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REALTY Pregnant Multi Millionaire's`Parliamentary Budget Session Delivers Realty Sops as the Zionist Brahmin FM Remains Determined to Kill the Majority Masses and the Aboriginal Rural India Real!
FM-led panel to take call on fuel price deregulation
Government apprises MPs from Naxal areas on development schemes!Two CRPF jawans among four held for supplying arms to Naxals!
राजकोषीय घाटे में पिछले तकरीबन दो दशकों में सबसे बड़ी कटौती करने वाले वित्त मंत्री प्रणव मुखर्जी के बजट प्रस्ताव हाउसिंग सेक्टर, विमान यात्रा, कॉफी के किसानों और हेल्थकेयर सेक्टर के लिए कुछ रियायतों के एलान के साथ गुरुवार को पारित हो गए। सरकारी खजाने पर बोझ घटाने के लिए पेट्रोलियम उत्पादों पर शुल्क बढ़ाने के अपने रुख पर सरकार अड़ी रही जबकि विपक्षी दलों ने कहा था कि इन शुल्कों से महंगाई को और हवा मिलेगी।Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time - THREE HUNDRED Fifty Eight
Palash Biswas
http://indianholocaustmyfatherslifeandtime.blogspot.com/
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FM offers fresh sops for realty, planters, air travel, healthcare! Inflation and Price Rise, specifically Petro Prices for which the Bell Tolled in the Parliamntary Nataunkee followed by IPL Sexy Scandal and Madhuri Gate, REMAIN Unaddressed. Masses have NO Relief at all and economic Ethnic Cleansing Continues!
REALTY Pregnant Multi Millionaire's`Parliamentary Budget Session Delivers Realty Sops as the Zionist Brahmin FM Remains Determined to Kill the Majority Masses and the Aboriginal Rural India Real!Holding firm on not rolling back the hike in prices of petrol and diesel, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday announced a debt relief package for coffee growers and marginal changes in tax proposals to benefit sectors such as construction and encourage the setting up of new hospitals.Alongside, however, he rejected the demand for waiving the service tax on air travel saying that the levy on domestic travellers would only be Rs. 100 per ticket, while international travel would attract a maximum tax of Rs. 500.FM-led panel to take call on fuel price deregulation!
Two CRPF jawans among four held for 'supplying' arms to Naxals!
Government apprises MPs from Naxal areas on development schemes!
India, Japan set up JWG on civil-nuclear cooperation!
In a landmark development, India and Japan today agreed to work towards a civil nuclear treaty with the establishment of a Joint Working Group (JWG) on civil nuclear cooperation. The decision was taken during a meeting between the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of India, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, and Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Masayuki Naoshima during the fourth ministerial-level meeting of the India-Japan Energy Dialogue, in New Delhi.An increase in petrol and diesel prices is almost a certainty soon after the Budget session of Parliament, with PM Manmohan Singh setting up an empowered ministerial panel under finance minister Pranab Mukherjee to decide on deregulation of motor fuel pricing.
The quantum of increase will depend on whether the panel decides to deregulate pricing fully in line with the recommendations of three successive committees or simply revise pump prices upwards to keep state-run oil retailers in business.
The committee under former Planning Commission member Kirit Parikh is the latest to suggest freeing of petrol prices.
If the pricing regime is deregulated, petrol will become costlier by Rs 6.68 a litre at one go in Delhi and diesel Rs 5.81. The final street price will be higher due to incremental increase in local taxes. But if deregulation is in phases or the government decides to simply revise prices, the increase may be pared to Rs 3-4 a litre for petrol and Rs 2-3 for diesel.
The arithmetic of mounting losses of state-run oil marketing companies and Mukherjee's refusal to keep flow of dole indefinitely has left little choice but to pass on at least some of the burden to consumers.
Besides, as predicted by the government, food prices too have started showing signs of declining on arrival of the winter crop in the market. The headline inflation too is expected to start cooling off after June, which will give room to absorb much of the cascading effect of an increase in diesel price.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's budget proposals with the biggest deficit reduction in nearly two decades were passed on Thursday, barring token concessions to housing, airtravel, planters and healthcare.
