The Ministry of Home Affairs has operationalised the national Helpline 155260 and Reporting Platform for preventing financial loss due to cyber fraud. The helpline was soft-launched on 1^st April.

The National Helpline and Reporting Platform provides a mechanism for persons cheated in cyber frauds to report such cases to prevent loss of their hard earned money.

Also, a National Cyber Security Strategy 2020 is being formulated by the Office of National Cyber Security Coordinator at the National Security Council Secretariat.

What is Cyber security?

• Cyber Security is protecting cyber space including critical information infrastructure from attack, damage, misuse and economic espionage.
• Critical Information Infrastructure: According to Section 70(1) of the Information Technology Act, CII is defined as a “computer resource, the incapacitation or destruction of which, shall have debilitating impact on national security, economy, public health or safety”.
• Cyber Fraud: It is the crime committed via a computer with the intent to corrupt another individual’s personal and financial information stored online. It is the most common type of fraud and individuals and organisations need to be vigilant and protect their information from fraudsters.

How does this help?

• The helpline has been made operational by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), in coordination with the Reserve Bank of India, all major banks, payment banks, wallets and online merchants.
• The Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System has been developed by I4C to integrate Law Enforcement Agencies and Banks and Financial Intermediaries.
• The facility empowers both the banks and the police, by leveraging new-age technologies for sharing online fraud related information and taking action in almost real time.
• Since its soft launch, in a short span of two months, the helpline has assisted in saving more than Rs 1.85 crore.

What is I4C?

• I4C is Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre
• The scheme to set up I4C was approved in October 2018, to deal with all types of cybercrimes in a comprehensive and coordinated manner.
• It has seven components:
  • National Cyber Crime Threat Analytics Unit
  • National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal
  • National Cyber Crime Training Centre
  • Cyber Crime Ecosystem Management Unit
  • National Cyber Crime Research and Innovation Centre
  • National Cyber Crime Forensic Laboratory Ecosystem
  • Platform for Joint Cyber Crime Investigation Team.
• 15 States and Union Territories have given their consent to set up Regional Cyber Crime Coordination Centres.
• This state-of-the-art Centre is located in New Delhi.

What are other initiatives to tackle Cyber Crime?

• Draft Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018 (based on the recommendation of Justice BN Srikrishna Committee) to secure citizens data.
• Cyber Swachhta Kendra: The “Cyber Swachhta Kendra” (Botnet Cleaning and Malware Analysis Centre) is a part of the Government of India’s Digital India initiative under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
• Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN): It is an organisation of the MeitY, with the objective of securing Indian cyberspace. It is the nodal agency which deals with cybersecurity threats like hacking and phishing.

Conclusion

Data is the new gold, it is very important that we protect our data from cyber fraudsters and cyber criminals. We have to stay aware and stay safe! But if we realise a data breach / cyber fraud / cyber crime, we have to report it immediately !

Remember ” A stitch in time saves nine! “

Do you know who is the iron man of India?

It is Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

A few Golden traits of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

• A Leader: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel has set the example of unity by integrating 500 princely states into an independent Indian Union. And this is the reason, Patel’s Birthday is celebrated as “Rashtriya Ekta Divas”- The National Unity Day.
• Vallabhbhai Patel initiated a movement inspired by Mahatma’s ideology through which he motivated farmers to be the part of this non-violent protest against taxes. As an outcome of the protest, that year the British Government gave them a tax holiday. Hence, Gandhi ji, awarded the title of “Sardar” to Vallabhbhai Patel
• A Man of his word: During Congress elections in 1946, thirteen out of sixteen states chose Sardar Patel as their president, who was the more popular candidate and would have eventually become the first Prime Minister of independent India. But upon Gandhi’s request, he stepped down as a candidate and endorsed Jawaharlal Nehru instead.
• Epitome of Sincerity: Sardar Patel was in the court, cross examining a witness when he got the news of his wife’s death. Patel, read the noted, pocketed it and continued the case and won it. This shows his sheer dedication and commitment towards his duties. He was only 33 years old, but he loved her deeply and so, never remarried.
• A Man of principle: He was offered a job on multiple occasions by British government after his return from England and practice in Ahmadabad. Patel turned down all the offers.
• A True Friend: Despite the doctor’s instructions, he cared for his friend suffering from Plague. This Bubonic Plague effected Patel too but he survived. The Bubonic Plague swept 12 million lives across India and China.
• A Man of Determination: Patel wanted to become a lawyer and spent years studying on his own with books borrowed from other lawyers. He cleared his examination within two years. Later, he became one of the most successful barristers of the country.
• Patron saint for civil servants: As he always thought that being the country of extensive diversity, multiple culture and traditions, numerous languages, India requires a strong bureaucratic service. He played an effective role in the initiation of Indian Administrative Services (IAS).

