Monthly Archives: August 2018

Road accidents in Doda have killed more people than terrorism or natural disasters. File Photo

Ranjit Thakur

Doda, November 6

In all, 143 people have been killed and 1,046 injured in different road accidents across the twin districts of Doda and Kishtwar in the past three years.The road accidents in Doda-Kishtwar have killed more people than terrorism or natural disasters. Experts have blamed human negligence, bad maintenance of roads, untrained drivers and poor condition of vehicles for the accidents.As per the official figures, 89 people lost their lives on Doda roads while 803 people got injured in 462 road accidents since 2015. In Kishtwar, 54 people got killed and 243 people got injured in separate accidents.Officials in the traffic police said rash and negligent driving continued to be the main cause for the high number of fatalities in Doda and Kishtwar while poor condition of vehicle, use of mobile phones while driving and poor road conditions were also the contributing factors.Former minister and senior National Conference leader Khalid Najeeb Sourawardi said, “The traffic police are completely busy doing challans, but they never check vehicle overloading or driving licences.”“It saddens me that there has been a negligible impact on the number of deaths despite our best efforts to educate people by holding meetings, protests and rallies in Doda. I think, unless the state government passes a strong law against the violation of traffic rules and punish drivers stringently, the problem cannot be solved,” Ishtaq Ahmed Dev, a civil society member, said.“I have personally identified 36 ‘black spots’ from Assar to Kishtwar, which are highly vulnerable due to absence of road barriers, which need to be checked by the authorities without further delay. However, the roads are not the only reason of accidents here, but human errors too. We are collectively working with the police and the district administration to stop rash driving and educating drivers to adhere to traffic rules,” Zooheb Patigaroo, Deputy SP, Traffic Doda-Kishtwar Range, said.“We just have 60-70 policemen on the Batote-Kishtwar national highway. Also, we are working collectivity with the district police to regulate the traffic norms,” he added.

Mishaps mainly due to rash driving

• Officials in the traffic police said rash and negligent driving continued to be the main cause for the high number of fatalities in Doda and Kishtwar while poor condition of vehicle, use of mobile phones while driving and poor road conditions were also the contributing factors
• As per the official figures, 89 people lost their lives on Doda roads while 803 people got injured in 462 road accidents since 2015. In Kishtwar, 54 people got killed and 243 people got injured in separate accidents

Governor NN Vohra in a forward area in Rajouri. Tribune Photo

Tribune News Service

Jammu, November 22

On a daylong visit to frontier areas of Rajouri district today, Governor NN Vohra received a comprehensive briefing from Maj Gen Suchindra, General Officer Commanding, 25 Division, about the management of the entire stretch of the Line of Control which comes in the area of responsibility of the Army formation.The Governor was also informed about the help which the Army provides to the people living in the border belt who undergo considerable suffering when the Pakistan army violates the ceasefire agreement and resorts to cross-border firing, which has been happening far too often this year.The Governor was also briefed by Shahid Iqbal, Deputy Commissioner, Rajouri, and his senior officials about the problems faced by the villagers along the LoC and the rescue, relief and rehabilitation support being provided by the district administration.The Governor advised the Deputy Commissioner to particularly ensure that the academic schedules of the schoolstudents were interrupted to the least possible extent.The Rajouri Deputy Commissioner also briefed the Governor about the shelter sheds being constructed for the safety of the locals in the villages which were being affected by Pakistan firing.The Governor spent a considerable time in an extensive discussion with Arvind Kumar Ishar, Director, Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Rajouri. They talked about the work done by the KVK to upgrade the activities in the agriculture and all allied sectors.The Governor asked the Deputy Commissioner to convene an early meeting with the Chief Agricultural Officer, all Block Development Officers, Rural Development Department staff, KVK Director and subject-matter specialists to review the entire agriculture sector. He said they should lay down clear targets for the establishment of integrated farming units, dairy farming, poultry farming, fish breeding, beekeeping, distribution of quality fruit plants and improved seed varieties. He told the DC to ensure that the existing wheat, paddy, maize, potato, fodder and vegetable seeds were replaced within a clear time frame by the best high-yielding seeds.The Governor observed that enough was not being collectively done by the Agriculture Department and the KVK to ensure rapid increase in production and productivity of all crops per hectare. He called upon the DC to take urgent charge of the crucial work.Review agricultural sector, officials told  The Governor asked the Deputy Commissioner to convene an early meeting with the Chief Agricultural Officer, all Block Development Officers, Rural Development Department staff, KVK Director and subject-matter specialists to review the entire agriculture sector. He said they should lay down clear targets for the establishment of integrated farming units, dairy farming, poultry farming, fish breeding, beekeeping, distribution of quality fruit plants and improved seed varieties.

