Dear Members,
March 20, International Day of
Happiness slipped by like a ship without lights in the night. There was no
deluge of messages on social media or a blast of advertisements trumpeting
‘happiness offers’ as this day has yet to be noticed and commercialized. What
caught my attention was a relatively inconspicuous piece in the newspapers
about the World Happiness Report. Going through it I felt a tinge of
unhappiness as India was poorly rated – plunging four ranks from 118 to 122…and
rubbing salt into the wound was the fact that altogether there were155
countries being ranked.
Jeffrey Sachs, the report’s
co-editor said, “The World Happiness Report continues to draw global attention
to the need to create a sound policy for what matters most to people – their
well-being.” The happiness ranking is derived from six criteria: GDP per
capita, healthy years of life expectancy, social support, corruption level in
govt and business, freedom to make life decisions and generosity. From the
elaborate analysis, it is clear that happiness is not just about money, though
it is a part of it. This is evident in the fact that oil-rich Norway (which
toppled three-time leader Denmark) zoomed to the top despite depressed oil
prices and a gloomy future for energy.
There is a lot that is going right
with India – we have an economy that’s growing at a healthy pace; strong global
inflows into the financial markets; proven credentials in space; several
successfully implemented programs and reforms that are the envy of the world…We
are even on the verge of rolling out GST which would be another remarkable
achievement for an economy that’s so complex. So with such an upbeat scenario
why is there such a strong disconnect between happiness and Indians? More
importantly, should we sweep the World Happiness Report with all its analysis
and insights under the carpet? Hopefully not! There’s much to be gained from
tackling the demons that plague the well-being of the Indian citizens
especially the rampant corruption, meagre social welfare and ideological
repression that’s sweeping the nation.
It is a little late, but I would
like to celebrate World Happiness Day with all of you by sharing a few of my
favourite quotes that could be beacons of inspiration in riding the ‘downs’ in
our lives.
“Happiness is when what you
think, what you say and what you do are in harmony.” Mahatma Gandhi
“If you want to live a happy
life, tie it to a goal, not to people or objects.” Albert Einstein
“Folks are usually about as
happy as they make their minds up to be.” Abraham Lincoln
“Some cause happiness wherever
they go; others whenever they go.” Oscar Wilde
GST –
Inching Forward
GST is the other news that
dominates the media and is being eagerly anticipated by all – individuals and
businesses of all sizes across India. Ten years in the making, GST is set to
harmonize the indirect tax system by creating one of the largest trade zones in
the world. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is confident that GST implementation
will result in the economy notching at least two percent growth. Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley believes the economic growth in India could escalate to
over eight percent in the immediate future. Defining the immense potential of
the Indian economy, a research paper from the US Federal Reserve projects a
4.2% upswing in real GDP depending upon the tax rates…the lower the rate, the
bigger the boost!
The ball is clearly in the court
of the GST Council to ensure that the supporting rules are framed and the
applicable tax rates for different product classes and sectors are clearly
defined in good time and in a manner which will not leave much ambiguity in
classification. This is essential as both the rules and rates have to be
configured into the systems of the businesses to facilitate the seamless
transition to GST. Some businesses and opinion leaders have suggested differing
the launch to September to enable organizations to re-orient their accounting,
compliance and regulatory processes for GST.
GST is a win-win reform for
everyone. Companies are looking at a simplified tax structure that will boost
productivity and lower costs. The formalization of the economy will minimize
corruption and substantially boost tax compliance; providing larger revenues
for development. In subsuming most of the indirect taxes, GST will eliminate
tax ambiguity and improve the ease of doing business…ultimately attracting even
more investments. With the elimination of the cascading impact of taxes, Indian
exports will become more competitive and be in greater demand across the world.
However, with the states insisting on ePermits for interstate transfer of
goods, the major benefit of borderless states for goods will be lost and the
truck queues at the check nakas will still remain.
Society is going all out in
organizing workshops, seminars and lecture meetings on GST in the coming few
months. It is reaching out to various trade associations to impart systematic
training based on the NACEN guidelines. We are committed to the Government to
shoulder some of its responsibilities of training maximum trade, industry and
stakeholders to be GST ready.
Bulls
on a roll
In a not so surprising
development, a 30 kg cake was cut to celebrate the BSE bellwether index Sensex
successfully scaling the 30,000 mark. The Sensex had earlier crossed the 30,000
milestones in intra-day trading on two occasions but for the first time closed
at this level. The strong perception that the enhanced political stability will
facilitate progressive reforms and in turn channelize investments is one of the
pivotal reasons of the D-Street buoyancy.
The strong cues of a revival in
global economic growth particularly in Europe and Japan have lifted investor
sentiment, ensuring substantial inflows from foreign portfolio investors and
domestic mutual funds. Keeping pace with the Sensex, the Nasdaq Composite too
crossed the 6,000 mark for the first time reflecting Wall Street’s optimism
about President Trump’s much-awaited tax reforms. The first round of the French
presidential elections which hints at a centrist victory too has sent stocks
spiraling upwards across the globe.
Clearly, the bulls are ruling
the market right now and happy times are here again…I hope India will climb in
the World Happiness Report next year.
eLearning
platform
BCAS has initiated a programme on
how to reach out to its members who are located at far off places away from
Mumbai but are so very keen to attend the various workshops, seminars and long
duration courses organised. The Society will soon be launching an eLearning
platform which is cloud-based and works on a “responsive” framework. It will
have an option to allow the members to access content using any device, from
any location and at any time. The possibilities of its training initiative are
limitless. So, you will now be able to see and hear the expert speakers right
at your location. Through this initiative, the Society also intends to reach
out to the CA fraternity and students who are yet not the members of the
Society. I request all my dear readers to popularize this platform once
launched.
Honing
skills of CAs
There is always a comparison
between a CA and a MBA and it boils down to the conclusion that CAs are
academically much more sound and great number crunchers but lack management
skill sets due to which many a times MBAs are preferred as leaders. To put an
end to such a dogma and to equip our members to acquire management and
entrepreneurial skills, a course has been launched by BCAS along with Indian
School of Management and Entrepreneurship (ISME) termed as “Executive MBA for
CAs” – “CAMBA”. I am sure members would avail the benefit of this
course.
Warm Regards,
Chetan Shah
