Together we can fight COVID

 

The first wave, second wave, vaccinations and many more waves of the pandemic might come and go. A few important things we take away from it:

·         It has changed our economy and lives drastically

·         It has thrown limelight on the labour class and working forces

·         It has made us realise the importance of essential services

·         It has taught us that saving for an unforeseen circumstance is necessary

·         It has taught us that work can be done from anyplace with the help of technology

·         It has brought forth many individuals who support an NGO for COVID relief services

 

Our energy, emotions and attention have all been diverted to self-care and care of family and relatives. During these times of aloofness come a plethora of thoughts that we dwell upon. This is the time when we assess all the changes that have taken place and reflect upon ourselves.

 

·         How can I extend my kindness?

·         How can I help people in distress?

·         I have everything I need in life, others suffer. How can I uplift them?

 

All citizens came together to fight the pandemic by making food donation in India to people in need. While some supported by providing food assistance, others helped by providing monetary aid while others provided medical facilities.

Did you know?

During the 2^nd wave of the pandemic, India received help from 52 countries.

All across the globe, people have always helped their fellow beings in their own little way. Some of them even went a step ahead by cooking food in their kitchens while others chose to stay at the safety of their home and make online donations.

 

Help in the fight against COVID

·         Protecting yourself and others

The most important thing to do is keep yourself safe by adhering to norms given by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare like masking up, maintaining social distance, avoiding travelling unnecessarily, etc. Follow quarantine protocols and follow safety guidelines to stop the spreading of the virus at home.

 

·         Donating money

Millions of people have lost their jobs due to the pandemic. Without any savings to support themselves and their families, they are suffering without any money and with bills piling up for payment. All that these people need is monetary help from generous donors who are fortunate not to be affected by the pandemic or the lockdown.

 

·         Donating food

People from low-income sections of society neither have money to buy provisions, food essentials or ration to help them sustain during the pandemic nor do they have the essentials to help them. Some of them do not even have a home to get shelter under.

 

Apart from directly helping by doing any of the three above statements, you can also support an NGO for COVID relief services. There are thousands of non-governmental organisations that support by providing food donation in India. You can support such organisations by donating money to them or by raising funds to help them in carrying out their operations.

 

Support with your food donation in India

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation that has been into serving food for school children coming from challenging socio-economic backgrounds for the last 21 years. It runs the world’s largest school lunch programme by providing mid-day meals in 19,039 Government and Government-aided schools.

The Foundation serves locally palatable meals that are hygienically prepared by adhering to safety norms from its 58 centralised kitchens and 2 decentralised kitchens. Apart from serving meals to children, Akshaya Patra also provides free cooked meals to people in need during the COVID pandemic with the help of its supporters, the Government of India and the District as well as State authorities. With its feeding initiatives, the organisation supports construction-site workers, labourers, homeless people, pregnant women, grave-diggers, auto-rickshaw drivers, ambulance drivers, nurses, patient caretakers, aged women, orphans etc. Support this NGO for COVID relief services to help them support more low-income individuals and families.

 

Akshaya Patra serves school meals every day to 1.8 million children of 14 states and 2 union territories of India

 

When individuals and NGOs join hands, it is easy to provide relief to people in need. You never know which family can survive with your contribution. Provide cooked meals or ration, hygiene products, education supplies and other essentials to support marginalised families.

What Republic day means to children

 

India celebrates its 73^rd Independence Day on 26^th January 2022 like every other day amid the crisis. On this day, the Indian Constitution came into existence in 1950. The Constitution of India is a huge document that lays down the powers, duties, fundamental rights, procedures and directive principles of The Government of India and its citizens.

 Celebrations of Republic Day in India

·         The Republic Day parade is the star of the show

·         The President of the country hoists the flag, presents bravery awards to citizens of India

·         The Prime Minister of India pays homage to all the soldiers who have lost their lives in the wars

·         The three divisions of the Indian Armed Forces – Air Force, Navy and Indian Army, lead the parade and is followed by a rally of marching soldiers, aircraft shows, military bands, etc. 

Communities, apartments, associations, schools, etc. hoist flags in their premises to remember and honour the day that the Constitution was adopted.

 Republic Day in schools of India

RepublicDay is a day when children of Government and Government-aided schools get something more than midday meals. It is a special day for young children which is celebrated with great zeal and enthusiasm. Children enact the roles of being freedom fighters, participate in debates favouring these brave souls and sing in their praise.  

