It was worth 22.5 cr.No its 5 cr.People who saw it are saying it.But who got it or gave it says something else only 21 Lakhs.
Whatever it may be why is this such a big issue.Is it the first time something like it has happened? Of course not.We have been using such garland( not so heavy & Red) in marriage ceremonies.Other political parties have also shown such ostentatious show of wealth in past.What is special with Mayawati.Bees also seem to give extra attention to her.Is it simply money or the person behind it or the social status behind the person.
I don't have a problem with this money-mala.One which should have (RBI), is silent over it.It had made an appeal to public not to use money for such purpose.Nobody listened or cared.I am not worried about money as it's better to see money coming out in any form than to see going down somewhere nobody knows.If they claim that money will be used in party work or anywhere after this,how does it change anything.If some people can use it in between like this nobody should be alarmed.
So something is fishy here with the Lady or the Tag of Dalit behind her.Is it so painful to see someone from a Dalit clerk family worshiped like this?
I am not staunch supporter of Mayawati,but I respect her for the position she has made for herself.It has been recognised by all as she has been recognised as one of the most powerful lady in India now.And all male chauvinists of UP are afraid of her power.You can love her,you can hate her but you can't ignore her.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Finally Its over
In the end, then, Mumbai got to see My Name is Khan and the Sena had to retreat, tail between legs.Even 24 hours before the film was finally exhibited, this seemed unlikely. The state government had advised cinema owners to show the film keeping the first three rows empty, presumably to prevent hooligans from damaging the screen, and to employ private security guards. Cinema owners asked, reasonably, who was going to pay for those empty rows and extra security? And what if someone got up from the fourth row and damaged the screen? What if there was damage, not to the screen, but to the seats? On the eve of the release, it appeared that the film may not release in Mumbai at all.
This was followed by late-night confabulations. Shah Rukh Khan, in Berlin to promote the film at the Berlinale, held a video conference with the city’s multiplex owners, and it is reasonable to assume that he or someone on his behalf lobbied the government as well. The film was finally exhibited, prompting another poison editorial by Bal Thackeray.
It is unquestionable that the people of Mumbai deserve much credit for the film finally being exhibited on release date. They lined up outside cinema halls in large numbers from morning, and this gave confidence to the owners. The state government too got into the act, even if very late, with a minister himself going around cinema halls to oversee security and give confidence to owners. The rest of us heaved a collective sigh of relief.
That the people of Mumbai showed collective will does not cause surprise. That the government of Maharashtra trundled along confusedly does not cause surprise either. That Sharad Pawar, in a game of one-upmanship with the Congress, thought it fit to offer an olive branch to a thoroughly isolated Bal Thackeray, promising him a presentation on the IPL, causes no surprise either. What does cause surprise is that Shah Rukh Khan stood his ground and refused to apologise.
We think of film stars as powerful people. We see them endorsing this or that brand, we see them supporting causes like AIDS awareness or animal rights, we see them hogging television and newspaper space with platitudes on everything ranging from global warming to the cuteness quotient of Barack Obama’s smile. And yet, when it comes to real opinions about contentious issues, film stars are, as a general rule, conspicuously silent.
Strong political opinions are inimical to carefully crafted public personas. On these personas rest fortunes. When Tiger Woods was found out to be a serial philanderer, his persona, which rests critically upon constructing an image of a man so driven that nothing on earth would shake his focus, a man who never deviates from the straight and narrow, was shattered at one go. He earns many times more from endorsing brands that have built his image than he does from the sport he plays better than anyone else on the planet. If his marriage shatters, this image shatters. No wonder he’s offered his wife millions to stay married to him!
Stars are prisoners of a golden cage. The bigger the star, the more fragile the cage.
This was followed by late-night confabulations. Shah Rukh Khan, in Berlin to promote the film at the Berlinale, held a video conference with the city’s multiplex owners, and it is reasonable to assume that he or someone on his behalf lobbied the government as well. The film was finally exhibited, prompting another poison editorial by Bal Thackeray.
It is unquestionable that the people of Mumbai deserve much credit for the film finally being exhibited on release date. They lined up outside cinema halls in large numbers from morning, and this gave confidence to the owners. The state government too got into the act, even if very late, with a minister himself going around cinema halls to oversee security and give confidence to owners. The rest of us heaved a collective sigh of relief.
That the people of Mumbai showed collective will does not cause surprise. That the government of Maharashtra trundled along confusedly does not cause surprise either. That Sharad Pawar, in a game of one-upmanship with the Congress, thought it fit to offer an olive branch to a thoroughly isolated Bal Thackeray, promising him a presentation on the IPL, causes no surprise either. What does cause surprise is that Shah Rukh Khan stood his ground and refused to apologise.
We think of film stars as powerful people. We see them endorsing this or that brand, we see them supporting causes like AIDS awareness or animal rights, we see them hogging television and newspaper space with platitudes on everything ranging from global warming to the cuteness quotient of Barack Obama’s smile. And yet, when it comes to real opinions about contentious issues, film stars are, as a general rule, conspicuously silent.
Strong political opinions are inimical to carefully crafted public personas. On these personas rest fortunes. When Tiger Woods was found out to be a serial philanderer, his persona, which rests critically upon constructing an image of a man so driven that nothing on earth would shake his focus, a man who never deviates from the straight and narrow, was shattered at one go. He earns many times more from endorsing brands that have built his image than he does from the sport he plays better than anyone else on the planet. If his marriage shatters, this image shatters. No wonder he’s offered his wife millions to stay married to him!
Stars are prisoners of a golden cage. The bigger the star, the more fragile the cage.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
BT Brinjal
Owing to intense opposition from within and outside, Indian government on February 9, 2010 refused to give a go-ahead to commercial cultivation of Bt Brinjal, a genetically-modified version of the vegetable that is said to be more resistant to pests.
Announcing a cautious approach of the government, Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh said there was “no clear consensus” among the scientists and stake-holders on giving permission to Bt Brinjal and more studies needed to be conducted.
