As India's quality of schooling plummets, here's how Budget 2019 can help

The school education system in India is facing a shortage of trained teachers and a lack of proper infrastructure.

 

Interim Budget 2019: India stepped up its spending on school education by 9.35% from 2014-15 (Rs 45,722.41 crore) to 2018-19 (Rs 50,000 crore). But education’s share in the total union budget fell from 2.55% to 2.05% in this period, according to an IndiaSpend analysis of budgetary data.

On February 1, 2019, when the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) presents its last budget before general elections, it will have to address a critical issue in India’s school education: Its quality compares poorly with many south Asian and BRICS nations even though India spends a higher percentage of its gross domestic product (GDP) on education.

In rural India, almost half of grade V students cannot read a grade II text and more than 70% them cannot do division, said the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2018. These numbers indicate a fall in standards over the last 10 years.

Twin problems of school funding: low allocation and underutilisation

Till April 2018, school education in India was mostly covered by three centrally-sponsored schemes:

• Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA or education for all) that aims to provide universal education to all children between the ages of 6 to 14 years.
• Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA or national middle education mission) which facilitates secondary education.
• Teacher Education which aims to create sound institutional infrastructure for pre-service and in-service training of elementary and secondary school teachers.

Read full News → Budget 2019 Expectations

Govt's intent to present 'regular budget' serious, grave: Congress

Tewari said the NDA-BJP government does not have the electoral mandate and it does not have the electoral legitimacy to present six full budgets in five years.

 

 

Interim Budget 2019: The Congress on Thursday said it will strongly oppose both inside and outside Parliament the presentation of a "full budget" by the BJP-led NDA government as it has "no electoral legitimacy" and the step will go against set precedents and Parliamentary traditions.

Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari termed as "serious and grave" reports claiming that the BJP-led Government was planning to present a "regular budget" and demanded that it should follow constitutional propriety and only presents a vote-on-account on February 1, 2019 ahead of general elections.

BJP sources have indicated that the Modi government is likely to present a full-fledged budget with a slew of announcements on welfare measures relating to farmers, youth and women.

"A budget is budget. The government is likely present a full-fledged budget. There is no such rule that the government before elections should not present a budget for the entire year. The new government may make changes after the polls if it so wishes," a sources in BJP said.

Tewari said if the reports in public space are correct then it would be "a flagrant violation" of all parliamentary conventions, procedures and traditions that have been followed over the past seven decades since the Constitution of India came into effect.

Read full News → Budget 2019 Expectations 

What 2019 Budget can do to help India clean its air, reduce coal addiction

Addressing policy issues are important if India is to fulfill its commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement 2015 to install 175 giga watt (GW).

 

Interim Budget 2019: India has one of the world’s largest programmes to expand renewables--a doubling of capacity over the next four years--but India’s ambitious 2022 target of generating enough non-coal energy to replace the equivalent of 175 coal-powered plants is veering off track

On February 1, 2019, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has a chance to get things back on track, help India reduce its addiction to coal, help clean the country’s air and meet the global climate-change commitments of the world’s fourth-fastest growing carbon polluter

After record growth in the installed capacity of renewables over the four years to 2017, capacity addition slowed down in 2018. The main reasons: an anti-dumping duty imposed by the government on imported solar modules to aid domestic manufacturing, higher rates of taxation under the goods and service tax (GST) and unclear policy.

So, the last budget before 2019 general elections is of particular significance to the renewables sector, which comprises electricity from solar, wind, hydro and bio power.

The upcoming budget can help remove policy uncertainties from the sector and provide “long-term indications”, Daanish Verma, executive vice president, sustainable investment banking, YES Bank, told IndiaSpend.

Read full News → Budget 2019 Expectations 

Explainer: What is an interim budget? What FM Jaitley can and cannot do

This will be the last Budget of the current BJP-led NDA government before the 2019 General Elections.

Interim Budget 2019: With just a few months left before the Narendra Modi government formally completes its tenure, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will present NDA regime's first interim budget on February 1, 2019.

