In a first, personal income tax part of Class 9 curriculum, NCERT book talks only about new regime

NEW DELHI: The NCERT has made personal income tax a part of Class 9 curriculum with a civic message about paying taxes honestly being an important responsibility of citizens. The book titled "Understanding Society India and Beyond-Part 2" was released on Tuesday, six months after the new academic session began. The first part of the textbook was released in June.

According to NCERT Chief Dinesh Prasad Saklani, students can now work through the actual slab-wise tax calculation under the new regime -- a first for this age group (Class 9) -- wrapped in a civic message: paying taxes "honestly and on time" is called an "important responsibility of every citizen" that funds the nation's development.

The chapter "Managing Your Personal Finances" says journey towards managing money begins in childhood. "Managing money wisely is not just about earning more, it is about making careful financial decisions at every stage, whether it involves spending, saving, investing, protecting against risks, borrowing responsibly or paying taxes.

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The choices individuals make today shape their financial future and determine their ability to achieve financial stability while managing financial opportunities and challenges," the textbook read. The chapter contains a table of tax slabs under the new income tax regime and goes on to detail steps to calculate the tax liability as per the listed slabs. There is no mention of the old tax regime in the chapter. "India follows a slab system for calculating income tax as shown in table," the textbook says followed by a chart of tax slabs under new tax regime. The new tax regime was first introduced in India during the Union Budget in February 2020, effective from the financial year 2020–21.

The new regime offers lower tax rates in exchange for giving up most exemptions and deductions. It was made the default tax regime starting April 1, 2023, meaning taxpayers are automatically placed under it unless they specifically opt for the old regime.

There is another section on "pillars of personal finance" in the chapter with details on each of the pillars -- Income (earnings), Budgeting (Planning expenses), Saving, Investing (growing wealth) and protection and risk management. Describing "power of early investments", the chapter lists Fixed Deposits, Bonds, Stocks (Equity or shares) and Mutual funds, as options for investments.