional scars on your child may take a lifetime to heal, you can at least secure his future financially. To do this, we recommend you plan your succession by creating a trust or providing for its cre- ation in your will.
A will is susceptible to misuse as your minor child wouldn't be in a position to use the inheri- tance in a way that is best for her.
Even a well meaning guardian may not be able to do justice to your plans. On the other hand, in a trust, you can specify exactly how, in what proportion and when your wealth goes to your child and serves what purpose.
“Trusts are gradually gaining popularity; 70% of our clients have opted to create one. It is still more popular among high net- worth individuals but the upper middle class is also fast catching up,“ says Sandeep Nerlekar, managing director and chief ex- ecutive officer, Warmond Trus- tees and Executors Pvt. Ltd, a trusteeship company that spe- cializes in succession planning.
Why does creating a trust make sense?
A trust deed can be worded exactly how you wish it to be. Hence, it enables you to secure the future of your child and give him a basic handbook to go back to in case of problems.
The children can be brought up more or less in the same way you would have liked them to grow up.
It's best to involve an unbi- ased third party to take care of the trust. “People are getting more comfortable with an in- dependent professional or in- stitutional trustee to secure the financial future of their chil- dren as they can benefit from his professionalism in manag- ing finances,“ says Adrish Ghosh, head (wealth advisory), Barclays Wealth India, the wealth management division of Barclays Bank Plc.
How to create a trust?
You can buy a stamp paper and get your trust deed printed on it. Alternatively, you can first get your trust deed printed on a legal paper and then go to any authorized bank to get the deed stamped. It is not manda- tory to register the trust in all states. However, if the assets mentioned in the trust include an immoveable property, then you would be required to regis- ter it at the sub-registrar's of- fice in most states. It is advis- able to have at least two trus- tees, but if you appoint a pro- fessional trust company, then that one institution suffices.
Costs: The cost of maintain- ing a trust depends on the scope of the work, asset size and the complexity of the as- sets. If the trustees are your own relatives and are doing the work out of goodwill, they may not charge you anything. How- ever, a professional may charge you an annual fee of anything between `200 per lakh and `1,000 per lakh of assets.
“You can create a living trust with an amount as small as `10,000 and transfer all your assets to it on your death through your will. If a couple leads a hand-to-mouth exis- tence, then creating a trust does not make sense. However, I would say that if the couple's total assets add up to `50 lakh or more, it is a good idea to create a trust or provide for the creation of one in your will,“ says Nerlekar.
Types of trust: There is a tes- tamentary trust and a living trust. Testamentary trust is cre- ated though a will and comes into existence on the death of the testator, one who writes the will. In case of a living trust, you may set aside a small amount as part of the trust cap- ital or regularly transfer money to it. “Creating a living trust eliminates the necessity for a probate (the process by which the court establishes the au- thenticity of a will), which a testamentary trust may have to undergo. The probate could take a minimum of five-six months since our courts are overburdened,“ says Anju Gandhy, partner, SN Gupta and Co., a law firm.
What to budget for?
The typical expenses you will have to account for are day-to- day expenses that the guardian will incur to raise your child, medical expenses and educa- tion and marriage expenses.
A regular income flow to the guardian for the upbringing of the child and the maintenance fees and expenses of the trust are also to be budgeted for.
“I usually advise my clients to set aside an adequate and fixed amount for each child for spe- cific big-ticket expenses. For in- stance, undergraduate studies, postgraduate studies and mar- riage. Since education is on the agenda for most parents, they allow the trustees to let the child dip into the marriage fund for education, if need be,“ says Ranjit Dani, principal planner, Think Consultants, a financial planning firm.
How do you divide the money?
If you have two or more chil- dren, making equitable distri- bution is the best you can do since you would not be around to take decisions and justify them. “The needs and capabili- ties of the children are likely to be different and, hence, their financial requirements will dif- fer. However, equality in distri- bution and vesting of the trust are generally widely accepted,“ says Ghosh.
“It is very essential to ensure that the funds allocated are not misused or abused and, hence, you need some amount of rigid- ity in the trust deed. So, though it may not be the best idea, most would prefer to divide the money and assets equally be- tween two children and not al- low them to dip into each oth- er's resources,“ says Dani.
