75^th Independence Year Celebrations – some suggestions

 

1.  75 lakh jobs to be announced  and  persons recruited by Pvt & Govt Sector from 15 August 2022 to 14 August 2023

 

2.  10 L  Vaccine Doses of COVAXIN & Other India-developed vaccines to be gifted to  75 countries,  each

Rank	Continent	Number of countries
1	Africa	54    35 poorest
2	Asia	48    20 poorest
3	Europe	44     5  poorest
4	North America	23     5  poorest
5	Australia/Oceania	14     5  poorest
6	South America	12     5  poorest

 

This means a Gift of 7.5 Cr Vaccines whose Total Value comes to (7.5 Cr X  250/ per dose)  ₹ 1875 Crores,  a huge contribution to World welfare.  Will get huge fund of goodwill and respect for India.  Govt can run a big campaign from now itself requesting for donations from Indian Citizens for this projected expense to be given to PM Cares Fund.

              

3. Celebrations organised by Ministry of External Affairs and Culture Ministry in 75 Countries as under (Countries with  Large Indian Population)

 

Music Performance (Classical – Instrumental & Vocal as well as Film)

Dance Performance (All schools – Kathak, Bharat Natyam, Kathakali, Odissi)

Performance by Teams from TV Shows like India’s Got Talent, Sa Ra Ga Ma Pa, Indian Idols

Ayurvedic Medicine Sale and Consultation

Yoga Classes and Demonstrations

Sand Art Sculpture

Hand Weaving (Charkha & Charkha Sale), Block Printing

Textile / Garment Sale

Food / Snacks /Chaat sale

Indian Film Shows

 

TARGET TO Earn through Sales / Tickets  ₹ 7500 Crores (Govt & Private  participants together)

 

 

4. 75 Commemorative Stamps to be released – 1 for each year of independence,  highlighting the important/ celebratory event of that year like

 

4.1       1947 – India wins Freedom

4.2      1948 – India gets First Indian Gov-Gen – CR Gopalachari

4.3       1949 – India’s Constitution adopted

4.4       1950 – India becomes a Republic

4.5       1951 – India’s First Gen Elections held /1^st Asian Games held

4.6       1952 – India’s First elected Government takes Office

4.7      1953 – Indian Airlines Created

4.8      1954 – India frees Dadar & Nagar haveli from Portuguese

4.9       1955 – Imperial Bank of India changed to State Bank of India

4.10    1956 – LIC of India established

4.11    ………….

4.12    …………. and so on

 

 

5.    75 Commemorative Coins to be released,  as under : 

Re. 1         15 ]  Will have portraits of major

Rs. 2         15 ]  persons who ran the

Rs. 5         10 ]  country or were great

Rs. 10       10 ]  public figures 

Rs. 20       10 ]  prior to

Rs. 50       10 ]  Muslim invasion

Rs. 75        5 ]  this will have 5 designs chosen after competitive                             selection (artistic, Bharatiya Sanskriti representative                           images)

 

6.    A National & International Painting competition to celebrate India’s 75^th Independence day (painting may be or maybe not be related to Independence Day). No Entry Fee but painting will become property of PM Cares and will be auctioned to collect Funds for the Same.  60 Prizes for Entries from India and 15 prizes for Entries from abroad.  Prize Winners will be invited to New Delhi for Prize Distribution and a  5-day trip to Ayodhya, Gaya/Deogarh, Amritsar, Kashi, Sarnath, Tirupati for 4 persons.

 

7.    75^th Independence Day Lottery in celebrations abroad  – tickets of  $ 100 / $ 250  each – Prize will be All Expenses paid Holiday in India for 4 persons for 4 days (2500 prizes) & 10  days (1000 prizes) in any one of the following :

 

a)    Agra/Jaipur

b)    Konark/Puri/Kolkata

c)     Gaya/Kashi/Sarnath

d)    Srinagar/Leh/Santoshi Ma Mandir,  

e)    Rameswaram/Mahabalipuram/Munnar

f)      Ooty/Kodaikanal Circuit,

g)    Ajanta/Ellora/Goa, 

h)    Khajuraho/Jabalpur/Pachmarhi

i)      Amritsar/Kartarpur/Chandigarh/Simla

 

8. 75 Stolen or Seized Antiquities to be recovered and brought back to India during the course of the year with special efforts to get the KOHINOOR back.  The present political climate and India’s rising standing in the world, especially UK (where the effective No. 2 in the UK Government cabinet is a person of Indian origin)  this is the best time to press for the return of the KOHINOOR.

