Whispers Forum

The reason given by information commissioner for not providing the information is not proper. All the transfer / promotion/ pay fixation / superannuation orders are liable to be made public suo-motu by virtue of the fact that they are public function. Thus, even though the order is for disclosure, the logic used is not legally proper.
Sujata
Just passing a right order is not enough
Just passing a right order is not enough, the reasons should be fair and just. The poor state of affairs of RTI implementation in India is due to the method of selection of Information Commissioners. Most are retired bureaucrats with little understanding of the RTI Act. The poor orders passed by them show that a change is much needed.
Sulekha

Now a days efforts are being made to create tax friendly environment so the tax payers and tax authorities can work in more cordial manner and (alleged) less harassment to tax payers. First and foremost requirement is to make law and return filing simpler. Tax authorities should not ask unnecessary details and information when there is no tax liability like it is being asked in cse of LTCG on transfer of equity or equity oriented MF when it is less than 1 lakh as it is exempted from tax. The information can only be asked for reporting purpose as was being asked till FY 2017-18. Asking the details will lead to one or other problems. Taking parallel example the details should be asked from more than 1 billion people to know the details of business and whether income is taxable or not. Let us work in a more friendly environment and ask for the details which are necessary and helpful in assessing the tax liabilities. Secondly develop some methodology or system to know the income of professionals who are dealing only in cash. This should be stopped. For example celebrities performing dance/drama, singing, out door performance etc who work only on cash and money not shown in their accounts. It is shown as these performance are just for social gathering. This money does not go in the financial system and never gets monitored. A detailed study and analysis is required to bring such transactions into the regular system so transactions can be monitored. A hard work is required to work on these modalities. It is need of the hour to develop tax friendly environment and change the mind set of tax officials so tax payers can approach for their difficulties and possible solution. In today environment tax payers avoid to go to tax authorities for their solution as he is afraid of getting trapped. We should develop a system that tax payers goes themselves to tax officials to find solution of their problems instead of going to CAs. This much trust should be developed in the system of tax payers and tax officials. Good luck and best wishes.
Naveen

DEBATE (1)
The Govt. is considering to extend the age of retirement from the present 60/62 to 65 years. To my mind this would not be correct. There is already so much unemployment in the country that the youth who is full of energy and ambitions is already frustrated for notgetting jobs after completion of studies. If the age of retirement of present govt. employees is further extended deep frustration will set in the youth , many of whom will take to a life of crime to make their two ends meet and to meet the expenses of modern day life. It should be understood by the political masters that when a new entrant takes up a job, his salary and other perks are at the minimum base level and the burden of the govt. on pay and salaries is less, whereas if the age of retirement is extended, the employees will be nearing the top end of the pay scale and already the burden of pay and salaries is very high,. With extension of age, the burden of more increments and still higher pay and perks would add to the cost in the state exchequer. Similarly