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Friday, March 18, 2011
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After Policy Move, Can Home loan Borrowers Breathe Easy?
The Reserve Bank of India continued on a tightening mode – hiking key policy rates by 25 bps. The central bank raised its key lending rate, the repo rate, to 6.75% and its key borrowing rate, the reverse repo rate, to 5.75%. The CRR has been left unchanged. The RBI also raised its inflation forecast for March-end to 8% from 7%.
Vice chairman and CEO of HDFC Bank Keki Mistry and chief economist of Kotak Mahindra Bank Indranil Pan, in an interview on CNBC-TV18 debated on what this would mean for the banking industry and home loan borrowers at large.
Below is a verbatim transcript of their interview with CNBC-TV18’s Elan Dutta and Shereen Bhan. For complete details watch the accompanying video.
Q: The rate hike has been along expected lines and the direction in which the Reserve Bank is likely to move now seems fairly clear that there will be further hardening of rates. The question is are we going to see an immediate interest rate revision or will rates in March at least remain stable?
Mistry: In my view, no. The market is already factored in much higher interest rates than what actually has happened. I don’t think this quarter percent increase in rates by RBI will have any impact on interest rates in the system. If you look at the bond yield today, they have gone up by 2 or 3 basis points which is normal after a policy like this.
Q: What about deposit rates? The view is that deposit rates may not go up further from the current levels. Would you agree with that?
Mistry: The lending rates will be a function of funding costs. If deposit rates don’t go up, I don’t see any reason why lending rates will go up. You must recognize that the big question mark in what I say is oil. What I say is on the assumption that oil prices don’t go much higher from these levels and in fact start correcting and start going back in the near future to the levels that were there a month ago.
Q: Hasn’t the Reserve Bank dilemma increased? While the upside risk to inflation continue the Reserve Bank is now talking about emerging risk to growth as well?
Pan: Yes, that they are concerned about growth as well, given the dynamics of the global economy, especially, with relation to oil. At the moment we have seen that the oil prices have globally moved beyond USD 100 a barrel. There is definitely a downside risk for the Indian economy in all senses of the term.
Even though the policy looks slightly more hawkish than what we would have expected, they definitely resisted from moving by 50 basis points and continued to move by 25 basis points.
Q: This is the 8th rate hike since March 2010, given the fact inflation continues to be enemy number 1, do you now expect the Reserve Bank to move more aggressively or are you in the camp that believes the Reserve Bank should wait and watch and not move in May or perhaps even June?
Pan: I don’t think they can be more aggressive that they have to move in a very calibrated way still. They still have to move by 25 bps, assess the system and move ahead by another 25 bps. The base view that we have as of now, given the inflation dynamics that we are looking into and given the way the growth dynamics in India is panning out, we think that about 50 to 75 bps from now on is definitely on in terms of the repo rate.
The peaks of the repo rate we are expecting around 7.25 to 7.50 but I don’t think that they can be aggressive in the sense that they can move by 50 bps. I would still consider them moving by 25 bps at each step. I don’t think they would be moving higher than 75 bps as per the current assessment.
The whole problem in this assessment is that whether oil goes to USD 120 or USD 140 we really don’t know as of now. But given the fact that we are looking at oil more or less at the same average of USD 100 to USD 105 for the next financial year, 75 bps increase from now on, at the max, looks to be a fair assumption.
Q: The Reserve Bank for the very first time has acknowledged the risk to growth now. Given where inflation is and the fact that we are likely to see the rate hike cycle harden, what are you expecting in terms of credit off take and specifically growth as far as home loans are concerned?
Mistry: The most important thing in determining credit off take is going to be affordability. The cost of a house as a multiple of the annual income of our borrowers is today about 4.7 times. We believe that as long as it is in the range of 4.2 to 5.7, housing continues to be very affordable. Secondly, if you look at penetration of mortgages in India, it’s extremely low. The mortgage to GDP ratio in India stands at 8%. If you look at the Western World, in the US and UK, the ratio is in the 80’s. In some of the Scandinavian countries it’s in the 90’s.
In most emerging markets in Asia this ratio will be between 15% and 25%. What does that mean? That means the housing loans in the system can double and even if they double we will just get to the level where most of the Asian countries are. So, penetration is very low.
