Hold Census; ‘Love Flame’; Fueling GST
Opinion Watch
Hold Census
Former Union Minister late Ram Vilas Paswan would often say, “Saat saal mein yug badal jaata hai (an era changes in seven years).” But it’s over a decade and counting, as the government pushes away the Census 2021. This makes policies prisoners of Census 20211 data. In the name of Covid-19, Census is not being held, but Bihar is counting castes even while India is now without traces of pandemic.
The Pioneer has asked for holding Census 2021 immediately, arguing that the delay may be excluding people from welfares schemes while data on education, income and employment is urgently needed. The daily stated that the Census would also give data on health, sanitation and demographic structure. Basis of delimitation of Parliamentary constituencies is Census 2001.
The government by all accounts of dreading the prospects of the Census 2021 revealing the true picture of the Covid-19 deaths. Reference data for policy formulation remains 2011, while government seeks favourable foreign reports for drum-beating and negative reportage for chest-beating. At a time when personal data of citizens is sold for a few bucks, the government is indeed at fault for pushing the Census dates.
‘Love Flame’
The Hindu in an Editorial has given an account of Anbu Jothi Ashram case in Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram district. By a matter chance the lid was blown away on a racket of torture and sexual exploitation of destitute and abandoned men, women and children at the shelter home with their ordeals going on for several years, stated the Chennai-based daily.
The police arrested Jubin Baby and his wife Maria after the women inmates made allegations of sexual exploitation. The couple resorted to employ even monkeys to terrorise the inmates, added the daily. The couple was running another shelter home in Puducherry.
This sordid tales of the destitute abandoned to their fate and thrown to the predators is a national phenomenon. Muzaffarpur in Bihar has shown the shelter home horror shows. The people and the politicians forget after a few days of chest-beating. India lacks institutional response mechanism to deal with destitute who have mental ailments.
Fueling GST
Final compensation to states under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime has been paid, and the council has now agreed to unveil an appellate tribunal, which may become part of the Finance Bill to be passed by Parliament in March.
The Economic Times has echoed the voices of several dailies in reiterating the argument that fuels be brought under the GST. The business daily had added additional demand to bring carbon tax to fund energy transition efforts. The daily has stated that the GST Council is approaching rate rationalization with circumspection.
The Centre and the states now have shared interest in the success of GST, as wide base of taxation bring rising revenue – Rs 1.50 lakh crore monthly now for three months. Yet, the GST architecture is leaky and stingy, and all claims of cash economy getting finished remain unfulfilled.
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