Financial Inclusion

Financial Inclusion is the process of ensuring access to appropriate financial products and services needed by all sections of the society in general and vulnerable groups such as weaker sections and low income groups in particular at an affordable cost in a fair and transparent manner by mainstream institutional players.

The vulnerable section in India today also accrue a major proportion of credit and other financial services and products from the uninstitutional players like local moneylenders etc. These players charge exorbitant interest rates, non transparent practices and other stringent terms and conditions on the financial services. The aim of financial inclusion is to provide access to institution credit and other financial services to the section which hitherto have remained outside the coverage of institutional players.

Extent of Financial Exclusion -Global

• 2.5 billion Adults, just over half of world’s adult population, do not use formal financial services to save or borrow.
• 2.2 billion of these unserved adults live in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.
• Of the 1.2 billion adults who use formal financial services in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, at least two-thirds, a little more than 800 million, live on less than $5 per day.

Hence, financial exclusion is not an India specific problem but a global one.

Extent of Financial Exclusion -India

• In India, almost half the country is unbanked.
• Only 55 per cent of the population has deposit accounts and 9 per cent have credit accounts with banks.
•  India has the highest number of households (145 million) excluded from Banking. 
• There was only one bank branch per 14,000 people.
• In 6 lakh villages in India, rural branches of Schedule Commercial Banks including Regional Rural Banks number 33,495 only.
• Only a little less than 20% of the population has any kind of life insurance and 9.6%  of the population has non‐life insurance coverage.
• Just 18 per cent had debit cards and less than 2 per cent has credit cards.

Financial Inclusion- Need

• It is now widely acknowledged that financial exclusion leads to non accessibility, non-affordability and non-availability of financial products. 
• Limited access to funds in an underdeveloped financial system restricts the availability of their own funds to individuals and also leads to high cost credit from informal sources such as moneylenders.
• Due to lack of access to a bank account and remittance facilities, the individual pays higher charges for basic financial transactions.
• Absence of bank account also leads to security threat and loss of interest by holding cash. All these impose real costs on individuals.
• Prolonged and persistent deprivation of banking services to a large segment of the population leads to a decline in investment and has the potential to fuel social tensions causing social exclusion.

Thus, financial inclusion is an explicit strategy for accelerated economic growth and is considered to be critical for achieving inclusive growth in the country.

Financial Inclusion – Steps Taken in the Past

• Co-operative Movement
• Setting up of State Bank of India
• Nationalisation of banks
• Lead Bank Scheme
• Regional Rural Banks
• Service Area Approach
• Self Help Groups

Financial Exclusion –Why did the approach fail?

• Absence of Banking Technology
• Absence of Reach and Coverage
• Absence of Viable Delivery Mechanism
• Not having a Business Model
• Rich have no compassion for poor

Current scenario w.r.t. Financial Exclusion

• Focus on Inclusive Growth
• Banking Technology has arrived
• Realisation that Poor is bankable

The Indian Way- Multi Agency Approach

• Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) mandated to focus on Financial Inclusion and Financial Literacy
• Financial Sector Regulators including the Reserve Bank committed to FI Mission
• Financial Inclusion is a mammoth task- financial services through mainstream financial institutions to 6 lakh villages

​Banking Correspondent Model

The Reserve Bank of India has initiated several policy measures to ensure financial inclusion and increase the outreach of the banking sector. A major initiative taken by the Bank in this direction is the introduction of the business correspondent model.

Under this model RBI has permitted banks to use the services of intermediaries such as business facilitators and correspondents to provide banking services for ensuring greater financial inclusion and increasing the outreach of the banking sector

By using the Information Technolgy now intermediaries are allowed to extend the banking services in the areas which are bankable. 

What has been done so far

• ICT based Business Correspondent (BC) Model for low cost door step banking services in remote villages .
• RBI Board approved Financial Inclusion Plans (FIPs) of banks for 3 years, starting April 2010 .
• Roadmap to cover villages of above 2000 population by march 2012
• Availability of minimum four banking products through ICT model has been ensured
• Mandatory opening of 25 % of new branches in unbanked rural centers.
• KYC documentation requirements significantly simplified for small account
• Guidelines for convergence between Electronic Benefit Transfer and FIP have been issued.
• Pricing for banks totally freed . Interest rates on advances totally deregulated.