If you look at the demographics in India, 60% of India’s population is below 30 years of age, that’s a fact which is well known. What is not well known is that unlike the Western World where people go and buy a house when they are in the 20’s, people in India don’t do that.
When an average middle class couple get married which may be in their late 20’s they don’t go and immediately buy an apartment of their own, they go and stay with the boys family for a few years, then they get children, children start going to school, then the extended family becomes too large, they need a house and that’s the time people look to buy a house. The growth will remain strong. I continue to believe that on the housing side and I would say a similar thing even for bank credit, we should be looking at a growth which should be 20% or upwards of 20%.
Q: But for now the home loan borrowers, should they heave a sigh of relief?
Mistry: I think so. I don’t think immediately there is any likelihood of rates going up because this is pretty much factored in.
Q: The Reserve bank has been accused of being behind the curve after the raise policy, which camp do you belong to? Is it behind the curve or prudent?
Pan: They are definitely not behind the curve is my own assessment. They have proactively kept liquidity tight, therefore, ensured that monetary policy transmission has happened. Since the liquidity has been tightened, the incremental increase from the low of the cycle was from three-quarter to the current 675. Going forward, they would be increasing interest rates but they would not be very aggressive.
They have to be very cautious in terms of increasing interest rates because it clearly points out that managing growth versus inflation is also crucial from a monetary policy aspect. It is not only inflation that needs to be looked at.
[Source]
Vice chairman and CEO of HDFC Bank Keki Mistry and chief economist of Kotak Mahindra Bank Indranil Pan, in an interview on CNBC-TV18 debated on what this would mean for the banking industry and home loan borrowers at large.
Below is a verbatim transcript of their interview with CNBC-TV18’s Elan Dutta and Shereen Bhan. For complete details watch the accompanying video.
Q: The rate hike has been along expected lines and the direction in which the Reserve Bank is likely to move now seems fairly clear that there will be further hardening of rates. The question is are we going to see an immediate interest rate revision or will rates in March at least remain stable?
Mistry: In my view, no. The market is already factored in much higher interest rates than what actually has happened. I don’t think this quarter percent increase in rates by RBI will have any impact on interest rates in the system. If you look at the bond yield today, they have gone up by 2 or 3 basis points which is normal after a policy like this.
Q: What about deposit rates? The view is that deposit rates may not go up further from the current levels. Would you agree with that?
Mistry: The lending rates will be a function of funding costs. If deposit rates don’t go up, I don’t see any reason why lending rates will go up. You must recognize that the big question mark in what I say is oil. What I say is on the assumption that oil prices don’t go much higher from these levels and in fact start correcting and start going back in the near future to the levels that were there a month ago.
Q: Hasn’t the Reserve Bank dilemma increased? While the upside risk to inflation continue the Reserve Bank is now talking about emerging risk to growth as well?
Pan: Yes, that they are concerned about growth as well, given the dynamics of the global economy, especially, with relation to oil. At the moment we have seen that the oil prices have globally moved beyond USD 100 a barrel. There is definitely a downside risk for the Indian economy in all senses of the term.
Even though the policy looks slightly more hawkish than what we would have expected, they definitely resisted from moving by 50 basis points and continued to move by 25 basis points.
Q: This is the 8th rate hike since March 2010, given the fact inflation continues to be enemy number 1, do you now expect the Reserve Bank to move more aggressively or are you in the camp that believes the Reserve Bank should wait and watch and not move in May or perhaps even June?
Pan: I don’t think they can be more aggressive that they have to move in a very calibrated way still. They still have to move by 25 bps, assess the system and move ahead by another 25 bps. The base view that we have as of now, given the inflation dynamics that we are looking into and given the way the growth dynamics in India is panning out, we think that about 50 to 75 bps from now on is definitely on in terms of the repo rate.
The peaks of the repo rate we are expecting around 7.25 to 7.50 but I don’t think that they can be aggressive in the sense that they can move by 50 bps. I would still consider them moving by 25 bps at each step. I don’t think they would be moving higher than 75 bps as per the current assessment.
The whole problem in this assessment is that whether oil goes to USD 120 or USD 140 we really don’t know as of now. But given the fact that we are looking at oil more or less at the same average of USD 100 to USD 105 for the next financial year, 75 bps increase from now on, at the max, looks to be a fair assumption.
