Budg-aoed by the “FM”????

Pranab Mukherjee finally presented the much awaited Budget 2009-10 on July 6 and that too with full enthusiasm. He ought to be happy as he was the one to present the Interim Budget before the elections and there he was still standing as the FM post elections.

Well, there have many in the industry who are criticizing him for the budget that he presented. They are not happy with his “aam admi” budget. The stock markets also did not take it too well and it tanked big time. Many didn’t like the fact that the fiscal deficit had increased from 6.2% of GDP in the Interim Budget to 6.8%. I think that was one of the major concerns.

According to me, the Budget was a neutral one. Yes, it was targeted at inclusive growth. But people expected much much more. If you observe the entire budget closely, the FM has touched on all the topics that people were expecting him to mention. He has left many points incomplete.

There was a big hue and cry over the disinvestment of the PSUs. The FM just mentioned one point over it and left the most of it for the people to decipher. He could have illustrated more on it and clarified many doubts that people had in their minds. But then, he must have had his own reasons for not disclosing much on the subject.

Another thing that was missing from the Budget was the mention of FDI norms. There were many rumors doing rounds regarding the FDI norms before the Budget and the FM has left them in suspicion once again.

One more point I would like to add here was that, the FM concentrated only those schemes (like NREGS, JNNURM, Sarva Shikhsa Abhiyaan, etc) which were introduced by the UPA government when it first came to power in 2004. The budget increased the money allocation to these schemes and that was it. There was nothing new regarding such schemes. People were expecting something new to come up.

Despite these three things, I find that the budget was ‘ok’ (though it could have been better). The budget was a very good one for the “aam aadmi” which constitutes the students, salaried professionals, self-employed professionals and also for housewives. The industry and the corporates, though have given it a thumbs down.  

The overall impact of the budget is going to be a neutral one on most of the sectors like automobile, banking and finance, infrastructure, oil and gas, power, steel, textiles, pharmaceuticals. The sectors which would be marginally affected would be Information and Technology and Telecom just because of the abolition of the FBT and the increase of MAT from 10% to 15%.

This year’s Budget is just the beginning for many new things to come up. The FM has just given us the glimpse of many things which would come up in the year to follow. So, I suggest we wait and watch what this UPA-II government has in store for us.

There are many questions to which answers are needed, some of them being , “Will India be able to come through shining in this bad times of economic recession?”, “Will India be able to go back to its 9% growth?”, “ Will the ever ballooning fiscal deficit come down?”, “Will the controversy and confusion over the 3G spectrum allocation ever clear?”, “Which are the PSUs which would go in for disinvestments?” and many many more.

The answers to these questions would be provided slowly and steadily. If people feel that all these questions would be answered within one hour of the Budget, then they are mistaken (I think that was probably what the people thought and hence the reason for the markets to crash post budget).

In the end, I would just like to say something to the FM,

There are a lot of expectations from the UPA government this time around and most of us sincerely hope that the government will help India come out stronger and brighter in this global economic meltdown. Pranabda, you have done a good job so far but the job is still half done and we expect you to finish the job in a way which is acceptable to all the Indians and not such some sectors.

 

Fedex Rules Once Again!!!

The past Sunday was really a big one....You can call it a Super Sunday!!

There was the India-WI match scheduled,IIFA awards and of course the biggest of them all- the Wimbledon Men's Final...and you know what the best part was- all the events were to start at the same time i.e. 7 p.m.

So, it was a tough choice as to what to watch.

The choice was made easier as the cricket match was washed out due to heavy rains.

After that it became very easy for me and my family members as to what to watch.

We, of course, went for the Wimbledon and boy, are we glad that we took that decision.

The match was one of the best tennis matches I had seen in a long long time.

Federer versus Roddick!!!!!!

With Raphael Nadal out of the tournament, I had thought it would be a cakewalk for Federer.

But, it turned out to be totally different.

The match started and suprisingly for everyone, A-Rod won the first set.I was feeling jittery and a bit sceptical after the set whether Federer could win the match or not(I was backing Federer for the win).

But then Federer came back into the game with the next two sets.

Then again a twist, A-Rod won the next set and that too comfortably with 6-3.

Again, i was tensed as what to what would happen in the last set( I was to some extent glad too that the match went on till the final set as it made the match even more interesting to watch, otherwise it could have been a one-sided match).