“There is no over-riding urgency to introduce it… When the public sentiments have been negative, it is my duty to adopt a cautious, precautionary and principle-based approach,” he told .
“I will not impose a decision till such time independent scientific studies establish safety of the product from long-term view of human health,” Ramesh said.
He said it was a difficult decision to take but he had to balance many issues of science and society and producer and consumer.
However, he made it clear that this decision applied only to Bt Brinjal and does not cover future of genetically-modified crops, be it ladyfinger, cabbage or rice.
Ramesh’s decision came after a series of public consultations in seven cities across the country, that often turned acrimonious.
A number of state governments, including Congress-ruled Andhra Pradesh, have publicly opposed the introduction of Bt Brinjal.
Ramesh said in arriving at his decision, he has responded both to science and society and had followed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s speech in the Indian Science Congress.
“I have followed democratic, transparent and often acrimonious process. I have put my decision before people. I have given the reasons for my decison. My conscience is clear,” he said.
The Environment Minister said he wanted the issue to be discussed in Parliament and National Development Council in detail.
Replying to a question, he said since he assumed the charge of Environment portfolio on 29th May 2009, he had not met representative of any company involved in genetically-modified crops though as Commerce Minister he had met them.
Majority of the state governments in India said no to Bt brinjal. Stating that the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala have opposed Bt Brinjal, Ramesh said non-Congress ruled states of
West Bengal, Orissa and Bihar accounted for 60 per cent of brinjal cultivation.
All the Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states have already opposed introduction of Bt Brinjal.
Bt Brinjal is a genetically-modified vegetable which is infused with Cry1Ac gene from a bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis to make the plant resistant to the fruit and shoot borers and certain pests.
Many scientists have been opposing it, arguing that the genes were toxic and would affect the health of the consumers.
Bacillus Thuringiensis Brinjal, popularly known as Bt brinjal, is at the centre of a major controversy in India.
Bt brinjal, a genetically modified strain created by India’s number one seeds company Mahyco (Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company) in collaboration with American multinational Monsanto, claims to improve yields and help the agriculture sector.
However, the debate over the safety of Bt brinjal continues with mixed views from scientists working for the government, farmers and environment activists.
Environment activists says the effect of GM (genetically modified) crops on rats have shown to be fatal for lungs and kidneys. It is dangerous to introduce these experimental foods into the market without proper research,
A study by French scientist Gilles-Eric Seralini says the tests conducted by Mahyco (, the company producing Bt brinjal, were simply not valid and raised serious health concerns.
Besides the environment hazards, activists allege that the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee has shown a bias towards companies like the Monsanto.
This would be a big threat to India’s agriculture with MNCs charging Indian farmers for their seeds. The supply of seeds will be regulated and thus costlier. Indian farmers would have to depend on MNCs for seeds.
Bt cotton has already been declared a farce with crop failures and mass suicides of farmers in India.
Announcing a cautious approach of the government, Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh said there was “no clear consensus” among the scientists and stake-holders on giving permission to Bt Brinjal and more studies needed to be conducted.
“There is no over-riding urgency to introduce it… When the public sentiments have been negative, it is my duty to adopt a cautious, precautionary and principle-based approach,” he told .
“I will not impose a decision till such time independent scientific studies establish safety of the product from long-term view of human health,” Ramesh said.
He said it was a difficult decision to take but he had to balance many issues of science and society and producer and consumer.
However, he made it clear that this decision applied only to Bt Brinjal and does not cover future of genetically-modified crops, be it ladyfinger, cabbage or rice.
Ramesh’s decision came after a series of public consultations in seven cities across the country, that often turned acrimonious.
A number of state governments, including Congress-ruled Andhra Pradesh, have publicly opposed the introduction of Bt Brinjal.
Ramesh said in arriving at his decision, he has responded both to science and society and had followed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s speech in the Indian Science Congress.
“I have followed democratic, transparent and often acrimonious process. I have put my decision before people. I have given the reasons for my decison. My conscience is clear,” he said.
The Environment Minister said he wanted the issue to be discussed in Parliament and National Development Council in detail.
Replying to a question, he said since he assumed the charge of Environment portfolio on 29th May 2009, he had not met representative of any company involved in genetically-modified crops though as Commerce Minister he had met them.
Majority of the state governments in India said no to Bt brinjal. Stating that the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala have opposed Bt Brinjal, Ramesh said non-Congress ruled states of
West Bengal, Orissa and Bihar accounted for 60 per cent of brinjal cultivation.
All the Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states have already opposed introduction of Bt Brinjal.
Bt Brinjal is a genetically-modified vegetable which is infused with Cry1Ac gene from a bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis to make the plant resistant to the fruit and shoot borers and certain pests.
Many scientists have been opposing it, arguing that the genes were toxic and would affect the health of the consumers.
Bacillus Thuringiensis Brinjal, popularly known as Bt brinjal, is at the centre of a major controversy in India.
Bt brinjal, a genetically modified strain created by India’s number one seeds company Mahyco (Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company) in collaboration with American multinational Monsanto, claims to improve yields and help the agriculture sector.
However, the debate over the safety of Bt brinjal continues with mixed views from scientists working for the government, farmers and environment activists.
Environment activists says the effect of GM (genetically modified) crops on rats have shown to be fatal for lungs and kidneys. It is dangerous to introduce these experimental foods into the market without proper research,
A study by French scientist Gilles-Eric Seralini says the tests conducted by Mahyco (, the company producing Bt brinjal, were simply not valid and raised serious health concerns.
Besides the environment hazards, activists allege that the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee has shown a bias towards companies like the Monsanto.
This would be a big threat to India’s agriculture with MNCs charging Indian farmers for their seeds. The supply of seeds will be regulated and thus costlier. Indian farmers would have to depend on MNCs for seeds.
Bt cotton has already been declared a farce with crop failures and mass suicides of farmers in India.
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Wil It work ??
THE new monetary policy measures announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are widely being seen as an effort to contain the growing inflation in the country, led by galloping rise in the prices of all essential commodities at a rate of nearly 20 per cent. The RBI has revised upwards its projection for inflation in this year to 8.5 per cent from its earlier 6.5 per cent.