Q: The Reserve Bank for the very first time has acknowledged the risk to growth now. Given where inflation is and the fact that we are likely to see the rate hike cycle harden, what are you expecting in terms of credit off take and specifically growth as far as home loans are concerned?
Mistry: The most important thing in determining credit off take is going to be affordability. The cost of a house as a multiple of the annual income of our borrowers is today about 4.7 times. We believe that as long as it is in the range of 4.2 to 5.7, housing continues to be very affordable. Secondly, if you look at penetration of mortgages in India, it’s extremely low. The mortgage to GDP ratio in India stands at 8%. If you look at the Western World, in the US and UK, the ratio is in the 80’s. In some of the Scandinavian countries it’s in the 90’s.
In most emerging markets in Asia this ratio will be between 15% and 25%. What does that mean? That means the housing loans in the system can double and even if they double we will just get to the level where most of the Asian countries are. So, penetration is very low.
If you look at the demographics in India, 60% of India’s population is below 30 years of age, that’s a fact which is well known. What is not well known is that unlike the Western World where people go and buy a house when they are in the 20’s, people in India don’t do that.
When an average middle class couple get married which may be in their late 20’s they don’t go and immediately buy an apartment of their own, they go and stay with the boys family for a few years, then they get children, children start going to school, then the extended family becomes too large, they need a house and that’s the time people look to buy a house. The growth will remain strong. I continue to believe that on the housing side and I would say a similar thing even for bank credit, we should be looking at a growth which should be 20% or upwards of 20%.
Q: But for now the home loan borrowers, should they heave a sigh of relief?
Mistry: I think so. I don’t think immediately there is any likelihood of rates going up because this is pretty much factored in.
Q: The Reserve bank has been accused of being behind the curve after the raise policy, which camp do you belong to? Is it behind the curve or prudent?
Pan: They are definitely not behind the curve is my own assessment. They have proactively kept liquidity tight, therefore, ensured that monetary policy transmission has happened. Since the liquidity has been tightened, the incremental increase from the low of the cycle was from three-quarter to the current 675. Going forward, they would be increasing interest rates but they would not be very aggressive.
They have to be very cautious in terms of increasing interest rates because it clearly points out that managing growth versus inflation is also crucial from a monetary policy aspect. It is not only inflation that needs to be looked at.
[Source]
Tata Motors To Raise Passenger Vehicle Prices From April 1
Tata Motors Friday said it will raise prices of its passenger vehicles by Rs 7,000-36,000 per vehicle effective April 1 to offset rise in input costs.
“Despite continuous cost control initiatives, the company is being forced to take these increases on account of steep rise in input costs,” Tata Motors said in a statement.
Among passenger cars, Indica prices will go up by Rs 7,000-9,000, Vista and Indigo CS prices will go up by Rs 8,000-11,000 and Manza prices will go up by Rs 10,000-15,000, Tata Motors said.
Among utility vehicles, Tata Motors will raise prices of Sumo by Rs 13,000-15,000, Grande by Rs 16,000-19,000 and Safari by Rs 18,000-29,000.
The automobile manufacturer is also raising prices of the Aria by Rs 30,000-36,000 and Venture by Rs 9,000-12,000.
Tata Motors had earlier raised prices of some of its passenger vehicles and all commercial vehicles from January 1, 2011.
[Source]
“Despite continuous cost control initiatives, the company is being forced to take these increases on account of steep rise in input costs,” Tata Motors said in a statement.
Among passenger cars, Indica prices will go up by Rs 7,000-9,000, Vista and Indigo CS prices will go up by Rs 8,000-11,000 and Manza prices will go up by Rs 10,000-15,000, Tata Motors said.
Among utility vehicles, Tata Motors will raise prices of Sumo by Rs 13,000-15,000, Grande by Rs 16,000-19,000 and Safari by Rs 18,000-29,000.
The automobile manufacturer is also raising prices of the Aria by Rs 30,000-36,000 and Venture by Rs 9,000-12,000.
Tata Motors had earlier raised prices of some of its passenger vehicles and all commercial vehicles from January 1, 2011.