 

9.    Try to reach 75 Km/day  construction in the year Aug 2022 to Aug 2023.

 

10.Honour 75 Indologists  of foreign origin  who have highlighted India’s achievements, Indian Culture and India’s Soft Power. 

 

11.Honour 75 NRI’s who have made tangible contribution to India’s economy, Education, Science & Technology Development – this will exclude those who are only CEO’s abroad in well-known companies but have done nothing substantial/tangible in and for India.

 

 

The whole objective behind the above suggested exercise is to make India’s 75^th Independence day a  “WORLD EVENT”  and subtly increase India’s mind-share on the world stage.  This would also help to increase our soft power and give a big  thrust to our Tourism Sector and earnings from the same.

Showcasing India’s Art, Culture, Films, Music, Yoga and Ayurvedic Medicine  and above all Indian food/cuisine would open doors for huge exports in these areas.

The act of donating 10 L Free vaccines, each,  to 75 countries  will win us a lot of plaudits and many permanent friends in the African and Asian continents which will give us strength against the sworn enmity of China and Pakistan.  It will also open many economic opportunities for us in these 2 continents.

The above suggestions are currently in bullet form only -  essentially meant to be thought – starters for an intensive brainstorming session. 

I will be happy to assist in detailing and fleshing these suggestions to a working action plan.

 

 

Yours faithfully,

Hemendra K. Varma

 

Mumbai

February  20,  2022

Requesting Finance Minister to provide Relief to the Middle Classes in Budget for FY 2022-23

 

Following are some suggestions for adoption in the forthcoming Budget for FY 2022-23.

 

1. Withdraw the Dividend tax of 10 % on Investors and reimpose it on Companies/MFs  

 

Senior citizens, who largely rely on dividend income for meeting their expenses find this 10 %  cut very substantial, made even more so, when Annual Inflation is 5 % +. 

 

If some of us are entitled to "not pay this 10% tax"  it involves filling 15G/15H forms for each Company/MF which is very cumbersome  AND/OR  making refund claims for which we invariably have to take help of CAs which involves a substantial cost.

 

Finally, Companies/MFs, by and large,  have been doing extremely well and are poised to do even better with your policies ; hence,  they will not find it difficult at all to bear this tax, which they were  anyway paying earlier and had no real objection to the same.

 

Also, when Companies pay this Dividend Tax,  they will be filing just  ONE TDS Return Return. However, when they are required to deduct it from Investor’s dividends they will have to issue well over 10 to 12 crore TDS Returns (Form 16) because of the number of investors per company and per Mutual Fund.  This is a substantial Administrative Burden that will also strain the IT backbone. 

 

2.   Increase Sec 80C Deposit Limit to 2.5 Lakhs  by increasing it by Rs. 1 Lakh only for PPF and at the same time pay 2 % LESS interest on this additional 1 lakh PPF Deposit to limit Govt costs.

 

This will help many people to reduce their tax bracket or even come out of Income Tax Payment bracket which will be a great relief.  At the same time, Govt costs are partially controlled by paying lower interest on the additional amount, as suggested.

  

 3.     Increase the  NO TAX LIMIT  from Current Rs. 5 Lakhs to Rs. 7.5 lakhs and from         Rs. 5 lakhs to Rs. 9.0 Lakhs for Citizens above 75 years of age  and SCRAP            THE OLD TAX REGIME for all.

     This will give a decent tax reduction to many in the Middle Class and big relief to           Senior Citizens including NOT having to File Returns, as already mandated by you        in your last budget,  for those above 75.

    Previously,  the NEW REGIME was of benefit to only those earning below Rs. 12          lakhs per Annum – now it will become attractive to also those that are earning close      to Rs. 20 lakhs per annum which will cover more than 80 % of Income tax payers. 

    At the same time the adoption of NEW TAX Regime by all  will substantially plug     leakages and reduce need for documentation in areas like House Rent and LTA Claims and bring substantial  “Return Processing” relief to the over-burdened         Income Tax Department.

