3 RECENTLY LAUNCHED GOVERNMENT USEFUL APPS

       FROM CHECKING TAX PERCENTAGE ON VARIOUS ITEMS TO INFORMING PEOPLE ABOUT THE RIGHT GST RATE, A NUMBER OF APPS LAUNCHED BY THE GOVERNMENT CAN PROVE TO BE EXTREMELY USEFUL. ALSO, BECAUSE THESE APPS ARE MADE BY THE GOVERNMENT, ONE DOESN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE CREDIBILITY. HERE WE LIST DOWN THREE SUCH APPS THAT HAVE BEEN LAUNCHED BY THE GOVERNMENT RECENTLY: 

• GST RATE FINDER APP

AS THE NAME SUGGESTS, THIS APP IS YOUR POCKET GUIDE TO KNOW WHAT PERCENTAGE OF GOODS AND SERVICES TAX IS LEVIED ON A PARTICULAR ITEM. DEVELOPED BY THE CENTRAL BOARD OF EXCISE AND CUSTOM (CBEC), THE APP HAS FOUR TABS - QUICK SEARCH, TAX RATES: GOODS, TAX RATES: SERVICES, INFORMATION@CBEC, AND A DISCLAIMER. IT IS SIMPLE TO USE AND AT THE SAME TIME, VERY INFORMATIVE. CREDIBILITY IS ANOTHER PLUS OF THE APP, AS IT IS MADE BY THE GOVERNMENT. THE RATES CAN ALSO BE ACCESSED FROM THE CBEC GST WEBSITE. AT THE LAUNCH OF THE APP, THE FINANCE MINISTRY SAID THAT ONCE THE GST RATE FINDER APP IS DOWNLOADED, IT CAN BE USED IN OFFLINE MODE AS WELL.

• MAADHAAR APP

LAUNCHED BY UNIQUE IDENTIFICATION AUTHORITY OF INDIA (UIDAI), THE APP LETS USERS CARRY THEIR AADHAAR IDENTITY ON THEIR SMARTPHONES. ACCORDING TO UIDAI, MAADHAR APP ENABLES ITS USERS TO VIEW AND SHARE THEIR AADHAAR PROFILE VIA QR CODE. THEY CAN EVEN BLOCK THEIR BIOMETRIC DATA ANYTIME, ANYWHERE. SHORT FOR MOBILE AADHAAR, MAADHAAR APP ELIMINATES THE NEED TO CARRY AROUND THE PHYSICAL AADHAAR CARD AS THE PROOF OF IDENTIFICATION. IN OTHER WORDS, IT ALLOWS A PERSON TO DOWNLOAD THE AADHAAR CARD ON HIS/HER PHONE. THE APP ALSO ENABLES USERS TO SHARE THEIR EKYC INFORMATION WITH ANY SERVICE PROVIDER. INTERESTINGLY, IT CAN ALSO BE USED AS ONE OF THE PROOFS OF IDENTITY FOR RAIL TRAVEL. HOWEVER, ONE MUST REGISTER THEIR MOBILE NUMBER WITH AADHAAR TO USE THE APP.

• AAYKAR SETU APP

WITH THIS APP, USERS CAN PAY INCOME TAX, APPLY FOR PAN AND SEEK REDRESSES FOR VARIOUS GRIEVANCES. LAUNCHED BY THE CENTRAL BOARD OF DIRECT TAXES, THE AAYKAR SETU APP WILL LET YOU FILE INCOME TAX RETURN (ITR) ONLINE, LOCATE THE NEAREST TAX RETURN PREPARES (TRP), PROVIDES CALCULATORS AND OTHER TOOLS, WILL HELP YOU MANAGE YOUR PAN AND TDS, CALCULATE AND WILL LET YOU PAY TAX, IF ANY. ONE CAN ALSO LINK THEIR AADHAAR WITH PERMANENT ACCOUNT NUMBER (PAN) CARD USING THE AAYKAR SETU APP. THE ANDROID APP IS 3.75MB IN SIZE AND CAN BE DOWNLOADED FROM THE GOOGLE PLAY STORE. ONE CAN ALSO GIVE A MISSED CALL AT 7306525252 TO RECEIVE A DOWNLOAD LINK FOR THE APP.