Unemployment in India: Types, Causes and Solution

Unemployment is a situation where in the person willing to work fails to find a job that earns them living.

Unemployment means lack of employment. In simple way, unemployment means the state of being unemployed.

The rate of unemployment varies over a wide range among the different states of India. When a person does not get a full time work, it is called under-employment. When the productivity and income of a person increase by changing his occupation, he is also known as under employed.

How the problem of unemployment is effecting young boys and girls? If we look at young boys (and even girls), we find that one of the reasons for which they cannot devote themselves to studies is the worry of unemployment facing them immediately at the end of the course.

Whether they pass or fail in their examinations, there is the almost certain prospect of unemployment.

When a student selects a course of study, he is not guided by considerations of tastes or aptitudes but by the prospect of earning a living.

Types: Unemployment may be categorized as follows:

• seasonal unemployment,
• industrial unemployment,
• educational unemployment,
• technological unemployment, and
• disguised unemployment.

Agricultural laborers, farmers, workers of sugar mills, rice sellers, cotton ginning units and ice factories are included in seasonal unemployment.

Workers forced to be unemployed due to saving devices are counted in industrial unemployment.

Educated unemployment arises when a large number of educated people are unemployed or unable to secure a job.

Technological unemployment refers to the situation when people have been put out of work by the introduction of a superior technology in their idea of operation.

Disguised unemployment is a common feature in agriculture. It arises when more than the required human-resource have been engaged in the cultivation of the same plot. It is a sort of under employment.

Causes / Reasons:

1. Theoretical education: This chronic unemployment is in some quarters attributed to the system of education prevailing in our country. Our education is too theoretical. It turns too many arts graduates and too few engineers.

To make up for this deficiency Government has opened several technological institutes in different parts of India. However, this attempt, good as it is, will not solve the problem of unemployment.  

Already there are more technically trained men than there is employment for them.

2. Lack of full employment in industries: In the industrial segment, there is the same lack of full employment. There are not many mills and factories and the number of men employed in them is not large. Even the mills and factories that we have do not work to their maximum capacity either for lack of requisite machinery or for lack of adequate supply of materials.

3. Lack of alternative opportunities for agricultural workers: In the rural India, the picture is equally discouraging. Agriculture is the principal occupation of the majority of rural population. However, agriculture keeps the cultivators engaged for a limited part of the year. For many months every year the agriculturist remain idle and lives miserably.

4. Poor condition of cottage industries: In villages, unemployment is due to lack of cottage industries. The cottage industries are in a winding state. They give whole-time occupation to only a fraction of the people who depend on them.

5. Other factors: The other factors that are responsible for unemployment in India are:

5. Excessive burden of population on cultivation;
6. Rapidly increasing population;
7. Low productivity in agriculture sector;
8. Defective economic planning, and
9. Large-scale production and mechanization.

Solution

Every country is trying to solve the unemployment problem in her own way.

1. Increase in national wealth through industrialization: The real remedy lies in an addition to the national wealth, in increased production of industrial goods. If there are more industries, there will be more avenues for employment, particularly for men and women with professional and technological training. Already the River valley projects and power-plant projects are finding employment for a large number of men.

It is only in a rapid industrialization of the country that we have a key to the solution of our economic problem. If more and more industries are established and more commodities are produced, there will be vacancies not merely for technically trained university men but also for laborers – skilled and unskilled.

If we have more wealth, we shall be able to pay our doctors better, we shall require more banks, more schools and colleges and more universities. Thus, rapid industrialization alone opens up new avenues for the educated people for the urban areas as also for mill and factory hands.

If the unemployment of the rural people is to be tackled, emphasis should also be laid on the revival of cottage industries. This will give part-time occupation to agriculturists and relieve the poor people who depend on these small decaying industries such as weaving, making carpets and mats or utensils of ball-metal.

The Government alone can help them with loan and find a market for their goods. If these industries are revived, the rural people will live in happiness and peace.

2. Establishment of Vocational and Technical training institutes: The government should open Technical and Vocational colleges and manual labor should be made compulsory. Big factories should be attached to these colleges. More stress is to be given to practical side.

3. Increased investment in heavy industries: Investment in heavy and basic industries and consumer goods industries should be increased to provide more employment with more production.

4. Revival of cottage and small scale industries: Cottage and small scale industries should be developed. Subsidies and other incentives should be given to private sector.

5. Modernization of agriculture: Modernization and mechanization of agriculture should be done. Wastelands should be utilized.

6. Improved transport and communication: Rural works programs should be increased means of transport and communication should be developed.

7. Self-employment should be encouraged: Government should take initiatives to encourage self-employment. Young entrepreneurs should be assisted with hassle free loans.

The unemployed are a great worry to the Government. Government tried to give some relief to unemployed people, especially to ex-Service men, by opening Employment Exchanges, which are machinery for finding suitable employment for young men and women.

Some Universities, too, have employment boards to help their graduates (and under graduates) to secure employment. Nevertheless, these are no complete remedy. They may have found Employment for some meritorious people.

Conclusion

One of the most disturbing problems in India has been the mounting rate of unemployment, both in the rural and urban sectors. In case of rural sector, there has been both unemployment and under employment. In urban sector, there has been both educated and industrial unemployment.

Unless unemployment problem is solved, the future of India cannot be bright. There will be no peace and prosperity in the country if jobless people do not get a proper channel. More attention should be given otherwise this problem can make jobless youths go to wrong direction.

Pros and Cons of FDI in India

What is FDI?

