By Tensing Rodrigues
I would like to know whether the below mentioned payments are subject to any type of tax: - (a) Scholarships for studies received by children (b) Monetary benefits from government schemes / charitable organisations, like old-age pension, calamity relief, compensation at the time of accidents, law and order problems etc. (c) Compensation received under medical, general, vehicle insurance etc. — V K Das

To the best of my information, no; all these payments are not considered as income, and hence are not liable to Income Tax.
Section 2(24) of Income Tax Act, 1961 defines “income” to include profits and gains, dividend, the value of any perquisite or profit in lieu of salary, any special allowance or benefit, any capital gains, any winnings from lotteries, crossword puzzles, races and other games of any sort or from gambling or betting of any form, any sum received by the assessee from his employees as contributions to any provident fund or superannuation fund or any fund set up under the provisions of the Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948 and any sum received under a Keyman insurance policy including the sum allocated by way of bonus on such policy.
From above para, it appears that the payments mentioned by you do not fit in the definition of income. However, I am liable for correction.
I am a regular investor in the markets, with a long-term perspective. I either invest directly or through the mutual fund route. I am of the opinion that one cannot make money purely by trading. Investment in shares has to be with a long-term view. Recently I was invited to a seminar of a company called T3B system (Track The Trend Breakthrough System) from Singapore, at the Taj Vivanta, Panaji. This is a platform based on technical trends, gives you a buy/sell indication of any scrip on BSE/NSE. This was a free seminar/demo for 3 hours. Subsequently, if one is convinced, you have to pay an amount of Rs 25,000 for the full training workshop for 2 days after which you get access to the website and can start trading! They claim that it is efficient to the extent of 70 per cent (certainly easy money by my standards!). It is basically a web-based tool to facilitate trading of shares based on 10 year chart records. I just want to know if you have heard of this company and whether these companies who market such products are true and genuine or just fly by night operators!
— Hanif Laljee.
I did see some advertisements appearing in local newspapers that promised a all-profit-no loss investment in stock market; I do not know if it was the same company as you are speaking about.
I do not know whether this particular company is genuine or fake; it could be genuine. But what is definitely fake is the claim of 70 per cent accuracy. That is just not possible in the short-term trading. Short-term trading is a zero sum game – the total amount gained is always equal to the total amount lost; only the gainers and losers could be different. Assuming that you will be a winner 70 per cent of the time is rather ridiculous. For that to happen you should be able to predict the market; I doubt anybody can! If I could, I would beg, borrow or steal and invest in the stock market rather than go around selling my unusual wisdom!
Technical analysis is useful; I do not deny that; but not for stock picking. Once you have identified stocks based on fundamental analysis for long-term investment, technical analysis can help you choose the right time to buy or sell them.