The Only way to get Smarter is by playing a Smarter opponent
--Jason Statham as Mr. Green in Guy Ritchie's Revolver
The Real Power lies with people who don't have any regrets in their life
--Gregory David Roberts in his novel Shantaram
Friday, March 30, 2007
Quote/Dialog of the day
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Quote/Dialog of the day
HOLLYWOOD
These walls are funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, you get so depended on them. That's institutionalized.
--Morgan Freeman as Red in Shawshank Redemption
I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can't be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free.
--Morgan Freeman as Red in Shawshank Redemption
Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.
--Tim Robbins as Andy Dufrense in Shawshank Redemption
The greatest trick the devil pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist
--Usual Suspects
But Don't forget I'm also a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her
--Julia Roberts as Anna Scott in Notting Hill
Free your mind
--Matrix
BOLLYWOOD
Mera naam hai Ibu Hatela, meri maa chudail kee beti, mera baap shaitaan ka chela, khaega kelaa
--Gunda, *ing--Bhagwaan, a.k.a. Mithun Chakrobothy
Mera naam hai bullaaaah, mai rakhta hoon hamesha khullaaaaaah
--Bullaaah in Gunda
Mai nahin aaonga
--Shah Rukh Khaan in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaenge
haramzaaade, mai tera khoon peejaoonga
--Dharam paaji in countless movies
Read More......
These walls are funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, you get so depended on them. That's institutionalized.
--Morgan Freeman as Red in Shawshank Redemption
I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can't be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free.
--Morgan Freeman as Red in Shawshank Redemption
Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.
--Tim Robbins as Andy Dufrense in Shawshank Redemption
The greatest trick the devil pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist
--Usual Suspects
But Don't forget I'm also a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her
--Julia Roberts as Anna Scott in Notting Hill
Free your mind
--Matrix
BOLLYWOOD
Mera naam hai Ibu Hatela, meri maa chudail kee beti, mera baap shaitaan ka chela, khaega kelaa
--Gunda, *ing--Bhagwaan, a.k.a. Mithun Chakrobothy
Mera naam hai bullaaaah, mai rakhta hoon hamesha khullaaaaaah
--Bullaaah in Gunda
Mai nahin aaonga
--Shah Rukh Khaan in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaenge
haramzaaade, mai tera khoon peejaoonga
--Dharam paaji in countless movies
Thursday, March 22, 2007
FOR MORE UPDATES ON FOOTBALL SEE...
hi all (if there are any readers of this blog!!!!!)
from now on there'ld be no more football(please, please don't call this beautiful game soccer) updates on this blog, instead I and a friend(Kishore Pegu) have started a dedicated blog on football(happy now) available at:-
http://memoirsofafootballfan.blogspot.com/
spread the word around(we both'ld be working to make this an authentic blog on football), and this has a dedicated label on Indain Football(dude a thing like this exists!!!!!!)
Read More......
from now on there'ld be no more football(please, please don't call this beautiful game soccer) updates on this blog, instead I and a friend(Kishore Pegu) have started a dedicated blog on football(happy now) available at:-
http://memoirsofafootballfan.blogspot.com/
spread the word around(we both'ld be working to make this an authentic blog on football), and this has a dedicated label on Indain Football(dude a thing like this exists!!!!!!)
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Blood Diamond
Scene 1:
Archer and Solomon are near the mining camp where the later had hidden the elusive pink diamond, the diamond which Archer thought was his ticket out of this God-forsaken continent(Africa), the continent which God left a long time ago(again this was Archer's thought). Solomon is desperate to get his son back from the crazy rebel bastards, who hallucinate young boys and make them plunder, murder, arson and all the bad things. But Archer, a man seasoned in the art of warfare asks him to wait till next morning. His plan--by morning Captain's helicopter'ld be there, and in the cover of its firing they make their move. Somehow he manages to stop Solomon from rushing down to the camp. But how long can you stop a father in his situation??