FDI is very vast term. Various kind of deals can be classified as FDI deals. The deals can be categorised as FDI are

• Purchases of assets if any assets have bought by any foreign origin person or entity then that deal would be considered as FDI.
• Establishment of production facility by any company in the foreign country then it would be considered as FDI.
• Expansion of business when any company expand their business in the foreign country and establish facilities for various purposes such as selling, production, services, in particular, the country this would also come in the category of FDI.
• Mergers of companies or firms if any company merge with any foreign company or any company is a takeover by a foreign company. This type of commercial activity are also going to consider as FDI
• Even purchase of the considerable amount of shares in any company by any foreign entity or person then it will be considered as FDI.
• Long-term foreign loan if loan is taken for longer period from any foreign entity or person then it would be considered as FDI

Historical background of FDI

In the era of commercial revolution economies of the various countries and continents get linked with each other thru trade and commerce. Europeans had the monopoly over the intercontinental trade that’s why they were the major beneficiaries of this trade. They use to earn a lot of profit thru this trade. They had to invest this extra money somewhere. For the protection of their commercial interest as well as for the enhancement of trade they establish some logistic facilities in other countries spatially in the Asian and African countries.

In my view, this is the beginning of the foreign direct investment. from last decades of 18 century till the mid of 20th century the various Asian and African countries ruled by Europeans’.

India also remains under British rule for the period of 150 years. In this period they financially exploited India. for this purpose they invested a large amount of money in various sector such as mining, textile and jute production, production of steel and machinery, plantation of tea, coffee, rubber, apart from all that investment colonial government also took loan from the British government as well as from private entities for the development of infrastructure.

Stand taken by Indian government regarding FDI after independence

Actually after independence stand of Indian government is not clear regarding FDI. Because of bitter experience of the colonial period Indian government was reluctant to accept FDI but at the same time, foreign technology and expertise also require for the industrial development. That’s why in first industrial policy Indian government stated that FDI would be welcome but control should remain in the Indian hand. After this declaration, a foreign investor was scared and started to withdraw their investment. However after pry-ministers clarification that outflow of investment was stopped and incumbent industries and businesses continued their operations. However, in the decades of 60s government realise the importance of advance technology and mobilisation of foreign currency. That’s why in 1965s industrial policy government allowed FDI thru the collaboration of Indian companies with multinational companies Before that also government had relaxed its rule and regulation for some corporate houses. Even in the seventies decade government felt the need to promote FDI that’s why government set up foreign investment board to facilitate the foreign investment. Apart from all that joint ventures were launched in the collaboration with multinational company by the government itself. Maruti is the best example of that kind of joint ventures.

Roots of  foreign investment  in India

There  are two roots for FDI in  India

• Automatic root actually  for so many  sector permissions are not required   for foreign investment  only investor need to  inform the RBI. Under this  root,  100 percent FDI is permitted.
• Government root, however,     there are  some sectors which are  restricted in terms  of level  of  investment and  permission. That’s  why for  those  sectors  which are completely   not opened  for the foreign  investment approval of FIPB is required.   

Advantages of FDI

• The increase in the foreign currencies reserves thru FDI thru FDI foreign currency came in our country in large amount that’s means countries foreign currency reserve get increased. 
• Boost to the industrial development most of the time FDIs main objective is to increase the production facility that’s why the large-scale industry has been setup thru FDI. as well as small scale industries which provide ancillary to the large-scale industry will get a benefit of FDI. 
• Availability of the advance technology companies which are investing in foreign countries these companies would have strong financial and technical background that means they are definitely going to bring advanced technology in the country. 
• Generation of employment if foreign money is invested in any country that means activities like production, services, marketing, sale, are definitely going to boost and to carry out all these activities companies required huge manpower 
• The increase in the export foreign companies are investing in our country because they felt that if they produce commodities in our country then they would have some kind of advantages and because of these Advantages commodities produce by these industries are definitely going to export. 
•  Import substitution at present we are importing so many sophisticated equipment if those companies which are producing this sophisticated equipment establish production facilities in our country then these made in India equipment will become a substitute for imported equipment. 

Disadvantages of FDI

• The threat to the small and medium industries because of advanced technology and huge investment position of multinational would become very strong in the market . however in the absence of adequate financial and technical support it is very difficult for small and medium industries to compete with multinational companies. 
• Unbalanced development of country foreign investor always looking to invest in that territory which is already developed and because of this attitude major industries get concentrated in the particular territory of the country. 
• Fear of establishment of monopoly if any foreign company which is technically and financially strong enter in Indian market then there is the possibility that Indian companies may not able to compete with that foreign company and that foreign company could establish its monopoly in the particular sector. 
• Disincentive to the development of indigenous technology we are always looking towards a foreign company or foreign country for the acquisition of advanced technology. Why not are we trying to develop our own technology? 

Conclusion

In my opinion, FDI is good if it is helpful for our financial and industrial growth but can we achieve all the developmental goal thru the FDI? In my view, we need to devise our own strategy for financial and industrial development as well as we need to develop indigenous technology for achieving our developmental goals. FDI should not be permitted blindly all the consequence must be understood properly before permitting the FDI. Apart from all this government is duty bound to protect the domestic industries particularly small and medium industries?

Monetary policy

(As per RBI’s Fifth bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement for 2016-17 announced on 7th December 2016)

Repo Rate	6.25%
Reverse Repo Rate	5.75%
Bank Rate	6.75%
Marginal Standing Facility (MSF)	6.75%
Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR)	4.00%
Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR)	20.75%

Highlights:

• Repo Rate @ 6.25% has been has been unchanged since 4th October 2016
• Consequently, the Reverse Repo Rate @ 5.75 %, the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate @ 6.75% and the Bank Rate @ 6.75 % remained unchanged.
• Cash Reserve Rate (CRR) @ 4.00% has been unchanged since 9th February 2013
• Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) was reduced to 20.75% from 1st October 2016
• The next meeting of the MPC is scheduled on 7th and 8th February 2017 and its resolution will be announced on 8th February 2017

Key Facts

• RBI Headquarters: Mumbai
• Current RBI Governor: Urjit Patel

Important terms:

• Repo Rate: Repo rateis the rate at which the RBI lends money to commercial banks in the event of any shortfall of funds. Repo rate is used by RBI to control inflation. In the event of inflation, RBI increases repo rate as this acts as a disincentive for commercial banks to borrow from RBI. This ultimately reduces the money supply in the economy and thus helps in arresting inflation.