  

4.     Scrap the Tax imposed on Long Term Capital Gains but increase the definition of Long Term from 1 year to 3 years

       The calculation of Capital Gains from sale of shares/Dividends is extremely                   cumbersome for the average citizen and he/she can always run  foul of the law             unless he takes help of  CAs,  which is again a big cost for him.  Also it requires           keeping track & safe storage of a large number of documents/records which is very strenuous.

 

This will be a  big relief for the average citizen and will be received with great deal of joy and enthusiasm by the entire citizenry.

 

This will also be a BIG RELIEF  to the IT Department from having to scrutinise each claim of Capital Gains Tax Liability reduction or exemption.

 

The objective of proposing an increase in the “Capital Gains qualifying period from 1 to 3 years”  is to ensure that there is far less volatility in the Capital markets from frequent and irresponsible short-term  selling/withdrawal.

 

The Revenue Loss, if significant,  may be made up by having a Capital gains Tax which is 2 percentage points higher than the individual’s or Corporate’s  applicable Income Tax Rate.  This will be a straightforward tax  that does not involve any documentation, calculation or  CA assistance.

  

5.   The  limit for Sec 54E  Deposits for claiming Capital Gains Tax Exemption be raised from present Rs. 50 lakhs to Rs. 2 Crores

 

The limit of Rs. 50 Lakhs was fixed over 20 years back.  Clearly the gains occurring these days are in Crores, especially for Old Property (land or building). Hence, it is only fair that this limit be revised to a more reasonable level.

 

If this is done it will encourage much greater transparency and disclosure of ‘actual transacted amounts”  fetching good Stamp Duty Revenue for the Government in all states.

 

Will encourage more accurate and higher disclosure which will translate to bigger  “Stamp Duty” revenues for the State Governments.

 

 

The above recommended measures will win you a lot of applause and enthuse the Middle Class who have been at the receiving end for the past 2 years.

 

It will greatly help to defuse the sombre mood and gloom that pervades the nation today in view of the re-emergence of the CORONA  spread,  as also the pain that the Middle Classes, in particular,  feel due to their loss of income and their well-being, being, relatively, ignored by the Govt, vis-à-vis  what has been done for other socio-economic groups. Such relief will greatly brighten their days.

 

 

Mumbai

11 January  2022

 

An Appeal to all CEOs, MDs and Business Owners

The speed with which daily cases have grown is truly alarming. Please see data for past 10 days :

                                                                                 EOD

                New Cases     Recoveries     Deaths     Active Cases

23-Dec       6681               6960               374           84598
24-Dec       7158               7051               387           84318
25-Dec       6987               7286               162           83857
26-Dec       6531               7091               315           82982
27-Dec       6358               7141               293           81906
28-Dec       9195               6450               302           84349
29-Dec     13154               7347               268           89888
30-Dec     16764               7486               220           98946
31-Dec     22775               7585               406         113730
01-Jan      27553             18198               284         122801

Data Source : https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/


All State Govts are fighting shy of imposing a full lockdown or stiff restrictions for fear of incurring public wrath & facing open defiance.

This is where CEOs can  step in and  help the Govt, the country and thereby all the people.

Please consider shutting down all your operations for a period of 15 days, starting MONDAY, 10 Jan 2002.  This should be treated as compulsory, paid LEAVE for all employees (their Leave Balance being debited) and only Maintenance & Essential Services Staff may be permitted to come to work for continuous process Factories or Customer Care Centres etc., and that, too, restricted to the bare minimum.

This will dramatically reduce traffic and crowding in public transport, roads, local bus and train stations.

Similarly,  cancel/postpone all travel/tours/businesses meets & conferences for 15 days starting 10th January. This will similarly cut down crowding in long-distance trains, flights & airports and inter-state bus services.

As you well know, the chief carrier & spreader of the virus is "people moving around or coming in close proximity to each other". Both these major causes will greatly reduce if you take the above suggested measures.

It will also give much needed breathing space to the country's health facilities which have already started experiencing the strain of increasing daily cases.

The huge reduction that the above measures will bring about in "people on the streets" will the allow State govts to effectively police & control violations of other public places like markets, malls, streets etc. without having to face "unpopular reaction to lockdown".

Will this badly hit the economy ?  No, it will not as it is a planned move for a limited period of 15 days, and there is enough stocks of daily necessities in the pipeline so that people are not inconvenienced.



3 January 2022


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