The voice that could stop another Dantewada ?

If you’re wondering, why I was harping on Mobile Technology and Infrastructure… it is precisely for this purpose… for IT to penetrate and add value to our great nation, benefitting the less-fortunate, giving them a voice  and improving their economic condition - India’s Economic Future is IT & Telecom’s Future in Vernacular.

Information & Communication Technology (ICT) is the only way forward… we have seen how the advent of Satellite and Cable Regional Language Television, have transformed the hinterland, providing them with unsurpassed awareness of how the “others” live.

However, the problem is that both TV and Print are broadcast one-way communications….the economically less privileged get to hear - but are not heard.

This one-sided communication of listen but don’t speak is the cause of the tragic events we are witnessing that is tearing apart the Chota Nagpur Plateau region of our beloved country.

With Broadband connections being a miniscule percentage of the 600 million mobile connections in India – I truly believe the future of ICT in India (and incidentally, the world as well,) is on the small screen and not on a laptop or desktop.

It is 2G, 3G LTE and WBA, that will lead to the much-needed two-way communication, which will provide the less-fortunate with a voice and representation… the beauty of mobile technology is its scalability.

Apart from boasting the cheapest hardware cost and entry load, amongst all Information and Communications Technologies-  You can use a Mobile to simply talk to someone, or use it in more interactive formats, such as IVR, SMS, Alerts and ultimately for full-scale Internet connectivity.

While urban Indians latch on to facebook, orkut, youtube and twitter (@shashitharoor) apps on their phones – there unfortunately remains a great void for similar apps in Indian languages, which can provide a powerful platform for individual representation and opinions.

While there have been great advances in Indian vernacular SMS, Email and News portals – There is no interactivity in the Regional Languages, no social networking, no online gaming, and very very few blogging sites.

The dearth of such infrastructure tools, applications and content, are what’s retarding the pre-eminence of the Unique Medium of Internet in India - as it has already been illustrated by our neighbour China.

Is this the voice that could stop another Dantewada?

###########

End Note –

Why is the Media FULLY focused on Lalit and his IPL kin and not the armed forces, the ‘insurgents’ and their kin???

Links in this Post –

http://aseemseth.blogspot.com/2010/03/is-it-bird-is-it-plane-noooo-its.html

http://aseemseth.blogspot.com/2010/03/we-got-carsbut-whither-roads-sad-state.html

http://aseemseth.blogspot.com/2010/04/no-words-can-express.html

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbo=p&qscrl=1&tbs=nws:1&q=naxal+maoist&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

http://in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINSGE63Q05A20100427?sp=true

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3GPP_Long_Term_Evolution

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_broadband

http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jul2006/gb20060721_375326.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactive_voice_response

http://twitter.com/shashitharoor

http://www.nriol.com/news/newsline/vernacular.asp

http://www.edu.cn/20010101/22272.shtml

http://www.google.com/search?q=dantewada&qscrl=1&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbo=u&tbs=nws:1&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wn

Leading from the Front – The Philosophy of Putting the Employee First

This post is dedicated to the Memory of Prof. CK Prahlad. 

“Good human relations not only bring great personal rewards but also are essential to the success of any enterprise” said the visionary JRD Tata.

“When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.” said George W. Carver, and that is precisely what we realised that in the knowledge industry, Value is created, not at the top, but from the front line – in face-to-face interactions between the customer and employees.

This  gave  birth  to  a  path breaking  concept  in management  called  the Employee  First  Philosophy (EFP) one of the most modern management ideas of our times.

It is a bold statement to make, and even more daring to uphold, in the fiercely fought competitive market of today. However, such is the realism, execution and communication of this concept- that customers, employees and all other stakeholders embrace it with the most positive mindset, and everyone reaps the benefits of this paradigm.

To quote Voltaire’s adage, “Common sense is not so common”, value is created at specific touch points – primarily when a customer meets and interacts with an employee, secondly when he experiences our products & solutions and lastly from Top Management cues – this is INVERTED PYRAMID OF THE NEW KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY OF TODAY.

The CEO of today is the Chief Empowerment Officer and the employee enabler of the knowledge economy, not the Chief Executive Officer and the command and control center of the industrial economy.