• Reverse Repo Rate: Reverse repo rateis the rate at which the RBI borrows money from commercial banks within the country. It is a monetary policy instrument which can be used to control the money supply in the country.  An increase in reverse repo rate means that commercial banks will get more incentives to park their funds with the RBI, thereby decreasing the supply of money in the market.

• Bank Rate: Bank rate, also referred to as the discount rate, is the rate of interest which RBI charges on the loans and advances to a commercial bank. Bank rates influence lending rates of commercial banks. Higher bank rate will translate to higher lending rates by the banks. In order to curb liquidity, the RBI can resort to raising the bank rate and vice versa.

• Marginal Standing Facility: Marginal standing facility is a window for banks to borrow from the Reserve Bank of India in an emergency situation when inter-bank liquidity dries up completely. Banks borrow from the central bank by pledging government securities at a rate higher than the repo rate under liquidity adjustment facility or LAF in short. The MSF rate is pegged 100 basis points or a percentage point above the repo rate. Under MSF, banks can borrow funds up to one percentage of their net demand and time liabilities (NDTL).

• Credit Reserve Ratio: Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) is a specified minimum fraction of the total deposits of customers, which commercial banks have to hold as reserves either in cash or as deposits with the central bank. CRR ensures that banks do not run out of cash to meet the payment demands of their depositors. CRR is a crucial monetary policy tool and is used for controlling money supply in an economy.

• Statutory Liquidity Ratio: Apart from Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), banks have to maintain a stipulated proportion of their net demand and time liabilities in the form of liquid assets like cash, gold and unencumbered securities. Treasury bills, dated securities issued under market borrowing programme and market stabilisation schemes (MSS) etc. also form part of the SLR. Banks have to report to the RBI every alternate Friday their SLR maintenance, and pay penalties for failing to maintain SLR as mandated.

ਸੈਮੂਅਲ ਜੌਹਨ ਨਾਲ ਜਾਣ - ਪਛਾਣ ਕਰੀਏ An introduction with Samuel John

ਸੈਮੂਅਲ ਜੌਨ
ਸੈਮੂਅਲ ਜੌਨ
ਜਨਮ	18 ਅਪ੍ਰੈਲ 1965 (ਉਮਰ 51) ਪਿੰਡ ਢਿਲਵਾਂ ਕਲਾਂ ਫਰੀਦਕੋਟ ਜਿਲ੍ਹਾ  ਪੰਜਾਬ,  ਭਾਰਤ
ਕਿੱਤਾ	ਐਕਟਰ, ਲੋਕ ਥੀਏਟਰ
ਸਰਗਰਮੀ ਦੇ ਸਾਲ	1990–ਅੱਜ
ਜੀਵਨ ਸਾਥੀ	ਜਸਵਿੰਦਰ
ਬੱਚੇ	ਬਾਣੀ (ਧੀ)

ਸੈਮੂਅਲ ਜੌਨ ਇੱਕ ਭਾਰਤੀ ਅਭਿਨੇਤਾ ਅਤੇ ਥੀਏਟਰ ਕਾਰਕੁਨ ਹੈ। ਉਸ ਨੇ ਨੈਸ਼ਨਲ ਅਵਾਰਡ-ਜੇਤੂ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਫਿਲਮ, ਅੰਨ੍ਹੇ ਘੋੜੇ ਦਾ ਦਾਨ ਵਿੱਚ ਮੁੱਖ ਪਾਤਰ ਦੀ ਭੂਮਿਕਾ ਨਿਭਾਈ

ਸੈਮੂਅਲ ਜੌਨ ਭਾਰਤੀ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੇ ਸ਼ਹਿਰ ਕੋਟਕਪੂਰਾ ਤੋਂ ਪੰਜ ਕਿਲੋਮੀਟਰ ਦੂਰੀ ਤੇ ਪਿੰਡ ਢਿਲਵਾਂ ਕਲਾਂ ਦਾ ਜੰਮਪਲ ਹੈ। ਉਸਨੇ ਸ਼ਹੀਦ ਭਗਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਕਾਲਜ, ਕੋਟਕਪੂਰਾ ਤੋਂ ਗਰੈਜੂਏਸ਼ਨ ਅਤੇ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਯੂਨੀਵਰਸਿਟੀ, ਪਟਿਆਲਾ ਤੋਂ ਥੀਏਟਰ ਅਤੇ ਟੈਲੀਵਿਜ਼ਨ ਵਿਚ ਫਿਰ ਪੋਸਟ ਗਰੈਜੂਏਸ਼ਨ ਕੀਤੀ ਅਤੇ ਆਪਣਾ ਜੀਵਨ ਇਪਟਾ ਦੀਆਂ ਲੀਹਾਂ ਤੇ ਲੋਕ ਰੰਗਮੰਚ ਨੂੰ ਸਮਰਪਿਤ ਕਰ ਦਿੱਤਾ