Releasing the money Since the trust is created to ensure that your children have the money when they need it, the funds would have to be re- leased in instalments. Howev- er, once the children become self-sufficient and are mature enough to handle the money, the remaining assets can be distributed between them.
“There are two models that can be used. You could release the children's respective shares to them as and when they reach the stipulated age (usually 21-25 years) or release the funds to them when the young- est child reaches the stipulated
source:harshada.k@livemint.com
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Direct tax Code -In a frenzy of hurry
by Shri D.P. Mittal, Advocate
Introduction
The Direct Code Bill, 2010, was presented in the Lok Sabha on the 30th August, 2010, to replace the existing Income tax, 1961 and Wealth tax Act, 1957 with effect from 1.4.2012. A draft discussion paper was put on the 12th August last year for public comments and revised draft on the….. for further comments and finally the Bill for legislative approval. It has 319 sections and 22 schedules as against 298 sections and 14 schedules under the income tax Act, 1961 and 47 sections and three schedules under the Wealth Tax Act. The law which had been subject to review by Parliament every year and scrutiny of the Supreme Court, High Courts and Tribunal which led its growth and consequently the growth of economy and employment and holding the field for six decades, is proposed to be crucified by a legislation the draft of which is prepared in the North Block with a bureaucratic mindset which is stated to have accommodated public opinion when within a span of three months the public could not possibly have understood rather than comprehend the implications. The opinion is on what is offered and said and not whether there should at all be fresh legislation and if at all should there be one what should be its shape and frame. To a wrong question, answer could not possibly be right. "You can't depend on your judgment when your imagination is out of focus"- Mark Twain.
Economic legislation and every major amendments in Income tax Act preceded by Committee's reports
Every important economic legislation is preceded by reports by experts. We have Raghavn's Report, Eradi Report, Irani Report, etc. For major changes even in Income tax Act, we have Committees and Commissions and their reports (see Hundred Years of Income Tax Department (1886-1985) by Directorate of Inspection, Income tax Department, some which are given below)
Sim Committee, Todhunter Committee and Ayers Committee reports - 1922 Act
During 1922-1939, three committees whose deliberations and recommendations affected the legislative and administrative functioning of the Income tax department were the (i) All India Committee presided by Mr. G. C. Sim, (ii) Taxation Enquiry Committee 1924-25 known as Todhunter Committee and (iii) Income-tax Enquiry Committee known as Ayers Committee. The Sim committee recommended large scale amendments to the Income-tax Act, as it stood then. It virtually laid down the lines on which, in coming years, the growth of Income - tax Department would take place. The Sim Committee report provided the framework for the Indian Income tax, 1922.
Todhunter Committee made recommendations on matters about appeals and Ayers Committee advised for separation for appellate and administrative functions and appointment of independent Tribunal as a result of which Income Tax Appellate Tribunal came into existence in 1941.
Expert Committee - 1939 Amendment Act
In 1935 an Expert Committee on Income tax was constituted for the purposes of revising the Indian Income tax Act of 1922 so as to-
a) remove certain anomalies and difficulties experienced in its working and to make it a comprehensive statute, and
b) to recommend organisational changes so as to make it the Income- tax Department self sufficient/self-contained Department of Central Government, for collection of direct taxes.
The committee went into procedural, technical as well as administrative aspects of Federal Administration and submitted its report on 24th December, 1936. It was deliberated upon by the government for three long years and even then its recommendations were introduced as an amendment bill. There were wide differences of opinion and the bill was referred to the Select Committee of the Legislative Council. It was finally passed as the Amendment Act VII of 1939.
Varadacharier Commission- 1953 amendment Act
The Income tax Investigation Commission headed by Sir S. Varadacharier, ex-judge of the Federal Court was appointed to investigate and report to the Central Government on all matters relating to taxation of income, with particular reference to the extent to which the existing law and procedure was adequate to prevent tax evasion Based on the Committee's report, in December 1948, a comprehensive Income - tax ( Amendment) Act, 1953 was passed.
Taxation Enquiry Commission (1953-54)
Taxation Enquiry commission was appointed in 1953 not only to review the structure of taxes on income but also to carry out as in depth study of the central taxes and their administration. The Commission carried out a comprehensive study and made a number of recommendations of far reaching consequences. The recommendations for reducing the exemption limit, increasing the tax rates and introduction of development rebate were duly implemented.
