Whispers Forum

The Central government had authorised eight agencies to monitor the comments and opinions posted on social media platforms including e-Mails and WhatsAp chats even when encrypted. Under the circumstances how can you guarantee that the communication to you will remain confidential despite your promise that your lips are sealed.
Paarth Garg
Finance Ministry working very hard
Finance Minister and Finance Ministry is already working very hard to come up from crisis due to Covid-19. The last date for filing income tax returns have been extended to 30th November, 2020. Finance Minister is taking normally a broad view to deal with the situation. A scheme Vivad se Vishwas was launched and the date for the cases have also been extended. Actually this scheme should not only be considered as a scheme but it should be the vision of the department to create positive TRUST FACTOR. A positive trust factor has to be created between tax administration and tax payers. If trust is created, number of cases will get resolved and there will be increase in number of return filers so the revenue. but it does not look be so. Still there is fear in the mind of tax payers as the old incidents are still fresh in the mind of tax payers. It can also be judged by the less number of tax return filers. ITR forms for fy 2019-20 have been released but it looks surprising why ITR 1 does not include Sec.112 A for showing exempt income in pull down menu. Most of the salary class and pensioners including house wives are filing returns using ITR1 but unable to report tax exempt income under Sec.112A. When there is no tax liability why to file tax return using ITR2 creating unnecessary trouble by making some mistakes. It shows that tax authorities still to follow the spirit of creating Vishwas. Revenue Secretary and Finance Minister to make sure that Sec.112A is brought in ITR1 for reporting exempt income otherwise it will show that MInistry has no seriousness to create TRUST between tax administration and tax payers. Why create Vivad then resolve it. It is not healthy trend. Need to know should be the moto. Let us have a trust then proceed. It may require for the change of mindset of tax authorities and work as a guide to the tax payers. Finance Minister will definitely consider the relief to tax payers who are filing ITR1 has a provision to report exempt income under Sec.112A. Let us hope for the creation of Vishwas between tax administration and tax payers.
Naveen

The Fifteenth Finance Commission is scheduled to submit its final report by October 2020. Prior to the amendment to the Constitution in the year 2000, only the income tax and union excise duties were sharable with the States while customs and corporate income tax were not sharable.. As an Officer on Special Duty for the Ninth and Tenth Finance Commissions in Tamil Nadu, I found that the Central Government was in the habit of hiking the non sharable customs duty and corporate tax as successive Finance Commissions had increased the share of the States in the Income Tax and the Union Excise Duty from 50 percent to 90 percent. The Centre was also having recourse to various surcharges which were also not sharable. As a result the tax structure in India had become highly skewed.
In an article published in the Economic and Political Weekly in August 1992, I had suggested that all the central taxes including the various taxes and the duties contemplated in Articles 268 and 269 of the Constitution like taxes on advertisements in the radio and newspapers and the States' share should be fixed at 33.33 percent of the Centre's gross tax revenue. I wrote this paper in 1990 while at the IMF .Since I was only on deputation to the IMF from GOI . IMF sought clearance from the MOF. Dr Manmohan Singh the then FM , suggested that I should publish the paper in India after my return. and the was carried by in the EPW in August 1992.
Late KC Pant, Chairman of the 10th Finance Commission, recommended this model to GoI. This was accepted and the Constitution was amended in the year 2000. The level of devolution which was 29.5 percent in 2000-2005 was hiked to 30.5 percent by the 12 th FC and to 32 percent by the 13 th FC.
The 14th FC headed by Dr Y.Venugopal Reddy hiked the percentage to 42 percent which I chose to term as totally irresponsible in an article in the Hindu Business Line ( February 2016.)
With this development we were back to square one by the Centre levying various surcharges. In my view, it is the duty of the Fifteenth FC to do the required damage control in its Final Report .. Though the 15 th FC has made a good beginning by reducing the devolution to 41 percent in its Interim Report it is grossly inadequate and boldly fix the devolution percentage 33.33 percent..
I would also suggest that in order to prevent vertical devolution being to subject to vagaries of Finance Commissions, the TOR for the next FC to be set up in 2022 should include only the horizontal redistribution of devolution among the States and take vertical devolution from the ambit of the Finance Commission.
Dr Sitharam Gurumurthi IAS (Retired)
Former Member State Planning Commission &
Additional Chief Secretary to the Governent of Tamil Nadu
Reduce dominance of IAS officers in DoPT
In continuation of Kumar's ‘irregularities in ACC appointments’, would like to say that unless the dominance of IAS officers in DoPT is reduced, things will not improve. Why is EO and Secretary Personnel manned by IAS officers only ? Hope PM takes note of it and set things right.
S Gopal
A K Sharma continues to be PM’s man
To remain trustworthy to PM is not easy task.
V M Upadhyay