Then in the last set, as if Roddick had risen from the ashes on such a big stage and gave the best fight to Federer. The last set went on for around 90 mins. No one was able to break the other's serve.At one point of the set, I thought that Federer would give up and throw in the towel and Roddick would win the match.

But it didn't happen and the match went on unitl the score was 15-14 with Federer leading.

Then came Roddick's serve and I expected that Federer would not be able to break it and the match would continue for another hour or so. But don't know what happen, maybe a slight mistake from Andy, led Federer break the service set and clinch the tournament. It happened in just a fraction of seconds and after that A-Rod was left shattered and in tears. He was trying his best to control his emotions but was not that good in doing so.He had fought well and had deserved the victory. But alas, it was not his day.

Federer ruled the court once again and climbed to the number one spot again after this victory putting Nadal to number two again.

But you cannot deny the fact that Roddick was a better player on that day and truly deserved to win the match. My respect for Roddick increased after the match and I won't be suprised if he wins many Grand Slams in the coming future. Who knows, he might win the Wimbledon next year!!!!

At the match, as spectators we had the likes of Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Sir ALex Ferguson, Woddy Allen, Russell Crowe and our very own Sachin Tendulkar with wife Anjali.

They sure had a ball watching the game. I know Sachin is a huge Federer fan and he would have heaved a sigh of relief once the game was over and Federer was jumping in happiness after his last shot.

Nevertheless, no credit taken from A-Rod , but it was Roger Federer who Ruled the court that day.

Long Live MJ!!!!

I have grown up listening to his songs through the last decade or probably much more than that.

My fan following of MJ started with his biggest hit "Thriller". Though Thriller came out much much before I was born, the song was a hit even after so many years. I remember as a child I used to dance in front of the TV whenever the song was played(I still remember the choreography of the song). That song created a craze in me for MJ. From then on, I never looked back. Following Thriller, there came many other albums like "Off the Wall", "Bad", "Dangerous" and "History"- all mega hits of those times.

I don't know what, but I think there was an aura of a huge superstar around MJ that attracted me to his music.

He was truly the "King of Pop" after the era of Elvis Presley has surpassed.

MJ came out with his latest album in 2001 called Invincible. It had some fantastic tracks though it didn’t do as well as his earlier albums had. Then there was a big lull in his music career. Then suddenly in 2009, we hear about his comeback tour. I was so excited to see MJ back in action. I was really looking forward for his music and dance performances. I was awed by the man’s never say die spirit (he was going to perform after 8 long years and that too at the age of 50).

But suddenly on June 25, I see news flashes on all the news channels that he is no more. All my excitement, enthusiasm hit a roadblock. What the hell happened here!!!!!

More so, how they hell had it happened….even more so, why the hell it happened!!!!!

Everything came down crumbling……

I started remembering the good old Michael days…his songs…his dances….his live performances.

There were a lot of good and bad things that have happened in his life (many remember him for the bad things than the good ones).

The good things include the hits after hits he has given….his extraordinary dances which no one in this world has been able to replicate to perfection…..his over the top lifestyle….his humanitarian nature.

Michael Jackson was a true humanitarian, an example to us all. He had devoted much time and money to a wide range of charities. He loved children and took time out when touring secretly visting sick children. He also had special rooms at his home Neverland for sick and terminally ill children to stay over. He was listed in the 2000 edition of the Guiness Book of World Records for breaking the world record for the "Most Charities Supported by a Pop Star". Michael Jackson has supported 39 charity organizations either with monetary donations through sponsorships of their projects or by participating in their silent auction. 

He did all this because he was still a kid at heart. People say he never grew up which might be true to some extent.

Then there were the bad things which happened in his life.

The accusation of him molesting a young boy, his facial plastic surgery gone terribly terribly wrong, paparazzi taking pictures of him dangling his kid on the balcony, him being under debt to the tune of $500 million, etc, etc….

People had also started to call him ‘Jacko the Wacko’. I had thought that most of his problems would be put to rest once he goes back to his first love i.e. music which would have been possible through his comeback tour scheduled this year.

But alas, that was not supposed to have happened. MJ has left the world on a sour note.

I really wished he should have had a sweet ending.

But, he will always be remembered as the King of Pop and will always be alive in his fans’ hearts.

LONG LIVE MJ!!!!!!!