Prof. Kaldor's Report on Indian tax reforms (1956)
Prof. Nicholas Kaldor views were desired by the Government in 1955 about the structure of Indian taxation in view of the larger dimensions assumed by the problem of resources for the plan. He recommended the broadening of tax base through the introduction of
• an annual tax on wealth ;
• the taxation of capital gains;
• a general gift tax; and
• a personal expenditure tax.
For reducing the scope of tax evasion, he suggested the introduction of the institution of a comprehensive tax return for all direct taxes and the introduction of a comprehensive reporting system on all properties transferred and other transactions of a capital nature. He also recommended breaking of vicious circle of charging more and more on less and less. According to him, rates should lowered so that maximum rate of income tax is 45%.
His recommendations for introduction of new taxes were accepted, and advice for schedule of rates new taxes was revised. His suggestion about comprehensive tax return for all direct taxes was referred to Direct Taxes Administration Enquiry Committee.
Direct Taxes Administration Enquiry Committee (Tyagi Committee) - 1958-59
The direct Taxes Administrative Committee was set up in June 1958 to advise Government on the administration organisation and procedures necessary for implementing the integrated scheme of direct taxation with due regard to the need for implementing tax evasion and avoiding inconvenience to the assesses, chaired by Mahavir Tyagi, M.P. It submitted its report in November, 1959. It did not favour one comprehensive return for all direct taxes and recognised that the simplification of statues was not an easy task. It also made far reaching suggestions regarding administrative machinery, improving training facilities and adopting 'merit and efficiency' as the sole criteria for filling of selection posts in any cadre. Most of the recommendations were accepted through legislation or through administrative measures.
Law Commission's report (1958)
The Government asked the Law Commission in 1956 to revise the Indian Income tax Act, 1922. About the said Act, the commission remarked, " there is hardly any Act on the Indian Statute Book which is so complicated, so illogical in the arrangement, and in some respects so obscure as the Income-tax Act, 1922". The revised draft was prepared by a committee of eminent jurists, consisting of P. Satyanarayan Rao, G. N. Joshi and N.A. Palkhiwala. The commission submitted the draft in September, 1958. It re-arranged and regrouped the various sections of the Act and simplified the language mainly by splitting long sections into independent ones and converting the proviso into independent provisions. Apart from changes in form some changes in the substance were also made. The committee draft was the basis for the enactment of the Income tax Act, 1961.
Boothalingam Committee Report (1967)
Boothalingam committee report on rationalisation and simplification of the tax structure was received in 1967
Administrative Reforms Commission Report (1968)
Administrative Reforms Commission Report recommended the desirability of speeding up assessment work, which brought into existence the procedure which is now referred to as summary assessment scheme.
Direct Taxes Enquiry Committee ( Wanchoo Committee) Report (1969)
Wanchoo Committee Report made certain important recommendations which were to have a far- reaching effect on the growth and functioning of the income-tax department. One suggestion resulted in the establishment of Settlement commission.
Direct Taxes Laws Committee( Choksi Committee) Report (1978)
The Direct Laws Committee was constituted in June 1977 under the chairmanship of N.A. Palkhiwala, an eminent jurist. Which was later headed by G. C. Choksi. The report of the committee was received in 1978. It made some very valuable suggestions
Economic Administrative Reforms Commission (Jha Committee) Report (1983)
In March, 1981, the Government constituted the Economic Administrative Reforms Commission to review and make suggestions about the Income tax law, Procedure and Organisation of the department. The report was published in 1983. Some of them were accepted by the Department.
Direct tax Code- framed by bureaucracy and not on the basis of an Expert opinion
Every major amendment in the Income tax required experts opinion, and therefore government appointed committees or commissions with experts on its panel of the stature of eminent jurist like N.A. Palkhiwala, before it was actually implemented. The replacement of the 1922 Act with the 1961 Act was the result of input by Kaldor's(1956), Tyagi's (1958) and Law Commission reports (1958) and debates, discussions, seminars for three long years on the draft prepared by a committee of eminent jurists, consisting of P. Satyanarayan Rao, G. N. Joshi and N.A. Palkhiwala submitted in September, 1958. In the present case, the necessity of such committees, debates, discussions, etc. was not considered necessary, as if to suggest that the draft prepared for the Direct Tax Code, 2010, is as good as or perhaps better than that prepared for the 1961 Act by a committee of eminent jurist and that it so complete it does not require and cannot tolerate three years debate and discussion. The government appears to be in great hurry to get it passed as an Act within a span of one year, with the formality of putting it, public opinion but no debate and discussions and that too for a period of three months and another two months, with no option as to whether a revised code is at all necessary and if necessary to have a framework different from what the government had proposed. It appears very oblivious to the following warning given by the Law Commission (Report 1958):
" In legislation as in other fields of human activity, it is well in mind the dictum of Bacon, Tarry a little, so that we may make an end the sooner'. Stability is most essential to the proper administration of a taxing statute, and if the tax structure of this country is to put on sound footing, it is essential that halt should be called to making the ill digested amendments in a frenzy of hurry, which has characterised the history of income- tax law of the last few years.”