Approach adopted by RBI- Some Specifics

• Achieving planned, sustained and structured Financial inclusion.
• Technology-To be fixed first

1. ​All Bank branches must be on Core Banking Solution (CBS). All Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) to be on CBS by September 2011.
2. Multi-channel approach (Handheld devices, mobiles, cards, Micro-ATMs, Branches, Kiosks, etc.)
3. Front-end devices transactions must be seamlessly integrated with the banks’ CBS.

Coverage- Ensuring Transparency

What is meant by Banking Coverage?

A village is covered by banking service if either a bank branch is present or a Banking Correspondent is physically present or visiting that village.

Twin Aspects of Financial Inclusion

Financial Inclusion and Financial Literacy are twin pillars. While Financial Inclusion acts from supply side providing the financial market/services what people demand, Financial Literacy stimulates the demand side – making people aware of what they can demand.

Kelkar for hike in PDS price

In its report on the road map to fiscal consolidation, the three-member committee headed by the former Finance Secretary and 13th Finance Commission Chairman, Vijay L. Kelkar, has suggested a host of “bold reform” measures on ways of slashing the subsidy bill which, it admitted, would result in some short term pain and hardships.

The committee’s recommendations also include sale of surplus land with public sector undertakings (PSUs), fast-tracking of the Centre’s disinvestment programme, expansion of the service tax net to raise revenue as also an overhaul of the Direct Taxes Code (DTC).

Reading out from a prepared statement at the briefing, Dr. Mayaram said: “The committee has reached certain conclusions and has made a number of recommendations. The main conclusion of the report is that ‘We cannot over-emphasise the need and the urgency of fiscal consolidation.’”

The government has reiterated its intention to implement the promise of food security for all. While taking a final view on the various recommendations, “the government will bear in mind that the goal is to achieve high growth, inclusive development, and economic and social justice for all.”

In its report, the committee suggested phased elimination of subsidy on diesel and LPG in the next four years and reduction in kerosene subsidy by one-third by 2014-15. As for food and fertilizer subsidies, it has sought an increase in the urea price and a hike in the issue price of foodgrains at ration shops.

Alongside, it cautioned that without these measures, the fiscal deficit of the government could shoot up to 6.1 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the current financial year.

It can be contained to 5.2 per cent with the proposed reforms.

The committee also recommended that over the next two-three years the government should raise resources by selling unutilised and under-utilised land of the PSUs, Port Trusts, and the Railways, to fund infrastructure sector.

As for disinvestment, it said that in the absence of adequate steps the government will be able to raise around Rs. 10,000 crore, as against the target of Rs. 30,000 crore.

With regard to petroleum subsidy, it suggested that the government should seek to eliminate diesel subsidy by 2013-14 and “our policy goal should be to eliminate the LPG subsidy by 2014-15 by reducing it by 25 per cent this year, with the remaining 75 per cent reduction over the next 2 years.”

‘Increase diesel, kerosene, LPG prices’

“For kerosene, the objective should be to reduce the subsidy by one-third by 2014-15. Our recommendation is to immediately increase the price of diesel by Rs. 4 per litre, of kerosene by Rs. 2 per litre and of LPG by Rs. 50 per cylinder… Overall, we feel that if no steps are taken the subsidy expenditure would go up from 1.9 per cent of the budgeted levels to 2.6 per cent of the re-assessed GDP,” it said.

