𝐀 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐬

𝐀 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐬

My Grandpa’s table always had many lottery tickets.

He was not a seller, but a sincere and committed buyer of lottery tickets for decades in the 1970s and 80s. Like the present-day share market trader / investor who is glued to the screen to check the share prices, he used to look at the newspapers searching a few ‘matching numbers’ holding the lottery tickets in the other hand. That was part of his routine.

Kerala State lottery which started with a price of One Rupee and first prize of Rs 50000 in the year 1967 has become a major revenue earner for the state. Kerala is the first State to launch a government-run lottery in India. In the last 59 years, Kerala lottery has created many millionaires from the ‘have-nots’ of the population.

In the past, there were incidents of grabbing the winning lottery tickets by chasing the poor men who won them by the ‘rich’ men. Those who had stacked huge ‘unaccounted money’ buy those winning tickets paying huge premium as per the advice of some ingenious tax practitioners. That was a rudimentary method of money laundering engaged by a few big tax evaders in India. A few of them who were super ‘lucky’ year after year were caught by the Incomer Tax Department as they found them to be reporting winning bumper prizes on a regular basis!

The turnover from lottery in the FY 2025-226 was around Rs 14000 Cr and the net profit for the government is estimated to be around 1100 Cr. Apart from this, Central Government earns around 31.2% of the prize money as Income Tax and Cess.

Kerala Lottery gives direct and indirect employment to over 2.5 lakh persons. 1% of the total turnover is kept as a welfare fund for the benefit of lottery agents and sellers. Most of the retail sellers who sell the tickets in the streets and bus stops are financially poor and some of them are differently abled. When we buy ticket from a lottery seller standing under the hot sun near traffic signals or bus stops, we are in fact financially supporting a family. For a lottery ticket priced at Rs 50, the last mile seller would get around Rs 6.

The decision to buy a lottery ticket stem from the aspiration to become rich. There are many who buy the lottery tickets regularly spending their wages and have been branded as ‘lottery addicts’. There is a view shared by some that the lottery should be banned stating that it is gambling. Most of the buyers of lottery are from the economically weaker sections of the society. When they do not have a livelihood to lead an aspirational life for themselves and their families and a way to clear their debts, they tend to try their luck.

The habit of buying lottery tickets in its present form is a less harmful addiction when compared to the habit of drinking and smoking. If governments happily earn money from the sale of alcohol and cigarettes, there is nothing wrong in earning money through lotteries. If lottery buying is gambling, the stock market trading indulged by lakhs of people (intra day or speculative trading within days) is also a type of gambling. However, lottery business run by the State in an organized, systematic and restrictive manner cannot be equated with harmful online gaming, gambling and betting which are illegal and exploitative.

While the above view is true for a State-run lottery, there is a menace of illegal lottery sales in many parts of the country. People have got cheated through such illegal lottery operations which are nothing but organized scamming. Do not try your luck with fraudsters.

"You gotta try your luck at least once a day, because you could be going around lucky all day and not even know it." — Jimmy Dean

(Please consider buying a ticket from one of these individual sellers when you take a drive in Kerala. It would help him, the government and many...)

𝓟𝓱𝓸𝓽𝓸: Taken near Perumbavoor, Kochi, Kerala. Met this wonderful seller of lottery ticket. He proved to himself that he is truly differently abled and assured the family the earnings by being productive, with dignity and satisfaction. He feels that he is working for the State and its people. (Proceeds of the Karunya lottery by the Govt of Kerala is exclusively for the health care of the less privileged.) It was a pleasure to have a brief interaction with him.

© Sibichen K Mathew

#KeralaLottery #SibichenKMathew

The Date with Taxman fast approaching in India!

 

This is IT Return filing season and you may have many doubts on what income to be shown, what is exempt, what deduction can be claimed, when to file, how to file, and what happens after that.

There are many websites that guide the taxpayers. Chat GPT, Gemini and other AI chatbots can also clarify certain queries.

To get replies and guidance that are authentic and updated, you may try to ask your questions to the AI Chatpot of the Income Tax Department itself!

You may check www.incometaxindia.gov.in and you will find a Chatbot "ᴋᴀʀ ꜱᴀᴀᴛʜɪ" on the right side bottom of the home page. It will answer your queries. In case you need further details, then only you need to refer to Income Tax Act, Income Tax Rules or any other official documents. You do not have to put your login id or password to get the answers in the Chatpot. (This is different from the tax filing website which is www.incometax.gov.in ).