 

Though children might be hesitant to come to schools on a national holiday, most of them come for something special. Apart from midday meals, children also wait for sweets to be distributed as sweets and snacks are a luxury for these children who hardly get to eat one square meal a day. In some places, it is the day where an NGO in India might take care of the food and snacks of one or two schools, while others make children aware of their history and freedom fighters.

Children who come to school and enjoy it everyday

For some children, coming to school is an absolute necessity. School is the only place that helps them think, learn and achieve as the situations in their house does not permit them to exceed. Coming to school guarantees that they are not becoming victims of child labour and that they become educated enough to become self-dependent. Midday meals provided at schools ensure that they come back to school every single day and Republic Day is a special occasion for these children.

           Sachin wants to be a Pilot

Growing from being a malnourished child who did not have any energy and zeal to do anything in life to becoming a sharp child who takes part in all curricular activities, 9-year-old Sachin wants to become a Pilot and make lots of money for his parents. He gives all the credit for his betterment to his teachers, friends and one specific NGO in India that served school meals every day.

 

Sujita wants to become a doctor

Having no parents to raise her does not make her feel vulnerable; Sujita was raised by her grandfathers. Though they can’t give everything, they enrolled her to a school that could give wings to her dreams. All her food needs are taken care of by her school in Silvassa. She loves coming to school as it keeps her focused to learn and work towards achieving her dreams of becoming a doctor.

 

Prajesh wants to be a Prime Minister

Prajesh is a young boy who is a huge fan of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Very focused on achieving his dreams, he wants to do a lot for the nation. He does not miss even one day of school as he does not want to be diverted in his studies. Food and education was something very important to him after moving from Bareilly to Daman and he was very happy. 

A few common things in these children – they have dreams and eat school meals provided by one NGO in India – The Akshaya Patra Foundation.

To read more such stories of children, click here.

 Akshaya Patra is an NGO that serves school meals to children coming from challenging socio-economic backgrounds. It is renowned for running the world’s largest NGO run school lunch programme, serving freshly cooked nutritious mid-day meals to over 1.8 million children in 19,039 schools of 14 states & 1 union territory of India. For the last 21 years, it has been serving nutritious and locally palatable meals to school children studying in Government and Government-aided schools.

 There are many such students who need the support of midday meals to come to schools everyday. Let’s support their food and education with this NGO in India that implements the midday meal scheme in India.

 John F Kennedy’s historic words were, “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” This Republic Day, let’s support the dreams of young children who dream big in life. Donate online to Akshaya Patra to reach out to more children who need support.

Deductions qualifying for tax exemption

 

Salaried employees are major contributors to the bucket of taxpayers in a country. Income tax is paid as a part or percentage of the annual income that an individual earns. It is every citizen’s duty to pay his income tax for all the rights he earns in the country while he earns as a salaried employee or as an entrepreneur.

According to the Government of India’s e-Filing portal of the Income Tax  Department, there were 8.83-crore taxpayers till 7^th September 2021.

 

The money collected by the tax department is used to provide various facilities for the benefit of the citizens. How do you think the Government of India is able to provide facilities free of cost? For example, public utility services like metro construction, road construction, free health care facilities for the underprivileged, all come from the money that is paid when you pay taxes.

 

The Government has made various provisions to help its citizens gain tax exemption in India.

 

Paying tax is inevitable, however making smart investments that will help you save as well, is a smart choice people can opt for.

 

Tax exemption in India

Depending on the nature of the income, there are various categories for tax exemption in India. The most common of these are: House Rental Allowance (HRA), Education loan, car loan, Leave Travel Allowance (LTA), contribution towards Employee’s Provident Fund (EPF) Scheme, etc.

 

House Rent Allowance

If you are a salaried employee who lives in a rented house, you stand a chance to get the benefit of HRA. This amount could either be totally or partially exempted from income tax. However, if you are not living in a rented property but claim HRA, this entire amount will be taxable.

 

Leave Travel Allowance

If you are a salaried employee and your employer has the provision of LTA, you can claim for the exemption of your travel within India under Section 10(5) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. However, tax exemption does not include food expenses, shopping and stay, but, only for travel of the individual, their family including children.

 

Deductions under section 80C, 80CC and 80CCD (1)

This is by far, the most extensively used option to save tax. To encourage individuals to save and invest in retirements plans, the Indian Government has made provisions for individuals under these sections. These include Life Insurance premium, Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS), Employee Provident Fund (EPF), Contribution to PPF Account, National Pension Scheme, National Saving Certificate (NSC), etc.