Every employee under EFP is an Empowered Employee, a Brand Ambassador with decision-making rights, and the right to take calculated risks. EFP employees build the brand with their hard work, spirit of innovation, passion for quality, and commitment to customers. Ensuring that they are provided the requisite skills, support, knowledge, recognition and a passionate place to work is the CEO’s job.

I would like to end with another quote from JRD Tata, which reflects the EFP spirit - “We have retained the fire of idealism and in its glow we have come to recognize that no wealth or power can be more valuable than our dignity; no loss or profit can be more critical than the loss of our credibility; no skills or qualifications can substitute the integrity of our character.”

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Additional Reading –

The Starbucks Case Study –

http://brandautopsy.typepad.com/brandautopsy/2007/01/the_starbucks_e.html

No Words can Express …

The Death of Innocence

A moment of silence

for those who have died needlessly

 both in India and Abroad.

I have already blogged on this here

----------------------------------

I QUIT

Tomorrow –April 13, 2010

I shall be back as a non-smoker next week…

PEACE

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Link in this post -

http://aseemseth.blogspot.com/2010/03/terrorism-success-of-stupidity.html

IF - The Mad Hatter, The March Hare & The 2 of Clubs were Bloggers

I really haven’t had time to cogitate this week, and write something substantive – ‘March’ has been ‘Mad’ with workload…

Therefore, I am writing something worth the Two of Clubs, in any game of cards.

As would be evident I managed to see Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” recently, the movie was what I expected from Tim & Johnny Depp’s Gothic Visions, though the other characters were a bit insipid, save for the Red Queen played amazingly by Helena Bonham Carter.

Other events of personal impact, for which I have not been able to devote adequate cogitation time, to elicit an opinion are –

1)     The New Fundamental Right to Education (RTE) – my personal persuasion of panacea - refer to my Terrorism & the Success of Stupidity Entry. The RTE is a wonderful law - added to The World’s Most Voluminous Constitution (that of India, juxtaposed with the most succinct constitution - USA’s)… How will it perform in practical implementation? … where are the teachers?

2)     The Demise of the Maruti 800 – India’s first people’s car … numerous tomes have already been written… so I am abstaining to add another.

3)     Love Over Country – LOC – The Sania & Shoaib Malik love story… setting an exemplary example …but culminating happily-ever-after in Dubai.

4)     Rising Prices-Stagnant Incomes, Food Shortages, Rotting Grain, Petroleum Prices, Commonwealth Taxes, The Direct Tax Code … I am still trying to make sense of it all – refer to my Palpitations by Pranab Entry.

5)     And Finally, with due credit to my good friend Urmi – I have been meditating on Kipling’s pièce de résistance , allegedly written in 1899 for his son, that I have regurgitated below –

IF

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,

if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Kipling himself noted that this poem had been "printed as cards to hang up in offices and bedrooms; illuminated text-wise and anthologised to weariness"

--------------------------------------------

Apologies for this entry…I fear I will be jailbroken & heartbroken ….But I hope to write something more original and substantive soon…

End Note: Money still talks… but today it is a hoarse whisper…

Web Links in this article-

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi4240966169/

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/04/01/india.education/

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/many-challenges-before-right-to-education/112494-37.html

http://aseemseth.blogspot.com/2010/03/terrorism-success-of-stupidity.html

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/auto/automobiles/End-of-the-road-for-Maruti-800/articleshow/5749179.cms

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/SPORT/tennis/03/31/tennis.mirza.malik.cricket/?hpt=T2

http://aseemseth.blogspot.com/2010/02/palpitations-by-pranab.html

http://sameoldurmi.blogspot.com/2010/03/if-by-kipling.html

http://www.kipling.org.uk/poems_if.htm

##############

We got the Cars…But whither the Roads? The Sad State of India’s Mobile Infrastructure

To clarify, this entry is linked to my previous entry about Mobile Technology.

Yes, I know, I know, the actual roads in my country are more potholes than tarmac, but I’m not going to rant about that, as there are enough activists, bloggers, public interest groups, etc breathing down NHAI’s neck and begging for PPP. PPP is Public Private Partnership – the closest concept to privatisation of transport infrastructure that India can achieve today.