As this will be the ruling BJP government’s last budget before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, here's an explanation of what an interim budget actually means.

What is an interim budget?

An interim budget is presented by a government which is going through a transition period or is in its last year in office ahead of the general elections. Traditionally, an incumbent government cannot present a full-fledged Union Budget in the election year. Instead, the Finance Minister presents an interim budget during the joint sitting of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha in the Parliament, the livemint reported.

With an interim budget, the incumbent government seeks a vote of approval from the Parliament to draw money from the Consolidated Fund of India to meet its budget expenses before the end of the financial year, i.e; March 31st, 2019. It is a traditional practice which takes place in the run-up to every general election, according to an India Today report.

The full-fledged Union Budget is presented by the newly-elected government after Lok Sabha polls. In recent times, interim budgets have been instrumental for the incumbent governments to list out their achievements to draw voters' support.

Read full news here → Union Budget 2019

Budget 2019: FinMin starts 'Know Your Budget' series to educate people on Twitter

The 'Know Your Budget' series, which explains the importance of Union Budget and its making, would continue for about a fortnight.

Interim Budget 2019: Seeking to educate general public about the budgetary process, the finance ministry Tuesday started a series on Twitter providing definitions of various terms used in the budget.

The 'Know Your Budget' series, which explains the importance of Union Budget and its making, would continue for about a fortnight.

The government on February 1 would unveil the interim Budget for 2019-20 as the general elections are due in the next couple of months. The Union Budget 2019 for the next fiscal would be presented by the new government.

The series which began on the ministry's Twitter handle on Tuesday explained what is Union Budget and Vote on Account.

The Budget, the ministry explains, "is the most comprehensive report of the government's finances in which revenues from all sources and outlays for all activities are consolidated.

Read full news here → Budget 2019

To bridge fiscal deficit, RBI likely to pay govt $5.8 bn interim dividend

The dividend could help Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration bridge a widening budget deficit following a drop in tax collections.

Interim Budget 2019: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), having changed management last month following a clash with the government, is likely to transfer an interim dividend of Rs 300-400 billion ($4.32 billion-$5.8 billion) to the government by March, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

The dividend could help Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration bridge a widening budget deficit following a drop in tax collections, and would come after the government pushed the RBI for the additional funds ahead of a national election due by May.

Former finance ministry official Shaktikanta Das was appointed as the new governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), following resignation of Urjit Patel last month amid tensions over the dividend payout and other issues.

The government and RBI have now appointed a panel to look into the issue around the sharing of the RBI's reserves.

"We are absolutely sure that an interim dividend of more than 300 billion rupees would be paid before March end," one of the sources told Reuters.

Read the full news here → Union Budget 2019

99.3% of demonetised notes are back; Rs 15.31 trillion returned: RBI

500- and 1000-rupee notes worth Rs 15.41 trillion were demonetised.

DeMonetisation News: As many as 99.3 per cent of the old 500 and 1,000 rupee notes, that was banned overnight in November 2016, have been returned, the Reserve Bank of India said in its annual report.

Of the Rs 15.41 trillion worth 500 and 1,000 rupee notes in circulation before November 8, 2016, notes worth Rs 15.31 trillion have been returned.

The "humungous task of processing and verification of specified bank notes (SBNs) was successfully achieved," it said.

The SBNs received were verified, counted and processed in the sophisticated high-speed currency verification and processing system (CVPS) for accuracy and genuineness and then shredded, it added.

SBNs refer to the demonetised old 500 and 1,000 rupee.
RBI said the processing of SBNs has since been completed. "The total SBNs returned from circulation is Rs 15,310.73 billion".

Read the annual report on → DeMonetisation

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News Source: BS

From 2016 to 2018, life of a Rs 2,000 note; All you need to know

The supply of Rs 2,000 notes has also been reduced substantially since April 2017.

Latest News : For a long time, the government and the Reserve Bank of India were silent on the supply and printing of Rs 2,000 notes. Without clarifying when the printing of Rs 2,000 notes were discontinued, the government recently said supply of these notes in the system were adequate. Business Standard takes a look at the journey of the high-value currency note that was introduced in November 2016 when the government had announced demonetisation of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.

