Highlights of 2010-11 budget presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in parliament on 26th February' 2010

Despite fuel price hike, Pranab Mukherjee managed to make both the salaried class as well as the entrepreneurs happy.

Highlights of 2010-11 budget presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in parliament Friday:

-- Clean energy cess of Rs.50 per tonne on coal produced in India
-- Concessional duty of 4 percent for solar power rickshaw developed by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research

-- Concessional customs duty of 5 percent for cable TV operators for importing equipment
-- Toys fully exempt from central excise duty
-- Service sector tax retained at 10 percent to aid the introduction of GST; more services to be taxed
-- Accredited news agencies exempt from service tax
-- Net revenue gain Rs.22,500 crore
-- Taxes on large cars and SUVs increased 2 percent to 22 percent
-- Basic duty of 5 percent on crude oil restored
-- Tax on cigarettes, cigars and chewing tobacco increased
-- Rs. 26,000 crore revenue loss due to reduction of direct taxes
-- Partial roll back of reduction in central excise duty
-- 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
-- IT returns forms for individual tax payers to be further simplified
-- Expenditure in 2010-11 estimated at 11,l8,749 crore
-- Fiscal deficit estimated at 5.5 percent in 2010-11; an improvement of 1 percent over 2009-10
-- Two more centralised tax processing centres to be set up in addition to the one at Bangalore
-- National Social Security Fund created for workers in unorganised sector with allocation of Rs.1,000 crore
-- Government to give Rs.1,000 for each National Pension Scheme account opened by workers in the unorganised sector
-- Exclusive skill development programme for the textile sector
-- Fifty percent hike in allocation for schemes for women and child development
-- Rs.4,500 crore allocated for ministry of social justice and empowerment, a hike of 80 percent
-- Rs.2,600 crore allocated for ministry of minorities affairs
-- Rs.1,900 crore for Unique Identification Authority of India
-- Rs.147,344 crore allocated for defence
-- 2,000 youth to be recruited in central paramilitary forces
-- Draft Food Security Bill prepared and will be put in the public domain
-- Allocation on primary education raised from Rs.26,800 crore to Rs.31,300 crore
-- Banking facilities to be provided to all habitations with a population of 2,000 and more
-- Rs.66,100 crore allocated for rural development in 2010-11; Rs.40,100 crore for National Rural Employment Scheme; RS.48,000 crore for Bharat Nirman
-- Rs.1,270 crore allocated for Rajiv Awas Yojana for slum dwellers, up from Rs.150 crore, an increase of 700 percent with the aim of creating a slum free India.
-- Forty-six percent of plan allocations in 2010-11 will be for infrastructure development
-- Coal Regulatory Authority to be set up to benchmark standards of performance
-- Allocation for new and renewable energy sector increased 61 percent from Rs.620 crore to Rs.1,000 crore in 2010-11
-- National Clean Energy Fund to be established
-- Rs.200 crore allocated as special package for Goa to prevent erosion and increase green cover
-- Government committed to growth of SEZs
-- Four-pronged strategy for growth of agricultural sector
-- Rs.200 crore to be provided in 2010-11 for climate-resilient agricultural initiative
-- Involvement of private sector in grain storage to continue for another two years
-- In view of drought and floods, debt repayment period extended to June 2010
-- Five more mega food processing projects in addition to 10 existing ones
-- FDI flows in April-December 2009 $20.9 billion
-- FDI policy to be made more user-friendly with one comprehensive document
-- Apex level financial stability council to be set up for banking sector
-- Indian Banking Association to give additional licences to private players
-- Provision for further capital for regional rural banks
-- Roadmap for reducing public debt in six months
-- Implementation of direct tax code from April 2011
-- Government actively engaged in finalising structure of general sales tax regime; hopes to implement it from April 2011
-- New fertiliser policy from April 2010; will lead to improved productively and more income for farmers
-- Economy stabilised in first quarter of 2009-10; strong rebound in second quarter; overall growth at 7.2 and could be higher when Q3 and Q4 are taken into account
-- Export figures for January encouraging
-- Hope to breach 10 percent growth mark in not too distant future
-- Government set in motion steps to bring down food inflation
-- Need to review stimulus package; need to make growth more broad-based
-- India has weathered global economic crisis well; Indian economy in far better position than it was a year ago. In 2009 Indian economy faced grave uncertainty; delay in southwest monsoon had undermined agricultural production
-- First challenge now is to quickly revert to 9 percent growth and then aim for double digit growth; need to make recovery more broadbased
-- Second challenge is to make growth more inclusive; have to strengthen food security
-- Third challenge is to overcome weakness in government's public delivery mechanism; a long way to go in this

Highest offer made in IIM-L at Rs. 75 Lakh

New Delhi: IIM-Lucknow, which started its placement process mid-last week, has already bagged 200 offers, with the highest offer of Rs. 75 lakh being made by commodity trading company Olam International for a Singapore position, reports Economic Times.

