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The government has managed to collect a total of Rs 329.6 crore within a month from the 0.5 per cent <keyword id="2692614" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Swachh-Bharat-cess">Swachh Bharat cess</keyword> imposed on all <keyword id="640715" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="taxable-services">taxable services</keyword>. "The provisional figures of Swachh Bharat cess collected till December 16, 2015, is about Rs 329.6 crore," MoS Finance Jayant Sinha said in a written reply to the <keyword id="48510" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Rajya-Sabha">Rajya Sabha</keyword>. 

	The government had imposed the cess with effect from November 15 to fund Swachh Bharat programme. 
 

	Between November 15 and March 31, 2016, the revenue estimated to be collected is about Rs 3,750 crore, Sinha said. 
 

	The minister added that the proceeds collected through the cess would be allocated to the state governments to fund Swachh Bharat initiatives. 
 

	The amount estimated to be collected from <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Swachh+Bharat">Swachh Bharat</a> cess on all taxable services which are not exempt or in negative list in a full financial year is about Rs 10,000 crore. 
 

	Revenue for the next financial year has not been estimated so far, he said. 
 With the Swachh Bharat cess, the <keyword id="118144" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Service-tax-rate">Service Tax rate</keyword> has gone up to 14.5 per cent from 14 per cent. 
	 
	(Image credits: BCCL)

Swachh Bharat cess garners Rs 329 crore in a month!

As the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Indian+government" target="_BLANK￿￿￿￿">Indian government</a> is all set to levy its <keyword id="2692614" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Swachh-Bharat-cess">Swachh Bharat cess</keyword>, the Indian Inc says it is not ready for it yet. 
 
The government, in its <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=union+budget" target="_BLANK￿￿￿￿">Union Budget</a>, had announced that a cess of up to 2% would be levied to fund <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=prime+minister+narendra+modi" target="_BLANK￿￿￿￿">PM Narendra </a><a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=prime+minister+narendra+modi" target="_BLANK￿￿￿￿">Modi</a>’s pet campaign ‘<keyword id="2517872" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Swachh-Bharat-Abhiyan">Swachh Bharat Abhiyan</keyword>’. 
 
The 0.5% cess on all taxable services was notified by the Centre. 
 
"It may be seen that all issues relating to Swachh Bharat cess are addressed in the service tax provisions itself by virtue of the applicability of Chapter V of the Finance Act, 1994, and the rules made thereunder," the finance ministry stated. 
 But, the Indian industry says this is against the PM’s claims of <keyword id="6354423" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ease-of-Doing-Business">ease of doing business</keyword> in India and also sought clarity on certain issues. 
 
Also, the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=ficci" target="_BLANK￿￿￿￿">Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce &amp; Industry</a> (<keyword id="6355001" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="FICCI">FICCI</keyword>) said the eight day's notice was too short and that the cess should be implemented from January. 
Experts in India Inc say that changing billing system in the middle of the month, especially in festive season, will prove to be difficult. 
 
The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=cii" target="_BLANK￿￿￿￿">Confederation of Indian Industry</a> (CII) also asked if the cess would be creditable. 
 Meanwhile, India Inc said the cess should have been levied in line with the Goods &amp; Services Tax (<keyword id="6354679" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="GST">GST</keyword>). 
 
Even telecom operators voiced the same concern and asked for a delay. 
 
“There is no clarity whether credit of Swachh Bharat would be available as in the case of service tax. In case the credit is not available, the net incidence of the cess would be higher than 0.5% on services on account of cascading. Similarly, the cess would also impact the price of goods as there would be an incidence of cess on input services,” Bipin Sapra, partner, EY, told ET. 
 
Also, the value and rate is unclear, what the effective rate of tax would be for services that are taxable at an abated rate. 
 
The finance ministry explained that the taxable value for the levy of Swachh Bharat cess would be the same on which service tax is levied. 
 