2016

• August: RBI’s printing press Bhartiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Limited starts printing Rs 2,000 notes
• November: Prime Minister Narendra Modi announces demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes; Rs 2,000 notes are soon supplied in the market
• December: Rs 2,000 notes worth Rs 3,216 billion pumped into the system till December-end; about 58 per cent of the total notes supplied after demonetisation

2017

• March: Rs 2,000 notes amounting to Rs 7,008 billion printed till March 31; RBI’s annual report says Rs 6,570 billion worth notes of Rs 2,000 were in circulation (about 50% in value)
• December: The government says Rs 2,000 notes worth Rs 7,309 billion printed till December 15, indicates no new Rs 2,000 note printed for a while

2018

• February: Minister of State for Finance Pon Radhakrishnan tells Lok Sabha only small denomination currency notes being printed at present.
• On April 17, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Garg said Rs 2,000 notes worth Rs 6,750 billion in the system “sufficient” so printing of Rs 2,000 has been halted “since a few days”

Also Read About  → Cash Crunch in India

In 30 minutes Lok Sabha clears Finance bill, 218 amendments without debate

The bills were the contentious Finance Bill, 2018, and the Appropriation Bill, 2018.

Business News : In 30 minutes on March 13, 2018, Parliament’s lower house, the Lok Sabha, passed without debate funding demands from 99 Indian government ministries and departments, including two bills and 218 amendments.

As many opposition members of Parliament (MPs) protested, Sumitra Mahajan, speaker of the Lok Sabha–controlled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)–used a parliamentary procedure called the “guillotine”, which empowers her to pass grants without discussion.

Among the demands passed:

• Controversial foreign funding to political parties, which will allow them to escape scrutiny with retrospective effect for 42 years.
• Salary hikes for members of parliament, the president, and state governors.
• An Appropriation Bill passed by voice vote on March 14, 2018, which allows govt to draw Rs 80,000 crore from the Consolidated Fund of India (Rs 57 lakh crore), the government’s total revenue.
• A long-term capital gains tax, which has received mixed reactions since it was announced in February. Investors will now have to pay 10% tax on profits from shares sold, even if they have had these shares for more than a year.

The bills were the contentious Finance Bill, 2018, and the Appropriation Bill, 2018.

No bills had passed over the last eight days, with the Opposition protesting the Rs 11,000-crore Punjab National Bank scam, special compensation packages for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and defacement of the Periyar statue in Tamil Nadu.

On Wednesday afternoon at 12.35pm, speaker Sumitra Mahajan applied the guillotine to pass the budget 2018 in time for the new financial year, which starts on April 1, 2018. At the start of the week, the BJP had issued a three-day whip to its members to be present in the House. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government holds an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha.

More on  → Finance Bill 2018 ←

Arun Jaitley silent on PNB fraud to protect daughter, says Rahul Gandhi

Gandhi in his tweet about “other law firms” was referring to the searches carried out by the CBI at the Mumbai offices of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas.

Breaking News : Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday alleged that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was silent on the Rs 127 billion PNB fraud case to “protect his lawyer daughter” and asked why her firm was not “raided”.

“It’s now revealed that our Finance Minister’s silence on the PNB (Punjab National Bank) scam was to protect his lawyer daughter, who was paid a large retainer by the accused just a month before the scam became public. When other law firms of the accused have been raided by the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation), why not hers?” Gandhi said in a tweet.

The Congress President also attached a tweet of the news website “The Wire” reading “You know you’re doing something right when the ruling dispensation tries to rebut a story that has not even been published yet”.

The Wire said on its site that it was investigating a lead and had sent a questionnaire to the law firm owned by Jaitley’s daughter and son-in-law, Jaiyesh Bakhshi.
In his reply, Bakhshi confirmed that the retainership had been received in December 2017 but this was returned in January 2018.

