GSTB to avoid tax trauma by giving students desks

-
The state textbook board, grappling with excess funds that are in I-T’s crosshairs, plans to give NID-designed desks to students of govt schools
By Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Wednesday, January 21, 2009 at 02:22:49 AM (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20City&sectid=3&contentid=2009012120090121022249187a230256c)
GSTB Chairman Madhu Patel with the deskAround 4 lakh students of government-run schools will get writing desks designed by NID, thanks to the Income Tax (I-T) department, which has slapped a notice on the Gujarat State School Textbook Board (GSTB).The GSTB, which has its office in Gandhinagar, apparently has huge sums of money that have been lying unused for the past few years. A source says the GSTB has amassed the money by printing textbooks at a cost which is lower than the one mentioned in the budget approved by the state government.

The I-T department had served a notice on the GSTB, asking it to pay tax on the amassed funds. This spurred the GSTB to put the money to good use, i.e. providing writing desks to students of government schools. “The board prepares a budget for printing textbooks, with pre-determined rates, every year. The budget is forwarded to the state government, which, after approving it, provides funds for the same,” the source said. “The board ends up saving lakhs of rupees by printing textbooks at a rate that is slightly lower than the quoted amount.”

The source said that following the tax notice, the GSTB filed an appeal in I-T tribunal, and sought relief. The I-T tribunal, the source said, turned down the appeal, and suggested the board to spend the amassed funds on development purposes in a phased manner.“We have decided to spend Rs 15 crore before March 31 for educational purposes,” the chairman of GSTB, Madhu Patel, said. “We will provide specially-designed writing desks to primary students of government-run schools. Pankaj Patel, who is a visiting faculty member of NID, has a model of the desk for us.” Patel said that eco-friendly materials would be used to make the desks.

Popular posts from this blog

No more number game at medical colleges

-
Image
MCI to prepare database of medical, dental college teachers to stop fudging of faculty figures to evade derecognition, get more seats By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Monday, December 28, 2009  ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=20091228200912280258113084661ace5 In a bid to stop fudging of faculty figures at medical and dental colleges facing derecognition and dramatic transfer of teachers from one institution to another before inspections, the Medical Council of India (MCI) has decided to introduce an online monitoring system. The regulatory body will prepare a detailed database of the faculty members associated with 284 medical colleges and 282 dental colleges in India and post it online. It will include names of the teachers, their employment details and the institutes they are associated with. These data will help MCI cross-check the veracity of the list of faculty members tabled before it by a medical institution du
Read more

Xavier’S BOY suspended for hitting vice-princi

-
Image
Class IX student Joel George is suspended after he attempted to slap the vice-principal on being told to go home after school was over By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Friday, February 06, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20City&sectid=3&contentid=2009020620090206022821497cb1b567c ) A student of St Xavier’s Loyola high school attempted to slap the vice-principal following an argument, and was promptly shown the door on Wednesday. The boy ’s parents were called to the school a day later on Thursday and told he was being suspended for 10 days.Class IX student Joel George was suspended after he tried to slap Fr Raj on being rebuked for disobedience. The incident occurred after school hours around 1.45 pm when some senior students stayed back on the campus to play. Fr Raj asked the noisy bunch to leave for home since school was long over. Most of the six-seven boys playing there left, but George held his ground and arg
Read more

Fusion garba with sanedo in Swahili

-
Image
Ahmedabad-based music group is adapting sanedo lyrics in African language for the benefit of Gujaratis settled there By Yogesh Avasthi and Dhwani Pathak Posted On Monday, September 22, 2008 (Ahmedabad Mirror) Rajiv Awasthi and his troupe members rehearse their Swahili sanedos before leaving for AfricaThe garba is going Swahili. Not quite here in Ahmedabad, but in Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa.For years, music groups have been making a trip down to East Africa to cater to Gujaratis settled there. This year, they plan to perform in the local lingo, Swahili, for a larger audience. Taking the lead is N&N Entertainment Group, a city-based orchestra, which has adapted sanedo lyrics in the African language. Sanedo in anything but Gujarati is unheard of, but one city-based music group says there’s ample reason for the fusion. Rajiv Avasthi, lead singer of the group, says, “Two years ago when I first went to Tanzania, I added sanedo in garba songs. The crowds had never heard it before,
Read more