Governance Community

  The gross GST revenue collected within the month of November 2021 was ₹1,31,526 crore, the second highest ever since introduction of GST, second only thereto in April 2021. For the second straight in November, gross GST collection crossed ₹1.30 lakh crore. The revenues for the month of November 2021 are 25% above the GST revenues in the same month last year and 27% over 2019-20. Of the entire GST collections in November, CGST was ₹23,978 crore, SGST ₹31,127 crore, IGST is ₹66,815 crore (including ₹32,165 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is ₹9,606 crore (including ₹653 crore collected on import of goods). “The GST revenues for November 2021 have been the second highest ever since introduction of GST, second only to that in April 2021, which related to year-end revenues and higher than last month’s collection, which also included the impact of returns required to be filed quarterly. this is considerably in line with the trend in economic recovery,” the government said in a statement. The government has settled ₹27,273 crore to CGST and ₹22,655 crore to SGST from IGST as regular settlement. the entire revenue of centre and also the States after regular settlements in the month of November 2021 is ₹ 51251 crore for CGST and ₹ 53,782 crore for the SGST. Centre has also released ₹ 17,000 crore to States/UTs towards GST compensation on 3rd November. “The recent trend of high GST revenues has been a result of various policy and administrative measures that have been taken in the past to enhance compliance. Central tax enforcement agencies, along side the State counterparts have detected large tax evasion cases, mainly cases relating to fake invoices, with the help of various IT tools developed by GSTN that use the return, invoice and e-way bill data to find suspicious taxpayers,” the govt. said. “A large number of initiatives undertaken in the last one year like, enhancement of system capacity, nudging non-filers after last date of filing of returns, auto-population of returns, blocking of e-way bills and passing of input tax credit for non-filers has led to consistent improvement in the filing of returns over the last few months,” it added. Source: Mint

Delhi: The rise in the level of toxicity in Yamuna has been the topic of discussion recently amongst the residents and the governance stakeholders in Delhi. On Thursday, Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced the formation of a Yamuna Cleaning Cell (YCC) to monitor and expedite the inter-departmental discussions regarding the cleaning of the Yamuna River. Kejriwal announced that the YCC will be headed by the chief executive officer of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and will have the representatives of all the necessary departments. Kejriwal’s tweet said, “In order to expedite inter-departmental decision making and execution, we formed a Yamuna Cleaning Cell (YCC) today, headed by CEO, DJB and representatives of all concerned depts. This will expedite Yamuna cleaning process.” Recently, during the last week, Kejriwal had announced six-point action plan to clean the heavily polluted Yamuna River in the city. According to his statement, the work will be completed by February 2025. The action plan includes: New sewer treatment plants Raising the capacity of the existing ones Sewer connection of slum clusters Rehabilitation of old sewer systems Source: Business Standard

The Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 24 approved the proposal to withdraw three controversial farm laws that triggered year-long protests by thousands of farmers. After the Cabinet nod, the government will now introduce “The Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021” in Parliament during the Winter Session beginning on November 29. “Today, the Union Cabinet led by PM completed formalities to repeal the three Farm Laws. During the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament, it will be our priority to take back these three laws,” Union Minister Anurag Thakur said in a news conference. The Union Ministry of Agriculture has finalised this Bill after holding consultations with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), according to reports. Prime Minister Modi supervised the Cabinet meeting which took up other issues as well. The Repeal Bill seeks to repeal the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmer’s (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance, Farm Services Act, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. The move comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced last week that the Centre has decided to repeal the three farm laws. “While apologizing to the nation, I want to say with a sincere and pure heart that maybe something was lacking in our efforts that we could not explain the truth to some of our farmer brothers,” the Prime Minister said in his address to the nation on June 19, marking Guru Purab festival. The laws can be withdrawn only by the passage of Repeal Bills in Parliament. The Centre will have to seek permission from both Houses of Parliament to proceed with their repeal before its approval by the President of India, as is the process in legislation enacted by Parliament. The government has to pass a Bill in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha before its approval by the President of India, as is the process in legislation enacted by Parliament. The Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021 is one of the 26 Bills listed by the government in its agenda for the Winter Session of the Parliament. Source: ANI