“We state that in December 2017, Chambers of Jaitley & Bakhshi were approached by M/s Geetanjali Gems Limited with a request for a retainer to represent them in their litigation and advisory matters… However, before any legal work could be sent to us, a news item appeared in the media with regard to their involvement in a banking scam. We therefore felt it appropriate to unilaterally cancel their engagement and return their retainer,” Bakhshi told The Wire.

The Wire, according to its Founder-Editor M K Venu, did not find the story worth publishing. But, he said a “BJP-leaning website,” wrote about this claiming The Wire was planning to do such a story to “ensnare” Jaitley.

Gandhi in his tweet about “other law firms” was referring to the searches carried out by the CBI at the Mumbai offices of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas — a leading law firm which was reportedly hired by the key accused Nirav Modi around a month before the scam broke in mid-February.

→ Rahul Gandhi on PNB Fraud ←

Union Budget of India: What it is and why it is so important

Business Standard explains the importance of Union Budget of India and the whole process of its making and passing in Parliament

 

In a federal country like ours, the constitution of India demarcates the governance structure through a three-tier system – the Union government, state governments, and local governments. In the scheme of distribution of power among them, the central or Union government enjoys the highest position.

Budget 2018 Under Article 112 of the Constitution of India, the central government is constitutionally bound to lay down the ‘annual financial report’ of the country. This report is commonly known as the Union Budget of India.

The Union Budget holds the same character as the budgets of other levels of government, except in the source of revenue and expenditure.

The Union Budget comprises the most extensive account of the Indian government, and it can be considered the statement of the government’s income and expenditure. Presented in Parliament every year, the Budget document details how much money the Union government expects to raise in the coming financial year, and how and where it intends to spend that money.

The Union budget gives the statement of receipts and expenditure of three consecutive years:

1. Actuals for the preceding year
2. Estimates for the present year
3. Estimates for the coming year

The Union Budget also includes the Finance Bill and Appropriation Bill, both of which are to be passed by both Houses of Parliament before implementation on April 1 of the new financial year.

Union Budget is usually presented in Parliament on the last working day of February by the Finance Minister of India and it comes into effect a little more than a month later from April 1.

However, for the first time, the Union Budget for the 2017-18 financial year was presented on the first working day of February by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Log in to Business Standard epaper

Maternity benefit scheme to become fully functional by February-end

So far, the benefits of the scheme have reached 10,000 women approximately, says govt

 

The Centre is trying to make the maternity benefit programme, which has been marred by delay, ‘fully functional’ by February-end, a senior official said on Monday.

The top economists of the country wrote to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley last month flagging the delay in the rollout of the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), which promises pregnant and lactating mothers Rs 6,000 for the birth of the first living child.

In his address to the nation on New Year’s Eve last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the pan-India expansion of the maternity benefit programme which was being implemented on a pilot basis across 53 districts.

Secretary, Women and Child Development Ministry, R K Shrivastava, acknowledged that the implementation of the programme has been slow and attributed it to “initial hiccups” faced in executing a new scheme.

“We are trying that the scheme becomes fully functional by February end. There has been some delay as there were initial hiccups and we were making efforts to streamline procedures,” Shrivastava told PTI.

“Now that the discipline of escrow account has been enforced, we hope the scheme will reach the people within the next two months,” he said.

The Centre had asked state governments to open an escrow account so that funds can be transferred there instead of the state treasury. The move will allow the Centre to ensure that states use the money for the scheme it is meant for instead of diverting it to another programme.

Log in to Business Standard epaper

It pays to be honest, I-T dept will go after evaders

He asserted that the government over the last 2-3 years has made tax evasion difficult

 

 

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said the government will adopt a carrot-and-stick policy on taxation, saying post GST tax authorities will go after evaders whose invoices do not match tax payment. → Income Tax Return ←

He asserted that the government over the last 2-3 years has made tax evasion difficult that has come as a "rude shock" to many, and GST will help expand the direct tax base in line with increase in indirect tax collection.

