1) Bring petrol-diesel under GST
The daily rise in petrol and diesel prices should end by bringing all petroleum products under GST. Instead of daily price-rise, the hike should be in multiples of Re 1 when needed. There should be a ban on the production of diesel-cars where diesel is deliberately priced low despite being almost the same procurement-price to give relief to public transport and transportation.
Revenue-loss can be compensated by adopting two-tier GST rates of 10 and 30 per cent normally except on super-luxury items presently attracting cess, abolishing all others including zero-rate GST-slab. Items of long-lasting use even including like TV-sets and fridges of all models should attract 30 per cent slab. Instead of imposing cess, extra GST-rates in multiples of 100 should be there so that luxury items requiring cess may have extraordinary high GST-slabs.
Abolishing zero-rate slab may look to be bitter, but practically it will provide much more relief especially in service-sector where items or services presently under 12 and 18 per cent will also come under 10 per cent slab. Revenue-loss can and should be further compensated by abolishing the system of Input-Tax-Credit in all aspects including manufacturing and service sector, retaining only for trade-channels. Malpractice of selling GST-invoices without selling goods for availing false Input-Tax-Credit especially by manufacturing-sector will thus be checked to large extent.
Such practical reforms should not get political hurdles for unnecessarily criticising abolition of GST-rates below 12 per cent including zero per cent.
– Subhash Chandra Agrawal
2) State govts are not serious
Taking notice of the Supreme Court’s warning regarding mob violence, only 11 out of 29 states and the union territories had fielded the compliance report. It shows that state governments are not concerned about the mob violence. Mob-lynching cases are repeatedly taking place all over the country; innocent people are being massacred, women are being raped, minor girls are being killed, and properties are being destroyed illegally, but government’s reaction reflects its apathy and negligence towards these terrible issues. When the government itself is not serious, who will people trust then? The State governments must assure safety to its people by taking strict action against all the culprits involved in such crimes.
– Mohd Faheem
3) Unfortunate silence
Medals won by most Indians in Asian games are mostly by youngsters coming from extremely poor families, and will be soon forgotten by the governments and people of this country like a five-year-old child Budhia who created a record in 55-km race. Budhia is presently in poor health of malnutrition.
On the other side, the central and state governments shower huge amount of money in tunes of crores of rupees to the cricketers which is apart from hefty annual salaries of up to Rs 7 crores per cricketer and lifetime heavy pension after their retirement from cricket paid by BCCI. Even people of India are responsible for such inequality when they prefer talking and watching only Cricket resulting India losing its World Championship in Hockey, and nowhere visible in the most favourite game of the world namely Football.
It is absolutely unfair to create such a class distinction in the society where cricketers earning otherwise also through their costly appearance in advertisements are paid so heavy from public-fund of richest cricket-body of the world BCCI funded through public-craze where Cricket has become the religion for people. If earning of BCCI is a criterion for payment to the cricketers, then priests of famous temples can also demand such hefty payments based on the income of temples. The central government should ensure that BCCI funds may be utilised for public-welfare schemes in the manner income from famous Hindu temples like Tirupati are spent, rather than creating a super-rich category of persons in a country with so much poverty and unemployment.
– Madhu Agrawal
4) Landmark judgement but bad for society!
Supreme Court’s landmark judgement which decriminalises consensual sex between homosexuals, gays, lesbians, transgenders is bad for our society and will have deep repercussions. It would give rise to mental disorders, irrational behaviour, sexual diseases including HIV, and the judgement surely is a black day in the history of Indian democracy. The decimation of consensual too seems to be vague and normal citizens will now have to be careful in public places to avoid insane actions from abnormal individuals who will now be protected by the law for their misdeeds.
Homosexuality or sexual attraction to similar sex is a mental disorder and needs to be corrected by counselling but the judgement now gives the individual’s right to pursue their abnormality than finding a cure for their disorder. The Supreme Court’s decision is supreme and will have to be followed but citizens (normal) will have to be careful and extra cautious and alert in the public places to safeguard their own sexual choices!
– S.N.Kabra
5) A disappointing judgement
Really it was a historical moment in the country when the Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional the 158-year-old colonial law – Section 377 of the IPC-which criminalises consensual homosexual acts between two consenting adults. The verdict of SC upholds that homosexuality is no more an offence. Though the entire country is celebrating the judgment because it gives equality to everyone to choose his partner as per his choice but in the same way, this judgement has disappointed a large number of people of the country. The judgment will leave miserable effects on our society and the new generation irrespective that it is right or wrong, natural or unnatural.
– Mohd Usmani
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