Scene 2:
Archer wakes from his nap, he doesn't knows how long he has been asleep, but where is the fisherman(Solomon), shit!!! he has gone down to get his son. Foolish man, what does he thinks, he can just go down there and pull his son from wicked grasp of those bastards, shit , shit, shit!!! what to do??? no signs of helicopter in the sky. But Solomon is pivotal, no Solomon, no diamond. He checks the number of rounds left and makes a move down to the camp.
Scene3 (Meanwhile in the camp):
Solomon is in a big mess...his son refuses to recognize him(what they did to his mind??, drugs, JESUS!!!), on the contrary he was on the verge of getting shot at the hands of his own son. Presently he is facing the wicked commander of the mining camp(only man other than Archer who knows that Solomon has hidden a rare pink diamond somewhere nearby). Wicked man is cursing Vandy, he demands the location of the diamond and Solomon the custody of his son, but his son is guarding the wicked man with his Kalashnikov!!!!!!, Archer hidden in a shack nearby is confused, looking eagerly towards the sky, but still no signs of the helicopter.
The wicked man is threatening Solomon, rushes towards him, hits him hard with his revolver, holding Solomon's hair by his left and lower jaw with his his right hand and pulling them apart he announces:-- "YOU MAY THINK I'M THE DEVIL, BUT ITS SO BECAUSE I'VE LIVED IN HELL"
Scene 4:
But what is this noise in the sky, a murmur, becoming louder every passing second, and next moment it turns deafening and along with it, it brings a rain of bullets. Berserk sets into the mining camp, innocent workers are running here and there, rebels are making futile attempts to bring down the helicopter with their AK-47's(bought from the price of Blood diamonds). Archer is relieved somewhat waiting for the accurate moment to make his move. Solomon, disgraced, tries to salvage some pride by killing the devil. Blood, mayhem, bullets all around, but it is a common scene in civil-war stricken Seirra-Leone. For civilians, dodging bullets is mundane, boy seems Archer is right, is God watching all this and if he is, he ought to be a Spartan!!!!!!
Dia(Solomon's son) is frightened, he starts running(even he doesn't knows where he is going), Archer sees him, shit, the helicopter is still in the area, firing, but he makes the move.
Scene 5:
The greedy Captain has not only sent his helicopter, but his troops too, who are now eliminating all present in the camp, God still sipping his martini.
What was Archer thinking??, that Capatin'ld send all the fire power to let him get the diamond and then disappear?? Captain'ld have killed for any diamond, and this was a RARE PINK DIAMOND, THE SIZE OF A BIRD'S EGG. No way he was letting Archer walk off with it.
Captain's man line up Solomon in front of the Master, who demands the knowledge of the stone. But the fisherman'ld only speak to Danny(Archer). On Archer's insistence Solomon starts walking towards THE PLACE. So much over a peice of stone, but for god's sake it was his country, for how long'ld these white people keep on fulfilling the whims and fancies of African dictators and exploiting its people and resources in turn?? first it was only Britishers, now its all of them British, Americans, and even Asians. For how long??.......how long?? But this was no time for debate he had to reunite his family, so he continued....
So, we are here, the place where Solomon had hidden the diamond. He starts digging, after sometime Captain asks: "Where is the diamond???, don't u dare fuck with me" Captain is reaching for his revolver, "no, no, I remember...." says Solomon. Archer is tense, how can he let these bastards walk away with HIS DIAMOND????, he lights a cigarette(he wishes it'ld be his last..he promised Solomon to quit once he gets the stone). Meanwhile Solomon is digging, at once he starts digging fastly as if has got it, now all the eyes are on him.
"Did u get it", captains demands, "yes" says Solomon, captains kneels down to get a glimpse. But that was it, the moment Archer and Solomon were looking for, a blow of axe and captain is down temporaraily, Archer shoots one, jumps into the bushes. BAMMM, BAMMM, captain had trained him well. Men down, but the rest'ld be here in no time, they must hurry. Archer doesn't tells Solomon but he is hurt. His desire of making his life better with that piece of stone was not letting himself believe he was hurt?? he wanted to hide this fact(shit this was a fact) from himself, telling Solomon was very far-fetched. He buckled up and started marching.