"Even in the case of GST now, we are just having the initial voluntary compliance today going on. When the matching of bills takes place, whether that voluntary compliance is fair and to what extent will become clear," he said while speaking at a book launch event organised by Wolters Kluwer. → Income Tax ←

"The experiment of first 1-2 months will demonstrate to assessees that today the mantra as far as taxation is concerned is 'it pays to be honest'. The queries will only be addressed to those whose vouchers don't match," he added.

Under the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which was rolled out from July 1, in order to claim the benefit of input credit, businesses have to disclose the volume of transaction in the form of an invoice. → Income Tax Department ←

"You need to be reasonable in your rates, you need to be reducing the compliance burden as far as procedures are concerned, you need to use more technology in order to ensure the physical contact between the assessee and the assessing authority is minimised. But at the same time you need to carry the stick if somebody still tries to evade the law," Jaitley warned.... Read Full Article

A step-by-step guide for obtaining your GSTIN

The GST registration process has been reopened from June 25 and will continue for the next 3 months

 

Under the VAT and Service Tax regime, TIN number and Service Tax Registration Number were issued by the state and the Centre. However, under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, all taxation will get consolidated into a single platform and taxpayers will be registered under a single authority. All the taxpayers who migrate and register under GST will receive a GSTIN — Goods and Service Tax Identification Number. Here is what the GSTIN format looks like-

→ Income Tax Filing ←  → Tax Filing ←  → IT Return ←

Under the GST regime, every business providing goods and services with a turnover exceeding Rs 20 lakh is required to register as a normal taxpayer. This registration is important because only a registered business can avail benefits like the seamless flow of Input Tax Credit (ITC) on their raw material purchases.

The GST registration process has been reopened from June 25 and will continue for the next 3 months.

How to get a GSTIN
1. Log on to that GST online portal www.gst.gov.in
2. Go to 'Register Now' and fill in Part A of the application with your name, e-mail ID and mobile number
3. The portal will verify your details by sending an OTP to your mobile and email
4. Once the verification process is completed, you will receive the Application Reference Number (ARN) via mobile or email
5. Now you can fill Part B of the application using the ARN. The documents you will require in this step include:
→ Photographs
→ Constitution of taxpayer
→ Proof(s) of place of business
→ Bank account details
→ Authorisation form
6. Fill in all the information and upload all the documents that are required in the application and submit the application using DSC or Aadhaar OTP

Penalties for not registering under GST → Read Full Story

GST regime: New MRP rules released, defaulting manufacturers to be fined

Govt has given 3 months time to reprint revised MRPs under the Packaged Commodities: Paswan tweeted

 

 

The government on Tuesday warned that legal action will be initiated against manufacturers for not printing the revised MRP post rollout of the GST.

Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said the government has given three months time till September to reprint the revised maximum retail price (MRP) with the implementation of the landmark Goods and Services Tax (GST).

In a series of tweets, Paswan said that prices of some commodities have fallen, while some have increased with the implementation of GST.

Get all the query on →  Income Tax Efiling  ←

"Fall in prices due to lower GST should be passed on to consumers. ...The government will take legal action against vendors not declaring revised MRP after GST," he said.

The revised rates should be displayed on commodities so that consumers are aware what is the MRP of each item after GST, he added.

"The government has given time till September to reprint the revised MRP under the Packaged Commodities Rule," he said.

GST, launched at midnight of June 30, has subsumed all value added tax (VAT) and Octroi. Read More...

GST in Kashmir: Traders march against new regime with black flags; detained

A special session of the state legislature began today to discuss GST implementation

Police on Tuesday detained several traders after they tried to march towards the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly to protest the implementation of GST in the state in its present form.

The traders were detained near the gate of the Civil Secretariat complex, which also houses the assembly, after they took out a protest march, police said.

The traders were scheduled to hold a sit-in near the assembly to protest the implementation of the new tax regime in the state in its present form, claiming that it would lead to the erosion of the state's special position and its fiscal autonomy.

Holding black flags and shouting slogans against the GST, several traders reached Jehangir Chowk here to protest.