Release of Wuhan Virus - Military gingoism in Indo- Pacific , SCS , Taiwan , Hong Kong , Mekong Delta countries! About a million people have died globally around the world from an invisible virus. Nobody is going to forget that and boycott of Chinese goods has commenced . PLA's generals are currently realising that they have aimed for a Bridge too far. The Chinese political party will pay for the consequences as happened in the USSR in1990.
Devindra Sethi
Non Deduction of Transport Allowance on using official vehicle
Every Government Official working in the various Ministries/Departments of the Government of India is withdrawing TRANSPORT ALLOWANCE . Only Joint Secretaries and above level officers have to get deducted the Transport Allowance from their monthly salary. But subordinate officers like Section Officers, Under Secretary, Deputy Secretary, Directors, PPS, Sr. PPS, P.S.O., working in the branches or in the offices of Addl. Secretary, Secretary, Minister etc. have been using official vehicles without getting deducted their TRANSPORT ALLOWANCE. This has been resulting in a loot of lakhs of Rupees from the |Consolidated Fund of India from where all the salaries and allowances are paid to the officials of Government of India. On an average in every Ministry/ Department about over and above 10 vehicles are engaged for these officers who are very closed to Senior Bureaucrats or Minister. If we reckon the amount of TRANSPORT ALLOWANCE @ Rs.7200+DA say about Rs.7500 x 20 officials =1,50,000/- There are more than 100 Ministries/Departments. Then multiply 100 Departments x Rs.1, 50,000/-. = Rs, 1,50,00000/- It means every month the amount of Rs.1.50 crore is siphoned off by the Government Servants /officers only, despite taking pledge of Vigilance Awareness Week, delivering lecture to the common public do not ask for bribe and do not pay bribe.
Per annum Rs.1.50 crore x 12 months ................... calculate.
B Kant
“Wisdom of a former civil servant”
Thanks to M P Bauer ( WIC Forum dt June 2) on his left-handed compliments to my views on India’s candy floss approach Sino-Pak axis. I am surprised as only the other day you had expressed encomiums on my posts. Having aggressive approach against hostile neighbours, is not jingoism. It is cowardice. In WIC Forum dt May 31, another pseudonymous contributor posing as one “ Ajay” labeled my suggestion as “ foolish”. Cowardice.
Do pseudonymous contributors not want India to retrieve PoK, Gilgit-Baltistan and Aksaichin, illegally occupied by Pakistan and China to realise PM Modi's commitments ? These will not be handed back to us on a platter. Coercive approach has no substitute for India.
A K Saxena (A former civil servant)

Half the correspondence in Forum is from a former civil servant Mr A. K. Saxena. He has a view on every subject under the sun. In his last post he has proposed that India should suddenly attack Pakistan and China together right now. He predicts a swift win for India because 192 countries will back India. Such jingoism has not been observed anywhere in the world. Surely, after defeating Pakistan and China, the grateful nation will award Padma Vibhushan to the former civil servant who advises such a brilliant strategy.
M P Bauer

A news item says that Supreme Court will hear a petition on 02 June seeking a direction to Government of India to amend our constitution to change the name of our country to Bharat from India. In this context it may be worthwhile to note that after independence when Government started many Public Sector Undertakings (CPSUs) some were named Bharat something, many Hindustan something, some Indian something. Examples are Bharat Electronics, Bharat Heavy Electricals, Bharat Earth Movers etc all of which have survived and are existing today profitably.Hindustan machine Tools (HMT), Hindustan Teleprinters, Hindustan Photofilms, Hindustan Paper Corporation, Hindustan Insecticides and so on who are either wound up or are on liquid oxygen support which is continuous Government subsidy, like Air India. The oxygen-subsidy- does not allow them to die and the liquid -accumulated huge losses- does not allow them to live. Companies starting with Indian something are also in the same boat-Indian Telephone Industries for example, independent India's first CPSU. So there is perhaps something in a name as astrologers would say. Let us hope that if and when India becomes Bharat, our destiny will change for the better.
S.Raghavan
Is Modi aware of irregularities committed in ACC ?
If the Government of India does not follow rules formulated by itself and disobey Supreme Court Rulings, what can a hapless government servant do ? Go to CAT to face further persecution in the form of 56J ? Even if he goes to CAT, the Secretaries do not budge and they refuse to implement CAT orders and even High Court orders. Where is this Modi regime leading to ? The all powerful ACC under Modi is refusing to promote IRS officers even though no charge sheets are pending merely because some complaints are being processed against them. As per DoPT rules promotion can be refused only when a charge sheet is pending on the date of passing of promotion order. Of course officers under suspension, facing criminal prosecution are also ineligible for promotion. However, the ACC is gladly promoting officers figuring in agreed list,which is correct as per rules. The point is why ACC is denying promotion merely on the basis of preliminary inquiry? Is PM Modi who is a stickler for rules, aware of the irregularities committed by his babus in ACC which amounts to contempt of Supreme Court. The CBDT also on 27-5-2020 gladly following irregularities committed by the ACC demoted some young JCs to DCs dealing a nasty blow to their morale. All these demoted officers have no charge sheets against them and yet CBDT demoted them. PM Modi needs to put his foot down and arrest the spread of this jungle raj perpetuated by his ACC babus before facing embarrassment in Supreme Court for contempt.
Kumar
Aar-Paar ki ladayi - what a foolish suggestion ?
Aar-Paar ki ladayi is the sole option: What sort of suggestion sir, at this age. World war... when there is so much suffering all over the world. What could be the economic, demographic cost.
Ajay