There is need to take a break from tinkering with the GST rates. The focus, instead, should now be on the plumbing, ie on the processes and technology backbone — GSTN — even as we work to get the remaining sectors in the GST fold.

Mythili Bhusnurmath

Senior consultant, National Council of Applied Economic Research Much  was expected from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meet in Guwahati early November. In the event, it exceeded all expectations. Contrary to reports in the run-up to the meet, of fireworks between Opposition state finance ministers and the ruling NDA, the council demonstrated, for the 23rd time (!), its ability, and willingness, to come together to find common ground on admittedly complex issues. The sweeping rationalisation (read reduction) of rates and simplification of procedures is, no doubt, the biggest takeaway from the Guwahati meet. Yes, it is true that frequent tinkering reflects poorly on the tax regime introduced less than six months ago. But what is notable is that, as in past council meetings, all decisions were taken unanimously in the true spirit of ‘cooperative federalism’. This is no mean feat in a country as diverse as India. Not only are issues and challenges very different across states, there is also very little in common even on basic items of consumption, making agreement on rates and exemptions a Herculean task. The oft-quoted example here is of how coconut oil is an item of everyday consumption in Kerala but a cosmetic in most other states. If despite all these challenges, the GST Council was able to reduce rates on 211 items spread across all tax brackets, cut the rate on standalone restaurants from 28 to 5 per cent (without input tax credit), raise the threshold limit for the composition scheme to Rs 1.5 crore, extend the deadline for filing GST returns and simplify the filing process, it is a remarkable achievement. So, is it win-win for all concerned — the union and state governments, businesses and consumers? Not quite! Then, what are the sticking points? 

Flaws in GST

1. Exclusion of key sectorsOn the conceptual side, the biggest flaw is the exclusion of some key sectors, notably real estate, electricity and alcohol, from the GST regime. (Petroleum is also presently outside GST, but there is a provision to include it later). These sectors contribute about 37% of the tax revenue in most states, so keeping them outside the purview of GST takes away greatly from the GST’s USP of ‘one nation, one tax’ and related benefit of transparency and audit trail. The essence of GST is transparency and audit trail, which makes it is next to impossible for the ultimate beneficiaries to escape the tax net. In fact, it is the perfect antidote for the transgressions in the real estate sector, where a majority of the transactions escape the tax authorities’ radar. States, however, are reluctant to give up their taxing powers in respect of stamp duties levied on real estate transactions. Likewise, alcohol and tobacco are big cash cows for state governments; hence the reluctance to cede taxing powers. 2. Procedural & compliance issuesThe other major sticking points relate to procedural and compliance issues. Both are likely to ease now that the limit for the composition scheme has been raised to Rs 1.5 lakh and returns can be filed quarterly, instead of monthly. This will give both taxpayers and the IT backbone, the GST Network (GSTN), some respite. The GSTN has done a commendable job: since the rollout of GST on July 1, the portal has handled over 2.26 crore returns. But it has not proved equal to the gargantuan task of handling so many returns and in a very short period of time. The tendency of businesses to file returns at the very last minute compounds the problem. The net result is that despite the GSTN’s claim that the system is robust, taxpayers are far from happy. According to the vast majority, the GSTN system frequently stalls, with the result that it takes hours to file returns. With familiarity with computers being poor and net connectivity, even in the metros, patchy, chaos is inevitable. Online filing by close to 100 lakh businesses, many of which are filing returns for the first time, is bound to challenge the best of systems and GSTN.   3. Reverse charge mechanism issueThere are a couple of other niggling issues. Under GST, the buyer is required to pay tax on behalf of the supplier when he buys goods and services from unregistered dealers (known as reverse charge mechanism). This creates problems for small dealers since buyers are reluctant to pay when they are unable to claim input tax credit immediately. At the previous meeting of the Council, reverse charge provisions were deferred till March 31, 2018. However, as of now, the relief is only temporary potentially leaving small businesses at the mercy of large corporates post March 2018.