“The cess would be calculated on abated value or value arrived at under service tax. On the issue of point of taxation, the statement said norms laid down in Rule 5 would apply. Therefore, in case where payment has been received and invoice is raised before the service becomes taxable, i.e., prior to November 15, 2015, there is no liability of Swachh Bharat cess,” stated the finance ministry. 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

India Inc wants deferment in Swachh Bharat cess, says it will affect ease of doing business

Providing relief to SEZ units and developers, the <keyword id="47209" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Finance-Ministry">Finance Ministry</keyword> today said they will be entitled to refund of the Swachh Bharat cess, a levy imposed by the government from November last year to fund its cleanliness drive. 

	"The SEZ Unit or the Developer shall be entitled to refund of the Swachh Bharat Cess paid on the specified services on which ab-initio exemption is admissible but not claimed," the Central Board of Excise and Customs said in a notification.
 

	It has also specified a formula for calculating refund due to SEZ units and developers. 
 Government had imposed 0.5 per cent Swachh Bharat cess on taxable services from November 15, 2015. With the imposition of the cess, <keyword id="6355686" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Service-tax">service tax</keyword> rate has gone up from 14 per cent to 14.5 per cent. The cess is levied only on the portion of taxable services (after abatement) and will go towards <keyword id="6357455" type="EVENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Funding">funding</keyword> of the Swachh Bharat scheme, a pet project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The concessions provided to the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) is expected to generate some interest of investors in them. Investors have been losing interest in these zones for various reasons including global economic slowdown, imposition of minimum alternate tax (MAT) and dividend distribution tax ( <keyword id="375780" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="DDT">DDT</keyword>). 

	Many business houses have surrendered SEZs while the government on its part has given more time to some developers to execute the projects. 
	 
	(Image credit: BCCL)

Finance Ministry to refund Swachh Bharat cess paid by SEZs

As the Indian government wants to scale up PM Narendra Modi’s ambitious ‘<keyword id="2517872" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Swachh-Bharat-Abhiyan">Swachh Bharat Abhiyan</keyword>’ and invest around Rs 2.23 lakh crore by October 2019, it may levy cess from the common man even to provide basic sanitation. 
 
The government is mulling over levying 0.5% cess on petrol, diesel and telecom services, a 1% cess on accumulated waste produced by mineral generation plants and a 0.5 percentage point increase in service tax. 
 If everything falls in place, this could be announced during <keyword id="6360189" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Union-Budget">Union Budget</keyword> on February 29. 
 
This recommendation was given by a sub-group of chief ministers on Swachh Bharat set up by Niti Aayog. 
 
"The sharing pattern of funds for this programme between the Centre and states may be in the ratio of 75:25, while for hilly states it may be kept at 90:10," said the sub-group. 
 Under the <keyword id="63500" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cleanliness-Drive">cleanliness drive</keyword>, the government wants to construct household toilets, community and public toilets and scientific waste management. 
 
(Image: Thinkstock)

Tax Alert! You could soon be paying cess for the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan!

India is currently the second-largest <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=telecom">telecommunications</a> market in the world. The large scale influx of Chinese <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=smartphone">smartphone</a> makers offering affordable <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=smartphone">smartphones</a> have ensured consistent growth in the sector. The government has also been pushing constructive reforms in the sector. 
 
The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=GST">GST</a> is away. That aside, here are the 3 key concerns the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=telecom+industry">telecom industry</a> has for the upcoming <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Budget+2016">Budget 2016</a>. 
 
1. <keyword id="195407" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Cenvat-credit">CENVAT Credit</keyword> Scheme: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=CENVAT+Credit">CENVAT Credit</a> is a credit for central excise on inputs purchased for the manufacture or duty paid in relation to the manufacture of the final product. CENVAT credit is also available for duty paid on capital goods. This includes machinery, plant, spare parts of machinery etc. 
 
Imagine <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=CENVAT+Credit">CENVAT Credit</a> like a credit balance in bank account that can be adjusted towards the excise duty payable. There are disputes over availability of credits on passive infrastructure. The industry demands steps to rationalize and broad-base input credit scheme to make indigenous services competitive against imports. Restricted credits on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Swachh+Bharat+Cess">Swachh Bharat Cess</a> are also inflating output costs. That needs to be taken care of. 
 
