Budget 2011-2012 Bank officers' Promotion Test

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Budget 2011-12
The Budget 2011-12 was presented by the Finance Minister in the Parliament on Feb 28, 2011. The major highlights are:
CHALLENGES
• Structural concerns on inflation management to be addressed by improving supply response of agriculture to the
expanding domestic demand and through stronger fiscal consolidation.
• Implementation gaps, leakages from public programmes and the quality of outcomes pose a serious challenge.
• Corruption as a problem to be fought collectively. Govt to improve the regulatory standards and administrative practices.
OVERVIEW OF THE ECONOMY
• GDP estimated to have grown at 8.6 % in 2010-11 in real terms.
• Continued high food prices have been principal concern this year.
• Indian economy expected to grow at 9 % with an outside band of +/- 0.25 % in 2011-12. Average inflation expected
lower next year and current account deficit smaller.
SUSTAINING GROWTH
Fiscal consolidation
• Amendment to Centre’s FRBM Act, 2003 laying down the fiscal road map for the next 5 years to be introduced.
• Proposal to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial year.
Tax Reforms
• Direct Taxes Code (DTC) to be finalised for enactment during 2011-12. DTC proposed to be effective from April 1, 2012.
• As a step towards roll out of GST, Constitution Amendment Bill proposed to be introduced in this session of Parliament.
Expenditure Reforms
• A Committee set up by Planning Commission to look into the extant classification of public expenditure between plan,
non-plan, revenue and capital.
Subsidies
• Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) has improved the availability of fertilise. Government actively considering extension of the
NBS regime to cover urea.
• Government to move towards direct transfer of cash subsidy to people living below poverty line in a phased manner for
better delivery of kerosene, LPG and fertilisers.
People’s ownership of PSUs
• Rs. 40,000 crore to be raised through disinvestment in 2011-12.
• Government committed to retain at least 51 % ownership and management control of the Central Public Sector
Undertakings.
INVESTMENT ENVIRONMENT
Foreign Direct Investment
Foreign Institutional Investors
• SEBI registered mutual funds can accept subscription from foreign investors who meet KYC requirements for equity
schemes.
• To enhance flow of funds to infrastructure sector, the FII limit for investment in corporate bonds issued in infrastructure
sector being raised.
Financial Sector Legislative Initiatives
• To take the process of financial sector reforms further, various legislations proposed in 2011-12.
• Amendments proposed to the Banking Regulation Act in the context of additional banking licences to private sector
players.
Public Sector Bank Capitalisation
• Rs. 6,000 crore to be provided during 2011-12 to enable public sector banks to maintain a minimum of Tier I CRAR of 8
%.
Recapitalisation of Regional Rural Banks
• Rs. 500 crore to be provided to enable Regional Rural Banks to maintain a CRAR of at least 9 % as on March 31, 2012.
Micro Finance Institutions
• India Microfinance Equity Fund of Rs. 100 crore to be created with SIDBI.
• Women’s SHG’s Development Fund to be created with a corpus of Rs. 500 crore.
Rural Infrastructure Development Fund: Corpus of RIDF XVII to be raised to Rs. 18,000 crore.
Micro Small and Medium Enterprises
• Rs. 5,000 crore to be provided to SIDBI for refinancing incremental lending by banks to these enterprises.
• Rs. 3,000 crore to be provided to NABARD to provide support to handloom weaver co-operative societies which have
become financially unviable due to non-repayment of debt by handloom weavers facing economic stress.
• Public sector banks to achieve a target of 15 % as outstanding loans to minority communities under priority sector
lending at the earliest.
Housing Sector Finance
• Existing scheme of interest subvention of 1 % on housing loan extended up to 31.3.2012. Loan amount up to Rs.15 lac to
be eligible for subsidy, if cost of house is up to Rs.25 lac.
• Existing housing loan limit enhanced to Rs. 25 lakh for dwelling units under priority sector lending.
• Provision under Rural Housing Fund enhanced to Rs. 3,000 crore.
• To enhance credit worthiness of economically weaker sections and LIG households, a Mortgage Risk Guarantee Fund to
be created under Rajiv Awas Yojana.
• Central Electronic Registry to prevent frauds involving multiple lending on the same immovable property to become
operational by March 31, 2011.
Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission
• Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission set up to rewrite and streamline the financial sector laws, rules and
regulations.
AGRICULTURE
• Allocation under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) increased from Rs. 6,755 crore to Rs. 7,860 crore.
Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern Region
• To improve rice based cropping system in this region, allocation of Rs. 400 crore has been made.