III digested Code in a frenzy of hurry
"III digested Code in a frenzy of hurry" appropriately describes the Direct Tax Code, 2010.
An hurried act is always not a right act. The Hindu old scripture says that an angry man, a hungry man, a man in love, a man in haste will never do a right thing [A. L. Bhash'am]. This appropriately applies to the present code. This is evident from the reaction of the government to the objections and suggestions of vested interest on the various provisions, for example, MAT, EET, housing loan, other incentives, that it promptly either dropped or modified those provisions. It is not clear whether the earlier proposals or the subsequent modification or deletions were correct. The readiness and promptness of succumbing to suggestions by the public which again may not be correct, would indicate the political expediency and not the economic consideration is the cornerstone of the code. It could appropriately be described "III digested Code in a frenzy of hurry". It is doubtful whether the suggestions have economic or social consideration or whether such considerations outweigh the larger interests of economic growth. These were the suggestions by the vested interests; each interest in a particular provision confined that provision and does reflect comment to the Code as a whole.
DTC Bill based on bureaucratic opinion on Humpty Dumpty way
Individual opinion cannot be a substitute for the experts' opinion; first, because he does not have the expertise to understand the implication of the Act as a whole, and secondly, it is blinded by self interest. His opinion is like the opinion of a blind man describing an elephant. One may describe it as a wall, the other as pillar, or fan or a rope depending upon what he is against; but none describing it as a living organism. The expert with profound responsibility could ill- afford to take a stolid satisfaction of a single provision. He has to see all provisions as a whole as Cicero said about some one, "He saw life clearly and he saw it whole".
The DTC Bill based on the bureaucratic opinion is faulty for the same reasons. The Act based on such opinion would be blunted when applied to practical problems, for the reasons that the opinion holder thinks what he holds is the best for the economy and is also the opinion of the public. He is convinced that his opinion is correct, without realising that it may be incorrect. He wants the public to accept it as Humpty Dumpty (Lewis Carroll in Through the Looking - Glass) said to a query by Alice, "When I use a word, it means what I choose it to mean rather more nor less. The question is which is to be master-that's all". When Humpty Dumpty does that, he is riding for a fall and he does fall and is broken in pieces. The best way would have been that instead of relying upon his own opinion in the belief that it represents the best interest of the economy and the public and consequently heading to a fall, he would have sought the opinion of an experts committee as was done when the 1922 Act was replaced by the 1961 Act by appointing a committee of eminent jurists, consisting of P. Satyanarayan Rao, G. N. Joshi and N.A. Palkhiwala.
source: Taxmann.com
The Personal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2010
The Personal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2010
The President has assented to the Personal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2010 on 31st August, 2010 and it is published in the Gazette of India as Act 30 of 2010 on 1st September, 2010. The Act has amended the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 and the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956.
The Act is aimed at bringing gender equality in the matter of guardianship under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 and in the matter of giving in or taking in adoption a son or a daughter by father or mother under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956.
Under Clause (b) section 19 of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, mother was not included as Guardian along with father. The Law Commission of India in its Eighty-third Report on “the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 and certain provisions of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956”, vide paragraph 6.83, had inter alia recommended amendments in clause (b) of section 19 of the said Act to include mother along with the father for the purpose of removing the gender inequality. The recommendations has been accepted and implemented by the enactment.
Clause (c) of section 8 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 incapacitates a married woman from taking in adoption merely on the basis of her marital status and is discriminatory in nature. Therefore, section 8 has been amended to give similar right to a female Hindu, irrespective of her marital status, as that of a male Hindu.