Soon reality started taking its toll and Archer was shrieking loudly in pain(what was more painful, the wound??, or the fact that all this effort for diamond was in vain??, surely it was the later). It was a wicked climb up the mountain, Archer was losing his foothold. Solomon carried him up the first level. But Archer was seeing all very clearly, in this moment he knew it very well, that it was never about the diamond, he was so pissed off with his life all through that he started searching for happiness in material possesions. But having helped Solomon get his son back he felt PEACE, a feeling so good he knew a piece of stone could never give him.
He asked Solomon to let him go and proceed, the parting was painful but it was inevitable.
In his last few minutes or may be a painful half an hour archer called the journalist(yes he loved her, and knew that she loved him back, he cannot believe now that he gave her up for his greed) gave her instructions to assist Solomon to get a good price for the diamond.
Archer was happy looking at a beautiful view of lush green mountains, and soon it was all black.
Read More......
Archer and Solomon are near the mining camp where the later had hidden the elusive pink diamond, the diamond which Archer thought was his ticket out of this God-forsaken continent(Africa), the continent which God left a long time ago(again this was Archer's thought). Solomon is desperate to get his son back from the crazy rebel bastards, who hallucinate young boys and make them plunder, murder, arson and all the bad things. But Archer, a man seasoned in the art of warfare asks him to wait till next morning. His plan--by morning Captain's helicopter'ld be there, and in the cover of its firing they make their move. Somehow he manages to stop Solomon from rushing down to the camp. But how long can you stop a father in his situation??
Scene 2:
Archer wakes from his nap, he doesn't knows how long he has been asleep, but where is the fisherman(Solomon), shit!!! he has gone down to get his son. Foolish man, what does he thinks, he can just go down there and pull his son from wicked grasp of those bastards, shit , shit, shit!!! what to do??? no signs of helicopter in the sky. But Solomon is pivotal, no Solomon, no diamond. He checks the number of rounds left and makes a move down to the camp.
Scene3 (Meanwhile in the camp):
Solomon is in a big mess...his son refuses to recognize him(what they did to his mind??, drugs, JESUS!!!), on the contrary he was on the verge of getting shot at the hands of his own son. Presently he is facing the wicked commander of the mining camp(only man other than Archer who knows that Solomon has hidden a rare pink diamond somewhere nearby). Wicked man is cursing Vandy, he demands the location of the diamond and Solomon the custody of his son, but his son is guarding the wicked man with his Kalashnikov!!!!!!, Archer hidden in a shack nearby is confused, looking eagerly towards the sky, but still no signs of the helicopter.
The wicked man is threatening Solomon, rushes towards him, hits him hard with his revolver, holding Solomon's hair by his left and lower jaw with his his right hand and pulling them apart he announces:-- "YOU MAY THINK I'M THE DEVIL, BUT ITS SO BECAUSE I'VE LIVED IN HELL"
Scene 4:
But what is this noise in the sky, a murmur, becoming louder every passing second, and next moment it turns deafening and along with it, it brings a rain of bullets. Berserk sets into the mining camp, innocent workers are running here and there, rebels are making futile attempts to bring down the helicopter with their AK-47's(bought from the price of Blood diamonds). Archer is relieved somewhat waiting for the accurate moment to make his move. Solomon, disgraced, tries to salvage some pride by killing the devil. Blood, mayhem, bullets all around, but it is a common scene in civil-war stricken Seirra-Leone. For civilians, dodging bullets is mundane, boy seems Archer is right, is God watching all this and if he is, he ought to be a Spartan!!!!!!
Dia(Solomon's son) is frightened, he starts running(even he doesn't knows where he is going), Archer sees him, shit, the helicopter is still in the area, firing, but he makes the move.
Scene 5:
The greedy Captain has not only sent his helicopter, but his troops too, who are now eliminating all present in the camp, God still sipping his martini.