Ajit Joshi, a former consultant with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu who went to IIM Lucknow, has recently landed a job offer of Rs. 50 lakh in equity research in Bank of Muscat's i-banking division. However, his is just one of the international offers that IIM-Lucknow's post-graduate programme students have bagged this placement season. "Things are brighter now. Our seniors had it tough last year," says Joshi.

Based on placement offers till date, the institute expects a 25-30 percent increase in the number of international offers this year. The institute, which had 100 offers for students with work experience, began its final process with 220 students and has received offers for a majority of them.

According to Economic Times, some of the new companies on campus this year include Mckinsey, Nomura, Deloitte Consulting, Calyon Bank, France, Siemens Infosystems and Suzlon. Last year, the highest international offer was from Barclays, which picked up a student for Rs. 1 crore. "Many i-banks have come back this year, besides several good consulting and IT firms. We will see the average salary go up this time," says Professor RL Raina, Chairman, placement, IIM-L.

On the other hand, IIM-Kozhikode, which began its final placement in the first week of February, has already placed a majority of its 250 students. IIM Calcutta and IIM Bangalore, which are yet to start their respective process, too talk of an improved job season this year.

Life Is An Echo

What you send out - comes back.

What you sow - you reap.
What you give - you get.
What you see in others - exists in you.

Remember, Life is an Echo.
It always gets back to you.

Five fruits that work magic on your skin

Face it. Fruits can make you glow in more ways than one.

1. Papayas
“A papaya contains the enzyme papain, making it an excellent cleanser. It also helps revive blemished and undernourished skin. It is particularly good for oily skin and also lightens skin colour,” says beauty expert Shahnaz Husain.

* Use ripe papaya pulp as it is or mix with oatmeal, honey or curd and apply on your face for 10 minutes. Rinse off with cold water when dry.
* Put a mix of papaya and cucumber pulp under the eyes to minimise dark circles.

2. Apples
“Apart from vitamins and minerals, apples also contain pectin and tannin that help tone and tighten the skin and improve blood circulation. Apples are specially effective for those with sensitive and fair skin,” says natural beauty expert Suparna Trikha.

* To take care of sunburnt skin, add a teaspoon of glycerine to apple pulp (grate the apple or put in mixie) and apply on your face for fifteen minutes. Wash off with cold water.
* For tired and undernourished skin, mix two teaspoons of grated apple, two pieces of mashed papaya, one teaspoon of fresh cream and a teaspoon of China clay. Apply the mixture to a clean face and leave for 15 minutes. Wash off with cold water for healthy looking skin.

3. Bananas
“Fresh, ripe bananas make excellent face masks. Bananas don’t only tighten and cleanse pores, they also revitalise dry skin,” says Dr Shobha Sehgal, head of business, day spa and beauty zone, VLCC.

* Mash two ripe bananas with a tablespoon of honey. Smooth over the face and leave for 10-15 minutes. Rinse with cold water to reveal soft, supple and hydrated skin.

4. Oranges
“The citrus family is best known for its astringent and toning properties. Rub fresh orange peel on your skin to tighten it and lighten the colour,” says beauty expert Shahnaz Husain.

* Take the juice of two oranges and freeze it in an ice tray. Rub your face with the frozen orange juice cubes whenever you need to look good after a tiring day. The orange juice will give your tired, dull and oily face an instant pick-me-up sheen.

5. Pomegranates
“Pomegranates are excellent for oily and combination skin. Rich in AHA, pomegranate juice acts as an astringent and is a natural toner too,” says Suparna Trikha.

* Pound pomegranate seeds and use as a face scrub. This will remove excess oil and make your skin look fresh.
* Using cottonwool, massage around 50 ml pomegranate juice on your face for 10 minutes. Wash off for an instant glow.

Movie Review of Valentine's Day (2010)

This movie is the American version of Love, Actually. Except it does not center around Christmas, but, who would have guessed, it plays out on Valentine’s Day. It consists of many different stories of many different people, but whose lives all cross each other during the day. It’s got love-sick kids, a marriage proposal, happily married seniors, first time sex high-schoolers, lying husbands, desperate singles, happy gays, an Indian restaurant, and above all, lots of love and hope. And an all-star cast to make it work.

Even though it is very much a copy of Love, Actually in the way the movie is set up, you will soon forgive writer Garry Marshall for that, as it is still good. My absolute favourite character in the movie is Liz, who has just started dating her boyfriend Jason. But what she did not tell him is that she also works as a telephone operator for lonely guys. Anne Hathaway does the most hilarious phone sex with a Russian accent I have ever seen. She does it believable and even gets Queen Latifah, her boss, into it.

But there is also Ashton Kutcher as a romantic florist, his best friend Jennifer Garner and her love-interest Dr McDreamy Patrick Dempsey, and valentine haters Jamie Fox and Jessica Biel, and more. There is a story for everyone, and also an actor to drool over for everyone, with this very pretty cast. I don’t want to give away too much, as each storyline is rather short and by describing each one, I would ruin the film.

This movie is a rather exact, but a lot more cliché copy of Love, Actually. If you like that sort of thing, this is totally for you. If you’re not a big fan of sappy love stories, leave this film alone. Or take your girlfriend to score some major points with her.