Mixed Response To Budget in Northeast India

Guwahati, Feb 28 : The budget for 2011-12 has evoked mixed response in the northeast, with industry captains and Assam's ruling Congress party terming it balanced, while the opposition described it as directionless.

The notable highlight in the budget for the northeast has been a 100 percent jump in the allocation for special assistance to Rs 8,000 crore for 2011-12. Out of this, Rs 5,400 crore has been allocated as Special Central Assistance.

'I would say this is a reformist and mature budget by a mature finance minister aimed at addressing various issues like tax reforms to infrastructure and also the social sector as well,' R.S. Joshi, president of the Federation of Industries and Commerce of Northeastern Region (FINER), the apex trade administration body of the region, said.

'This is a budget for the people and the special assistance of Rs.8,000 would go a long way in improving infrastructure facilities in the region,' said Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.

'This is a pro-people budget and we hope the provisions, especially in areas like education, health, social sector and infrastructure would go a long way in the overall development of the country,' said Pawan Singh Ghatowar, Congress MP from Assam.

The opposition thought otherwise.

'This is nothing but a budget that is directionless, with no steps taken to curb price rise and growing inflation. There is nothing for the northeast and Assam as well in the budget,' said Ramen Deka, BJP MP from Assam.

'The people of Assam and the northeast got a raw deal from this budget. The people of the northeast got nothing from this budget,' said Biren Baishya, MP of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) said.

Union Budget 2011-12: Highlights

Key proposals made by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in his Budget speech in Parliament

Union Budget 2011-12

• Pranab Mukherjee arrives in Parliament; Cabinet to approve budget before day's session begins
• Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee begins presenting the Union Budget 2011-12 speech
• FM hints at inclusive growth, indicates double-digit growth in the near future
• Pranab Mukherjee: Food inflation declined in the last year but remains a concern
• Pranab Mukherjee: Reaching the end of a remarkable fiscal year
• Pranab Mukherjee: India has returned to pre-crisis growth trajectory
• Rural economic growth helped India avoid the quagmire of a global meltdown
• The implementation gaps in the PDS is a big challenge
• All sectors show growth, service sectors growing in double digits
• Consumers denied price falls during seasonal changes
• GDP estimates grew at 8.6% in 2010; 9.6 pct in services, 5.2 % in agriculture sector
• Corruption is a problem to be fought collectively
• Weakening governance is an impression that is misplaced
• Exports grew 29 percent, imports by 17.6 percent
• FM wants RBI to make more interventions to curtail inflation
• Wholesale-retail price imbalance unacceptable. Need to improve the distribution system of food and agriculture
• GST network to be spruced up further
• Industrial growth seen at 11% in 2011-12
• GDP to grow 9% in FY 2011-12with outside band of 0.1% to 0.2%
• New bill to initiate GST, both at central and state levels
• General Sales Tax (GST) to be simplified
• Public Debt Management Institute of India to be set up soon
• Disinvestment momentum to be maintained; target set to 40,000 crores
• Implement strong IT infrastructure across states for GST
• FDI policy liberalisation being looked into

• 36.4% of total budget outlay to be allocated for social sector development
• Finance Ministry to take up study to assess the incidence of money laundering and suggest corrective measures
• Government joins global forums and 11 tax information agreements to stop money laundering
• Government puts into operation a five-fold strategy to control black money
• Metro projects in Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai to receive more funds in 2011-12
• National Mission of Hybrid Transportation to be created to bolster green transportation
• Ministerial group to study existing mining laws and suggest changes
• Manufacturing sector growth to account for 20% of GDP in next 10 years; up from 15% now
• Tax-free bonds of Rs 30,000 crore for developing infrastructure in railways, roads, etc.
• Comprehensive policy to develop public-private participation in infrastructure development
• Cold storage to be recognised as an infrastructure sector
• 150 lakh mT of storage capacity for food items being created under Rural Godown scheme
• FM proposes 15 more food parks
• Direct Tax Code to be implemented from April 1, 2012
• Agricultural credit to farmers to grow from Rs 3,75,000 crore to Rs 4,75,000 crore
• Vegetable initiative to set in motion a virtual cycle of production and distribution
• Oilseed production to go up in 2010-11 as against 2009-10; 100,000 hectares added to oilseed farming
• Outlay of Rs 500 crore to increase agriculture productivity
• Green revolution in eastern region to be given a fillip with additional allocation to bolster paddy growth
• FM announces Women's Self-help Group Development Fund of Rs 500 crore
• India Micro-finance Equity Fund of Rs 100 crore proposed
• FM proposes removal of bottlenecks in supply of essential food items
• Capital infusion into PSU banks; Rs 20,000 crore proposed
• Slew of bills to make the financial sector more open in 2011-12
• Direct transfer of subsidy on kerosene to the poor; Task force headed by Nandan Nilekani working on modalities
• Cash subsidies for fertiliser, kerosene
• Government will retain 51% control over central PSUs
• FII limit in infrastructure bonds to be increased to US $40 billion

