There is need for garnering public opinion to usher in bold tax reforms, said Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

He was addressing members of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry here today.

The Minister highlighted the achievements of Modi@2 and said, “The GST Bill will be passed in the monsoon session and rolled out next year.”

Ease of doing business On the ease of doing business, Javadekar chose to tweak it to “ease of doing responsible business”, with due emphasis on compliance. “While making compliance easier, we will make violation costlier. For violating norms, I plan to bring a New Civil Penalties Bill,” he said underlining the penalty that could be slapped for violation, ranging from ₹10,000 to ₹10 crore depending on the gravity of the breach.

Pollution level Referring to a recent report which said that the pollution levels in India “is so high that it could shorten one’s lifespan by a couple of years”, Javadekar said the Central Pollution Control Board will be issuing a detailed response to the accusation.

He said the report has been extrapolated and not based on exact data or ground study.

“Yes, there is pollution, including in many cities in the Europe and the US as well. Targeting India in this fashion is incorrect,” Javadekar said.

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