Similarly, sub-section (2) and (3) of section 9 curtails the right of mother to give in adoption if father is alive or is of sound mind or has not renounced the world completely and finally. The rights of father and mother under sub-sections (2) and (3) are discriminatory in nature. Therefore, section 9 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 has been suitably amended to give similar right to a female Hindu.
The President has assented to the Personal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2010 on 31st August, 2010 and it is published in the Gazette of India as Act 30 of 2010 on 1st September, 2010. The Act has amended the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 and the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956.
The Act is aimed at bringing gender equality in the matter of guardianship under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 and in the matter of giving in or taking in adoption a son or a daughter by father or mother under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956.
Under Clause (b) section 19 of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, mother was not included as Guardian along with father. The Law Commission of India in its Eighty-third Report on “the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 and certain provisions of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956”, vide paragraph 6.83, had inter alia recommended amendments in clause (b) of section 19 of the said Act to include mother along with the father for the purpose of removing the gender inequality. The recommendations has been accepted and implemented by the enactment.
Clause (c) of section 8 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 incapacitates a married woman from taking in adoption merely on the basis of her marital status and is discriminatory in nature. Therefore, section 8 has been amended to give similar right to a female Hindu, irrespective of her marital status, as that of a male Hindu.
Similarly, sub-section (2) and (3) of section 9 curtails the right of mother to give in adoption if father is alive or is of sound mind or has not renounced the world completely and finally. The rights of father and mother under sub-sections (2) and (3) are discriminatory in nature. Therefore, section 9 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 has been suitably amended to give similar right to a female Hindu.
NEPAL: 30,000 refugees leave for US
The number of Bhutanese refugees who have departed Nepal for the United States is to reach 30,000 this week, the US embassy in Nepal said yesterday.
The United States along with the United Nations, International Organisation for Migration and a group of Western countries began resettling Bhutanese refugees in early 2008. Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, New Zealand and Britain are other countries receiving the refugees under the programme.
The first influx of Bhutanese refugees into Nepal began in the 1990s when more than 100,000 ethnic Nepalis of Hindu background who had lived in Bhutan for centuries were evicted from Bhutan.
The refugees live in camps in the Jhapa district, 500km south-east of Kathmandu.
“We are gratified, together with our partners, to be able to help turn an unfortunate and often painful situation into something more hopeful for these people – America’s newest residents, whom we welcome with open arms and hearts,” US Ambassador Scott DeLisi said. About 75,000 Bhutanese refugees remain in camps in south-eastern Nepal.
FROM GULF TIMES, DOHA, QATAR
The number of Bhutanese refugees who have departed Nepal for the United States is to reach 30,000 this week, the US embassy in Nepal said yesterday.
The United States along with the United Nations, International Organisation for Migration and a group of Western countries began resettling Bhutanese refugees in early 2008. Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, New Zealand and Britain are other countries receiving the refugees under the programme.
The first influx of Bhutanese refugees into Nepal began in the 1990s when more than 100,000 ethnic Nepalis of Hindu background who had lived in Bhutan for centuries were evicted from Bhutan.
The refugees live in camps in the Jhapa district, 500km south-east of Kathmandu.
“We are gratified, together with our partners, to be able to help turn an unfortunate and often painful situation into something more hopeful for these people – America’s newest residents, whom we welcome with open arms and hearts,” US Ambassador Scott DeLisi said. About 75,000 Bhutanese refugees remain in camps in south-eastern Nepal.
FROM GULF TIMES, DOHA, QATAR
Malaria mosquitoes use many kinds of sensors
PTI
Scientists claim to have discovered that malaria mosquitoes use several different kinds of odour sensors to sniff out their human prey.
In what may help develop more effective repellents, scientists claim to have discovered that malaria mosquitoes use several different kinds of odour sensors to sniff out their human prey.
For years, it's known that Anopheles gambiae — the species of mosquito that spreads malaria which infects 250 million and kills 900,000 people annually — use one family of odour sensors to track its human prey.
Now, a team at Vanderbilt University has found that the mosquitoes possess a second set of olfactory sensors that are fundamentally different from the set of sensors which was known to researchers for the last 10 years, the latest edition of the Public Library of Science Biology journal reported.
Preliminary evidence
According to the scientists, they also have preliminary evidence that the mosquito's olfactory system may include additional families of sensors as well.
