DAILY EXCELSIOR, JAMMU WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2016 (PAGE 9)

FM hints at low tax ratesNEW DELHI, Dec 13:

Finance Minister ArunJaitley today hinted at lowerdirect and indirect tax rates inthe future as demonetisationresults in higher tax revenuesfrom unaccounted wealth com-ing into system.

He also warned of a "veryheavy price" that unscrupulouselements will have to pay foramassing large amounts of cashunlawfully, saying agencies arekeeping a close eye on cashaccumulations.

The November 8 announce-ment by Government to demon-etise high value notes has in onestroke junked 86 per cent of thecurrency in circulation andholders of the discontinuednotes can deposit them in banksbefore the end of the year andwithdraw money in new curren-cy.

The money being depositedhas to be accounted for andtaxes paid - 50 per cent on vol-untary disclosures of unac-counted money and 85 per centfor any failures.

"So much money. Operatingas loose cash in the system hastoday come into the bankingsystem," he said. "It has to beaccounted for. Where taxeshave not been paid will now berecovered."

Jaitley said future transac-tions would be substantiallydigital as India moves towards aless-cash society.

"Once they are substantiallydigital they get caught in taxnet," he said. "Therefore thefuture taxation level would bemuch higher than what is cur-rently being collected. Thiswould also enable theGovernment at some stage tomake taxes more reasonablewhich will apply to both directand indirect taxes."

Demonetisation togetherwith other reforms, particularlythe GST and the restrictions oncash spending subjected to PANdeclaration, will bring down thelevels of corruption in society,he said.

"It is going to bring downcash transaction in society andit's going to bring down levelsof evasion as far as taxation isconcerned," he said.

Jaitley said it has come tothe notice of the Governmentthat some unscrupulous people,including some in the bankingsystem and others, have beentrying to subvert the systemonce again and have accumulat-ed large amounts of cash unlaw-fully.

"Obviously there is a breachof law in this and this is a stepwhich hurts the economy. Andtherefore all agencies have aneye on this. They will investi-gate this matter and all thosewho are indulging in this mal-practice will have to pay a veryheavy price for what they aredoing," he added. (PTI)

Standoff casts shadow over sessionNEW DELHI, Dec 13:

An end to the ongoingimpasse in Parliament remainselusive, casting its shadow overthe remaining three days of theWinter session which will resumetomorrow after a four-day breakamid divergent views of theGovernment and the Oppositionon debate on demonetisation.

While the government todayagain asked the Opposition tostart debate on demonetisation,Congress leader JyotiradityaScindia said his party wanted thediscussion last Friday itself but itwas disallowed by the ruling side.

He said leaders of Oppositionparties will meet tomorrow morn-ing to decide their Parliamentstrategy.

Congress sources said theGovernment has made no attemptto reach out to the Opposition tobreak the logjam.

On the Government side,Prime Minister Narendra Modiwill also hold meeting with keyministers before Parliament con-venes tomorrow morning todecide on their strategy.

Both the Government and theOpposition, especially Congressand TMC, have stuck to theirstand that the debate be heldunder a Rule that entails votingwhich the treasury benches haveruled out.

On last Friday, Congresschanged its stand and expressed

readiness for debate under "norule". However, the ruling sidecreated ruckus and the debatecould not take place.

Pitching for a debate, FinanceMinister Arun Jaitley today urgedthe Congress and other opposi-tion parties to "rise above slo-gans..." as he urged them for adebate in Parliament.

The Winter Session, whichbegan on November 16, is sched-uled to conclude on Friday, withindications that it could be a vir-tual washou.

Parliament has seen littletransaction of any substantialbusiness because of theOpposition ruckus over demon-etisation and some other issues.

Both the Lok Sabha and theRajya Sabha continued to bedeadlocked over the way a debateshould take place on demonetisa-tion announced by the PrimeMinister on November 8.

Ever since the session began,the Lok Sabha has managed toconduct only two legislativeactions -- passage of Income Taxamendment bill and approval ofSupplementary Demand forGrants -- that too amid din andwithout much debate.

The Rajya Sabha has func-tioned normally only on the firstday of the session when thedebate on demonetisation wasinitiated and held for about 5hours. (PTI)

Valley Pandits ask Govt tocome clear on rehab policy

Excelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Dec 13: Non-migrant Kashmiri Pandits todayasked State Government tocome clear on their rehabilita-tion policy and demanded thatthey should be treated at parwith displaced Pandits.

Hindu Welfare SocietyKashmir (HWSK), which isapex body of non-migrantPandits based in Valley, allegedthat Government is showing nointerest towards their rehabilita-tion even as a Cabinet SubCommittee (CSC) was constitut-ed last year to look into theirrehabilitation.

