Says it will act as bridge to connect people to best taxpayer services

Srinagar: Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman Monday arrived Jammu and Kashmir and inaugurated the newly constructed Aayakar Bhawan-cum-Residential Complex at Rajbagh here in Srinagar.

In her keynote address, Sitharaman thanked the people of Jammu & Kashmir for their contribution to the efforts in enabling the commissioning of ‘The Chinars’ Aaykar Bhawan and the attached facilities.

Dedicating the project to the people of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, she said that the Income Tax office at Srinagar will act as a bridge to connect the people of the region to the best taxpayer services and also help them in their taxation issues through the Aaykar Sewa Kendra.

Sitharaman observed that it will provide an enabling environment for the “Jan bhagidari” in the development of the region.

The Finance Minister said that the new facility inaugurated today will facilitate the taxpayer services, while ensuring a more accessible, people friendly and transparent tax system.

Taxation is not only a collection of Taxes but people’s participation, the sense of ‘Jan Bhagidari’, she added.

The Finance Minister reiterated the Government of India’s support to Jammu and Kashmir and read out the projects completed under PMDP and those in the pipeline for taking Jammu and Kashmir to new heights of development and prosperity.

Later, in her interaction with tax administrators and stakeholders at SKICC, Sitharaman urged the officers of both CBDT & CBIC to be agents of change and reach out to the industry and business individuals to ascertain their expectations from the Government.

While emphasising that officers of both CBDT & CBIC should work collectively, the Finance Minister also stressed upon the importance of their role as facilitators & educators, making themselves more accessible to the taxpayers of the region to provide better taxpayer services

In his keynote address at the ‘Aaykar Bhawan’, the Lt Governor said that inauguration of the new income tax and residential building ‘The Chinars’ is a sign of socio-economic change taking place in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Expressing gratitude to the Finance Minister for the economic reforms in J&K, the Lt Governor said that the ‘The Chinars – Aayakar Bhawan’ will play a significant role in streamlining the process for the taxpayers of J&K, observed the Lt Governor.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi since 2014, the income tax system has been made vibrant and transparent. The implementation of ‘Vivad Se Vishwas’ scheme by Hon’ble Prime Minister is the first major revolution in the history of tax system.

The Lt Governor said that during the last about two years, J&K has been steadily progressing in true sense, offering opportunities to women, youth, entrepreneurs and farmers alike. The historic Industrial Scheme worth Rs 28,400 cr has opened up investment opportunities for people from across the world. It will certainly lead to more development and prosperity in Jammu and Kashmir. We have already received proposals worth Rs 29,000 cr and we expect to reach the figure of 35,000 cr by ending December, he added.

Reiterating his resolve of bringing transparency in the governance system, the Lt Governor said that more and more technological interventions are being made to ensure a responsible, accountable and corruption free system in J&K. We have developed tools like ‘JKBEAMS’, through which a person sitting in far flung areas can monitor the spending of each penny on public projects. For the first time in the history of Jammu and Kashmir, physical verification of projects has been made mandatory, the Lt Governor added.

Speaking during the interaction with tax administrators and stakeholders, the Lt Governor termed the taxpayers of the country as the most valuable allies of the Income Tax Department.

Income Tax Department has done massive reforms, incorporating technology to make the tax system faceless and paperless, bringing efficiency and transparency in tax administration, keeping in mind facilities and ease for taxpayers, he added.

I believe that the taxpayer services of the country have become world class today. This has increased the confidence of the common citizens and the business world, and a new ideal model of the tax system has emerged before the country, the Lt Governor observed.

Congratulating the officers of the tax department on beginning of the new chapter of Income Tax Department in Jammu and Kashmir, the Lt Governor made an appeal to various trade, industry organizations and people associated with the tourism industry for working hand in hand with the tax department for the progress of Jammu and Kashmir and paying tax for providing better facilities and infrastructure to the common citizens.

