Sunday, March 5, 2023

Should India help Pakistan in its present economic and financial crises ? Yes, it should, provided …..

 

1.  Pakistan agrees and hands over, physically and unconditionally,  entire POK and Gilgit-Baltistan area back to India.

 

2.  Frees all Indians in Pakistan Jails including all military and or civilian personnel arrested/jailed after the 1965 and 1971  wars.

 

3.    Agrees to hand over a 3 Km Wide corridor from the Indian side to 1 Km beyond the boundary wall of Gurudwara Guru Nanak Sahib Darbar as an Indian enclave in Pakistan, fully under the physical, legal, political and economic control of the Indian government with no involvement of Pakistani Govt there whatsoever.

 

4.    Agrees to permit India to rebuild all major Mandirs/ Temples/ Gurudwaras/ Buddhist Shrines destroyed in the cities of Pakistan like Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi, Islamabad etc up to a maximum of 50 such Mandirs/Temples/Gurudwaras/Shrines and permit unrestricted to access to them to Hindus/Jains/Sikhs/Buddhists to visit these places and practise their faith unhindered and without any restriction whatsoever.  For this purpose a 500 Metre Radius area around each such place should be kept free of any Mosques to avoid any communal clash. All expenditure for such reconstruction will be borne by India (be it the Indian Government or private entities from India)

 

5.    Agrees to make Baluchistan a separate country.

  

6.    Agrees to shift all its Nuclear arsenal/assets to South Pakistan, at least 200 Km away from the Afghanistan border to avoid any of these weapons and associated weaponry systems falling  in the hands of Taliban Terrorists.

 

7.  Agrees to provide unfettered road/land and air "right of way" for Indian goods to be shipped to Afghanistan, Iran and Tajikistan etc.

 

8.  Dawood Ibrahim, Hafiz Saeed, Syed Salahuddin, Sajid Mir and others involved in terrorist attacks in India to be handed over to India for trial.

 

If the above is accepted, then India should extend the following assistance :

 

a)    An immediate transfer of US $ 10 billion of which $ 7 billion will be used to repay all loans from China and the Mid-east countries in some reasonable proportion with effort being to clear the Chinese Loans to the maximum extent

 

b)    The balance US $ 3 Billion will be a credit line used to buy essential items of daily consumption from India like Petrol/Diesel, pharmaceuticals/ medicines, food grains and vegetables.

 

c)     A second tranche of  US $ 5 Billion will be given after 6 months of which $ 3 billion will be used to repay all loans from China and the Mid-east countries in some reasonable proportion with effort being to clear the Chinese Loans to the maximum extent

 

d)    The balance US $ 2 Billion will be used to buy essential items of daily consumption from India like Petrol/Diesel, pharmaceuticals/ medicines, food grains and vegetables

  

e)    A third tranche of  US $ 5 Billion will be given after 6 months of which $ 3 billion will be used to repay all loans from China and the Mid-east countries in some reasonable proportion with effort being to clear the Chinese Loans to the maximum extent

 

f)   The balance US $ 2 Billion will be used to rebuild roads, dams and railroads for which only Indian companies will be engaged for this work.

 

g)  At the end of these 12 months when India has already extended a loan of US $ 20 Billion,  there will be a detailed review of how the money has been spent/deployed, how much Pakistan has attracted FDI and inward remittances from overseas Pakistanis, the efforts that the Pakistan Govt has made to recover amounts from the money that has been illegally transferred/stashed abroad  and then a timeline for repayment will be decided as under :

 

  • 1.    Minimum US $ 100 million starting from Month 19, or earlier, (i.e. after 18 months from the first loan disbursal

 

  • 2.    If these payments happen in a regular and timely fashion for the first 6 months then at the end of the 24th month, Pakistan can draw upon a further instalment of US $ 5 billion which will be exclusively used for building Hospitals, Schools, Pakistani campus of Indian educational institutions (with the same names) like AIIMs, IITs, IIMs, NIITs with full academic freedom and unrestricted student selections and faculty appointments with the understanding that a minimum of 60 % of the students admitted will be Pakistani citizens.

