Jaswant's budget sops for farmers and Govt staff (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: Finance Minister Jaswant Singh on Tuesday kept the tax rates unchanged and announced a slew of agriculture sector-friendly measures, while presenting the interim Budget for 2004-05 in the Lok Sabha. Singh also announced that 50 per cent of dearness allowance (DA) of the pay will be merged with basic salary of Central government employees, giving in to a long-pending demand.

          Exuding confidence about the state of the economy, Singh said the GDP growth rate would be between 7.5 and eight per cent in the current fiscal and the inflation rate would be between four and 4.5 per cent. Growth figures in the current year are encouraging. This level of growth is a matter of great satisfaction, Singh said. Singh said the Government was committed to a second green revolution, employment generation, eradication of poverty and fiscal consolidation. Declining interest and buoyant stock exchanges have set the economy moving.

          Under the Prime Minister's Swastha Suraksha Yojana six hospitals - one each in Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Uttaranchal - will be upgraded to the level of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Singh said.

          All farmers will be eligible for credit cards by March 31, 2004. A committee is being set up under eminent agricultural economist VS Vyas to go into all issues relating to agricultural credit while keeping in mind NPA norms of banks and collateral security. Tea growers will get loans up to Rs 2 lakh at nine per cent interest rate, Singh said. A National Cattle Development Board will be set up through funding by the Centre. The loan limit on credit card for small scale entrepreneurs with a good track record would be raised from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 10 lakh, Singh said. Additional innovative funding to be given to speedier execution of Indira Gandhi Canal project in Rajasthan.

          Earlier, Speaker Manohar Joshi held the present session cannot be deemed to be the first session of the year as the session in December last was only adjourned sine die and not prorogued. Rejecting points of order by various members from the Opposition which led to legal wrangling for almost one hour, Joshi said prorogation means termination of the House while adjournment can mean that the House can sit again. In this light, Joshi said the present sitting can be treated as the second part of the winter session, citing precedents from the past in 1962 and in 1975. He also rejected the arguments that there was no provision for interim budget in the Constitution on the ground that Dr Manmohan Singh and Yashwant Sinha had presented Interim Budgets in 1996 and 1999, respectively, and there had been no challenge to this at that time.

Shares down after interim budget
Mixed reactions to interim budget
Industry hails interim budget proposals

Kalyan returns to BJP (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: Former UP Chief Minister Kalyan Singh returned to the BJP on Tuesday. The Rashtriya Kranti Party (RKP), led by Kalyan, will now merge with the BJP. The move is likely to prove as a major boost to the party in the most crucial of states from electoral point of view.

          A powerful Lodh leader, Kalyan has a strong support base amongst the backward castes in the politically significant state of Uttar Pradesh. Escorted to Delhi by BJP general Secretary Pramod Mahajan, Kalyan held a 25-minute meeting with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Ironically, just four years back Kalyan had been expelled from the BJP for making remarks against Vajpayee. But all was forgotten with an eye on the Lok Sabha polls. "Vajpayee was our leader and will continue to be our leader for ever," said Kalyan. He later met Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani.

Orissa presents vote-on-account; Assembly to be dissolved (Go To Top)

          Bhubaneshwar: Orissa government on Tuesday presented a vote-on-account for 6.42 billion rupees to seek expenses for the first four months of the coming financial year instead of a regular budget. The state government has recommended dissolution of state legislature on February 6 to go in for early polls. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD)-led government, in which the Hindu nationalists are junior partner, has decided to hold simultaneous provincial election along with the national elections.

          Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's BJP-led government had recommended the dissolution of the lower house of Parliament on February 6, paving way for an early election, which is likely to be held in April-May. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik justified his government's decision to present interim budget. "As all of you know perfectly well the last Assembly was adjourned not prorogued. So everything is in its appropriate order," Patnaik told reporters in Bhubaneshwar. The term of the present government ends in 2005 only. The Opposition parties slammed the ruling coalition, saying that it was scared to complete its term. The BJD has two ministers in the Central government and eight lawmakers in the Lok Sabha, the Lower House of the Parliament. Orissa is the second state ruled by an ally of Vajpayee's National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to go for early elections. Earlier, neighbouring Andhra Pradesh also dissolved its Assembly and sought state polls ahead of term.