2. Education Cess credit: Use of input credit in Education Cess (EC) and Secondary and Higher Education Cess (SHEC) has been restricted to limited cases. The industry wants the government to allow them to use their entire EC/SHEC balance. 
 
3. Clarity: The sector would also love some clarity on tax implications linked to big telecom payments. These include clarifying dispute related to discounts, tax deductibility of spectrum payments, withholding tax implications on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=telecom+infrastructure">telecom infrastructure</a> services and so on.

Budget
2016 – Here’s what India’s Telecom Sector wants urgently

The <keyword id="6355512" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Union-Cabinet">Union Cabinet</keyword> has approved changes in the Customs and Excise Act, which is required for rollout of Goods and <keyword id="645517" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="services-tax">Services Tax</keyword> (<keyword id="6354679" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="GST">GST</keyword>). The amendment will result in abolition of 16 cesses and surcharges, union excise and service tax charged on various goods and services. 
 
The cesses that would be abolished include <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/markets/economy/Krishi-Kalyan-Cess-from-June-1st/articleshow/52504911.cms">Krishi Kalyan</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/swachh-bharat-campaign-goes-digital-private-companies-can-now-choose-their-cleanliness-projects-online/articleshow/57730445.cms">Swachh Bharat</a>, resulting in the government losing Rs 65,000 crore. The government will make up for this loss by finding resources from the budget. 
 
"Amendments or repeal of various provisions of other Acts which will no longer be relevant consequent on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/get-ready-for-gst-draft-bills-have-been-approved-by-cabinet/articleshow/57751339.cms">rollout of GST</a> will result in cleansing of the irrelevant portions from the Statute Book and reduce multiplicity of taxes," said an official release from the government. 
 
Also read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/luxury-cars-to-get-costlier-after-gst-rolls-out/articleshow/57687734.cms">Luxury cars to get costlier after GST rolls out</a> 
 
These resources would come from higher GST mop-up, since more entities would now be <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/tax-collections-will-exceed-rs-17-lakh-crore-despite-demonetisation-arun-jaitley/articleshow/57773980.cms">eligible to pay taxes</a>. 
 
GST rates are not yet finalised, which means that it can’t be ascertained whether consumers <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/traveling-eating-out-and-phonebills-to-get-expensive-as-arun-jaitley-plans-to-hike-service-tax/articleshow/56850084.cms">eating in restaurants or paying phone bills</a> would benefit after removal of cesses and surcharges or not. 
 
Also read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/jaitley-hopeful-of-july-1-gst-rollout/articleshow/57772424.cms">Jaitley hopeful of July 1 GST rollout</a> 
 
The bills amended include the Customs Act, 1962, the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 and the Central Excise Act, 1944. 
 
It also approved cancelling the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 and changing or cancelling the provisions relating to Acts under which cesses are levied. 
 
(Image source: South Live)

Removal of cesses for GST would cost government Rs 65,000 crore

Service providers like <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=oyo+rooms">Oyo Rooms</a>, Foodpanda and Airbnb received a ‘friendly’ query on whether they were paying service tax. 
 
Letters were sent to these aggregators to see if these firms were registered with the tax department. 
 
The Indian government wishes a non-adversarial tax regime that's more welcoming to investors. 
 
One of the officials told ET that most entities had registered themselves and some had sought further clarifications on procedures and processes as the provision dealing with this particular area is fairly new. 
 
Foodpanda confirmed the news. “We did receive a query from the service tax department," a spokesperson said, adding “the authorities have conducted an extensive review of our accounts and have found no irregularities so far. We are registered and duly pay our taxes.” 
 
All aggregators have to pay tax of 14%, excluding the Swachh Bharat cess, which will be levied soon. 
 
As per reports, the service tax revenue has risen 26% in the first seven months of the current fiscal from the year earlier. 
 