• Integrated Development of 60,000 pulses villages in rainfed areas Allocation of Rs. 300 crore to promote 60,000 pulses
villages in rainfed areas.
Agriculture Credit
• Credit flow for farmers raised from Rs. 3,75,000 crore to Rs. 4,75,000 crore in 2011-12.
• Interest subvention proposed to be enhanced from 2 % to 3 % for providing short-term crop loans to farmers who repay
their crop loan on time.
• In view of enhanced target for flow of agriculture credit, capital base of NABARD to be strengthened by Rs. 3,000 crore in
phased manner.
• Rs. 10,000 crore to be contributed to NABARD’s Short-term Rural Credit fund for 2011-12.
Mega Food Parks: Approval being given to set up 15 more Mega Food Parks during 2011-12.
Storage Capacity and Cold Chains
• Capital investment in creation of modern storage capacity will be eligible for viability gap funding of the Finance Ministry.
Infrastructure and Industry
• Allocation of Rs. 2,14,000 crore for infrastructure in 2011-12. This is an increase of 23.3 % over 2010-11. This also
amounts to 48.5 % of total plan allocation.
• IIFCL to achieve cummulative disbursement target of Rs. 20,000 crore by March 31, 2011 and Rs. 25,000 crore by March
31, 2012.
• To boost infrastructure development, tax free bonds of Rs. 30,000 crore proposed to be issued by Government
undertakings during 2011-12.
National Manufacturing Policy
• Share of manufacturing in GDP expected to grow from about 16 % to 25 % over a period of 10 years. Government will
come out with a manufacturing policy.
• Capital investment in fertiliser production proposed to be included as an infrastructure sub-sector.
Exports
• Self assessment to be introduced in Customs to modernize the Customs administration.
• Proposal to introduce scheme for refund of taxes paid on services used for export of goods.
• Mega Cluster Scheme to be extended for leather products. Seven mega leather clusters to be set up during 2011-12.
• Jodhpur to be included for the development of a handicraft mega cluster.
BLACK MONEY
• Five fold strategy to be put into operation to deal with the problem of generation and circulation of black money.
• Various Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEA) and Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAA) concluded.
• Enforcement Directorate strengthened three fold to handle increased number of cases registered under amended Money
Laundering Legislation.
STRENGTHENING INCLUSION
• National Food Security Bill (NFSB) to be introduced in the Parliament during the course of this year.
• Allocation for social sector in 2011-12 (Rs. 1,60,887 crore) increased by 17 % over current year. It amounts to 36.4 % of
total plan allocation.
Bharat Nirman
• Allocation for Bharat Nirman programme proposed to be increased by Rs. 10,000 crore from the current Rs. 58,000 crore
in 2011-12.
• Plan to provide Rural Broadband Connectivity to all 2,50,000 Panchayats in the country in three years.
MGNREGA
• In pursuance of last years budget announcement to provide a real wage of Rs. 100 per day, the Govt has decided to
index the wage rates notified under the MGNREGA to the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labour. The enhanced wage
rates have been notified by the Ministry of Rural Development on January 14, 2011.
• From 1st April, 2011, remuneration of Anganwadi workers increased from Rs. 1,500 per month to Rs. 3,000 per month
and for Anganwadi helpers from Rs. 750 per month to Rs. 1,500 per month.
Education: Allocation for education increased by 24 % over current year.
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan: Rs. 21,000 crore allocated, which is 40 % higher than Budget for 2010-11.
• Pre-matric scholarship scheme to be introduced for needy SC/ST students studying in classes IX and X.
Innovations
• National Innovation Council set up to prepare road map for innovations in India.
Skill Development
• Additional Rs. 500 crore proposed to be provided for National Skill Development Fund during the next year.
• An international award with prize money of Rs. 1 crore being instituted for promoting values of universal brotherhood as
part of National celebrations of 150th Birth Anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.
Financial Inclusion : Target of providing banking facilities to all 73,000 habitations having a population of over 2,000 to
be completed during 2011-2012.
Unorganised sector
• Exit norms under co-contributory pension scheme “Swavalamban” to be relaxed.
• Benefit of Govt contribution to be extended from 3 to 5 years for all subscribers who enroll during 2010-11 and 2011-12.
• Eligibility for pension under Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme for BPL beneficiaries reduced from 65 years
of age to 60 years. Those above 80 years of age will get pension of Rs. 500 per month instead of Rs. 200 at present.
Some Other Initiatives
• Rs. 8,000 crore provided in current year for development needs of Jammu and Kashmir.
• Allocation made in 2011-12 to meet the infrastructure needs for Ladakh (Rs. 100 crore) and Jammu region (Rs. 150