The HWSK president,Chunni Lal, said that the inter-nally displaced Pandits havebeen running from pillar to postfor several years but the succes-sive regimes have failed them.He said after setting up of theCSC headed by Deputy ChiefMinister Dr Nirmal Singh lastyear, they were hoping thatGovernment would take note oftheir problems and demands.

"Nearly 700 Pandit familiesare living in Kashmir valley,who preferred to stay here dur-ing the peak years of turmoil in1990. However, they left theirancestral homes and movedtowards city and other town-

ships in Kashmir. They are liv-ing in rented accommodationsand paying huge amount of rentevery month," said HWSK pres-ident, adding that theGovernment should at least pro-vide accommodation and jobs tothese families.

Chunni Lal informed that theverification for their rehabilita-tion was completed during thetenure of late Chief MinisterMufti Mohammad Sayeed butsince then there has been no fur-ther development.

The HWSK, which repre-sents 51 families, said they arenot against the rehabilitation ofmigrant Pandits but the Stateand Central Governmentsshould also take their care aswell. "Out of 3000 jobsannounced under PrimeMinister's employment package,300 were reserved for non-migrant Hindus but none of ouryouths have been appointed sofar," he said.

Appealing Chief MinisterMehbooba Mufti and herdeputy, Dr Nirmal Singh torehabilitate the non-migrantHindus on humanitariangrounds, the HWSK presidentsaid that they are facing multipleproblems and are running frompillar to post since last twodecades.

Vodafone Executives displaying M-Pesa PAY solution formerchants and customers.

Vodafone launches M-Pesa PAYExcelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Dec 13: VodafoneIndia today announced the launchof Vodafone M-Pesa PAY, an easyand ready to use digital paymentsolution to enable merchants andretailers to receive payments fromtheir customers without anyexchange of cash.

To start using this exceedinglyfriendly digital payment solution,retailers and merchants simplyhave to download Vodafone M-Pesa app and register forVodafone M-Pesa PAY as a mer-chant. Once registered, they cannotify individual customer tomake the payment due.Customers just need to click onthe notification and make pay-ment digitally using their M-Pesawallet, bank account and debit orcredit card in a completely seam-less, worry free and secure man-ner.

Launching Vodafone M-PesaPAY, Sunil Sood, MD & CEO atVodafone India said, "The PM hasset forth the vision of a DigitalIndia and a less cash economy. Asa responsible corporate citizen,we are fully committed to playingour role in fulfilling this vision.We started our journey towardsenabling financial and digitalinclusion in 2013 with the launchof Vodafone M-Pesa and have

since made considerable progressby successfully establishing afranchise of over 8.4 million cus-tomers and nearly 1,30,000 out-lets across the country. With thelaunch of Vodafone M-Pesa PAY,we are accelerating this journeyby creating a platform for mer-chants and retailers to easilyembrace digital payments andalso encourage their millions ofcustomers to pay via digital cur-rency."

Vodafone M-Pesa has pio-neered numerous digital paymentinitiatives in India while associat-ing with several Government ini-tiatives and developmental sectororganizations.

Users of Vodafone M-Pesadigital wallet enjoy a variety ofbenefits when they pay bills, shopand undertake select transactions.This includes up to 5% cash backfor new customers for 3 months,attractive cash back offer of up toRs 500 from shopclues.com onselect merchandise, 0.75% cashback on payments made to pur-chase petrol and full talk time onVodafone prepaid packs of selectdenominations. Further, person toperson remittance (transferringmoney to a mobile number) andloading the wallet though anyonline mode - credit/debit cardand internet banking is complete-ly free.

NC leaders and workers during protest.

NC stages massive dharna againstdemolition of Jammu school

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Dec 13: NationalConference staged a demonstra-tion against the decision of PDP-BJP Government over illogicaland anti-student decision ofdemolishing a girls' dominatedschool in the old city, close to theCivil Secretariat, just to createparking slot.

Leading the protesters,National Conference DistrictPresident Jammu UrbanDharamvir Singh Jamwaldescribed the measure as antithe-sis of "Beti Bachao, Beti-Padao"slogan of the BJP and said thisexposes the party's hypocrisy.

Jamwal assailed the insensi-tive and irresponsible decision ofthe Government and sought itsimmediate reversal, saying thatthe future of girls is involved. "Ata time, the government ought tohave provided incentives to girlsfor getting ornamented with edu-cation, it is punishing them byway of dismantling their templeof learning", he said, adding that

this particular school caters to theacademics of poor and weakersegments of society.

He also described the expla-nation of the government thatinmates of the school would beaccommodated in other schools isabsurd. "In fact, it needed to bedeveloped as a model school inthe heart of the city", he added.

The students of the schoolalso joined the protests andsought rollback of the decisionfor saving their academic career.

