PRARAMBH Campaign 2026: UPSC Current Affairs

Description

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Picture Courtesy: PIB

Why In News?

The Union Government has launched a nationwide campaign, ‘PRARAMBH 2026’, to facilitate the transition to the new Income Tax Act, 2025.

What Is the PRARAMBH Campaign?

It was launched by the Union Finance Minister.

This campaign serves as the preparatory phase for the implementation of the Income Tax Act, 2025, which replaces the old 1961 Act starting April 1, 2026.

Core Objectives

Smooth Transition: To educate taxpayers and professionals about the simplified provisions of the new Act.

Tech-Driven Compliance: To shift from a "policing" mindset to a "service-oriented" model using AI and digital tools.

Reducing Litigation: To explain new dispute resolution mechanisms intended to end long-standing tax uncertainties.

Key Components of the Campaign

Income Tax Website 2.0: A revamped, user-friendly portal designed for faster processing and intuitive navigation.

'Kar Saathi' AI Chatbot: A 24/7 virtual assistant capable of answering tax queries in 12 Indian languages.

Multilingual Outreach: Guidance materials, brochures, and e-books published in regional languages to reach Tier-II and Tier-III cities.

Nationwide Workshops: Over 300 physical and virtual seminars conducted by the CBDT across the country for CA associations, trade bodies, and individual taxpayers.

Source: PIB

Attempt Daily Quiz

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q. Consider the following statements about the 'PRARAMBH 2026' campaign:

1. It is a nationwide multimedia campaign to facilitate the rollout of the new Income Tax Act, 2025.

2. The M.A.N.A.V. framework under this initiative is exclusively designed for manual auditing of tax returns.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 only

b) 2 only

c) Both 1 and 2

d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: A

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct. The "PRARAMBH 2026" campaign, launched by the Finance Minister, is a nationwide, multimedia initiative designed to educate taxpayers and stakeholders about the new Income Tax Act, 2025, which will come into effect on April 1, 2026.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The M.A.N.A.V. framework is a human-centric AI (Artificial Intelligence) vision presented by PM Narendra Modi (and invoked by the Finance Minister) for the digital era. It stands for Moral and Ethical Systems, Accountable Governance, National Sovereignty, Accessible and Inclusive AI, and Valid/Legitimate Systems, aimed at enhancing trust and technology-driven tax administration.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

PRARAMBH 2026 is a nationwide multimedia awareness campaign launched by the Ministry of Finance to educate citizens and facilitate the smooth rollout of the new Income Tax Act, 2025, through over 300 workshops and multi-lingual brochures.

'Kar Saathi' is an advanced, AI-enabled chatbot launched alongside the new Income Tax Website 2.0. Modeled after successful global systems, it is designed to provide 24/7, multi-lingual assistance to taxpayers to resolve routine queries.

M.A.N.A.V. stands for Moral and Ethical Systems, Accountable Governance, National Sovereignty, Accessible and Inclusive AI, and Valid and Legitimate Systems. It serves as the ethical framework guiding the deployment of artificial intelligence in India's tax administration.