Main Page                                                 Archives

Scientist President turns poetic

     New Delhi: President Dr. Abdul Kalam turned poetic in his address to the joint sitting of Parliament this morning. Though Presidents have nothing much to tinker with the address,which is a usual policy statement of the government of the day at the beginning of every year, Dr. Kalam opened up his mind with a three stanza poem.

     "Where are we now, dear friends, Inthe Maha Sabha that shapes as history, The call of heart beats the Indian people, People ask us, people ask us;

     "Oh Parliamentarians, the sculptors of Mother India, Lead us unto light, enrich our lives. Your righteous toil is our guiding light, If you work hard, we all can prosper.

    "Like King, so the people, Nurture great thoughts, rise up in actions, May righteous methods be your guide; May you all prosper ever with Almighty's grace."

     In conclusion, the President said, "Now I end with this prayer Kalam, you may live for thousands of years and each year may have 50 thousand days." Dr. Kalam, as any other ordinary Indian, would also be looking forward to the worthy Parliamentarians, if only they behave with a sense of resposibility.

Tax relief likely to go (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: The Economic Survey for the Budget 2005- 06 which was released today advocated a phased removal of tax exemptions in tandem with "low compliance cost" for honest taxpayers, mostly the salaried class. The Survey said: "both Centre and states need to improve tax administration to have an impersonal and hassle free tax regime." It has made a specific reference to Kelkar Task Force recommendations that categorically suggested "widening tax base through removal of exemptions and grandfathering". Kelkar panel had mooted raising Income Tax exemption limit to Rs 1,00,000 along with 20 per cent rate for income upto Rs 400,000 and 30 per cent for income beyond that. The panel had also proposed cut in Corporate Tax rate to 30 per cent, reduction in depreciation rate from 25 to 15 per cent, while proposing continuance of tax incetives for existing units but lifting it for new units. Favouring a stable tax rates, the survey said "higher tax revenues have to be realised not through increasing tax rates, but through innovative changes in policies, procedures, laws and dispute settlement mechanism." It suggested innovative ways and automatic collection of taxes at source by use of IT. The survey tabled in Parliament also stressed on widening of tax base through increasing the share of service tax in tax revenues, removal of exemptions that do not conform to the established principles of tax policy and an enforcement mechanism that is non-discretionary, transparent and effective. "The present tax system needs to be further simplified and streamlined," it said. On state-level taxes, the Survey pitched for phasing out of Central Sales Tax for smooth implementation of Value Added Tax in states from April 2005. It said: "The introduction of VAT at the state level from April 1, 2005 will go a long way in removing the cascading effect of the extant sales tax regime."

Lalu gives final touches to Rail Budget (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: ailway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav gave last minute touches to the Rail Budget to be presented in the Parliament on Saturday. The Planning Commission has indicated a hike in the budgetary support to the tune of 1500 crore rupees, while Railways is poised to earn 1500 crore rupees in excess of the budgetary target. Yadav said he would divulge the budget specifics only in parliament. "I'm going to present the Railway Budget tomorrow in the Parliament. The details shall be disclosed tomorrow," Yadav said. Railways have been advised to go for market borrowings, reduce cross subsidy on passenger fares and impose a cess to raise additional resources for its modernisation programmes in the budget. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has cleared five more projects for the Railways, which would be announced by the Railway Minister during his budget presentation.

---