crore).
• Allocation under Backward Regions Grant Fund increased by over 35 %.
• Funds allocated under Integrated Action Plan (IAP) for addressing problems related to Left Wing extremism affected
districts. 60 selected Tribal and backward districts provided with 100 % block grant of Rs. 25 crore and Rs. 30 crore per
district during 2010-11 and 2011-12 respectively.
• A lump-sum ex-gratia compensation of Rs. 9 lakh for 100 % disability to be granted for personnel of Defence and Para
Military forces discharged from service on medical ground on account of disability attributable to government service.
• Provision of Rs. 1,64,415 crore, including Rs. 69,199 crore for capital expenditure to be made for Defence Services in
2011-12.
• To build judicial infrastructure, plan provision for Department of Justice increased by three fold to Rs. 1,000 crore.
IMPROVING GOVERNANCE
UID Mission: From 1st October, 2011 ten lakh Aadhaar numbers will be generated per day.
IT Initiatives
• Various IT initiatives taken for efficient tax administration. These include e-filing and e-payment of taxes, adoption of
‘Sevottam’ concept by CBEC and CBDT, web based facility for tax payers to track the resolution of refunds and credit for
pre-paid taxes and augmentation of processing capacity.
• Bill to amend the Indian Stamp Act proposed to be introduced.
• New simplified form ‘Sugam’ to be introduced to reduce compliance burden of small tax payers falling within presumptive
taxation.
PART B TAX PROPOSALS
Direct Taxes
• Exemption limit for the general category of individual taxpayers enhanced from Rs. 1.60 lac to Rs. 1.80 lac. For senior
citizens the limit enhanced from Rs.2.40 lac to Rs.2.50 lac and for very senior citizens, it has been fixed at Rs.5 lac.
• Qualifying age reduced to 60 years from 65 years, for senior citizens. For Very Senior Citizens, the age is 80 years or
above.
• Current surcharge of 7.5 % on domestic companies proposed to be reduced to 5 %.
• Rate of Minimum Alternative Tax proposed to be increased from 18 % to 18.5 % of book profits.
• Additional deduction of Rs. 20,000 for investment in long-term infrastructure bonds proposed to be extended for one
more year.
• Lower rate of 15 % tax on dividends received by an Indian company from its foreign subsidiary.
• A net revenue loss of Rs. 11,500 crore estimated as a result of proposals.
Indirect Taxes
• To stay on course for transition to GST.
• Central Excise Duty to be maintained at standard rate of 10 %.
• Nominal Central Excise Duty of 1 % imposed on 130 items entering in the tax net.
• Lower rate of Central Excise Duty enhanced from 4 % to 5 %.
• Proposals relating to Customs and Central Excise estimated to result in a net revenue gain of Rs. 7,300 crore.
Service Tax
• Standard rate of Service Tax retained at 10 %, while seeking a closer fit between present regime and its GST successor.
• Hotel accommodation in excess of Rs. 1,000 per day and service provided by air conditioned restaurants that have license
to serve liquor added as new services for levying Service Tax.
• Tax on all services provided by hospitals with 25 or more beds with facility of central air conditioning.
• Service Tax on air travel both domestic and international raised.
• Services provided by life insurance companies in the area of investment and some more legal services proposed to be
brought into tax net.
• All individual and sole proprietor tax payers with a turn over upto Rs. 60 lakh freed from the formalities of audit.
• Proposals relating to Service Tax estimated to result in net revenue gain of Rs. 4,000 crore.
• Proposals relating to Direct Taxes estimated to result in a revenue loss of Rs. 11,500 crore and those related to Indirect
Taxes estimated to result in net revenue gain of Rs. 11,300 crore.
Union Budget 2011-12 : At a Glance
Rs. In Crores 2009-10 2010-11 2010-11 2011-12
Actual Budget Revised Budget
estmats Estmats estmats
1. Revenue Receipts 572811 682212 783833 789892
2. Tax Revenue 456536 534094 563685 664457
3. Non-tax Revenue 116275 148118 220148 125435
4. Capital Receipts (5+6+7) 451576 426537 432743 467837
5. Recoveries of Loans 8613 5129 9001 15020
6. Other Receipts 24581 40000 22744 40000
7. Borrowings and other liab 418482 381408 400998 412817
8. Total Receipts (1+4)$ 1024487 1108749 1216576 1257729
9. Non-plan Expenditure 721096 735657 821552 816182
10.On Revenue Account 657925 643599 726749 733558
of which,
11.Interest Payments 213093 248664 240757 267986
12.On Capital Account 63171 92508 94803 82624
13.Plan Expenditure 303391 373092 395024 441547
14.On Revenue Account 253884 315125 326928 363604
15.On Capital Account 49507 57967 68096 77943
16.Total Expendr (9+13) 1024887 1108749 1216576 1257929
17.Revenue Expdr (10+14) 911809 958724 1053677 1097162
18.Capital Expdt (12+15) 112678 150025 162899 160567
19.Revenue Deficit (17-1) 338998 276512 269844 307270
(5.2) (4.0) (3.4) (3.4)
20.Fiscal Deficit 418482 381408 400998 412897
{16-(1+5+6)} (6.4) (5.5) (5.1) (4.6)
21.Primary Deficit (20-11) 205389 132744 160241 144831
(3.1) (1.9) (2.0) (1.6)