The above website contains many useful information. If you are worried about the New Income Tax Act (2025) and how is it different from the earlier Income Tax Act, 1961, there are FAQs which would answer most of your queries in the website.

The above website contains all circulars issued by the Income Tax Department, Ready Reckoner and many other resources.

From this website, there are links to Income Tax Return filing website (www.incometax.gov.in), TAN/ TDS website (https://traces.tdscpc.gov.in), TDS statement filing website (https://onlineservices.tin.egov.proteantech.in) etc.

While the above website www.incometaxindia.gov.in contain all resources to get guidance, the website www.incometax.gov.in is the website to file returns, make tax payments through banks, file rectification application, check on the communications from the department regarding demand, refund etc. (For the second website mentioned here, you need to login with your username and password after registering to avail services and get details specific to the taxpayer logged in. For the first website, no login mandatory. However, it will not respond to queries that are specific to a taxpayer. )

Please check on ᴋᴀʀ ꜱᴀᴀᴛʜɪ chatpot in the website www.incometaxindia.gov.in to get general guidance.

(The chatpot will improve further in due course, as more people use it.)

#sibichenkmathew

Cauliflower and Lockdown Inspiration

#Lockdowninspiration for men.

I bought a big Cauliflower the other day with the desire to have my favorite Aloo Gobi sabzi (dry). As we do not have the luxury of the cook (who is an expert in the preparation of Aloo Gobi) these days, I was absolutely at the mercy of my wife for cooking the dish. Everyday since the majestic vegetable was bought, I opened the refrigerator and found it continuing its whimper for salvation. My wife had other priorities for cooking!

Yesterday, I announced that I am going to make the sabzi for lunch. I googled the recipe of ‘Aloo Sabzi’ and picked up at random one out of hundreds of recipes. My only criteria for the selection was that the recipe should be from a man (Sorry if I sound a bit male chauvinistic). I presumed that men would be extremely sympathetic towards men and they would narrate every little task and explain things like a patient tuition teacher who tutors a student who failed Grade X thrice.

(Like explaining complex words like ‘simmer’/‘stir’/‘saute’ and help in distinguishing certain labels for which I do not have any clarity: eg. a. Tablespoon/ Teaspoon/ Serving spoon, b. Slice/Dice/Chop/Mince/Shred c. Deep fry/Pan fry. d. Grate/Grind etc.)

I followed the steps given in the recipe religiously. Thanks to the lock down, I was not in a hurry for anything (Nothing worth left in Amazon Video and Netflix; Corona analysis in TV makes me further depressed (Everyone is an expert); Fed up of seeing WhatsApp which is full of tiktok videos from everyone (from the priest to the maid).

There was no multi tasking. I gave my complete/undivided attention (except when my wife entered to snoop or to smell a danger). Though the recipe said the total time as 45 minutes, I took double the time. But the result was amazing. And I used just one spoon of oil (don’t ask me which spoon) and I did not pour a single drop of water (‘Raw cauliflower is 92% water’). Perfect outcome for my first ‘completed kitchen project’ (I know I am praising myself too much). The above fact was substantiated by my wife and daughter as they liked Aloo Gobi (semi dry) sabzi (On merits and not out of sympathy – they clarified). We had it for lunch (with rice) and dinner (with garlic bread made by my wife).

I have been an advocate of creativity. I gained tremendous personal satisfaction every time I achieved something or created something. I felt the same when I did this.

The lessons I learnt:

a. I took more than 90 minutes for making a simple sabzi. But, how did my wife or my mother or the cook made over half a dozen items within couple of hours? Cooking is really a marvelous art!! It is real hard labour too! They are definitely successful multi-taskers!

b. How many times I had criticized the dish without realizing the efforts behind its creation? (I regret..I repent...)

c. How rich and healthy are Indian dishes – with so many spices, condiments and herbs go into the making of a single dish! I never realized this before!

d. Even if cooking was easy, the cleaning up and washing the utensils take double the time. Our kitchen managers need an applause every day, for every meal! And a standing ovation before and after every special occasion feast!!

e. Last lesson (to men): I am tempted to say this: “Don’t repeat this so often. Declaring ignorance would give you plenty of time – to sleep, to watch movies, to read and to do nothing.”.

BUT..I would tell instead: “Get inside the kitchen to cook, to clean and to crack jokes”.

