Vol 9 Issue 2 ●
Regn. no. MAHENG/2004/15104
Mar-Apr. 2012
If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.
I n d i a ’ s Fi r s t N G O N e w s ta b l o i d CONNECTiNG India at bottom of UN eGovernance meter
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espite being the largest democracy in the world with the need for effective and transparent public governance, India stood at the bottom of the UN E-Government Survey 2012 rankings among less known nations like Samoa, Tuvaluand Vanuatu. Even nations like Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Chile, Latvia, Colombia, Barbados, Barbuda and Uruguay have performed better than India, which stood at 125th position in the UN survey with an EGDI (E-govt. Devpt. Index) of 0.3829 . EGDI measures the willingness and capacity of national administrations to use information and communication technologies (ICTs) to deliver public services. The current ranking is ironically down from the previous ranking of 119 in 2010 in the UN survey for that year. Neighboring countries Sri Lanka, Iran and Maldives are ahead of India in the e-Governance index, while Bangladesh, Bhutan, Pakistan, Nepal and Afghanistan are below India’s ranking. However, India is making efforts to move forward to use technology for delivering social benefits to its poor with its Aadhaar scheme and other IT applications. According to the survey, India is among the one quarter of all countries publicly committed to considering the results of eparticipation in the policy-making process. India also belongs to the half of all countries who provide a gateway to regional and/or local governments by linking to them from their national page or portal. The survey, based on a study of government Web portals of member states, showed that South Korea retains the top position with EGDI score of 9.283/10, ahead of The Netherlands and the UK, followed by Denmark, the US, France and Sweden. UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Sha Zukang said the increasing role of e-Government in promoting inclusive and participatory development has gone hand-in-hand with the growing demands for transparency and accountability in all sectors. With more and more govt. offices being computerised in the cities and villages, one hopes that India, considered to be an IT-savvy country, will improve on that score.Particularly in the MNERGA and such sectors where corruption is rampant. Where’s the governance? On the non-e-governance score, Karnataka still does not have a Lok Ayukta, months after the post fell vacant. Aspirants suggested by the State have been found to be corrupt again and again. It is apparent that the State does not want an honest man for the job.---Rima Kashyap
-- Booker T. Washington
www.ngoconnect.org
A ‘SHAKTI’ PROJECT
Implications of the Budget & Finance Bill 2012 on Charitable Organizations in India
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inister of Finance, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee presented the Union Budget for 2012-13 and the Finance Bill 2012 on March 16, 2012. Networks of voluntary organizations in India like Voluntary Action Network of India (VANI), Centre for Advancement of Philanthropy (CAP) and many others had earlier met Mr. Mukherjee and submitted memorandums requesting certain legitimate reliefs and more enabling tax provisions for India’s dynamic and evolving voluntary / nonprofit sector. However, all petitions made seem to have fallen on deaf ears. Budget Highlights The Direct Tax Code (DTC) has not been enacted as yet. The Parliamentary Standing Committee submitted their report only on March 9, 2012. Mr. Mukherjee has said that he will examine the report expeditiously and take steps for the enactment of the DTC at the earliest. The Finance Minister has provided no increase in the threshold of Rs. 25 Lakhs to organizations falling under the category -”advancement of any other object of general public utility’— u/s 2(15). He has further proposed and with retrospective effect from 1st April 2009 (in other words applicable for financial year 200809 and subsequent fiscal years), that Section 10(23C), Section 13 and Section 143 of the Income Tax Act be amended to ensure that such organizations do not get benefit of tax exemption in the year in which its receipts from commercial activities exceed the threshold of Rs. 25 Lakhs, whether or not the registration or approval granted or notification issued is cancelled, withdrawn or rescinded.* No tax deductions shall be allowed under Section 80G or Section 80GGA for cash donations in excess of Rs. 10,000/-. These amendments to Sections 80G and 80GGA will take effect from 1st April, 2013 and will, accordingly, apply in relation to the financial year 2012-13 and subsequent fiscal years. The Service Tax provisions in the Budget mention 17 areas (a negative list) in which service tax will not be charged but for absolutely everything else that involves a service, there will be *service tax @ 12 % (plus cess) instead of the earlier 10% (plus cess). The negative list (i.e. services not chargeable to tax) includes pre-school and school education, recognized education at higher levels and approved vocational education, renting of residential dwellings, entertainment and amusement services and a large part of public transportation including inland waterways, urban railways and metered cabs. The Finance Minister has specified that in addition to the negative list, there is a list of exemptions which include health care, services provided by
charities, religious persons, sportspersons, performing artists in folk and classical arts, individual advocates providing services to non-business entities, independent journalists, and services by way of animal care or car parking. Contact: Noshir H. Dadrawala Centre for Advancement of Philanthropywww.capindia. in
