Friday, February 26, 2010

Budget 2010-2011

24th February, Much awaited day for many but, normal day for most Indians.
And here comes another budget day. A survey done a few years ago revealed that 17% of Indians do not follow the budget at all and another 30% are barely interested in it(Source: Times of India).

       That means a large group of Indian population has nothing to do with budget. For me if somebody would ask, what budget day is? My answer would be:It's little tinkering, shuffling and moving of taxation rates here and there to make citizens fool. Revisions in price of some items, or rather I can say that it has lots of accounting stuffs that draws little or no interest from my side (as I have enough money for not diving deep in details of prices of Rice, Sugar and other basic needed commodities).
 
 
      But but for no reason I followed the BUDGET2010 to the level I could. Here are my conclusions:
There is no reason to build up so much of drama around the finance minister's(Currently Pranab Mukhaerjee is 28th FM list: List ) presentation in Parliament and then minutely dissecting it. Let's treat it as an annual financial statement by the government and nothing more. What I felt wrong is that the budget is a holdover from the days of a planned economy and the License RAJ(which is obsolete but still followed in India for no reason :( ). It makes a little sense in a rapidly changing and globalising world. Instead my suggestion is Budget could be put on Internet and it's content widely distributed and circulated. This could be followed by a debate in Parliament with Representatives of Ideas, controversies, Volunteers etc. That could make a better sense.

      This year the budget was the shuffling of pricing among Direct Taxes, Proposals(which Indian Govt fails to achieve80% of time) and Indirect Taxes. Every Year if we look for the Plans it's Universal Set of alllll problems and if followed, it may eradicate poverty, illetracy and corruption from the root. But WE fail every year and again look for the Budget Box session and glibtalk. Well Budget is in favour of Rural People(as always :)). Some Points of our interests
  • Tax exemption rates much more minimised for each earning group belt.
  • Central Excise raised 8% to 10% on all non-petroleum prducts and 1 Rs. raised on diesel and petrol. Similary for crude petroleum, Diesel and Refined Products has their Basic duties restored to 5%, 7.5% and 10%.
  • Raised excise duty on non-smoking tobacco,snuff,chewing tobacco etc.
  • Custom duty raised by around 50% on Valuable metals (Platinum, Gold, Silver).
  • Specified inputs for orthopaedic implants exempted from import duty.
  • Toy Ballons and other low budget toys fully exempted from Central Excise Duty.
  • Transportation by roads of cereals, pulses, vegetables exempted from service tax.
  • Excise duty on large cars, SUVs and CUVs raised by 22%.
 Some Promises in Proposals are:
  • Rs. 40,100 crore for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
  • Rs 48,000 crore allocated for rural infrastructure programmers under Bharat Nirman.
  • Unit cost under Indira Awas Yojna up to Rs. 45,000  in the plains and to Rs. 48,500
  • Allocation for urban development up by more than 75% from Rs. 3060 crore to Rs. 5400 crore. Similarly for Housing & Urban Poverty  Alleviation raised.
  • Housing loans scheme subvention for 1% till 31st march 2011.
  • Raised fund in Plans for Schools education, Women and Child development, Social Security, Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna, Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojna to meet needs of women farmers. Social Justice and Empowerment.
  • Rs. 16,500 Crore provided to ensure that public sector banks attain a minimum 8% Tier-I capital by March 31st 2011.
All this sounds really encouraging. But I went through the proposals and plans of all Budgets summit, I found all year's plan are flooded with such proposals. All this is glib talk and lame things. Rural Areas are still far away to see electric bulbs, Roads and Bridges not constructed, Farmers still committing suicide, Child Marriages still in full practice, Cases of parading women naked, beaten and forced to eat human excrement by villagers after branding them as witches are still found in monthly basis. THEN WHERE IS THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT??

       All Roads and Bridges are constructed in Files, All FIRs and Police case are solved in Papers, All Village got electric connections in Files (There are cases when a Collector came to village to inspect conditions of progress,  few lights are shown to him glowing with Battery in the back end and an arranged buffet for him with colorful lights operated with battery or with Tractor's Generation. Is that Collector fool ?? No... All this people are part of the system and they are imbecile enough to ignore everything for their personal favour,  profit, upper management pressures).

      Owls cannot see in day, you know why ?? because Owls are blinded by light.. We are just another Owl riding bikes, bowling, eating pizza and burgers, spending uselessly on chocolates, dresses and gifts like anything. We never care about what's the living status of our watchmen, autorickshaw driver and other people who provide us the basic things. If we are ignoring all this today, this all will revoke to us one day.

     While browsing through wikipedia for the history of Budget I found that like many of India's parliamentary traditions, the annual budget is also borrowed from British. Traditions like the Budget Box(Red Leather briefcase in case of British but, Cherry red in India :) where the budget speech is carried to the House of Common that is Parliament) is exact copy from the British parliament (Well, it makes little sense here.). But the irony is that while the budget has become a fairly routine event in Britain, we still like to go bananas(following like crazy) over the event of Budget year after year. If the pomp show surrounding the Budget will be diminished or removed, not too many people would complain. The only losers would be Finance Minister and a few Politics Pundits who enjoy their moment in the sun once a year.