pensions and gratuity amount would also be higher. As such from the financial point of view also it is not desirable. It should also be understood that as the old age approaches, every one falls more ill and the burden on medical bills reimbursement will also be higher. An old employee has more family responsibilities like higher education of his children, finding suitable employment for them and arranging for their marriage etc. His attention gets divided and so also his expenses on these responsibilities. As against this, a new entrant will be fresh with practically no responsibility for family and can devote full time to his job. In addition every youth has new ideas and has dreams. He can bring in innovations and new ideas which can benefit the organisation and the society.
S C Agrawal
D G Police Retired
DEBATE (2)
I want to request the Central Government that it should not raise the retirement age from 60 years to 62 years as youth is not getting jobs .There is also a demand that the Government should not hire Consultants. The Government had been hiring MTS and DEOs on contract basis. It is also demanded that the Government must revert to permanent hiring of staff rather than on contractual basis.
Gurbax Kumar
Is Finance Minister listening ?
Simplification is key to success. Complexity of any system may lead to difficulties and troubles. Earlier FMs have taken number of initiatives to make return filing system simpler and tax friendly. Remarkable improved system with simplified forms has emerged. It was good enough till FY 2017-18. In FY 2018-19 when LTCG tax on transfer of equity or equity oriented MF more than 1 lakh was brought in, the problem cropped in filing the returns. As far tax structure is concerned, the Govt. is fully empowered to tax the way it is approved. Section 10(38) was abolished and new section 10(112A) was inserted. It is all fine. ITR1 is used by salaried class, pensioners and others who do not have income from business or professions and compliance is highest in this category. Section 10(38) has been removed under exempt income from ITR1 without replacing with 10(112A). When LTCG on equity is exempted up to 1 lakh, the same can still be reported in ITR1 under section 10(112A) but it is not so. Tax payers are supposed to file ITR2 which is 22 pages and complex form to fill the details of equity or equity oriented MF sales. When LTCG in this respect is less than 1 lakh, it means no tax liability then why to file ITR2. In case Tax Authorities needs details then at least 1 billion returns to be filed to know the details whether income is taxable or non-taxable. There are good chances of mistakes in filing all details of redeeming single SIP based MF or sale of two equity scripts as grandfathering of all scripts will be different and averaging of even two will be difficult. CAs are also scared in filling details as it is lengthy procedure and may create mistake and single mistake can invite trouble. It is simple example how filing returns have become difficult from simple. It is submitted let the LTCG up to 1 lakh as per section 10(112A) in transfer of equity or equity oriented MF be allowed to be reported under exempt income in ITR1 without filing ITR2 also for loss in LTCG if tax payers do not wish to carry forward in future years. It requires review to make the system of filing return painless and simpler as being propagated at the highest level in Govt. Any mistakes in filing returns may lead to trouble and harassment even having no tax liability. Very simple just insert section 10(112A) under exempt income in ITR1. This will give relief of lakhs of tax payers in filing returns correctly. We have good FM who is ready to listen the problems and finding solutions. Submitted for consideration of following simple procedure for salaried class and pensioners.
Naveen