Mobile Infrastructure in India takes two steps forward and one step back, thanks to our Government’s constant vacillation and inter-departmental fights, namely the Telecom Ministry, Defence Ministry & DRDO, and the latest Bug-Bears the Municipal and Metropolitan City Administrations.

I sympathize with The Defence Ministry, who, according to my opinion, is right in refusing to dispense with 3G radio spectrum that is currently being used by The Indian Armed forces.

Jawans battling and dying for our continued freedom at places like Siachen and Kargil are using outdated and bulky radio equipment that has been in service for over 30 years with 2G radio relay hubs, which translate to 50 Kg Backpacks.

The pressure from the telecom lobby on the Telecom Ministry, has given the Defence Ministry, a weak but effective leverage to push The DRDO to provide infantry platoons and the Jawans with integrated GPS-based navigation systems, secure lightweight walkie-talkie radio sets and better protective gear with a helmet that incorporates a built-in head-up display.

How effective this ploy is in getting DRDO approvals, is debatably dubious. As the 1972 model refurbished Arjun Tanks’ upgrade requests to DRDO are still “considered” as unessential.

The Telecom Ministry, has played favourites and released 3G spectrum to its own mobile service providers – MTNL & BSNL over a year ago, and has just recently announced the auction for the spectrum to the much bigger private corporate mobile phone. When the auction is concluded, and all disagreements sorted out…. The private players who will be licensed the 3G spectrum will begin upgrading their existing 2G infrastructure… How long this will take, is anyone’s guess… Safe to be thankful, atleast the process has been started!  

Coming to the latest Bug-Bears -  the Municipal and Metropolitan City Administrations- they have all of a sudden woken up and announced that the Cellular Tower Infrastructure, already in place, is of dubious safety standards, and many hundreds have been ceased and sealed, making them inoperative, causing immense trauma to the public.

Cell tower infrastructure providers need to furnish about 10 different NOCs/ clearances & certificates for each tower to be reactivated - Two steps forward and one step back…

So for all those Cadillacs (iPhones), BMWs (Android phones) and Mercedes (Nokias) out there… you still have to ride on the rocky cobblestones of India’s mobile infrastructure…. God save our suspensions!

-------------------

External Links in this article –

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article110458.ece

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/biz/india-business/9-players-to-bid-for-3G-no-new-entrants-in-fray/articleshow/5703583.cms

http://www.hindustantimes.com/rssfeed/newdelhi/More-cell-towers-sealed-in-city/Article1-520300.aspx

-----------------

End quote – “What if this weren’t a hypothetical question?”

Is it a Bird? Is it a Plane? Noooo! It’s a CELLPHONE!

Well, I admit the headline is a bit over-exaggerated, but I couldn’t resist using this famous line from the Superman Comic,

This post has a slight link with my earlier one, as I originally thought of using what Apple’s CEO had said here –

“Steve Jobs’ Post his Liver Transplant”

There is so much Buzz in the Mobile Technology space, by the time I write about it, most of it would have changed radically, so please forgive lapses in my reading of the pulse.

What is evident is that the “handheld” is what the world is converging too, and empirically that has turned out to be the ubiquitous cell-phone.

Cell Phones are so common that some people are even more nervous of using a public payphone STD/ISD/PCO phone than before, as they feel that they are used by the dirtiest people, dregs of society, who do not have a cell phone – incidentally my local vegetable cart seller has two of them.

To paraphrase my good friend @arorasaurabh – “Cutting edge Computer Programmers are now mobile phone programmers”.

Cell-phone buyers are now not just concerned with the hardware, look and feel, but the OS (Operating System) and other software loading capabilities, as well…. The form is now secondary to the content.

I once again thank the donor who gave Steve his liver, as it all started with the iPhone and the OS wars started –

> First there was Symbian (s50, s60, ver 3, UIQ, etc.)