As part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, the Constitution Day will be celebrated in the Central Hall of Parliament on November 26 and President Ram Nath Kovind will preside over the event, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Tuesday. Addressing a press conference about the event, Joshi said the main event will be attended by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and various other dignitaries. The event is being organised by the Lok Sabha Secretariat and Speaker, the parliamentary affairs minister said. “Celebration of Constitution Day was started in 2015 by PM @narendramodi. This time, the main function in the central hall will be organised by @loksabhaspeaker & @LokSabhaSectt. #PresidentKovind, VP @MVenkaiahNaidu & PM @narendramodi will participate: Union Minister @JoshiPralhad,” the Press Information Bureau tweeted. The public at large including Ministries/Departments of Govt. of India, State/UT Governments, Schools/Colleges/Universities/Institutions/ Bodies, Bar Councils, etc. have been requested to join Hon’ble President in reading Preamble to the Constitution on 26.11.2021 from their places, following the Covid 19 protocols. A call has been made to the public at large to read Preamble enmass with Hon’ble President through various modes such as Radio/TV/Social Media etc. using dignitaries from various fields. So as to make it a public campaign and for ensuring Jan Bhagidari, this Ministry has developed two portals, one “Online Reading of the Preamble to the Constitution” in 23 languages (22 official languages and English) and another “Online Quiz on Constitutional Democracy” (mpa.nic.in/constitution-day) wherein anybody can participate from anywhere and get certificates. Minister stated that “Online portal for Reading of the Preamble to the Constitution” (mpa.nic.in/constitution-day) in 23 languages (22 official languages and English) has been developed which would be operational for use from 26th November 2021 onwards. Anyone can register on this portal and can read Preamble to the Constitution in any of 23 languages and get certificate. Source: ANI

Bangalore: The new Chief Minister of Karnataka Basavaraj Bommai has promised a budget a of Rs 500 crore for the repairing of damaged roads and bridges due to the heavy rainfall in the state. He said, ““I have instructed immediate release of Rs 1 lakh (first instalment) to those whose houses have been fully damaged, and also to release money for those whose houses have been partially damaged.” According to the officials belonging to the Karnataka Disaster Management Authority, a total of 24 people have lost their lives due to the heavy rainfall and floods in the state till Sunday evening reported PTI. To aid the people, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has deployed boats and SDRF teams at Kendriya Vihar in the Yelahanka zone to rescue the residents amidst waterlogging. According to the India Meteorological Department predictions, South interior Karnataka will experience widespread light to moderate rainfall, including Bengaluru, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, Kodagu and Mysuru, on Monday and Tuesday. Dakshin Karnataka, Udupi and Uttara Kannada, too, will receive widespread rainfall for the next two days, while North interior Karnataka will see light to moderate rainfall over several places on Monday. The flooding situation in Karnataka has destroyed genetic samples that date back 25 years and are worth lakhs of rupees at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) in Bengaluru on Sunday. Source: The Indian Express