DEBATE (1)
I welcome Govt. announcement to extend the age of retirement of govt. employees. It will give lot of benefits to the Govt., the country and to the employees. The Govt. will continue to have the advantage of mature advice and immense experience of long time servic of its employees. They have gone through the mill and have mastered the art of good administration. As against this, a youngster is new to the job, he has to be trained and he has to understand the rules and regulations from the beginning. In the execution of the govt. poilcies, he is likely to falter and make several mistakes which will cost dearly to the Govt.a nd may at times create embarassment. Why should the youth hanker after Govt. jobs only. There are immense opportunities in the private sector too as the economy and business are growing. They can find various jobs and prove their mettle in those jobs as well. The Govt. should not loose the advise and expertise of senior employees having rich and long experince.
Dr. Dipika Agrawal
Cabinet Secretary - CDS
In re your report "Will CDS Get Cabinet Secretary Rank" dated 20.8.19, it is to inform you that the three service chiefs have anyway always been in the same grade of pay as the Cabinet Secretary, ie Rs. 2.5 Lakhs presently. Therefore CDS getting Cabinet rank is moot.
Aditya Singh
“ Pakistan’s Deep State ”
The Congress party is full of loose cannons. Chidambaram, Ghulam Nabi Azad , Diggi Raja are getting berserk with their highly provocative, anti-national rantings. Worse, the haughty Mani Shankar Aiyar predicts : J&K will end up as a Palestine.
Serial shockers masquerading as fake intellectuals and fake deshbhaktas. The motives are suspect.
Their incendiary utterances are dividing Indian Muslims and Hindus by linking revocation of Art 370 with religion ? Is this not misuse of “freedom of free speech” ? As a liberal democracy, the GoI is taking a soft line approach ? In fact, the water-mouths deserve to be lodged in “Concentration camps” with 5-star comforts. In absence of such camps, they must, at least, be put under house arrest.
Why this communal spin? Could they not foresee the irreparable damage caused to India’s interests in international politics ? Such communal narratives only help Pakistan and indirectly the Congress party, that has a near-death experience.
No wonder, Pakistan has started quoting these Congi leaders in Press conferences to bolster up their stand in the comity of nations, causing huge embarrassment to India. Are they immune from conviction under Law of the land ? No arrests, no FIRs for towing Pakistan line and backstabbing the country. Even PM Modi seems wary of acting against them.
BBC reporting is mischievous and misleading claiming that “ Protests broke out in Indian-administered Kashmir after the government revoked its special status”. It forgets that the UK is also occupying a part of Ireland !
Now, consider the laidback functioning of Indian judiciary, especially the subordinate courts, known for their cussedness. Why are Courts so liberal in granting long adjournments to the Chidambarams ( father- son- duo) in corruption scams ? Public is not naïve. It is getting increasingly restless due to dilatory tactics. Sheer misuse of discretionary powers.
Pakistan's Deep State has secret connect with the Congis. The ISI and the non-state actors, who are trying to leverage the fault lines of India's politics. Secret financial links with the Congis and Commies for working in tendem. Floundering on Kashmir for Quid pro quo.
Recall how some Congis had met the separatists at Pak high commissioner’s residence in Delhi on Eid. Extremely condemnable by right-thinking Indians.
Situation is not as simple as made out. Take specific cases. Navjot Singh Sidhu and the UK based Indian singer Hard Kaur are reportedly working for Referendum 2020 in cohoot with Congress’s dirty-tricks department.
Rapper Taran Kaur Dhillon – famously known as Hard Kaur – has joined a secessionist and pro-Khalistani campaign for a separate land. Furthermore, during Imran Khan’s oath ceremony, Sidhu hugged Gen. Bajwa, Pak army chief ,not once, but many times over. All this while the ISI has been pushing in terrorists into India for creating mayham. All under shadows of Kartarpur corridor.
Incidentally, both Sidhu and Ms Hard Kaur continue to appear on SONY Entertainment TV. Their dubious roles are well-known. Pro-Khalistan and pro- Pakistani. Why have they not been blacked out totally by the TV channel? Why did union Ministry of I&B turn a Nelson’s eye to such horrendous goings on? GOI has not even reprimanded the CEO of SONI TV for promoting the anti-nationals ?
All must be put under scanners of CBI, IB IT and ED’s for indulging in secessionist, anti-national activities.
PM Modi is urged to learn lessons from history. Country stands solidly behind him.
A K Saxena (A former civil servant)

