An Opportunity to Avail 100% Tax Deduction

If you are pressed for time with tax planning, we have for you some information on financial year-end donation to charity. It won’t just help you avail 100% tax deduction, but also ensure that you experience the joy of giving.

Charitable institutions play a crucial role in socioeconomic development of the country, and therefore, there exist Income Tax rules that have been specifically constituted to encourage people to donate to charities. Some charitable projects are approved as eligible for tax deductible donations under Section 35AC and Section 80GGA.

If you have your own business or you happen to be a salaried individual donating to an eligible institution, then you can claim 100% deduction under Section 35AC. If, on the other hand, your source of income is anything other than business, then deduction can be claimed under Section 80GGA. These provisions in the Income Tax Act are meant to help charitable institutions attract prospective donors and raise funds to run the programmme.

If you want to avail tax benefits, you need to check which projects are eligible for the same. It’s the Central Government that decides which programme of which charitable institution is to be approved for tax deductible donation under various sections of the IT Act. The Akshaya Patra Foundation’s Mid-day Meal Programme is one of the projects you can donate to in order to avail 100% income tax exemption under Section 35AC.

Any donation of Rs. 500 and above is eligible for tax benefit in this case. If say you donate Rs. 2000, then this amount will be deducted from your taxable amount. You will receive a certificate acknowledging your contribution. You can use the same to claim exemption from taxable income.

By donating to Akshaya Patra, you will be doing your bit to feed children, bring them to the classroom, and nurture smiles.

Fundraising for an NGO – The Akshaya Patra Experience

NGOs don’t rely on a single method of fundraising, as dependence on one method alone is unlikely to help in reaching out to all the potential donors. Also, to ensure the sustainability of the programme, it’s important that the said organisation has sufficient resources. Therefore, they resort to several different methods of fundraising.

At The Akshaya Patra Foundation, we understand the necessity of this approach. After all, we feed over 1.5 million children across 10 states every school day as a part of the Mid-day Meal Scheme and intend to reach out to 5 million children by 2020. Thus, we make it a point to urge to all our supporters to help us in our cause. If you are keen on fundraising for an NGO working for children, we have a whole list of things you can do to help us.

Fundraise with Akshaya Patra

One unique method that some NGOs resort to is to allow people to create online fundraising campaigns and help the organisation. For instance, Akshaya Patra allows you to create your customized campaign in a couple of easy steps. You simply create a campaign, customize it, and share it on social media or via email, and then it helps you reach out to your friends and family, and make a donation pitch to them.

In order to start a campaign with Akshaya Patra, you will have to create an account. Once you sign up, you can give a name to your campaign, decide the duration, and set the amount you want to raise.

Also, you have the option of assisting an ongoing campaign by sharing it on social networking websites or via your email, or even make a donation to some existing campaign. In doing so, you will be supporting a not-for-profit organisation that thrives to improve the lives of children.

While an online fundraising campaign scores high on the convenience factor, it’s not the only way you can help us raise funds. You can even organise a fundraiser at your workplace or in your community or neighbourhood and help us to provide a nutritious meal to school children. We will support you in every way possible. You just need to get in touch with us to set the ball rolling.

Do Something Extraordinary

Also you can take out a page from Gaurav Warman’s book and pull off a campaign that will catch the eye of the world. A resident of Mumbai, Gaurav orchestrated the Ride 1,200 Kilometres for 120 Little Angels campaign in 2015. As a part of this campaign, he travelled 1,200 kilometres on a bicycle from Mumbai to Jaipur. The funds raised during his campaign were donated to Akshaya Patra’s Mid-day Meal Programme to feed a wholesome meal to 120 children for an entire year.

How the Donation is used

• 82% Mid-day Meal Programme
• 2% other feeding programme
• 10% Programme management
• 6% Fund raising and communications

Most people, if not all, are sensitive to the plight of those who are less fortunate. They even want to do something for them. The problem though, is that they don’t know how to go about it, and this is exactly where your fundraising campaign will help. If people have the will, your campaign will show them the way.

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Water Scarcity: An Existential Threat

On the eve of World Water Day 2016, we decided to find the answer to one of the most intriguing questions related to water: will we ever run out of it? Whilst doing so, we came across some facts about water pollution which were outright concerning.

Annually, 22nd March is observed as the World Water Day to spread awareness about the importance of freshwater and advocate sustainable management of freshwater resources.

Around 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered with water and yet, more than a billion people around the world don’t have access to clean water to drink. Irony is the word! Of the total water available on Earth, 97.5% is in oceans; unsuitable for drinking due to its salinity. As for the remaining, most of it is stored in the form of polar ice caps and high-altitude glaciers. Thus, we are left with less than 1% water that is potable.