FINANCIAL ACTION TASK FORCE

Financial action task force is an inter-governmental body responsible for setting global standards on anti-money laundering and combating financing of terrorism. The FATF Secretariat is housed at the headquarters of the OECD in Paris and after long wait, India has finally become a full-fledged member of the FATF. History of the FATF In response to mounting concern over money laundering, the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) was established by the G-7 Summit that was held in Paris in 1989.  Recognising the threat posed to the banking system and to financial institutions, the G-7 Heads of State or Government and President of the European Commission convened the Task Force from the G-7 member States, the European Commission and eight other countries. Objective The objectives of the FATF are to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.  The FATF is therefore a “policy-making body” which works to generate the necessary political will to bring about national legislative and regulatory reforms. Starting with its own members, the FATF monitors countries' progress in implementing the FATF Recommendations; reviews money laundering and terrorist financing techniques and counter-measures; and, promotes the adoption and implementation of the FATF Recommendations globally. The FATF monitors the progress of its members in implementing necessary measures, reviews money laundering and terrorist financing techniques and counter-measures, and promotes the adoption and implementation of appropriate measures globally.  In collaboration with other international stakeholders, the FATF works to identify national-level vulnerabilities with the aim of protecting the international financial system from misuse. Benefits to INDIA With its induction as the 34thmember country of the global body that chalks out policies to counter financial frauds, India will have access to information on suspicious financial transactions in Switzerland, China, U.S and the U.K. The development marks a significant step towards tracing the source of terror financing and black money stashed away in tax heavens abroad. India and its tax enforcement authorities—the Financial intelligence unit, the Enforcement directorate, the central economic intelligence bureau and the Directorate of revenue intelligence would be able to exchange vital information from member countries on money laundering and terrorist financing activities. Current In February 2012, the FATF completed a thorough review of its standards and published the revised FATF Recommendations. This revision is intended to strengthen global safeguards and further protect the integrity of the financial system by providing governments with stronger tools to take action against financial crime. They have been expanded to deal with new threats such as the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and to be clearer on transparency and tougher on corruption. The FATF currently comprises 34 member jurisdictions and 2 regional organisations, representing most major financial centres in all parts of the globe.

Rural Business Hubs

The Rural Business Hubs (RBH) is a steady influx of rural people to urban areas in search of employment and economic opportunity.  Also, there is a wide gap between rural and urban areas in terms of public services like health and education, in the quality of life and levels of income.  This gap is perceived to be widening.  The 73^rd Constitutional Amendment, 1992, has mandated Panchayats as Institutions of Self Government, to plan and implement programmes of economic development and social justice.  Government of India has recognized thatPanchayati Raj is the medium to transform rural India 700 million opportunities.  There is also a felt need to ensure that the benefits of rapid economic growth, unleashed through the reforms of the last two decades, need to flow to all sections of society, particularly to rural India. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has adopted the goal of "Haat to Hypermarket" as the overarching objective of the Rural Business Hubs (RBH), initiative aimed at moving from more livelihood support to promoting rural prosperity, increasing rural non-farm incomes and augmenting rural employment. 

The budget allocation for the RBH scheme introduced during the Eleventh Five Year Plan w.e.f. 2007, has been fairly small, as a result of which the scheme has been restricted to the BRGF districts and districts of the North Eastern States. The implementation of the scheme has not taken off as anticipated and due to the lack of response by various partners, it has been decided to taper off the scheme during the 12th Plan. RBH projects have been sanctioned for various products including metal work, carpets, embroidery, biofuels, horticultural products etc. However, as the scheme is not being continued in 12th Five Year Plan, no further steps are proposed to be taken for creating awareness or training people in the production of these items.

           Details of total employment generated by the Rural Business Hubs that have been set up are not maintained by the Ministry of PanchayatiRaj. However, the number of beneficiaries of various RBH projects is given State-wise as below: 

Sl.No.	State	Number of Beneficiaries
1	Andhra Pradesh	500
2	Arunachal Pradesh	300
3	Assam	2220
4	Bihar	54
5	Chhattisgarh	4046
6	Haryana	100
7	Himachal Pradesh	500
8	Jharkhand	1030
9	Karnataka	200
10	Kerala	340
11	Madhya Pradesh	N.A.
12	Maharashtra	5487
13	Manipur	1065
14	Meghalaya	300
15	Orissa	120
16	Rajasthan	4050
17	Tamil Nadu	1140
18	Tripura	554
19	Uttar Pradesh	1116
20	Uttarakhand	2500
21	West Bengal	5860
	Total	31482

Note: N.A. = Not available

All India Survey on Higher Education Provisional Report

Union Minister of Human Resource Development, Kapil Sibal, released the first Provisional Report of the ambitious All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) at New Delhi on September 28. The report contains countrywide estimates of Gross Enrolment Ratio on the basis of data collected till July 31, 2012, from the Higher Education (HE) Institutions of the country including Universities, Colleges, and Stand-Alone Institutions.