Our brave freedom fighter, The Iron Man of India Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel died on December 15, 1950 in Mumbai.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1991.

“Every Indian should now forget that he is a Rajput, a Sikh or a Jat. He must remember that he is an Indian and he has every right in his country but with certain duties,” Patel had famously said.

Who is the father of Indian Renaissance?

Who is considered the maker of modern India?

It is Raja Ram Mohan Roy

The founder of Bhramo samaj and the person behind the abolition if Sati Pratha

Raja Ram Mohan Roy was born on May 22, 1772, in Bengal. Raja Ram Mohan Roy influenced fields of politics, education, religion and public administration. Raja Ram Mohan Roy was also ranked number 10 in BBC’s poll of greatest Bengali of all time in 2004. He had learnt as many as ten languages – Persian, Arabic, Sanskrit, English, Urdu, Hindi, Hebrew, Greek, Latin and French.

A cosmopolitan thinker as well as a nationalist reformer who believed in rationalist thinking. Through his memoranda, books, public activities for religious, social, educational, economic and political reforms he inaugurated liberal reformist modernisation in India.

His Social Reforms

• Raja Ram Mohan Roy conceived reformist religious associations as instruments of social and political transformation.
• He founded the Atmiya Sabha in 1815, the Calcutta Unitarian Association in 1821, and the Brahmo Sabha in 1828 which later became the Brahmo Samaj.
• He was well known for his pioneering thought and action on the emancipation of women and especially on the abolition of sati and widow remarriage.
• He attacked child marriage, illiteracy of women and the degraded state of widows and demanded the right of inheritance and property for women.
• He campaigned against the caste system, untouchability, superstitions and use of intoxicants.

His Educational Reforms

• Raja Ram Mohan Roy did much to disseminate the benefits of modern education to his countrymen. He supported David Hare’s efforts to find the Hindu College in 1817, while Roy’s English school taught mechanics and Voltaire’s philosophy.
• In 1825, he established Vedanta college where courses in both Indian learning and Western social and physical sciences were offered.
• He advocated the study of English, Science, Western Medicine and Technology.
• He established a number of schools to popularise a modern education system in India
• He was instrumental in setting up several institutions including the Hindu College in Calcutta in 1817, in collaboration with David Hare; the Anglo-Hindu School in 1822; and the Vedanta College to spread his teachings of Hindu monotheism. 
• He also helped establish the Scottish Church College in 1830.

His Political Reforms

• Civil liberties: Roy was impressed and admired the British system of constitutional government for the civil liberties it gave to the people. He wanted to extend the benefits of that system of government to Indian people.
• Press freedom: Through his writings and activities, he supported the movement for free press in India. When press censorship was relaxed by Lord Hastings in 1819, Ram Mohan found three journals- The Brahmanical Magazine (1821); The Bengali weekly, Samvad Kaumudi (1821); and the Persian weekly, Mirat-ul-Akbar.
• Administrative reforms: He demanded the Indianisation of superior services and separation of the executive from judiciary. He demanded equality between Indians and Europeans.

