-The Indian Express Both the EC and the Law Ministry have been asked to furnish their written replies at the next meeting. New Delhi: AMID THE demands for state funding of elections, the Election Commission (EC) has categorically told a parliamentary panel that it is “not in favour” of the move. It has, instead, called for “radical changes” in the “provisions regarding receipt of funds” and expenditure by political parties to...
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No plan to tax agri income; rich farmer very rare, says Arun Jaitley
-PTI Stating that the agriculture sector is under distress, he said farm holdings are very small in size Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said the government has no plans to tax agricultural income, including that of prosperous farmers, saying a rich farmer is “a very rare institution” and not the norm. In an interview to PTI, he said the farm sector is in distress and there was no question of taxing agricultural income. NITI...
More »Why Are Cesses Meant For Workers' Social Security Being Abolished? -Bharat Dogra
-TheWire.in After the government cancelled certain cesses that were meant for labourers’ welfare in preparation for the GST, activists suspect that many such moves may be around the corner. Assaults on the hard-earned rights of several categories of workers have been on the rise in recent times, evidenced by the cancellation of cesses meant to be utilised for workers’ social security. If left unchecked, such changes can lead to much bigger losses...
More »Cong smells farm tax
-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Congress today alleged that the Narendra Modi government was testing the waters on bringing agricultural income within the tax ambit and declared its intention to build a movement of farmers if the idea was implemented. "This government is harassing industrialists, traders, students, political rivals... only one section of the society was left, that is farmers," Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said. "The statements coming from important people in...
More »Modi Government's Tech Fetish is Diluting MGNREGA's Accountability -Siraj Dutta
-TheWire.in Most technocratic interventions introduced in MGNREGA appear to be designed to aid administrators rather than for actually helping workers. In his 2017-18 Budget speech, finance minister Arun Jaitley asserted with great conviction that the ruling dispensation’s “initiative to geo-tag all MGNREGA assets” to put them “in public domain has established greater transparency”. In 2016-17, the rural development ministry started an initiative called ‘GeoMGNREGA’, under which it was proposed that all assets created under...
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