[Source]
Corporate BlackBerry Users To Be Offered Cloud Services
BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM, RIM.T) will give its corporate customers an opportunity to shift back-office management of email traffic and other BlackBerry services off-site, in a move that it says will save customers money, speed the rollout of BlackBerry services and enhance security at a time when more and more employees use smart phones for corporate and personal use.
The initiative comes as RIM readies the launch of its PlayBook tablet, a major product launch that will vault RIM into the tablet-computer market to compete against Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPad.
It also comes as RIM's corporate subscriber base faces an unprecedented attack from Apple's iPhone and iPad juggernauts, as well as a phalanx of smart phones that run on Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android-operating system.
The move will be carried out in close conjunction with Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), which in October announced a major, so-called cloud-service initiative of its own, called Microsoft Office 365. As part of that initiative, companies that use Microsoft Exchange Server, which stores email, contact and calendar information, among other things, can move their Exchange servers to off-site data centers. The initiative is still in the testing phase but is expected to go live in a matter of months.
"We're embracing it in a big way, and we're going out jointly with Microsoft to all of our customers," said Jim Tobin, senior vice president of RIM's software and business services unit, in an interview.
The partnership with Microsoft involves formal cooperation on a go-to-market strategy, technology and business model, Mr. Tobin said.
Currently, most corporate BlackBerry customers maintain one or more BlackBerry Enterprise Servers on company premises. The servers allow a company's IT personnel to provision BlackBerrys, and manage an array of services and features, such as calendar and contact updates and video services, among other things.
Companies will now have the option to move this back-office infrastructure to off-site data centers and manage services remotely. RIM and Microsoft won't jointly manage off-site data centers, but Microsoft centers will connect "cloud to cloud" to RIM centers that house BlackBerry Enterprise Servers, Mr. Tobin said.
RIM's "cloud" initiative offers a number of advantages to customers, including "substantial" cost savings, as the cloud services will be less expensive than purchasing and maintaining BlackBerry Enterprise Servers, Mr. Tobin said. As well the cloud service offers increased efficiency, as back-office adjustments and changes that are currently handled in-house will be implemented at RIM's off-site data centers, he said.
Finally, the data centers will be optimally positioned to ensure devices are secure at a time when many people are using a single smart phone for work and personal use, Tobin said. "In our view, the best way to deliver protection is to aggregate security capabilities...into an area where we can provide rigorous security management," he said.
Mr. Tobin said he believes as many as 20%-25% of RIM's BlackBerry subscriber base will be using cloud services of one type or another by the end of the year. RIM, which reports its fiscal fourth-quarter results March 24, had more than 55 million subscribers at the end of its third quarter on Nov. 27.
Mr. Tobin said RIM has effectively been in the cloud-computing business for years, managing data centers around the globe that route millions of emails sent to and from the BlackBerry every day. This gives it an advantage versus its competitors, as does the Blackberry's reputation as the gold-standard for device security, he said.
[Source]
Ranveer To Shedding His Delhi Image
Ranveer Singh is in intense workshops at Yash Raj to get rid of his Delhi accent and mannerisms, since his next goes on the floors in 10 days' time Ranveer Singh is in intense workshops at Yash Raj to get rid of his Delhi accent and mannerisms, since his next goes on the floors in 10 days' time After a Yash Raj launch and a hit with his debut film Band Baaja Baraat, Ranveer Singh has a lot of responsibilities on his shoulders now. For his next Ladies Versus Ricky Bahl, produced by Yash Raj, the actor has locked himself in Yash Raj Studio and has been undergoing intense training for his role to shed his 'Delhi boy' image. A friend of Ranveer said, "It's been over two weeks that Ranveer has been practically living in Yash Raj Studio. In less than 10 days his next, Ladies Versus Ricky Bahl is going on floors. The actor is playing a cool young boy, not from any particular region, but surely he cannot be carrying the image of 'Bittu Sharma' from his debut film." The friend continues, "He has been taking workshops for his character in regard to his body language and body movements. He has also been taking diction classes to get rid of his Delhi accent. Ranveer is actually from Mumbai but everyone thinks of him as a Delhi-ite. In the past two weeks he has been practising and rehearsing for over 14 hours and only goes home to sleep. He is working very hard to change his image, so the audience can also perceive and see him in a different light." "During the making of Band Baaja Baraat he rode the Delhi buses, ate at roadside stalls, visited the local colleges, mingled with the citizens to get into the Delhi boy mould. And now he is working on the lingo and behaviour of a young cool kid of today's generation. In this film he is a con man who dupes various girls with his charm until he meets his match with whom he falls in love," added the friend. Ranveer confirmed, "I am having my workshops with my director Maneesh Sharma. I am working hard to get out of my 'Bittu Sharma' image, to get into the character for my new film."[Source]
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Munni' Booked In The Guinness Book Of World Records
" Munni Badnaam Hui" has entered the Guinness Book of World Records. Over 1200 people danced for three minutes on the song, led by Malaika Arora Khan, in Melbourne, Australia .
