from the president’s desk budget expectations filethe bulletin of the rotary club of bombay...

THE BULLETIN OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF BOMBAY FEBRUARY 7, 2017

Few years ago, a renowned cartoonist, Jules Feiffer penned a strip in which he showed an

old man talking to his TV. "No one loves me," the man says, and the TV responds, "I love you." This is the story of millions of elderly people across the nation. Trapped by loneliness, they sit staring at their television sets for hours. Entertainment today in any form

- TV, Radio, Movies, and Fine Arts - is not just a pastime. It has become a companion for the aged and a medium to gather information from across the world for the younger generation. It also allows many to showcase their talent through reality shows. It stimulates and kindles our musical heritage while encouraging the fusion of styles and artists.

Thanks to its unrivalled reach, entertainment enables effective calls for action during crises situations, natural disasters and social emergencies. It reaches out to society through the power of communication.

For someone like me it is a creative expression of an artistic bend of mind. As a doctor, I have seen so much pain and suffering of my patients that I wanted to keep my sensitivity alive through some form or the other. I chose to do photography and embraced music.

For many, it is a medium to rejuvenate after a day of hard work. Doesn’t good music, a good movie elevate your mood after a bad day? For someone feeling isolated, it opens up the world. Movies, music and reality shows have brought the world closer. Through Yash Chopra’s movies, we have seen the best of Switzerland. Haven’t we? In fact, Yash ji’s movies opened a legacy of South Asian tourists fl ocking to Switzerland.

Talking about Yash Chopra, Rotary today has the privilege to honour one of his most celebrated heroes Rishi Kapoor with The Shyam Munshi Lifetime Achievement Award for excelling in fi ne arts. Rishi is the scion of fi rst family of Indian Cinema. Right from playing a child artist in his debut movie Mera Naam Joker to being one of the fi nest actors of Indian cinema, Rishi has carved a niche for himself.

With this award, Rotary has taken a step in right direction to recognize the efforts of artists who work hard to entertain us and touch our lives positively. Let Rotary keep encouraging fi ne arts with many such initiatives.

Vol. 58 No. 29 • February 7, 2017 • Pages 8

From the President’s Desk

1

encouraging fi ne arts with many such initiatives.

In this Issue

Many of us may have been glued to the screen of our televisions on the morning of the 1st of February. Hoping for the revolution boasted on billboards

across the city, you perhaps eagerly watched Minister of Finance Arun Jaitley deliver the much-awaited Annual Budget of 2017.

But before one of the most televised events of the year took place, the Rotary Club of Mumbai was honoured to have the reputed Rtn. Mr. Anil Harish, partner at D. M. Harish & Co., a law fi rm established by his father, the “undisputed guru of taxation,” deliver an illuminating speech on budget prospects. He briefl y described his expectations, rather

Today’s Speaker: Actor Rishi Kapoor – Rotary Lifetime Achievement Award

Budget Expectations

In Camera Event ....................................................................46th Mini Fellowship ...............................................................5Bhavishya Yaan ......................................................................6Presidents List .......................................................................7Next Week's Meeting ..........................................................8

THE BULLETIN OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF BOMBAYFEBRUARY 7, 20172

than his predictions, for the upcoming fiscal year as a specialist in tax law.

Humorously, he began by sharing an intriguing email he had received from P.P. Sandip Agarwala “The email,” he said, “did not predict the budget, but what would be said after it: the BJP will say it is a path-breaking, pro-farmer budget, Congress will say it is an anti-poor, inflationary budget, and the AAP will say the budget is only for the benefit of Adani and Ambani.”

Though the budget is the centre of many a conversation for us, few have actually delved into its history, impacts, and inclusions. Therefore, Rtn. Harish simplified its complexities and laid them before us. He answers what

seem like basic questions: What is the budget? Why is it important? And lastly, what does he, as a tax lawyer and a concerned citizen, want from it?

As he explained, the budget arises out of a need to make the Income Tax Act relevant in each fiscal year. As the Act does not include real-time figures and percentages, it necessitates an additional Finance Act, which is what we all eagerly waited for on Wednesday morning. He reaffirmed that the Income Tax Act states that “the rates will be specified in a separate law, which has to be passed every year.”

Rtn. Harish also remarked that “110 clauses were introduced in the

Finance Act last year to amend the Income Tax Act.” For anyone familiar with parliamentary procedure, it is understood what a detailed process that is.

Perhaps this is due to the multi-dimensional definition of Income Tax as it manifests itself in the modern day world and the legislation that regulates it. As Rtn. Harish stated, “Income tax is not just a tax on your income,” it is a myriad of exemptions, liabilities, and penal provisions.

