07 September 2015.pdf

FOCUS NEWS New Delhi, Monday 07 September 20157
Blackmoney: Upto Rs 15 lakh
award for info against defaulters
New Delhi, The Income Tax department
has brought out new guidelines to award
secret informers providing actionable
clue about “untraceable” assesses who
owe huge taxes and money to government
including in TDS and self
assessment tax category. The department
last week issued a set of
new instructions
to all its
offices in the
country stating
any person
who
p r o v i d e s
credible inputs against a declared defaulter
would be rewarded a 10 per cent booty of
tax realised from such an entity, but upto
a maximum limit of Rs 15 lakh. The new
guidelines, effective from the last and current
financial year, have
been issued by the
CBDT keeping in mind
the huge challenge of
tackling black funds in
the country and at the
same time boosting the
revenue kitty. The informant,
whose identity
would be kept secret except
in cases where law
requires, will just have
to give inputs “supported
by facts and documents”.
The
+department has, at the
same time, made it clear
that no “speculation,
vague or inputs of general
nature and educated
guess” will be entertained
in this regard.
The guidelines state that
any information about
such assesses who are
either not traceable or have stated inadequate
assets to pay due taxes will be covered
under the scheme brought out after
high-level deliberations in the government
including with the Special Investigation
Team on black money.
Must institutionalise war
studies : RSS mouthpiece
New Delhi, RSS mouthpiece
Organiser has batted
for institutionalised war
studies in India as in the
US and European countries
and stressed on the
need to involve people in
counter-terror pursuits. It
said some “secular, pacifists”
may argue that it is
“war mongering”, but a
nation that fails to learn
from history, does not have
future. In the latest edition,
it has invoked political and
strategic thinker Kautilya
to argue that in the face of
emerging terror threats, the
country can’t solely rely
on the government-run establishment
for protection
and must involve people in
defending the nation. The
Organiser editorial points
out, “As Kautilya said, the
strength of a nation lies in
the people. Our defence
considerations are too government
centric. “Of
course, government institutions,
including armed
forces are most important
instruments for defending
a nationbut unless there is
a capacity building and
participatory approach
within the society, real national
defence cannot be
assured. “We cannot forget
that from 1947 infiltration
to the Kargil misadventure
by Pakistan, it was the
local people who provided
information. With the
emerging threats of terrorism,
such vigilance is all
the more essential,” it said.
It rued that India never
concentrated on developing
war studies centres as
the US, UK, China and Europe
did. “Even 50 years
after the hard fought war in
1965, there are claims and
counter-claims about the
outcome. This is not because
Pakistan says so but
for the reason that we are
not particular about our
war histories.
“In the US, the top Universities
have war studies centres,
with 16 institutions
offering post-graduate programmes.
British top universities
do the same.
China, believing in the Art
of War, has a centre for
Cold War Studies. There
are numerous think tanks
on war strategies in many
European countries. “In
Bharat, barring couple of
institutions, that too attached
with defence establishment,
there is no
attempt to systematically
study wars,” the article
For the first time, the guidelines accessed
by PTI state, any default of Tax Deducted
at Source (TDS) or self assessment tax by
an entity for over 6 months and about
which the I-T department has publicly declared
the default, will be covered under
the scheme for ‘informers’ or people in the
know to inform the taxman about. “Any
specific or credible information of the
whereabouts or assets of the person, on or
after March 31, 2015 which results in the
states calling for war studies
as a dedicated academic
discipline. The
editorial says some “secular,
pacifists may argue
that studying wars is war
mongering but it is to be
seen as an important exercise
in the journey of a nation,
for various reasons.
“…who fails to learn from
history, does not have future.
This is all the more
true with war histories.Unfortunately,
we have learnt
most of our history from
theBritish and the anglicised
‘intellectuals’ of
Bharat teach us the same.”
The article argues that
colonial prism distorted
India’scivilisational past
and divided people on
caste and regional lines.
It says that for attaining
the objectives of national
security, the country
needed to evolve a strategic
culture based on
strong institution building
in social and academic
field. “Self-belief
that a powerful and prosperous
Bharat can only
ensure global peace has
to be inculcated for which
we need to institutionalise
war studies,” Sangh
mouthpiece adds.
collection of taxes, penalties,
interest or other
amounts not exceeding 10
per cent of the tax realised
which is directly attributable
to the information or
documents supplied by
the informant, subject to a
ceiling of Rs 15 lakh” will
be covered under the new
guidelines. A provision
has also been kept to enhance
this reward in exceptional
cases after the
approval of the Central
Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the apex
policy making body of the tax department.
The I-T department, beginning this year,
had also begun the practise of ‘naming
and shaming’ big tax defaulters in the
country by publishing
their names, addresses
and income tax dues
in newspapers.
Till now, a senior officer
in the department
said, names of about
50 such large defaulters
have been publicised
who have a
pending tax liability
of close to Rs 2,000
crore. “More such
names, including
those under the TDS
and self assessnent tax
category, are in the
offing,” the officer
said. department has
been told to ensure the
secrecy of the indentity
of the informer by
allotting a unique
number to them for
communication. The
department, the officer said, is leaving no
stone unturned to mount additional measures
in combating stash funds of Indians
both within and outside the country and
hence these newer strategies and methods
are being undertaken.