They tried to march towards the civil secretariat complex, but police swung into action and detained several of them outside the Civil Secretariat,the police said.

A special session of the state legislature began today to discuss the issue of implementation of GST in the state... read more...

Twitter records over 1 mn conversations on GST between June 30 and July 2

Twitter recorded over one million conversations on the goods and services tax between June 30 and July 2 — reflecting the sentiment of the nation on what is being billed as the largest tax reform since Independence.

From #GSTIndia to #GSTForCommonMan, people took to Twitter to express their opinions about the GST.

India ushered in the GST regime on the intervening night of June 30 and July 1. A four-tier tax slab — 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent — has been decided. People have also been posting pictures on various social media platforms of receipts issued in grocery stores or eateries showing tax deductions as GST, instead of VAT/service tax earlier.

"Conversations around the launch of the GST exemplify Twitter as the best place for people to connect with what’s happening in India and around the world and express their opinions,” Twitter India Head of Public Policy and .... read more...

Want us to carry your goods? Show GST number first: Transporters to traders

This is being done to avoid collecting taxes from sender and depositing with the govt

 

 

Transport companies are now insisting traders furnish their GST numbers before accepting goods for transportation anywhere. Traders who have not acquired GST numbers will not be entertained, some transporters told Business Standard.

Ashok Shah, chairman of V- Trans, a large Mumbai-headquartered logistics company and past chairman of Bombay Goods Transport Association confirmed the development. He said, "Octroi being subsumed in GST is a big relief and will save both, time in transit and fuel.

However, for transporting goods, the sender's GST number is required, because given the way tax provisions for transporters have been structured, that becomes necessary".

Under the old tax regime, transport services suffered 5 per cent service tax. That rate has been retained under GST. However in their business, transporters did not have to be registered, collect taxes from the sender on rent or transport charges and deposit them with the government.

This responsibility vested with the sender who paid transport charges. He was responsible for depositing the tax with the service tax department... read more...

How the GST launch impacts you: All your questions about the tax reform answered

Do registered dealers have to record Aadhaar/PAN while selling goods to unregistered dealers?

 As the nation prepares for the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from 1st July 2017 midnight, the government has prepared a FAQ sheet based on several questions it received on Twitter.

Here is a summary of some the most frequently asked questions and their answers:

What is Goods and Services Tax?
It is a destination based tax on consumption of goods and services. It is proposed to be levied at all stages right from manufacture up to final consumption with credit of taxes paid at previous stages available as set off. In a nutshell, only value addition will be taxed and burden of tax is to be borne by the final consumer.

The GST would replace the following taxes:

(i) taxes currently levied and collected by the Centre:
a. Central Excise duty
b. Duties of Excise (Medicinal and Toilet Preparations)
c. Additional Duties of Excise (Goods of Special Importance)
d. Additional Duties of Excise (Textiles and Textile Products)
e. Additional Duties of Customs (commonly known as CVD)
f. Special Additional Duty of Customs (SAD)
g. Service Tax
h. Central Surcharges and Cesses so far as they relate to supply of goods and services

(ii) State taxes that would be subsumed under the GST are:
a. State VAT
b. Central Sales Tax
c. Luxury Tax
d. Entry Tax (all forms)
e. Entertainment and Amusement Tax (except when levied by the local bodies)
f. Taxes on advertisements
g. Purchase Tax
h. Taxes on lotteries, betting and gambling
i. State Surcharges and Cesses so far as they relate to supply of goods and services

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Full GST rate list: Here are the tax rates for all goods and services

Foodgrains are slated to cost less from July 1

 

Foodgrains will cost less from July 1 when the nation-wide Goods and Service Tax (GST) is rolled out as the GST Council today decided to exempt the daily-use commodities from the levy.

Here's a complete list of the rates of all 1,211 items but six were finalised at the first day of the two-day meeting in Srinagar of the GST Council, headed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and comprising state representatives.

Also, here's a complete list of all the items that the GST Council has broadly approved as the rates of GST Compensation Cess to be levied on certain goods.

Full GST rate list