Note: One Request, if this publish makes little sense to your understanding then, please find 2 mins to comment. Good/Average/Bad, Agree/Disagree, Improvement area, free suggestions etc.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Prayers

Hello Reader



Well for those who don't know Me(if you are not among my college or school folks). I am just another decent guy with lots of weird thinking and ambition in his mind.
This is Om Sao. A 23 yr Male from Hyderabad, India. Working
in Oracle India Development Centre as Application Developer. NIT-Tiruchirappalli B.Tech Computer Science and Engineering 2005-09 Batch. I don't think I am a good writer and giving reading it a go from my side to you is a better friendly suggestion. But yes, you can start off if you have nothing to do... Wait Wait.... What am I writing ?? I just looked on my wallclock it's 1:05AM (Just Now I yawned, feeling drowsy thinking about it's best time to hit the bed, sorry only bedding(no bed) I have in floor :) )
Well, as I am typing my thoughts on the fly.. So it's time to shout out Night Prayer(because it's one old habbit of mine(don't know since when I am following without any fruitFULL outcome :)).
I remember the time when I was in primary standard in school, where apart from some 6 subjects, we were taught to PRAY :). "Ask and you shall Receive" says Bible and we had been trained well in art of 'asking'. Not just that, we were also taught to do small acts of kindness, to be generous and cultivate virtues and values. We were said that, some guardians angels are watching us day and night constantly.
So, in this way I started PRAYING. I guess most of you also started in same way. Right ?? Difference may come in that, who taught you (In school or in home). And I remember what my prayers were like, at that time. In school I and my other friends used to pray regularly for a variety of favours (you know ?? we used to discuss the prayers in class that what we asked today ?? :) ). There was one girl(actually there were many :) but I used to talk to that very particular girl only) and I still remember that what her prayers were like ( appeals for a bright, sunny morning on sports day, for flowers to bloom in school garden in time, for puppies on the way to school to be safe and healthy (how innocent those days were :)) . And exactly 180 degrees opposite to it my prayers used to had like "Please God give measles to Kiran Mam (for this kind of prayers I used to squeeze my eyes shut :) )... as she gave me a zero in Social Science especially on the ass so that, she couldn't sit much in class and torture us.. Please God Please......". But Kiran Mam looked none the worse than she was, in fact, she seemed to appear even better with each passing day. I felt like my prayers went unanswered :( .. But I didn't give up praying, however. when I was in class 6th or 7th. I remember that, in Prayer assembly some girls fainting down on sunny days and then teachers, staffs rushing to give them some Active juice and supporting them to move to classroom(For this I used to think as, nice way to escape from boring assembly). I used to observe them carefully and thinking( more like praying) " Though girls in assembly keep dropping around me like nine pins. I feel so jealous of them GOD, especially when they are fussed over and given a glass of yummy orange juice. Can't you let me have blackout too, just once ??". But no!!! HE never heard my Prayers yaar... :( (I think HE moreover decided to ignore my pleas ).
I still remember one of my friend fractured a bone in his elbow. His hand was in cast of Plaster of Paris and he turned in a hero of class overnight :). My classmates rallied around him to touch the cast and write "get well soon" and other encouraging messages on white plaster. His friend list grown in a week like anything. Girls of my class started talking to him affectionately (sob sob :( ) and feeding him their lunch box(with their hands...what the f**k man ??? Girls are really stupid... How many boys agree with me ??? YES, all of you :) That's great :) ..). He became most happening guy of the class overday. Seeing all these I was consumed by envy and again started pleading to GOD "Can't you do anything like that with me also ? I also want to feel important. It's not fair GOD. I want a fracture NOWWW...Perhaps you can break my hand... Wait wait wait.. then how I will play marbles ?? Okay my foot, but not the right one.. Please. "(so silly and stupid I was :) ). But I had no such luck. All my pleas seem to have fallen on GOD's deaf ears. "Why HE never listens me ??" that was my question for all anguish. May be he doesn't exist at all. I tried my best. I slid down the stairs sidewalls very fastly backward and forward also :). I raced up and down the staircase three steps at a time and then four and sometime even jumped off the swing with the gleam of hope that, I would get atleast sprain on my ankle (not Right ankle :) ). But he never listened me.. not only this.. what I fetched in return??
  • my unscathed body.
  • a call from Principal of the school(I was harrassed that I will not be allowed to attend 5 games period because I am too wild to play with others and mischievous also :( ).
Now, much later, when life had moved me beyond childish dreams and demands. When I have grown up to adulthood having weathered many challenges in life. I faced many deep down moments and ecstatic moments too.
Now I think that, I learnt the true meaning of Prayers that go unanswered. And, that when HE leaves some prayers unanswered, it is HIS way of showing us that, what is good and what is bad for us. HE does answer every single prayer but in HIS own time and sometimes, when a prayer goes unanswered, that is the ANSWER.
Well guys much of philosphy for now :). I am very normal guy and have only prayer to god tonight that, "I have few dreams in life some for me, some for others and some for someone very special. Please answer these all prayers positively and as soon as possible. (Quick response will be appreciated :) :) )".. GOD, I am so greeeedddyyyy.. :);) :) ;) hahahahhahaahahaha ...

One thing. if you think that this blog is nice enough. Pls do comment it, I want counter of feedbacks.. Pls. then only I will think of writing something else...

Ohhh Man!!! it's 2:10AM.. it's time to hit bed now.. sorry bedding without bed :) :)

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