It is the duty of every citizen, every businessman, to come forward and contribute in the development and prosperity of the UT. It is a collective responsibility of all and not the sole responsibility of the Income Tax Department to earn revenue source for the development of J&K and for Nation building, the Lt Governor said.

The Lt Governor said that after August 2019, constructive reforms have been brought in the economic and social system of Jammu and Kashmir.

In the last 16 months, we have tried to take the benefits of reforms to those important sectors of the economy which remained neglected earlier, so that they too can play their valuable role in nation building, he added.

New markets are being provided to the inherent possibilities in agriculture, horticulture, small scale industries, handicraft and other sectors. Red-tapism and unnecessary government interference in business has been abolished, and priority is being given to proper implementation of policies, the Lt Governor apprised the Hon’ble Finance Minister.

The Lt Governor further informed that in September last year, a stimulus package of Rs 1353 crore was given for the business class suffering from Corona, from which three and a half lakh business institutions were directly benefited.

Tarun Bajaj, Revenue Secretary to the Central Government; J.B. Mohapatra, CBDT Chairman; Ajit Kumar, CBIC Chairman; Atal Dulloo, Additional Chief Secretary, Finance, J&K UT; Principal Secretary, CCIT, Chandigarh; Commissioner Income Tax Department, J&K besides senior officers of CBDT and CBIC, various Banks and the UT administration were present.

‘$50 million utilized from WB’s JTFRP for Covid-19 response in J&K’

Srinagar: Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman Monday inaugurated works pertaining to Health, Education, Urban infrastructure and disaster management (amounting to Rs 130.49 crore) and also laid the foundation stone for Union Territory (UT) Level Emergency Operation Centre and SCADA control building at Budgam, Kashmir (amounting to Rs 34.88 crore) under the Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project (JTFRP) during her visit to the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.

The sub-projects are part of the Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project (JTFRP) which is assisted by a credit of $250 million from the World Bank.

The project was started in Jammu and Kashmir in the aftermath of the devastating floods of September 2014 which severely affected low lying areas of Anantnag, Srinagar and adjoining districts causing immense damage to housing, livelihoods and roads and bridges.

It has been under implementation by Government of J&K as part of the Prime Minister’s Development Package (PMDP) for J&K since its effective date of 19.04.2016. The project aims at both restoring essential services disrupted by the floods and improving the design standard and practices to increase resilience.

The high social impact of JTFRP was felt in the COVID-19 pandemic response by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, wherein an amount of $50 million was allocated and utilized for the COVID-19 response, by activating the Contingency Emergency Response Component (CERC) under the project.

Medical equipment worth Rs 290 crore and 30 oxygen generating plants at a total cost of Rs 75 crore were procured thereby giving a boost to the health infrastructure to cope with the challenges posed by the pandemic.

In a significant step towards the self–reliance of the artisans of Jammu and Kashmir, many artisan clusters were developed under this project with an objective of reviving the traditional crafts and providing gainful employment opportunities to youth.

One major recent achievement of the project has been the enlistment of Srinagar city in the UNESCO world creative cities network. Srinagar became one of the 49 cities worldwide to join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) under the Craft & Folk Arts category which is a moment of pride for all Indians.

Srinagar: Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman along with Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha Monday held interactions with a number of women entrepreneurs of Jammu & Kashmir, at the SKICC.

The interaction programme included over 60 women entrepreneurs from J&K working in a variety of sectors, including beekeeping, dairy, handicraft, journalism, copper works, and furniture manufacturing, among others. The event featured success stories of women entrepreneurs from across the UT who have been benefitted under different schemes initiated by the J&K government.

The Union Finance Minister lauded the efforts of LG administration for creating a successful women Entrepreneurship culture in the UT of J&K which is unique among the country. She said it is encouraging to see that the women entrepreneurs here are in such fields which were not taken by many and were usually male dominated.

During the interaction, the Union Finance Minister listened to the inspiring stories of women entrepreneurs in J&K and how they rose above the challenges to benefit their society at the grassroots level.

“The land of Kashmir is the land of Maa Sharada and that absolute power-packed knowledge-driven energy is what has come out here. I appeal to you to move around the country and share your stories”, she remarked.