The key idea behind this Survey and the resulting document is to prepare a sound database on the large and diverse system of Higher Education in the country. The Survey compiles and manages statistics directly online from respondent institutions. The Ministry has constituted a Task Force to carry out the Survey. This Task Force has representations from stake-holders including the Ministry, the UGC, the AICTE, various Regulatory Bodies, as well as Departments of Higher Education of the States. Shri Sunil Kumar, Chief Secretary of Chhattisgarh, the then Additional Secretary in the Department of Higher Education is its Chairman. 

India ranked 111th in economic freedom list

India ranks very low at 111th position in terms of economic freedom, behind countries like China, Nepal and Bangladesh, a global study has claimed in a worldwide index of 144 nations.

The annual ranking, titled 'Economic Freedom of the World: 2012', is topped by Hong Kong, followed by Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland (8.24) and Australia in the top-five.

The index has been prepared by Canada-based public policy think-tank, Fraser Institute, in cooperation with independent institutes in 90 nations and territories, and claims to measure the degree to which the policies and institutions of countries support economic freedom.

India's ranking has fallen from 103rd last year, while Hong Kong has retained its top slot, the report said.

Canada is ranked sixth on the list, while others in the top-ten include Bahrain, Mauritius, Finland and Chile. The countries with lowest level of economic freedom are -- Myanmar, Zimbabwe, Republic of Congo and Angola.

India shares its 111th position with two other countries, Iran and Pakistan, while those ranked lower include Guyana, Syria and Nigeria.

India has scored an overall rating of 6.26 in the economic freedom index as against an average global scrore of 6.83.

In the economic freedom index, China is at 107th position with a score of 6.35, Bangladesh at 109th with a score of 6.34 and Nepal is at 110th position (6.33).

 
The report said that Hong Kong offers the highest level of economic freedom worldwide, with a score of 8.90 out of 10, followed by Singapore (8.69), New Zealand (8.36), Switzerland (8.24), Australia and Canada (each 7.97), Bahrain (7.94), Mauritius (7.90), Finland (7.88) and Chile (7.84).

"Governments around the world embraced heavy-handed regulation and extensive spending in response to the US and European debt crises, reducing economic freedom in the short term and prosperity over the long term," the report noted.

"But the slight increase in this year's worldwide economic freedom score is encouraging. Impressively, all five continents are represented in the global top 10," it added.

The report noted that on an average, the poorest 10 per cent of people in the freest nations are nearly twice as rich as the average population of the least free countries.

Interestingly, the US, which is considered a champion of economic freedom among large industrial nations, continues its protracted decline in the global rankings. This year, the US plunged to its lowest-ever ranking of 18th, after being ranked at as high as second position in 2002.

The decline is attributed to higher spending and borrowing on the part of the US government.

The rankings and scores of other major economies include -Japan (20th), Germany (31st), Korea (37th), France (47th), Italy (83rd), Mexico (91st), Russia (95th) and Brazil (105th).

National Family Benefit Scheme

The Ministry of Rural Development is implementing, through State Governments and UT Administrations, a scheme namely National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS). Under this scheme, earlier a provision of grant of Rs. 5,000/- was made in case of natural death of BPL primary bread winner. The primary BPL bread winner specified in the scheme, whether male or female, had to be a member of the household whose earning contributed substantially to the total household income. The death of such primary bread winner occurring whilst he/she was in the age group of 18 to 64 years. In the year 1998, the amount of benefit has been raised to Rs. 10,000/- in case of death due to natural causes as well as accidental causes. The funds are released to State Governments and UTs by Ministry of Finance as Additional Central Assistance. The National Family Benefit Scheme is a sub-scheme of the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) and details of funds released sub-scheme wise to State/UTs are not maintained. These sub-schemes are only for BPL families.

Schemes to Financially Help BPL Widows

The Government in the Ministry of Rural Development is implementing through State Governments and UT Administrations the major schemes /programmes namely Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Swarnjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY)/ National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) and Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) for providing wage, self employment and houses in rural areas respectively. These schemes have specific provision to provide benefits to rural women including widows to enhance their income and living standard. Besides, Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme (IGNWPS) is also implemented in urban and rural areas for Below Poverty Line (BPL) widows, between the age groups of 40 to 59 years.