4. Invoice matching

Invoice matching (matching of individual invoices with returns) is another problematic area that needs to be addressed. Perhaps the Council could defer this till the GSTN stabilises so that reconciliation problems do not delay tax credits. E-way bills, meant to facilitate seamless inter-state transport of goods and eliminate corruption at border check posts, have been deferred for now; but given their centrality to facilitating quick and smooth movement of goods, must not fall prey to lobbying by unscrupulous elements.      Any tax reform as complex as GST is bound to be a work in progress, at least for the first few years. An ideal GST should cover all sectors and have few rates. But what we have is a partial GST, many rates, and worse, frequent tweaks. But does that weaken it to such an extent that it takes away from all that GST stands for: viz a simpler tax regime, broader tax base, no tax cascades, enhanced export competitiveness, greater regional equity, and, most importantly, greater transparency? No! Provided we allow rates to stabilise and focus on improving the plumbing, viz the processes and technology backbone, even as we work to get the remaining sectors into GST, we would still have a better system, warts and all, than earlier.

One AK-47 and two unexploded Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were also recovered. ANI file

Chandel (Manipur), November 15

At least two Assam Rifles jawans and one militant were killed in an ongoing encounter in Chandel’s Sajik Tampak in Manipur.

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One AK-47 and two unexploded Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were also recovered.

A search operation by 4 Assam Rifles (28 Sector) was launched earlier in the day, when armed militants ambushed the Regiment at Chamoli Top at around 05:30 am.

Firing is under way.

More details are awaited. — ANI

The concept was formulated after deliberations keeping all stakeholders in the loop. It was approved by both UPA- as well as NDA-dominated Parliaments.

Ex-servicemen protesting for OROP at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, recently. PTI

Aquestion often asked: “Why One Rank One Pension (OROP) only for military retirees?” Before attempting an answer, it is important to know that the acronym OROP is not an entirely a correct definition of the issue. It should have been “Same Rank, Same Service Tenure, Same Pension” — SRSSTSP. Since it would have been quite a mouthful, the term OROP became common.OROP, the genesis

Maj-Gen Rajinder Singh ‘Sparrow’Shergill,  a Cavalry Officer, hero of Zojila and twice Mahavir Chakra awardee, after his retirement and, as a sitting MP in the early eighties, spoke thus in Parliament: “I have the honour to state that I retired from the army as a Maj-Gen and have two sons serving in the army. Assuming that they also retire as Maj-Gens and, after retirement, if they stayed under the same roof as I, the sons would be getting more pension than their father because the father retired earlier. What a dichotomy!” Mrs Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister heard the General Officer with rapt attention and understood what he spoke. A sharp woman, she was immediately convinced in principle and realised the dilemma of Maj-Gen ‘Sparrow’, and that of all military retirees, needed holistic consideration/re-evaluation. The same day in 1983, she constituted a committee headed by KP Singhdeo, a Brigadier in Territorial Army and a sitting MP from Odisha, to examine the issue and suggest measures to bring parity in pensions of the past and future defence retirees, on a basic premise of natural justice, that no senior may be brought lower than his junior — a concept which is now understood as One Rank One Pension.The present government, in its pre-election gambit to woo ex-servicemen in 2013, promised to fulfill this long overdue and legitimate entitlement. However, in a display of bad faith, on November 7, 2015, the NDA government drove the last nail in the coffin by diluting and granting a falsely labeled OROP.Why OROP only for military retirees?Any organisation that has service conditions similar to that of the soldiers of the Defence Forces has a rightful case for OROP. The average soldier retires at young age of 35, just when his domestic responsibilities are waxing, and risks both his life and limbs as part of his duty and obligation to the nation. His fundamental rights are curtailed by the law, under sovereign guarantee that his needs will be cared for and therefore he has no institution to fall back to except the government. Unlike the police and every other organization in India, soldiers are prohibited from forming unions or associations to fight for justice. Not to mention the type of hard field service locations that he has to endure, and implications on his family, affecting financial life, and, looming early retirement. The latter is because the state requires a young and fit force, and because its pyramidal structure cannot absorb him, he is let go in the prime of his life. In a nutshell, OROP to the military retirees is meant basically to compensate for their mandatory early retirement.Why no OROP to other uniformed servicesRegarding no OROP to other uniformed services Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) like BSF, CRPF, ITBPF etc, the answer is in the questionnaire: (a) Irrespective of their rank, they can serve up to 57 years unlike the military personal who are made to retire at 35 and upwards depending upon their rank. (b) The CAPF are assured minimum three promotions, but for defense forces, there is no such assurance. The service conditions of Defence Forces and CAPF too are different. The concept of “One Rank One Pension” was formulated after deliberations keeping all stakeholders in the loop. The concept was approved by two Parliaments, UPA- as well as NDA-led, but even after more than three years of the latter, it is yet to be implemented in its entirety.The government brazenly continues to deny the ex-servicemen (ESM) their due- their promised OROP, not realising that today’s soldier is tomorrow’s ESM and his morale is the nation’s biggest strength. It is neither statesmanship nor good governance and is not in the overall interest of the security of India. Why are faujis still protesting?If the NDA government loftily claims that OROP to military retirees has been granted, then why are faujis still protesting? It is because the government, in November 2015, arbitrarily altered the approved definition of OROP, equalised the pension of the past defense pensioners by giving them one time raise and maliciously termed it as OROP. The veterans felt let down at that sellout and decided to continue their peaceful protest from Jantar Mantar, asking the government for the approved and promised OROP in its entirety. Surely they are not foolish enough to continue to agitate if the actual OROP had been granted.The NDA government should well heed the warning: the defence fraternity of near five crore is a formidable electorate. Military veterans (many of them war-decorated), mostly in their twilight years, have been protesting peacefully from a footpath near Jantar Mantar for the past 28 months, asking the government to fulfill the promise of granting them correct OROP. The government continues to remain in denial mode. The exservicemen have no one to fall back to except their civilian brethren. Shouldn’t the people of the country sit up, lend their ears and peacefully be their voice too? For, didn’t these retired soldiers keep you all safe when they were young and in active service? 

