As most of my colleagues in the software industry concede, those of us working in front of the computer for at least 8 hours a day, spend, on an average, a couple of hours checking emails, updates from friends and acquaintances and news of interest - in general, the check for updates is perpetual throughout the day - whenever there is a free moment, or when a break is needed - the brain directs the hand to go and open the browser and do the needful... And more often than not, there is no need to even "open" a browser... it's already open with the necessary "tabs" that might not even need to be updated! Anyways, today morning, I saw a "facebook" update from a friend, with a link to "Google Wave preview". As is customary, I opened the link and was bowled over by the video. I could not stop myself from immediately sending an email out to a few friends about the new addition to the google "family". Then, I sat and watched the whole presentation - it was really commendable, to say the least. I don't remember the last time I blogged about technology - so here goes - a variation from the previous few posts!
I was truly spellbound by the vast set of features provided by the product, and the best thing about the whole protocol/application is that it is extendible and "OPEN-SOURCE". The software community can contribute to the development of the system. I can go on and on about the divine advantages of "open source" software - maybe a topic for another blog, sometime! Anyways, the "Wave" boasts of a set of features that I would actually love to have in my daily usage - practical and cool, at the same time. A brief array that I can remember from the hour long presentation:
-- Integrated email and chat - this is different from the traditional model in the concurrency and organisation; the look is totally cool and user-friendliness is unparalleled; very intuitive
-- Playback history - this was something that really caught my attention; this is such a cool feature and useful too; it could be integrated with any sort of communication - email, document sharing, chat...
-- Group conversations - add participants, private trees (privacy doesn't leave local server); really secure and neat
-- Drag/drop for attachments - Easy to use, cannot get cooler with concurrent viewing and updating capability
-- Embedding of other sites/features - blogs, orkut
-- Mobile application - obviously, they have the app on cell phones as well
-- Collaborative editing and source control for document production - I thought this was really nice and has great utility for us engineers who need to keep updating documents; a maintenance of the history of updates is also impressive
-- Real time translation between languages - the app seems to automatically translate the conversation to the language that was set
-- A lot of other features like "cooler" spell check, concurrent editing, games with playback, plugins for invitations, maps, polls, twitter, bug management, games
The really great thing about the entire application is that in spite of the huge feature set provided, it seemed very efficient and fast. I was completely dazzled by the concurrent editing feature. As always, google has proved itself as the front-runner in technology - and to think that they are ready with this in a just 18-24 months - it is simply mind-blowing (they might have had their reasons for "coming out" so soon... nevertheless, the effort is exemplary).
The other facet of the presentation that caught my attention was that the indefatigable Murphy's law held true to its veracity. A few features did not go as expected - some took longer, some just did not work! But the presenters were really good at what they did. They had a backup for last minute failures that happened, they started with an attention-grabbing feature... and ended with a bang! They could sell the product to a group of software developers and the world in a pertinaciously admirable manner. I realise that delivery and presentation are quite important. But just those attributes without substance fall flat on the face. This group had both.
I am also quite awed by the acumen of the company. They have realised that to live in this world, they have to live in the present, and in the future simultaneously. They learnt from their past mistakes. Proprietary software is not the way to go - open up the source code, but realise that they'd still be profitable if enough people use it. They envisage that open source developers form a huge driving force for the success of any product these days. Though I am not completely cognizant of the pros and cons of the business model involved, I comprehend that this seems to work in the customer oriented world, with a good feel of transparency about it. I do not think I could unequivocally declare that "Wave" is the best communication/collaboration tool ever, since I am pretty sure there will be something that will beat this, and in the near future - that is the beauty of technology and innovation, but I could say it is right there at the top.
I was also surprised that there was not a single Indian among the presenters/engineers that were in the video. Considering that a sizeable portion of the software community is Indian, I was expecting a couple of "desi" faces, or at least a few names in the "friends" list on the application. I tried to reason that the anomaly could be attributed to the fact that there might not have been a forum for "all" engineers/innovators to be present in this team. Since the guy who introduced the team was Indian, I guess there were other "desis" who presented from other teams.
One of the statements that the presenter made struck a chord in me... "We think the world will be a better place if this was an open system and everyone could build services into it." I was left wondering... how true the statement is... open minded people ready to accept the new things life has to offer, ready to accept the idiosyncrasies, ready to contribute to the overall development... how ideal would that be!
Friday, May 29, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Income tax returns in India - a dystopia for the common tax payer?
An article grabbed my attention during the customary perusal of the daily news on the web. It was talking about "How to get I-T refunds faster" in the Indian context. The scheme described was pretty straight forward - a particular bank is sanctioned to issue refunds on behalf of the income tax department to the tax payers in the form of cheques or drafts. What caught my attention were the comments posted in response to the article. I was appalled to know that it takes "years together" to get the tax returns. I guess I have never filed for taxes back home, since I never earned when I was there. Or maybe, I was just uninformed (since I just know the fact that my dad filed his returns - nothing more), or maybe, I just didn't care. Anyways, things change... hopefully, for the better! :)
I always knew that the bureaucratic processes in India was painfully prolonged and lackadaisical. I had ascribed it to the apathy and corruption of the involved officials, that was in turn caused by poverty and a myriad of other reasons... and finally everything leading to the singular cause to which I attribute most of the woes crippling our country today, the humongous population. I had created a logical sequence of reasoning in my brain with the "gigantic population" as the shield for each and every problem faced by the country, ranging from poverty to illiteracy to terrorism to religious intolerance to corruption - well, my head had this bulwark as the only germane rationale for every possible issue plaguing India.