The government stuck to its stance on raising duties on petroleum products to reduce the strain on the exchequer, which the opposition parties termed inflationary. The concessions will shave off Rs 400 crore from the government's estimated revenue.
"Instead of duties, I could have taken the administered price mechanism route, but I did not do so, because, to me, it would not have been correct," Mukherjee said in his reply to the debate on the Finance Bill in the Lok Sabha.
Mukherjee, who is back to managing the finances of the nation after a quarter of a century, is treading with caution to build the revenues of the government by slowly rolling back the tax concessions and bringing in more services under the tax net.
Containing inflation is also on top of his agenda. Fiscal deficit is estimated to fall to 5.5% of the gross domestic product. The economy may grow 8.5% this fiscal and more than 9% next year.
The concessions will reduce the incidence of service tax on housing and air travel, incentivise construction of big hospitals, keep cancer and anti-AIDs drugs cheap and provide relief to debt-ridden coffee growers. But that did not satisfy the opposition parties which walked out of the house.
Mukherjee defended the decision saying that it would also benefit the states, some of which are ruled by opposition parties. States would get a 32% share of higher duties which may be Rs 26,000 crore. But these actions alone may not be enough to keep interest rate and inflation stable as it is poised to borrow Rs 3.81 lakh crore for the year.
"Notwithstanding lower budgeted government borrowings in 2010-11 than in the year before, fresh issuance of securities will be 36.3%, higher than in the previous year," Reserve Bank of India governor D Subbarao said on April 20. This presents a dilemma," for the central bank.
However,Food inflation cooled off by over one percentage point to a month's low of 16.61% in the week ended April 17 as pressure on prices declined with the arrival of rabi (winter) crops in the markets but analysts said price pressure will remain till June, with the effect of food inflation spreading to manufactured items. But government officials said food prices will decline further as the projection of a normal monsoon will calm speculative activities in the commodities markets.
In a stout defence of his tax proposals in his reply to discussions on the Finance Bill 2010 in the Lok Sabha, Mr. Mukherjee pointed out that while the fresh concessions would mean a revenue loss of about Rs. 300-400 crore during the fiscal, a rollback in the prices of petroleum products and fertilizer was not affordable in view of the economic compulsions.
Following this, the entire Opposition walked out in stages, starting with the BJP, and the House later passed the Bill by voice vote after including the relevant official amendments.
Seeking the cooperation of all parties in containing food inflation and sustaining the growth momentum, Mr. Mukherjee sought to explain why he could not concede to the Opposition's demand for a roll-back in prices. The financial position of the exchequer, he said, was such that apart from the huge outgo on account of food and fertilizer subsidies, interest payments and other liabilities, the oil marketing companies (OMCs) would be faced with an under-recovery of Rs. 85,000 crore during the year.
"Any additional burden at this juncture could indulge in financial profligacy that I cannot afford to do...oil price is so volatile...when will it go up...nobody knows," Mr. Mukherjee told newspersons later.
In keeping with the government's programme of improving healthcare facilities, Mr. Mukherjee said construction of hospitals with at least 100 beds in any part of the country would qualify for tax concessions based on their investment.
He also restored the customs duty concessions for 'ostomy' appliances which are used to treat cancer patients while reducing the basic customs duty on 11 drugs to five per cent. Likewise, to render tax relief to the construction sector, Mr. Mukherjee announced that by providing higher abatement, the newly imposed service tax would be levied only on 25 per cent of the total value of the property, including land, instead of on 33 per cent, as was proposed in the budget.
For the benefit of the urban poor, the Finance Minister also waived the service tax on low-cost housing under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and the Rajiv Gandhi Awas Yojna.
With the passage of the Bill by the Lok Sabha, the three-stage budgetary process stands completed.
Over the week, inflation declined from 17.65% as prices of masur, jowar, fruits and vegetables dropped around 2% and that of wheat by 1%. However, moong, urad and fish-inland became costlier. Pulses, however, remained expensive by about 30%, milk by 22% and fruits by about 10% over the last year.