• Direct Tax exemption limit raised from Rs 1.6 lakh to Rs 1.8 lakh for individuals
• Senior citizens: Reduction in qualifying age to 60 years from 65; exemption limit at Rs 2.5 lakh
• New tax slab for senior citizens above 80 years; exemption limit at Rs 5 lakh
• Revenue Deficit is 3.4% of GDP as against target of 4.1%
• Fiscal Deficit targeted at 4.6% for FY12
• Fiscal Deficit reduced from 5.5% to 5.1% in FY11
• Eleventh plan expenditure in nominal terms is the highest so far in India's planned development
• GoM to study issues relating to corruption like state-funding of elections, discretionary quotas of ministers, etc
• Eleventh plan expenditure in nominal terms is the highest so far in India's planned development
• GoM to study issues relating to corruption like state-funding of elections, discretionary quotas of ministers, etc
• Gove to launch new scheme to modernise stamp duty administration across all states
• FM lists a slew of online systems to bring transparency
• Government keen to make tax filing and refunds an online process
• 10 lakh Aadhar (UID) cards per day from September 2011
• Rs 3,000 crore provided for enhancing judicial infrastructure including e-courts
• FM allocates Rs 23,000 crore for literacy mission
• Allocation to Backward Region Grant Fund increased from Rs 7,300 crore to Rs 9,890 crore
• Rs 1,64,415 crore allocated in budget outlay for defence
• Additional funds of Rs 500 crore announced for Ladakh and Jammu
• FM allocates additional funds worth Rs 8000 crore for J&K development programs
• FM allocates Rs 600 crore for various environmental schemes in 2011-12
• Old age pension in BPL category: Beneficiaries age lowered to 60 years from 65 years
• Scheme to help banks operate across 70,000 villages in 2 years
• Rs 1 crore global award in memory of Rabindranath Tagore announced
• National Knowledge Network: 1,500 colleges of higher education will be linked via cables by 2012
• Rs 2 lakh crore from National Clean Energy Fund allocated for Green India Mission
• FIIs allowed to invest in Mutual Funds
• Food Security Bill to be introduced this year
• Total allocation for Education: Rs 52,057 crore
• Rs 58,000 crore allocated to Bharat Nirman
• To index NREGA wage rate to consumer price index
• Renumeration for Anganwadi helpers increased from Rs 750 to Rs 1,500
• Renumeration for Anganwadi workers raised from Rs 1,500 to Rs 3,000
• Rural broadband connectivity to all 2.5 lakh villages in 3 years

