Chidambaram spells out vision India 2009

29:Feb:2008: Following are the highlights of the 2008-09 General Budget presented by Finance Minister P.Chidambaram in Parliament:

Taxation: Capital Gains Tax hiked
— No change in Corporate Tax
— No change in surcharge
— Short term Capital Gains Tax hiked 15%
— Post office time deposit under 80C
— Medical Insurance premium for parents liable for exemption under 80B of IT Act
— 2-3-4 star hotels to get 5 year tax holiday
— Non filter cigarettes to have more tax
— 55% of GDP is from services
— Asset management services to ULIP
— Services provided by stock exchanges, Customized software to come under service tax
— Banking cash transactions to be withdrawn from April 1 2007
— Central sales tax to be reduced to 2% from 3%

Personal Taxation: Slab Raised
— Tax exemption limit raised to 1.5 lakhs
— Tax slab above 5 lakhs is 30%
— Tax slab between 3-5 lakhs 20%
— Tax slab between 1.5 to 3 lakhs is 10%
— Income Tax exemption for women (at 1.8 lakhs)
— Tax relief for senior citizens

Duty cuts
— Coconut drinks
— Water purification devices
— Breakfast cereals
— Wireless data cards
— Refrigeration equipment
— Small cars
— 2-3 wheelers to attract lesser excise at 12%
— Excise duty on pharma halved to 8%

Pan must for financial market deals
— Higher growth rate, changes in attitude and stricter compliance helped tax collection
— Smart card based delivery system for public distribution system to be taken up on pilot basis
— Pan to be made compulsory for all financial market transactions
— Defence allocation up to 1.05 lakh crore
— Rural housing loans at 4% interest to be made available
— Sixth pay commission for Govt employees to submit report by March 2008
— Rs 75 to ICCR to promote Indian art, movies
— Completion ratio is 96% on the golden quadrangular national highway project
— 3.5 billion to 8 billion expected during next round of bidding for 53 oil blocks
— 17 lakh families of weavers to be included under insurance schemes
— Steps to create a transparent credit trading system
— Skill development programme to be launched with a non profit corporation being set up with Rs 15,000 crore capital

Growth Story:One more year before eliminating Revenue Deficit
— Average growth rate 8.8%
— 10.7% and 9.4% growth for services and manufacturing respectively
— Agriculture growth rate estimated at 2.6%
— Capital inflows in excess of current account deficit
— Revenue deficit is at 1.4%
— Fiscal deficit pegged at 3.1% as against 3.2% estimated last year

Agri pepped up: 60,000 crore loans to farmers waived off
— Record high: Foodgrain output at 219.32 million tonnes
— Agri credit doubled in 2 yrs cumulating to 2.40 lakh crore by end of this fiscal year
— Credit target for Agri: Rs 2,80,000 by 2009
— Additional 4 lakh hectare to be brought under drip irrigation programme
— Irrigation and Water Resources Finance Corporation to be set up
— Coconut, cashew and pepper to be revived as cash crops
— 250 districts to have fully fitted mobile soil testing facility by March 2009
— Crop insurance scheme to be extended to more cash crop
— Complete waiver of all loans for marginal and small farmers
— For other farmers there would be a one time waiver

Education: IITs for Bihar, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh
— Allocation to education up by 20%
— Bihar, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh to get IITs
— New scholarships for scientific study and research
— IT Ministry gets Rs 100 crore to set up knowledge network
— 16 Central Universities to be established
— All national institutions to be networked on knowledge network

Health
— Health allocation increased by 15%

Employment
— Rs 30,000 cover for unorganised sector labourers
— Rs 16,000 crore allocated for the employment sector
— Rs 16,447 crore allocated to the North eastern region for development
— More minority recruitment for Central para military forces

Banking, Insurance
— 256 Public sector bank branches started, 288 more to come up by March’08

Public Sector Units: Over 16000 crore equity support by 2009
— 16,436 crore as equity support to Central PSUs in 2008-09
— More public sector units to be divested of govt. stakes

Manufacturing: Growth in double digits
— Target growth rate to get in double digits

Power
— Over 10,000 mw power would be added to the grid by March 2008

Child care and Welfare
— Mid-day meal extended to upper primary classes
— National program for elderly Rs 800 crore, Geriatric medical facilities to be set up on eleventh plan

Broad vision
— Monitor foreign fund inflows
— Boost for Education, Health
— 38,286 crore increased in Budget allocation to plan size
— 31,280 crore set aside for Bharat Nirman
— 11.4 crore children covered in mid-day meal system

Quotable quotes
— Budget 2008-09 is about raising our sights, doing better and doing more

Hindu Mythology: Mighty king of the devas

In Hindu mythology, Indra is the god of war, the lord of thunder and storms besides being the king of the gods or devas. He is, in fact, the chief god of the Rig Veda, other than Agni the lord of fire.