Our pictures, our words A visual Journey through the womens movement By Laxmi Murthy and Rajshri Dasgupta. Pgs 229, Rs.695 Publ: Zubaan; zubaan@gmail.com
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- a picture t’s an old cliché that speaks a thousand words. And in this book, consisting of a historical journey through posters and writing, of the contemporary women’s movement the pictorials give you a fascinating
Direct Tax Code Bill Standing Committee on Finance Recommends Several Reliefs: The Committee has suggested that NPOs be allowed the option to adopt either the cash system or accrual system of accounting for computing their income as per the existing Act. Under the DTC, NPOs have been allowed to carry forward 15% of total income or10% of gross receipts, whichever is higher to be spent within 3 years from the end of the relevant financial year. The Committee has recommended that the existing provisions may be restored so that NPOs become sustainable entities in the long run. The Committee has desired that genuine charitable activities should be promoted and sustained and tax policies and procedures should not act as a hindrance in this process. The Committee has suggested restoring the existing provision in section 11(1A) of the present Act enabling NPOs to reinvest in a prescribed manner sale proceeds of their capital assets held under trust wholly for charitable or religious purposes. Inclusion in regard to organizations engaged in an activity intended to promote international welfare in which India is interested and is approved by Central Government, may be incorporated in the definition of NPO. Contact: Noshir H. Dadrawala Centre for Advancement of Philanthropy [noshir@capindia. in]
Income Tax exemptions for donors No tax deductions shall be allowed under Section 80G or Section 80GGA for cash donations in excess of Rs. 10,000/-. Donation eligible for 50% deduction are Prime Minister’s Drought Relief Fund, National Children’s Fund, donation to charitable trusts and societies notified by the tax department. In the case of donations to private trusts, the actual amount of donation would be 50% of the qualifying amount. Moreover, the tax-payer must note that the deduction under Section 80G cannot exceed one’s total taxable income. As per the Income-Tax Act, 1961, the total amount of deduction is
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restricted to 10% of the gross annual income of the tax-payer. To get tax benefit for donations to charitable institutions, the tax-payer must ensure that the institution, trust or the society is registered with the income-tax department and is valid on the date on which the donation is given. The tax-payer must also realise that donations in kind like giving blankets, food packets, medicines and shoes for any charitable cause are not eligible for any tax benefits under Section 80G.
Green tribunal cancels clearance to Posco
glimpse of how and when the Movement began and where it is now. Especially for the young woman of today, used to wearing what she wants, studying where she wants and working because she wants to, this book gives a graphic look at how this independence has been achieved. Over the last 3 decades, the women’s movement has spanned issues from price rise to education and rape. And the poster has been visually the most effective way of conveying the messages women wished to convey. …beginning with patriarchy which “requires violence or a threat of violence to maintain the subordination of women and the authority of men”…and “can be
New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on March 30 quashed the green clearance to the proposed steel plant of South Korean steel major Posco in Odisha. The tribunal directed the MoEF to review the clearance afresh and attach specific conditions which Posco would have to follow in a defined timeline Hearing the petition of Prafulla Samantray from the state, the tribunal asked the Environment Ministry to review the environment clearance accorded to it in January last year. A bench of tribunal comprising Justice CV Ramulu and Devendra Kumar Agarwal said the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) should take policy decision that in projects of such magnitude the environment impact assessment should be done for the complete project--not only the initial phase. It said that the environment impact assessment should assess it for the full capacity right from the beginning. The tribunal directed the MoEF to review the clearance afresh and attach specific conditions which Posco would have to follow in a defined timeline. It also directed the MoEF to set up a special committee to monitor the compliance to the environment clearance thus granted. — iGovernment Bureau
sustained not only with coercion but also consent”. Whether it be the family, kinship or the State, they have preferred to push women to the margins. The contemporary women’s movement of the 70s had their work cut out for them. The book traces the many issues they dealt with through chapters titled “Body Politics : Rape, Domestic violence, Sexual Harassment, Health, Desire; “Community Politics: religion and Personal laws, Honour Crimes, Religious Extremism; “Societal Politics: Political participation, Citizenship and Governance; “Politics of Access”: Environment, Land of one’s own,Labour pains. That’s a long list but it shows just how many issues the women of the 70s fought, and how much further there is to go. The posters tell an eloquent story…..and sadly they are still relevant today!!