Thus, two distinct olfactory signaling pathways are active in mosquitoes: one is OR-dependent and accounts for responses to DEET as well as a large number of general odorants, while the other is OR-independent and may be responsible for sensitivities to a specialized subset of odorants, such as amine containing compounds.
“It's not at all surprising that the mosquito's olfactory system is more sophisticated than thought. Olfaction is absolutely essential to the mosquito. If the female cannot find a host for a blood meal she cannot reproduce.
“As a result, mosquitoes have developed an uncanny ability to detect odours. This is true of all species of mosquitoes, not just Anopheles.
“So it is highly likely that the mosquitoes that spread West Nile, dengue fever, yellow fever and encephalitis also have similar odour sensors,” Laurence Zwiebel, who led the team, said.
According to the scientists, the discovery may help explain a puzzling question that has been plaguing researchers trying to develop new and more effective forms of mosquito lures and repellents.
PTI
Scientists claim to have discovered that malaria mosquitoes use several different kinds of odour sensors to sniff out their human prey.
In what may help develop more effective repellents, scientists claim to have discovered that malaria mosquitoes use several different kinds of odour sensors to sniff out their human prey.
For years, it's known that Anopheles gambiae — the species of mosquito that spreads malaria which infects 250 million and kills 900,000 people annually — use one family of odour sensors to track its human prey.
Now, a team at Vanderbilt University has found that the mosquitoes possess a second set of olfactory sensors that are fundamentally different from the set of sensors which was known to researchers for the last 10 years, the latest edition of the Public Library of Science Biology journal reported.
Preliminary evidence
According to the scientists, they also have preliminary evidence that the mosquito's olfactory system may include additional families of sensors as well.
Thus, two distinct olfactory signaling pathways are active in mosquitoes: one is OR-dependent and accounts for responses to DEET as well as a large number of general odorants, while the other is OR-independent and may be responsible for sensitivities to a specialized subset of odorants, such as amine containing compounds.
“It's not at all surprising that the mosquito's olfactory system is more sophisticated than thought. Olfaction is absolutely essential to the mosquito. If the female cannot find a host for a blood meal she cannot reproduce.
“As a result, mosquitoes have developed an uncanny ability to detect odours. This is true of all species of mosquitoes, not just Anopheles.
“So it is highly likely that the mosquitoes that spread West Nile, dengue fever, yellow fever and encephalitis also have similar odour sensors,” Laurence Zwiebel, who led the team, said.
According to the scientists, the discovery may help explain a puzzling question that has been plaguing researchers trying to develop new and more effective forms of mosquito lures and repellents.
DIAL 9800959001 HCM-SIKKIM
GANGTOK, September 1: Taking your problems directly to the Chief Minister has been made simpler. You need to just dial 9800959001 and talk to him about your problems or can even make use of the short message service (SMS).
How DTC will impact investments
The proposed Direct Taxes Code (DTC) has finally been introduced in Parliament, to be effective from April 2012 instead of April 2011 as originally intended. This DTC version has seen sub- stantial changes in relation to taxation of investments, from what was proposed in the earlier version. What are these changes and what modifications should you make to your investment strategy on account of such changes?
While the dividend distribution tax (DDT) on equity shares is to remain unchanged, there would now be a DDT of 5% on income distributed by equity-oriented mutual funds (MFs), which was so far exempt from such tax. The dividend on equity shares and on in- come distribution received from equity-oriented MFs would contin- ue to be exempt in the hands of investors. However, for other MFs, there is a significant change since income distribution tax of 25% for money market and liquid funds and 12.5% for other such funds is being removed. However, income from such funds received by the investor, which was so far exempt, would be taxable as the income of the investor at tax slab rates. This would benefit investors in low- er tax brackets; investors in the highest tax bracket of 30% would end up paying more tax.
Capital gains The good part is that the current exemption for long-term capital gains (LTCG) on the sale of equity shares on the stock markets and on sale of equity-oriented MFs would effectively continue under the DTC. Also, the concessional tax for short-term capital gains (STCG) on these would continue. In fact, STCG tax may be lower for those in lower tax slabs, as only half the STCG would be taxed at normal tax rates. The gains on sale of mutual funds (other than equity-ori- ented) would be taxable in the same manner as capital gains on the sale of other assets.