His Economic Reforms

• Taxation reforms: Roy condemned oppressive practices of Bengali zamindars and demanded fixation of minimum rents. He also demanded the abolition of taxes on tax-free lands.
• He called for a reduction of export duties on Indian goods abroad and the abolition of the East India Company’s trading rights.

Conclusion:

Raja Ram Mohan Roy was one of the few people in his time to realise completely the significance of modern age. He knew that the ideal of human civilisation does not lie in isolation of independence, but in the brotherhood of inter-dependence of individuals as well as nations. His attempt was to establish Indian people in the full consciousness of their own cultural personality, to make them comprehend the reality that was unique in their civilisations in the spirit of sympathetic cooperation.

Ladakh, also known as “the Land of Passes‟ (La-passes, dakh-land) is administered by India as a union territory.

Quick facts about Physical geography of Ladakh

• Bordering regions: It is bordered by the Chinese Tibet Autonomous Region to the east, the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh to the south, both the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan to the west, and the southwest corner of Xinjiang across the Karakoram Pass in the far north.
• River system: The Indus River and its major tributaries, the Shyok-Nubra, Chang Chenmo, Hanle, Zanskar, and Suru-dras rivers, drain the region. Glacio-fluvial processes aided by freeze- thaw weathering have formed the high altitude landscape of Ladakh.
• Climate: Ladakh has an extremely harsh environment and one of the highest and driest inhabited places on earth. Ladakh’s climate is referred to as a “cold desert” climate due to its combined features of arctic and desert climates.
• Vegetation: The entire area is nearly devoid of vegetation with the exception of valley floors and irrigated areas, due to the following factors:
• Temperature and altitude: These include wide diurnal and seasonal fluctuations in temperature, from -40°C in winter to +35°C in summer, and extremely low precipitation, with an annual 10 cm to 30 cm primarily from snow. Due to high altitude and low humidity, the radiation level is amongst the highest in the world.
• Soil type: In Ladakh soils range from gravely and sandy loams on the alluvial fans to sandy and silt clay loams on the flood plains of Indus. Ladakh’s soil is described as skeletal, calcareous with an alkaline reaction. By and large, soil is coarse and sandy, having varying quantities of pebbles. The soils are characterized by low organic matter content and poor water retention capacity.

Strategic importance of Ladakh

The importance of Ladakh to both India and China is rooted in complicated historical processes that led to the territory becoming union territory in 2019 (earlier it was part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir), and China’s interest in it post the occupation of Tibet in 1950.

• Rich in natural resources: Ladakh is situated within the upper reaches of the Indus watershed, which in total supports about 120 million people in India (in the states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab and Rajasthan) and about 93 million in the Pakistan province of the Punjab (literally, “Land of the Five Rivers”). Careful management of water resources within Ladakh is therefore vitally important, not only for the livelihoods of Ladakhis and the ecosystems of Ladakh, but for the health of the whole river system.
• Solar radiation: It is one of the most abundant natural resources in Ladakh, with annual solar radiation exceeding averages for other areas of India with high insulation.
• Geothermal potential: surveys have identified a geothermal resource at depths suitable for exploration and development. This resource could be developed to provide grid connected power to small settlements and army bases sited on the national highway.
• Tourism industry: Popularly known as the Lama Land or little Tibet, Ladakh lies at altitudes ranging between about 9,000 feet and 25,170 feet. From trekking and mountaineering to Buddhist tours of various monasteries, Ladakh has it all.
• Provides connectivity: The passes of Ladakh region connect some of the politically and economically significant zones of the world like Central Asia, South Asia, China and the Middle East.
• Market access: The south Asian countries can reach Central Asian markets through this region. Countries like Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan are rich in uranium, cotton, oil and gas resources.
• Energy security: In future, the oil and gas pipeline from Iran to China can pass through this mountainous corridor. India’s energy needs can also be met by constructing a pipeline from Central Asia via this region.
• Geopolitical Significance: The land of Ladakh enjoys the significance of being located at the ancient Silk Route which passes through these regions and played a very vital role in the development of culture, religion, philosophy, trade and commerce in the past.
• Geostrategic location: The presence of resources is what makes India, China and Pakistan struggle over Ladakh, in order to gain control over resources in this region. Pakistan and China are in conflict with India over Siachen and Aksai chin in this region. Ladakh’s geostrategic significance has increased in the backdrop of these conflicts.