He went on to dissect the many bills previously passed by the Finance Ministry, most notably, the Demonetisation Bill that changed the face of the Indian economy.

THE BULLETIN OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF BOMBAY FEBRUARY 7, 2017 3

Highlighting the bill’s goals to “eliminate terrorism and the production of counterfeit notes,” he stated that it has not achieved its stated objectives. He compared India’s well-meaning process to that of Indonesia’s, and argued that our nation may have needed “something with a heart,” much like Indonesia put forth in the previous year.

After this quick crash course on all the history and implications of the Finance Act, Rtn. Harish spoke about his expectations of the 2017 Budget. “So what needs to be transformed in order for us to want to pay tax?” He questioned.

Rtn. Harish then took us through the “ABCDE” of his hopes for the 2017

Budget, in order to fulfill his “great expectations” of our government.

He emphasised the need to reform the Administration of tax, elimination of Black money, rampant Corruption, Delays involved with taxation, and the Ease of doing business in India. He highlighted the large and heavy barriers to entry into the Indian market, and the many issues in the current way that our nation’s policies create opportunities and need for corruption.

Rtn. Harish concluded by stating that what India really requires for consistent and all-round progress, is stability. “Because once there is stability,” he noted, “there would be no need for such predictions.”


The traffi c week celebrations by the Interact Club of Gopi Birla Memorial School along with

the Traffi c Police and the Safe Kids Foundation. Interactors from Grade 8 and 9 with their classmates stood on Walkeshwar Road in a rally last week holding posters on Road Safety. They were appreciated by one and all. Approximately, 240 students with 12 teachers enthusiastically particiapted in the Rally.

In Camera

Forthcoming Events

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• Feb 10th, 2017 Parsi Night @ Saher Agiary - Breach

Candy 7 pm. onwards

• Feb 14th, 2017 Valentine Day Special Debate by Rotarians 'What's Life

without Love'

• Feb 21st, 2017 Speaker - Pankaj Udhas - '30 Years

of Chithi Aayee Hai'

• Feb 23rd, 2017 In Camera - 6:30 pm. Krupa Ghandhi

- 'How to take good pictures on your mobile phone' hosted by Rtn. Ramesh Mehta

• Feb 26th, 2017 Fund Raiser - The Asiatic Society The Tondal Durbar - 6:30 pm.

The Tondal DurbarBe part of the unique historical event to celebrate the

reopening of the newly renovated Central Library

Date : Sunday 26th February 2017Venue : THE ASIATIC SOCIETY, MUMBAITime : 6:30 to 9:30pmDress Code : Royal. Formal — circa 1880Be a part of this rare event… limited invitations.

Contact: Rotaray Club of Bombay O�ce, 22024089

Rotary Club of BombayAn initiative of the Urban Conservation Committee

DISTRICT 3141

Tra� c week 2017 Visit to Museum

Gopi Birla Memorial School - Interact Club

The interact meeting was held at “The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sanghralaya

(The Museum) on 15th/DEC. There were 40 participants. The students were very excited to meet at an off-site venue. They presented their interact club activities including their upcoming workshops at various old age homes and orphanages during the Christmas season. The representative of the Museum showed them the solar installation put up at the Museum’s rooftop and discussed the advantages of going solar. There was Q&A session thereafter. The moderators were felicitated on this occasion.


6th Mini Fellowship

The Assimilation Committee had its 6th 2016-17 Mini-Fellowship at the Malabar Hill home of

Rotarian Mahesh Khubchandani on 29th January.

Delightful cocktails, plentiful snacks and sumptuous dinner over conversations and camaraderie with the India England T20 viewing as added attraction, was the order of the evening, as the newer Rotarians bonded with older stalwarts.

In attendance were President Dr. Mukesh Batra, IPP Dr. Sonya Mehta & Bomi Framroze, PP Sandip & Malini Agarwalla, Ritu & Noshir Desai, Meher & Khurshed Poonawalla, Prof Poonam Kumar, Reshma & Bipin Vazirani, Ayesha & Dr. Darius Soonawalla, Phiroza & Dr. Aashish Contractor, Jai Advani, Rekha Tanna, Amita & Ravi Sheth, Arwa & Sameer Tapia, Vrinda Rajgarhia, Swati & Rohan Dalal, Nandini & Dr. Rajeev Narvekar, Malti & Mudit Jain, Kavita & Anand Dalal, with the new Rotarians Meenakshi & Ajai Kaul, Zeenia Master & Rahil Shah, along with our host Assimilation Committee Chairperson Mahesh Khubchandani.