What was Archer thinking??, that Capatin'ld send all the fire power to let him get the diamond and then disappear?? Captain'ld have killed for any diamond, and this was a RARE PINK DIAMOND, THE SIZE OF A BIRD'S EGG. No way he was letting Archer walk off with it.
Captain's man line up Solomon in front of the Master, who demands the knowledge of the stone. But the fisherman'ld only speak to Danny(Archer). On Archer's insistence Solomon starts walking towards THE PLACE. So much over a peice of stone, but for god's sake it was his country, for how long'ld these white people keep on fulfilling the whims and fancies of African dictators and exploiting its people and resources in turn?? first it was only Britishers, now its all of them British, Americans, and even Asians. For how long??.......how long?? But this was no time for debate he had to reunite his family, so he continued....
So, we are here, the place where Solomon had hidden the diamond. He starts digging, after sometime Captain asks: "Where is the diamond???, don't u dare fuck with me" Captain is reaching for his revolver, "no, no, I remember...." says Solomon. Archer is tense, how can he let these bastards walk away with HIS DIAMOND????, he lights a cigarette(he wishes it'ld be his last..he promised Solomon to quit once he gets the stone). Meanwhile Solomon is digging, at once he starts digging fastly as if has got it, now all the eyes are on him.
"Did u get it", captains demands, "yes" says Solomon, captains kneels down to get a glimpse. But that was it, the moment Archer and Solomon were looking for, a blow of axe and captain is down temporaraily, Archer shoots one, jumps into the bushes. BAMMM, BAMMM, captain had trained him well. Men down, but the rest'ld be here in no time, they must hurry. Archer doesn't tells Solomon but he is hurt. His desire of making his life better with that piece of stone was not letting himself believe he was hurt?? he wanted to hide this fact(shit this was a fact) from himself, telling Solomon was very far-fetched. He buckled up and started marching.
Soon reality started taking its toll and Archer was shrieking loudly in pain(what was more painful, the wound??, or the fact that all this effort for diamond was in vain??, surely it was the later). It was a wicked climb up the mountain, Archer was losing his foothold. Solomon carried him up the first level. But Archer was seeing all very clearly, in this moment he knew it very well, that it was never about the diamond, he was so pissed off with his life all through that he started searching for happiness in material possesions. But having helped Solomon get his son back he felt PEACE, a feeling so good he knew a piece of stone could never give him.
He asked Solomon to let him go and proceed, the parting was painful but it was inevitable.
In his last few minutes or may be a painful half an hour archer called the journalist(yes he loved her, and knew that she loved him back, he cannot believe now that he gave her up for his greed) gave her instructions to assist Solomon to get a good price for the diamond.
Archer was happy looking at a beautiful view of lush green mountains, and soon it was all black.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Spartan movie 300 compared to the comic book!
This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.
Read More......Google Phone is in the Development, no more rumors, Google Going Mobile
After Apple its google's turn. The oft-rumored handset from Google has taken that final leap into the "confirmed" column, though it may not be quite the be-all, end-all device we were expecting.
