Spanner in the Reformist Wheel

I loved today’s editorial caption in the New Indian Express. It says “Spanner in the Reformist Wheel”. In 5  words this title has rightly expressed the truth about UPA Government in it’s second avatar. Big bang reforms like deregulation of petroleum sector, 100% FDI in Retail, increase of FDI in insurance have all fallen on the back burner in less than 1 month of the Government taking over. Allies like Trinamool and DMK have also fiddled in with their objections on SEZs and Disinvestment. This was supposed to be the Government with a greater vigour for reforms. But the first few feelers coming out of the Government express the mood that their old leftist allies seem to have a left of shadow of their socialist ideas into the UPA Vein. The UPA immediately needs to get its act together and put on the gas pedal on Reforms and get out of this socialist shadow.

Wishlist for our FM

 

The New Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has taken Over, and The Rupee Blog is proud to submit its Wishlist to the New FM :-

 - Don’t impose any New Taxes, we already have enough of them. The Old FM – Mr.P.Chidambaram had already burdened us with the Fringe Benefit Tax(FBT), a Tax which was unliked across Indian Business and Industry. So please don’t do the same mistake.

 - Small Scale Industry: In India, being small is rewarded by the Government and Being Big is penalised. Small Scale Industries get a Central Excise Exemption upto Rs. 1.5 Crores and this forces them to remain small. This figure is too low in the 21^st Century Indian Business Context and I know many Small Scale Industries who wish to remain small within this Rs. 1.5 Crore Limit because they do not want to grow and come into the Central Excise ambit. The Previous FM Mr.Chidambaram revised this figure only once by increasing it from 1 Crore to 1.5 Crores. But 1.5 Crores is too low and there is fit case for SSI Exemption to be raised multifold. So Minister Saheb, Please increase the SSI Exemption Limit to 12 Crores p.a against the Current 1.5 Crores.

 - Please bring about a Policy Shift towards Lower Interest Rates. In the Previous UPA Government you had pressures to keep the Bank Deposit Rates for FDs high due to political compulsions. And because the Deposit Rates were High, The lending rates had to be kept high. Due to which Indian trade and commerce could not borrow at lower interest rates. Our bank lending rates are one of the highest in South East Asia. Please break this vicious cycle of High Deposit Rates and High Lending rates and usher in an era of Lower Interest Rates.

 - Currently while Paying TDS Online using CHALLAN NO.ITNS 281 we have to file a Separate Online Challan for every category of TDS Deducted and further a separate Challan for Company as well as Non-Company Deductees. So for each category of TDS Deducted we have to fill the form and enter the banking gateway all over again. Thus if you need to deposit TDS under 10 Categories you need to do this 10 times. I request the FM to make this Online Filing slightly simpler by having the option of various TDS Deduction Categories on a single page enabling the user to pay the TDS for all categories in one go by entering the banking gateway only once.

 - GST: The UPA Government is committed to getting GST from April 10th 2010. Hence if you are really serious about the deadline, now is the time to get the Draft Laws, Tax Rates, Procedures into the Public Domain to enable people to understand it. Rather than have closed door contemplations over the drafts, please immediately make available to the public the proposed form of legislation for GST in India.

Bharat Ratna for Magician Dr.Manmohan Singh

Dr.Manmohan Singh is back and is back with a New Andaaz.

I seriously think PM Manmohan Singh is no ordinary mortal. I am sure he has some Magic Wand with him which he uses to up the Economic Sentiment in the Country. The 2000 Point Sensex Jump on 18th May 2009 is just one example of his Magic. But the Bigger Magic is the sheer upsurge in Economic Sentiment across sectors. Whether Small Business, Big Industry or any stakeholder in Indian Business, Everyone today is More Positive about the Economy than ever !!!

His Magic Wand worked in 1991 with Liberalisation that led to an Unprecedented Leap to the Indian Economy, His Magic Wand worked again From 2004-2007 when the Indian Economy witnessed its Greatest Economic Boom ever. And now the Magic Wand is all set to give even Harry Potter’s Magic Skills a complex. No Indian has escaped the Magic of his Wand in the last 15 Years!!

 I strongly advocate that Manmohan Singh be given ‘BHARAT RATNA’ for his Enormous, Grand, Big and Illustrious Impact on the life of every Indian!!!

The Red Flag Falls !!!, The Flag of Economic Growth shall Flutter Again !!

With a Businessman’s eye view on the 2009 Lok Sabha Election Results, I rejoice about the fact that the Red Flag has fallen. The Communists with their Anti-Economic Agenda were against the Economic Path of Progress of the Country. In the name of their so called egalitarian policies they hampered economic growth at all levels. They Opposed the Nuclear Deal on their Narrow Ideological Grounds which would bring Electricity to a Power-Starved Nation. For decades they put Kerala and West Bengal on the economic backfoot due to their Trade Unionist Agendas. And today in their Bastions: Kerala and West Bengal they have been shown the Thumbs Down. With A Stable Political Government now in sight ,  The Flag of Economic Growth in India shall Flutter Again.