Marginal rise in footfall, absence
of big names mark Book Fair
New Delhi, A marginal rise in footfall and absence of big names in publishing
industry marked the 21st edition of the Delhi Book Fair which comes to an
end today. While the weekends, which included the festivals of Raksha Bandhan
and Janmashthami, drew a substantial crowd to the nine-day event, the
weekdays remained relatively deserted. “We had a very good response, a full
hundred per cent on Saturdays and Sundays. We have been keeping a cap of
1.5 lakh in a day to control the crowd. “In the week days, there was a slightly
less flow because of people’s other engagements. In totality, I would like to
confirm that in these nine days of the book fair there was a total footfall of 12
lakh to 15 lakh,” says Jayanta Das, General Manager, Indian Trade Promotion
Organisation (ITPO) which co-organised the fair with the Federation of Indian
Publishers (FIP).
While the increase in the footfall was only minimal as compared to last year,
the fair this year saw a decrease in the number of participants. “There has been
a marginal improvement from last year. From the participation point of view,
however, because there is a glut of such fairs globally, big publishing houses
are not coming here preferring to go to other international events. So that way,
there is a fall. Last year, there were 287 companies in the book fair. This year
there were only 259,” says Das. The fair also had overseas participation from
China besides a number of events for children and cultural functions.
According to Das, ITPO has already started gearing up for the next edition of
the Delhi book fair to ensure a more encouraging response in 2016. “For the
next edition in 2016, through the market access initiative of the Department
of Commerce, we are trying to get certain buyers who can ensure us a good
business. We will now also be getting more funds from other concerned organizations
and I am hoping that all the doyens of Indian publishers will be
there in the next edition of the event,” he said. The 22nd edition of the Delhi
Book Fair is scheduled to be held from August 27 to September 4.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan Dedicates to the Nation, the
Centre of Excellence in Organ Transplantation at
Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi
Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan is to formally dedicate the Centre of
Excellence in Organ Transplantation at
Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences & Research
Centre, Kochi on September 08,
2015 (Tuesday). Amrita Institute has
emerged as one of the largest centres in
India, carrying out organ transplantations.
Kerala Chief Minister Shri Oomen Chandy
and the Kerala Health Minister Shri V.S.
Shivakumar are also to be present on the
occasion. Malayalam cine actor Shri Mohanlal,
who will be the brand ambassador
for Organ Donation, is also to be present.
Over the last 15 years, Amrita Institute of
Medical Sciences & Research Centre has
carried out about 900 cases of transplantations,
which includes heart, small intestine,
pancreas, bone marrow besides liver and
kidney. It is the only facility in South East
Asia to carry out hand transplants – the first
on a 30-year-old man from Kerala and the
second on an ex-army captain from
Afghanistan.
Transplantation of organs include tissue
like Bone Marrow, solid organs like liver,
heart, kidney, lung, small intestine, pancreas
and composite tissue like hands and
face. The organs can be donated by live
donors for certain organs or procured from
brain dead deceased donors. Such services are backed by a team of specialist doctors, paramedics and support services.
On the occasion, the family of the donors of the first two twin hand transplants in the country will also be felicitated for
their exemplary action, which has given a boost to organ donation drive in the country. The first hand transplant in the
country was carried out on January 12, 2015 on a 30 year old youth named Manu, who lost both his hands in a train
accident three years back. Following the success of this procedure, the second bilateral hand transplant was carried out on
April 10, 2015 on Abdul Rahim, an Afghanistan soldier who lost his both hands in a mine blast. Both these recipients
have started using their hands for day to day activities. These two transplants were a team effort, involving about 25 surgeons,
10 anaesthetists, and physicians. The team, which worked behind the path breaking events in the field of Composite
tissue allotransplants in the country, will also be honoured on the occasion.
Ananya Nanda wins Indian Idol Junior
Mumbai, Odisha girl Ananya Nanda lifted the trophy of the second season of singing reality show “Indian Idol Junior”
here tonight.ananya-nanda-indian-idol Ananya, 14, who defeated Nahid Afrin and Nithyashree Venkataramanan received
the price money of total Rs 10 lakhs. A self-confessed fan of Shreya Ghoshal and Arijit Singh, the little singing star considers
veteran music composer Anandji of the Kalyanji-Anandji duo as her lucky charm. The grand finale of the Sony
show saw all the three permanent judges including Sonakshi Sinha, Vishal Dadlani and Salim Merchant boosting the
morale of the top three contenders. The 28-year-old “Tevar” actress enthralled the audience with a dance routine on her
popular numbers “Saree Ke Fall Sa,” “Rani Tu Main Raja,” “Pon Pon,” “Tamanche Pe disco” and “Party All Night”. Another
major highlight of the finale night was a special visit by Sonakshi’s father actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha, who
also interacted with the children.
Stand-up comedian Kapil Sharma, who is gearing up for the release of his debut film “Kis Kisko Pyar Karu” promoted
the film on Indian Idol Junior set. He joined the juniors on stage and sang some hit numbers. Kapil sticked to his comic
best and tickled everyone’s funny bone by cracking few jokes. The finale also marked the homecoming of the top 13
contestants who cheered on for the final three.