Short of all technical details involving interest rates and the rates at which banks can borrow or lend, in common terms, the measures announced by the RBI will reduce the amount of money available for lending in the banking system by Rs 36,000 crores. It is being suggested that since the money supply in the economy will be reduced by this amount, the pressure on inflation will likewise reduce in a corresponding manner. This is under the presumption that inflation is being caused by more money in the hands of the people. In other words, people are demanding more while the supply of the products is not matching this demand and, therefore, prices are rising. This presumption, itself, is fallacious.
It is universally acknowledged that inflation is being fuelled by high food prices. Prices have risen partly due to the deficit in foodgrain production due to the damage caused by both drought and the flood. But the rate of the rise in prices is much higher than can be explained by a deficit in the availability of foodgrains. Much of the current inflation in essential commodities is due to the wrong policies followed by this UPA government based on a wrong diagnosis of what is causing such inflation.
A classic case of wrong policies is the manner in which export of sugar was encouraged through incentives earlier when the government should have built up a sugar buffer stock when all indications of shortfall in sugar production were available with the government. Now, this very sugar is being imported at much higher prices to meet the domestic demand. It is no wonder that sugar now costs over Rs 50 a kilo in many parts of the country. Corporates trading through exports and imports, however, have reaped a bonanza at the expense of common people’s misery.
Another such instance is the decision to offer release from the buffer stocks of foodgrains to the state governments at the current market prices. This works out to Rs 17 for a kilo of rice for Kerala. Earlier, the centre was releasing 1.13 lakh tonnes of rice to Kerala at the APL price of Rs 8.90 a kilo. This quantity was drastically cut by the centre to just 17,000 tonnes. Instead of restoring the earlier quantum of release of central food stocks, the UPA government is now offering to give rice at Rs 17 a kilo. Far from containing the rise in the prices of foodgrains, such policies only compound the matter making the situation worse.
One of the main reasons for this run away inflation in the prices of essential commodities has been speculative trading in the commodity exchanges in the country. The central government must immediately ban futures/forward trading in all essential commodities. This, however, has not been done. Making matters worse, the UPA government has now withdrawn the ban on futures trading in wheat that was imposed by the UPA-1 government under pressure from Left parties. The net result of not banning such speculative trading has been that major trading corporates have reported profits ranging from 150 to 300 per cent this year while food prices are rising at an annual rate of 20 per cent.
Clearly, therefore, the monetary policy measures announced by the RBI will not be able to contain this inflation primarily because the diagnosis of the causes for this run away inflation is faulty. If the central government is serious about containing this inflation, then it must immediately ban all speculative trading in essential commodities. Secondly, it must immediately release central buffer stocks, at APL prices, restoring the previous quantities in allocations to the states, for distribution through the public distribution system (PDS). Additionally, all essential commodities must be distributed through PDS. Unless these measures are immediately implemented, there is no hope of containing this relentless price rise.
Therefore, far from containing inflation, the RBI monetary policy measures may well lead to a contraction of the economic stimulus that was put in place to tackle the impact of the global recession on India. A disturbing trend that is observed during the course of the last year is the sharp rise in the gross non-performing assets of the banks. These are, in common language, loans that have been taken but are neither being serviced or returned. Such bad debts of the Indian banks rose by 27 per cent between 2008 and December 2009. Apart from the gross misuse of bank loans to launder black money, the growth of bad debts also means that the investments made by the borrowers have not given the expected returns. This is an ominous sign of the economy not picking up at the expected rate, notwithstanding the official rhetoric hailing our economy’s “turn around”.
Under these circumstances, a monetary policy that contracts the availability of borrowable funds to the tune of Rs 36,000 crores may well dampen the rate of recovery of the economy. Much of this, surely, will be known by the time the union budget will be presented three weeks from now.
In the meanwhile, however, the vast majority of the Indian people will continue to suffer from the burdens imposed by this relentless rise in the prices of all essential commodities.
Short of all technical details involving interest rates and the rates at which banks can borrow or lend, in common terms, the measures announced by the RBI will reduce the amount of money available for lending in the banking system by Rs 36,000 crores. It is being suggested that since the money supply in the economy will be reduced by this amount, the pressure on inflation will likewise reduce in a corresponding manner. This is under the presumption that inflation is being caused by more money in the hands of the people. In other words, people are demanding more while the supply of the products is not matching this demand and, therefore, prices are rising. This presumption, itself, is fallacious.
It is universally acknowledged that inflation is being fuelled by high food prices. Prices have risen partly due to the deficit in foodgrain production due to the damage caused by both drought and the flood. But the rate of the rise in prices is much higher than can be explained by a deficit in the availability of foodgrains. Much of the current inflation in essential commodities is due to the wrong policies followed by this UPA government based on a wrong diagnosis of what is causing such inflation.
A classic case of wrong policies is the manner in which export of sugar was encouraged through incentives earlier when the government should have built up a sugar buffer stock when all indications of shortfall in sugar production were available with the government. Now, this very sugar is being imported at much higher prices to meet the domestic demand. It is no wonder that sugar now costs over Rs 50 a kilo in many parts of the country. Corporates trading through exports and imports, however, have reaped a bonanza at the expense of common people’s misery.
Another such instance is the decision to offer release from the buffer stocks of foodgrains to the state governments at the current market prices. This works out to Rs 17 for a kilo of rice for Kerala. Earlier, the centre was releasing 1.13 lakh tonnes of rice to Kerala at the APL price of Rs 8.90 a kilo. This quantity was drastically cut by the centre to just 17,000 tonnes. Instead of restoring the earlier quantum of release of central food stocks, the UPA government is now offering to give rice at Rs 17 a kilo. Far from containing the rise in the prices of foodgrains, such policies only compound the matter making the situation worse.