Disputes in Ladakh

• Pakistan and China border dispute: Ladakh became a contested territory between the newly independent nations of India and Pakistan. In the early 1960’s a substantial area of eastern Ladakh was annexed by China.
• Due to increasing tensions between India and Pakistan, the Chinese invasion of Tibet in the 1950s, and their occupation of the Aksai Chin region in 1962, Ladakh has become one of India’s most important strategic zones.
• Strategic location and border disputes with Pakistan and China have assured a firm foothold for army presence since the past 50 years
• The origins of this contention date back to the British Raj which failed to demarcate the border between its colony and China definitively.
• Recently, Indian and Chinese armies are engaged in the standoff in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie in eastern Ladakh.
• The Galwan Valley area comes under Sub Sector North (SSN), which lies just to the east of the Siachen glacier and is the only point that provides direct access to Aksai Chin from India.
• All these border disputes are because India continues to maintain the McMahon Line as the legal border, while China has never accepted the border, stating that Tibet was never independent. Hence when China annexed Tibet these border clashed gained momentum.

Conclusion

Ladakh is an integral part of INDIA and has the potential to act as a vessel to feed India its required energy resources. For this peace in Ladakh is a condition. For peace, equal unbiased development is mandatory.

Therefore, India’s policymakers, while drafting their policies for Ladakh, should consider its geographic location, fragile environment, resource potentials and its people’s aspirations. In such a strategic location, it is crucial to keep all these aspects in harmony to take advantage of it to its fullest.

Rule Your Feelings, Lest Your Feelings Rule You. 

— Publilius Syrus

Emotional Intelligence (EI)

• Emotional intelligence refers to ‘the ability to identify one’s own emotions and those of others, harness and apply them to tasks, and to regulate and manage them’.
• Emotional Quotient (EQ) is a measure of one’s EI i.e. through a standardized test, one’s awareness of emotions in relation to self and others is known.

“What really matters for success, character, happiness and lifelong achievements is a definite set of emotional skills – your EQ — not just purely cognitive abilities that are measured by conventional IQ tests.”

– Daniel Goleman

Daniel Goleman’s Elements of EI

• Self-Awareness: It is the skill of being aware of and understanding one’s emotions as they occur and as they evolve.
• Self-Regulation: It is about controlling one’s emotions i.e. instead of reacting quickly; one can reign in one’s emotions and thus will think before responding.
• Internal Motivation: It includes one’s personal drive to improve and achieve commitment to one’s goals, initiative, or readiness to act on opportunities, and optimism and resilience.
• Empathy: It is an awareness of the needs and feelings of others both individually and in groups, and being able to see things from the point of view of others.
• Social Skills: It is applying empathy and balancing the wants and requirements of others with one’s. It includes building good rapport with others.

EQ in common words

• EQ is a measure of a person’s level of emotional intelligence. It refers to a person’s ability to perceive, control, evaluate, and express emotions.
• EQ is centered on abilities such as identifying emotions, evaluating how others feel, controlling one’s own emotions, perceiving how others feel, using emotions to facilitate social communication and relating to others.

Why is EI important?

EI is very important for our everyday lives because it is

• The ability to perceive emotions in oneself and others accurately.
• The ability to use emotions to facilitate thinking.
• The ability to understand emotions, emotional language, and the signals conveyed by emotions.
• The ability to manage emotions so as to attain specific goals.