Mahatma Gandhi Suraksha Yojana

The Government has launched a scheme called ‘Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana’ (MGPSY) for Indian workers holding Emigration Check Required (ECR) passports and a valid work permit in an ECR country. This scheme encourages and enables Overseas Indian Workers to save for their return and resettlement and to save for their old age by providing a co-contribution from the Government. This also provides a free Life Insurance Cover against natural death during the period of coverage, under this scheme. However, there is no proposal to introduce a special package for Indian workers returning to India from conflict-ridden countries. There is also no plan to start a “Pravasi Bank” for Overseas Indians by the Ministry.

Cabinet Decisions on FDI in Single Brand Retail, Multi Brand Retail, Civil Aviation, Broadcasting Sector and Power Exchanges Notified

The Government  notified the cabinet/CCEA decisions on FDI in single brand retail, multi brand retail, civil aviation, broadcasting sector and power exchanges. The decisions were taken in the Cabinet and CCEA meetings on September 14, 2012.

Please see the following notifications by clicking on the hyperlinks below.

Amendment of the existing policy on Foreign Direct Investment in Single-Brand Product

Retail Trading-  Press Note No.4 (2012 Series)

    Click here to see

Review of the policy on Foreign Direct Investment- allowing FDI in Multi-Brand Retail

Trading.-      Press Note No.5 (2012 Series)

    Click here to see

Review of the policy on Foreign Direct Investment in the Civil Aviation sector- Press Note No.6 (2012 Series)

    Click here to See

Review of the policy on Foreign Investment (FI) in companies operating in the Broadcasting Sector-  Press Note No.7 (2012 Series)

    Click here to See

Policy on foreign investment in Power Exchanges- Press Note No.8 (2012 Series)

    Click here to See.

Cabinet Approves National Policy on Information Technology 2012

The Cabinet has recently approved the National Policy on Information Technology 2012. The Policy aims to leverage Information & Communication Technology (ICT) to address the ountry’s economic and developmental challenges. The policy is rooted in the conviction that ICT has the power to transform the lives of people.

ICT and Electronics are contributing significantly to the Indian economy, society and governance. IT is a key driver of the knowledge based global economy. The right policies and investment in infrastructure can strengthen and enhance India’s position as a global IT power-house. Use of IT can transform our economy, enhance equity and lead to improvement in development indices. The Policy envisages the growth of the IT market to USD 300 Billion and creation of additional 10 million employments by 2020.

The thrust areas of the policy include:

1. To increase revenues of IT and ITES (Information Technology Enabled Services) Industry from 100 Billion USD currently to 300 Billion USD by 2020 and expand exports from 69 Billion USD currently to 200 Billion USD by 2020.

2. To gain significant global market-share in emerging technologies and Services.

3. To promote innovation and R&D in cutting edge technologies and development of applications and solutions in areas like localization, location based services, mobile value added services, Cloud Computing, Social Media and Utility models.

4. To encourage adoption of ICTs in key economic and strategic sectors to improve their competitiveness and productivity.

5. To provide fiscal benefits to SMEs and Startups for adoption of IT in value creation

6. To create a pool of 10 million additional skilled manpower in ICT.

7. To make at least one individual in every household e-literate.

8. To provide for mandatory delivery of and affordable access to all public services in electronic mode.

9. To enhance transparency, accountability, efficiency, reliability and decentralization in Government and in particular, in delivery of public services.

10. To leverage ICT for key Social Sector initiatives like Education, Health, Rural Development and Financial Services to promote equity and quality.

11. To make India the global hub for development of language technologies, to encourage and facilitate development of content accessible in all Indian languages and thereby help bridge the digital divide.

12. To enable access of content and ICT applications by differently-abled people to foster inclusive development.

13. To leverage ICT for expanding the workforce and enabling life-long learning.

14. To strengthen the Regulatory and Security Framework for ensuring a Secure and legally compliant Cyberspace ecosystem.

15. To adopt Open standards and promote open source and open technologies

The policy attempts to optimally leverage India’s global edge in ICT to advance national competitiveness in other sectors, particularly those of strategic and economic importance. The Policy will promote an inclusive and equitable society. The Policy is oriented towards use of ICT to consciously promote decentralization and empowerment of citizens.

Integration of Ayush in Health Care System under National Rural Health Mission

After the launch of NRHM, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has taken several steps for strengthening health care facilities by integrating AYUSH systems in national health care delivery systems. The integration is facilitated by appointing or co-locating AYUSH doctors & supporting staff and creating infrastructure according to local needs.