Laloo meets President, seeks Governor's recall (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Laloo Prasad Yadav on Tuesday met President APJ Abdul Kalam and demanded recall of Bihar Governor Rama Jois for his remarks against the state government during his Republic Day address. "I have told the President that the Governor has failed to perform his constitutional duty. He is making Bihar the butt of his target keeping in mind the coming Lok Sabha polls," Yadav told reporters after the meeting. Accusing the Governor of "singing" the same tune as that of Sangh Parivar, the former Bihar Chief Minister said he urged the President to take a decision immediately and recall him.

SC directive on Telgi case (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked all the Telgi stamp scam affected states to furnish within two weeks to the CBI full particulars of those cases which they want the premier probe agency to investigate. The court also asked the CBI to scrutinise these cases and inform it in three weeks thereafter as to which all cases will be investigated by the agency.

Vaiko granted conditional bail (Go To Top)

          Chennai: A POTA court in Chennai on Tuesday granted conditional bail to MDMK leader Vaiko, detained under the anti- terrorism law for over 18 months. Designated judge L Rajendran, however, said the bail would become operative provided Vaiko filed an affidavit agreeing to all the terms laid down by the court. The judge directed Vaiko to file the affidavit before furnishing a personal bond of Rs 50,000 with two sureties for a like sum, which the court had stipulated as part of the conditions for the bail.

Furore over killing of bull in MP village (Go To Top)

          Jigni (MP): Alleged killing of a bull has caused a furore in Madhya Pradesh where a ban on cow slaughter is in place. The newly-elected BJP state government last month banned cow slaughter and slapped stiff punishment against those disobeying the order. Police officials said they were investigating the mysterious death of a stray bull that had damaged agriculture fields in Jigni, a backward hamlet in the tribal-dominated state. "Some people here are alleging that the bull did not die a natural death, rather it was killed. So we had requested the SDM (sub-divisional magistrate) and livestock experts had come and according to their findings we will take action accordingly," said Suhail, police station house officer of the village. Villagers said, the ban was not being implemented properly. "The police should take strict action against the villagers who allegedly killed the bull. And the Chief minister had on January 22 imposed a ban on cow slaughter. But I think it is not being implemented as the authorities are not working effectively," Mahesh Bharadwaj, head of the village, said.

          Cow slaughter is a sensitive issue in India where majority of Hindus worship the animal. A Muslim organisation recently issued a "fatwa" or a religious decree against cow slaughter across the country. The decree was issued by the Dar-ul-uloom, an Islamic religious and academic center based in northern Deoband town in Uttar Pradesh. Hindu hardliners have for long been campaigning for a country- wide ban on cow slaughter but only a few states, including Uttar Pradesh, have implemented it.

Kolkata shutdown paralyses rail traffic (Go To Top)

          Kolkata: A 12-hour Opposition-sponsored shutdown paralysed Kolkata on Tuesday. Traffic stayed off the roads and schools and business establishments were closed. The strike was called by the Opposition Trinamool Congress party against the hike in taxes by the Communist government. The Trinamool Congress also held the state government responsible for the lax law and order situation. Suburban train services were partially affected by the strike, causing harassment to commuters. Late last year, the government hiked the water tax by 3.2 percent and also increased fees for government colleges. The city's electricity provider also raised the power tariffs by 2.5 percent.

Shares down after interim budget (Go To Top)

          Mumbai: Shares fell more than one percent on Tuesday after the government's interim budget announcements fell short of market expectations. The 30-issue Bombay Stock Exchange index ennded down 1.31 percent at 5,620.98 points - its lowest close in nearly two weeks. Declining issues beat advancing issues 1479 to 289. The 50-issue National Stock Exchange index shed 2.25 percent to close at 1,769 points.

         Finance Minister Jaswant Singh presented a cautiously reformist interim budget on Tuesday in the countdown to early elections. He left the tax structure largely unchanged. The estimate for the fiscal deficit for the year to March 2004 was revised downwards to 4.8 percent of gross domestic product, from 5.6 percent. He also raised the economic growth forecast to 7.5-8 percent from more than seven. Domestic media had been speculating that the government may raise exemptions on personal taxes in a bid to further stoke the feel- good factor ahead of general elections.