One issue that crops up when it comes to water resources management is the uneven distribution of freshwater sources. While Asia, with 60% of the world population to its credit, only has 36% freshwater sources on the planet, South America, with 6% world population, has 26% of the sources.

It’s but obvious that we need to take good care of available water, but far from that, we seem to be on a mission to spoil it and along with it, our future. Global water crisis is no more a thing of distant future. It is knocking on our door and over a billion people are facing the brunt.

Will We Run Out of Water on Earth?

We won’t run out of water on the planet because the hydrological cycle or water cycle is a continuous process. However, at the rate at which we are polluting various freshwater sources, we might run out of clean water sometime soon. After all, water pollution has become rampant across the world.

• Around 90% of untreated waste is dumped into rivers, lakes, and other freshwater sources in developing countries. Source: United Nations World Water Assessment Program (WWAP)
• Of the 40,000 million liters of sewage produced in Indian cities, only 20% is subjected to treatment; the rest 80% is dumped into water bodies. Source: Excreta Does Matter/Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)
• An estimated 1.8 billion people the world over are dependent on water contaminated with fecal matter. Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply
• Around 1,800 children under the age of five die every day as a result of diarrheal diseases stemming from water and sanitation issues. Source UNICEF

Our dependence on water clubbed with our carelessness means it will take a combined effort from all of us if we are to save water. There do exist some simple ways to save water. Say, for instance, you simply turn the tap off while you are brushing your teeth, you’ll be able to save a significant quantity of water at an individual level. Imagine the impact if all of us decide to do the same.

Using Water Judiciously: Success Stories

When we talk about water conservation success stories, one that stands out is that of Hiware Bazar, a village in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. Until 1990s, the village was in a very bad condition; courtesy, less than 400 mm rainfall per annum and rampant destruction of the green cover. In fact, the situation was so dire that many villagers migrated to other parts of Maharashtra in the pursuit of a better life.

In 1993, the villagers set on the course of ecological regeneration and started working on the causes of water scarcity in the village. As a part of this, degraded forests were regenerated and contour trenches were built along the hills, which helped restore the water table. Thanks to these efforts, the village is lush green today, and agriculture has become a major source of income for the people.

Even at The Akshaya Patra Foundation, we make it a point to use water judiciously. At the same time, efforts are made to introduce new ideas that can reduce the use of water. Akshaya Patra’s Hubballi kitchen, for instance, came up with the idea of cooking rice with starch instead of draining it out, as a part of Kaizen initiative. The implementation of this idea helps in saving 110 liters of water per batch of rice. A hundred batches of rice are cooked every day, so 11,000 liters of water is saved on a daily basis. If we say there are 220 school days, then the quantity of water saved in a year will be a whopping 24,20,000 liters.

Never has the need to find water scarcity solutions been as urgent as it is today, mainly because for the second year in a row in 2015, the monsoon was poor (775 mm in 2014 and 760.6 mm in 2015.) In fact, 2015 monsoon was the worst in the last six years. The resulting deficit in dam water in different parts of the country has already started affecting electricity production. Things expected to worsen with time as our annual consumption of water is expected to double by 2050.

It would be naïve to think the problem of water scarcity only plagues Asian and African countries. Even parts of western United States and eastern Australia are battling physical water scarcity. In 1995, the then VP of the World Bank, Ismail Serageldin had said, “If the wars of this century were fought over oil, the wars of the next century will be fought over water”. If you go to think of it, he may very well be right!

Check out how Bangalore is facing scarcity of water: blog.akshayapatra.org/world-water-day-2016-every-drop-counts/

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How Donation for Tax Benefit Works

It’s the time of the year when everyone is trying their best to figure out how to avail tax benefits or as a layman would put it, how to save tax. People opt for one of the several tax saving options, like claiming interest and principal components of their home loan, life insurance premiums, medical expenses, etc. What most people don’t realize is that one of the simplest options is to donate to charities, for it doesn’t just entitle you to 50% tax deduction, but also helps you do your bit for a cause.

Donate and Save Tax

In accordance to the Income Tax ACT, charitable institutions are eligible for income tax exemption under Section 11. Similarly, donors are entitled to tax benefits under Section 35AC, Section 80G, Section 80GGA, etc.

35AC / 80GGA: If your source of income is business or profession and you are donating to institution approved by the National Committee (Finance Ministry) for carrying out any eligible project or scheme, then you are entitled claim 100 % deduction of your donation amount under Section 35AC.  The assesses with source of income other than Business can claim deduction for this contribution under section 80 GGA. The Mid Day Meal program run by Akshaya Patra is approved as “Eligible project “for section 80g deduction, thereby enabling donors to claim 50% tax deduction for the donation amount.

