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The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) got Rs 163.54 crore, or nearly 94 per cent of corporate donations received by four political parties in Gujarat in the five years from FY 2016 to FY 2021, a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) said. Total corporate donations declared by political parties from Gujarat between fiscal 2016-17 to 2020-21 stood at Rs 174.06 crore from 1,571 donors, out of which the BJP received Rs 163.54 crore from 1,519 donors, said the report released on Sunday. The four political parties are the BJP, Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, and Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), the report informed. Congress stood a distant second getting Rs 10.46 crore from 47 donors, stated the report. "Of the total corporate donations (Rs 4014.58 crore) received by political parties in the five-year period, 4.34 per cent or Rs 174.06 crore worth of corporate donations came from Gujarat. This is based on the data analysed from the contribution reports submitted by the political
The famous Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh has collected a record Rs 81 crore as donations from devotees and other transactions between September 1, 2021 and September 15 this year, an official said on Monday. This is an all-time high and comprises donations, sale of ladoos, gold, silver as well as rentals, Mahakaleshwar Temple administrator Ganesh Dhakad said. "Earnings during the same period in 2016-17 was Rs 28 crore, while it was Rs 37 crore in 2017-18 and Rs 40 crore in 2020-21. Devotee numbers are increasing due to good amenities provided by the temple management, speedy darshan system etc," he said. Mahakaleshwar Temple is one of the 12 'jyotirlings' in the country.
Government think tank Niti Aayog has suggested 100 per cent income tax exemption for donations and provision of working capital loans with lower interest rates for not-for-profit hospitals to strengthen healthcare services in India. In a report titled 'Not-for-Profit Hospital Model in India', the Aayog also pitched for involving high performing hospitals in public private partnership (PPP) models for managing primary health care (PHCs), operations of government facilities and PSU hospitals. "Income-tax exemption could be increased from the current 50 per cent exemption to 100 per cent exemption for philanthropy toward the identified not-for-profit hospitals. This could be a catalyst in channelizing the much-needed funds to deserving hospitals." it said. According to the report, the government can consider the provision of working capital loans with lower interest rates, which would be more financially viable for not-for-profit hospitals and would assist in adequate cash flows durin