Indra was also a great warrior and the strongest of all beings. As such he was the defender of the gods and mankind against the forces of evil. He is also regarded as one of the guardians of the directions, and is believed to represent the east. With the god of the sky as his father and the earth goddess as his mother, it is said that Indra was born fully grown and fully armed. Married to Indrani, Indra's sons include the famed Arjuna.

Weilding his celestial weapon Vajra, or the bolt of lightning, Indra is the one who brought water to the earth. The legend goes that the demon Vritra took the form of a mighty dragon, and stole all the waters of the world. No one could do anything about this until Indra was born. Upon hearing what had happened, Indra vowed to bring back the life-giving liquid. He rode forth to meet the terrible Vritra and managed to pass through all of Vritra's ninety-nine fortresses before he slaughtered the huge dragon and brought the stolen water back to earth.

Yet another legend tells of how Vritra, a huge serpent, was created by Tvashtri to get revenge for Indra's murder of his son, Trisiras, whose increasing power had worried Indra. The battle was won by Vritra who then swallowed Indra. He was, however, forced by the other gods to vomit Indra out. A truce was then brought about between Vishnu and the rishis, on the condition that Indra swore that he would not attack Vritra with anything made either of metal, wood or stone, or anything that was either dry or wet, during the day or the night. So Indra used the foam from the waves of the ocean to kill Vritra at twilight.

It is believed that Indra lives in Svarga in the clouds around Mount Meru. Deceased warriors, it is said, go to his hall after death where they watch the apsaras and the Gandharvas dance and play games.

Voice of ANR, Krishna, YSR, KCR and Bala krishna

Funny conversation between ANR, Nagarjuna, YSR, Chandra Babu Naidu, KCR, Balakrishna and more...

Warning: Audio contains bad words

Top guns in home team VVS Laxman to be captain

The Indian Premium League bids for the top players yielded fabulous results for the South based teams.
Deccan Chronicle won five of the world's best players including Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Shahid Afridi, Scott Styris and Herschelle Gibbs proving that cricket has become a global game

Icons don't matter, players do

The Hyderabad franchise of the Indian Premier League (IPL) won Australian keeper opener Adam Gilchrist after making a $7,00,000 bid for him at the first round of players' auction in Mumbai.

Controversy ridden Australian Andrew Symonds was also bought by Hyderabad for the second highest price of $1.35 million. So far, the Hyderabad and Chennai franchises have secured the highest bids.

Hyderabad's other winning bids were for Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi ($675,000), New Zealander Scott Styris ($175,000), Herschelle Gibbs, South Africa ($5,75,000), Rohit Sharma ($750,000), V.V.S.Laxman ($375,000) and Sri Lankan Chamara Silva ($100,000).

Managing director of Deccan Chronicle Mr P.K. Iyer said that team Hyderabad has appointed V.V.S. Laxman as its captain. "Laxman has put his team before his status. He has done a great job and has always shown true sportsman spirit. We look forward to taking the team ahead," he said Vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Mr Rajeev Shukla said, "Hyderabad had picked the best combination of players. They do not just have good performers but big names as well. They have an advantage of not having an iconic Indian player in their team so they can work better with their team composition."

Anshuman Gaekwad (Former Team India coach) also shares Shukla's opinion. He feels the theory of having an iconic player is not that important because it is the team management which will work on the best combination and balance for the team. "What's an iconic player? It's just a big name. The absence of an iconic player gives Hyderabad a good chance. With Symonds and Gilchrist roped in, Hyderabad will have a big advantage over the other teams," he says.

Lack of an iconic player is worrying no one. Vivek Jaisimha too says he doesn't understand the concept of an iconic player influencing a team. "I would say we have damn good team. With such powerful batsmen, we will definitely pose a tough fight against the others," says Vivek.

Just goes to show that a winning team does not merely need big names but players who are good performers.with their team composition.

Rs 600 crore car fraud unearthed

Several motor vehicle dealers in the state have been cheating customers in the last five years by collecting up to Rs 4,000 as registration and service charge from them.

As per rules, they can only collect Rs 15 for temporary registration and between Rs 400 and Rs 600 for permanent registration, depending on the vehicle's capacity. However, it is learn't that around 2,000 dealers in the state have been collecting extra charges in the name of "service" provided to the customers.

The scam came to light after retired IAS officer, Mr K.R. Venu Gopal, who purchased a car recently in Hyderabad, was asked to pay Rs 2,000 extra as registration charges. Since he was aware of the prescribed rates, Mr Gopal brought the issue to the notice of the Transport Commissioner, Ms Poonam Malakondaiah, who ordered a probe.

Investigations which followed revealed that vehicle dealers in all districts were collecting exorbitant charges in the name of registration and service.

The department estimated that over Rs 600 crore had been collected by vehicle dealers who registered over 13 lakh cars and bikes from 2002 to 2007. They also evaded payment of Rs 70 crore to the state exchequer.