 

  • 3.    Thereafter after another period of 6 months, Pakistan must start repaying US $ 200 million per month for a period of 6 months and thereafter at the rate of US $ 300 million per month from the 31st month till the completion of the total repayment. For every 12 months of unbroken and timely repayment, there will be a remission of US $ 100 million. Thus Pakistan should be able to repay the entire loan in a period of 8 years (Principal amount only) Depending on the interest charged, this period may, in actual fact go upto 12 to 15 years.

 

h)  Similarly, at the end of this 12 month period of “unbroken and timely repayment”, India will extend the MFN status to Pakistan on a full reciprocal basis i.e. only if Pakistan also extends the same MFN status to imports from India.

 

i)   At the end of 24 months if all repayments have been made in time and Pakistan’s economy has stabilised somewhat, India may, at Pakistan’s request and acceptance, extend its UPI Payment system in Pakistan and build the backbone for its operation in Pakistan free of cost.

 

 

This above can be proposed to gauge and understand Pakistan's response and its willingness to repair its economy with India's help which will be the most cost-efficient  for it.

 

The conditions are tough but not unrealistic nor unfair and will only work in favour of Pakistan though,  admittedly,  it may feel that its  geo-political power has been weakened. Against such a “feeling”  will be the reality of a much stronger and more stable economy which can help Pakistan gain respect and acceptability in the comity of nations.

 

 

 


 

 

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

 

75th Independence Year Celebrations – some suggestions

 

1.  75 lakh jobs to be announced  and  persons recruited by Pvt & Govt Sector from 15 August 2022 to 14 August 2023

 

2.  10 L  Vaccine Doses of COVAXIN & Other India-developed vaccines to be gifted to  75 countries,  each

Rank

Continent

Number of countries

1

Africa

54    35 poorest

2

Asia

48    20 poorest

3

Europe

44     5  poorest

4

North America

23     5  poorest

5

Australia/Oceania

14     5  poorest 

6

South America

12     5  poorest

 

This means a Gift of 7.5 Cr Vaccines whose Total Value comes to (7.5 Cr X  250/ per dose)  ₹ 1875 Crores,  a huge contribution to World welfare.  Will get huge fund of goodwill and respect for India.  Govt can run a big campaign from now itself requesting for donations from Indian Citizens for this projected expense to be given to PM Cares Fund.

              

3. Celebrations organised by Ministry of External Affairs and Culture Ministry in 75 Countries as under (Countries with  Large Indian Population)

 

Music Performance (Classical – Instrumental & Vocal as well as Film)

Dance Performance (All schools – Kathak, Bharat Natyam, Kathakali, Odissi)

Performance by Teams from TV Shows like India’s Got Talent, Sa Ra Ga Ma Pa, Indian Idols

Ayurvedic Medicine Sale and Consultation

Yoga Classes and Demonstrations

Sand Art Sculpture

Hand Weaving (Charkha & Charkha Sale), Block Printing

Textile / Garment Sale

Food / Snacks /Chaat sale

Indian Film Shows

 

TARGET TO Earn through Sales / Tickets  ₹ 7500 Crores (Govt & Private  participants together)

 

 

4. 75 Commemorative Stamps to be released – 1 for each year of independence,  highlighting the important/ celebratory event of that year like

 

4.1       1947 – India wins Freedom

4.2      1948 – India gets First Indian Gov-Gen – CR Gopalachari

4.3       1949 – India’s Constitution adopted

4.4       1950 – India becomes a Republic

4.5       1951 – India’s First Gen Elections held /1st Asian Games held

4.6       1952 – India’s First elected Government takes Office

4.7      1953 – Indian Airlines Created

4.8      1954 – India frees Dadar & Nagar haveli from Portuguese

4.9       1955 – Imperial Bank of India changed to State Bank of India

4.10    1956 – LIC of India established

4.11    ………….