One of the main reasons for this run away inflation in the prices of essential commodities has been speculative trading in the commodity exchanges in the country. The central government must immediately ban futures/forward trading in all essential commodities. This, however, has not been done. Making matters worse, the UPA government has now withdrawn the ban on futures trading in wheat that was imposed by the UPA-1 government under pressure from Left parties. The net result of not banning such speculative trading has been that major trading corporates have reported profits ranging from 150 to 300 per cent this year while food prices are rising at an annual rate of 20 per cent.
Clearly, therefore, the monetary policy measures announced by the RBI will not be able to contain this inflation primarily because the diagnosis of the causes for this run away inflation is faulty. If the central government is serious about containing this inflation, then it must immediately ban all speculative trading in essential commodities. Secondly, it must immediately release central buffer stocks, at APL prices, restoring the previous quantities in allocations to the states, for distribution through the public distribution system (PDS). Additionally, all essential commodities must be distributed through PDS. Unless these measures are immediately implemented, there is no hope of containing this relentless price rise.
Therefore, far from containing inflation, the RBI monetary policy measures may well lead to a contraction of the economic stimulus that was put in place to tackle the impact of the global recession on India. A disturbing trend that is observed during the course of the last year is the sharp rise in the gross non-performing assets of the banks. These are, in common language, loans that have been taken but are neither being serviced or returned. Such bad debts of the Indian banks rose by 27 per cent between 2008 and December 2009. Apart from the gross misuse of bank loans to launder black money, the growth of bad debts also means that the investments made by the borrowers have not given the expected returns. This is an ominous sign of the economy not picking up at the expected rate, notwithstanding the official rhetoric hailing our economy’s “turn around”.
Under these circumstances, a monetary policy that contracts the availability of borrowable funds to the tune of Rs 36,000 crores may well dampen the rate of recovery of the economy. Much of this, surely, will be known by the time the union budget will be presented three weeks from now.
In the meanwhile, however, the vast majority of the Indian people will continue to suffer from the burdens imposed by this relentless rise in the prices of all essential commodities.
GST will it come
1990s marked the beginning of new era in the Indian economy. The period was marked by deregulation, de-licensing and decontrol. This era of liberalization formally eschewed the Nehruvian socialistic pattern of economy and policy of liberalization, globalization and privatization (LPG) became new mantras of development. The formulation of new economic and industrial policy spurred the growth and India could shed its stereotype image of Hindu growth rate.
We brought in reforms in almost all sectors of Economy; this led to rapid growth in sectors like service, manufacturing, capital market and finance. The late 1990s witnessed spectacular growth in IT-BPO sector and gradually the culture of corporate governance as well as finance capitalism ushered in our country’s economic arena also. But tax regime is one area where minimum amount of reform have been done and in fact it represents the grotesque of the erstwhile economy fettered with obstinate regulations. With the economic growth registering around 7-9%, over a decade, India needs to bring about a massive overhauling of existing tax regime.
At present, this regime is marked by a plethora of taxes collected both by States and the Centre. This system of taxation is cumbersome, complicated and taxing as well as unfriendly to honest tax payers also. Sometimes, the amounts spent on collection of taxes are more than that of collected tax itself. The taxation across states is also, many a times, non-rational, impractical and unscientific.
India is now all set to introduce a new tax regime from 2010 fiscal. The 13th Finance Commission under Vijay Kelkar has been working on this issue for quite some time. It has proposed a new taxation regime called goods and service tax (GST) and is being finalized by Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers (ECSFM). If all goes well, this new system would subsume the older one. Kelkar is optimistic on the basis of his meticulous calculation about the encouraging outcome of this proposed tax regime in terms of amount of collection. He said that the values of GST reform will be about 500 billion Dollars i.e. half trillion dollar. If it proves true, it is going to bring about a silent revolution in the history of economic development of India. It is worth mentioning that India’s GDP in 2007-08 fiscal is about 57 lac crores, which is equivalent to about 1 trillion Dollars at current rupees value. It is being estimated that the GST will add 1.4% additional growth to the GDP.
The present pattern of contribution of different sectors to the GDP in terms of percentage is vastly different from what it was in pre 1990s. for instance, the Service sector’s contribution has swelled up to 50% and that of manufacturing sector stands at about 25%, whereas ; the contribution of agriculture has been drastically reduced to 24-25% in the GDP. This changing pattern is suggestive of the fact that we ought to evolve a new and modern but unified tax regime which should be in commensurate with the changing times. It is in this perspective the tax regime is urgently required to be overhauled, simplified and unified.
HOW WILL THE GST HELP IN SPUR IN GROWTH AND INCREASE THE VOLUME OF COLLECTION.
There is a saying in Kautilaya’s Arthshastra, the first book on Economics in the world, that the best taxation regime is that which is based on principle of “Liberal in assessment and ruthless in collection”. The proposed GST seems to be based on this very principle.
Firstly, at present, due to multiplicity of taxes being collected through an inefficient and non transparent system, many areas are either under-taxed or non-taxed or over-taxed. The introduction of GST is likely to rationalize it and thereby plug the loop holes in this system. It will help stop pilferage and at the same time will off load the over loaded tax burden from some organizations.
Secondly, the multiple taxations due to existence of a number of taxes imposed by centre and states have led to birth of a somewhat repressive and lethargic system of tax collection and are doing more harm than good to the growth of the economy. The red tapism in this area is loathing and no progressive country can afford it. The GST would hopefully do away with many, if not all, such anomalies in the system and metamorphose it into an efficient agency based on scientific and rational system of assessment. The removal of multiple taxes on goods at different levels would in a long run help increase the overall amount of tax collection.
Thirdly, the present system of refunding of taxes is a horrible experience. It encourages corruption as well as creates unnecessary secretarial works. The un-refunded tax on capital goods is a bane for capital accumulation. This in a way hinders the savings also, which is a pre-requisite to the growth. If this over-taxation is done away with, it will come as a boon for the honest tax payers. It will also lessen the chances of corruption by minimizing the discretionary powers.