New Delhi, November 3

The Railways has increased the monthly cap on tickets booked on the ICRTC portal from six to 12 for Aadhaar-verified passengers.The move, which came into effect on October 26, is believed to be an innovative way for the railways to encourage passengers to link their Aadhaar numbers to their online booking accounts on IRCTC. — PTI

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Pakistan does not appear to have operationalised its tactical nuclear-warfare plans yet, the report said. AFP file

Washington, November 26

Pakistan’s tactical nuclear weapons programme is not only dangerous for safety and security of the region, but also it is the surest route to escalating conventional war to the nuclear level, according to a report by an American think tank.

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In its report ‘Asia in the Second Nuclear Age’, the Atlantic Council, however, said Pakistan does not appear to have operationalised its tactical nuclear-warfare plans yet.

“Pakistan’s tactical nuclear-weapons programme is dangerous for safety and security reasons, and also because it is the surest route to escalating conventional war to the nuclear level. However, Pakistan does not appear to have operationalised its tactical nuclear-warfare plans yet,” said the report released this month.

The greatest threat in the region comes not from the development of large, sophisticated, and diversified nuclear arsenals, but from the continued stability of the institutions guarding them. “In this regard, the future stability of Pakistan remains a wild card,” said the report.

In the last four decades, the Pakistani deep state’s pursuit of low-intensity conflict in Afghanistan and India, via the vehicles of radical jihadi non-state actors, has produced terrible blow back effects on Pakistan itself.

Noting that both the Pakistani state and civil society have become the targets of terror attacks, it said some of the attacks have occurred, with insider help, on sensitive military bases where nuclear weapons are likely stored.

“The possibility that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons could be stolen — or that schisms in Pakistan’s military might cause nuclear command-and-control failures — is not as fantastic as it once seemed,” said the report.

Authored by Gaurav Kampani and Bharath Gopalaswamy, the report concludes that in the nuclear dynamic in the Indo- Pacific region, India and Pakistan are novice developers of nuclear arsenals; the weapons in their inventory are first- generation fission weapons.

Likewise, their delivery systems are the first in the cycle of acquisitions, the report said, adding that their hardware acquisitions generate outside concern because of the scope of their ambitions.

Observing that both nations plan to deploy a triad capability, the report said nonetheless, this ambitious goal and the selection of technologies underline the central lesson of the nuclear revolution, which is force survival (to enable an assured second-strike capability).

It said force survival through secure second-strike capabilities is also China’s goal.

“It is the only nuclear power among the three that is actually modernizing, i.e., replacing aging delivery systems with newer and better designs,” the report said.

“Thus far, the evidence suggests that Chinese and Indian explorations of multiple re-entry vehicle technologies are aimed at reinforcing deterrence through the fielding of more robust second-strike capabilities,” the report said.