There were 640 districts, 6431 blocks and 638588 villages incorporating 605 District Hospitals (DHs), 4535 Community Health Centres (CHCs) and 23673 Primary Health Centres (PHCs) till March 2011. Out of these, AYUSH facilities had been co-located with 416 District Hospitals, 2942 Community Health Centres and 9559 Primary Health Centres during 2011. About 68.76% District hospitals had been co-located with AYUSH facilities till 2011. All the District hospitals existing in the states and union territories of Goa, Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Lakshadweep and Puducherry had been co-located with AYUSH facilities, whereas, the states having more than 50% of the District hospitals co-located with AYUSH facilities were Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttarakhand., There had been no co-location of AYUSH facilities in the Districts hospitals of the remaining 12 states and union territories.

Nearly 65% Community Health Centre’s had been co-located with AYUSH facilities till 2011. All the CHCs existing in the states and union territories of Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Nagaland, Orissa, Manipur, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Lakshadweep and Puducherry had been co-located with AYUSH facilities., whereas, the states having more than 50% of the CHCs co-located with AYUSH facilities were Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Punjab, Tripura and West Bengal. The states having more than 25% but less than 50% of the CHCs co-located with AYUSH facilities were Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan. The states having less than 25% CHCs co-located with AYUSH facilities were Madhya Pradesh only. No co-location of AYUSH facilities had been observed in CHCs in the remaining 8 states and union territories.

About 40.4% Primary Health Centre’s had been co-located with AYUSH facilities till 2011. All the PHC existing in the Union Territory of D&N Haveli, Daman & Diu and Puducherry, Jammu and Kashmir, A& N Islands, and Lakshadweep have been co-located. The States/ Union Territories having more than 50% of the PHCs co-located with AYUSH facilities were Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Manipur, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamilnadu and Tripura, States having more than 25% but less than 50% of the PHCs co-located with AYUSH facilities, were Karnataka, Meghalaya West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. The states and union territories having less than 25% of the Primary Health Centres co-located with AYUSH facilities were Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Shome Committee GAAR Report submitted by the to Finanace Ministry

The GAAR report was submitted on 1 September 2012 to the finance minister of India by the Shome Committee constituted by the Central Board of Direct Taxes, after the approval of Prime Minister of India. The committee in its report has tried to create a balance in between the investors being invited to the country and protection of the tax base from tax avoidance and evasion, using aggressive tax planning. The major findings of the GAAR’s committee to create a balance in between the investors and chances of tax avoidance and evasion includes:
1. Tax Evasion, Tax Mitigation and Tax Avoidance
2. Overcharging Principle Applicability of GAAR
3. Monetary Threshold
4. Arm’s Length Test
5. Test to Misuse or Abuse the Provisions of Act
6. Factors for determination of Commercial Substance
7. Grandfathering of existing Investments
8. GAAR will not override the CBDT circular 789 of 2000 with respect to the tax-treaty in between India and Mauritius
9. GAAR will not be applicable at places where so ever anti-avoidance provisions are in existence in the treaty of tax and any type of anti-avoidance rule exists in the Act
10. Impermissible Avoidance arrangements
11. Tax abolition in cases of gains that rises out by the transfer of listed securities
12. Foreign Institutional Investors
13. Corresponding adjustments
14. Implementation of the Onus on the revenue authority
15. Tax Withholding
16. Definition of the term Connected Person
17. Constitution of approval panel
18. Time limit for GAAR provisions
19. AAR to pass ruling within 6 months
20. Prescription of Statutory forms
21. Implementation issue
22. Reporting requirements

The committee in its findings has stated that the GAAR guidelines should be introduced in the country at the time of economic stability. Hence, it has recommended the postponement of its implementation by 3 years. Committee’s recommendation also states about the implementation of the findings with complete spirit and has laid emphasis on transition period of the taxpayers and preparedness of the administrators. To provide clarity on GAAR’s applicability provisions in different situations 27 illustrations were made and are mentioned under different conditions like:
1. Tax Mitigation- GAAR can’t be invoked
2. Tax Avoidance- SAAR is applicable hence GAAR is not invoked
3. Court Approved Amalgamations or demergers
4. Tax Avoidance- GAAR invoked
5. Tax Evasion can directly be dealt of law without invoking the GAAR
Following the Finance Act 2012, the introduction of the General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) was done into the Income Tax Act, 1961. The committee briefly analysed the provisions of GAAR as per the inputs available from stakeholders and following the recommendations made the amendments in the Act were made for finalization of the guidelines for the Income Tax Rules, 1962.