The Union Cabinet has decided to provide 4G mobile services in over 7000 villages across Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Odisha, said Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Anurag Thakur on Wednesday. The estimated expenditure in this scheme will be Rs 6,466 crore, he added. Briefing the media about Union Cabinet’s decision, Thakur said, “In over 7000 villages of 44 aspirational districts across Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Odisha, mobile towers connectivity will be provided. It has been decided to provide 4G mobile services. Project is expected to be worth Rs 6,466 crore.” The Union minister further said that with this project, people will be able to utilise the benefits of e-governance. Speaking about the details of another scheme, the minister said that roads will be built under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), which will benefit areas affected by “Left-Wing Extremism” across the country. “Areas that were not covered for road connectivity under phases 1 and phase 2 of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana or the Left-Wing Extremism affected areas and the tribal areas are going to be benefitted. Roads will be built through dense forests, mountains and rivers,” he said. “The total expenditure on this project is estimated to be Rs 33,822 crore,” the minister added. Source: ANI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tasked his council of ministers with improving the efficiency of his government. The Modi government is aiming to rope in young professionals, seek suggestions from retiring officials and make the most effective use of technology for project monitoring, besides various other steps to be overseen by eight different groups comprising of members from the entire Council of Ministers, sources said. The 77 ministers are divided into eight groups to develop technology-based resources, create a pool of professionals for recruiting in their teams and other similar initiatives to be adopted in the offices of all ministers’ offices to bring more transparency and further improve and efficiency of the Modi government, the sources said. This exercise of dividing the ministers into eight groups was done following ‘Chintan Shivirs’ (brainstorming sessions) of the entire council that were chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with each meeting lasting for nearly five hours. A total of 5 such sessions were held – one each on Personal Efficiency, Focused Implementation, Ministry Functioning and Stakeholder Engagement, Party Coordination and Effective Communication, and the last one was on Parliamentary practices. The last brainstorming meeting was also attended by the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu. All these meetings primarily focused on improving the efficiency and also the delivery system of the Modi government. The forming of groups is another step in this direction, broadly focusing on overall improvement in the governance by making ministers more hands-on approach, the sources said. All the 77 ministers in the council are a part of one of these eight groups, each comprising nine to ten ministers with one Union minister designated as a group coordinator, sources said. Developing a portal in each minister’s office that provides updates on the performance of the Centre’s flagship schemes and policies, a dashboard for monitoring decisions made by the respective ministers and a system to schedule meetings and managing correspondence are among the tasks assigned to these groups. They have also been asked to make profiles of all districts, states and ministries and develop stakeholder engagement programmes. One of the groups has been assigned to line up a mechanism for creating a team of a minimum of three young professionals with command over research, communication and other key areas, the sources said. Similarly, a group has been assigned to form a portal that maintains feedback and experiences of the retiring employees, sources said. Union Ministers Hardeep Singh Puri, Narendra Singh Tomar, Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Smriti Irani, Anurag Thakur are among the ministers who are the coordinators of their respective groups, the sources said. They have been given this responsibility so that they can share the good practices of their respective offices with other cabinet colleagues. Most of the ministers who had given presentations during the Chintan Shivirs have been given the responsibility of coordinating their respective groups. Meanwhile, for attending these brainstorming sessions, Union ministers on the instruction of Prime Minister Modi did carpooling with their cabinet colleagues from different ministries and hailing from different states. Source: PTI

According to reports, ten central trade unions will conduct a series of protests starting Thursday. These protests will continue after the two-day nationwide strike during the Budget session of the Parliament. The trade unions that will participate in the protests are the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), the Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS), the Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU), and the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC). The demonstrations and strikes are happening due to the government planning to either fully or partially privatize the public sector units (PSU’s). The protesters believe that privatizing the PSU’s will affect the working class of the entire nation. Although multiple trade unions are participating in the protest, Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), the labour union affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), will not participate in any of these strikes. The central trade unions issued a joint statement saying that these protests will aim to inform the people about the repercussions of the government’s disinvestment policy. The national convention of trade unions on Thursday is the first in the series of demonstrations against the central government’s policy to reach out to the people of the nation. The unions added that this convention will be followed by a series of state-level protests all over India. As per a media report citing the statement issued by the trade unions, Thursday’s national convention will be “followed by a two-day countrywide general strike during the Budget Session in 2022.” Meanwhile, November 26 has been fixed as the nationwide protest day, since the date marks the anniversary of the National General Strike of trade unions and the ‘Kisan March’ (farmers’ foot march) to Delhi. Source: Hindustan Times