Car airconditioning

Subject: FW: Car Air-conditioning !!!
Date: Wed, 28 Apr 2010 10:38:31 +0530
No wonder more folks are dying from cancer than ever before. We
wonder where this stuff comes from but here is an example that
explains a lot of the cancer causing incidents. Hmmm. Many people
are in their cars first thing in the morning and the last thing at
night, 7 days a week. As I read this, it makes me feel guilty and
ill. Please pass this on to as many people as possible. Guess its not
too late to make some changes

Car A/C (Air Conditioning) MUST READ!!!

Please do NOT turn on A/C as soon as you enter the car.

Open the windows after you enter your car and turn ON the AC after a
couple of minutes.

Here's why:

According to a research, the car dashboard, sofa, air freshener emit
Benzene, a Cancer causing toxin
(carcinogen - take time to observe the smell of heated plastic in your car).

In addition to causing cancer, Benzene poisons your bones, causes
anemia and reduces white blood cells.

Prolonged exposure will cause Leukemia, increasing the risk of cancer.

Can also cause miscarriage.

Acceptable Benzene level indoors is 50mg per sq.ft. A car parked
indoors with windows closed will contain 400-800 mg of Benzene.

If parked outdoors under the sun at a temperature above 60 degrees F,
the Benzene level goes up to 2000-4000 mg, 40 times the acceptable
level.

People who get into the car, keeping windows closed will inevitably
inhale, in quick succession, excessive amounts of the toxin.

Benzene is a toxin that affects your kidney and liver.. What's worse,
it is extremely difficult for your body to expel this toxic stuff.

So friends, please open the windows and door of your car - give time
for interior to air out -dispel the deadly stuff - before you enter.

This is a mail received by me,published for public awareness.

Attukaal Pongala

Millions of women throng Kerala festival
India's southern state of Kerala may have hosted the largest gathering of women ever seen on the planet.

Clad in traditional Kerala saris and bearing offerings of food, more than two million women - perhaps more - thronged the state capital Trivandrum on Sunday.

The women braved searing heat to offer a special meal at the Attukal temple to Hindu goddess Bhagavathy - one incarnation of the potent goddesses Kali and Saraswati.

Women howled shrilly, as is the custom at the culmination of this 10-day annual event, and they joined the chief priest in offering their earthenware pots overflowing with rice and jaggery - an unrefined sugar - to the presiding goddess.

They were seeking her blessing for the health and prosperity of their families - and the special meal, known as the pongala, was later distributed among family and friends back at home.

Aerial count



Women howl shrilly as they make their offering
This is a unique festival the size of which is unmatched - the congregation at Attukal temple has grown exponentially over the years.

Such festivities used to be modest affairs and the annual gathering was confined to the temple premises until about 25 years ago.

But once families associated with the temple formed a trust, the festival became more organised, there was more publicity and it attracted women from across the state and even foreign countries.

Guinness Worlds Records certified the crowd strength was 1.5 million when it was assessed for the first time in 1997.

Last year turnout was 2.5 million and this year, according to festival organisers, it was estimated to be 3 million.

Attukal Bhagavathy Temple Trust secretary KP Ramachandran Nair says that from next year an agency associated with the National Geographic channel will conduct aerial surveys for a more scientific headcount.

It is an elaborate logistical feat: almost 3,000 police, 600 of them women, were on duty around the clock. Two hundred priests positioned themselves at different points to sprinkle holy water on the pongala. Fifty portable toilets were also provided.

Tearful devotees

At Sunday's mass offering, the ceremonial cooking began at 1015 local time (0445 GMT). The chief priest lit up the main hearth in front of the temple.