> Mac OSx - Then came Steve with his new liver

> Google’s Android

> Windows 7 mobile

> Samsung’s Bada

> Nokia’s Meego (earlier Maemo and Intel’s Moblin)

> Palm OS

> Blackberry OS

> etc etc

Admitted Blackberry was in existence much before Apple launched the iPhone, the average cell-phone user started thinking of the cell-phone, as an information and communication device, rather than just a telephone, after the iPhone.

Moreover, it was the iPhone that shook up the market place; prior to it, LG Prada was the only touch-screen only phone…. And now, every manufacturer has atleast 2 touch-screen only models.

Personally, though I do not like to play favourites, and have been a staunch believer of open software (GIMP over Photoshop), OSes (Linux over Windows) and Hardware (Assembled over Branded, or DELL over Mac) and have been, till recently, a staunch anti-apple activist…

I have been defeated by one man’s vision of what a cell-phone should be, rather than the collective democratic vision of others – iPhone 3GS and the iTunes App Services, like it or not- RULE THIS SPACE … and all other mobile phone manufacturers are falling over each other to catch up.

While Steve Jobs and Apple have moved onto the iPad…

God Bless the Donor who gave him a Liver.

------------------------------------------------

End Note: Paraphrased From another good friend @nagadeepan

Old concept       “Do or Die”

New concept      “Do before you Die”

Latest concept    “Don’t Die before you Do”

Our concept       “What to Do NOW ?!?!?” 

Respect Recycle & Reuse - a Clarion Call to Organ Donors

In Tribute to Corporal Ben Kopp

 Corporal Benjamin Kopp

(born: 20 Jan 1988 - immortalised: 18 July 2009)

Corporal Benjamin S. Kopp was a rifleman assigned to 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, in the US Military, who died in Afghanistan, saving 6 soldiers in a firefight and then saved the life of 75 others by donating his organs…Now, his heart beats in 57-year-old Judy Meikle of Chicago.

I do not understand the stigma associated with Organ Donation -  Everybody is thankful to be a recipient but wary and scared of being a donor.

The Golden Rule, articulated in the Bible by Jesus is enshrined in most faiths is ‘Do to others as you would have them do to you!’

All the major religions believe, that the human soul resides in the body and The Body Is The Temple of The Soul.

If the body is a Temple for the Soul, why not let others use its bricks to continue living in their temples?

When the soul has departed, shed its mortal coil and all that is left is the shell …. Why can’t the shell be used by other souls ???

Can you imagine what the world would be like without the iPod revolutionizing the Music Industry, the iPhone revolutionizing Mobile Technology and now the iPad all set to do the same for Computers? These leaps and paradigm changes in consumer technology have happened all thanks to the Anonymous Organ Donor who gave Steve Jobs a new Liver.

To all those who oppose organ donation for the “supposed desecration” of the body, I adjudge that Ben and all organ donors, I am sure have been forgiven for (supposedly) “desecrating” their bodies, as The Golden Rule could also be worded as do for other as you would want them to do for you.

God Bless & Long Live Ben!

To Read more about Ben’s Immortality –

1)  http://www.blackfive.net/main/2009/08/the-heart-of-a-ranger-godspeed-corporal-benjamin-kopp.html

2) http://wcco.com/health/solider.heart.transplant.2.1121263.html

To Learn how to can become a Donor in India visit –

http://orbo.org.in/orbohome.htm
-------------------

ORGAN RETRIEVAL BANKING ORGANISATION (ORBO)

ALL INDIA INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES

Ansari Nagar, New Delhi- 1100 29

ORGAN DONOR FORM

Date                                                                                        Regd. No.

I, ……………………………………son / daughter / wife  of

……………………………………...in the hope that I may

help   other  hereby   make   this  anatomical  gift,  if  medically  acceptable,  to   take

effect upon my brain death.  I hereby with to donate the following organs.

Hearts, Lungs, Kidneys, Liver, Corneas & ……………………………

My blood group is …………………………………

Special wishes - ……………………………….…………

Signed by the donor in the presence of two witnesses:

                                                                                                                                               

          Signature of donor with date                                Date of birth of donor

Address of the donor ……………………………………………………………

Telephone No.………………………..

                                                                                                                                   

    Witness    (1)                                                                    Witness (2)

Can Refusing a Customer Create Goodwill? Yes, it did for me.