read more | digg story
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Review--The Pursuit of HappYness
Absolute masterpiece, Will Smith as Chris Gardner is at his best. Its one of those movies that u can easily watch alongwith ur family and more importantly it makes u think, and take control of your own life. The story and the performances are really moving(atleast i was moved) and u don't feel like talking to anyone when it gets over, u might just wanna sit and ponder over. This guy Chris Gardner is a character straight out of story books, but he is real. I'm still wondering how can a person struggle so much, that too without saying a word. These are real guts man, even more sterner than Superman. Who says there are no super-heroes in real world, this guy is one of them. This movie also highlights the fact that hard work never goes in vain, and it helps to see the things(no matter how bad they are) from a funny angle. I guess i'm talking nonsense out here, so go catch this one....CHAMPIONS LEAGUE’07--STAGE OF LAST 16-SECOND LEG
Liverpool 0-1 Barcelona Venue - Anfield
Eidur Gudjohnsen (75)
Venue - Anfield
oooooooooh, heartbreak for all the Barca fans, they don't go to the next stage b'coz of the away goal rulelost. But, they fought bravely, its never easy against gritty sides like Liverpool. As for me i'm i've mixed feelings, being both a Liverpool and Barca fan, it was never going for me, but i'ld manage..[:-)]
Preview | Report | Match Stats
Bayern Munich 2-1 Real Madrid
Roy Makaay (1), Ruud van Nistelrooy (83)(pen), Ferreira Lucio (66)
Venue - Allianz-Arena
Boy this is called a stadium, a peice of art, a modern day relic!!!!, and it was a great match befiittng the stadium. Both matches of this draw were mind-blowing a total of 8 goals scored. But Real missed the magic of Beckham surely, he made all the diff with his pin-point passes in the first leg.Venue - Anfield
oooooooooh, heartbreak for all the Barca fans, they don't go to the next stage b'coz of the away goal rulelost. But, they fought bravely, its never easy against gritty sides like Liverpool. As for me i'm i've mixed feelings, being both a Liverpool and Barca fan, it was never going for me, but i'ld manage..[:-)]
Preview | Report | Match Stats
Bayern Munich 2-1 Real Madrid
Roy Makaay (1), Ruud van Nistelrooy (83)(pen), Ferreira Lucio (66)
Venue - Allianz-Arena
Preview | Report | Match Stats
Manchester United 1-0 Lille
Henrik Larsson (72)
Venue - Old Trafford
Utd and all her fans(including me) 'ld have loved Larsson's stay at Old Trafford, alas....[:-(]
Arsenal deserve much better than this, the next stage'ld have been a lot more competitve if they had gone through, but it was not their day.Manchester United 1-0 Lille
Henrik Larsson (72)
Venue - Old Trafford
Utd and all her fans(including me) 'ld have loved Larsson's stay at Old Trafford, alas....[:-(]
Preview | Report | Match Stats
AC Milan 1-0 Celtic
Kaka (90)
Venue - Stadio Giuseppe Meazza
Preview | Report | Match Stats
Chelsea 2-1 Porto
Arjen Robben (48) Ricardo Quaresma (15)
Michael Ballack (79)
Venue - Stamford BridgeAC Milan 1-0 Celtic
Kaka (90)
Venue - Stadio Giuseppe Meazza
Preview | Report | Match Stats
Chelsea 2-1 Porto
Arjen Robben (48) Ricardo Quaresma (15)
Michael Ballack (79)
To jose's releif chelsea are on their way to the stage of last 8
Preview | Report | Match Stats
Lyon 0-2 A.S.Roma
Francesco Totti (22)
Alessandro Mancini (44)
Venue - Stade de Gerland
What a goal that was from Mancini, a touch of class, absolute masterpeice!!!!
Lyon 0-2 A.S.Roma
Francesco Totti (22)
Alessandro Mancini (44)
Venue - Stade de Gerland
What a goal that was from Mancini, a touch of class, absolute masterpeice!!!!Preview | Report | Match Stats
Valencia 0-0 Internazionale
Venue - Estadio Mestalla
Preview | Report | Match Stats
Read More......