• Fertiliser companies to get investment-linked tax deductions
• Notified infrastructure debt funds proposed
• Fiscal Deficit in FY12 pegged at Rs 4.12 lakh crore
• Special Economic Zones to come under MAT
• Service Tax retained at 10%
• Investment-linked tax deduction proposed in fertiliser and housing sectors
• Foreign dividend tax rate cut to 15% for Indian companies
• Corporate surcharge reduced from 7.5% to 5%
• Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) raised from 18% to 18.5%
• No resource mobilisation made through fresh taxation
• Propose a public debate on GST; relevant documents to be shared soon
• Tax surcharge for companies to be cut from 7.5% to 5%
• Air-conditioning equipment for cold storages exempt from excise
• Base excise duty up to 5%
• Customs peak rates to be retained
• 20% ad valorem export duty on iron ore
• Customs duty on yarn reduced from 7.5% to 5%
• Proposal to align customs duty with that of ASEAN countries
• 1 percent Central Excise levied on 100 new items in the CENVAT list
• FM to not roll back standard rate of excise duty and maintain it at 10%
• Additional deduction of Rs 20,000 for long-term infrastructure investment to continue for another year
• All small tax payers and small business owners with revenue of upto Rs 60 lakh exempt from audit
• New services in tax net: Hotels charging over Rs 1,000 per day as room rent, Air-conditioned restaurantsserving liquor, Hospitals with central air-conditioning, Diagnostics services outside hospitals, Life insuranceservices
• Customs duty on raw steel reduced
• Excise duty rates rationalised for cement industry
• Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee ends his presentation in Parliament

Mizoram Postmaster Fleeing to Myanmar With Rural Job Fund Held

Aizawl, Feb 28 : Mizoram Police arrested a postmaster who was fleeing to neighbouring Myanmar with Rs.13.50 lakh meant to be disbursed for work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), police said here Monday.

The money was deposited with Lalrodinga, 36, a postmaster at Vaphai branch Post Office in eastern Mizoram, by the rural development department for subsequent disbursement among the MGNREGS workers.

'Lalrodinga Sunday took the money from the post office locker and went to his estranged wife in a nearby village and gave her Rs.4 lakh for looking after their children,' a police official told reporters.

'Then he tried to cross the India-Myanmar border with the remaining amount before the police arrested him at the Zokhawmawi village along the border,' he added.

Police recovered Rs.9.50 lakh from Lalrodinga and the Rs.4 lakh he gave to his ex-wife.

'The postmaster has confessed to police that he planned to go to Myanmar and exchange the money (Indian currency) with Myanmar's Kyats and hide it there,' the official said.

The mountainous Mizoram has international border of 404 km with Myanmar and 318 km with Bangladesh.

Pre-Paid Power Supply in Manipur From April

By Sobhapati Samom
 
Maphou Dam site (Manipur), Feb 28 : Manipur is set to introduce ‘pre-paid’ power supply mechanism to control power theft in April next in the State.

Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh informed the new measure to check power theft to news reporters after inspecting Thoubal multi-purpose project in the adjoining areas of Ukhrul, Senapati, Thoubal and Imphal East districts, 45 km north east of Manipur today.

He also informed that decades-old Thoubal project will be completed before December this year, three months ahead of its completion target as 75-80 per cent of the construction works are completed.

“We will be introducing pre-paid power supply system within April this year”, Ibobi said adding “Necessary steps are on to meet the target”.

Checking theft of power becomes all the more imperative as the State has a shortfall of 35 MW to 40 MW in its peak hour requirement of which 60 per cent of the supply was consumed in city areas.

The pre-paid power supply based on commensurate billing will be started in Imphal City in the first phase for which laying of underground power cables is still underway in parts of the city.

Preparing ahead, Manipur had recently upgraded the 132 KV Yurembam power supply transmission station near Imphal to 400 KV with the capacity of carrying 1000 MW. Besides Chief Engineer N Sarat led State Power department had been undertaking a strong drive against power thefts which accounts for about 70 per cent of power loss in Manipur since last month. Power theft is a cognisable and non-bailable offense under the Electricity Act, 2003, and two session judges have also been appointed to deal with cases related to power at the Special Court (Electricity), he added.

“The present condition of power supply can be improved when the percentage of power loss comes down to about 40 per cent”, the officer said. There is overdue electricity bill of Rs 280 crores to be collected from the regular consumers.

The State hopes that once the three projects – 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri (Arunachal Pradesh,W Bongaigaon (Assam) and Palatana (Tripura) – are commissioned in March 2011, its power woes would be minimised.