Prominent among those whoparticipated in the protests includ-ed Provincial Secretary SheikhBashir, Provincial PresidentWomen Wing, Satwant KourDogra, Co-Chairperson NC OBCCell Abdul Gani Teli, DilshadMalik, K D Singh, Rakesh SinghRocky, Rashida Begum, RohitBali, Dalbir Singh, Reeta Gupta,Anju Grover, Pinki Bhat, VeenaOberoi, Manveen Kour, SanjayGupta, Ashok Kumar, SuchaSingh, Vikram Manhas, SandeepSingh, Komal Manhas, RiteshKoul, Amit Koul and others.

Amita Chaturvedi, A K Kapoor and others during press con-ference at Jammu on Tuesday. -Excelsior/Rakesh

Mount Litera Zee Schoollaunches 1st school in JammuExcelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Dec 13: MountLitera Zee School (MLZS)launched its 1st school atTarore Bridge, Jammu-Pathankote National Highway.

The launching of the schoolwas announced by AK Kapoor,Chairman, Mount Litera ZeeSchool, Jammu during a pressconference.

“MLZS is the fastest grow-ing chain of K-12 schools inIndia. MLZS Jammu aims toempower the children of thecity with quality educationalong with exposure to worldclass facilities for an overalldevelopment. The school isaffiliated to CBSE Board and isequipped with interactiveclassrooms with IWB (smartclass), full size football field,cricket ground, basketballcourt, tennis court, fleet ofbuses among other facilities.The school has infrastructure toaccommodate 600 students inthe first year. With this launchMLZS aims at understanding achild’s talent, skills and capa-bilities to tap and hone them inthe right direction”, Kapoorinformed.

The panel of advisory boardsetup for the first branch atJammu includes KuldeepKhoda, Chief VigilanceCommissioner, J&K, AQManhas, Retd IGP, DrMinakshi Kilam, DirectorInternal Quality AssuranceCell, University of Jammu, PBKapoor, Managing Director,MLZS Jammu, Prof RameshChander, Principal,Government MAM CollegeJammu, Prof CL Chingloo,Retd Principal, GovernmentCollege of Physical Education,Jammu, Dr RK Chrungoo, ProfSurgery, ASCOMS Jammu,Sheikh Altaf Hussain,Advocate, J&K High CourtJammu, RK Dhar, SSP (ACS)Jammu, Jia Lal Sharma, RetdDirector Horticulture Jammu,Hardeep Aggarwal, CharteredAccountant, VK Sethi, RetdJoint Director SchoolEducation Jammu, AmitaChaturvedi, Regional Director,Zee Learn Limited, PoonamKotwal, Teacher, PresentationConvent School Jammu, RahulKapoor, Secretary, MLZSJammu and Ritesh Kapoor,Trustee.

Kapoor said that they at

MLZS, focus on holistic learn-ing of the child where technol-ogy and activities are embed-ded into the curriculumthrough their proprietarybooks, adding that this ensurethat the child has fun as well aslearns the subject conceptuallymaking him a lifelong learner,who is trained to adapt and suc-ceed in life.

“We are sure that we wouldachieve our goal of deliveringgood quality education to everychild of the city. We look for-ward to work with the peopleof this city to make MLZS abeacon of excellence for thechildren of Jammu”, saidAmita Chaturvedi, RegionalSchool Director, Zee LearnLimited.

Artists of Abhinaya Kala Manch playing Nukkad at Pouni.

Nukkad staged at PouniExcelsior Correspondent

REASI, Dec 13: AbhinayaKala Manch, Reasi, in collabora-tion with NABARD performedtheir Nukkad Natak “Nai DishaNai Umang” in Main Bazaar,Pouni town in district Reasi.

The play was performed in thepresence of AEE, B K Raina andAdvocate Sarver Mir. The streetplay written by Vishal Kathpalwas directed by Shadab Khan.

The play was based onNABARD schemes. The theme ofthe play remains that there is afarmer in a village who borrowsmoney from the private money-lender for agriculture. But due tocrop failure he is unable to returnthe borrowed amount and with thepassage of time he is over bur-dened with the interest and com-pound interest applied by themoneylender over the money bor-rowed. Finding himself in a trou-bled situation farmer is pushedtowards suicidal thoughts.

His wife gets irritated by thefarmer’s repeated suicidal threatsand takes the matter lightly.Farmer feels helpless and finallyattempts suicide. But theSarpanch enters the scene at theright time and saves him. Tryingto bring him out of the desperatesituation, they all consult the mat-

ter with a bank employee and asocial worker as well namelySusheela Behen. She educates thefarmer about various schemes runby the banks for the benefits offarmers and poor. She suggestshim to take loan from the bankinstead of private money lenderand makes him aware of theschemes of the bank available forthe farmers and for the agricultureand crop production etc.

Finally the play concludes asafter taking all these benefits thefarmer becomes a happy man andhis wife an educated lady.