''The outlook is further brightened by the fact that a normal monsoon is predicted this year... Indications of softening of food inflation are clearly visible... It is expected that this decline will continue in the coming months uninterruptedly,'' finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had said on Wednesday.
Though food prices have started easing, overall inflation is on the rise, with it spreading to non-food segments.
The wholesale price-based inflation in March was 9.9%, much higher than RBI's projection of 8.5% by March-end. On an annual basis, potatoes saw a significant fall of 28% in prices on glut in supplies in various parts of the country and onions became cheaper by 10%. To contain inflation, RBI had raised its key short-term lending and borrowing rates.
India New Budget 2010 highlights and expectations.
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Indian ExpressHouse approves Finance Bill
Business Standard - 20 hours agoFinance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today announced several tax exemptions and sops before putting the Finance Bill, 2010, to vote in the Lok Sabha. ...Lok Sabha passes Finance Bill with no change in fuel levies - Times of India
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Finance Bill passed, new sops announced - NDTV.com
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Deccan HeraldLS passes Finance Bill, Mukherjee announces additional reliefs
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BloombergUTV - 3 hours agoThe Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the Finance Bill 2010 with some minor changes ... India VIX is a measure of the market's expectation of volatility over the ...Market pares gains in late trade - BloombergUTV
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Two CRPF jawans among four held for 'supplying' arms to Naxals
The Uttar Pradesh STF today arrested four people including two CRPF jawans in the state for allegedly stealing arms and ammunitions and supplying the same to the Naxals.UP police said the arrests were made following an operation based on a tip off received in the aftermath of the Dantewada massacre, in which 76 security personnel were killed by the Naxals.
Official sources said the STF carried out searches in Moradabad, Rampur and Jhansi and arrested Vinod Paswan and Dinesh Singh of the CRPF.
They said one retired sub-inspector of Provincial Armed Constabulary, identified as Yashodhanad Singh, was seen moving in different armory centres of the CRPF and PAC and collecting empty shells of bullets fired during the training.
These shells were later replaced at the main Rampur armoury with live bullets and finally supplied to Naxals, sources said.
Over 5,000 live cartridges, 16 magazines of INSAS rifles, .25 bore guns, SLR and AK 47s were recovered besides 245 kg of empty shells.
The CRPF, meanwhile, has suspended both its personnel arrested by the STF and ordered an immediate Court of Enquiry.
"We have suspended both the personnel and have also ordered an immediate Court of Enquiry. We are in constant touch with the UP police and are extending all help to them," CRPF Director General Vikram Srivastava said.
Later, addressing the media, Additional Director General of UP police Brij Lal said, "We have also recovered large number of arms components, mobile phones and Rs 1.76 lakh in cash."
He said the network of the racket was large and has been running for more than six months and the police is questioning the four to look at the possibility of involvement of more persons.
Government apprises MPs from Naxal areas on development schemes
Government on Friday apprised MPs belonging to 33 worst Naxal-affected districts about its strategy, especially development schemes, and sought their cooperation in the task to deal with the Maoists.Home Minister P Chidambaram and other top officials briefed the MPs about the gravity of the Maoist problem and steps being taken by government to deal with the menace.
"Planning Commission had given a presentation to the MPs about development schemes. Focus is entirely on flagship programmes of Government of India as implemented in the districts," Union home secretary, Gopal K Pillai, told reporters after the nearly two-hour long meeting.
Some of the 20 participating Parliamentarians also spoke about the problems in their respective areas and offered their help in implementing development schemes.
"The MPs spoke about their perspective on the issue and what role they could play in ensuring the better monitoring of various programmes," Pillai said.
A similar exercise will take place in the second half of May because the meeting could not cover all constituencies and districts.
During the presentation, government drew attention of the MPs to anti-development activities of Naxalites as they have been destroying school buildings, roads and telephone towers among others.
Of the 33 districts, 10 are in Jharkhand, seven in Chhattisgarh, six in Bihar, five in Orissa, two in Maharashtra, one each in Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
All these districts are underdeveloped and authorities believe that economic backwardness may drive many local people of these regions to join the Maoist ranks, the official said.