It said that this conclusion is also supported by the fact that neither India nor China has, nor is developing, the ancillary intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) systems necessary to execute splendid first-strike attacks. PTI

‘Blaming and shaming should be a side business. The focus needs to be on opening channels and creating an environment where offshore account holders find repatriation of their wealth back in Pakistan to be the most economically viable option.’

while Panama leaks corruption cases have consumed public attention and power yielders wrestle in courts, the business elite fears that Panama/Paradise leaks may further polarise society across the class divide and pollute the business environment.The future strategy, businessmen said, should be to suppress the temptation of a witch-hunt. “Blaming and shaming should be a side business. The focus needs to be on opening channels and creating an environment where offshore account holders find repatriation of their wealth back in Pakistan to be the most economically viable option,” a businessman said. They detested projecting all offshore account holders as scoundrels. They stressed upon the need for evolving some mechanism to distinguish fair operators from foul. The private sector regretted the country’s environment that forced people to shift their assets overseas. According to initial estimates, the collective wealth of Pakistanis hidden overseas is around $300-$500 billion. Of this, about $200bn is said to be in Switzerland. Currently, the GDP of the country, projected by the World Bank, is around $300bn. Underplaying the astonishing volume of asset transfer and the income disparity dimension in Pakistan, free market advocates insisted that the real culprits were government’s unstable policies, the corruption/inefficiency of the tax machinery and the precarious security situation. Chief Economist Dr Nadeem Javed did not see an issue if transparency could be ensured. “We are for free flow of resources for optimal returns. As long as people see a comparative advantage they will be inclined to transfer their wealth to options that promise the best returns. It doesn’t mean indemnity from law. Within legal boundaries, everyone, rich and poor, should have the right of choice,” he said.Naheed Memon, head of the Sindh Board of Investment, mailed a long complex response. “It is not illegal but regulation, access to information laws and technology is cleaning up the grey areas. If you argue that putting money abroad increases global wealth that is then reinvested to improve human welfare through better business, you may think this crackdown is political and populist. I am a proponent of growth and progress but the idea of siphoning off wealth and running undisclosed businesses is, to me, bordering on unjust,” she said.”Instead of celebrating success we tend to penalise achievers out of sheer contempt (sour grapes phenomenon),” commented a top businessman whose name was on the latest list. “If you want something good to come out of this global thrust for greater transparency you must try and be objective. Instead of jumping to conclusions, the situation demands evidence-based planning and adjustments,” he added. As much as the private sector dismissed it there is no denying that Pakistan is perceived to be a poor country with an astonishingly rich elite. The leaks of offshore accounts of Pakistani individuals and companies did highlight the anomaly. It also exposed the nexus between law firms and financial institutions and a web of complex transactions, all shrouded in mystery.Let us answer some key questions.Where do the leaks came from?The data originally came from legal service providers (Mossack Fonseca, active in Panama; and Appleby, which has offices in Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, the Isle of Man, Jersey) in offshore industry, helping clients to set up companies overseas with low or zero tax rates. These documents were obtained by a German newspaper. Under an agreement, it was forwarded to the US-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which studied millions of documents to identify investors. The list includes 643 Pakistanis, 450 in Panama Papers and 193 in Paradise Papers. They are estimated to own 5 per cent of the total hidden $10 trillion global wealth.What is peculiar about offshore accounts?It is an overseas account operative at a place where Pakistan’s regulations are not applicable and through which individuals and companies can route money (profits, assets) to take advantage of lower taxes.

Why should we care?

First, the volume is humongous, entailing a very high opportunity cost in terms of loss of investible funds in a country struggling with low investment-to-GDP ratio. Second, the burden of tax avoidance of rich in an expanding economy is borne by the poor and salaried class. “The government functions have to be financed. The government recovers what they lose from the rich by squeezing the vulnerable multitude through indirect taxation,” commented an economist. Transparency is almost always good and lack of it is conducive to promoting and perpetuating injustice. Who is hiding their wealth?Panama and the second list include names of politicians, businessmen, bankers, brokers, realtors, doctors, lawyers, management hierarchy, bureaucrats, and senior military men.  Is there a defence for tax havens?The small island governments say that they indirectly force governments to apply constraints in applying tax rates. They say they facilitate the global circulation of wealth by offering services to asset owing entities. Joseph Stiglitz, however, considered them a threat to global governance as they facilitate money laundering, corruption and an unacceptably high level of wealth inequality.By arrangement with the Dawn