One needs to keep in mind that the LTCG tax rate would be the applicable slab rate and not the current concessional rate of 20% (with cost indexation) or 10% (without cost indexation). For compu- tation of capital gains on other assets as opposed to the current 12-month period (for shares, MF units and listed securities) or the 36-month period for an asset to get cost indexation and other bene- fits as a long-term capital asset, the holding period would be one year from the end of the year in which the asset is acquired. For se- curities, the holding period is now longer if one wants the benefit of cost indexation. Therefore, fixed maturity plans (FMPs) with double indexation would still get tax benefits. Of course, for an asset such as land or buildings, the period of holding to qualify for the benefit would be lower than the current period of three years.
Restructuring deductions There is a sea change as far as taxation of life insurance policies are concerned. All life insurance policies would be taxed on maturi- ty as normal income, unless received on death of the life insured, or - on maturity at the end of the policy (only if the premium payable in any year does not exceed 5% of the sum assured). Therefore, only r endowment policies that have a duration of 20 years or more would effectively be exempt from tax. The premium paid would be allow- able as deduction against the proceeds of insurance policies. There would be a tax deduction at source at 10% on payment of such taxa- ble proceeds. Unfortunately, the amended law would apply to all insurance policy proceeds after 1 April 2010, irrespective of when the policy was taken. All existing policies maturing after that date would be affected.
For unit-linked insurance policies, the concept of an approved equity-oriented life insurance scheme is being introduced. Distribu- tions or payments made by such schemes to policyholders will be subject to a 5% income distribution tax payable by the insurance company. The amounts of such distributions or payments on which such income distribution tax is paid will not be taxable in the hands of the policyholders.
The deduction for investments and insurance premium is also being restructured, though the EEE (exempt, exempt, exempt) basis is being continued, instead of the originally proposed EET (exempt, exempt, taxable). There would be two types of deductions--one of `1 lakh for contribution to approved funds, which would consist of notified provident funds, pension funds and other funds. It is not clear whether Public Provident Fund would be notified for this pur- pose. The other deduction would be of `50,000 for life insurance premium, health insurance premium and education expenses of children. This would mean that certain types of investments and payments that are currently eligible for this deduction--National Savings Certificates, five-year bank fixed deposits, infrastructure bonds, equity-linked savings schemes and housing loan repay- ment--would no longer qualify for deduction. Also, if you are pay- ing an annual life insurance premium and health insurance premi- um totalling at least `50,000, the deduction would be limited to `50,000 against the current available deduction limit of `1.15 lakh (`1 lakh for life insurance premium and `15,000 for health insur- ance premium).
Fortunately, investments would continue to remain outside the purview of wealth tax, against the original proposal to tax them.
Paintings, sculptures, works of art and watches having a value of at least `50,000 would be subject to wealth tax.
Investment options Given these tax provisions, what category of investments should one focus on? Direct investment in listed equities, of course, offers the best tax benefits in the form of exempt income if held for more than a year. The next best option is the growth option of equity-ori- ented MFs, where the capital gains is again exempt if held for at least a year. If one is looking at debt MF schemes, the growth option is preferable to the dividend option in the long term. Also, since the date for applicability of DTC is postponed, one-year FMPs maturing before April 2012 currently make sense for taxpayers in the highest tax slab. The attractiveness of life insurance as an investment would significantly diminish with the tax on maturity proceeds and the re- duced limit for deduction of insurance premium.
Finally, a note of caution--the DTC is still in its draft stage and may undergo further changes before it is finally enacted.
(Gautam Nayak is a chartered accountant. Your comments are welcome at mintmoney@livemint.com)
The proposed Direct Taxes Code (DTC) has finally been introduced in Parliament, to be effective from April 2012 instead of April 2011 as originally intended. This DTC version has seen sub- stantial changes in relation to taxation of investments, from what was proposed in the earlier version. What are these changes and what modifications should you make to your investment strategy on account of such changes?
While the dividend distribution tax (DDT) on equity shares is to remain unchanged, there would now be a DDT of 5% on income distributed by equity-oriented mutual funds (MFs), which was so far exempt from such tax. The dividend on equity shares and on in- come distribution received from equity-oriented MFs would contin- ue to be exempt in the hands of investors. However, for other MFs, there is a significant change since income distribution tax of 25% for money market and liquid funds and 12.5% for other such funds is being removed. However, income from such funds received by the investor, which was so far exempt, would be taxable as the income of the investor at tax slab rates. This would benefit investors in low- er tax brackets; investors in the highest tax bracket of 30% would end up paying more tax.
