Highlights- Indian Budget 2010-11

• Section 80c investment limit hiked by Rs. 20,000.
• Service Tax rates unchanged.
• Customs duty on Gold and Platinum hiked.
• Excise duty on solar panels waived.
• Excise duty on CFL halved to 4%.
• Jewellery to be more expensive.
• CDs to be cheaper.
• Mobile phones to become cheaper.
• Refrigerators/Televisions Air conditioners to be costlier.
• Peak customs duty unchanged at 10%.
• Cement to be costlier.
• Excise duty on petrol and diesel raised to Rs 1/litre.
• 5% duty on crude petroleum restored.
• Excise on all non smoking tobacco raised.
• 7.5% duty on petrol and diesel restored.
• Excise on large cars,SUVs, MUV raised to 22%.
• Cigarettes to be costlier.
• Deduction of Rs 20000 on investment in infra bonds.
• Weighted deduction on R&D raised to 200% from 150%.
• No tax on Income up to Rs 1.6 lacs.
• Current surcharge on companies reduced to 7.5%.
• No tax on Income up to Rs 1.6 lacs.
• Minimum Alternate tax hiked to 18%
• 30% tax on income above Rs 8 lacs.
• 20% tax on income between Rs5 lacs to 8 lacs.
• 10% tax on income between Rs1.6 lacs to 5 lacs.
• IT dept to notify Saral 2 form for individual tax payers.
• IT exemption limit enhanced, surcharge withdrawn.
• 20 Kms of highway to be constructed everyday.
• More than 50% increase in funds for minority welfare.
• 15% rise in planned expenditure.
• Defence capex raised to Rs 60000 Cr.
• Home loans up to Rs 20 lacs to get intrest subvention of 1% up to March 11.
• Government to contribute Rs 1000 per month for pension security.
• Rs 1,900 Cr. allocated for UID project.
• Intrest subvention for housing loans up to 1 lacs.
• NREGA scheme allocation raised to Rs 41000 Cr.
• Allotment for renewable energy hiked by 61%.
• Setup Coal regulatory authority.
• 2% loan subsidy to farmers.
• Rs 165,000 Cr. additional for bank re-capitalisation.
• Chances of banking licenses to Pvt cos and NBFCs from RBI.
• Foreign direct Investment (FDI) policy to made more user friendly
• Reduce to 'Fertilizer Subsidy'.
• GST will implement from 2011
• Plan to implement 'Direct Tax Code' from April 2011

I pad the lattest from apple

Apple finally unveiled, labeled as the next-generation gadget which will bridge the gap between smart phones and laptops named as iPad. It's a half-inch thick and weighs about 700gm, with a 9.7-inch capacitive touchscreen IPS LCD display running with a Apple A4 Chip with a 10-hour battery life.

It'll be available in 3 different disk space of 16, 32, and 64GB. Starts at $499 for 16GB, 32GB for $599, and $699 64GB. Adding 3G costs a $130 per model, so the most expensive model (64GB / 3G) is $829. The WiFi-only model will be available in March , and the 3G models in April2010.

Few disappointments are no multitasking, no camera, no flash playability.

Another Bubble likely

A year ago investors were panicking and there was talk of another great Depression. Now the share prices in all most all the economies are 70-100 % higher than their respective lows of 2009. This was mostly due to interest rates of 1% or less in America, Japan, Britain and the euro zone, which have persuaded investors to take their money out of cash and to buy risky assets.

Central banks see these market rallies as a welcome side- effect of their policies. The market rebound was necessary to stabilise economies last year, but now there is a danger that bubbles are being created. Apart from high asset valuations, the other symptoms of a bubble are rapid growth in private-sector credit and an outbreak of public enthusiasm for some particular assets. The longer the world keeps its interest rates close to zero, the greater the danger that bubbles will appear and its most likely in emerging markets specially China.

The remedies could be forcing banks to adopt higher capital ratios which will curb speculative excesses apart from the interest rate which clould me a major tool to curb speculation. But central banks are wary of using these measures to pop bubbles because it risks of crushing growth as well. Current scenario of high asset prices, low interest rates and massive fiscal deficits seems unsustainable.

Interest rates will stay low only if growth remains slow. But if economies grow slowly, then profits will not rise fast enough to justify current share prices and incomes will not rise far enough to justify the prevailing level of house prices. On the other hand, if the markets are right about the prospects for economic growth, and the current recovery is sustained, then governments will have to react by cutting off the supply of cheap money.