Shome’s Committee:

The expert committee on GAAR (General Anti-Avoidance Rules) was constituted under the Chairmanship of Dr. Parthasarsthi Shome with members, namely Shri N. Rangachary (Former Chairman of IRDA and CBDT), Dr. Ajay Shah (Prof. NIPFP) and Shri Sunil Gupta (Joint Secretary-Tax Policy and Legislation, Department of Revenue) for undertaking the consultations of stakeholders and finalization of guidelines for GAAR. The main objective of the committee was to get feedbacks from the stakeholders and prepare new guidelines or to amend the previous guidelines after examining the things finely.The committee was constituted by the Central Board of Direct Taxes after being approved by the Prime Minister of India.

The committee formed referred to following terms:

• To receive feedback from both public and stakeholders on the Guideline of GAAR mentioned on the website of Government of India.
• To rework on the guidelines following the feedback received and examining the same and then publish the same in form of second draft
• To find out and finalise, guidelines along with an road-map for implementation of GAAR and submit it to the government

Analysis of the GAAR provisions 

The provisions for the GAAR are mention in Chapter X-A (Section 95 to 102) of the Act. Presented provisions allow the authority of tax, despite of containing anything in the Act with clear declaration on the arrangements made for assesses (estimated value, nature or extent of amount of the fine) that has entered into the impermissible avoidance arrangement to face the consequences with regard to the tax liability determined by the arrangement.

Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana

The Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) aims at correcting the imbalances in the availability of affordable healthcare facilities in the different parts of the country in general, and augmenting facilities for quality medical education in the under-served States in particular. The scheme was approved in March 2006.

The first phase in the PMSSY has two components - setting up of six institutions in the line of AIIMS; and upgradation of 13 existing Government medical college institutions.

It has been decided to set up 6 AIIMS-like institutions, one each in the States of Bihar (Patna), Chattisgarh (Raipur), Madhya Pradesh (Bhopal), Orissa (Bhubaneswar), Rajasthan (Jodhpur) and Uttaranchal (Rishikesh) at an estimated cost of Rs 840 crores per institution. These States have been identified on the basis of various socio-economic indicators like human development index, literacy rate, population below poverty line and per capital income and health indicators like population to bed ratio, prevalence rate of serious communicable diseases, infant mortality rate etc. Each institution will have a 960 bedded hospital (500 beds for the medical college hospital; 300 beds for Speciality/Super Speciality; 100 beds for ICU/Accident trauma; 30 beds for Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and 30 beds for Ayush) intended to provide healthcare facilities in 42 Speciality/Super-Speciality disciplines. Medical College will have 100 UG intake besides facilities for imparting PG/doctoral courses in various disciplines, largely based on Medical Council of India (MCI) norms and also nursing college conforming to Nursing Council norms.    

In addition to this, 13 existing medical institutions spread over 10 States will also be upgraded, with an outlay of Rs. 120 crores (Rs. 100 crores from Central Government and   Rs. 20 crores from State Government) for each institution. These institutions are Government Medical College, Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir, Government Medical College, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, Kolkatta Medical College, Kolkatta, West Bengal, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, Institute of Medical Sciences, BHU, Varanasi, Uttar Pardesh, Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, Sri Venkateshwara Institute of Medical Sciences, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, Government. Medical College, Salem, Tamil Nadu, B.J. Medical College, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Bangalore Medical College, Bangalore, Karnataka, Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Ranchi and Grants Medical College & Sir J.J. Group of Hospitals, Mumbai, Maharashtra. 

In the second phase of PMSSY, the Government has approved the setting up of two more AIIMS-like institutions, one each in the States of West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh and upgradation of six medical college institutions namely Government Medical College, Amritsar, Punjab; Government Medical College, Tanda, Himachal Pradesh; Government Medical College, Madurai, Tamil Nadu; Government Medical College, Nagpur, Maharashtra, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College of Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh and Pt. B.D. Sharma Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Rohtak. The estimated cost for each AIIMS-like institution is Rs. 823 crore. For upgradation of medical college institutions, Central Government will contribute Rs. 125 crore each.