Fourthly, At present indirect taxes are collected at various points, right from manufacturing to retailer’s outlet. It involves cumbersome process of assessment and primitive ways of collection. Such systems ultimately encourage tax evasion and also increase cost of commodities. GST proposes that the indirect taxes would be levied at the destination point. It is supposed to be less distorting and non-complicated. It would help remove imposition of taxes at different levels. This would help enhancement in revenue and lessening of hardships. Experiences across the world suggest that a more friendly tax environment helps increase in the collection without imposition of newer taxes or increasing the rate of it.
Fifthly, - if we take into account the GDPs of countries like USA, China, Japan, they are significantly much more than that of ours. For instance GDP of G-20 Nations (chart below) suggest that India has miles to go to achieve the level of the developed nations. The ongoing economic down turn and slow down of economy across the world has given India a golden opportunity to stake claim and get a cushioned berth in the world order, but for this we are required to increase our volume of GDP at least twice the present level.
The direct taxation regime has been by and large undergoing annual fine tuning and as a result of it the revenue receipt in this account has considerably increased but reform on such scale in indirect taxes has not been done. Indirect taxes are therefore urgently required to be made rationale and unified. If the GST is introduced in ‘letters and spirit’ would certainly increase the volume of the tax collection, thereby provide a great stimulus to our gently moving economy which has arrived at a level playing field vis-a-vis many major economies of the world.
Country GDP IN TRILLION USD
USA 13.84
JAPAN 4.30
GERMANY 2.81
BRITAIN 2.14
FRANCE 2.05
ITALY 1.79
CANADA 1.27
CHINA 6.99
India 1 trillion dollars
Finally, the time has come to say goodbye to the primitive type of tax structure which is obstructing the growth. The globe is moving towards economic unification. The very concept of European Union (EU) is based on a common European market based on unified and simplified taxation system. They have adopted ‘euro’, a single currency, so much so that even the concept of a European Parliament is being visualized. Steps are being taken to form this Parliament. If two or more nations come close and form economic unified entity (SAFTA,NAFTA,ASEAN etc are examples), why the federating units of India i.e. States do not eschew trivial interests and shun political differences to help establish a modern, unified and efficient tax regime. After all the very concept of distribution of taxes amongst the states were enshrined in the constitution to do away with such contradictions. We do practice this in case a number of direct taxes, this system can be introduced in other indirect taxes also.
PROBLEMS AHEAD- It is politically naïve to think in terms of its success in totality. Ours is a federation and each state has a different type of tax structure. Many states levy octroi, entry tax, stamp duty and municipal tax and plethora of other taxes. It is happy to believe that the states would agree and not levy these taxes in addition to GST.
If the states levy these taxes above GST, it would mar the very purpose of the proposed new tax regime and the very concept of a common Indian market with unified and simplified tax structure would not be visualized and implemented.
A consensus has to be arrived at in the ECSFM so that all states agree to it and help evolve a tax regime which is in congruent with the new global financial order dominated by culture of corporate governance.
We brought in reforms in almost all sectors of Economy; this led to rapid growth in sectors like service, manufacturing, capital market and finance. The late 1990s witnessed spectacular growth in IT-BPO sector and gradually the culture of corporate governance as well as finance capitalism ushered in our country’s economic arena also. But tax regime is one area where minimum amount of reform have been done and in fact it represents the grotesque of the erstwhile economy fettered with obstinate regulations. With the economic growth registering around 7-9%, over a decade, India needs to bring about a massive overhauling of existing tax regime.
At present, this regime is marked by a plethora of taxes collected both by States and the Centre. This system of taxation is cumbersome, complicated and taxing as well as unfriendly to honest tax payers also. Sometimes, the amounts spent on collection of taxes are more than that of collected tax itself. The taxation across states is also, many a times, non-rational, impractical and unscientific.
India is now all set to introduce a new tax regime from 2010 fiscal. The 13th Finance Commission under Vijay Kelkar has been working on this issue for quite some time. It has proposed a new taxation regime called goods and service tax (GST) and is being finalized by Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers (ECSFM). If all goes well, this new system would subsume the older one. Kelkar is optimistic on the basis of his meticulous calculation about the encouraging outcome of this proposed tax regime in terms of amount of collection. He said that the values of GST reform will be about 500 billion Dollars i.e. half trillion dollar. If it proves true, it is going to bring about a silent revolution in the history of economic development of India. It is worth mentioning that India’s GDP in 2007-08 fiscal is about 57 lac crores, which is equivalent to about 1 trillion Dollars at current rupees value. It is being estimated that the GST will add 1.4% additional growth to the GDP.
The present pattern of contribution of different sectors to the GDP in terms of percentage is vastly different from what it was in pre 1990s. for instance, the Service sector’s contribution has swelled up to 50% and that of manufacturing sector stands at about 25%, whereas ; the contribution of agriculture has been drastically reduced to 24-25% in the GDP. This changing pattern is suggestive of the fact that we ought to evolve a new and modern but unified tax regime which should be in commensurate with the changing times. It is in this perspective the tax regime is urgently required to be overhauled, simplified and unified.
HOW WILL THE GST HELP IN SPUR IN GROWTH AND INCREASE THE VOLUME OF COLLECTION.
There is a saying in Kautilaya’s Arthshastra, the first book on Economics in the world, that the best taxation regime is that which is based on principle of “Liberal in assessment and ruthless in collection”. The proposed GST seems to be based on this very principle.
Firstly, at present, due to multiplicity of taxes being collected through an inefficient and non transparent system, many areas are either under-taxed or non-taxed or over-taxed. The introduction of GST is likely to rationalize it and thereby plug the loop holes in this system. It will help stop pilferage and at the same time will off load the over loaded tax burden from some organizations.
Secondly, the multiple taxations due to existence of a number of taxes imposed by centre and states have led to birth of a somewhat repressive and lethargic system of tax collection and are doing more harm than good to the growth of the economy. The red tapism in this area is loathing and no progressive country can afford it. The GST would hopefully do away with many, if not all, such anomalies in the system and metamorphose it into an efficient agency based on scientific and rational system of assessment. The removal of multiple taxes on goods at different levels would in a long run help increase the overall amount of tax collection.
