asked the Secretary of State for India the rate per £1 of income levied for Income-Tax purpose on members of His Majesty's Forces serving in India; whethere there is a personal allowance relieved of tax and, if so, what is it; and why reliefs are not given in respect of family commitments?

Members of His Majesty's Forces serving in India are assessable, in the same way as other persons, to tax under the Indian Income-tax Act. Incomes to £112 10s. are exempt. Those above that level are taxed on a sliding scale. For example, an income of £300 would in effect be taxed at 11¾rid. in the £, and one of £1,200 as 2s. 9½. in the £ There is no personal allowances as such, but in the case of total incomes exceeding £150 the first 1£112 10s. is not subject to tax. As regards the last part of the Question, the power to legislate on these matters rests with the Indian Legislature.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman agree that the principle of family and married reliefs is a very good one, and will he represent those views to the appropriate authorities in India in view of the dissatisfaction on the part of our men there?

It is not a question of my agreement. It is a question for the Indian Legislature.

Is the right hon. Gentleman not aware that many of these men serving in India are in fact so badly off that there is no comparison with men of equal rank serving at home, and will he not make an allowance to the Indian Army people which will enable them to pay the high rate of tax that they are now paying?

In most cases officers and N.C.O.'s in India are better off, but in the case of some senior N.C.O.'s and junior officers with large families, they are liable to Indian Income Tax when they would not be liable to tax here. It is not possible to reconcile those anomalies.

Is it not the case that there are certain officers serving in the Forces in India who pay double Income Tax—in India and in this country?

That question would more properly be addressed to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. It depends, I imagine, on whether they have private incomes in this country.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he will make a further statement respecting the food situation in India; whether the prices of primary foods are still 10 and more times their pre-war level; whether rice is in substantially greater supply; and what further steps have been taken to meet the shortage of foodstuffs?

The latest reports from India are that the wheat just reaped is a bumper crop, and the other spring crops are good. The crop is moving slowly to the market and prices are still high. The rice situation still causes anxiety and must continue to do so so long as the Burma crop is lost to us. The chief concern at present is for Bengal and especially Calcutta, where the price of rice is shown as more than eight times pre-war, though this is not true of India generally. The Government of India have taken into their own charge the adjustment of supplies between surplus and deficiency areas throughout the country, divided into six regions, each under a Central Government Commissioner, and each comprising several "food provinces."

As the position is alarming, and famine conditions in many areas are very acute, will the right hon. Gentleman undertake to see that all possible steps are taken to provide food for these people?

The Government of India are doing all in their power.

Are not some middlemen hoarding large quantities of rice and grain?

Yes, probably hoarding is at the bottom of the difficulty.

Are steps being taken to control prices?

The control of prices is very difficult in India.

Surely something can be done to bring the price down from the level of 10 times more than it was before the war.

Every attempt is being made to bring it down.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he has any information as to the result of the representations made by the Indian Government to the South African Government regarding the Trading and Occupation of Land Restriction Bill and the restrictions this imposes on Indian nationals; and whether any modification has been accepted by the South African Government?

I understand that the Bill referred to passed into law on 28th April on the lines originally proposed. It is a temporary Measure, for three years only, and the Union Government announced in connection with it their intention to set up immediately a commission, under a high judicial authority, on which Indians would be invited to serve, to inquire into matters affecting the Indian community in Natal and make recommendations. The persons described by the hon. Member as Indian nationals are for the most part South African nationals of Indian origin.

Are the Indian Government satisfied with the situation; is this a committee on which certain Indians may sit, and are these Indians Indian nationals or Indian citizens of South Africa?

They are South African nationals, as I have pointed out in my answer.