In the third phase of PMSSY, it is proposed to upgrade the following existing medical college institutions namely Government Medical College, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh; Government Medical College, Rewa, Madhya Pradesh; Government Medical College, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh; Government Medical College, Dharbanga, Bihar; Government Medical College, Kozhikode, Kerala; Vijaynagar Institute of Medical Sciences, Bellary, Karnataka and Government Medical College, Muzaffarpur, Bihar.

The project cost for upgradation of each medical college institution has been estimated at Rs. 150 crores per institution, out of which Central Government will contribute Rs. 125 crores and the remaining Rs. 25 crore will be borne by the respective State Governments.

It is hoped that consequent to the successful implementation of PMSSY, better and affordable healthcare facilities will be easily accessible to one and all in the country.

NATIONAL RURAL HEALTH MISSION

Recognizing the importance of Health in the process of economic and social development and improving the quality of life of our citizens, the Government of India has launched the National Rural Health Mission to carry out necessary architectural correction in the basic health care delivery system. The Mission adopts a synergistic approach by relating health to determinants of good health viz. segments of nutrition, sanitation, hygiene and safe drinking water. It also aims at mainstreaming the Indian systems of medicine to facilitate health care. National Rural Health Mission was launched on 12th April, 2005 with an objective to provide effective health care to the rural population, the disadvantaged groups including women and children by improving access, enabling community ownership, strengthening public health systems for efficient service delivery, enhancing equity and accountability and promoting decentralization The scheme proposes a number of new mechanisms for healthcare delivery including training local residents as Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) and the Janani Surakshay Yojana (motherhood protection program). It also aims at improving hygiene and sanitation infrastructure. It is the most ambitious rural health initiative ever. The mission has a special focus on 18 states Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Orissa, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Goals of NHRM a) Reduction in Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) b) Universal access to public health services such as Women’s health, child health, water, sanitation &hygiene, immunization, and Nutrition c) Prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases, including locally endemic diseases d) Access to integrated comprehensive primary healthcare e) Population stabilization, gender and demographic balance. f) Revitalize local health traditions and mainstream AYUSH. g) Promotion of healthy life styles. Salient features of NHRM: • Innovation in Human Resource Management Promote access to improved healthcare at household level through the Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA). ASHA would act as a bridge between the Auxiliary Nurse and the village Midwives and be accountable to the Panchayat. ASHA would facilitate in the implementation of the Village Health Plan along with Anganwadi worker, ANM, functionaries of other Departments, and Self Help Group members, under the leadership of the Village Health Committee of the Panchayat. • Strengthening Public Health Delivery in India New concept of Indian Public Health Standards introduced. They are set of standards envisaged to improve the quality of health care delivery in the country under the National Rural Health Mission. • Strengthening PHCs Mission aims at Strengthening PHC for quality preventive, promotive, curative, and supervisory and Outreach services through adequate and regular supply of essential quality drugs and equipment (including Supply of Auto Disabled Syringes for immunization) to PHCs. Provision of 24 hour service in 50% PHCs by addressing shortage of doctors, especially in high focus States, through mainstreaming AYUSH manpower. • Strengthen CHCs Infrastructure strengthening of CHCs by implementation of IPHS standards which includes Promotion of Stakeholder Committees (Rogi Kalyan Samitis) for hospital management and developing standards of services and costs in hospital care. • Decentralized Planning This includes “District Health Mission” at the District level and the “State Health Mission” at the state level. District Health Plan would be a reflection of synergy between Village Health Plans, State and National priorities for Health, Water Supply, Sanitation and Nutrition. It also includes involvement of PRIs in planning process to improve access of facilities. • Strengthening Disease Control Mechanisms National Disease Control Programmes for Malaria, TB, Kala Azar, Filaria, Blindness & Iodine Deficiency and Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme has been integrated under the Mission, for improved programme delivery and new Initiatives have been launched for control of Non Communicable Diseases. Further disease surveillance system at village level would be strengthened. Supply of generic drugs (both AYUSH & Allopathic) for common ailments at village, SC, PHC/CHC level will also be included.