Valencia 0-0 Internazionale
Venue - Estadio Mestalla
Preview | Report | Match Stats
Monday, March 05, 2007
WEEKEND EPL
| SPURS SNATCH AMAZING LAST-GASP WIN | |||||||||||||
| Tottenham Hotspur scored twice in a dramatic finish at Upton Park to leave West Ham United rooted to the foot of the table. more > | ||||||||||||||
| Match Report > Match Photos > Stats Comparison > | ||||||||||||||
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| McCARTHY IS DOUBLE SPOT-KICK HERO | |||||||||||||
| Benni McCarthy's two penalties earned three points for Blackburn Rovers at the Reebok Stadium but only after a late disallowed goal broke Bolton Wanderers' hearts. more > | ||||||||||||||
| Match Report > Match Photos > Stats Comparison > | ||||||||||||||
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| DEADLY DROGBA CONTINUES STUNNING SEASON | |||||||||||||
| Deadly Didier Drogba and substitute Salomon Kalou helped Chelsea cut Manchester United's lead to nine points at the top of the Barclays Premiership. more > | ||||||||||||||
| Match Report > Match Photos > Stats Comparison > | ||||||||||||||
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| GUNNERS BOUNCE BACK AGAINST READING | |||||||||||||
| Arsenal went some way to putting a turbulent week behind them with a 2-1 victory over Reading at the Emirates Stadium. more > | ||||||||||||||
| Match Report > Match Photos > Stats Comparison > | ||||||||||||||
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| BOCANEGRA EARNS POINT FOR FULHAM | |||||||||||||
| Carlos Bocanegra cancelled out John Carew's opener to earn Fulham a draw against Aston Villa in the Barclays Premiership clash at Craven Cottage. more > | ||||||||||||||
| Match Report > Match Photos > Stats Comparison > | ||||||||||||||
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| FOLAN FIRES WIGAN WINNER | |||||||||||||
| Bargain-buy Caleb Folan condemned struggling Manchester City to a fourth consecutive Barclays Premiership defeat and left Wigan Athletic tantalisingly close to survival. more > | ||||||||||||||
| Match Report > Match Photos > Stats Comparison > | ||||||||||||||
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| MAGPIES MISS DERBY CHANCES | |||||||||||||
| Newcastle United's European hopes took a dent as they failed to make the most of their dominance over derby rivals Middlesbrough. more > | ||||||||||||||
| Match Report > Match Photos > Stats Comparison > | ||||||||||||||
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| EVERTON CAPITALISE ON KENNY BLUNDER | |||||||||||||
| Paddy Kenny's mistake handed Everton a point as Sheffield United suffered further penalty heart-break against Merseyside opposition. more > | ||||||||||||||
| Match Report > Match Photos > Stats Comparison > | ||||||||||||||
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| BATTLING ADDICKS RESCUE POINT | |||||||||||||
| Watford moved off the bottom of the Barclays Premiership for the first time since early December but their 2-2 draw with Charlton Athletic leaves both sides in deep relegation trouble. more > | ||||||||||||||
| Match Report > Match Photos > Stats Comparison > | ||||||||||||||
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| O'SHEA IS UNITED'S UNLIKELY HERO | |||||||||||||
| Manchester United took a giant step towards the Barclays Premiership title with a smash-and-grab victory at Liverpool. more > | ||||||||||||||
| Match Report > Match Photos > Stats Comparison > | ||||||||||||||
Saturday, March 03, 2007
UNION BUDGET’07
UNION BUDGET’07
In a nutshell PC delivered a politically correct budget, with an emphasis on distributing the profits of a booming economy to aam aadmi.
This is how PC summarises his budget:- "The big message is that growth story is intact. The other message is that we are now distributing the gains of growth to a larger number of people."
UNION BUDGET’07
In a nutshell PC delivered a politically correct budget, with an emphasis on distributing the profits of a booming economy to aam aadmi.
This is how PC summarises his budget:- "The big message is that growth story is intact. The other message is that we are now distributing the gains of growth to a larger number of people."
The +ve things outlined for aam aadmi are:-
- focus on health, education and agriculture
- allocation for irrigation increased maize and pulses mission
- one hundred thousand scholarships for children
- jobs for the physically challenged
- social security for one crore families through an insurance scheme
- seven million structures for ground water recharge
- restructuring of over a thousand ITI’s
Well the markets have not responded positively(though not negatively also) that’s because FM has left those sectors sortta untouched, not much change in big picture. In words of etbudget.com :- as far as corporates and markets are concerned, it was a mixed bag. Stock market operators, investors and investors are particularly unhappy with the increase in dividend distribution tax by 2.5 percent and bring all knowledge-based companies under the minimum alternative tax (MAT).