 

NGO donations under section 80G

An individual can get involved in philanthropic donations for tax write off. Charitable organisations give a platform for an individual to engage in humanitarian services as well as to appreciate the noble work by making you eligible for tax exemption too. The deductions under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act of 1961 towards charitable organisations are either eligible for 50% or 100% tax exemption depending on the NGO being supported.

 

When you contribute by making donations for tax write off, you are not only saving on your taxable income, but you also add goodness in your life for helping people in need. Thousands of not-for-profit organisations receive donations for tax write off, but the help that they provide to the organisation to work towards its cause is often gone unnoticed.

 

Benefits of making NGO donations

·         Gives inner satisfaction of helping people

·         Giving back to society makes an impact

·         Connects with like-minded people

·         Saves tax on your contribution

·         Draws attention to the cause

·         Helps people in need with what they require

 

Every little support to people in need gives them relief from their suffering. The Akshaya Patra Foundation is an NGO in India that provides free and unlimited food for education of children coming from challenging socio-economic backgrounds. It has the distinction of being the world's largest NGO run school lunch programme spread across 60 locations in 14 states and 2 union territories of India.

Akshaya Patra provides nutritious and locally palatable meals to 1.8 million children coming from low-income sections of society.

AkshayaPatra is an NGO known for 21 years of relentless service, financial transparency, and credibility. All your donations above INR 500 made towards this NGO, are eligible for 50% tax exemption under section 80G of the Income Tax Act. You will also get a tax exemption certificate within seven working days with your name and contribution amount. So the next time you plan on making tax saving investment, think of the benefits of donating to NGOs.

Replenishing hope with Family happiness kits

 

Try taking a walk outside your house; how many lost faces do you see? So many faces speak of different problems at varying levels. Their problems might be plenty and grave but there is one thing common on their faces – the hope of a better time ahead.

When you feed the hungry people, have you seen the smile on their faces?

It is very genuine.

It is almost like they thank you for giving them food when they needed it the most.

During times like the COVID pandemic, many people are struggling with saving money in case another lockdown is enforced to curb the spread of the virus. With the little money they have, they are not able to feed the hungry stomachs of their families and children.

In the 2021 Global Hunger Index, India ranks 101^st out of the 116 countries.

This year, it slipped from its rank of 94 last year, in 2020. 

What does this mean?

It means that the level of hunger in India is yet termed as ‘serious.’ According to FAO, 189.2 million people of India are undernourished. This also means that an alarming 14% of the population is undernourished.

 On an everyday basis, people have faced deprivation of basic nutritional needs and the pandemic has only worsened the lives of vulnerable people’s situation further.

 To help these marginalised sections of society with essentials, groceries and hygiene items during the consecutive waves of the pandemic, the government of India has partnered with various non-profit organisations to provide essential survival kits, family happiness kits and other food and hygiene kits.

 Good nutrition is essential for health, especially during times when the body’s immune system needs to fight various diseases and viruses. Though maintaining a healthy diet could turn out expensive for most of us trying to strike a balance between needs and wants, it is not too difficult to eat a diet that supports good health. Neither is it difficult to support the health of others.

 Support families with your help

Why should you help people who suffer? The answer is pretty straightforward – because we as human beings cannot turn a blind eye towards their sufferings. And for the development of a nation, it is important that we all move towards collective empowerment without which an upward growth trajectory is difficult to achieve.

 The one reason why we should feed the hungry people is so that they can also survive along with their families and become capable enough to help others in need too. Thousands of NGOs have joined hands with the Government of India to serve these people in need; one such organisation is The Akshaya PatraFoundation.

Akshaya Patra’s primary cause is to feed school children by serving them mid-day meals. However, the Foundation also feeds people in need when the situation calls for help.

 Apart from serving locally palatable meals to 1.8 million children every day, Akshaya Patra has served meals to disaster struck victims during floods, earthquakes and the pandemic. Since the onset of the pandemic, this NGO in India has served a cumulative of 20.6-crore (206 million) meals by serving cooked and packaged meals and distributing happiness kits, family happiness kits, raksha kits and shakti kits to mid-day meal beneficiaries, their families, marginalised people and expectant mothers respectively.