With the worldwide recall of cars by most major auto companies... i thought of this personal anecdote, which has far-reaching repercussions for the business in question, apart from the Management Principles it illustrates.

I was at the outlet of a well-known fast-food business, and when I reached the counter, I ordered a specific burger “X” from the brand representative.

The brand representative, looked at his inventory monitor, and said, “I have one burger X …but would you please wait a second?” – he asked sincerely, as if I had a choice.

So I waited…

He went to the back of the store and came back in about 15 seconds, and said, “I am extremely sorry sir, but I will not be able to serve you a burger X, please choose some other item…”

“But why?” I interjected vehemently, “You just told me you HAD one!” I exclaimed loudly.

“Sir, you are right, I have one burger X,” replied the brand rep, “But I’m very sorry, I will not serve it, as it has been over 30 minutes, since it was cooked, please choose some other item…”

I was amazed!

Since then, I have been an ardent fan, follower and propagator of this fast-food establishment. Their (1) customer courtesy & (2) speed of response, (3) the business’ QC and (4) frontline employee empowerment, have created Brand Loyalty by Refusing a Customer.


(5) Admitting an error or mistake, and taking extraordinary remedial measures, can actually improve customer loyalty.

What other Management Principles do you find?

#####

End Note: Obesity is the curse of the Middle Class… who work their ass off, but don’t have the time to work their abs off.

Terrorism & the Success of Stupidity

The Hon’ble Home Minister of India Shri Palaniappan Chidambaram has clearly stated that the recent Pune Blast at the German Bakery was not “Intelligence Failure”.

I agree, it was the Success of Stupidity, ignorance and cowardice; it was the hole-hearted, brain-dead act of imbeciles & anarchists, who have lost faith in themselves and their own belief systems.

Here are quotes from the four major religions of the world, that abominate violence –

1)     Christianity – The Bible Says: Seek peace, and pursue it. (Proverbs 34:14) Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (Matthew 5:9) Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.(Hebrews 12:14)

2)     Islam – The Quran Says: Making peace between people, is a virtue (2:224,). Making peace with an unbeliever is a mark of a true believer (25:63). Allah is the bringer of peace (59:23). Even the word “Islam” is related to (derived from, some say) the Arabic word for “peace” - “salaam”.

3)     Hinduism – The Rig Veda Says: Let your aims be common, and your hearts of one accord, and all of you be of one mind, so you may live well together. The truth is One; the wise call it by many names. Kindled in various forms, the perennial flame is one; sprinkling the world with golden beams at dawn; painting the evening clouds with changing colors, the sun is one. One should perform karma with nonchalance without expecting the benefits because eventually one shall definitely get the fruits. He who gives liberally goes straight to the gods; on the high ridge of heaven, he stands exalted. (10.191)

4)     Buddhism – The Vinaya Pitaka Says: In due season will I speak, not out of season. In truth will I speak, not in falsehood. Gently will I speak, not harshly. To his profit will I speak, not to his loss. With kindly intent will I speak, not in anger.

Then, what incites these cowards to perform such horrifying acts is a lack of a belief in themselves and being Uneducated Illiterates of their Faith.

The only solution to these issues is educated literacy.

Providing people with an education is more than just teaching them to read and write, it is creating an individual who has independence of thought, a thirst for knowledge and the courage to question.

The Quest for Truth is the ultimate goal of education and ALL faiths – including Communism.

 I would like to end this post with a Prayer –

“God, grant me the serenity

To accept the things I cannot change;

The courage to change the things that I can;

And the wisdom to know the difference.”

Amen/ Ameen/ Aum

Peace.