Thirdly, the present system of refunding of taxes is a horrible experience. It encourages corruption as well as creates unnecessary secretarial works. The un-refunded tax on capital goods is a bane for capital accumulation. This in a way hinders the savings also, which is a pre-requisite to the growth. If this over-taxation is done away with, it will come as a boon for the honest tax payers. It will also lessen the chances of corruption by minimizing the discretionary powers.
Fourthly, At present indirect taxes are collected at various points, right from manufacturing to retailer’s outlet. It involves cumbersome process of assessment and primitive ways of collection. Such systems ultimately encourage tax evasion and also increase cost of commodities. GST proposes that the indirect taxes would be levied at the destination point. It is supposed to be less distorting and non-complicated. It would help remove imposition of taxes at different levels. This would help enhancement in revenue and lessening of hardships. Experiences across the world suggest that a more friendly tax environment helps increase in the collection without imposition of newer taxes or increasing the rate of it.
Fifthly, - if we take into account the GDPs of countries like USA, China, Japan, they are significantly much more than that of ours. For instance GDP of G-20 Nations (chart below) suggest that India has miles to go to achieve the level of the developed nations. The ongoing economic down turn and slow down of economy across the world has given India a golden opportunity to stake claim and get a cushioned berth in the world order, but for this we are required to increase our volume of GDP at least twice the present level.
The direct taxation regime has been by and large undergoing annual fine tuning and as a result of it the revenue receipt in this account has considerably increased but reform on such scale in indirect taxes has not been done. Indirect taxes are therefore urgently required to be made rationale and unified. If the GST is introduced in ‘letters and spirit’ would certainly increase the volume of the tax collection, thereby provide a great stimulus to our gently moving economy which has arrived at a level playing field vis-a-vis many major economies of the world.
Country GDP IN TRILLION USD
USA 13.84
JAPAN 4.30
GERMANY 2.81
BRITAIN 2.14
FRANCE 2.05
ITALY 1.79
CANADA 1.27
CHINA 6.99
India 1 trillion dollars
Finally, the time has come to say goodbye to the primitive type of tax structure which is obstructing the growth. The globe is moving towards economic unification. The very concept of European Union (EU) is based on a common European market based on unified and simplified taxation system. They have adopted ‘euro’, a single currency, so much so that even the concept of a European Parliament is being visualized. Steps are being taken to form this Parliament. If two or more nations come close and form economic unified entity (SAFTA,NAFTA,ASEAN etc are examples), why the federating units of India i.e. States do not eschew trivial interests and shun political differences to help establish a modern, unified and efficient tax regime. After all the very concept of distribution of taxes amongst the states were enshrined in the constitution to do away with such contradictions. We do practice this in case a number of direct taxes, this system can be introduced in other indirect taxes also.
PROBLEMS AHEAD- It is politically naïve to think in terms of its success in totality. Ours is a federation and each state has a different type of tax structure. Many states levy octroi, entry tax, stamp duty and municipal tax and plethora of other taxes. It is happy to believe that the states would agree and not levy these taxes in addition to GST.
If the states levy these taxes above GST, it would mar the very purpose of the proposed new tax regime and the very concept of a common Indian market with unified and simplified tax structure would not be visualized and implemented.
A consensus has to be arrived at in the ECSFM so that all states agree to it and help evolve a tax regime which is in congruent with the new global financial order dominated by culture of corporate governance.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Everybody is selfish....
I love watching Friends.You can't imagine how mad i can be for this series.But the topic of this post itself shows that it isn't good to start such a serious post with a line like that.Yeah this post has nothing to do with any thing humorous.So why Friends here..
Okay now unwrapping this mystery.Once while watching Friends series i found a very special line out of that.NOTHING IS SElFLESS.If you remember the episode having a small discusion between Joe & Pheobe over Selfless act in that episode, it was proved that there isn't any act in this world, a selfless one.
As its a kind of not so serious serial so it went unnoticed from most of the eyes.But if you think over it, it may start a long debate again, over itself.
Okay you may take your time & tell me any act where you did it for others only, not for you.
I remember when i was spending the last year of my college life,there used to be a THE WALL MAG(azine) in our floor, where all the creeps of my floor were writing the crap things about others.It was one of the nicest things happening in our floor.We had measured our heights & marked it over the wall with respective names.The very second day it turned up in adding adjectives to the names.I don't know exactly who had put for me there,but it was 'SELFISH' word added to my name.(selfish Sam)
Till then i haven't seen this episode, so was somewhat upset over it bcoz for the first time i had got an adjective totally different from others like spicy,sam,murga,dabo,majnu,sand-wich & all that.
But when i found nothing to be selfless thing i felt gr8.
This was not that just after that episode i was convinced with the thought, it took two exhausting day to come to this conclusion.As i have already mentioned its a matter to have big debate over, so i was split into two parts.One side was me who had recently beccome a big freak fan of JOE triviani to have a blind faith in what he says, while on the opposite side was Other-me, who was boast of doing a lot of stuffs for friends & others.Now as usual the other-me started being on heavier side of balance as it had past moments of a happening 24 year period( really a long one).It started thinking what are the things it had done in its past for others. Started with a bigger one
Other-me told what do you say about organising events for the college,as i have spoiled many nights of mine, missed a number of lunchs & breakfasts.i almost had most horrible experience of life for the college.
without delaying me retorted Nope..i disagree... it wasn't for others, it was for you, you did it just to prove how efficient you were.you were mad about label of a good organizer.
Other-me was almost indifferent by this defeat bcoz it was just the first ball & he had a complete over to bowled me.he again put a bouncer what about helping friends during campus recruitment time,as it was totally for them, i had got job in software company & if i read whole steel making process again it was for my friends only.there can't be anything selfish in this.It sounded like game was over & like always it was on other-me's side. It started to feel like floating in air after a victory.
But this happiness was evanescent, me played this ball very well for a boundary.he said you were doing this just to have a good feeling of helping others.you were doing this because you knew its good & by doing you just wanted to be good in your own eyes, for your satisfaction only.May be your act helped your friend but this never means that it was selfless because you were also benefited.You very well knew that doing good for others is a gr8 thing & you grabbed this opportunity for your sake.