80G: Under Section 80G, 50% tax deduction can be claimed depending on which purpose and the agency you are helping. If you are donating to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund and other funds specifically listed in the IT Act, you are entitled for 50% tax benefit.

The donation to NGOs who are  Registered with Income Tax Dept as eligible to raise donations with section 80G benefit, are eligible for 50% deduction for tax purposes.

Charitable institutions use these provisions in the Income Tax Act to encourage donors.

Which Institutions Are Eligible?

One has to be careful as tax benefits can only be claimed on donation to certain institutions/NGOs. It’s the prerogative of the Central Government to approve the specific program of charitable institutions for benefit under section 80G. The Akshaya Patra Foundation’s flag ship program of Mid-day meal is approved by Finance Ministry as eligible project under section 80G. Any donation of Rs. 500 or above to the Foundation’s Mid-day Meal Programme is entitled to 50% tax exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act.

How Do Tax Deductible Donations Work?

Let's say your taxable income for the said financial year is Rs. 2,00,000 and you make a donation of Rs. 5,000 to a charitable program approved under section 35AC,  then your net taxable income will come down to 1,95,000 and your tax will be calculated on this amount. The institution you have helped will issue a certificate to you for your contribution, which you can then use to claim exemption from taxable income. Simply put, the exemption works by reducing the donated amount from your taxable salary. 

In the end, considering that not-for-profit organisations are playing a significant role in bringing about social and economic change in the country, it's important that they get support from all quarters. This is where you come into the picture. You can come forward and contribute. Your support will help us reach out to more beneficiaries and bring about a much-needed change in the society.

Facts That Will Change the Way You Approach Food Wastage in India

“Throwing away food is like stealing from the table of those who are poor and hungry,” – Pope Francis on food wastage

Back in 1996, a report released by the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) showed that enough food was being produced to meet the requirements of the entire population of the world, and yet, here we are, 20 years on, and 194.6 million people in India alone go hungry every day. So, supposing we are indeed producing more food than ever, a question that begs to be asked is: why are we not able to provide food to everyone today?

While we are definitely producing more food per person than what we were twenty years ago, one needs to understand that there are other factors that come into play, eventually resulting in scarcity of food for a sizeable population. These include uneven distribution of resources like land and water, poverty, waste of food, etc. In fact, food wastage is one of the most serious problems the world over today.

Hard Numbers

According to the facts put forth by FAO, one-third of the food produced in the world is wasted; that’s 1.3 billion tons of food being squandered each year, translating into losses of well over USD 750 billion. India is one of the major culprits when it comes to food wastage, as up to 40% of the food produced in the country goes waste, resulting in losses of over USD 8.3 billion. In a country plagued by food insecurity, where more than 190 million people go hungry every day, such wastage of food is nothing short of tragedy.

How Food Wastage Occurs?

Green revolution may have worked well in solving India’s food scarcity woes to a great extent, but at the same time, it has thrown up a new problem: the problem of plenty. That certain sections of the society have not been able to benefit from this, is another tragedy. Courtesy this problem of plenty, food wastage in India can be predominantly traced to issues like inappropriate supply chain management and lack of storage facility. About 40% fruits and vegetables and 20% food grains do not reach the consumers because of these issues. Besides that, tons of prepared food is wasted by hotels, during weddings and other social gatherings, and even in households.

Remember the amount of food that you left in your plate when you went to a restaurant the last time? It may have seemed harmless—leaving behind a ‘little’ food after you were full, but imagine the magnified impact of your habit over the years.

It’s important to understand that food wastage translates into issues for allied sectors as well. In India, for instance, wastage of rice also results in wastage of water used to grow paddy and electricity used to bring water to the field. Additionally, it even results in waste of manpower.

How to Reduce Wastage?

The need of the hour is to formulate laws to avoid wastage of food. The French Parliament, for instance, recently passed a bill which prohibits supermarkets from throwing away unused food. Instead, they will now have to get into an agreement with concerned organisations to redistribute this unused food.

While the onus is on the government to come up with such laws, there are many things that we can do at the individual level to reduce wastage of food. If all of us try and plan our meals properly, only buy those things that we require—especially perishable items, don’t prepare excess food which then has to be thrown out, start with small servings, and make it a habit to finish the food in our plate, it will definitely help in addressing the issue of food crisis in India.

India may have climbed up to 55^th position in the 2015 Global Hunger Index (GHI), but we have a long way to go. If we are to achieve Zero Hunger as a part of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or successfully implement a food safety programme, issues like food wastage will have to be addressed at the earliest.

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The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a NGO which serves mid-day meals to school children so that no child misses the opportunity to attend school due to hunger.