Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley holds Pre-Budget consultations with Finance Ministers of States/ UTs with legislature
Finance Minister Shri Arun
Jaitley holds Pre-Budget consultations with Finance Ministers of States/ UTs
with legislature; Expressed hope that multifarious reforms initiated by the
Government of India in recent past would be taken forward in the coming months
and urged the States to work together for putting India on the high growth path
The Union Finance
Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said that the world economy is passing through a
difficult phase and is quite fragile. He said though this has also affected us
especially our exports yet Indian economy is able to emerge as one of the
fastest growing economy in the world. The Finance Minister referred to the
Prime Minister’s idea of “Team India” constituting of the Centre and the States
and reiterated the strong belief that “India grows when the States grow”. He
stated that the multifarious reforms initiated by the Government of India in
recent past would be taken forward in the coming months and urged the States to
work together for putting India on the high growth path. He hoped that
additional allocation of resources to the States/UTs after implementation of
14th Finance Commission recommendations would be optimally utilised especially
for the benefit of the poor and downtrodden section of society as well as for
building infrastructure. He commended the recent efforts made by many States in
inviting foreign investments. He expressed hope that the growth momentum
generated would catch further pace in coming months.
The Finance Minister was making his Opening Remarks during his pre-budget consultations with the Finance Ministers of States and UTs with legislature here today. The meeting was attended among others by the Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Dy. CM of NCT Delhi, 16 Finance Ministers/ Ministers representing their States/UTs and Senior Officers from the States/UTs.From the Central Government, along with the Union Finance Minister, those attended today’s Meeting included Shri Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Finance, Shri Ratan P. Watal, Finance Secretary, Shri Shaktikanta Das, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs(DEA),Dr Hasmukh Adhia, Revenue Secretary, Ms Anjuli Chib Duggal, Secretary, Department of Financial Services(DFS), Dr Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) and other senior officers of the Ministry of Finance.
Therafter, various suggestions were made by the Ministers/Officers reprersentating different States/UTs.Many of those suggestions were general in nature and most of them were State specific.Most of them gave their suggestions in writing as well to the Finance Minister. Common suggestions made during the meeting included more focus on agriculture which has suffered in last two years due to inadequate monsoon, continuation of certain social development oriented Centrally Sponsored Schemes such as Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan, Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan, ICDS, National Rural Health Mission etc on the old pattern as many States are unable to sustain them from their own resources. Other general suggestions included payment of CST arrears and schemes/incentives for promotion of dairy development along with agriculture in the country among others.
The Finance Minister assured the States that the suggestions made by them in the meeting and the written memorandum submitted by them would be examined and suitably considered in the Budget proposals for 2016-17.
The Finance Minister was making his Opening Remarks during his pre-budget consultations with the Finance Ministers of States and UTs with legislature here today. The meeting was attended among others by the Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Dy. CM of NCT Delhi, 16 Finance Ministers/ Ministers representing their States/UTs and Senior Officers from the States/UTs.From the Central Government, along with the Union Finance Minister, those attended today’s Meeting included Shri Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Finance, Shri Ratan P. Watal, Finance Secretary, Shri Shaktikanta Das, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs(DEA),Dr Hasmukh Adhia, Revenue Secretary, Ms Anjuli Chib Duggal, Secretary, Department of Financial Services(DFS), Dr Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) and other senior officers of the Ministry of Finance.
Therafter, various suggestions were made by the Ministers/Officers reprersentating different States/UTs.Many of those suggestions were general in nature and most of them were State specific.Most of them gave their suggestions in writing as well to the Finance Minister. Common suggestions made during the meeting included more focus on agriculture which has suffered in last two years due to inadequate monsoon, continuation of certain social development oriented Centrally Sponsored Schemes such as Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan, Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan, ICDS, National Rural Health Mission etc on the old pattern as many States are unable to sustain them from their own resources. Other general suggestions included payment of CST arrears and schemes/incentives for promotion of dairy development along with agriculture in the country among others.
The Finance Minister assured the States that the suggestions made by them in the meeting and the written memorandum submitted by them would be examined and suitably considered in the Budget proposals for 2016-17.
SOMETHING IS BETTER THAN NOTHING
ReplyDeleteOn 05 Feb 2016 , Economic Times carried a news report titled : Employers May Get Sops for Creating Extra Jobs
As per this report , NDA govt is expected to announce following incentives for employers who create new jobs :
* 30 % tax exemption for units that create an additional 2 % jobs
* Alternatively, the hirer could be given a 125 % rebate on provident fund contributions
* Availability of easy, cheap credit through interest subvention ( Subsidy ? )
Even as I await the budget speech of Shri Jaitleyji on 29 Feb for full details , I wish to thank Shri Narendra Modiji for considering the CORE of my following proposal sent to him on 06 Nov 2014 :
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To complete this ECO SYSTEM , we need to think " Out of the Box " in the matter of Corporate Tax Regime , as well
Current trend in industry , all over the world , is to
> Add highly productive , very expensive machinery to " Automate " all
manufacturing processes
> Reduce manpower by increasing " Capital / IT Intensity "
> Hire low skilled workers by transferring higher " Skills " to machinery
> Outsource manufacturing to countries where manpower is cheap
> Move out of " Manufacturing " and shift to " Services "
India cannot swim against this World-wide Trend
We must innovate, to not only survive but to grow in this scenario
Here is my suggestion :
Set in motion , " INVERSION of JOB REDUCTION " regime , under which ,
" The more jobs a company creates , the less Corporate Tax it pays "
Example :
> Up to employment of 100 persons ............................... 30 %
> 101 - 500 persons.................................................... 25 %
> 501 - 1000 persons ................................................... 20 %
> 1001 - 5000 persons .................................................. 15 %
> 5001 - 10,000 persons ................................................. 10 %
> Above 10,000 persons ................................................. 5 %
Let us celebrate those who provide employment to large number of persons
Let us celebrate BIGNESS
Let us create hundreds of WORLD SIZE corporations and take on the World
On top of this , provide additional tax - breaks ( discounts ? ) to corporate as follows :
> Average Age of Employees at 30 years....................... 1 %
> Ave age at 25 years................................................. 2 %
> Ave age at 20 years ................................................. 3 %
Of course , very strict and transparent rules will need to be framed to
compute,
> Number of Employees ( Permanent - not probationers / trainees )
> Average Age ( as on 31 March of Tax year )......etc
But , here is an important aspect of this , " Incentivize Job Creation " Scheme :
Today's labour laws make it extremely difficult - if not impossible - for employers to layoff / retrench workmen , if demand shrinks
Hence , to take advantage of this Scheme , employers are unlikely to hire thousands of youth , if they cannot easily trim the workforce , to match the shrinking demand
So , an important corollary of this Scheme is to modify our existing Labour Laws to facilitate layoff / retrenchment , when situation so demands , while protecting the interests of the workmen concerned
And , last but not the least , permit each and every candidate - and the political parties as well - to spend ANY AMOUNT on election campaigns , without any restrictions as also accept any amount of Corporate Donations
by cheque
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hemenparekh.in / blogs
07 Feb 2016