This time Other-me was slightly perplexed as with this logic it was difficult to come up with new kind of balls.For some time there was a complete silence. but once again other-me came up with another example, this time not done by himself but done by his parents.How can you say what my parents did for me throughout my life was a selfish stuff.They would have availed a gr8 luxurious life if they wouldn't have spent so much money for educating me.they had a number of sleepless nights just bcoz of me.I knew this ball is weaker & it won't be difficult for me to play it & i was right.
Me answered its duty of all parents to facilitate their children as this is nothing but a redemption.they have also been taken care of by their parents so its just a cycle.If they don't do it they will be in debt throughout their life.so its not a selfless act at all.
This time other-me was almost numb & me was the one playing at the field.He swapped out everything & clarified all doubts.there is nothing which you aren't doing for yourself, in all kind of so called selfless thing there is an selfish intention hidden of trying to be selfless, which again is a selfish thing.
other me tried to come up with new logics but in vain.Really if i did sponsor the official website of my branch,it wasn't selfless. it was just because i wanted to do it,it had nothing to do with others,it was just for me, coz i like to do these kinds of thing.(once again i mentioned it & it wasn't selfless,it was intentional to let you know about this..hehe)
Okay now unwrapping this mystery.Once while watching Friends series i found a very special line out of that.NOTHING IS SElFLESS.If you remember the episode having a small discusion between Joe & Pheobe over Selfless act in that episode, it was proved that there isn't any act in this world, a selfless one.
As its a kind of not so serious serial so it went unnoticed from most of the eyes.But if you think over it, it may start a long debate again, over itself.
Okay you may take your time & tell me any act where you did it for others only, not for you.
I remember when i was spending the last year of my college life,there used to be a THE WALL MAG(azine) in our floor, where all the creeps of my floor were writing the crap things about others.It was one of the nicest things happening in our floor.We had measured our heights & marked it over the wall with respective names.The very second day it turned up in adding adjectives to the names.I don't know exactly who had put for me there,but it was 'SELFISH' word added to my name.(selfish Sam)
Till then i haven't seen this episode, so was somewhat upset over it bcoz for the first time i had got an adjective totally different from others like spicy,sam,murga,dabo,majnu,sand-wich & all that.
But when i found nothing to be selfless thing i felt gr8.
This was not that just after that episode i was convinced with the thought, it took two exhausting day to come to this conclusion.As i have already mentioned its a matter to have big debate over, so i was split into two parts.One side was me who had recently beccome a big freak fan of JOE triviani to have a blind faith in what he says, while on the opposite side was Other-me, who was boast of doing a lot of stuffs for friends & others.Now as usual the other-me started being on heavier side of balance as it had past moments of a happening 24 year period( really a long one).It started thinking what are the things it had done in its past for others. Started with a bigger one
Other-me told what do you say about organising events for the college,as i have spoiled many nights of mine, missed a number of lunchs & breakfasts.i almost had most horrible experience of life for the college.
without delaying me retorted Nope..i disagree... it wasn't for others, it was for you, you did it just to prove how efficient you were.you were mad about label of a good organizer.
Other-me was almost indifferent by this defeat bcoz it was just the first ball & he had a complete over to bowled me.he again put a bouncer what about helping friends during campus recruitment time,as it was totally for them, i had got job in software company & if i read whole steel making process again it was for my friends only.there can't be anything selfish in this.It sounded like game was over & like always it was on other-me's side. It started to feel like floating in air after a victory.
But this happiness was evanescent, me played this ball very well for a boundary.he said you were doing this just to have a good feeling of helping others.you were doing this because you knew its good & by doing you just wanted to be good in your own eyes, for your satisfaction only.May be your act helped your friend but this never means that it was selfless because you were also benefited.You very well knew that doing good for others is a gr8 thing & you grabbed this opportunity for your sake.
This time Other-me was slightly perplexed as with this logic it was difficult to come up with new kind of balls.For some time there was a complete silence. but once again other-me came up with another example, this time not done by himself but done by his parents.How can you say what my parents did for me throughout my life was a selfish stuff.They would have availed a gr8 luxurious life if they wouldn't have spent so much money for educating me.they had a number of sleepless nights just bcoz of me.I knew this ball is weaker & it won't be difficult for me to play it & i was right.
Me answered its duty of all parents to facilitate their children as this is nothing but a redemption.they have also been taken care of by their parents so its just a cycle.If they don't do it they will be in debt throughout their life.so its not a selfless act at all.
This time other-me was almost numb & me was the one playing at the field.He swapped out everything & clarified all doubts.there is nothing which you aren't doing for yourself, in all kind of so called selfless thing there is an selfish intention hidden of trying to be selfless, which again is a selfish thing.
other me tried to come up with new logics but in vain.Really if i did sponsor the official website of my branch,it wasn't selfless. it was just because i wanted to do it,it had nothing to do with others,it was just for me, coz i like to do these kinds of thing.(once again i mentioned it & it wasn't selfless,it was intentional to let you know about this..hehe)
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Which layer r u trapped in ?
Yesterday i heard of onion theory & this was the only thing running in my mind when was trying to hibernate myself.yeah since i got a respite from my night shifts, i no more can sleep,have lost my dreams (i guess) so what i manage to do in nights is to get into hibernation so that it may not affect my roommate.I think i need a break...but from what...from work..is it really the thing needed? Is it gonna work? i am afraid....well i'll discuss this unususal itch in my foot some other time.
Here i am to say how Onion theory can depict u on a canvass.
So what exactly is this? What it has to do with us? I can't say about others but i am an onion for sure.
Okay lemme explain it.I really believe i am an onion,layered, filled with juice,dangerous to play with,painful to unwrap.
If i count on my layers i find it five,all with different widths,different concentrations,different difficulty levels to cross through.Its not enigma,its not that you donno what has to be done to traverse these, but tedious one,doesn't need a keen mind to get the very Sambhaw hidden inside.The only thing it demands is capacity to withstand the constant pain in the process.