How can we improve our EI

• By self-evaluating oneself, one can know one’s emotions and reactions to different situations.
• By observing others, one can comprehend feelings of others.
• By improving one’s expression, one can communicate better.
• By analyzing the impact of one’s action over others, one can fine tune the actions.

“Anybody can become angry, that is easy; but to be angry with the right person, and to the right degree, and at the right time, and for the right purpose, and in the right way, that is not within everybody’s power, that is not easy.”

—Aristotle

“Poverty is not just a lack of money; it is not having the capability to realize one’s full potential as a
human being”
This is a Quote by Amartya Sen

According to the ​ World Bank​ , Poverty is pronounced ​ deprivation in well-being, and comprises many dimensions​ . It includes low incomes and the ​ inability to acquire the basic goods and services necessary for survival with dignity​ . Poverty also encompasses low levels of health and education, poor access to clean water and sanitation, inadequate physical security, lack of voice, and insufficient capacity and opportunity to better one’s life.

Poverty is more than just lack of money, deprivation of a person’s capabilities to live the life they have reason to value​ . The capability approach looks at the range of options available for the individual to choose from and the freedom to exercise that choice. A person below poverty line is not just lack of money, it is an indication of the inability to acquire the basic goods and services necessary for survival with dignity. Poverty is not just lack of money but is a mark of low levels of health and education, poor access to clean water and sanitation, inadequate physical security, lack of voice, and insufficient capacity and opportunity to better one’s life. ​ This incapability​ leads to hopelessness , And in this global world with an plethora of opportunities this hopelessness leads to fear and uncertainty Which fades away the hope of a better future​ . Hence poverty is not just lack of money, it is a ​ multi dimensional social evil.

Furthermore Poverty leads to a ​ devilious “Poverty Trap” which ​ affects both Growth and Development cycle​ . How poverty affects ​ Growth cycle: Low income leads to low saving which in turn leads to low investment which results in low economic growth which ultimately results in low income thus forming a vicious cycle​ , Similarly The development cycle also runs in the opposite direction as Low income leads to low level of education and health care which in turn leads to low level of human capital which results in low productivity which ​ ultimately results in low income thus forming another
vicious cycle​ and thus ​ poverty becomes inevitable and slowly people drown in this brutal cycle​ . Generally poverty is associated with lack of money, measured on the basis as those who live on $1.90 per day or less . ​ In India the poverty line is defined on the basis of monthly spending on food, education, health, electricity and transport. According to this estimate, a ​ person who spends Rs. 27.2 in rural areas and Rs. 33.3 in urban areas a day​ are defined as living below the poverty line. It is regretful that in India, ​ 21.9% ​ of the population lives below the national poverty line in ​ 2011​ . ​ The
Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) found that about ​ 420 million people are considered destitute (People having an extreme lack of basic living standards). Most of them live in South Asia. About ​ 343 million live in India​ .

While on the bright side The ​ Global Multidimensional Poverty Index-2018 released by the UN noted that ​ 271 million people moved out of poverty between 2005-06 and 2015-16 in India. The ​ poverty rate in the country has nearly halved, falling from 55% to 28% over the ten-year period. Still a big part of the population in India is still living Below the Poverty Line. As Poverty is not just lack of money, Hence, ​ Policies which concentrate beyond just increasing the income are the need of the hour ​ as rightly quoted by Amartya Sen (nobel laureate).

“Poverty is the deprivation of opportunity.”

The Government of India has recognised the need for ​ policies that focus not just on increasing income of the people below poverty line, the focus of the policy makers has also ​ shifted on increasing capability of the poor people through expanding opportunities of healthcare, education, skill development and ending gender based and caste based partiality leading to deprivation of opportunities​ . Thus in recent years ​ schemes like National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) ,Beti bachao beti padhao , Skill India mission and Sarva shiksha Abhiyaan and many such policiesl point out that that government wants to increase the capability of the poor people so that they could live a life meaningful to them in long run.