ਨਾਟਕ ਅਤੇ ਨੁੱਕੜ ਨਾਟਕਸੋਧੋ

• ਜੂਠ
• ਮਾਤਲੋਕ
• ਘਸਿਆ ਹੋਇਆ ਆਦਮੀ
• ਤੈ ਕੀ ਦਰਦ ਨਾ ਆਇਆ
• ਮੈਕਬੇਥ
• ਛਿਪਣ ਤੋਂ ਪਹਿਲਾਂ
• ਬਾਗਾਂ ਦਾ ਰਾਖਾ
• ਕਿਰਤੀ
• ਬਾਲ ਭਗਵਾਨ
• ਪੁੜਾਂ ਵਿਚਾਲੇ
• ਜਦੋਂ ਬੋਹਲ ਰੋਂਦੇ ਨੇ
• ਮੋਦਣ ਅਮਲੀ
• ਆਜੋ ਦੇਯੀਏ ਹੋਕਾ
• ਵੇਹੜੇ ਆਲ਼ਿਆਂ ਦਾ ਪਾਲਾ
• ਮਾਤਾ ਧਰਤ ਮਹੱਤ

ਓਪੇਰੇਸੋਧੋ

• ਸ਼ਹੀਦ ਊਧਮ ਸਿੰਘ
• ਕਾਮਰੇਡ ਬਅੰਤ ਅਲੀ ਸ਼ੇਰ
• ਲਾਲ ਫਰੇਰਾ(ਮਈ ਦਿਵਸ)

ਬੱਚਿਆਂ ਦੇ ਨਾਟਕਸੋਧੋ

• ਕਾਂ ਤੇ ਚਿੜੀ
• ਸ਼ੇਰ ਤੇ ਖਰਗੋਸ਼
• ਆਜੜੀ ਤੇ ਬਘਿਆੜ
• ਰੋਬੋਟ ਤੇ ਤਿਤਲੀ
• ਸ਼ੇਰ ਤੇ ਚੂਹਾ
• ਇਕ ਬਾਂਦਰ ਦੋ ਬਿੱਲੀਆਂ
• ਰਾਜਾ ਵਾਣਵੱਟ
• ਜੱਬਲ ਰਾਜਾ
• ਕਹਾਣੀ ਗੋਪੀ ਦੀ
• ਨਾ ਸ਼ੁਕਰਾ ਇਨਸਾਨ

ਫ਼ਿਲਮਾਂਸੋਧੋ

• ਅੰਨ੍ਹੇ ਘੋੜੇ ਦਾ ਦਾਨ
• ਆਤੂ ਖੋਜੀ
• ਪੁਲਿਸ ਇਨ ਪੌਲੀਵੂਡ

ਸੈਮੂਅਲ ਜੌਹਨ ਦਾ ਨਾਮ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਲਈ ਓਪਰਾ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੈ, ਜੋ ਨਾਟਕ, ਰੰਗਮੰਚ, ਸਾਹਿਤ ਅਤੇ ਕਲਾ ਦੇ ਲੋਕਪੱਖੀ ਹੋਣ ਬਾਰੇ ਗੱਲ ਕਰਦੇ ਹਨ। ਅਜੋਕੇ ਸਮਾਜ ਵਿੱਚ ਜਿੱਥੇ ਅੰਨ੍ਹੇਵਾਹ ਤਕਨੀਕੀ ਵਿਕਾਸ ਨੇ ਮਨੁੱਖ ਨੂੰ ਨਿੱਜਤਾ ਦੇ ਦਾਇਰੇ ਵਿੱਚ ਕੈਦ ਕਰ ਲਿਆ ਹੈ ਉੱਥੇ ਕੁੱਝ ਗਿਣਤੀ ਦੇ  ਨਾਮ ਅਜਿਹੇ ਵੀ  ਹਨ ਜੋ ਸਮਾਜ ਦੇ ਸਭ ਤੋਂ ਹੇਠਲੇ ਪੱਧਰ ਦੇ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਸਮਾਜਿਕ ਚੇਤਨਾ ਪੈਦਾ ਕਰਨ ਲਈ ਯਤਨਸ਼ੀਲ ਹਨ,  ਸੈਮੂਅਲ ਜੌਹਨ ਨਾਟਕ ਦੇ ਖੇਤਰ ਵਿੱਚ ਅਜਿਹਾ ਹੀ ਇਕ ਹਸਤਾਖਰ ਹੈ। ਅਜੋਕੇ ਸਮਾਜ ਵਿੱਚ ਜਿੱਥੇ ਹਰ ਵਸਤੂ ਦਾ ਅੰਨ੍ਹੇਵਾਹ ਮੰਡੀਕਰਨ ਹੋ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ ਅਤੇ ਇਸ ਨੂੰ ਇਕ ਜਰੂਰਤ ਅਤੇ ਮਜਬੂਰੀ ਸਮਝਿਆ ਜਾ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ ਉੱਥੇ ਸੈਮੂਅਲ ਜੌਹਨ ਇਸ ਤੋਂ ਪੂਰੀ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਬਾਗੀ ਹੈ। ਦਲਿਤ ਸਮਾਜ ਅਤੇ ਛੋਟੀ ਕਿਸਾਨੀ ਦੇ ਦੁੱਖ ਦਰਦ ਨੂੰ ਉਸ ਨੇ ਨੇੜਿਓਂ ਹੋ ਕੇ ਤੱਕਿਆ ਹੈ। ਉਸ ਦੇ ਨਾਟਕ ਕਰਨ ਦਾ ਢੰਗ  ਰਵਾਇਤੀ ਤੌਰ ਤਰੀਕਿਆਂ ਨਾਲ ਮੇਲ ਨਹੀਂ ਖਾਂਦਾ, ਉਹ ਆਮ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਸੰਬੋਧਨ ਹੋ ਕੇ ਨਾਟਕ ਪੇਸ਼  ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈ। ਉਸ ਦਾ ਨਾਟਕ ਸਮਾਜ ਦੇ ਲਿਤਾੜੇ ਜਾ ਰਹੇ ਵਰਗ ਦੀ ਪੈਰਵੀ ਹੀ ਨਹੀ ਕਰਦਾ ਸਗੋਂ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਇਸ ਦਾ ਹਿੱਸਾ ਵੀ ਬਣਾਉਂਦਾ ਹੈ। ਉਸ ਦਾ ਨਾਟਕ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੇ ਪਿੰਡਾਂ ਦੀਆਂ  ਸੱਥਾਂ ਅਤੇ ਦਲਿਤ ਵਿਹੜਿਆ ਤੱਕ ਪਹੁੰਚ ਰੱਖਦਾ ਹੈ। ਉਹ ਪਿੰਡਾਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਘਰ-ਘਰ ਜਾ ਕੇ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਦੀ ਸੁੱਤੀ ਚੇਤਨਾ ਨੂੰ ਹਲੂਣਾ ਦਿੰਦਾ ਹੈ। 