The event was organised by Indian Film Festival 2011 director Mitu Bhowmick Lange. Malaika also received a certificate for setting the record. The earlier record was set in Singapore when over 1008 people danced on a song.
Arbaaz Khan and Malaika Arora are in Melbourne for the Indian Film Festival as Dabangg was screened on the opening night.
Over the weekend, an attempt was made to break the world record for the largest number of people who danced to a song doing the same steps together at a public place.
Over 1,200 people danced to 'Munni Badnaam Hui' at the Melbourne Park beating the earlier record, set in Singapore when 1,008 people danced in public.
The Guinness Book adjudicators were present. Says Malaika, "The Guinness people were very strict with the rules."
Dress Code For Holi
Wearing old white clothes on Holi is passe. With people becoming increasingly fashion conscious, hot pants, backless blouses and off-shoulder tops in vibrant colours have taken a front seat.
"Yes, there has been a drastic change in the people's perception towards Holi, especially the younger generation. They want to have fun but not at the cost of losing the glamour quotient," Delhi-based designer Riddhima Chauhan said in an interview.
"Bollywood plays a major role in inspiring these youngsters to go for the trendy way and what could be a better option than showing the sexy curves in figure-hugging dresses," she added.
Holi songs in movies like "Mohabbatein", "Waqt - Race Against Time" and "Action Replayy" started this trend where Kim Sharma-Shamita Shetty, Priyanka Chopra and Neha Dhupia respectively brought a revolution in the dress code for Holi.
Style divas are constantly spotted in body-hugging short dresses to skin hugging tights and transparent fabrics at Holi parties and adding glamour to the celebration of colours.
"Light coloured tunics matched with multi-coloured pajamis or ankle length trousers, with chiffon dupattas, are some of the trends which are in vogue. Not only young girls but also married women are trying to get away from their traditional look; so the demand for saris with halter neck and backless blouses has increased," Delhi-based designer Meera Gupta said in an interview.
Mumbai-based designer Digvijay Singh, said: "It is one festival that youngsters look forward to and they leave no stones unturned to flaunt their best side."
He also felt that people don't mind showing skin on Holi.
"Skin show is something not too many mind on this occasion. No matter what you wear, eventually you will get drenched," he said.
For Deeksha Aggarwal, a young girl pursuing her B. Com (H) from Delhi University, it's all about how you mix both the cultures together.
"With the changing times, skin-revealing garments are no longer the point of discussion. And this is the reason why I am going to wear a Rajasthani lehenga that I will team with a stylish and sexy choli. I will not only manage to keep my parents happy but will also set a trend," she said.
Raj Kumar from Mathura, a place known for its grand Holi celebrations, said: "Holi is a traditional affair here. Women dress up in Rajasthani lehenga-choli and contrary to the belief that white is an obvious choice for the day, women prefer colourful clothes."
"The women who come to play Lath Maar Holi from Barsana wear bright and vibrant colours," added Raj Kumar who has witnessed the changing trends in clothes over the years.
And what about the traditional whites?
Mumbai-based designer duo Nidhi-Divya Gambhir said: "We prefer going the traditional way but with our own contemporary twist to it. Stick to whites, play around the sheer factors... It's traditional, fun and yet sexy."
So what should trendy people wear this Holi?
"Holi means a splash of colours, so why stick to the basic white? Colours like raspberry, bubblegum pink, coral, mauve, and electric blue are surely going to make you feel special this Holi. Side cowl, trapeze and tulip can be the best accessories this time," said Divya Gupta, owner of clubwear brand Yell, which offers a special Holi collection.