Images of Chhath devotees bathing in toxic foam floating in Yamuna river in Delhi has triggered a full-scale war of words between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The BJP has alleged that the Arvind Kejriwal government has received crores to clean the river, however, the money has apparently been used by the city government in promoting itself through advertisement. Amit Malviya, in-charge of BJP’s national information and technology department, on Wednesday, tweeted a copy of a letter dated July 1, 2021, from Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal that talked about Centre granting over Rs 2,000 crore to the Delhi government for cleaning of Yamuna. “The central government has provided Arvind Kejriwal 2,419 crore rupees so far for cleaning the Yamuna. Let alone clean, Yamuna is dirtier than ever before. Where did all the money go? Has Arvind Kejriwal spent all the money in putting out more ads just to promote himself? Shame” Malviya said in his tweet. On Tuesday, Shekhawat said, “Both Kejriwal and the Delhi government are running away from their responsibility of cleaning the Yamuna river. It is unfortunate that rather than cleaning the river, they are asking women not to celebrate Chhath (on its banks). Kejriwal is disrespecting the voters of Delhi.” In an apparent attempt to dodge questions over the polluted Yamuna, Delhi Water Minister Satyendar Jain said the BJP and the Congress did nothing to save the Yamuna in 75 years. Jain asserted that AAP will keep its promise of cleaning the river by the end of 2024. “Before elections, we said we will clean the Yamuna by 2024. The work got delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic but we stand firm on our promise. The Yamuna did not become ‘maili’ (polluted) today. It has been like this for 75 years. The BJP and the Congress were in power in Delhi, but they did nothing to clean the river,” Jain alleged. Facing intense criticism over frothing Yamuna during Chhath Puja, the Delhi government deployed 15 boats to remove the toxic foam with the help of ropes. Frothing in certain stretches of the Yamuna river, such as near ITO and Okhla Barrage, has become an annual phenomenon now in winters when the temperatures are low and flow in the river less. Source: IndiaTV

The Centre has finished Air India’s monopoly over flying millions of government employees after its privatization, however, a large part of the employees’ ticketing requirements will now be handled by three public sector companies. Under the new framework, government officials can purchase Air India tickets in real money or decide to book some other Indian airlines through the three public area organizations that are probably going to procure office commissions and tagging charges from the enormous pool of government employees, assessed to run into a few millions. On November 2, department of investment and public asset management secretary Tuhin Kanta Panda said it won’t be mandatory for government employees to go in Air India after its privatization. Air India, as well, has quit offering them the credit facility for acquisition of air tickets, inciting the money service to request that all services clear the airlines’ dues. The old framework required government employees to book with the previous public transporter in areas it overhauled. “For different spots, where there were no Air India [flights] or its auxiliaries, we needed to take earlier consent for purchasing tickets,” said a senior official, who didn’t wish to be named. Be that as it may, while Air India has lost an enormous hostage client base, three PSUs, Balmer Lawrie, Ashoka Travels and Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) get to do all ticket reserving for government employees. Balmer Lawrie, an organization under the petrol service, gives coordination support and a large group of other business while Ashoka Travels and Tours Ltd is under the government’s catering arm India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC). The third element, IRCTC works a movement entrance, gives ticket booking and obliging Indian Railways. Both IRCTC and Balmer Lawrie are recorded organizations. India has eight airlines serving in different areas separated from some provincial transporters that are basically centred around certain courses under the government’s Udaan conspire. Aside from Air India, Vistara, Air Asia, Spice Jet, Go First, Indigo and Air India express and Alliance Air are working in the country. A circular of the Lok Sabha secretariat dated November 5, said, “All the officers are thereby requested to purchase air tickets in cash from Air India/Indian Airlines counter or from three agents, i.e. Balmer Lawrie and Co. Ashoka Travels and Tours Ltd and IRCTC, authorised by the ministry of finance for the official journeys to be performed.” The Lok Sabha circular, referring to the General Finance Rules, additionally let officials know that all air ticket bills should be submitted inside the specified period. “Henceforth, no request to honour the TA/DA claim after the stipulated time limit shall be entertained in any case,” it added. The Union government offered ailing Air India to Tata Sons last month after a few failed endeavours and expansion of cut-off times. Tata Sons purchased the national carrier for ₹18,000 crore in a deal that will no longer see hefty bailout packages for the carrier that was widely seen as a burden on tax revenue and government intervention in an otherwise competitive market. Source: Hindustan Times