ਸੈਮੂਅਲ ਜੌਹਨ ਦੱਬੇ-ਕੁੱਚਲੇ ਮਨੁੱਖ ਦੀ ਅਜ਼ਾਦੀ ਅਤੇ ਆਰਥਿਕ ਬਰਾਬਰੀ ਦੀ ਗੱਲ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈ। ਉਹ ਸਾਮੰਤਵਾਦੀ ਸੋਚ ਤਹਿਤ ਹੋ ਰਹੇ ਜਬਰ ਵਿਰੁੱਧ ਅਵਾਜ ਬੁਲੰਦ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈ। ਉਸ ਦੇ ਨਾਟਕ ਸਾਦਗੀ ਭਰਪੂਰ ਹਨ ਜੋ ਸਧਾਰਨ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਦੀ ਵਿਥਿਆ ਨੂੰ ਬਿਆਨ ਕਰਦੇ ਹਨ। ਅਜੋਕੇ ਸਮਾਜ ਨੇ ਵੱਡੇ ਪੱਧਰ ਤੇ ਆਰਥਿਕ ਵਿਕਾਸ ਕੀਤਾ ਹੈ, ਪਰ ਸਮਾਜਿਕ ਬੁਰਾਈਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਅਜੇ ਤੱਕ ਖਤਮ ਨਹੀਂ ਕੀਤਾ ਜਾ ਸਕਿਆ ਹੈ, ਕਿਉਂਕਿ ਆਰਥਿਕ ਵਿਕਾਸ ਹੇਠਲੇ ਪੱਧਰ ਤੱਕ ਨਹੀਂ ਪਹੁੰਚਿਆ ਹੈ। ਧਰਮ, ਜਾਤ ਅਤੇ ਆਰਥਿਕਤਾ ਦੇ ਅਧਾਰ ਤੇ ਲੋਕ ਅਜੇ ਵੀ ਵੰਡੇ ਹੋਏ ਹਨ। ਅਜਿਹੀ ਸਥਿਤੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਬੇਹਤਰ ਸਮਾਜ ਦੀ ਸਿਰਜਣਾ ਦੀ ਕਲਪਨਾ ਕਰਨਾ ਔਖਾ ਕੰਮ ਹੈ ਪਰ ਮੁਸ਼ਕਿਲ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੈ। ਸੈਮੂਅਲ ਜੌਹਨ ਆਪਣੇ ਖੇਤਰ ਵਿੱਚ ਅਜਿਹਾ ਕਾਰਜ ਕਰ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ। 

ਸੈਮੂਅਲ ਜੌਹਨ ਜਮੀਨੀ ਪੱਧਰ ਦਾ  ਹੈ। ਉਹ ਆਮ ਬੰਦੇ ਦੇ ਦਰਦ ਅਤੇ ਭਾਵਨਾਵਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਚੰਗੀ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਸਮਝਦਾ ਹੈ। ਆਰਥਿਕ ਸੰਕਟ ਕਿਨ੍ਹਾਂ-ਕੁ ਹੀ ਵੱਡਾ ਕਿਉਂ ਨਾ ਹੋ ਜਾਵੇ, ਉਹ ਆਪਣੇ ਮਾਨਵੀ ਫਲਸਫੇ ਪ੍ਰਚਾਰ ਅਤੇ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਰ ਕਰਦਾ ਰਹੇਗਾ। 