JD(U) MP from Jahanabad (Bihar) Jagdish Sharma said he asked the government to take people into confidence while carrying out about development schemes.
"Government must take urgent steps for eradication of poverty, improvement of road connectivity, irrigation projects, PDS schemes etc. to get support of the common people," he said.
BJD MP from Dhenkanal (Orissa) Tathagata Satapathy said government must ensure that the development schemes are implemented with utmost sincerity.
Independent MP from Chatra (Jharkhand) Inder Singh Namdhari favoured more such meetings for better cooperation and proper implementation of the schemes.
The meeting was held in the wake of the killing of 76 security personnel by the Maoists in Chhattisgarh on April 6.
Government has taken these 33 districts as focus districts to root out the menace from there and subsequently carry out developmental activities.
Lalu, Mulayam want caste-based census
RJD chief Lalu Prasad and SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav today took exception to the way the national census was being carried out and demanded that it be held on the basis of caste to bring out the number of people belonging backward classes. Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha during Zero Hour, Prasad said there was a "huge conspiracy" behind the way the current national census was being carried out.Supported by Yadav, the RJD leader said the census should be carried out like the one in 1931 when information was collected on the basis of caste and the population of the backwards had become known. Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj sought a discussion on the census in the House which was agreed to by Speaker Meira Kumar.
A host of other issues including plight of potato growers and corruption in the Union Home Ministry besides demand for more money from the PM''s relief fund for the sick were raised. Reoti Raman Singh (SP) expressed himself strongly against limiting the quota of MPs for giving relief from the PM relief fund to the needy people suffering from serious illnesses like cancer and heart.
He was supported by several members and Minister of state for Parliamentary Affairs V Narayanasamy assured the House that the matter would be brought to the attention of the Prime Minister. Rajnath Singh (BJP) drew the government''s attention to the plight of potato growers in the country.
He spoke of attempts by some farmers in West Bengal to commit suicide as the prices of their produce crashed. He wanted the Government to do away with the forward trading in potato, onions and tomato and steps to help the potato growers.
Shailendra Kumar (SP) asked the government to ensure proper investigation into the alleged corruption in the Union Home Ministry during the purchase of bulletproof jackets. Jagdambika Pal (Cong) narrated the plight of cane-growers in Uttar Pradesh following the failure of sugar mills to give arrears totalling Rs 1,111 crore.
Amid protests from BSP members, he wanted the state government to immediately intervene in the matter.
Supreme Court gets new chief justice, woman judge
The Supreme Court of India Friday got a new chief justice, Sarosh Homi Kapadia, and its only woman judge, Gyan Sudha Misra.The law and justice ministry said that Justice Kapadia will take over May 12 from Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, the first Dalit to occupy the post.
Kapadia was born Sep 29, 1947, only months after India became independent. He enrolled as an advocate in September 1974 and practised at the Bombay High Court.
He was appointed additional judge of the high court Oct 8, 1991, and was elevated as a permanent judge March 23, 1993.
Kapadia became the chief justice of the Uttarakhand High Court Aug 5, 2003 and moved to the Supreme Court bench Dec 18, 2003.
According to the Supreme Court website, he is due to retire Sep 29, 2012.
Also Friday, the Supreme Court got three new judges, with Jharkhand High Court Chief Justice Gyan Sudha Misra becoming the first woman judge since Justice Ruma Pal retired in June 2006.
The others who were elevated to the apex court were Madras High Court Chief Justice Hemant Laxman Gokhale and Bombay High Court Chief Justice Anil Ramesh Dave.
They will be the judges of the Supreme Court with effect from the dates they assume charge of their offices.
Justice Mishra told reporters that she was happy with the new post and described herself as a representative of Indian women.
Justice Fathima Beevi was sworn-in as the first woman judge of the Supreme Court Oct 10, 1989. She retired April 29, 1992.
Justice Sujata Manohar became the second woman Supreme Court judge Nov 8, 1994, retiring Aug 27, 1999.
Justice Ruma Pal held the post from Jan 28, 2000 till June 6, 2006.