Dr. S. Satapathy
Decision of CDS for Indian Armed Forces
An excellent decision by NDA govt led by the BJP. CDS will be a single point Military Advisor to the PM , Defence Minister , and Cabinet Commitee of Security. The need to prepare our nation for use of Force in the 21st century will be:- - Primary Charter of CDS. - Force utilisation requires Strategic Mindset in CDS . - Force capabilities exist in India today in Conventional Armaments and Weapons of Mass Destruction. - The Strategic Forces should placed under CDS . The utilisation of Strategic Forces is decided by PM only. The officer appointed as CDS acts only on PM direct order . - Conventional Forces are under direct Command & Control of Three Service Chiefs as of now. No change. Utilisation of Conventional Forces is decided by PM only . - CDS plans for resources to build a war fighting capability in the Armed Forces of India in direct concert with the three Service Chiefs. A Perspective Plan is accordingly drawn up by the CDS and presented . - The Rules of Business have to be accordingly changed from that existing. The aforesaid is only a Bare-Bones Outline for incorporating CDS into our system . –
Devindra Sethi

The appellant was compulsorily retired by the Bank of India and thereafter aggrieved by the action taken, he obtained a favourable order from the Central Government Industrial Tribunal. The order passed by the CGIT was challenged by the Bank of India and while admitting the case, the High Court directed the bank to deposit the amount of arrears ordered by CGIT payable to the appellant with the Registrar through a nationalized bank and secure it for a period of five years. He sought information regarding employees who joined after 01.09.1977, their dates of promotions, their cadre and also their dates of Superannuation. The information was denied as being exempt from disclosure under section 8 (1) (d), (e) and (j) of RTI Act. He claimed the information was needed to ascertain as to whether the junior employee(s) had been promoted and whether he was entitled for higher back wages. The CIC held that the information may be made available to him so that the administration of justice can be delivered by ascertaining as to whether some junior had been promoted in terms of Central Government Industrial Tribunal order and whether he was entitled for higher wages.
Comments
As per section 4 (1)(b) (ix), a public authority is required to suo-moto publish a directory of its officers and employees. Further, section 4 (1)(b) (x) requires the public authority to proactively disclose the monthly remuneration received by each of its officers and employees.
Citation: Ashok Kumar M Pandya v. CPIO, Bank of India in Second Appeal No. CIC/BKOIN/A/2018/609629, Date: 16.08.2019
Dr. Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is an expert on RTI matters and has co-authored the books RIGHT TO INFORMATION - LAW AND PRACTICE and PIO’s guide to RTI. Her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation of India at the link: http://www.rtifoundationofindia.com/

DEBATE (1)
Raise in retirement age will lead to unemployment.
R C Mangal
Mercenaries Of Gloom & Doom
The Lords of gloom & doom failed to exploit the constitutional changes in J&K to their benefit. On the contrary, they have further alienated themselves from the people, especially Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. What are they opposed to? They have no idea. What have they achieved in 72 years? They have no idea. What do they want to do to Kashmir ? They maintain enigmatic silence. Do they think Pakistan will become a peace-loving nation ever ? Can they say that Pakistan has made the POK a model of development and economic growth ? The last 72 years don’t uphold journalistic or filmy ideas. The only thing Pakistan has succeeded in doing in POK is endangering the lives of the people and alluring terrorists to kidnap and forcibly marry thousands of local Kashmiri girls abusing the Sharia to the maximum. The BBC, CNN, NYT, WP and others or Indian elite journalists have never done an investigative story on these developments, which is a blatant violation of human rights there. Will terrorist activities ever end ? They have no idea. Would it have been any different in the valley had the constitutional amendment not been notified ? They don’t know. Then what do they know ? They know only one thing- how to spread hatred against India, government of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Hindu community and political parties professing differently to their ideas about the accession of J&K to the Union Of India. They have no solution to what they call the problem. In fact, they keep aggravating the problem by their indecision obfuscating issues and covering them with coats of darkness. The narrative of alienation, insurgency or terrorism they weave has a shelf life of more than a few centuries as past 72 years have proved. Can they be allowed to hold India to ransom anymore? The government has taken a decisive step to solve the problem once for all. The Indian press and media have to disabuse their minds of all the jargon of the leftist variety that has so far prevailed among the elite and impeded development and prosperity of the people of India. If a man like Jawahar Lal Nehru failed to “solve” the so- called Kashmir problem, can our journalists, filmmakers, television channels and letter writers ever do so? If the UNO has not been able to enforce its own resolution on Pakistan, do these luminaries think they would achieve that objective easily? Both India and Pakistan are victims of the designs of the British and their representative Lord Mountbatten to create communal wedge between freedom fighters. So, if the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, BBC or any other foreign press/ television is happy to continue that dishonesty to the region, the Indian journalists need not ape them. One can only enjoy in amusement someone still treating India and Pakistan as their colonies or even the whole region as part of an empire!
M L Gupta

DEBATE (1)
Let me give an alternate viewpoint on retirement age in 21st century India. - Current rules of retirement at 60 years is correct. - A few chosen posts go upto 62. Fair enough. It can continue. - Many young people do not wish to serve in the government of India for 20 years to get pension. Can we consider minimum retirement age after 10 years of service? With new NPS Policy in government of India this issue can be easily resolved. Civilians employed in the government can thereafter at a young age move on to ' greener ' pastures voluntarily after 10 years service. Armed Forces personnel gain expertise over newer systems being indicted after 3-5 years! Hence the 10 year policy is fraught with danger if early retirement is permitted. Current 20 year policy can be brought down to 15 years service to earn minimum pension. Medically India is improving in longevity. That will ensure a better work profile outside government sector in private sector, after 10 years minimum service . It is better to let young India to approach their issues personally after 10 years in government service .
Devindra Sethi