Life is tough. Life is painful. Life brings us so much miseries. Each of us have our own share of happiness and sorrow. But, there is no other way…we have to face them…

A Cauli Flower or a cabbage crying in your refrigerator can help you to be humble creators of happiness all around, at least for sometime! Rush…to your kitchen my dear brothers!

© Sibichen K Mathew Image: alamy stock photo

A Good Friday Nightmare

It was Good Friday night last year. I was in deep sleep after participating in an outdoor ‘Stations of the Cross” procession and subsequently hogging the left over bread (Appam) of the Maundy Thursday Passover meal. Past midnight, In the early hours, did I get a precognitive dream? I am not sure.

Heard a loud sound of a trumpet. I opened my eyes and there stood an old man!
I asked. “Who are you?”
He said: “I am Father Abraham”
Definitely not my school principal.
The song I learnt during Sunday School summer camp reverberated in the ears:

“Father Abraham had many sons
Many sons had Father Abraham
I am one of them and so are you
So let's all praise the Lord.
Right arm, left arm, right foot, left foot,
Chin up, Chin down, turn around, sit down!”

I got up. ‘Are you the Yamaraj who came to take me?’.

‘No, but I can tell your past, present or future, if you wish.’, he said.
‘No point in telling about my past or my present. Tell me something about my future’. I said.
“Yes, your wish is granted”. He continued.
“I will tell you about your next Good Friday. Is that okay?”
“2020?”. I asked to make sure he follows the Gregorian calendar.
He said, “Yes. 2020”.
I said fine.

He started in a serious tone.

“On that day you will get up and brood as usual. Because, for many weeks you had not gone out of your home. You will continue to be in hiding for long. You will not know where you kept your watch for long time. You will not have shaved your face and you will not have combed your hair for long. You would not allow anyone to visit your house. If anyone rings the bell, you would run inside the bedroom and hide there. You would stop reading newspapers. You would have already stopped taking the daily packet of milk from the vendor.”

I became scared about my future after hearing him. What would happen to me?

He continued:

“You would keep the doors and windows of your house closed for weeks and months. You would be scared of the flies, the ants and even the air entering from outside to your house. One day you would come out to the balcony and start beating a steel plate with a spoon. Another night you will suddenly switch off all lights and lit a candle and stand in darkness!”

At this point I realized, I am going to be a lunatic by next year.

He did not stop predicting my misfortune.

“You will forget to take bath and brush your teeth. But you will stand near the wash basin and will wash your hands again and again and again. You will end up spending more time washing utensils and cleaning the floor again and again and again”

“OCD. Is it?” I asked Father Abraham.

He didn’t say anything. He continued:

“You will keep counting every grain stored in the cupboard and will consume even the last broken rice on your plate. You will frantically search all around the floor for that little chick pea that dropped from the grocery basket. You will never throw the first and last piece of bread in the packet. You will relish the thick black burnt toast.”

“Will I be in utter poverty? I lost my job?” I asked. He didn’t answer.

“You will spend more time in your bed. But you will be asked to work. You will work wearing a full sleeves shirt but without your pants and sit before a screen. You will be asked to hide your face and go for work, but you will refuse because you are frightened to be out of your house.”

I was in a shock. What would happen to me? Am I going to be mad, sick, poor, or a criminal in hiding? I don’t have a clue.

“Can I escape from this impending problem?” I asked.

“No”, He said.

I started weeping.

Then he said: “You are not alone. All human beings will be like you. All of them will undergo the same ordeal”.

I heaved a sigh of relief!

But I asked him: “Can you help us? Can you – the supernatural beings or messengers of God save us?”

He said: “No I can’t. Nor anyone from the place I come from can help you. ‘And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ “

I begged and cried again: “Can you send someone to teach us and guide us how to prevent the problems or how to sail through this impending calamity?”

“You have scientists, policy makers, doctors, researchers, priests, nuns, sages, gurus, thinkers, healers, magicians and prophets. They have machines, patents, weapons, robots, prayers, prescriptions, cures and short cuts. If they don’t do what they are supposed to do, even if someone who died and reached heaven can't come down and save all of you!!” He said.

I couldn’t say anything. He disappeared.

I went back to sleep. I forgot everything when I got up. I hurried to get ready, skipped the breakfast cooked for me, rushed out to work place, to achieve my target, to have fun and to have a little pleasure and then came back home tired and watched TV, browsed the net and slept. But I prayed. ‘Lord, don’t give me nightmares anymore!’.