A big issue worrying economic experts was how will FM deal with the increasing inflation which is at an all-time high. Yes you Guessed it, our man PC has a solution:-
Deduction in ad valorem component of excise duty on petrol and diesel from 8% to 6%. Import duty cut for non-agricultural products from 12.5% to 10% and cut on most chemicals and plastics from 12.5% to 7.5%, may also help. Biscuits with MRP less than Rs 50 per kg, food mixes and instant mixes are now fully exempt from excise. Exemption limit for SSIs is raised from Rs.1 crore to Rs 1.5 crore, which may also help lower prices. All customs duty cuts and excise duty cuts are disinflationary addressing the supply side
For the middleclass (who happen to be the people who pay their taxes most religiously..ppl like me) the budget didin’t had any surprises. Contrary to pre-budget rumours on increase of invetsment limit for tax exemption upto 2lacs, it was only increased by 10K. instead, the education cess has been raised by 1%(industriey are crying over this point)
Read More......
Friday, March 02, 2007
RAIL BUDGET'07
He is our celebrity, our camera and media friendly man, and once again he keeps is focus on “getting attention of masses”, boy o boy, this guy loves attention..but he has delivered too, atleast being a rail minister. Let's cut the crap and get to the point.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Reduced passenger fares across the board
- Lower fares and freight rates
- New trains, including high-speed trains, and additional coaches on existing trains.
- Large plan outlays to increase badly-needed capacity.
- Anywhere ticketing through petrol pumps, post office, ATM’s
- Tech-savvy ticket examiners armed with hand-held devices on high-end trains to reduce arbitrariness in filling up vacant berths.
RAIL BUDGET'07
He is our celebrity, our camera and media friendly man, and once again he keeps is focus on “getting attention of masses”, boy o boy, this guy loves attention..but he has delivered too, atleast being a rail minister. Let's cut the crap and get to the point
HIGHLIGHTS
- Reduced passenger fares across the board
- Lower fares and freight rates
- New trains, including high-speed trains, and additional coaches on existing trains.
- Large plan outlays to increase badly-needed capacity.
- Anywhere ticketing through petrol pumps, post office, ATM’s
- Tech-savvy ticket examiners armed with hand-held devices on high-end trains to reduce arbitrariness in filling up vacant berths.
The lowering of fares in AC-1 sleeper by 3% in peak periods and by 6% in lean periods, in AC-2 sleeper by 2% and 4%, and the newly-built AC-3 sleeper by 4% and 8% will no doubt help the Railways fight competition from low-cost airlines. However, the slashing of fares by 4% in the newly-designed sleeper class coach, the Re 1 decrease in prices for unreserved travel and a 20% reduction on superfast surcharge levied on second class tickets for superfast trains will add to the Railways’ cross-subsidy bill, which stands at a whopping Rs 4,000 crore as of now.(no, no don’t scared I’m not some economics geek, refer to http://www.etbudget.com and u’ll be one too)
LALU’S COOL FUNDAS
- Anywhere ticketing from local post office, petrol pumps and even ATMs.
- Dispersed dispensing of tickets and lower fees for electronic ticketing to reduce queues at booking counters.
- Setting up of passenger reservation system (PRS) facilities at all non-suburban stations under group D and E.
- About 6,000 automatic ticket vending machines to be installed in all major cities for unreserved tickets.
- PRS-cum-UTS (unreserved ticketing system) counters to be provided at post offices as well as defence organisations.
- Train enquiry call centres to start operation in the four major railway hubs between June and September this year, providing information on departures, arrivals and seat availability. They will also provide value-added services like SMS, railway ticketing and taxi booking in the near future.
And if our beehari babu has his way then travel from delhi-jaipur, mumbai-ahmedabad in just one hour, if this happens, then surely IR will give low-cost-airline guys a run for their money
The experts are lauding lalu again(may be this time he goes to harvard business school!!), the cut in prices will help in checking inflation, lalu’s cool fundas’ll surely make rail travel pleasurable. But rome was not built in day, similarly yadav can’t mend years of mismanagement in just one budget, he’s trying, but it’ll take lots of such budgets before IR can become competitive on a global scale.
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Thursday, March 01, 2007
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