Manipur Teachers On Strike Over Salary Hike Demand

Imphal, Feb 27 : Teachers in Manipur are on strike over a demand for a hike in their salaries.

The teachers who have gathered under the banner of the Federation of College Teachers Associations of Manipur (FECTAM) called for a review of the cabinet decision of November 4, 2010.

FECTAM President L. Randhoni Devi said teachers both experienced and new, were being paid very low salaries.

The teachers have also gathered under the banner of the Council of Teachers’ Association and (COTA) suspended classes over a demand for implementation of recommendations made by the Sixth Central Pay Commission.

Agitating teachers in the state have launched a relay hunger strike since January.

School activity and student academics have been adversely affected as a result.

Playboy Girl Makes Bollywood Debut

Latest entrant into Bollywood is none other than Candice Boucher, a Playboy covergirl.

Sexy playboy pin-up girl Candice Boucher is all set to make her debut in Prashant Chadha's Aazaan, where she will play a sand artist.

62,730 Toilets Built in Manipur

Imphal, Feb 27 : Altogether 62,730 toilets have been constructed in Manipur out of the targeted 2,68,769 under the Central Government sponsored flagship programme of Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) by 2012.

According to sources in the Communication and Capacity Development Unit (CCDU), Manipur – the implementing agency of the campaign in the State – 37,130 toilets for below poverty line (BPL) families were constructed out of a total target of 1,94,887 sanitary toilets till February 17 this year while 21,428 were constructed for the above poverty line (APL) families out of the targeted 68,376 toilets.

The CCDU which works in panchayats, gram sabhas and NGOs,was set up all over the country to educate, motivate and communicate about the need for hygienic living.

Around 4,172 toilets including 247 for sanitary complexes, 2,986 for schools and 939 for balwadis were also constructed so far out of 386, 3919 and 1201 toilets respectively. The step has been taken up to enable those living in rural and remote areas and belonging to BPL section of the society to lead a hygienic life free from diseases. It also envisages constructing a sanitary latrine for every BPL household by 2012.

In case of individual latrine, the expenditure is pegged at Rs 3,000 out of which Rs 2,000 will be borne by the Central Government, Rs 700 by the State and Rs 300 by the individual concerned. For community sanitary complex, the cost is pegged at Rs 2 lakh out of which Rs 1,20,000 will be borne by the Centre, Rs 60,000 by State and Rs 20,000 by the community.

For schools, Rs 38,500 is the total cost with the Centre’s and State’s share amounting to Rs 26,500 and 11,500 respectively, while out of a total cost of Rs 10,000 for Anganwadi toilet, the Centre puts up Rs 7,000 and the State Rs 3,000.

On the other hand, various intervention programmes in the Health sector including immunisation for children and pregnant women were also carried out with special emphasis on the most vulnerable section of the society – children and women belonging to the BPL under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) since it was launched in October 2006.

“With the launching of Janani Surakhsha Yojana (JSY), many mothers benefited under the scheme,” an official of NRHM said. A total of 41,581 pregnant women over 19 years were benefited in 2009-10, besides they were also eligible for check-up three times free of cost in a government health centre.

Selected 3,878 Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) workers play a major role to bridge the gap between the community and health care delivery system under NRHM while 3,591 village health and sanitation committees were made operationalised with their own bank accounts.

One ASHA worker covers 1,000 population in Manipur’s four valley districts while one ASHA worker covers 200 population in the five hill districts. According to Dr S Bimola Kumari, chief medical officer of the Imphal West district, 329 ASHAs equipped with uniforms, radio and cycles operate in Imphal West district alone.

Aircel Launches 3G Services in Northeast India

Guwahati, Feb 26 : Aircel launched its 3G services for the Northeastern region in Guwahati on Friday.

Claiming that Aircel is the fastest growing telecom service provider, its CEO Sandip Das said the company was concentrating on innovative data offerings.

The chief operating officer of the company, Gurdeep Singh said 3G pocket internet portal, launched recently, would provide video entertainment, fashion, music, movies and sports.

Apart from a very robust retail presence, Aircel would provide both prepaid and postpaid 3G products through its outlets, he said.