Dear Friends,
It has been a great journey since we have started.When we launched our PRELIMS and ESSAY programs , we did not have the luxury of time.Yet , our expectations surpassed given the number of registered candidates.
A Big Note Of Thank you to all of you who joined us, supported us, promoted us and believed in us.
We have getting mails and speaking to candidates from different parts of the country, whose feedback helped us to push ourselves beyond the norm.
Particularly the Essays/Editorials/Current Events and recently launched Debates have been of great help , so we are told.
Many candidates wrote to us to guide them on how to write good answer.The debate is launched for this purpose – helping you improve everyday.One particular aspect is, you have to write , no matter what.
We have few candidates in our essay series whose “Never back down ” attitude in fact inspired us.Many won’t write beyond 2 essays out of 4 essays in each test.However we are in awe of few who write all the 4 essays.The level of commitment is just beyond the norm.We also have wonderful writers whose essays are just too good.Hard work is good and Talent is good. But it is a reality that- Hard work beats talent , when talent does not work hard.
Since beginning, our two core principles have been – Aesthetic and Quality.And for this reason , after getting number of feedback we reinvented our site – technically , so that it is easier for you to engage with us.
Though , there are many things that we intend to share with you at this moment, but we will keep it for later.
We are little reticent when it comes to promoting.Our promotion rests on your good will gesture and word of mouth.So your help in this regard will be of great help to us.
The results are out and many have got through, yet many deserving candidates could not make it.The Only thing that matters after every battle is how you fought.Of course, winning has its charms but winning needs constant practice to win – day in and day out.Think of Mandela, who lived in a single cell prison for 27 years, to become the President one day.That is “Never Back Down “. If you refuse to back down , there is no one who can put you down.
There is a saying in Sanskrit- “Gatani Gatpadani, Agat Pada Na drisyate” (The bygone steps are bygone, the upcoming steps are invisible). Thus, we are left with only one thing – To Improvise , To Adept and To Overcome .If you do this, you no need to chase success, it will knock at your door step and will greet you with welcome.
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Petrol in India is cheaper than in countries like Hong Kong, Germany and the UK but costlier than in China, Brazil, Japan, the US, Russia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, a Bank of Baroda Economics Research report showed.
Rising fuel prices in India have led to considerable debate on which government, state or central, should be lowering their taxes to keep prices under control.
The rise in fuel prices is mainly due to the global price of crude oil (raw material for making petrol and diesel) going up. Further, a stronger dollar has added to the cost of crude oil.
Amongst comparable countries (per capita wise), prices in India are higher than those in Vietnam, Kenya, Ukraine, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Venezuela. Countries that are major oil producers have much lower prices.
In the report, the Philippines has a comparable petrol price but has a per capita income higher than India by over 50 per cent.
Countries which have a lower per capita income like Kenya, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Venezuela have much lower prices of petrol and hence are impacted less than India.
“Therefore there is still a strong case for the government to consider lowering the taxes on fuel to protect the interest of the people,” the report argued.
India is the world’s third-biggest oil consuming and importing nation. It imports 85 per cent of its oil needs and so prices retail fuel at import parity rates.
With the global surge in energy prices, the cost of producing petrol, diesel and other petroleum products also went up for oil companies in India.
They raised petrol and diesel prices by Rs 10 a litre in just over a fortnight beginning March 22 but hit a pause button soon after as the move faced criticism and the opposition parties asked the government to cut taxes instead.
India imports most of its oil from a group of countries called the ‘OPEC +’ (i.e, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Russia, etc), which produces 40% of the world’s crude oil.
As they have the power to dictate fuel supply and prices, their decision of limiting the global supply reduces supply in India, thus raising prices
The government charges about 167% tax (excise) on petrol and 129% on diesel as compared to US (20%), UK (62%), Italy and Germany (65%).
The abominable excise duty is 2/3rd of the cost, and the base price, dealer commission and freight form the rest.
Here is an approximate break-up (in Rs):
a)Base Price | 39 |
b)Freight | 0.34 |
c) Price Charged to Dealers = (a+b) | 39.34 |
d) Excise Duty | 40.17 |
e) Dealer Commission | 4.68 |
f) VAT | 25.35 |
g) Retail Selling Price | 109.54 |
Looked closely, much of the cost of petrol and diesel is due to higher tax rate by govt, specifically excise duty.
So the question is why government is not reducing the prices ?
India, being a developing country, it does require gigantic amount of funding for its infrastructure projects as well as welfare schemes.
However, we as a society is yet to be tax-compliant. Many people evade the direct tax and that’s the reason why govt’s hands are tied. Govt. needs the money to fund various programs and at the same time it is not generating enough revenue from direct taxes.
That’s the reason why, govt is bumping up its revenue through higher indirect taxes such as GST or excise duty as in the case of petrol and diesel.
Direct taxes are progressive as it taxes according to an individuals’ income however indirect tax such as excise duty or GST are regressive in the sense that the poorest of the poor and richest of the rich have to pay the same amount.
Does not matter, if you are an auto-driver or owner of a Mercedes, end of the day both pay the same price for petrol/diesel-that’s why it is regressive in nature.
But unlike direct tax where tax evasion is rampant, indirect tax can not be evaded due to their very nature and as long as huge no of Indians keep evading direct taxes, indirect tax such as excise duty will be difficult for the govt to reduce, because it may reduce the revenue and hamper may programs of the govt.