We would much appreciate new Rotarians making more of an effort to attend these events and also request fellow Rotarians to contact the

Assimilation Committee to host either a lunch, dinner, cocktails or a high tea for a mini-fellowship of 20 to 40 members in the coming months.


Junior By - Educating the young and Impressionable Minds

Bhavishya Yaan has started a new initiative called Junior BY that aims to

take quality education to the poor and needy children. It also intends to inculcate in them discipline and moral values at an early age. Junior BY caters to students from 1st to 4th standards, as children at this age absorb language as well as reading skills at a much faster rate as compared to the elders. The key focus of Junior BY is to teach students the English language at an early age. Apart from helping the students with their school curriculum, they are also taught the language through E-learning and innovative teaching techniques. Junior BY has opened its doors to the primary section in two municipal

schools in Mumbai, NM Joshi School and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar School at Worli, in Dec 2016.

The enthusiasm shown by the kids is a joy to see. The tiny tots with small attention span, who did not know a single word in English have already within a span of 6 weeks, begun reading and saying simple English words, which is a remarkable

achievement. The children are also being exposed to computers, which is further motivating them and holding their attention. The dedicated efforts of R/Annes Avaan and Jaya ably supported by Vidya and Infotrooper teachers have been responsible for the dramatic performance of these children. NM Joshi School has admitted

135 children and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar School has admitted 85 children of the Hindi and Marathi sections. The response of BMC has been encouraging as well. Thanks to the Nutrition Committee the children are given a fruit everyday taking this project to a fl ying start!

What is WE ARE THE WORLD?

Over 190 countries, hundreds of states, countless cities and ONE WORLD. 6.6 billion humans, thousands of ethnic groups, more than 6500 spoken languages, 22 majorly celebrated festivals but none like this one. We were, we will be and WE ARE THE WORLD.

They say we live in a small world. But the Rotaract Club of H.R. College

Rotaractors of HR College begs to differ. It was not any ordinary weekend.

At WE ARE THE WORLD 2016 – The 16th Annual Inter-School International Cultural Extravaganza, each participating School selected a Country that they wished to represent over the 3 days. The events had an International theme to them. They catered to all talents from testing their creativity to building their confi dence, from excelling at sports to learning

as well as exhibiting their diverse knowledge about different cultures. This event, like none other, makes sure that the participating schools not only enjoy to the fullest but also learn a lot about different countries and cultures. It was not only about the victory but also about reaching out and uniting to say what a beautiful world we have! It took millions of years for the World to become what it is, but it took us merely THREE days to fl aunt it.


PRESIDENTS

Dr. Rahim Muljiani 1982 - 83

Nanabhai Davar (D) 1983 - 84

Vithal Palekar 1984 - 85

Mahendra Sanghi 1985 - 86

Arjun Bulchandani 1986 - 87

Dadi Engineer (D) 1987 - 88

Adi Mulla (D) 1988 - 89

Ramu Pandit (D) 1989 - 90

Dr. Jayanti Kothari 1990 - 91

Vithal Kamdar 1991 - 92

Ajit Deshpande (D) 1992 - 93

Ahmed Ibrahim (D) 1993 - 94

Arvind Jolly 1994 - 95

Dr. Kekoo Kavarana 1995 - 96

Nalin Parikh 1996 - 97

Rajnika Reshamwala 1997 - 98

Dr. Adi Dastur 1998 - 99

Haresh Jagtiani 1999 - 00

Dr. Zerxis Umrigar 2000 - 01

Arun Sanghi 2001 - 02

Sandip Agarwalla 2002 - 03

Mrs. Kalpana Munshi 2003 - 04

Ajay Kanoria 2004 - 05

Gul Kripalani 2005 - 06

Harry Singh Arora 2006 - 07

Dr. Rumi Jehangir 2007 - 08

Ashish Vaid 2008 - 09

ROTARIAN ROTARIAN

Nandan Damani 2009 - 10

Pradeep Saxena 2010 - 11

Paul George 2011 - 12

Nowroze Vazifdar 2012 - 13

Nirav Shah 2013 - 14

Shailesh Haribhakti 2014 - 15

Dr. Mrs. Sonya Mehta 2015 - 16

Dr. Mukesh Batra 2016 - 17

* D — Deceased


What is Life without

Regd. No. MCS/091/2015-17; R.N.I No. 14015/60. WP P License No. MR/TECH/WPP-89/South 2015

Birthdays & Anniversary Greetings

ROTARY CLUB OFFICERSTRUSTEES 2016-17

Rtn. Dr. Rahim MuljianiRtn. Arvind JollyRtn. Arun SanghiRtn. Dr. Adi DasturRtn. Dr. Mukesh BatraRtn. Dr. Sonya MehtaRtn. Ramesh NarayanRtn. Jagdish MalkaniRtn. Meera Alreja