 Why simple  living 

1. Easier to manage every day life, work, unexpected challenges, events and tasks.  When you remove the clutter, distractions, and complexities, things start becoming more clear, easier to understand and manage. Organization improves not only at home, but in the office, including my calendar, which becomes easier to maintain.  This improves quality of life and brings value.
2. Joy and Happiness – There is more peace and joy in the simple things in life, in a smile, enjoying nature, taking a walk in the park, time with family, friends, volunteering for a worthy cause.  These are things we often take for granted. Taking time to reflect and find a true purpose, while saying no to the things that have little meaning helps with personal and business development.  And the money we save doesn’t hurt either. It’s like money earned
3. Less stress, better nights sleep.  With less clutter and material things to worry about, including debt load life becomes easier and more manageable.   I discover more energy, feel more refreshed, and health improves.  Goals are more achievable. A great task is cleaning closets and giving the items to charity. Not only am  I helping myself with organization, saving time and money,  I am also contributing and helping someone in need
4. Improved physical, mental health.By living a more simple life, there is less to worry about and remember, and more time for doing the things I love.  It also allows me time and energy to maintain a regular exercise schedule so I am more fit. With renewed energy, it is easier to be more productive, disciplined and true to myself,  Not to say things never get me down, but I am better able to bounce back from the challenges and setbacks. It’s easier to forgive those wrongdoings, including my own
5. Increase in Quality time with friends, family –  taking time for solitude, exercise, walks, and travel. A hectic cluttered schedule can create chaos and challenges that make it difficult to enjoy time at home with family or visiting with friends. When I curb spending, I save money, which reduces worry about  any potential crisis, including job loss, and makes it easier to save money for travel or other important events or things.   By removing the clutter and debt, there is more time to relax, unwind, and do what I value most.  It’s the old adage, less is more – Work life balance improves
6. Relationships improve, become more relaxed, open to both receiving and giving feedback and love. When confident, decisions are more grounded, and come from a point of peace, strength,  where there is  deeper meaning, purpose and less worry about rejection.  This allows for better informed business and personal decisions, stronger relationships and less costly mistakes.
7. Increase in energy level, positive and peaceful thoughts, feelings of gratitude.  This is important to living a happy, productive and healthy life. With a clear mind, focused on the positive, it brings with it higher energy level where  goals are easier to reach.  There is a lot in life to be thankful for including the mistakes I have made, which are as important to learn from as my successes. It is better to admit to mistakes – even if they weren’t all my doing/fault – as it can help diffuse or prevent further problems, as well as help others admit theirs.  Everyone wants to be forgiven for their mistakes, including myself; no one is perfect. In this way I set myself up for greater success and can perhaps help others find theirs
8. Increase in confidence, self esteem –With less clutter, worry, I not only feel good about  my achievements, I feel even better at having worked through failures. Confidence helps me venture into new challenges with courage, a good plan and enthusiasm, without worry or fear of failing or how other people perceive me. Failure is simply success turned inside out.  With confidence, I am able to accomplish more with less and be true to myself.  Let’s face it, people make mistakes every day; mistakes are not always easy to admit.  Life can be rough, however our greatest achievements and success can follow after our biggest mistakes, failures if we learn from them. The more confident we are the more gracious and forgiving we become.  The less we need to impress. This does not mean being a doormat. Having an honest caring partner helps.
9. Less impacted and distracted by worries, rejection, or fear. The quality of life improves once worry subsides.  It’s easier to understand what is going on,  because the level of awareness increases. There is less need to look for acceptance; as it’s easier to identify and say no to things that aren’t right nor important and say yes to that which has value and meaning.  The people that will like you, will like you for being you, mistakes and all;  not someone they think you should be. That said, in simplicity we become kinder in our thoughts, communications and actions.  With empathy, rather than ego, we can convey honesty with kindness.  It not only reflects a simple life – it’s true freedom.  We can all learn from one another.
10. Things I previously struggled with or found difficult seem easier.  All I have control over is my own actions and thoughts.  I cannot change anyone else.  I can only plant a seed.  This way I am able to manage my challenges, free up more time to tackle new tasks, follow up on old ones, make better decisions and finish what I start.  I am not perfect and never will be and that is quite alright. Imperfections keep me humble and forgiving. Decisions become easier, when life is simple.  There is a higher level of honesty and success – which is good for personal life and business           
11. In this world we work hard and naturally we want something to reflect our efforts and achievements.  This helps make life more comfortable, fun and meaningful.  In society, there is often too much importance put on possessions, wealth, status, and power which often leads to debt thinking and sometimes greed.  And somewhere along the way we tend to forget about things that really matter such as nature, family, friends, kindness and forgiveness.  Not to say material things aren’t nice to have for achieving something worthwhile or recognizing contribution.  Business is important as it helps keep the world going, thriving – And just as it is important to take care of business, it is also very important to take care of ourselves, families, friends and colleagues and our environmentAnd so…in closing, I feel it is important to be kind not only to one another; but to our environment.  Giving is also important, because through giving we all receive – and this is wonderful simplicity.  It makes life fun, sustainable and enjoyable.

Question 1.What is GST? How does it work?

Answer: GST is one indirect tax for the whole nation, which will make India one unified common market.

 GST is a single tax on the supply of goods and services, right from the manufacturer to the consumer. Credits of input taxes paid at each stage will be available in the subsequent stage of value addition, which makes GST essentially a tax only on value addition at each stage. The final consumer will thus bear only the GST charged by the last dealer in the supply chain, with set-off benefits at all the previous stages.

 Question 2. What are the benefits of GST?

 Answer:The benefits of GST can be summarized as under:

• For business and industry

o   Easy compliance: A robust and comprehensive IT system would be the foundation of the GST regime in India. Therefore, all tax payer services such as registrations, returns, payments, etc. would be available to the taxpayers online, which would make compliance easy and transparent.

o   Uniformity of tax rates and structures: GST will ensure that indirect tax rates and structures are common across the country, thereby increasing certainty and ease of doing business. In other words, GST would make doing business in the country tax neutral, irrespective of the choice of place of doing business.

o   Removal of cascading: A system of seamless tax-credits throughout the value-chain, and across boundaries of States, would ensure that there is minimal cascading of taxes. This would reduce hidden costs of doing business.

o   Improved competitiveness: Reduction in transaction costs of doing business would eventually lead to an improved competitiveness for the trade and industry.

o   Gain to manufacturers and exporters: The subsuming of major Central and State taxes in GST, complete and comprehensive set-off of input goods and services and phasing out of Central Sales Tax (CST) would reduce the cost of locally manufactured goods and services. This will increase the competitiveness of Indian goods and services in the international market and give boost to Indian exports. The uniformity in tax rates and procedures across the country will also go a long way in reducing the compliance cost.

• For Central and State Governments

o        Simple and easy to administer: Multiple indirect taxes at the Central and State levels are being replaced by GST. Backed with a robust end-to-end IT system, GST would be simpler and easier to administer than all other indirect taxes of the Centre and State levied so far.

o        Better controls on leakage: GST will result in better tax compliance due to a robust IT infrastructure. Due to the seamless transfer of input tax credit from one stage to another in the chain of value addition, there is an in-built mechanism in the design of GST that would incentivize tax compliance by traders.

o        Higher revenue efficiency: GST is expected to decrease the cost of collection of tax revenues of the Government, and will therefore, lead to higher revenue efficiency.