          Analysts said there were no positive surprises and the volatility in the market, seen from the time the benchmark index reached its all-time high of 6,240 in early January, had already unnerved investors. "In any case after the presentaion of the budget the market had to go down. Today, right from the morning there was nervourness in the market, people were sitting on the fence, they were trying to take a view. A lot of phone calls to the experts were there as to what to do. The only advice to them was to sell off. So per se, because of budget the market has gone down, I would not agree to that. As far as the finance minister is concerned, he did his best to present the budget-politicised also, trying to make it popular by giving a lot of benefits to farmers, agriculturists, poor people," stock analyst Ashok Ajmera said in Mumbai. Banking shares were among leading losers after the finance minister urged banks to lower interest rates on their loans to the farm sector.

          Industry leader State Bank of India was down 4.4 percent to Rs. 569.7, Bank of Baroda lost 4.8 percent to Rs. 207.25, Bank of India fell 10.7 percent to 57.6 rupees and Canara Bank dropped 10.94 percent to Rs. 121.35. Among auto shares, Escorts Ltd slumped 11.58 percent after the firm reported a net loss of Rs. 277 million in the quarter ended December, compared to a profit of Rs. 261.4 million a year earlier. Shipping Corporation of India rose 2.47 percent to 155.35 rupees and Great Eastern Shipping gained 2.79 percent to Rs. 145.5 on news the government had announced positive changes in the tax structure for the sector.

Mixed reactions to interim budget (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: People across the country gave mixed reactions to Finance Minister Jaswant Singh's moderate giveways in an interim budget on Tuesday. Singh revised his growth forecast for the year to March to 7.5-8 percent from more than seven, making India one of the world's fastest-growing economies. In New Delhi, people said the merging of the dearness allowance on federal government employees' salary was long overdue. "It was overdue. As a matter of fact it was to be merged. It was in the recommendation of the fifth pay commission that whenever DA reaches 50 percent, it was to be merged with the basic pay. Only HRA will be given on that. Those living in the government quarters will not be benefited by that," said H.S.Sarin, a resident.

          The government expects to spend as much as Rs. 40 billion on merging cost of living allowances with salaries of central government employees. The new policy on the dearness allowance, based on consumer prices and traditionally revised twice a year, was unveiled as part of the interim budget. Meena Lamba, another resident, complained of tax rebate for salaried class not being increased. "He (Finance Minister Jaswant Singh) has not done anything useful for the salaried class. Tax rebate has not been increased. The standard rebate is also the same," she said.

          Singh did not change the tax structure. Many are of the view that measures, including a pledge to revamp the income tax structure, are dependent on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies winning the election expected in April-May. "If there is no change then it is the Central government's political stand as elections are due. And I personally feel that there will be a revision after the elections," said Dhiraj Sen, a resident of Kolkata.

          Vote-catching measures included new hospitals, a programme to tackle chronic clean water shortages in the cities and foodgrain subsidy for poor rural families, especially tribal groups. The budget also promises help for key agricultural industries, such as sugar, and cheap credit for the farm sector - which supports about 70 percent of India's more than one billion people and accounts for 25 percent of GDP.

          Raman, a resident of Chennai, said the budget was satisfactory as it benefited the commonman. "The budget presented today was satisfactory as per common people. The main thing is that expectations have not gone down...for farmers they are issuing credit cards. And 50 percent DA (dearness allowance) has been added to government employees salary. They will be benefited a lot," said Raman.

          Although the sweeteners were limited, the BJP has already announced billions of dollars in indirect tax cuts and other vote-catching measures. After riding to power on a hardline Hindu revivalist programme, the BJP has switched tactics to economics and the popularity of 79-year old Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

          The Election Commissionner is due to set dates for voting in the next week or so. The vote is expected to be staggered over several weeks, possibly from April into May. Surveys show the BJP easily winning, due in large part to India's rapid growth, bumper harvests, gains in recent state polls and prospects of peace with nuclear rival Pakistan.

Industry hails interim budget proposals (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: Captains of industry gave a thumbs up to the interim budget presented by Finance Minister Jaswant Singh in the Lower House of Parliament on Tuesday. Singh offered a little something for everyone - voters, business, civil servants and the financial markets - with a fiscally middle- of-the-road budget sprinkled with mild populism before Parliament is dissolved this week. As his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prepares to campaign on its economic record, Singh revised his growth forecast for the year to March to 7.5-8 percent from more than seven, making India one of the world's fastest-growing economies. The budget was constrained by political convention and a worrisome fiscal deficit - a cause of concern for the central bank, ratings agencies and the World Bank - from including major new spending or tax measures ahead of Parliament's dissolution. Singh announced inroads into the deficit, revising the forecast for 2003/04 to 4.8 percent of gross domestic product from 5.6 percent and estimating a further improvement to 4.4 percent in 2004/05, implying continued strong GDP growth.