She also encouraged the women entrepreneurs and the Mission Director, RLM to prepare a detailed plan, after threadbare consultations, on how they could be facilitated in a much better way. She said the action plan can further be incorporated in the next budget.

On the occasion, Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha highlighted the key initiatives initiated by the UT administration for supporting women entrepreneurs under different schemes, commensurate with their educational background and experience.

The Lt Governor observed that the culture and tradition of our country considers women to be a form of power and in J&K, we have ensured that women rise as a beacon of enlightenment and become vital drivers in the developmental journey of Jammu & Kashmir.

“It has always been my firm belief that the contribution of women in economic activities is by no means less and there will be many examples where their contribution is much more than that of men. Therefore, last year itself, the UT administration had taken a decision to move ahead from the talk about empowering women and to implement programmes on the ground, in a concrete way to establish their rights”, the Lt Governor asserted.

The Lt Governor noted that the government is empowering women entrepreneurs through a slew of focused programs such as ‘UMEED’, ‘SAATH’ and ‘HAUSLA’. Through these programs a new confidence, a new spirit is being created by making them more capable so that half of the population can play their constructive role in the journey of J&K’s progress, he said.

“Today, 54,325 Self-Help Groups have been formed under the UMEED program to empower women in rural areas to become financially independent and more than 4.5 lakh women have been associated with it. I am very happy that financial assistance of about Rs. 1000 Crores has been provided to the women entrepreneurs of UMEED Self Help Group, which will strengthen their business”, the Lt Governor observed.

He further stated that keeping in mind the success of the UMEED program, this year we have set a target of connecting One lakh additional rural women to this program. Along with this, J&K Livelihood Mission has launched ‘SAATH’ initiative, under which a training programme has also been started to select 500 women entrepreneurs from rural areas to expand their business. “I sincerely hope that this movement of UMEED Scheme will inspire other women of the society as well to become a symbol of women’s self-reliance”, the Lt Governor added.

The Lt Governor also highlighted the recently started innovative programmes for women empowerment in Agriculture and financial sectors in the UT of Jammu & Kashmir.

“Since 70 percent of the population of Jammu and Kashmir is dependent on agriculture, we have started another innovative program on women empowerment in rural areas. A cadre of ‘Krishi Sakhi’ and ‘Pashu Sakhi’ with 938 women has been created in different districts of the UT, which will train 75 thousand women farmers associated with agriculture and horticulture for Sustainable and Integrated Farming. The initiative will also give impetus to the reforms in the agriculture sector, the backbone of the economy”, the Lt Governor noted.

He further said that ‘UMEED Women Haat’ has been started with the aim of providing a market to the self-help group of women, through which they can not only sell their manufactured goods at one place, besides facilitating market linkages for the future. The 40 Model Clusters for women, e-Marketing platforms and ‘Digipay Sakhi’ are going to channelize the inner strength and potential of women and allow them to scale new highs, he added.

The Lt Governor asserted that the government of J&K is committed to strengthen the ecosystem of Women Entrepreneurs in Jammu and Kashmir. He informed about the recently launched ‘HAUSLA’ program whose main objective is to provide training, market, network and handholding to women entrepreneurs of the UT, enabling them to expand their business amidst the ever changing dynamics of business processes.

“The first batch of the Hausla program, consisting of 120 women entrepreneurs, will complete their five months of training, this month. For the last five months, efforts are being made to provide these women entrepreneurs’ enhanced access to national and international markets”, he added.

He expressed gratitude to the Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs for her continuous support and expressed hope that the Union government’s active participation will lay a strong foundation for economic and social freedom in Jammu and Kashmir.

During the interaction, several women entrepreneurs also spoke and remarked about their journey of becoming successful entrepreneurs. The Union Finance Minister and the Lt Governor also distributed sanction letters of various credit related schemes to women entrepreneurs, on the occasion.