• For the consumer

o        Single and transparent tax proportionate to the value of goods and services: Due to multiple indirect taxes being levied by the Centre and State, with incomplete or no input tax credits available at progressive stages of value addition, the cost of most goods and services in the country today are laden with many hidden taxes. Under GST, there would be only one tax from the manufacturer to the consumer, leading to transparency of taxes paid to the final consumer.

o        Relief in overall tax burden: Because of efficiency gains and prevention of leakages, the overall tax burden on most commodities will come down, which will benefit consumers.

 Question 3.  Which taxes at the Centre and State level are being subsumed into GST?

Answer:                  

At the Central level, the following taxes are being subsumed:

1. Central Excise Duty,
2. Additional Excise Duty,
3. Service Tax,
4. Additional Customs Duty commonly known as Countervailing Duty, and
5. Special Additional Duty of Customs.

At the State level, the following taxes are being subsumed:

1. Subsuming of State Value Added Tax/Sales Tax,
2. Entertainment Tax (other than the tax levied by the local bodies), Central Sales Tax (levied by the Centre and collected by the States),
3. Octroi and Entry tax,
4. Purchase Tax,
5. Luxury tax, and
6. Taxes on lottery, betting and gambling.

 Question 4.  What are the major chronological events that have led to the introduction of GST?

Answer: GST is being introduced in the country after a 13 year long journey since it was first discussed in the report of the Kelkar Task Force on indirect taxes. A brief chronology outlining the major milestones on the proposal for introduction of GST in India is as follows:

1. In 2003, the Kelkar Task Force on indirect tax had suggested a comprehensive Goods and Services Tax (GST) based on VAT principle.
2. A proposal to introduce a National level Goods and Services Tax (GST) by April 1, 2010 was first mooted in the Budget Speech for the financial year 2006-07.
3. Since the proposal involved reform/ restructuring of not only indirect taxes levied by the Centre but also the States, the responsibility of preparing a Design and Road Map for the implementation of GST was assigned to the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers (EC).
4. Based on inputs from Govt of India and States, the EC released its First Discussion Paper on Goods and Services Tax in India in November, 2009.
5. In order to take the GST related work further, a Joint Working Group consisting of officers from Central as well as State Government was constituted in September, 2009.
6. In order to amend the Constitution to enable introduction of GST, the Constitution (115th Amendment) Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in March 2011. As per the prescribed procedure, the Bill was referred to the Standing Committee on Finance of the Parliament for examination and report.
7. Meanwhile, in pursuance of the decision taken in a meeting between the Union Finance Minister and the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on 8th November, 2012, a ‘Committee on GST Design’, consisting of the officials of the Government of India, State Governments and the Empowered Committee was constituted.
8. This Committee did a detailed discussion on GST design including the Constitution (115th) Amendment Bill and submitted its report in January, 2013. Based on this Report, the EC recommended certain changes in the Constitution Amendment Bill in their meeting at Bhubaneswar in January 2013.
9. The Empowered Committee in the Bhubaneswar meeting also decided to constitute three committees of officers to discuss and report on various aspects of GST as follows:-

(a)      Committee on Place of Supply Rules and Revenue Neutral Rates;

(b)      Committee on dual control, threshold and exemptions;

(c)      Committee on IGST and GST on imports.

1. The Parliamentary Standing Committee submitted its Report in August, 2013 to the Lok Sabha. The recommendations of the Empowered Committee and the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee were examined in the Ministry in consultation with the Legislative Department. Most of the recommendations made by the Empowered Committee and the Parliamentary Standing Committee were accepted and the draft Amendment Bill was suitably revised.
2. The final draft Constitutional Amendment Bill incorporating the above stated changes were sent to the Empowered Committee for consideration in September 2013.
3. The EC once again made certain recommendations on the Bill after its meeting in Shillong in November 2013. Certain recommendations of the Empowered Committee were incorporated in the draft Constitution (115th Amendment) Bill. The revised draft was sent for consideration of the Empowered Committee in March, 2014.
4. The 115th Constitutional (Amendment) Bill, 2011, for the introduction of GST introduced in the Lok Sabha in March 2011 lapsed with the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha.
5. In June 2014, the draft Constitution Amendment Bill was sent to the Empowered Committee after approval of the new Government.
6. Based on a broad consensus reached with the Empowered Committee on the contours of the Bill, the Cabinet on 17.12.2014 approved the proposal for introduction of a Bill in the Parliament for amending the Constitution of India to facilitate the introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the country.  The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 19.12.2014, and was passed by the Lok Sabha on 06.05.2015. It was then referred to the Select Committee of Rajya Sabha, which submitted its report on 22.07.2015.

 Question 5.How would GST be administered in India?

 Answer:Keeping in mind the federal structure of India, there will be two components of GST – Central GST (CGST) and State GST (SGST). Both Centre and States will simultaneously levy GST across the value chain. Tax will be levied on every supply of goods and services. Centre would levy and collect Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST), and States would levy and collect the State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) on all transactions within a State. The input tax credit of CGST would be available for discharging the CGST liability on the output at each stage. Similarly, the credit of SGST paid on inputs would be allowed for paying the SGST on output. No cross utilization of credit would be permitted.

 Question 6.How would a particular transaction of goods and services be taxed simultaneously under Central GST (CGST) and State GST (SGST)?

 Answer :The Central GST and the State GST would be levied simultaneously on every transaction of supply of goods and services except on exempted goods and services, goods which are outside the purview of GST and the transactions which are below the prescribed threshold limits. Further, both would be levied on the same price or value unlike State VAT which is levied on the value of the goods inclusive of Central Excise.