Madhuri Gupta, the IFS officer held for allegedly spying for Pakistan, is said to have told her interrogators that she passed on information to the Pakistani ISI "willingly and without any financial benefit" to "teach a lesson" to Ministry of External Affairs and its "arrogant" Indian Foreign Service officers.
"What took you so long to get me?" is what Gupta told Indian security agencies after her arrest.
She named two handlers Mubashir Rana and Jamshed who she claims were introduced to her by a Pak journalist in 2008 but their names haven't been verified.
While Gupta's motivations are not clear, sources said, there's evidence to suggest that the 53-year-old Second Secretary working with the Indian High Commission in Islamabad was "disgruntled" with her job. And it was after she criticised her working conditions in public that Gupta was approached by the ISI, sources said.
They said she has admitted she was sending daily reports to her handlers whom she met frequently in a safehouse in Islamabad but has denied any "personal or financial relationship" with her handlers.
While the damage done by her is still being ascertained, the government is worried over how her case has been handled by security agencies here. For, in a major faux pas, authorities exposed R K Sharma, Press Counsellor and senior officer of India's external intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), in Pakistan, while sharing information with the media on Wednesday. Senior officials admit the revelation has caused a major embarrassment.
It has made the continuance of that officer in Pakistan untenable and with his identity exposed, he is no longer in a position to carry out his job. In fact, the revelation has jeopardised his chances of any similar assignment ever. Sources said a decision on him was likely as soon as the top MEA brass returns from Bhutan where the SAARC conference is currently underway.
Questions are also being raised over the timing of the disclosure about Madhuri Gupta's espionage activities, coming as it did just a day before the Prime Ministers of the two countries were to meet in Bhutan on the sidelines of the SAARC summit. Gupta had already been under detention for five days before the news broke out and sources said the investigators probably chose a wrong time to let the information become public.
Sources said it was unlikely that she had passed on anything very damning to her Pakistani handlers. They pointed out that she had been charged only under the Official Secrets Act and not the National Security Act or booked for sedition.
Gupta accused a senior IFS officer of having mistreated her during her posting in Baghdad and blamed the MEA for not giving her study leave with pay. A "high-strung personality" with deep resentment towards IFS officers, Gupta said she interacted well with Sharma but there's no evidence to show if she blew the cover of other Indian operatives.
Gupta told her interrogators that her handlers had created a special e-mail ID for her through which she used to send reports about the daily happenings in the High Commission. One of the emails Gupta used included madsmiles@gmail.com. Sources believe that it appears, as of now, that Gupta was a "one-woman" operation without any accomplice. But investigators are also probing certain officials in the Indian High Commission who were privy to certain information, which Gupta got access to.
Gupta was also reportedly using two mobile phones and the police are analysing call details of both. She was in touch with her friends in India and other places where she has worked via Facebook. The Facebook account in her name shows her as a fan of several pages including CNN International, "I need more sleep" and "Gol gappe."
वित्त विधेयक पास, सौगातों की बहार
कॉफी के शौकीनों की मौज!
कई क्षेत्रों को मिली राहत
विपक्षी गर्मी में बरसी राहत
सरकार ने खोला रियायतों का पिटारा
लोकसभा में फाइनैंस बिल पास, छोटी-छोटी रियायतें
उड़ानें सस्ती हुई
आवास, अस्पताल क्षेत्र को और राहत
The Lok Sabha today passed the Finance Bill 2010, which will give effect to the proposals in the General Budget for 2010-11, after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced a debt relief package for coffee growers and some additional reliefs and concessions in direct and indirect taxes.
Replying to the debate on the Bill in the House, Mr Mukherjee said the reliefs were based on the discussions and representations received after the introduction of the Bill.
He said the emphasis in the Bill had been on relief to individual taxpayers, encouraging research and development in the country, providing some relief measures in view of the recessionary impact and rationalization of procedure and steps to mitigate compliance cost.
Mr Mukherjee said that new hospitals anywhere in India, with at least 100 beds for patients, would be included as a "specific business" for availing the benefit of investment-linked deduction.
Currently, hospitals of more than 100-bed capacity, constructed in any area other than the "excluded area" are eligible for claiming 100 per cent deduction under section 80-IB (11C) of the Income Tax Act. Today's announcement takes into account the pressing need for more hospitals all over the country.