(The nightmare is personal and fictional.)

© Sibichen K Mathew. Image: iconspng.

Mind Without Fear: The wisdom from a white collar convict

It can’t be defamatory or slanderous if one calls a person convicted for a white collar crime, a criminal. But, as the saying goes, every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.

As Rajat Gupta, former McKinsey & Co chief, who worked in the Board of Goldman Sachs and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Advisory Board and served as the advisor to the United Nations, the Rockefeller Foundation and the World Economic Forum, shares his wisdom in his book “Mind Without Fear” (Released on March 24, 2019), one can possibly get convinced that only a sinner can be a successful preacher.

Victim of prejudice?

Rajat Gupta is back this week in Indian School of Business (ISB) Hyderabad, which he co-founded and led for many years, to tell the budding business leaders about the goodwill he generated and ultimately lost, which resulted in his exile for almost a decade for ‘no fault of his’.  There could be several eyebrows raised on the message his audience comprising mostly the future business leaders would derive from his futile defense, having served the full term of conviction for the crime. Irrespective of what his words are – in his speech or in the book, there could be a certain inference that the same would be perceived as a message of decriminalizing a white collar offence. Based on his words of rationalization, would the young minds conclude that white collar crimes are products of circumstances rather than outcomes of criminal minds? Based on his narration of how unfair he was treated after the charge, would there be an apprehension that white collar crime trials are marred by primordial prejudices and therefore unfair?

Victim of circumstances?

Though Gupta’s book, as he admits, is neither aimed at defending himself nor an instrument to to redeem himself of the unpleasant past, its purpose is to demonstrate his innocence.  Gupta tells the readers that he was a victim of circumstances. Here, one would get reminded of the  famous “Fraud Triangle” theorist Donald Cressey who identified ‘rationalization’ as one of the key elements of fraud behavior as perceived by the fraudster. Gupta is grieved by the way someone whom he trusted cheated him and put his entire career and the long lived reputation into jeopardy.  He is also saddened not only by the trial which he thinks was prejudicial, but also how McKinsey with which he had long relationship with uncompromising commitment and hard work, reacted to his insider trading case.

Rajat Gupta, was charged by the prosecution of insider trading on Wall Street with hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam. After 4 years of investigation, as against the prosecution’s demand of 10 years of imprisonment, the Senior District Judge for the Southern District of New York imposed a sentence of 2 years. Court appreciated the past good work of Rajat Gupta and found it to be a mitigating sentencing factor. He was imprisoned in June 2014 and was staying in Federal Medical Centre Devens, a federal correctional facility in Massachusetts. Around 5 months before completing the prison term, he was allowed to spend the rest of the sentence at home after receiving credit for good behavior.

Redeeming the moral credits

When Rajat Gupta, who was already extremely financially affluent played a crucial role in aiding Rajarathinam, the motive may not be money. While conducting the trial, the Judge Rakkoff was puzzled why a successful businessman, a philanthropist  and a mentor for many senior leaders in the industry committed such an offence? Mr. Gupta had catalogued all his philanthropic activities to demonstrate that he was always a good person. He submitted character certificates from several famous persons including Bill Gates, Deepak Chopra and Kofi Annan. It is reported that he had filed letters from his own family members about his acts of kindness! As Todd Haugh, a scholar of white collar crimes, rightly observed, there was an attempt to apply the “metaphor-of-the-ledger neutralization” technique originally propounded by the criminologist Mark M. Lanier. The attempt was to project the good deeds as a mitigating factor.

Questions to the business schools

Image: poetsandquantsforexecs 

A few questions emerge from the above discussion for further pondering: When several good deeds overshadow one bad deed, can that be condoned? When a person demonstrates his inherent goodness and states that a momentary aberration was seen as a serious crime because of certain prejudices, is it amounts to decriminalization of an offence? Will the above position would influence the young business minds to trivialize the need for uncompromising adherence to the standards of corporate governance and business ethics? May be, the professors and mentors in the area of business management, are the right persons to answer the above questions and decide whether the experiences shared by people like Rajat Gupta are warning signs or justifications for white collar crimes. But, one can't write off Rajat Gupta - a person with exceptional managerial competence and leadership skills! His life and achievements are inspirational too!

--> ( © Sibichen K Mathew    Views are personal. www.sibichen.in) -->