-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said on Thursday that the tax base and revenues had increased significantly post demonetisation and there was no surge in the people who stopped filing returns. “CBDT clarified that contrary to the report, it is a fact that demonetization had a phenomenal positive impact on the widening of tax base and direct tax collections,” the tax department said while...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Congress talks about safeguarding privacy, Trinamool warns of the misuse of surveillance and CPM proposes limiting the influence of technology behemoths. Leading political parties have woken up to the issue of digital rights in their poll manifestos, a move that has been welcomed by civil society and activists. The Congress manifesto promises to safeguard privacy and personal data by passing laws. It also lays down ambitious...

-The Indian Express Stop filers are individuals who filed returns in earlier years but did not do so in the current year even though they are liable to do so. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Thursday said it “does not have any word ‘Stop Filers’ in its glossary and it does not maintain any database of ‘Stop Filers’ in normal course”. This was in response to the April 4 report...

-The Hindu Governments can provide direct cash transfers while creating conditions for employment With the Congress promising through the Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY) scheme ?6,000 every month to the poorest 20% of households if voted to power, Mahendra Dev and Pronab Sen talk of the importance and problems of direct cash transfers. Providing social protection is important even as governments try to create conditions for income-generating activities, they say in a discussion...

-The Indian Express It is best read as a political promise for social security. There is more than one way of redeeming it Guaranteed minimum income is a powerful idea that has already made some headway in various countries. Some European countries, for instance, guarantee a minimum income to their citizens. This requires extensive data collection as well as an effective cadre of welfare officers and social workers tasked with enquiring...