As per the government’s provision, any aggregator that has office in India has to pay service tax if the service is so provided using the brand name of the aggregator in any manner.

Service providers like Airbnb, Foodpanda and Oyo Rooms get tax queries

As per industry executives, a new rule is going to make tax collection at source (TCS) compulsory, even when a vehicle costing 10 lakh or more is sold in the second-hand market. This has confused the automotive industry to no end. 
 
The reason behind this confusion is that the rule was originally expected to cover only new passenger vehicles; however, the rule that has been approved as part of the Finance Bill covers all types of vehicles. It will come into effect on June 1. 
 
It was in his budget speech that the finance minister had proposed to collect a 1% tax at source on luxury cars that were priced above 10 lakh, saying that it would be levied on the ex-showroom price from the dealer’s end, which would then be paid it to the government. This payment was also said to be able to set off against the total tax liability of the buyer. 
 
"From the budget speech, it was perceived that it would be implemented only on passenger vehicles priced above 10 lakh, but what has come prima facie in the language of the approved budget (Finance Bill 2016), it seems that TCS is applicable on all types of motor vehicles including trucks, buses, two-wheelers and cars sold by manufacturers, exports, dealers and government," said Sugato Sen, deputy director-general of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. 
 
The Finance Bill reads, "Every person, being a seller, who receives any amount as consideration for sale of a motor vehicle of the value exceeding 10 lakh, shall, at the time of receipt of such amount, collect from the buyer, a sum equal to 1% of the sale consideration as income-tax." 
 
Until further clarified, this means that even an individual selling his old vehicle for above 10 lakh will have to collect 1% of the value from the buyer and pay it to the government, while purchasing parts for 2 lakh or more will also attract this tax provision. 
 
Sen feels that there is a possibility of a language error in the Bill. "We have sought a clarification from the government and hope to meet them (government officials) soon," he said. 
 
However, this is not where the confusion ends. 
 
"From the budget, it was thought that it (TCS) will be collected from the end customers only. But now, it will be collected from the dealers also," said Nikunj Sanghi, former president of the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association. He added, "The biggest problem for us is that we will have extra burden on working capital." 
 
Automobile manufacturers are of the view that this new tax rule would further complicate business transactions, while there were promises from the Modi government that doing business would be made easy. 
 
Under this rule, manufacturers would deposit TCS on behalf of dealers, who could adjust this payment against their income tax. Similarly, dealers would have to collect tax from buyers and deposit that in their names. This tax would be adjusted while the vehicle buyers pay their income tax. 
 
Rakesh Batra, national leader-automotive at consultancy firm EY, called this an administrative burden on both manufacturers and buyers, while also forcing customers to put a little more cash in advance, given that no financing company won’t fund this. 
 
As of now, when you buy a vehicle, you have to pay for excise duty, central sales tax, R&amp;D cess, education cess, value-added tax, Octroi/entry tax, national calamity contingent duty, road tax and Swach Bharat cess. Besides, the insurance cover also forces the buyer to pay Krishi Kalyan tax, service tax and Swachh Bharat cess. 
 
Another burden on manufacturers, dealers and buyers is certainly uncalled for, feels the automotive industry. 
 
<a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/photo/52422896.cms">Image source</a>

The new tax collection-at-source rule is so absurd that it might actually be a language mistake