Yes! you read it right! Women are recruited in the Indian Military

Deployment of Women in Armed Forces

• The Army, Air Force and Navy began inducting women as short-service commission (SSC) officers in 1992.(This was the first time when women were allowed to join the military outside the medical stream.)
• One of the turning points for women in the military came in 2015 when Indian Air Force (IAF) decided to induct them into the fighter stream.
• In 2020, the Supreme Court (SC) ordered the central government to grant permanent commission (PC) to women officers in the Army’s non-combat support units on par with their male counterparts.
• In early 2021, the Indian Navy deployed four women officers on warships after a gap of almost 25 years. India’s only aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya and fleet tanker INS Shakti are the warships that have been assigned their first women crews since the late 1990s.
• In May 2021, the Army inducted the first batch of women into the Corps of Military Police, the first time that women joined the military in the non-officer cadre.

Number of Women in Armed forces

• There are 9,118 women currently serving the army, navy and air force.
• According to 2019 figures, women comprise only 3.8% of the world’s second-largest army – compared to 13% of the air force and 6% of the navy.

Why is it Important?

• Gender is not a Hindrance: As long as an applicant is qualified for a position, one’s gender is arbitrary. In modern high technology battlefield technical expertise and decision-making skills are increasingly more valuable than simple brute strength.
• Military Readiness: Allowing a mixed gender force keeps the military strong. The armed forces are severely troubled by falling retention and recruitment rates. This can be addressed by allowing women in the combat role.
• Effectiveness: The blanket restriction for women limits the ability of commanders in theater to pick the most capable person for the job.
• Tradition: Training will be required to facilitate the integration of women into combat units. Cultures change over time and the masculine subculture can evolve too.
• Global Scenario: When women officially became eligible for combat positions in the American military in 2013, it was widely hailed as another step towards the equality of sexes. In 2018, the UK military lifted a ban on women serving in close combat ground roles, clearing the way for them to serve in elite special forces.

Conclusion

• Women were being kept out of command posts on the reasoning that the largely rank and file will have problems with women as commanding officers. Thus, changes have to take place in the culture, norms, and values of not only the rank and file of the Army but also that of society at large. The responsibility to usher these changes lies with the senior military and political leadership.
• The United States, Israel, North Korea, France, Germany, Netherlands, Australia and Canada are among the global militaries that employ women in front-line combat positions.
• It is the right of every woman to pursue a career of her choice and reach the top since Equality is a constitutional guarantee.

Its been 4 years since Goods and Services Tax (GST) was introduced! How much do we know about it?

What is GST

• The GST is a value-added tax levied on most goods and services sold for domestic consumption.
• The GST is paid by consumers, but it is remitted to the government by the businesses selling the goods and services.
• GST, which subsumed almost all domestic indirect taxes (petroleum, alcoholic beverages and stamp duty are the major exceptions) under one head, is perhaps the biggest tax reform in the history of independent India. It was launched into operation on the midnight of 1^st July 2017.

What is special about GST?

• Applicable on Supply Side: GST is applicable on ‘supply’ of goods or services as against the old concept on the manufacture of goods or on sale of goods or on provision of services.
• Destination based Taxation: GST is based on the principle of destination-based consumption taxation as against the principle of origin-based taxation.
• Dual GST: It is a dual GST with the Centre and the States simultaneously levying tax on a common base. The GST to be levied by the Centre is called Central GST (CGST) and that to be levied by the States is called State GST (SGST).
• Import of goods or services would be treated as inter-state supplies and would be subject to Integrated Goods & Services Tax (IGST) in addition to the applicable customs duties.
• GST rates to be mutually decided: CGST, SGST & IGST are levied at rates to be mutually agreed upon by the Centre and the States. The rates are notified on the recommendation of the GST Council.
• Multiple Rates: GST is levied at four rates viz. 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%. The schedule or list of items that would fall under these multiple slabs are worked out by the GST council.This is apart from the tax on gold that is kept at 3% and rough precious and semi-precious stones that are placed at a special rate of 0.25% under GST.

