The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has introduced a section on personal income tax in the Class 9 Social Science textbook “Understanding Society India and Beyond-Part 2” as a key move towards exposing children to financial literacy and the management of personal finances from a young age.
The section detailing personal taxes has been introduced along with lessons on budgeting, saving, investing and risk management.
The latest textbook teaches students how to calculate taxes based on the slab system according to the new tax regime. The children would also learn to gauge the tax liability with the help of the applicable rates.
The book was released on Tuesday, six months after the current academic session began. Part 1 was released in June.
The chapter titled “Managing Your Personal Finances” gives step-wise guidance on how to calculate total tax liabilities under the new tax regime, along with a lesson on how managing money is not only about earning more but knowing how to save, spend, invest, borrow responsibly, protect against risk, and pay taxes. This, as per the book, decides a person’s ability “to achieve financial stability while managing financial opportunities and challenges.”
It teaches the students how making sound financial decisions today helps in making a stable future, thus asserting the importance of learning finances at an early age, along with social responsibility to contribute towards the nation by paying taxes on time.
“India follows a slab system for calculating income tax as shown in table,” the book explains while giving a practical lesson on how to compute tax liabilities. It gives a list of income tax slabs followed under the new tax regime.
Another important lesson imparted by the chapter is on the “power of early investment”, which introduces the youngsters to investment options such as Fixed Deposits, bonds, stocks, and mutual funds.
The new tax regime, which is a default system for individual taxpayers, was introduced during the February 2020 Union Budget, coming into effect from Financial Year 2020-2021. It became the default regime for taxpayers from April 1, 2023. A major departure from the old regime, it offers fewer exemptions and deductions while giving the provision of lower tax rates.