New Delhi, Feb 14 () The income tax (I-T) department has notified forms for companies to avail the reduced corporate tax rates that were announced in September last year. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has notified Forms 10-IC and 10-ID for existing companies that want to avail lower I-T rate and new manufacturing firms, respectively. In September 2019, the government announced a cut in base corporate tax for existing companies to 22 per cent from the current 30 per cent; and for new manufacturing firms, incorporated after October 1, 2019, and starting operations before March 31, 2023, to 15 per cent from the current 25 per cent. Companies opting for these new tax rates will have to forego all exemptions and incentives. The effective tax rate for existing units, after considering surcharges and cess such as Swachh Bharat cess and education cess -- which are levied on top of the income and corporate tax rates, will be 25.17 per cent as compared to 34.94 per cent now. For new units, it will be 17.01 per cent as against 29.12 per cent now. Form 10-IC will have to be filed by the companies that wish to avail the beneficial rate of 22 per cent upon relinquishment of the exemptions/incentives offered under the Income Tax Act. The e-Form 10-IC, which has to be furnished either under digital signature or electronic verification code (EVC), seeks general details of the company like name, PAN, registered address, date of incorporation and nature of business activities. The companies will also have to declare that the option once exercised shall not be withdrawn. Besides, these companies will have to withdraw the option to be taxed at the concessional rate of 25 per cent under the erstwhile regime. Similarly, Form 10-ID would be filed electronically by new domestic manufacturing companies, incorporated after October 1, 2019 that wish to be taxed as per the new tax regime, that offers a concessional tax rate of 15 per cent, provided all the incentives and exemptions are forgone by the companies. Apart from the general details, the e-form requires the companies to provide the date of commencement of manufacturing operations. Further, the companies shall have to affirm that they fulfil the stipulated conditions for availing the concessional rate and declare that the option once availed shall not be withdrawn. Nangia Andersen Consulting Director Shailesh Kumar said companies desirous of availing the new tax regime shall have to file the forms electronically, before the due date of filing of return for AY 2020-21, i.e September 30, 2020. "The Forms have been notified in a timely manner and the companies have sufficient time to evaluate their options and file their consent accordingly," Kumar said. JD HRS

CBDT notifies forms for firms to avail lower corporate taxes

<keyword id="6355261" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Finance-minister">Finance Minister</keyword> <keyword id="42575" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Arun-Jaitley">Arun Jaitley</keyword> may hike service tax rate to 16-18 per cent from the current 15 per cent in the <keyword id="6358021" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="budget">Budget</keyword>, due on Wednesday, as a precursor to the Goods and <keyword id="645517" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="services-tax">Services Tax</keyword> (<keyword id="6354679" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="GST">GST</keyword>) rollout, according to a news agency. 
 
The move, that will make flying, eating out, phone bills and a host of other services expensive, would be an attempt to take the rates closer to the proposed tax slabs for GST. 
 
GST, which will subsume central and state levies like excise duty, service tax and VAT, is scheduled to be rolled out from July 1. 
 
The tax slabs decided for the GST are 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent and taking service tax closer to one of the slabs is a logical move in the Budget, tax experts said. 
 Tax experts say, <keyword id="6390789" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jaitley">Jaitley</keyword>, who had in his previous budget hiked service tax rate by 0.5 per cent to 15 per cent, may raise the levy by at least one percentage point to 16 per cent. 
 
Some others feel there could be different service tax rates with a lower 12 per cent for basic services and a higher 18 per cent for the rest. 
 
Also, a higher service tax for April-June will help the government garner more revenue to meet expenses on schemes and programmes it may be planning to contain the impact of demonetisation. 
 
A service tax rate closer to the GST rate will also help consumers avoid a greater price shock when the new national sales tax is rolled out. 
 
While service tax until now is a central levy, it will be equally split between the Centre and states under the new GST regime. Most services, except essential ones like primary healthcare and basic education, will be covered by GST. 
 
Service tax was budgeted to provide Rs 2.31 lakh crore in 2016-17, more than 14 per cent of the Centre's total tax revenues of Rs 16.30 lakh crore. 
 
This will be the third time that Jaitley will raise service tax rate. Service tax from June 1, 2015 was hiked from 12.36 per cent to 14 per cent. A 0.5 per cent Swachh Bharat Cess was levied on all services, taking the total incidence of service tax to 14.5 per cent from November 15, 2015. 
 In the last Budget, he imposed a <keyword id="3264973" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Krishi-Kalyan-Cess">Krishi Kalyan Cess</keyword> at the rate of 0.5 per cent on all taxable services to take the levy to 15 per cent.