"We would not have raised objection if the service and registration charges were shown separately in the bills," said a transport department official. "The government can also collect VAT if the break-up is given."

Dealers are able to cheat the customers since most of them do not want to approach RTO offices for registration.

Meanwhile, the transport commissioner has asked the government to turn down the dealers' request for exemption from VAT collected on the turnover of insurance premium and life tax.

The commissioner said she would urge the government to prevent dealers from issuing even temporary registration certificates.

"Customers can approach e-Seva centres for temporary registration and RTO offices for permanent registration," said Ms Malakondaiah.

NANDI AWARDS - Nagarjuna is best actor

Actor Akkineni Nagarjuna won his 3rd Nandi award for best actor for his role in Sri Raama Dasu. The Nandi awards for 2006 were announced here on Wednesday. Nagarjuna had earlier won the award for Annamayya (1997) and Santosham (2002).

Nandita Das was selected best actress for her role in Kamli. The awards ceremony for 2005 and 2006 will be held in the last week of March. "There were 54 entries for the six categories of awards," said Mr M.S. Reddy, film-maker and chairman of the 15-member awards committee. Sekhar Kammula was adjudged best director for Godavari. Bommaril lu was adjudged the best feature film, Godavari and Ganga won the second and third best awards. Bharathi won the best child actor, Kittu was selected second best. Raghava was adjudged best child actor for Style and Sri Divya best child actress for Bharathi. Mr Challa Srinivas of Andhra Bhoomi was adjudged best film critic on Telugu cinema.

The other winners are: Best supporting actor: Prakash Raj (Bommarillu); best supporting actress: Eswari (Ganga); Best character actor: Kota Srinivasa Rao (Pellaina Kothalo); best comedians Venumadhav (Lakshmi) and Abhinayasri (Paisaalo Paramaathma); best villain Saikumar (Saamaanyudu) and best debut of director: Bhaskar (Bommarillu)

Kamadeva - The winged god of love

Hindu Mythology: Kamadeva is the Hindu god of love and he is represented as a handsome, winged young man who wields a bow and arrow. Legend has it that the bow is made of sugarcane with a string of honeybees, while his arrows are said to be decorated with five different kinds of flowers. Kamadeva is accompanied by a cuckoo, a parrot, humming bees, the spring season and a soft and tender breeze.

According to legend, Kamadeva is the son of Brahma, however there are other tales stating that he was also once reincarnated as Pradyumna, the son of Lord Krishna and his Queen, Rukmini. In literature like the Kumârasâmbhavam, Kamadeva, also known as Kandarpa, resolved to help Parvati in her efforts to gain the favor of Lord Shiva.

In order to do this he shot his arrows of love at Shiva while the god was deep in meditation. The idea being that Shiva's meditation may be interrupted and his eye would fall on Parvati. However, the ploy backfired, with dreadful consequences. Shiva was temporarily distracted, but when he realised what had happened, he was furious. Opening his dreaded third eye, he annihilated Kamadeva and with just one glance, reduced his body to ashes.

Now, with Kamadeva's destruction, the world became barren and infertile, for he had been the god of desire and love. Shiva and Parvati went on to get married. But when Parvati and the other gods including Rati, Kamdeva's wife pleaded with Shiva to resurrect Kamadeva, Shiva relented. He brought Kamadeva to ‘life' thereby restoring the fertile cycles of nature. However, Kamadeva was resurrected purely as a mental image, so that he represented the emotional and mental state of love, rather than pure physical lust.

It is believed that Holi, the festival of colors, and the traditional bonfire that is lit on that day, commemorate this legend.

Ayesha's father vows revenge against Shoaib

Cricketer Shoaib Malik's harassment had traumatized his wife Ayesha so much that she had to be hospitalized several times, said her father, Mr Ahmed Siddiqui. Malik had married Ayesha over telephone in 2002 but recently denied that the marriage ever took place.

An angry Mr Siddiqui told this correspondent that though Malik's appearance was innocent, he was deceptive and dangerous.

"He kept on asking Ayesha to lose weight," said Mr Siddiqui. "Apparently to please him, she secretly underwent liposuction by spending Rs 5 lakh. But the surgery created complications and her condition turned serious. Her life was in danger."

Ayesha and her family are in a fix since Islamic clerics have termed the telephone marriage valid and have said that the young woman could not marry again without getting a divorce.

"I was thinking of marrying her off to someone else," said Mr Siddiqui. "But Malik does not want to acknowledge the marriage. Unless he divorces, how can my daughter marry again?"

The young woman's father said that he would try to get divorce for her through court.

"I will also teach Malik such a lesson that he would not dare to cheat any other girl," said Mr Siddiqui. "I have enough evidence to prove that the marriage took place. The most important piece is the marriage certificate which Malik