Charactres of the play repeat-ed the Slogan ‘Sahukaar se todoNaata, Bank me Jaake kholoKhaata’ so that more and morepeople get the benefits of theNABARD Schemes.

Those who acted in differentroles included Pritam Kumar asDood wala, Anil Kumar asSahukar, Rohit Kumar as Kisan,Hardeep Bhagat as Ram Singh,Barkha Thakur as Susheela Behan(Bank Employee), Alka Thakur asKisan’s Wife, Shadab Khan asNarrator, Vishal Kathpal asSarpanch. Music by Aasim Khan,Costume by M.Akram Khan.

The audience responded verywell by asking banking relatedquestions after the play ended.

Dr Jitendra to handover hutments to flood victims of Seri Tanda in January

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Dec 13: Elevenone room hutments with sepa-rate kitchen and Verandah will

be handed over to 11 floodaffected families of Seri Tandain Reasi district during Januarynext year by Union Minister inPMO with independent chargeof North Eastern States, DrJitendra Singh.

The hutments were con-structed by Dr Singh in hiscapacity as MP of Kathua -DodaLok Sabha Constituency fromhis MPLAD Fund and with thehelp and assistance of an NGOand philanthropist as well aslocal people especiallySarpanchs.

Out of 11 individual hut-ments 10 have been completedwhile work is going on in anoth-er one, said Dr Singh. He saidthat the hutments were con-structed in a period of sixmonths and the local peopleespecially the affected familiesalso cooperated and providedmanpower for construction.

Dr Singh said the bathrooms

and toilets for the hutments willbe constructed under SwatchBharat Abhiyan soon.

Twelve houses were totallywashed away in the village due

to flashfloods andlandslides inSeptember 2014while some weredamaged partially.

Out of 12 fami-lies one family con-structed his houseon his own whilethe 11 families werevery poor and couldnot afford the same.Dr Singh took per-sonnel interest androped in an NGO toconstruct the hut-ments for these poorfamilies, saidSanjeev SharmaPRO of UnionMinister for Kathua

-Doda ParliamentaryConstituency.

He disclosed to oversee theprogress of work in the area athree member team whichbesides, him included Anil Goela well known social activistfrom New Delhi and ShivKumar Sharma secretary J&KSports Council visited the vil-lage two days back andannounced that the hutmentswill be handed over to the fami-lies by Union Minister nextmonth.

Sharma said this is for thefirst time in the State that anyMP has taken initiative of con-structing the hutments for thepeople whose houses were dam-aged.

Her said Anil Goel is theCoordinator for constructionwork and the work on construc-tion of bathrooms and lavatoryblocks will be undertaken underSwatch Bharat Abhiyan.

A hutment ready to be handed over toflood victims of Seri Tanda in Reasi nextmonth.

JKCCTU state president, Mohd Maqbool addressing pressconference in Jammu on Tuesday. -Excelsior/ Rakesh

Govt pursuing anti-workingclass policies: Maqbool

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Dec 13: The pres-ident , J&K CoordinationCommittee of Trade Unions(JKCCTU) and national secre-tary of All India State GovtEmployees Federation (AIS-GEF), Mohd Maqbool hasalleged that Central and the StateGovernments were pursuing theanti-working class policies.

Talking to media personshere today, Mohd Maqboolstrongly condemned the neo-lib-eral economic and anti-working

class polices of the Governmentand demanded immediate imple-mentation of 7th PayCommission report in the State.He described the present 7th PayCommission as the worst ever inthe history and described thatemployees were most unhappyover the hike recommended bythe Committee framed for thepurpose by the CentralGovernment. This Committeehas also recommended furtherjob cut to the extent of 30 %which is unfortunate, he added.

Maqbool said that the pres-ent Government is focusing onthe casual and temporary type ofjobs with no pension, adequateallowances and other serviceand social security benefits.

There is no policy for the regu-larization of the daily wagers/temporary/ casual/ need basedworkers and their exploitation iscontinued under the nose ofLabour Department. There issheer violation of Labour Lawsand the much needed socialsecurity to the worker has beendenied.

Maqbool further demandedremoval of pay anomalies of theclerical cadre, regularization oftemporary/ casual/ contractual,Asha, Anganwadi workers,scarping of new pension scheme,

enhancement of Medicalallowance etc. He said that delaybeing caused by State Govt toimplement 7th Pay Commissionreport is causing strong resent-ment among employees.

The JKCCTU leaderappealed all the employees'organizations of the State tocome forward and preparethemselves to launch a unitedstruggle for the burningdemands of the employees. Hesaid that on December 21, aunited meeting of employeesbodies will be held at Jammu todiscuss next course of action.

Senior members of JKCCTUGurmeet Singh, Haji Gh Mohd,Ram Kumar, Farid Ahmed andMuneer Khan were also present.

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