However, in this particular issue, this blockade started having cracks. According to most sources, only 3% of the Indian population pays taxes. I would say less than 1% is the actual figure (only professionals working in companies and government institutions where it is mandatory to have income tax withheld, actually pay taxes... few others do). So, it should not be that difficult a job to process the tax returns filed and distribute the returns appropriately. It is horrendous to even contemplate that it takes 3 to 4 years to get the returns back. Some might get it back within a year (not sure if anyone has), but even that is a long time. Does the government pay interest for the time period that the tax returns were not paid out?
I could not help, but compare the figures with those from the US. I know that it may not be reasonable to compare a developed country like USA with a developing one like India. However, I believe that instead of trying to find reasons for the unjustifiability of the scrutinisation, we should try do a very careful examination and employ methods that work into our mindset and ultimately, the bureaucracy. According to reliable sources, at least 45% of the US population pays taxes, though a higher percentage pays some sort of tax or the other (property tax et cetera). I myself have been filing taxes for the last 4 years - I get my refund within 10-20 days of filing my taxes. If there are any amendments that need to be made, it might take up to a month. Why this massive disparity... this ginormous chasm? On the one hand, I am not astonished by these numbers... on the other, I am saddened that these numbers fail to either surprise me or beleaguer me. Thankfully, I have not grown totally immune to these issues - they still rattle me more often than not.
The other facet of my consternation is that the major portion of the tax not paid is from the highest earning part of the population. Why should the working class be taxed while the other cadres earning more do not pay any taxes? Consider the controversy brewed around the tax returns filed by the senators here in the US... Tim Geithner, the treasury secretary, refiled amended returns for previous years before being sworn in - this created a huge squabble, but he finally made it in. Though I agree that a huge portion of the politicians and bureaucrats in the US (as well as around the world) evade taxation as much as possible, they are held accountable here in the US, more often than not. Skeletons are drawn out of the closet and careers are ruined. In India, there is no accountability. The corrupt politician who has never paid any taxes what-so-ever could well be the prime minister or the president of our country.
Instead of digressing into a discussion on the corruption in politics and elsewhere, I'll try to come back to the topic under consideration. Is it possible for a change in the scenario? Where does the change start? Would I be paying taxes if I was not held accountable (a salaried employee of a company/government organisation)? Would I be ready to go through the hassle of the long-drawn bureaucratic process, as opposed to a shorter, back-door, easier way of bribing an official? These are the questions we need to ask ourselves, and understand that change cannot be expected from others if we are not ourselves ready for it. Bound by the practicalities of the situation, rather than trying to be idealistic (that I think might be painful to say the least, and hence may not last long), we should try our best to start on the right path in smaller, pragmatic ways.
I always knew that the bureaucratic processes in India was painfully prolonged and lackadaisical. I had ascribed it to the apathy and corruption of the involved officials, that was in turn caused by poverty and a myriad of other reasons... and finally everything leading to the singular cause to which I attribute most of the woes crippling our country today, the humongous population. I had created a logical sequence of reasoning in my brain with the "gigantic population" as the shield for each and every problem faced by the country, ranging from poverty to illiteracy to terrorism to religious intolerance to corruption - well, my head had this bulwark as the only germane rationale for every possible issue plaguing India.
However, in this particular issue, this blockade started having cracks. According to most sources, only 3% of the Indian population pays taxes. I would say less than 1% is the actual figure (only professionals working in companies and government institutions where it is mandatory to have income tax withheld, actually pay taxes... few others do). So, it should not be that difficult a job to process the tax returns filed and distribute the returns appropriately. It is horrendous to even contemplate that it takes 3 to 4 years to get the returns back. Some might get it back within a year (not sure if anyone has), but even that is a long time. Does the government pay interest for the time period that the tax returns were not paid out?
I could not help, but compare the figures with those from the US. I know that it may not be reasonable to compare a developed country like USA with a developing one like India. However, I believe that instead of trying to find reasons for the unjustifiability of the scrutinisation, we should try do a very careful examination and employ methods that work into our mindset and ultimately, the bureaucracy. According to reliable sources, at least 45% of the US population pays taxes, though a higher percentage pays some sort of tax or the other (property tax et cetera). I myself have been filing taxes for the last 4 years - I get my refund within 10-20 days of filing my taxes. If there are any amendments that need to be made, it might take up to a month. Why this massive disparity... this ginormous chasm? On the one hand, I am not astonished by these numbers... on the other, I am saddened that these numbers fail to either surprise me or beleaguer me. Thankfully, I have not grown totally immune to these issues - they still rattle me more often than not.
The other facet of my consternation is that the major portion of the tax not paid is from the highest earning part of the population. Why should the working class be taxed while the other cadres earning more do not pay any taxes? Consider the controversy brewed around the tax returns filed by the senators here in the US... Tim Geithner, the treasury secretary, refiled amended returns for previous years before being sworn in - this created a huge squabble, but he finally made it in. Though I agree that a huge portion of the politicians and bureaucrats in the US (as well as around the world) evade taxation as much as possible, they are held accountable here in the US, more often than not. Skeletons are drawn out of the closet and careers are ruined. In India, there is no accountability. The corrupt politician who has never paid any taxes what-so-ever could well be the prime minister or the president of our country.
Instead of digressing into a discussion on the corruption in politics and elsewhere, I'll try to come back to the topic under consideration. Is it possible for a change in the scenario? Where does the change start? Would I be paying taxes if I was not held accountable (a salaried employee of a company/government organisation)? Would I be ready to go through the hassle of the long-drawn bureaucratic process, as opposed to a shorter, back-door, easier way of bribing an official? These are the questions we need to ask ourselves, and understand that change cannot be expected from others if we are not ourselves ready for it. Bound by the practicalities of the situation, rather than trying to be idealistic (that I think might be painful to say the least, and hence may not last long), we should try our best to start on the right path in smaller, pragmatic ways.
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