Traveling, eating out and phone
bills to get expensive as Arun Jaitley plans to hike service tax

New Delhi, Feb 9 () A 12 per cent growth in tax collections next fiscal may look ambitious to some but for Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey it is achievable in an economy that is projected to clock a 10 per cent nominal GDP growth. The economy slowing down to its slowest growth in 11 years together with a cut in corporate tax rates led to the government missing its tax collection target by a wide margin in the current fiscal. The tax shortfall also led to slipping on fiscal deficit target for the third year in a row. In an interview to , Pandey exuded confidence of meeting the tax collection target of Rs 24.23 lakh crore for 2020-21. "In 2020-21 the nominal growth that has been projected is 10 per cent. So on a 10 per cent (GDP) growth, getting a 12 per cent growth in tax revenue is achievable," Pandey told . The 2020-21 Budget has pegged gross tax revenues for 2020-21 at Rs 24.23 lakh crore, up 12 per cent from Rs 21.63 lakh crore in the current fiscal. Around Rs 6.38 lakh crore is expected to come from personal income tax in 2020-21, a 14.13 per cent increase over Rs 5.59 lakh crore earned in 2019-20. Besides, corporate tax revenue is budgeted to increase by 11.63 per cent to Rs 6.81 lakh crore in 2020-21, from Rs 6.10 lakh crore in current fiscal. For current fiscal, the government has revised downwards the tax collection projections from budgeted Rs 24.61 lakh crore to Rs 21.63 lakh crore in the revised estimates. Pandey said the revenue growth budgeted for current fiscal was calculated assuming a 12 per cent nominal GDP growth. However, the nominal GDP growth came in at 7.5 per cent. He said in the current fiscal, the gross tax revenue is 4 per cent higher than Rs 20.80 lakh crore collected in 2018-19 fiscal. However, the government had estimated an 11 per cent gross tax revenue growth in 2019-20. Explaining further, Pandey said, "This year we have shown a tax revenue growth of 4 per cent. 7 per cent growth we had to forego on account of corporate tax (cut). So 4 per cent (growth) means actually 11 per cent achievement. On 7.5 per cent nominal growth if you are achieving 11 per cent (tax revenue) growth, we can't say that this is unrealistic". In September 2019, the government announced a cut in base corporate tax for existing companies to 22 per cent from current 30 per cent; and for new manufacturing firms, incorporated after October 1, 2019 and starting operations before March 31, 2023, to 15 per cent from current 25 per cent. The effective tax rate for existing units, after considering surcharges and cess such as Swachh Bharat cess and education cess - which are levied on top of the income and corporate tax rates, will be 25.17 per cent as compared to 34.94 per cent now. For new units, it will be 17.01 per cent as against 29.12 per cent now. The new tax structure cost Rs 1.45 lakh crore in revenue annually to the exchequer. Indian economy is projected to grow at 5 per cent in the current fiscal -- its slowest pace in 11 years. Fiscal deficit in 2019-20 is estimated to come in at 3.8 per cent as against 3.3 per cent estimated in Budget. JD ANZ MR