There is nothing like this anywhere else in the world. It is amazing the way a whole city makes arrangements for women to make this offering

Diane Jennet, devotee
Smoke billowed from hundreds of thousands of temporary hearths and hung above the city.

Tearful women swayed to the chanting of mantras, invoking the blessing of the goddess until next year's festival.

Popular Malayalam television actress Chippi was also present: "I've lost count of the number of times I've participated in the pongala festival.

"And why I do it is because I am sure Attukalamma [the mother goddess] will take care of me and family till I come back next year."

Not everyone manages to make their offering close to the temple: many had to set up hearth wherever they could.

People who live near the temple host dozens of women to cook the pongala. One retired professor of English, MS Hema, hosted more than 100 friends and relatives at her home.



The size of the women's festival is unmatched
Among her guests was Dianne Jennet, who has been coming every year since 1997 from San Francisco. The collective spirituality she observed in female devotees at Attukal became the subject of of her PhD dissertation back in the United States.

"It's difficult to explain. I just develop this desire to make the journey every year. Pongala is all about community, devotion and equality.

"There is nothing like this anywhere else in the world. It is amazing the way a whole city makes arrangements for women to make this offering. Nobody could imagine shutting down San Francisco for a day, blocking the vehicles for a women's gathering," she said.

The legend goes that Bhagavathy once visited the spot where the temple stands today on the banks of the Killiyar river.

The goddess, in the guise of a girl, sought the help of the head of a local family to cross the river. He helped her - but she vanished soon after.

In the ancient religious texts, Bhagavathy is said to annihilate evil and protects the good in this world - she grants every wish of her devotees. This is also the fervent hope of the women who come year on year.

At the end of the ceremony a small plane hovered above the masses showering flowers.

It was the end to a tiring but spiritually nourishing session. Devotees picked up their belongings and boarded buses and trains to head home.
www.bbnewsc.co

Mumbai attacks India 26/11

125 dead, 327 injured in Mumbai attacks

New Delhi NSG commandos battled to flush out militants still resisting in three pockets in the country's financial capital on Friday, over 24 hours after heavily armed fighters killed at least 125 people in coordinated attacks.

Early on Friday morning, sporadic gunfire and explosions continued at a Jewish centre where at least 10 Israelis were trapped or being held hostage.


Police said militants were also still holed up at the Taj Mahal hotel and the nearby Oberoi-Trident hotel along with an unknown number of hostages.


Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pinned blame for the attacks on militant groups based in India's neighbours, usually an allusion to Pakistan, raising prospects of renewed tension between the nuclear-armed rivals.


He warned of "a cost" if these nations did not take action to stop their territory being used to launch such attacks.


An estimated 25 men armed with assault rifles and grenades -- at least some of whom arrived by sea -- fanned out across Mumbai on Wednesday night to attack sites popular with tourists and businessmen, including the city's top two luxury hotels.


Police said at least seven of the attackers were killed and nine suspects had been taken into custody. They said 12 policemen were killed, including Hemant Karkare, chief of the police anti-terrorist squad in Mumbai.


At least six foreigners, including one Australian, a Briton, an Italian and a Japanese national, were killed. Scores of others were trapped in the fighting or were being held hostage.


More than 300 people were wounded.


Commandos battled the militants through Thursday, often room to room in the hotels, to rescue people, police said. Flames billowed out of the buildings and loud explosions were heard during the fighting.


Mumbai, a city of nearly 18 million people that is the nerve-centre of India's growing economic prowess and home to the "Bollywood" film industry, was virtually shut down on Thursday as the battles raged.


But in a reflection of the poverty that sits cheek-by-jowl with the upmarket shops and restaurants in the city, hundreds of people were stretched out asleep on pavements and handcarts near the scenes of fighting.


The sea-facing Marine Drive in front of the Oberoi-Trident is a favoured spot for early morning walks, and some regulars came out for their constitutional despite the tension.


"I hear they (the security forces) have relaxed the rules a little so I came for my morning walk but I did not see any of the regulars," said Raja Ram Patil, 54, a local businessman.



British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the attack would be met with a "vigorous response".


U.S. President-elect Barack Obama condemned the incident. Obama, who favours a regional solution to the war in Afghanistan and is encouraging Pakistan and India to make peace over Kashmir, was monitoring the situation closely, an aide said. [nLR502129]


The Times of India published a photograph of one of the attackers, dressed in a black T-shirt and holding an assault rifle with a backpack over his shoulder.


At least some of them had come ashore in what police said was a rubber dinghy. They commandeered a vehicle and sprayed passersby with bullets, and fired indiscriminately in a train station, hospitals and a popular tourist cafe.

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