Read more on the solution - http://news.google.co.in/news/search?aq=f&pz=1&cf=all&ned=in&hl=en&q=education+india

Read more on the problem - http://news.google.co.in/news/search?aq=f&pz=1&cf=all&ned=in&hl=en&q=german+bakery

http://news.google.co.in/news/search?aq=1&pz=1&cf=all&ned=in&hl=en&q=terrorism&oq=terro

End Quote – “The price of freedom of religion, or of speech, or of the press, is that we must put up with, and even pay for, a good deal of rubbish.” - Justice Robert H. Jackson

Palpitations by Pranab

Kamada Kinkar Mukherjee, was improsined for over 10 years, for fighting for India’s freedom, while in Birbhum, West Bengal, his son was honing his skills in communication, writing for the Desher Dak Magazine. In 1969, little Pranab began his political career as a Member of the Rajya Sabha from the Congress Party, rose to become India’s Finance Minister in 1982, and was rated as one of the five best FMs in the world by Euro Money in 1984.

With the Union Budget for 2010-11 being announced on February 26, all eyes are on our venerated and wizened FM – Hon’ble Pranab Mukherjee, who has the unenviable task of What appears to be a case of an irresistible force meeting an immovable object - balancing the country’s economy, while keeping his party in political power.

The Hon’ble FM Pranab Mukherjee must control the aftermath of the global recession including -  

1)     Reigning in hyper-inflation – rising food prices, controlling petroleum hikes, etc. - basically to much printed paper currency running after reduced goods and services

2)     Boosting growth – Agricultural, Industrial, Infrastructural, Occupational… and all the other ‘al’s.

What I fear is that the FM will choose to take the path of least resistance, and wring the neck of the Fixed Middle Income Group, who form a small, insignificant & fragmented vote bank,  but are the easiest to tax & take from.

Kindly have a defibrillator ready for me - Here come my palpitations (courtesy of Pranab) –

I)                   Removal of ELSS

II)                Conversion of PF from EEE to EET

III)              Increased Home Loan Rates

IV)              Removal of Home Loan Interest Deductions

V)                 Increased Property Tax

VI)              Increased Petrol & LPG prices

VII)            Increased Essential Commodity Prices – Roti (Bread) & Kapda (Clothing) Expenses

VIII)         Increased General Cost of Living Expenses

IX)              Increase in Tax Saving u/s 80 from Rs. 100K to Rs. 300K

I hope and pray these palpitations, do not convert into a coronary heart attack!

What are you Grouses? Please post… Misery LOVES company!


--------------------

Update - Pranab's Speech Today-

While "IT returns forms for individual tax payers are to be further simplified", dunno how, we are going to welcome Hyper-Inflation (or HUGE Interest Rates) with -

"Income up to Rs.1.6 lakh per year exempt from income tax; up to Rs.5 lakh to be taxed at 10 percent; income of Rs.5-8 lakh to be taxed at 20 percent and income above Rs.8 lakh to be taxed at 30 percent" - more demand

&

Higher prices with immediate effect as "Petrol & Diesel up by 1 Rupee per Litre"

  

I hope that-

"GDP GROWTH SEEN AT 8.5 PCT, INFLATION AT 4 PCT IN FY11"

Here is a brief of the latest provisions on Direct tax under Budget proposals announced by Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee for the Year 2010-2011

Tax on Personal Income:

Income slab (in Rs.) and tax rates

During FY 09-10                                                 Proposed for 10 -11

0 – 1.60L           NIL tax                                      0 - 1.60L           NIL Tax

>1.60 – 3L         10%                                          >1.60 – 5L         10%

>3L – 5L           20%                                          >5L – 8L           20%

>5L                   30%                                          >8L                   30%

In addition to the above, benefit under 80C can be claimed for an amount upto Rs. 1.20L as against existing level of Rs. 1L, by investing an additional sum of Rs. 20000 (max permissible) in Infrastructure Bond to be announced by the Government in the near future.

IMPACT:

Above revision will give you Tax relief of Rs. 56000/- p.a . To this if you add 3% towards education cess, the total relief will be Rs. 57680/-

Proposals with negative impact on your pocket:

Petrol and Diesel prices will go up by Re. 1/- 

Excise duty on Large cars and SUVs (if you propose to buy one) – will go up by 2% (from 20% to 22%).

Direct Tax Proposals which impact Corporates:

Surcharge on domestic companies reduced from 10% to 7.5%

Minimum alternate Tax increased from 15% to 18%

Thankfully none of the other major palpitations seem to have been affected (YET) - status quo maintained.... Praying that I am wrong on Hyper-Inflation Front…