"Yes, there has been a drastic change in the people's perception towards Holi, especially the younger generation. They want to have fun but not at the cost of losing the glamour quotient," Delhi-based designer Riddhima Chauhan said in an interview.
"Bollywood plays a major role in inspiring these youngsters to go for the trendy way and what could be a better option than showing the sexy curves in figure-hugging dresses," she added.
Holi songs in movies like "Mohabbatein", "Waqt - Race Against Time" and "Action Replayy" started this trend where Kim Sharma-Shamita Shetty, Priyanka Chopra and Neha Dhupia respectively brought a revolution in the dress code for Holi.
Style divas are constantly spotted in body-hugging short dresses to skin hugging tights and transparent fabrics at Holi parties and adding glamour to the celebration of colours.
"Light coloured tunics matched with multi-coloured pajamis or ankle length trousers, with chiffon dupattas, are some of the trends which are in vogue. Not only young girls but also married women are trying to get away from their traditional look; so the demand for saris with halter neck and backless blouses has increased," Delhi-based designer Meera Gupta said in an interview.
Mumbai-based designer Digvijay Singh, said: "It is one festival that youngsters look forward to and they leave no stones unturned to flaunt their best side."
He also felt that people don't mind showing skin on Holi.
"Skin show is something not too many mind on this occasion. No matter what you wear, eventually you will get drenched," he said.
For Deeksha Aggarwal, a young girl pursuing her B. Com (H) from Delhi University, it's all about how you mix both the cultures together.
"With the changing times, skin-revealing garments are no longer the point of discussion. And this is the reason why I am going to wear a Rajasthani lehenga that I will team with a stylish and sexy choli. I will not only manage to keep my parents happy but will also set a trend," she said.
Raj Kumar from Mathura, a place known for its grand Holi celebrations, said: "Holi is a traditional affair here. Women dress up in Rajasthani lehenga-choli and contrary to the belief that white is an obvious choice for the day, women prefer colourful clothes."
"The women who come to play Lath Maar Holi from Barsana wear bright and vibrant colours," added Raj Kumar who has witnessed the changing trends in clothes over the years.
And what about the traditional whites?
Mumbai-based designer duo Nidhi-Divya Gambhir said: "We prefer going the traditional way but with our own contemporary twist to it. Stick to whites, play around the sheer factors... It's traditional, fun and yet sexy."
So what should trendy people wear this Holi?
"Holi means a splash of colours, so why stick to the basic white? Colours like raspberry, bubblegum pink, coral, mauve, and electric blue are surely going to make you feel special this Holi. Side cowl, trapeze and tulip can be the best accessories this time," said Divya Gupta, owner of clubwear brand Yell, which offers a special Holi collection.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee To Take A Final Call On PF Rate Hike
Even as it remains unconvinced by the labour
ministry’s calculations for an additional 1 per cent interest on PF deposits in 2010-11, the finance ministry has now referred the matter to finance minister Pranab Mukherjee to take a final call.
“It is up to the minister to decide whether the 9.5 per cent interest rate should be notified. Our only concern is that the additional interest should not be paid from government coffers, especially as the CAG report has called the EPFO’s so called surplus unverifiable,” a senior finance ministry told The Indian Express.
The ministry must take a decision on the issue by March 31, as the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation has to start crediting interest and hand out account slips to its 4.7 crore subscribers from April. Without a formal notification by the finance ministry, subscribers will not be given the higher interest rate. The labour ministry has been lobbying with the finance ministry to ratify the decision by Central Board of Trustees of the EPFO to provide a 9.5 per cent return on retirement savings in 2010-11 after it discovered a surplus of Rs. 1,371 crore. But the finance ministry has repeatedly questioned the basis of arriving at the surplus.
[Source]
Finance Minister Promises To Respond On Healthcare Service Tax
Amid concerns by medical community on the proposed service tax on healthcare, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said in the Rajya Sabha that he would respond to the representations on tax issues next week.
Following the reply of Mukherjee on general discussion on the Budget, the Rajya Sabha returned the Appropriations Bills, completing the first phase of the three-stage exercise for passage of the budget.
The Lok Sabha had earlier approved the Supplementary demands for grants for 2010-11 and relevant Appropriation Bills.