          "Industry remain upbeat, because what is very important now the demand is growing, the consumer markets are expanding. They are booming. What is really required is that the government does not let its fiscal house get out of order. That is the only thing that could burst the bubble. So, in a sense by giving emphasis on the fact that they have achieved a better-than-expected fiscal deficit figure, next year they are hoping to lower it even furthur. That I think is sending a very strong signal of responsible fiscal management and I cannot think of any better way to sure the feel good factor," president of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) Anand Mahindra told reporters in New Delhi.

India beat Zimbabwe by 4 wickets (Go To Top)

          Perth: A jittery India passed a modest target to record a four-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in the last league match of the triangular one-day international cricket series here on Tuesday. After young Irfan Pathan had produced a fiery spell to skittle Zimbabwe out for 135 in 34.4 overs, the Indians batsmen struggled to negotiate the bounce of the WACA pitch and lost six wickets before reaching the target in the 31st over in the inconsequential match. Hemang Badani top scored with an unbeaten 34 but it was an innings the middle order batsman would want to forget quickly. He was reprieved on eight and struggled to put bat to ball throughout his stay at the crease. He received a telling blow on the helmet and more importantly was involved in the run out of Rohan Gavaskar. Yet he scratched around to score the winning run, a clip off the pads to fineleg boundary that put an end to his and India's nightmare. Coming on the heels of the humiliating defeat to Australia on Sunday on the same track, the performance was hardly the kind of preparation Indians would have asked for the best of three finals which they have already qualified for.

Bottomlines

Norah Jones says her album is 'full of mistakes'! (Go To Top)

          Washington: Jazz singer Norah Jones is astonished at her own success, but wishes her debut album wasn't so "full of mistakes". The 24-year old has sold over eight million copies of 'Come Away With Me' which won eight Grammys, but Norah finds it difficult listening to the disc without spotting all the little errors she made, reports Imdb.com. She says, "I wasn't ready for it. That sort of success makes me uncomfortable. It's my first record, it's full of mistakes, things I don't like and think could be better. But at the same time, it's cool. I am glad people liked it. I am proud of it, but I am still working on my music."

Britney Spears now wants to be James Bond's girl! (Go To Top)

          New York: It seems pop princess Britney Spears wants to follow in the footsteps of Madonna by appearing in the next James Bond film. According to a report in ratethemusic.com, the singer has said she will spend the next couple of years concentrating on her acting career, following the muted response to her comeback album In The Zone. And she has instigated a meeting with 007 producer Barbara Broccoli to discuss the possibility of appearing alongside Pierce Brosnan in the next spy offering. "Britney's desperate to carve out a name for herself as an actress and loves the idea of being a Bond girl. She's in great shape and thinks she'd be brilliant", a source said. "Britney has seen what it's done profile wise for Halle Berry and she wants a slice of the action", the source added.

Beyonce nets a new man, Superman! (Go To Top)

          Washington: Pop sensation Beyonce Knowles may soon be seen opposite Oscar nominee, Johnny Depp in the forthcoming Superman flick, 'Superman: The Last Son Of Krypton'. The "Crazy In Love" singer, 22, is in discussions with Warner Brother bosses about the possibility of taking the role of Clark Kent's journalist girlfriend, Lois Lane. 'The Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl' star is the favourite to play bad man, Lex Luthor, while relative British unknown Henry Cavill may play the caped crusader in the movie. The Texan beauty caught the eye of movie producers after her sexy performance in 'Goldmember' and more recently in 'The Fighting Temptations', according to a report in imdb.com. A studio source says, "Beyonce is perfect to play Lois. She's feisty and sexy."

'Sex and the City' through pay-per-view route? (Go To Top)

          Washington: Stars of 'Sex and the City' by continuing with the hit series stand to earn more than $1.7 million per episode. According to Teenhollywood, despite the show's producer and actress Sarah Jessica Parker believing that this is the right time to end it, the sitcom seems well on its way to continue through the "pay-per-view" scheme. While this might hit its poorer fans badly, the idea is likely to fetch at least $1.7 million to the stars per episode. A TV insider reveals "That could amount to millions of dollars for each episode, substantially more than they were offered to continue the series."