OFFICE-BEARERS 2016-17President Dr. Mukesh BatraImmediate Past President Dr. Sonya MehtaPresident-Elect Ramesh NarayanPresident Nominee Jagdish MalkaniHonorary Secretary Manish ReshamwalaJoint Hon. Secretary Framroze MehtaHon. Treasurer Meera Alreja

DIRECTOR: RAMESH NARAYANMembership & Info PP Nowroze VazifdarMembership Development Pradeep ChinaiClub Trainer Deepak KapadiaCSR Shivkumar Israni

DIRECTOR: MUDIT JAINFellowship Ritu Prakash DesaiAssimilation Mahesh KhubchandaniSergeant-at-arms Roda BillimoriaIn-camera Rekha TannaAttendance Bipin Kapadia

DIRECTOR: ANUJ ARENJAFund raising PP Sandip AgarwallaProgram Poornima AdvaniPR Vineet SuchantiBulletin Hoshang BillimoriaSocial Media & Website Murad CurrawalaSports Jamshyd Vazifdar

DIRECTOR: ASHOK JATIABhavishya Yaan Satyan IsraniLegal Aid Natasha TreasurywalaVocational Training Sunny PariyaramScholarships Zinia LawyerRotary Public Awards Shernaz Vakil

DIRECTOR: DR. ASHISH CONTRACTORChairman Emeritus Talwada PP Dr. Rahim MuljianiADMC Talwada Dr. Sorab JaveriHTEC Talwada PP Dr. Rumi JehangirYoga Sitaram ShahCancer Aid Madhusudan DagaRCB Clinic - Cotton Green Manoj Patodia

DIRECTOR: SAMIR CHINAIAnimal Welfare Priyasri PatodiaEnvironment Manoj PatodiaAsiatic Society Aditya SomaniNutrition PP Dr. Zerxis Umrigar

DIRECTOR: RAVINDRA FOTEDARWater Resources Rohan DalalSenior Citizen PP Ashish VaidWomen’s Empowerment Dr Rajeev Narvekar

DIRECTOR: SHIV DEV GOROWARAThe Rotary Foundation PDG Gulam VahanvatyYouth Exchange Programs Vijay JatiaAtlanta convention 16-17 PP Nandan Damani

DIRECTOR : JAIDEV MERCHANTInteract Bipin VaziraniRotaract Mehul Sampat

DIRECTOR : JAGDISH MALKANIDistrict Thrust Area Alok SekhsariaDistrict Coordinator PP Pradeep SaxenaE-Administrator Bimal MehtaRotary Service Carnival PP Harry Singh Arora

Printed and published by President Rtn. Dr. Mukesh Batra on behalf of Rotary Club of Bombay, and printed at: Indigo Press, Plot No.1C/716, Off Dadoji Konddeo Cross Road, Between Sussex and Retiwala Ind. Estate, Byculla (E), Mumbai 400027.

Ph: 23705200 /01/ 02 / 03. Email: [email protected].

Anniversaries

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Rtn. Dr. Anand Shah8th February

Rtn. Ravindra Fotedar7th February

Rtn. Hormusji Cama13th February

PP Rtn. Arun Sanghi13th February

Rtn. Mayank Kummar10th February

Rtn. Hiren Kara11th February

Rtn. Manoj Murarka12th February

Email : [email protected]

Statistics for last week's meetingMembers present 103Visiting Rotarians 05Guests 04Rotaryannes 02Interactors 08Rotaractors 02Total attendance 124Community Service Box Collection - `2,200/-

NEXT WEEK'S MEETING

8th February - R/anne. Narges & Rtn. Dr. Sam Mahaluxmivala9th February - R/anne. Kavita & Rtn. Anand Dalal R/anne. Vatsala & Rtn. Ashok Jatia10th February - R/anne. Sumitra & PP Rtn. Dr. Jayantilal Kothari11th February - R/anne. Namrata & Rtn. Dr. Ashok Kirpalani R/anne. Mridula & Rtn. Nandan Maluste R/anne. Rita & Rtn. Subhash Sagar R/anne. Gopi & PP Rtn. Ashish Vaid 12th February - R/anne. Amisha & Rtn. Vivek Himatsingka

Rotaryanne7th February - R/anne. Zarine Davar R/anne. Honey Harish10th February - R/anne. Dilnavaz Meghani Mr. Franklin John12th February - R/anne. Chitra Ashokkumar13th February - R/anne. Geeta Gogia R/anne. Lalita Koshy R/anne. Sandhya Merchant Mr. Marzban Patel

A Valentine Day Special Discussion

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