Capital gains The good part is that the current exemption for long-term capital gains (LTCG) on the sale of equity shares on the stock markets and on sale of equity-oriented MFs would effectively continue under the DTC. Also, the concessional tax for short-term capital gains (STCG) on these would continue. In fact, STCG tax may be lower for those in lower tax slabs, as only half the STCG would be taxed at normal tax rates. The gains on sale of mutual funds (other than equity-ori- ented) would be taxable in the same manner as capital gains on the sale of other assets.
One needs to keep in mind that the LTCG tax rate would be the applicable slab rate and not the current concessional rate of 20% (with cost indexation) or 10% (without cost indexation). For compu- tation of capital gains on other assets as opposed to the current 12-month period (for shares, MF units and listed securities) or the 36-month period for an asset to get cost indexation and other bene- fits as a long-term capital asset, the holding period would be one year from the end of the year in which the asset is acquired. For se- curities, the holding period is now longer if one wants the benefit of cost indexation. Therefore, fixed maturity plans (FMPs) with double indexation would still get tax benefits. Of course, for an asset such as land or buildings, the period of holding to qualify for the benefit would be lower than the current period of three years.
Restructuring deductions There is a sea change as far as taxation of life insurance policies are concerned. All life insurance policies would be taxed on maturi- ty as normal income, unless received on death of the life insured, or - on maturity at the end of the policy (only if the premium payable in any year does not exceed 5% of the sum assured). Therefore, only r endowment policies that have a duration of 20 years or more would effectively be exempt from tax. The premium paid would be allow- able as deduction against the proceeds of insurance policies. There would be a tax deduction at source at 10% on payment of such taxa- ble proceeds. Unfortunately, the amended law would apply to all insurance policy proceeds after 1 April 2010, irrespective of when the policy was taken. All existing policies maturing after that date would be affected.
For unit-linked insurance policies, the concept of an approved equity-oriented life insurance scheme is being introduced. Distribu- tions or payments made by such schemes to policyholders will be subject to a 5% income distribution tax payable by the insurance company. The amounts of such distributions or payments on which such income distribution tax is paid will not be taxable in the hands of the policyholders.
The deduction for investments and insurance premium is also being restructured, though the EEE (exempt, exempt, exempt) basis is being continued, instead of the originally proposed EET (exempt, exempt, taxable). There would be two types of deductions--one of `1 lakh for contribution to approved funds, which would consist of notified provident funds, pension funds and other funds. It is not clear whether Public Provident Fund would be notified for this pur- pose. The other deduction would be of `50,000 for life insurance premium, health insurance premium and education expenses of children. This would mean that certain types of investments and payments that are currently eligible for this deduction--National Savings Certificates, five-year bank fixed deposits, infrastructure bonds, equity-linked savings schemes and housing loan repay- ment--would no longer qualify for deduction. Also, if you are pay- ing an annual life insurance premium and health insurance premi- um totalling at least `50,000, the deduction would be limited to `50,000 against the current available deduction limit of `1.15 lakh (`1 lakh for life insurance premium and `15,000 for health insur- ance premium).
Fortunately, investments would continue to remain outside the purview of wealth tax, against the original proposal to tax them.
Paintings, sculptures, works of art and watches having a value of at least `50,000 would be subject to wealth tax.
Investment options Given these tax provisions, what category of investments should one focus on? Direct investment in listed equities, of course, offers the best tax benefits in the form of exempt income if held for more than a year. The next best option is the growth option of equity-ori- ented MFs, where the capital gains is again exempt if held for at least a year. If one is looking at debt MF schemes, the growth option is preferable to the dividend option in the long term. Also, since the date for applicability of DTC is postponed, one-year FMPs maturing before April 2012 currently make sense for taxpayers in the highest tax slab. The attractiveness of life insurance as an investment would significantly diminish with the tax on maturity proceeds and the re- duced limit for deduction of insurance premium.
Finally, a note of caution--the DTC is still in its draft stage and may undergo further changes before it is finally enacted.
(Gautam Nayak is a chartered accountant. Your comments are welcome at mintmoney@livemint.com)
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