Similarly, the business of developing and building a housing project under a scheme for slum redevelopment or rehabilitation framed by the Central Government or a State Government will also included as a "specified business" for availing of the benefit of investment-linked deduction.
Mr Mukherjee said that, in consequence of the decision to allow tax-neutrality for conversion of a company in to Limited Liability partnership (LLP), the transfer of shares by the shareholders of the company in respect of such a conversion would be exempted from taxation.
He clarified that the effective rates of levy of service tax imposed in the Budget proposals on international and domestic air passengers would be a maximum of Rs 100 per travel for domestic journey in any class and a maximum of Rs 500 per travel for internatioal journey by economy class. Further, domestic air travel to and from the North-Eastern sector would be exempt from this tax, he said.
He provided relief to the construction sector in the matter of service tax by enhancing their rate of abatement from 67% to 75% of the gross value where such value includes the value of the land constructed upon. Certain procedural bottlenecks relating to the completion certificate prescribed in the law would also be simplified, he said.
He said constructions under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and Rajiv Awas Yojana would be exempted from service tax in order to give a thrust to low-cost housing schemes for the urban poor.
Mr Mukherjee accepted a suggestion that the present service tax exemption available to the vocational training institutes affiliated to the National Council for Vocational Training and offering courses in designated trades should also be extended to "Modular Employment Skill Development courses" provided by the training institutes registered under 'Skill Development Initiative Scheme' of the Ministry of Labour.
"As this initiative intends to generate employment to the rural and urban poor, school dropouts and semi-skilled labourers, I propose to accept this suggestion and exempt such courses with immediate effect. The notification to this respect is being issued today," he said.
In the area of indirect taxes, Mr Mukherjee reduced the the excise duty on hand-rolled cheroots priced upto Rs.3 per stick to 10% ad valorem. Similarly, the additional excise duty on this product shall now be 1.6% ad valorem.
The full exemption from excise duty provided to betel nut product "supari" has now been extended to scented supari also, he said.
The reduction in central excise duty from 8 % to 4 % on corrugated boxes and cartons manufactured starting from kraft paper has been extended to cover units that manufacture such cartons from corrugated paper or paperboard also.
The excise duty on wate paper has been reduced to 4 % to rectify certain anamolies.
The excise exemption for small scale units is not available to goods that bear the brand name of another person, but a relaxation of this condition is available in respect of specified packing materials which are normally not sold under the brand name that they bear. In order to resolve disputes about the coverage of this relaxation, Mr Mukherjee has now extended it to all types of packing material.
Automobile components have been subjected to excise duty on the basis of their retail sale price. In order to resolve disputes about the coverage of this provision, it was amended so as to make it applicable to parts, components and assemblies of vehicles of Chapter 87 of the Excise Tariff. Since these components are also used for earthmoving machinery like loaders, excavators and so on, the Finance Minister has now decided to apply this provision to the parts, components and assemblies of such machinery as well.
The exemption from customs duty provided to tunnel boring machines for hydroelectric projects has been extended to parts and components of these machines because, owing to their huge size, they cannot be imported in a single consignment.
Concession on customs duty provided to medical equipment has been extended to Ostomy appliances, which has mainly used by cancer patients.
Mr Mukherjee reduced the basic customs duty on 11 specified drugs, including two anti-cancer and one for the treatment of AIDS, to 5%. These drugs are also being exempted from countervailing duty (CVD) by way of excise duty exemption.
Optical Disc Drives (ODD) are ITA-bound and thus permissible for import without payment of duty. Mr Mukherjee said he had decided to fully exempt specified parts or components required for the manufacture of ODD from basic customs duty.
Cigarette filter rods are manufactured from acetate rayon tow. While full CVD of 10% and special CVD of 4% is applicable to tow, the excise duty on filter rods is 10% creating an inversion in duty. Mr Mukherjee has now fully exempted acetate rayon tow from special CVD of 4%.
Flax fibre and yarn are not produced in India in significant quantities. The Minister has fully exempted them from basic customs duty in order to encourage domestic value addition.
