For the Students, By the Students, Of The Students

“இனியொரு விதி செய்வோம் -- அதை
எந்த நாளும் காப்போம்” – Mahakavi Subramania Bharati

Maithri Educational Centre

Maithri Educational Centre is a Maithri Educational and Charitable Trust’s students initiative, mentored by Shri. R.Shreedhar, founder Trustee of Maithri Trust.  It has been a practice in Maithri Trust, to monitor the scores of the students sponsored by the Trust.  Students would provide a photocopy of the marksheets whenever they used to visit Shri.Shreedhar, to collect their term fees.  Couple of years back Shri.Shreedhar found that the scoring was low, even with bright students, this prompted him to think of coaching students.  The 1^st Step towards it was to get the students who were to appear for Board Exams (Xth & XIIth),  to appear, write model exams which could expose them to the actual pattern of Board Exams. The same was discussed with Maithri Trust senior student’s undergoing their College studies, who readily helped in preparing the Question papers, Answer sheets, which would resemble the examination pattern.  They took interest in designing the Question papers with their recent experience of having undergone the Board Exams.  The prospective students were made to appear for these model exams, and feedback was provided by the senior students on areas of improvement, presentation during the Board exams including all minor details.

Was this enough for the students to score well in their Board Exams?  Obviously this helped them to ease their tension, made them knowledgeable of the practices & could prepare a few important Questions, based on these efforts.

Shri.Shreedar was also worried that there were many students sponsored by the trust who were not able to cope up with the studies, few had social problems, could not concentrate, few were slow learners, but the school teachers had no time for individual attention to these kids.  The next step was tuitions on Sundays for selected lot of students, who were taught by the Senior kids.  This model then took shape into regular daily classes for trust students who were located in nearby locality  & the senior students would coach them after their College hours (in the evenings).  There was no mandatory fees for coaching, but based of affordability of the parents, they could contribute.  The senior students were compensated from the fees amount, which was seen as an earning potential by the Senior students, ensuring their regular interests & not deviating into other activities after college hours.  This also brought the pressure to perform with the Senior students all doing excellently well in their academics.

Maithri Education Centre, started 2 years back with around 11 students, 3 senior students who came to teach.  This year the strength has grown to almost 60 students, with 13 Senior Students (5 of them are able to spare time only on Sundays) to coach.  Most of the students are from Socially weaker class, they are very comfortable interacting the young people who coach them. The seniors also monitor each & every student, discuss their strengths, areas of improvement & even provide them with valuable advice in their daily life.  Even the Senior students are confident about their livelihood after studies, as they develop Entrepreneurship qualities.  

Shri.Shreedar, Founder Trustee of Maithri Trust himself loves to spend  few hours teaching  to the Kids at Maithri Educational Centre

Maithri Model Examination 2012-13

Maithri Model Examination , conceptualized by Maithri Trust students at Maithri Educational Centre, under the mentorship of Shri.R.Shreedhar, founder Trustee of Maithri Trust, enters the 4^th Year in 2012-13. These Model Examinations are mainly conducted for the students who are preparing to appear for the Board Examinations in Std 10^th  & Std 12^th , also Std 11^th who will be facing their common exams.  The model exams are designed in similar lines to the Board Exams, mock Question papers & Answer sheets resembling the ones made available to them during the exams. These model exams help the students to overcome the fear due to board exams, the methodology of the exams themselves. These exams are conducted on Sundays three months prior to the Board Exams. The students feedback about these exams is that it has reduced their exam fear and manage time more efficiently. These exams have been beneficial for the students to identify their areas of improvement. The exams for the academic year 2012-2013 is scheduled from 23^rd of December. We wish to succeed this year also.  The Model Exams are for Maithri Trust & Maithri Educational Centre students till this point of time.

Both the initiative’s  are  “For the Students, By the Students, Of The Students’  

To know more about Shri. R.Shreedar, Founder Trustee, Matithri Trust & the activities. Pls. do  visit  www.maithricharity.org 

View Maithri Trusts Annual Report  here - Consolidated Annual Report 2009-2012

Jai Bharat.....Vande Mataram

Beware of quoting PAN for Railway Tatkal Bookings

BE CAREFUL WHILE QUOTING PAN ON BOOKING TATKAL TICKETS! 

Advice your tax payers not to quote PAN for railway tatkal bookings
Indian Railways(IR) Displaying confidential Tax Payers information


*PAN as identity proof for Tatkal bookings*
IR has started collecting PAN and other specified identity information insupport of tatkal bookings as per recent direction and displaying PAN alongwith name, sex and age of reserved passengers on the reservation
charts pasted on to the railway compartments.


*A boon for benami transactions*
Finance Act 2012 has made it mandatory for certain traders like jewellerydealers to collect tax (TCS) from customers on purchase of jewellery worth Rs.2 lakhs and above. While complying with TCS rules for collection,
payment and uploading of TCS information (Efiling of TDS returns) jewellery dealers have to furnish PAN of customers. For Certain customers it is not convenient to provide PAN as they may have constraints in explaining source (black money earned through corruption, undeclared incomes etc.,) and in such cases to accommodate high networth customers, the traders have a easy source of benami PAN particulars like name, sex and age from reserved  railway compartments. Agents are paid Rs.10/- per for  copying PAN particulars alongwith name, age and sex pasted on to the reserved compartments . These persons are copying selected PAN information of senior citizens, women etc., only from sleeper class with the intention that passengers in sleeper class are not serious tax payers and generally salaried class.


*Impact on traders:*
Traders providing wrong particulars of PAN are penalised with Rs.10000 for violation of furnishing wrong particulars. Traders can always say that the have accepted the PAN particulars on the face value as there is no
condition for the traders to collect xerox copy of PAN card at the time of sale of jewellery. In how may cases till now income tax department has penalised traders submitting wrong particulars of PAN. Afterall Income Tax
department wants taxes. This is known to the department only in case of long drawn dispute by the PAN holder. Generally these disputes are settled after 2 years.


*Impact on PAN holders who is a tax payer:*
This is known only to the regular tax payers, who regularly check their tax credit on form 26 AS provided by the Income Tax department on their website. This form 26 AS is updated only on filing of etds returns by
traders. There is almost 6 - 12 months time for the PAN holder to known that a transaction of above nature has taken place on his name and only if he goes through form 26 AS. On noticing the tax credit of above nature
while reconciling form 26 AS for tax credits for filing the return during subsequent financial year i.e July/September, the tax payer has an option to exclude the same and go ahead in filing the return. In that case the  department will first initiate action from the tax payer side asking him to prove that he has not carried on the above transaction. The onus lies on the genuine tax payer for the fault committed by the traders. All this
dispute settlement takes a time more than 2 years. The department may also ask the genuine tax payer to explain the sources of above transaction. 


*Impact on PAN holders who is a not tax payer:*
This is not known to the non tax payer/filler at all and he comes know only when the tax department issues a notice to explain the source of above transaction. This is a long drawn process by which only genuine public are
scapegoat again and again and intelligent business man and corrupt people are free from all hassles.


Wayout
The IR should stop publishing confidential tax particulars on the reservation charts that are displayed on the railway compartments. Further Tax department should put a rule that while quote the PAN the traders/dealers have to mandatory collect self attested pan xerox copy to avoid unnecessary litigation to the genuine public.
Public should quote their PAN only while dealing in mandatory financial transactions and avoid quoting the same for identity proof.
This is communicated to all in the larger interest of public, railways, and tax department.
Thanks to Premnath D.S, Chartered Accountant for the above info.