The GST Council

• It is a constitutional body (Article 279A) for making recommendations to the Union and State Government on issues related to GST.
• The GST Council is chaired by the Union Finance Minister and other members are the Union State Minister of Revenue or Finance and Ministers in-charge of Finance or Taxation of all the States.
• It is considered as a federal body where both the centre and the states get due representation.

GST – Reform?

• Creation of a common national market: By amalgamating a large number of Central and State taxes into a single tax.
• Mitigation of cascading effect:
  • The GST that a merchant pays to procure goods or services (i.e. on inputs) can be set off later against the tax applicable on supply of final goods and services. The set off tax is called input tax credit.
  • The GST thus avoids cascading effect or tax on tax which increases the tax burden on the end consumer.
• Reduction in Tax burden: From the consumers’ point of view, the biggest advantage is in terms of reduction in the overall tax burden on goods.
• Making Indian products more competitive: Introduction of GST is making Indian products more competitive in the domestic and international markets owing to the full neutralization of input taxes across the value chain of production.

What are the achievements of GST

• Automated Indirect Tax Ecosystem:
  • The introduction of e-way bills coupled with the crackdown on fake invoicing has helped in bringing in a substantial portion of GST revenues, which were either being evaded or under-reported.
  • E-invoicing system would also usher the taxpayers into a fully automated compliance regime wherein the computation of tax liabilities and matching of input tax credit would become very simple.
• Simplification of Compliance:
  • Various initiatives like linking the customs portal with GST portal for credit availability on imports, making available proper means for matching input tax credit, increased automation of the refund procedure to seamless operation of the Invoice Registry Portal, helped simplify tax compliance.
• Functioning of GST Council:
  • The GST Council made corrections to law, issued clarifications on complex issues, rationalized GST rates and introduced relaxations for dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, which establishes that the GST Council structure has been very functional and agile.
• Example to the World:
  • India has served as an example to the world by successfully implementing one of the most complex tax transformation projects for the country.

Criticisms of GST

• Fiscal Federalism:
  • This issue became controversial when GST collections fell because of the pandemic.
  • Because GST entailed a bigger surrender of taxation powers for the states – states do not levy direct taxes or customs duties – a guaranteed revenue growth of 14% for a period of five years was offered to them by the centre to get them to agree.
• Issues Highlighted by the 15^th Finance Commission:
  • The 15^th Finance Commission has highlighted several areas of concern in the GST regime relating to multiplicity of tax rates, shortfall in GST collections vis-à-vis the forecast, high volatility in GST collections, inconsistency in filing of returns, dependence of States on the compensation from Centre and so on.
• Large Businesses vs Small Businesses:
  • The fundamental principles on which the GST law was built were seamless flow of input credits and ease of compliance has been impaired by IT glitches.
  • Indirect taxes, unlike direct taxes such as income tax, do not differentiate between the rich and the poor and therefore put a bigger burden on the later.
  • Further, small and medium businesses are still grappling to adapt to the tech-enabled regime.

What are some suggestions by experts?

• With oil prices sky-rocketing across the country, the policymakers need to contemplate the inclusion of petroleum and related products within the GST net.
• It is vital to finally constitute the GST Appellate Tribunal as it is obvious that all taxpayers do not have the finances or means to approach the High Court for every practical difficulty faced.
• Streamlining of anti-profiteering measures and simplification of compliance procedures also needs to be revisited to ensure that the cost efficiency and reduction in prices envisaged under GST law finally reaches the common man.

Conclusion

In the four years of GST, It has undoubtedly been successful in many areas but the pandemic has exposed several problems in its structure and implementation. The law is still a ‘work-in-progress’, and the process of evolution, in such a complex journey, cannot be eliminated. The Government is taking several measures to make it resilient. We can definitely hope for a Good and Simple tax in the times to come.