The Government had imposed export duty at the statutory rate of Rs.2500 per metric tonne (PMT) on raw cotton with effect from April 9 this year to contain the spiraling prices by disincentivizing exports. The Government has now decided to enhance the statutory rate for this item to Rs.10,000 PMT while maintaining the effective rate at the current level. For this purpose, an official amendment to the Finance Bill, 2010 is being moved, he said.
In December, 2009 the export duty on iron ore lumps was enhanced from 5% to 10% and on fines from nil to 5%. Keeping in view the trend in the quantum of exports and domestic and international prices, the duty on iron ore lumps has been increased further to 15%.
In response to representations from the domestic producers of stainless steel, the Minister reduced basic customs duty on stainless steel melting scrap from 5% to 2.5%.
The Finance Minister also announced the Coffee Debt Relief Package 2010, specifically for small growers.
He noted that coffee growers in the country had been facing long-standing financial problems ever since the coffee prices fell to very low levels during the period 2000-2004.
Relief packages in the form of Special Coffee Term Loan 2002 and Special Coffee Relief Package 2005 were sanctioned to revive the coffee sector, besides other initiatives like the Prime Minister's Relief Package for Debt Stressed Farmers and Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme 2008. However, a large number of affected growers did not get the required relief, he said.
Mr Mukherjee said that, as per the new package, for pre-2002 loans, 50 per cent of the total liability shall be waived subject to a maximum benefit of Rs.5 lakh per farmer to be borne by Government of India.
An additional 25 per cent shall be waived by banks and the balance shall be rescheduled.
The package also envisages 20 per cent waiver of liability under crop loans with 10 per cent each being borne by the Government of India and banks respectively, subject to a maximum benefit of Rs.1 lakh.
For post-2002 term loans, 10 per cent of the total liability shall be waived subject to a maximum benefit of Rs.1 lakh. The package shall also provide relief to medium and large farmers who shall be permitted to reschedule the loans.
The total financial implication for the Government is Rs.241.33 crore while benefit to coffee growers will be around Rs.362.82 crore, Mr Mukherjee added.
T20 Cricket is open to corruption
London: Only 10 months after Pakistan captain Younus Khan held the Twenty20 World Cup aloft at Lord's, a third edition of the global tournament opens in the West Indies on Friday.
The rapid growth of Twenty20 cricket has fuelled fears that the game is open to corruption akin to the match-fixing scandal which rocked the summer game of the British Commonwealth at the end of the 1990s.
WHAT ARE THESE FEARS?
Because of its all-action nature, with wickets tumbling and runs scored at breakneck speed, Twenty20 cricket is particularly susceptible to "spot-fixing" in which matches are not necessarily fixed but individual events within the game are.
Tim May, the chief executive of the international players' union FICA, is one of several influential figures in the game who believes that the number of Twenty20 matches now being played could tempt players to take money from bookmakers in return for spot-fixing.
HOW DOES SPOT-FIXING WORK?
Spot-fixing involves a player agreeing to under-perform. For example, a bowler might deliberately bowl consecutive wides in his second over or a batsman could make sure he does not reach double figures. So much happens so quickly in a Twenty20 match that individual performances can soon be forgotten or dismissed as inconsequential.
WHO BENEFITS?
Betting on cricket matches televised in India is a hugely lucrative business. Fortunes can be made if a gambler knows in advance what a particular bowler or batsman is going to do. Bets are placed on every delivery in a 50- or 20-overs match.
Only betting on horse racing at trackside is allowed in India but in practice around half of a market worth billions of dollars is estimated to be illegal betting, mostly on cricket.
WHAT EVIDENCE IS THERE OF SPOT-FIXING?
Rumours have abounded since the advent of the Indian Premier League (IPL) two years ago although nobody has ever been charged. During last year's Ashes tour of England an Australian player reported that he had been approached by a suspected illegal bookmaker in the team's London hotel.
Former England captain Michael Atherton, who is now the cricket correspondent for The Times, said in his column on Thursday that one leading former international had told him "categorically" that spot-fixing was a regular occurrence.
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