12% tax revenue growth achievable in 2020-21 fiscal: Revenue Secy

The current BJP-led administration takes its <keyword id="68945" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Toilets">toilets</keyword> seriously. In its quest to eliminate public defecation by 2019, the <keyword id="26362" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Government">government</keyword> claims to have constructed <a href="http://sbm.gov.in/sbmdashboard/IHHL.aspx">70.5 million household toilets </a>- around 83% of its intended target - under the <keyword id="2312336" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Swachh-Bharat-Mission">Swachh Bharat Mission</keyword> - in villages. It has also constructed <a href="http://www.swachhbharaturban.in/sbm/home/#/SBM">4.6 million toilets</a> in urban areas. The program was launched in October 2014. Earlier this month, Parameswaran Iyer, the secretary of the Water and Sanitation ministry, said that the number of rural Indians defecating in the open had fallen from 550 million when the mission was launched, <a href="https://www.livemint.com/Politics/Fn5P83dnUwSD7T6mHXakuJ/Rural-India-will-reach-100-toilet-coverage-by-December-2018.html">to 200 million</a> by early 2018. This information was based on “government surveys”, which count on a random sample of participants to answer questions with utmost honesty. In February, a video of Janardan Mishra, a <keyword id="14666" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="BJP">BJP</keyword> member of Parliament from Madhya Pradesh, was seen <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/watch-bjp-mp-unclogs-toilet-with-bare-hands-promotes-pm-narendra-modis-swachh-bharat-mission/1070526/">unclogging a toilet with his bare hands</a> went viral online. Like most political parties do ahead of an election, the BJP seems to be raking in the grandstanding and declaring its achievements. However, yesterday, as part of its campaign in Karnataka, it chose a rather questionable statistic to boast. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 If the facts are right, over the course of the BJP-led government’s tenure, 70% more toilets were constructed but with 6 times the total funding that the <keyword id="1575" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Congress">Congress</keyword>-led government had. The Congress responded accordingly, pointing out that it had built each toilet at a fraction of the amount it cost the BJP. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 Surprisingly, the original tweet by the BJP is still up, perhaps because deleting the tweet would have been an admission that it was an error to begin with. But it seems that the government does not make mistakes. The medium is the message Social media is all about brevity and soundbites. Statistics are cherry-picked. Opinions are made to sound definitive. The more eyebrow raising the claim, the greater the reach. The truth is what an organisation can get its supporters to believe. The ruling party at the Centre has been quite effective at harnessing social media to disseminate information to the Indian public as part of a concerted effort at winning an ideological war against the Opposition parties. In anticipation of the upcoming elections in Karnataka, both the BJP and Congress have dedicated social media teams working round the clock on outreach and on highlighting the work their respective rivals have not done. Inevitably, social media platforms have turned into becoming battlegrounds where barbs and ad hominem remarks are traded at the drop of a hat . Until very recently, the world faced a legitimate threat of nuclear war as a result of a Twitter spat between the leader of a world superpower and a rogue nation. Back at home, India’s two national parties - the protectors and enforcers of the country’s democracy, our leaders in these troubling times marked by rising public debt, toxic air, farmer suicides and communal violence - are currently squabbling over toilet statistics. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 So, now the BJP is trying to reframe the tweet as evidence of its generosity and portray the Siddaramaiah government as corrupt and inefficient. However, the BJP does not finance the construction of toilets with its own funds but with the taxes each and every Indian pays as Swachh Bharat cess - which totalled <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/25-of-swachh-bharat-cess-hasnt-reached-dedicated-fund/articleshow/62259934.cms">₹164 billion</a> in 2016 and 2017. In all fairness, the president of the Congress, Rahul Gandhi, is no stranger to the mathematical gaffe. In December 2017, he posted a table from his Twitter account that contained information about the rise in prices of essential items like cooking gas, tomatoes, onions and pulses from 2014 to 2017 under the BJP regime. However, he overstated each price rise by <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/india/rahul-gandhi-goofs-up-basic-math-in-a-tweet-corrects-it-later-2454791.html">100 percentage points</a>. The BJP fired back by referring to him as an<a href="http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/bjp-calls-rahul-immature-shehzada-for-math-blooper-117120700171_1.html"> “immature prince”.</a> Gandhi later deleted the tweet and uploaded a revised table, but not without thanking the BJP for pointing out his mistake. Development, not division As campaigning for the state elections in Karnataka enters its final phases, the barbs and finger-pointing will likely escalate. As is usually the case, development has become the focal issue of each party’s campaign. The BJP was rather straightforward about its three aims- development, development and more development. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 Soon after it posted the tweet above, the BJP’s social media team retweeted another development-related tweet from its Karnataka unit. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 It seems that the BJP is the only party comfortable with proffering development data. Oh, the irony. Maybe it would have paid for the BJP to concentrate on the mathematical process of division instead of the kind that involves polarisation.

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