4.12    …………. and so on

 

 

5.    75 Commemorative Coins to be released,  as under : 

Re. 1         15 ]  Will have portraits of major

Rs. 2         15 ]  persons who ran the

Rs. 5         10 ]  country or were great

Rs. 10       10 ]  public figures 

Rs. 20       10 ]  prior to

Rs. 50       10 ]  Muslim invasion

Rs. 75        5 ]  this will have 5 designs chosen after competitive                             selection (artistic, Bharatiya Sanskriti representative                           images)

 

6.    A National & International Painting competition to celebrate India’s 75th Independence day (painting may be or maybe not be related to Independence Day). No Entry Fee but painting will become property of PM Cares and will be auctioned to collect Funds for the Same.  60 Prizes for Entries from India and 15 prizes for Entries from abroad.  Prize Winners will be invited to New Delhi for Prize Distribution and a  5-day trip to Ayodhya, Gaya/Deogarh, Amritsar, Kashi, Sarnath, Tirupati for 4 persons.

 

7.    75th Independence Day Lottery in celebrations abroad  – tickets of  $ 100 / $ 250  each – Prize will be All Expenses paid Holiday in India for 4 persons for 4 days (2500 prizes) & 10  days (1000 prizes) in any one of the following :

 

a)    Agra/Jaipur

b)    Konark/Puri/Kolkata

c)     Gaya/Kashi/Sarnath

d)    Srinagar/Leh/Santoshi Ma Mandir,  

e)    Rameswaram/Mahabalipuram/Munnar

f)      Ooty/Kodaikanal Circuit,

g)    Ajanta/Ellora/Goa, 

h)    Khajuraho/Jabalpur/Pachmarhi

i)      Amritsar/Kartarpur/Chandigarh/Simla

 

8. 75 Stolen or Seized Antiquities to be recovered and brought back to India during the course of the year with special efforts to get the KOHINOOR back.  The present political climate and India’s rising standing in the world, especially UK (where the effective No. 2 in the UK Government cabinet is a person of Indian origin)  this is the best time to press for the return of the KOHINOOR.

 

9.    Try to reach 75 Km/day  construction in the year Aug 2022 to Aug 2023.

 

10.Honour 75 Indologists  of foreign origin  who have highlighted India’s achievements, Indian Culture and India’s Soft Power. 

 

11.Honour 75 NRI’s who have made tangible contribution to India’s economy, Education, Science & Technology Development this will exclude those who are only CEO’s abroad in well-known companies but have done nothing substantial/tangible in and for India.

 

 

The whole objective behind the above suggested exercise is to make India’s 75th Independence day a  “WORLD EVENT”  and subtly increase India’s mind-share on the world stage.  This would also help to increase our soft power and give a big  thrust to our Tourism Sector and earnings from the same.

Showcasing India’s Art, Culture, Films, Music, Yoga and Ayurvedic Medicine  and above all Indian food/cuisine would open doors for huge exports in these areas.

The act of donating 10 L Free vaccines, each,  to 75 countries  will win us a lot of plaudits and many permanent friends in the African and Asian continents which will give us strength against the sworn enmity of China and Pakistan.  It will also open many economic opportunities for us in these 2 continents.


The above suggestions are currently in bullet form only -  essentially meant to be thought – starters for an intensive brainstorming session. 

I will be happy to assist in detailing and fleshing these suggestions to a working action plan.

 

 

Yours faithfully,



Hemendra K. Varma

 

Mumbai

February  20,  2022

Thursday, January 13, 2022

Requesting Finance Minister to provide Relief to the Middle Classes in Budget for FY 2022-23

 

Following are some suggestions for adoption in the forthcoming Budget for FY 2022-23.

 

1. Withdraw the Dividend tax of 10 % on Investors and reimpose it on Companies/MFs  

 

Senior citizens, who largely rely on dividend income for meeting their expenses find this 10 %  cut very substantial, made even more so, when Annual Inflation is 5 % +. 

 

If some of us are entitled to "not pay this 10% tax"  it involves filling 15G/15H forms for each Company/MF which is very cumbersome  AND/OR  making refund claims for which we invariably have to take help of CAs which involves a substantial cost.

 

Finally, Companies/MFs, by and large,  have been doing extremely well and are poised to do even better with your policies ; hence,  they will not find it difficult at all to bear this tax, which they were  anyway paying earlier and had no real objection to the same.