 Gift people food and essentials with Akshaya Patra

Support people in need with your online donations to Akshaya Patra. You can provide food, ration, essentials, hygiene products and educational materials to people in need during this pandemic.

What is inside the Family Happiness Kit?

 

Your support to provide them with this kit helps them to be on a full stomach by cooking 120 meals for a family of four. So the next time you see people struggling for food, you know you can help them with Akshaya Patra. This Foundation feeds people who also live in inaccessible areas without food and shelter. Your contribution can bring hopes of better days ahead with healthy and nutritious meals.

Our Kitchens - Our Pride

 

The Akshaya Patra Foundation runs the world’s largest NGO run school meal programme spread across 13 states and 1 union territory of India. To help more children benefit with the mid-day meal programme, the organisation has constantly been trying to spread across different locations. 2 more kitchens have been added – namely Gadarpur and Puducherry kitchens.

Food pyramid for middle childhood

 A food pyramid guide helps improve the diet of children aged 2-6 years. Certain quantities of food are recommended for different types of food across age groups of children. Following a set amount of carbohydrates, dairy products, proteins, fat, etc. can help improve children’s health. The Akshaya Patra Foundation is an NGO providing midday meals to children that helps in their overall development – physical and cognitive. Since 2000, wholesome and locally palatable meals are provided to nourish children from low-income sections and it feeds 1.8 million children every day.

How can Section 80G benefit you?

 

Charitable organisations give a platform for you to engage in humanitarian services as well as appreciates your noble work by making you eligible for tax exemption too.

Non-profit and charitable organisations work at the ground level to serve underprivileged communities in a sustainable way. This makes the service of NPOs, NGOs, and charitable organisations impactful and tangible, paving way for lasting change. The work of charitable organisations includes socio-environmental issues such as empowerment, equality, healthcare, education, poverty, hunger, climate change, water conservation, animal welfare, etc. These organisations greatly depend on the support of donors and sponsors for monetary aid to carry out their operations and expand their reach. To encourage individuals and for-profit organisations to support the efforts of NGOs, the government has made the provision of tax exemption donation.

No matter which country you are a citizen of, you have to pay tax to the government if you are salaried or self-employed individual or run a business. The tax collected by the government is utilised for healthcare, public utility services, management of defence forces, and various welfare projects for the citizens. As per the tax policies in India, you can receive exemption from paying taxes based on certain investment criterions such as housing loan, life insurance, medical insurance, etc. In addition, upon donating to charitable organisations, you can also become eligible to receive tax exemption as per the Section 80G of the Income Tax Act of India. While this provision clearly reinstates the importance of ‘giving back to the society’ and supports philanthropic contributions, it is important that as a donor you must ensure that the NGO you are donating to is a registered organisation and is eligible to provide you tax exemption. You must also note that depending on the cause and work of the charitable organisations, you may either receive 100% exemption or 50% exemption on your donated amount.

When you donate, it helps the beneficiary NGO in its operations and makes a positive impact in the lives of the beneficiaries of the NGO or on the mission of the NGO. 

But did you know that Section 80G has multiple benefits for you too!

·      First, it makes you eligible to receive tax exemption.
·      Second, it upholds the values of compassion and generosity,
·      Third, it facilitates the action of ‘giving back to the society’. 
·      Fourth, it makes you a part of the solution.
·      Fifth, as you participate in the upliftment and welfare initiatives, it makes you the ‘agent of change’.

As is said, ‘every drop makes the ocean’, similarly, every bit of your support adds to the larger good of the society along with qualifying your contribution for tax exemption donation. Among many NGOs, The Akshaya Patra Foundation is one charity that is known for its 21 years of relentless service, financial transparency, and credibility. This is one of the most reputed mid-day meal NGOs in India nourishing 18,00,907 children studying in 19,039 government and government-aided schools across 58 locations in 13 States and 1 Union Territory.

Your contribution to this non-profit organisation makes the much-needed mid-day meals available to children on each school day. This greatly contributes to their nutrition requirement, health, and education. The meals promote better concentration, improves attendance and reduces drop-out rate. Regular schooling enables children to step towards their aspirations with added enthusiasm, determination, and confidence. As Akshaya Patra is a registered charity, your contribution of ₹500 and above qualifies for tax exemption donation too.

In conclusion, when you spare a moment to donate to NGO, you make a huge difference in the society. So, nurture your philanthropic self and get rewarded for your good deed in the form of tax exemption!