Muqbil Ahmar | Blog

Hepatitis  is a leading causes of deaths, globally—it accounts for 1.34 million deaths per year. That is equal in number to the deaths caused by  AIDS ,  tuberculosis , or  malaria . Acting together, hepatitis B and hepatitis C cause 80 percent of  liver cancer  cases in the entire world. The viral variety of hepatitis is not restricted to a location or a set of people. The  epidemic  is global—it affects millions of people who do not even realize that they are infected—in fact, my father was suffering from hepatitis which was discovered very late. At present, 90 percent of people infected with hepatitis B and around 80 percent with hepatitis C are not even aware of the infection. This often leads to the disease going unnoticed and causing significant harm by resulting in fatal liver diseases. They also, in a substantial number of cases, end up unwittingly transmitting the disease to others. The task is enormous, looking at it this World H...

The  Goods and Services Tax  ( GST ) has been implemented and brings about huge tax reforms. One of its ramifications is for  small Indian enterprises , including  startups and  SMEs , who find themselves burdened with more tax.  Small and medium enterprises  ( SMEs ) of the  manufacturing sector  in India face increased tax in the GST regime and may not have it all easy, says  Indo-American Chamber of Commerce  ( IACC ). They add that the tax burden for manufacturing SMEs has increased under the  GST rollout  regime. IACC Chairman, Finance Committee, SK Sarkar says: “Small businesses in manufacturing sector won’t have it easy in GST regime. Under excise laws, only manufacturing business with turnover exceeding Rs 1.50 cr had to pay excise duty.” Under GST, turnover limit has been reduced to Rs. 20 lakh, increasing tax burden for  manufacturing-sector SMEs . Many SMEs will find compliance tough and even if t...

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) brings about radical reforms in indirect taxation in India. The reforms particularly affect enterprises. They need to know a number of things for a business: taxes, tariffs and rate slabs, procedures for calculation and compliance. Apart from the input tax credit provision, there are several other factors in the GST, which would need time to be incorporated in business solutions. Those factors include destination system, twin rates, exclusion, etc. New multiple GST-compliant modules for the enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. Similarly, the ERP needs to be synchronized with supply chain models to support inventory supply management, an integral part of warehousing and manufacturing companies. Are Indian businesses ready for the GST transition? The overwhelming answer is that they would need time to make the transition. 66% CIOs say they are not GST-ready and will need time to ensure compliance, according to a  survey by...

The  Goods and Services Tax (GST) , India's biggest indirect tax reform, is here, bringing in radical tax reforms that affect everyone, particularly  Indian businesses  no matter what their size is. Big corporates will be as affected as  small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and startups —the backbone of the  Indian economy . India has 36 million SMEs and, globally, the country has 3,100 startups—one of the highest. All businesses will be affected. So, the change is drastic and the canvas huge. The  GST Network (GSTN)  would throw up around 5 billion invoices a month. Add to that the 50 million enterprises in India, along with 15 million retailers that have to go for digitization of sales. No wonder,  fintech  companies are going all out to woo customers and clients. Companies including  SAP ,  Microsoft ,  Zoho ,  Tally ,  Deskera  and  ClearTax  have jumped on to the GST bandwagon and are luring...

Can solar power farms be adorable? The  Panda Power Plant  installed in  Datong, China  has been shaped like the nation’s treasured animal. The power plant has been drawing rave reviews due to its aesthetics. The first phase of the plant offers 50 MW of green energy.  Panda Green Energy  built it in agreement with the  United Nations Development Program (UNDP)  and advocates for  renewable sustainable energy . The first phase of the solar farm has just been connected to the grid. No wonder, China has emerged as the  most attractive destination for renewable energy attractiveness . The Asian giant has surpassed the USA, according to the  Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index 2017 , released by  global research and audit firm Ernst and Young (EY) . The Chinese government has been following industry-friendly policies and attractive economics to help transform the outlook for the  renewable energy sector . Th...