 

Also, when Companies pay this Dividend Tax,  they will be filing just  ONE TDS Return Return. However, when they are required to deduct it from Investor’s dividends they will have to issue well over 10 to 12 crore TDS Returns (Form 16) because of the number of investors per company and per Mutual Fund.  This is a substantial Administrative Burden that will also strain the IT backbone. 

 

2.   Increase Sec 80C Deposit Limit to 2.5 Lakhs  by increasing it by Rs. 1 Lakh only for PPF and at the same time pay 2 % LESS interest on this additional 1 lakh PPF Deposit to limit Govt costs.

 

This will help many people to reduce their tax bracket or even come out of Income Tax Payment bracket which will be a great relief.  At the same time, Govt costs are partially controlled by paying lower interest on the additional amount, as suggested.

  

 3.     Increase the  NO TAX LIMIT  from Current Rs. 5 Lakhs to Rs. 7.5 lakhs and from         Rs. 5 lakhs to Rs. 9.0 Lakhs for Citizens above 75 years of age  and SCRAP            THE OLD TAX REGIME for all.

     This will give a decent tax reduction to many in the Middle Class and big relief to           Senior Citizens including NOT having to File Returns, as already mandated by you        in your last budget,  for those above 75.

    Previously,  the NEW REGIME was of benefit to only those earning below Rs. 12          lakhs per Annum – now it will become attractive to also those that are earning close      to Rs. 20 lakhs per annum which will cover more than 80 % of Income tax payers. 

    At the same time the adoption of NEW TAX Regime by all  will substantially plug     leakages and reduce need for documentation in areas like House Rent and LTA Claims and bring substantial  “Return Processing” relief to the over-burdened         Income Tax Department.

  

4.     Scrap the Tax imposed on Long Term Capital Gains but increase the definition of Long Term from 1 year to 3 years

       The calculation of Capital Gains from sale of shares/Dividends is extremely                   cumbersome for the average citizen and he/she can always run  foul of the law             unless he takes help of  CAs,  which is again a big cost for him.  Also it requires           keeping track & safe storage of a large number of documents/records which is very strenuous.

 

This will be a  big relief for the average citizen and will be received with great deal of joy and enthusiasm by the entire citizenry.

 

This will also be a BIG RELIEF  to the IT Department from having to scrutinise each claim of Capital Gains Tax Liability reduction or exemption.

 

The objective of proposing an increase in the “Capital Gains qualifying period from 1 to 3 years”  is to ensure that there is far less volatility in the Capital markets from frequent and irresponsible short-term  selling/withdrawal.

 

The Revenue Loss, if significant,  may be made up by having a Capital gains Tax which is 2 percentage points higher than the individual’s or Corporate’s  applicable Income Tax Rate.  This will be a straightforward tax  that does not involve any documentation, calculation or  CA assistance.

  

5.   The  limit for Sec 54E  Deposits for claiming Capital Gains Tax Exemption be raised from present Rs. 50 lakhs to Rs. 2 Crores

 

The limit of Rs. 50 Lakhs was fixed over 20 years back.  Clearly the gains occurring these days are in Crores, especially for Old Property (land or building). Hence, it is only fair that this limit be revised to a more reasonable level.

 

If this is done it will encourage much greater transparency and disclosure of ‘actual transacted amounts”  fetching good Stamp Duty Revenue for the Government in all states.

 

Will encourage more accurate and higher disclosure which will translate to bigger  “Stamp Duty” revenues for the State Governments.

 

 

The above recommended measures will win you a lot of applause and enthuse the Middle Class who have been at the receiving end for the past 2 years.

 

It will greatly help to defuse the sombre mood and gloom that pervades the nation today in view of the re-emergence of the CORONA  spread,  as also the pain that the Middle Classes, in particular,  feel due to their loss of income and their well-being, being, relatively, ignored by the Govt, vis-à-vis  what has been done for other socio-economic groups. Such relief will greatly brighten their days.

 

 

Mumbai

11 January  2022