             

Question 7.Will cross utilization of credits between goods and services be allowed under GST regime?

 Answer :Cross utilization of credit of CGST between goods and services would be allowed. Similarly, the facility of cross utilization of credit will be available in case of SGST. However, the cross utilization of CGST and SGST would not be allowed except in the case of inter-State supply of goods and services under the IGST model which is explained in answer to the next question.

Question 8.How will be Inter-State Transactions of Goods and Services be taxed under GST in terms of IGST method?

Answer:In case of inter-State transactions, the Centre would levy and collect the Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) on all inter-State supplies of goods and services under Article 269A (1) of the Constitution. The IGST would roughly be equal to CGST plus SGST. The IGST mechanism has been designed to ensure seamless flow of input tax credit from one State to another. The inter-State seller would pay IGST on the sale of his goods to the Central Government after adjusting credit of IGST, CGST and SGST on his purchases (in that order). The exporting State will transfer to the Centre the credit of SGST used in payment of IGST. The importing dealer will claim credit of IGST while discharging his output tax liability (both CGST and SGST) in his own State. The Centre will transfer to the importing State the credit of IGST used in payment of SGST.Since GST is a destination-based tax, all SGST on the final product will ordinarily accrue to the consuming State.

Question  9.How will IT be used for the implementation of GST?

 Answer:For the implementation of GST in the country, the Central and State Governments have jointly registered Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) as a not-for-profit, non-Government Company to provide shared IT infrastructure and services to Central and State Governments, tax payers and other stakeholders. The key objectives of GSTN are to provide a standard and uniform interface to the taxpayers, and shared infrastructure and services to Central and State/UT governments.

 GSTN is working on developing a state-of-the-art comprehensive IT infrastructure including the common GST portal providing frontend services of registration, returns and payments to all taxpayers, as well as the backend IT modules for certain States that include processing of returns, registrations, audits, assessments, appeals, etc. All States, accounting authorities, RBI and banks, are also preparing their IT infrastructure for the administration of GST.

There would no manual filing of returns. All taxes can also be paid online. All mis-matched returns would be auto-generated, and there would be no need for manual interventions. Most returns would be self-assessed.

 Question 10.How will imports be taxed under GST?

Answer :The Additional Duty of Excise or CVD and the Special Additional Duty or SAD presently being levied on imports will be subsumed under GST. As per explanation to clause (1) of article 269A of the Constitution, IGST will be levied on all imports into the territory of India. Unlike in the present regime, the States where imported goods are consumed will now gain their share from this IGST paid on imported goods.

Question 11.What are the major features of the Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill, 2014?

 Answer :The salient features of the Bill are as follows:

1. Conferring simultaneous power upon Parliament and the State Legislatures to make laws governing goods and services tax;
2. Subsuming of various Central indirect taxes and levies such as Central Excise Duty, Additional Excise Duties, Service Tax, Additional Customs Duty commonly known as Countervailing Duty, and Special Additional Duty of Customs;
3. Subsuming of State Value Added Tax/Sales Tax, Entertainment Tax (other than the tax levied by the local bodies), Central Sales Tax (levied by the Centre and collected by the States), Octroi and Entry tax, Purchase Tax, Luxury tax, and Taxes on lottery, betting and gambling;
4. Dispensing with the concept of ‘declared goods of special importance’ under the Constitution;
5. Levy of Integrated Goods and Services Tax on inter-State transactions of goods and services;
6. GST to be levied on all goods and services, except alcoholic liquor for human consumption. Petroleum and petroleum products shall be subject to the levy of GST on a later date notified on the recommendation of the Goods and Services Tax Council;
7. Compensation to the States for loss of revenue arising on account of implementation of the Goods and Services Tax for a period of five years;
8. Creation of Goods and Services Tax Council to examine issues relating to goods and services tax and make recommendations to the Union and the States on parameters like rates, taxes, cesses and surcharges to be subsumed, exemption list and threshold limits, Model GST laws, etc. The Council shall function under the Chairmanship of the Union Finance Minister and will have all the State Governments as Members.

 Question 12.What are the major features of the proposed registration procedures under GST?

Answer:The major features of the proposed registration procedures under GST are as follows:

1. Existing dealers: Existing VAT/Central excise/Service Tax payers will not have to apply afresh for registration under GST.
2. New dealers: Single application to be filed online for registration under GST.

iii.            The registration number will be PAN based and will serve the purpose for Centre and State.

1. Unified application to both tax authorities.
2. Each dealer to be given unique ID GSTIN.
3. Deemed approval within three days.

vii.            Post registration verification in risk based cases only.

Question 13.What are the major features of the proposed returns filing procedures under GST?

Answer:The major features of the proposed returns filing procedures under GST are as follows:

1. Common return would serve the purpose of both Centre and State Government.
2. There are eight forms provided for in the GST business processes for filing for returns. Most of the average tax payers would be using only four forms for filing their returns. These are return for supplies, return for purchases, monthly returns and annual return.
3. Small taxpayers: Small taxpayers who have opted composition scheme shall have to file return on quarterly basis.
4. Filing of returns shall be completely online. All taxes can also be paid online.

Question 14.What are the major features of the proposed payment procedures under GST?

Answer:The major features of the proposed payments procedures under GST are as follows:

1. Electronic payment process- no generation of paper at any stage
2. Single point interface for challan generation- GSTN

iii.            Ease of payment – payment can be made through online banking, Credit Card/Debit Card, NEFT/RTGS and through cheque/cash at the bank

1. Common challan form with auto-population features
2. Use of single challan and single payment instrument
3. Common set of authorized banks

vii.            Common Accounting Codes