If i get into analyzing these i find thickness of layers to be proportional to the distance traveled.The outermost layer is thinest & the innermost the thickest.While if we look at the concentration level of juice we find it decreasing from surface towards center.
everything is made for a certain purpose, you need to take severe pain in the first layer.Most of the people keep roaming in this layer only & after some time they quit although its not very thick.All my general friends,acquaintances fall into this category.
If you are really strong enough to take the pain of first layer you can keep penetrating the second layer also.These are my close friends & relatives who've finally managed to know 30 % of mine.But this number is quite low.I am somewhat emotionally attached to these people.
In the third layer you wont find person other than Family members.They have got a position in this layer as they hadn't any choice other than bearing with me.They are now used to the problems they generally face because of me,but as in this layer due to low concentration level ,pain is also not severe.Inspite of this they couldn't manage to reach the next layer,probably due to its thickness.
The penultimate layer is still untouched,i know, will find someone in this layer someday.
Can't give u a name or a date,but this is gonna happen,of course not in near future,thats am sure.
The last layer is the layer where you can find real me,fumbling,staggering,confused enough to think what do i wanna do next,lost into the heavenly thick soft core of my onion.Its the most safe place possible to hide,soothing,harmless,concentration level of pain is almost zero.But still am confused,is it the place i wanna be ? About this layer i am not sure whether someone else will ever find a place to step into.
So should i get out of this layer or wait for someone to get into ?I am unable to decide, so the only possible thing to do is to leave everything as it is & watch how life unfolds itself.Thats what i am doing...
Here i am to say how Onion theory can depict u on a canvass.
So what exactly is this? What it has to do with us? I can't say about others but i am an onion for sure.
Okay lemme explain it.I really believe i am an onion,layered, filled with juice,dangerous to play with,painful to unwrap.
If i count on my layers i find it five,all with different widths,different concentrations,different difficulty levels to cross through.Its not enigma,its not that you donno what has to be done to traverse these, but tedious one,doesn't need a keen mind to get the very Sambhaw hidden inside.The only thing it demands is capacity to withstand the constant pain in the process.
If i get into analyzing these i find thickness of layers to be proportional to the distance traveled.The outermost layer is thinest & the innermost the thickest.While if we look at the concentration level of juice we find it decreasing from surface towards center.
everything is made for a certain purpose, you need to take severe pain in the first layer.Most of the people keep roaming in this layer only & after some time they quit although its not very thick.All my general friends,acquaintances fall into this category.
If you are really strong enough to take the pain of first layer you can keep penetrating the second layer also.These are my close friends & relatives who've finally managed to know 30 % of mine.But this number is quite low.I am somewhat emotionally attached to these people.
In the third layer you wont find person other than Family members.They have got a position in this layer as they hadn't any choice other than bearing with me.They are now used to the problems they generally face because of me,but as in this layer due to low concentration level ,pain is also not severe.Inspite of this they couldn't manage to reach the next layer,probably due to its thickness.
The penultimate layer is still untouched,i know, will find someone in this layer someday.
Can't give u a name or a date,but this is gonna happen,of course not in near future,thats am sure.
The last layer is the layer where you can find real me,fumbling,staggering,confused enough to think what do i wanna do next,lost into the heavenly thick soft core of my onion.Its the most safe place possible to hide,soothing,harmless,concentration level of pain is almost zero.But still am confused,is it the place i wanna be ? About this layer i am not sure whether someone else will ever find a place to step into.
So should i get out of this layer or wait for someone to get into ?I am unable to decide, so the only possible thing to do is to leave everything as it is & watch how life unfolds itself.Thats what i am doing...
Friday, January 08, 2010
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Smile...it's infectious..so start smiling...
Smile...Have we ever thought while smiling whether it's a PAN AMERICAN or DUSCHENNE one.whether it involved ZYGMATICUS muscles or ORBICULARIS OCCULI.Scared of words ?...didn't get anything?..well it was intended too..I also hadn't got it first when i found it in an article.
Okay m putting it in another way.Can u tell me how many times u passed a smile today ..or yesterday..or day before that.I don't expect any positive answer from urside,bt if i ask u how many of them were really heartfelt, probably u will b left with a blank face. I am not sure abt u ppl bt i don't remember when was the last time my smile was out of my control. All the time my smiles used to b smiles of politeness rather than happiness. They are just the part of social manners we were taught by our elders.
So a smile can b one originating frm Zygmatics muscles.For this kind of smile u needn't to do more than pulling ur lip corners up & tightening ur nose .Ya u r smiling now.
But it may b another one originating frm obricularis oculi.it brings a gleam in ur eye,raises ur cheeks up & impouches the lower eyelids.This is linked to happiness & activation of left hemisphere of brain(this part of brain has to do with positive emotions)
Do u know when had we given our first smile. It was two to three hrs after the birth & it was of second type.it was Parental smile.The second phase of smile starts between fifth week & fourth month, a social smile coz the infant smiles when it sees on a person's face.
when a smile is of second type it used to hav sm meanings b'hind it.one can read ur smile & get the mood or the state of mind u r goin through. You must hav seen MONALISA smile, if u hav seen it once i bet u can never forget it.Researchs have shown that when this painting was made she was 83% happy,9%disgusted,6 % fearful, 2 % angry.Can u believe so much info is hidden in that smile ? Ofcourse when u r talking abt one of the most mysterious smile of world u have to start thinking beyond the general limit.It has been said that she was pregnant at that time & that smile is smile of the coming of new life.
well i m not goot at analyzing arts, so won't comment on what others say, but one thing i am sure abt is that we r lucky we r bornin a country where we don't hav to search for moments to smile at.if we were of russian origin then it would hav been really difficult. Reason behind this is the russian culture . They can't differentiate between smile & laughter. If you pass a smile to a russian you may be thought to be a mad.
In a country like India also u can be deprived of moments of laughter, if u r working in a software company,but here also u will have ample chances to give a fake smile to your colleagues & managers.So in all the condition keep smiling and it will lead others to do so.
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