Atal Dulloo, Additional Chief Secretary, Finance, in his welcome address said that Women have a long history of being entrepreneurs, from home to MNCs. There is no field where they have not made their presence felt. The present government endeavours to support the women entrepreneurs in every step of their journey and several schemes like SAATH, HAUSLA, TEJASWINI have been started here. He added that during the Back 2 Village programme, 6679 women entrepreneurs were provided loans for self employment.

Mission Director, JKRLM, Dr. Syed Sehrish Asgar, in her address, briefly highlighted the role of Jammu Kashmir Rural Livelihoods Mission in transforming the lives of ordinary women through consistent handholding and support.

Srinagar: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman on Monday said people of Jammu and Kashmir will get facilities and development which was denied them before the abrogation of article 370 to the erstwhile state.

Sitharaman said it is important now for the people of Jammu and Kashmir to get all its aspirations including development and facilities which were denied to them prior to the abrogation of article 370.

“There is no point in holding a section of people all resources and denying ordinary citizens”, she said and added “that is where you find the ordinary citizens today”.

The Finance Minister who arrived on a two day visit to Jammu and Kashmir was speaking during the inauguration of “The Chinar”, the first permanent establishment of Income Tax India in UT, in Srinagar.

She said, without any delay every citizens aspirations should be given space in the development and that is what the central government has been given post the abrogation of Article 370.

The finance minister said, Jammu and Kashmir lacks the development in the past especially in the power sector despite having tremendous potential.

She said despite Jammu and Kashmir having a potential capacity of about 20000 MW to produce electricity failed to develop the basic materials which could have been utilized for living and economic purposes.

She said, because the power generation not coming up to the expectations over the years has denied the people of Jammu and Kashmir its own developmental goals.

“Without basic supplies of electricity for a beautiful state like Kashmir, potential-ridden development has always been at its minimum” , Sitharaman said.

She said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal with the guiding principles is “Sab Ka Saath, Sab Ka Vikas, Sab Ka Vishwaas and Sab Ka Prayaas”.

“You have all the vishwaas, but if you don’t have the required endowments for it, development is not going to be achieved as much as we want”, she added

She said four thousand people were killed due to terrorism over the past years on a land which is otherwise so beautiful and peaceful.

She said the larger issue is reaching out to every person in Jammu and Kashmir, giving his or her due share of development which has been denied to them for the last 70 years.

“Shall now be reaching every citizen of the state and that is why we are here”, she added. (UNI)

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha on Monday said that every penny of tax collected will be utilized for the development of Jammu and Kashmir.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration of the Income Tax complex at Rajbagh in Srinagar, Sinha said it is the responsibility of the government to utilize every penny which people will pay as tax in developing the region and providing more facilities to the masses.

“Tax complex will prove beneficial for the development of Jammu and Kashmir in future,” the LG said and added “The motive behind the construction of the tax complex is to connect the people with the process of taxation in a transparent manner.”

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated “The Chinar”, the first establishment of Income Tax of India at Raj Bagh in Srinagar this afternoon.

The LG said, “When the taxpayers will get benefitted then all the sectors of Jammu and Kashmir will get development” LG Sinha added.

He said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced “Viwad se Vishwas Yojana” to make taxpaying seamless, paperless and hassle free.

“I would like to thank the Finance Minister for making holistic reforms to direct and indirect taxes. Seamless system has been introduced for the return and refund of taxes”, he added.

LG said that the way Jammu and Kashmir is moving forward in development and completion of projects has been possible due to the efforts of the Finance Minister.

He stressed upon the fact that everyone should pay tax as per the norms so that Jammu and Kashmir will move more towards development.

“For the first time under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, 28400 crore rupees industrial development scheme has been launched in Jammu and Kashmir. In the last nine months projects worth Rs. 29000 crore have been allotted to the industrial department of J&K,” LG added.

He said that projects worth 1400 crore are being sanctioned and the lands have been identified for the works to begin. “People have been participating in various sectors and till December probably projects worth Rs 35000 crore will get completed.” (UNI)