NE NEWS SERVICE
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, AUG 24
In God’s Own Country, ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ (Save the girl and give her education) is not just a campaign but a way of life. Two decades ago, migrant labour from Bihar had landed here with a big dream to educate his children. His dream has come true now. With a burning desire, his daughter studied well and passed an undergraduate course with flying colours making proud her parents and teachers.
Getting a university first rank was never in the mind of Payal Kumari, daughter of a migrant worker from Bihar who was the topper in BA Archaeology course in the Kerala-based Mahatma Gandhi University.
Paying the annual college fee of Rs 3,000 itself was a big problem for her family, which migrated to Kerala nearly two decades ago, but thanks to good Samaritans, including, her teachers, she overcame the hurdle and has now set her eyes on post-graduation in the prestigious Jawaharla Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi and on civil services.
Congratulatory messages have been pouring in for Kumari with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan calling her up on Saturday and praising her for her achievement.
Spoke to Payal Kumari. She is the topper of this year's BA Archeology & History exams of MG university. What makes her success special is the fact her parents are guest workers. This is a matter of pride for our State.
Congratulations Payal. pic.twitter.com/y47HkD303G— Pinarayi Vijayan (@pinarayivijayan) August 22, 2020
“College fees were a problem and arranging around Rs 3,000 for each year in the institution was a big task. But there were good Samaritans who lent a helping hand,” said Kumari, who passed out of the Marthoma Women’s College in Perumbavoor near Kochi in flying colours with 85 percent marks this year.
Kumari’s father Pramod Kumar, hailing from Gosaiymati village in Sheikhupura District in Bihar, had reached Kerala 19 years years ago seeking a better life for his family. Driven by the desire to ensure a good education for his three children, Kumar slogged all these years, making Kerala his second home. All praise for her History lecturer Priya Kurian, Payal said the teacher had paid her first-year fees learning about the plight of her family, living in a two-bedroom rented house at Edappally in Kochi.
In the following two years also teachers helped her and they were more confident she would do well in the final year, Kumari said, speaking in fluent Malayalam and English.
“I knew I had done well, but did not expect to get a rank”, she said, adding her parents always encouraged her. Kumari is keen to do her postgraduate studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi and also has plans to prepare for the Civil Services.
Her father and mother Bindu Devi have always encouraged her to study as much as she wanted and there had never been pressure for marriage, she said. “My parents were very happy with the result. They told me to continue studying and do much better in life,” she said.
She was four when her family shifted to Kalamassery near Kochi. The tongue-twisting Malayalam language was at first difficult, but she soon learnt it along with her elder brother Akash Kumar, who is now employed, and sister Pallavi Kumari, presently doing B.Sc Physics. But at home, the family speaks in Hindi, as parents do not know much Malayalam, she said. “I am confident in Hindi, English, and Malayalam”, Kumari said.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan spoke to Kumari over the phone and congratulated her saying her achievement was a matter of pride and joy for the state. “Her achievement is a matter of pride and great joy for us. This shows that the steps taken by the state for the welfare of the guest workers never went in vain. I wish her all the success for her future endeavours,” he said.
Mizoram Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai and State Agriculture Minister V S Sunil Kumar have also sent messages, she said.
Finance Minister Dr T M Thomas Isaac took to Twitter, saying he was proud of her. “Payal Kumari, daughter of Pramod, a migrant worker from Bihar, graduates from MG university Kerala with first-rank BA Archaeology and History (85% marks). She hails from Gosaimaty village in Shaikpura district. She wants to join JNU. Feel so proud of you Payal. Congratulations,” he tweeted.
Payal Kumari,daughter of Promode, a migrant worker from Bihar, graduates from MG university Kerala with first rank BA Archaeology and History (85 % marks) . She hails from Gosaimaty village in Shaikpura district.She wants to join JNU. Feel so proud of you Payal. Congratulations.
— Thomas Isaac (@drthomasisaac) August 22, 2020
Senior Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor said Payal’s success was another story of inclusive India from Kerala. “Another story of #InclusiveIndia from Kerala! Payal Kumari, daughter of a migrant labourer from Bihar, wins the first rank in the BA (History and Archaeology) exams of Mahatma Gandhi University in Kerala. Congratulations Payal!” Tharoor tweeted.
I-T dept aligns e-assessment scheme with faceless assessment
New Delhi, Aug 13 (PTI) The income tax department on Thursday amended its e-assessment scheme to align it with faceless assessment.
Amending the e-assessment scheme launched last year, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) notified changes to include change in nomenclature of scheme from ”E-assessment scheme” to ”Faceless Assessment Scheme”.
It also enhanced the scope of such faceless assessments to include ”best judgment assessments” in case a taxpayer is not cooperating with the tax authorities and advance intimation to a taxpayer that his assessment will be done under such ”Faceless Assessment Scheme”.
”Best judgement assessments” refer to tax assessments done as per the best of judgment of the tax officer, where the taxpayer does not co-operate or provide sufficient information for completion of assessment.
Under the amended scheme, Principal Chief Commisioner of Income Tax/ Principal Director General of Income Tax in-charge of National E-assessment Centre (NeAC) has been empowered to transfer case to jurisdictional Assessing Officer (AO) at request of taxpayer or under specified circumstances, which require personal hearing.
Also, powers have been granted to NeAC to either grant additional time to the taxpayer to furnish details or to forward its case for ”best judgment assessment”.
The amended scheme says where the assessee fails to file response to the notice within the time specified in the notice or within the extended time, if any, NeAC shall intimate such failure to the assessment unit.
The assessment unit shall, after taking into account all the relevant material, write a draft assessment order based on intimation received from NeAC to “the best of its judgement”.
Nangia & Co LLP Partner Shailesh Kumar said the most important aspect of new procedure, is coverage of ”best judgment assessment” in Faceless Assessment Scheme.
Earlier, best judgment assessment in cases of non-cooperating taxpayers could be done only by jurisdictional AO.
Kumar said jurisdictional AOs may sometime be familiar with taxpayers and contact/ convince them to cooperate with tax authorities to duly complete the assessment proceedings, especially in cases where taxpayers would miss the notices inadvertently.
“Now, even in these cases, assessment can be done under Faceless Assessment scheme, based on instructions of the National e-Assessment Center”.
“Thus, taxpayers would need to be extra careful to comply with the notices issued by the National e-Assessment Centre, as missing of notices may result in issuance of adverse best-judgment orders, without the tax officer contacting/ convincing them to complete the proceedings,” Kumar added.