"That can be announced or decided only at the time of Finance Bill. Therefore I will request those who are agitating to wait till the Finance Bill is being approved by Parliament", he said while referring to his proposal to impose 5% service tax on high-end health care.
The Finance Bill is likely to be considered by Parliament next week. The budget session of Parliament would conclude on March 25.
Mukherjee in the budget for 2011-12 proposed to impose a service tax of 5% on all services, including diagnostic services provided by a centrally air-conditioned clinical establishments having more than 25 beds for in-patient treatment.
The proposal evoked sharp reaction from the medical community which described the service tax on healthcare as "misery tax". They have also submitted representation against the proposal to the Finance Minister.
[Source]
Japan Nuke Reactor Spews Harmful Radiation
Harmful radiation is spewing from Japan's quake-hit Fukushima No.1 atomic power plant after a fire broke out at its number-four reactor, authorities say.
Japan Prime Minister Naoto Kan told a news conference that radiation levels had "risen considerably" in the area around the plant.
He told people living up to 30km beyond a 20km exclusion zone around the troubled nuclear power plant to stay indoors or risk radiation sickness. An exclusion zone of 20km has already been put in place.
Top government spokesman Yukio Edano said the radiation level is high enough to endanger human health.
Small amounts of radioactive substances have been detected in Tokyo, Kyodo news agency reports.
A low level radioactive wind could reach Tokyo in 10 hours, Reuters is quoting the French embassy in the Japanese capital as saying.
Nine News considered the danger serious enough to pull back staff reporters and camera crews to well outside the immediate area of threat.
The fire was burning in the plant's number-four reactor but plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co has since said the fire has been put out.
The latest development means that four out of six reactors at the site, 250km northeast of Tokyo, are now in trouble.
There was an explosion at the plant's number-one reactor on Saturday followed by a blast at its number-three reactor on Monday and a third explosion at its number-two reactor today.
Kyodo News reports that radiation near the number-three reactor is 400 times the annual legal limit.
Winds over the stricken nuclear plant are blowing slowly towards the Kanto region, which includes Tokyo, Reuters reports.
As well as the atomic emergency, Japan is struggling to cope with the enormity of the damage from Friday's record-breaking quake and the tsunami which raced across vast tracts of its northeast, destroying all before it.
The official death toll has risen to 2414 but officials say at least 10,000 are likely to have perished.
Japan's nuclear safety agency said the operator of the stricken Fukushima facility believed the seal around the number-two reactor, which is critical for preventing a major radiation leak, had not been holed during this morning's blast and was doing further checks.
But Edano said there appeared to be damage to the structure around the number-two reactor, the third to be hit by an explosion since Friday's disaster which knocked out cooling systems.
Edano, who is the chief cabinet secretary, told reporters there could be damage to the suppression pool of the reactor, which forms the base of the container vessel that seals the fuel rods.
TEPCO said "said it believes the container vessel has not sustained damage such as a hole, judging from the fact that the radiation level has not jumped", a safety agency spokesman told AFP.
TEPCO said some workers had been evacuated from the number-two reactor at the plant, but those pumping water to cool the reactor were still at work.
Late yesterday TEPCO said fuel rods at the number-two reactor were almost fully exposed after a cooling pump there temporarily failed.
The UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Tokyo had asked for expert assistance in the aftermath of the quake which US seismologists are now measuring at 9.0-magnitude, revised up from 8.9.
But the IAEA's Japanese chief Yukiya Amano moved to calm global fears that the situation could escalate to rival the world's worst nuclear crisis at Chernobyl in the Ukraine in 1986.
"Let me say that the possibility that the development of this accident into one like Chernobyl is very unlikely," he said.
Officials had already declared the exclusion zone within a 20km radius of the plant and evacuated 210,000 people.
At one shelter, a young woman holding her baby told public broadcaster NHK: "I didn't want this baby to be exposed to radiation. I wanted to avoid that, no matter what."
Further north in the region of Miyagi, which took the full brunt of Friday's terrifying wall of water, rescue teams searching through the shattered debris of towns and villages have found 2000 bodies.
And the Miyagi police chief has said he is certain more than 10,000 people perished in his prefecture.
Millions have been left without water, electricity, fuel or enough food and hundreds of thousands more are homeless and facing harsh conditions with sub-zero temperatures overnight, and snow and rain forecast
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