Come next fiscal, all taxpayers will have something to cheer about as the Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the
long-awaited Direct Taxes Code (DTC) Bill under which the government has proposed to hike the income tax exemption limit to Rs. 2 lakh from the existing base of Rs. 1.6 lakh.

The Bill, which also seeks to remove surcharge and cesses on corporate tax as a measure of providing relief to industry while simplifying taxation norms, is expected to be tabled in Parliament during the current extended monsoon session and referred to a select panel of members of both Houses for vetting.

Speaking to the media after the Cabinet meeting, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee indicated that the basic exemption limit for income tax is proposed to be raised to Rs. 2 lakh from the current Rs. 1.6 lakh. As for the new tax slabs, he said: “That will be discussed in Parliament.”

Although exact details are not available, indications are that an annual income of Rs. 2-5 lakh would attract a tax rate of 10 per cent while those in the Rs. 5-10 lakh category would have to pay 20 per cent and above Rs. 10 lakh at 30 per cent. As of now, senior citizens and women are likely to get some additional relief in tax slabs.

Explaining the purpose of the DTC Bill aimed at replacing the archaic Income Tax Act, 1961, Mr. Mukherjee said: “The whole objective is that a plethora of exemptions will be limited. [Income] tax slabs will be three. Rate of taxes will be taken in the schedule so that they need not be changed every year.”

NEW DELHI: Detection of fake driving licences and tracking stolen vehicles will now become easier with the road transport ministry giving finishing touches to its ‘transport project’ under which a national registry of all driving licences and vehicles registered in the country will be established.

This registry will be accessible to all states and road transport offices (RTOs) across the country for quick verification, in the next six months.

With this, holding forged or multiple driving licences of different states, which had earlier helped drivers booked for violating traffic norms — sometimes, even involved in fatal accidents — to evade prosecution and resume work in another state a thing of the past. Sources in the ministry said that the process of establishing the online national register and migration of the states’ database to the central pool would be completed in the next six months. An official document claims that already 100% computerization of the data and connectivity has been achieved in 23 states. Out of the 990 RTOs, 919 have already been completely computerised.

“Though the facilities are already there in place in case of individual states, but the question is whether these are accessible to others. Once the national registry becomes operational, it will put an end to several deficiencies in the system,” said a ministry official.

He added that with the information available online, the RTOs can verify the facts about persons applying for driving licences. “It has been observed that that many people having commercial driving licences have more than one driving licence. So, when they are caught for offences or are booked they simply shift their base and start driving vehicles with the other licences they already have, in another state. The national registry will put an end to this. This will also help an employer hire new drivers after verifying their credentials,” said S P Singh, a senior fellow with the Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training (IFTRT).

The entire IT-based system will also leave no scope for officials to commit any error. Sources said that once the head count is there, getting a driving licence will be difficult.

Under this system, the information captured at the RTO level will entirely go to state consolidation registry (SCR). Selected data from the SCR will be replicated to the state register, which will work as a repository at the state level providing information to the transport department, RTOs, automobile dealers and police department.

Finally, the data from state register will flow to the national register. The national register will provide information to the department of road transport and highways, RTOs, inter-state check posts and the police for quick verification of documents and information.

NEW DELHI: New WHO guidelines released on the sidelines of the International AIDS Conference that kicked off in Vienna on Sunday said the earlier anti-HIV treatment started, the better.

A randomized trial from Haiti — the first comparing earlier therapy with deferred therapy — found early treatment reduced the risk of death by 75% and the rate of new tuberculosis diagnoses by half. The finding has been reported in the latest issue of the “New England Journal of Medicine”.

The study showed that deferred treatment resulted in a 69% increase in the risk of death, compared with therapy started soon after diagnosis. Antiretrovirals can reduce levels of HIV to below detectable levels but cannot eradicate the pathogen completely.

According to WHO guidelines, which is also followed by India, when the CD4 count in the infected person’s blood falls below 200, the patient is to be put on the life-saving ART drugs. Normal CD4 counts in adults range from 500 to 1,500 cells per cubic mm of blood.

CD4 count also shows how far AIDS has advanced (the stage of the disease), and helps predict the risk of complications and debilitating infections. According to Daniel Fitzgerald from the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, the latest finding supports previous observational evidence that starting treatment while the immune system is still relatively robust can save lives.

New guidelines say that treatment should be started when a patient’s count of CD4-positive T cells falls to even 500 cells per microlitre of blood, according to Melanie Thompson of the International AIDS Society’s guidelines panel.

London: The new Visa CodeSure card is of the same size as a conventional credit card but features a miniature
keyboard and screen. It is used to generate a constantly changing series of unique security passwords required to authorize purchases over the Internet, the ‘Daily Mail’ reported.

Head of Innovation at Visa Europe, Sandra Alzetta, said: “This exclusive Visa solution is an extremely convenient way to bring a similar level of security to payments online as we now enjoy on the high street.

“The solution goes beyond online and remote shopping but also allows organisations to use the card in place of other online log-in systems to access.”

The card includes a 12-button keypad, a screen and a battery that will power the security system for three years.

The user will input their PIN on the keyboard, which will then generate a unique password, including letters and numbers, that will be typed into the web shopping store to approve a purchase.

The card can only be used by a person who knows the PIN and it will generate a new password each time an Internet purchase needs to be authorised.

Visa said the same card can be used to generate secure passwords to allow customers to access their online bank accounts. This avoids using the same password all the time.

Visa has worked on the card with Emue Technologies and has conducted trials in the UK, Italy, Israel, Turkey, Switzerland and Germany.

XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010), 18-23 July 2010, Vienna, Austria.

The IAC is the premier gathering for those in the field of HIV, as well as policy makers, PLHIV and others committed to ending the pandemic.

Website: http://www.aids2010.org/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aids2010

India has finally got a symbol for its Rupee. With this India joins the elite club of US Dollar, British Pound-Sterling, Euro and Japanese Yen to have its own symbol.

The Union Cabinet on Thursday, July 15, 2010, approved the design, which includes both the Devnagiri ‘Ra’ and the Roman capital ‘R’ and has two parallel lines running at the top. The parallel lines symbolise the equal to sign. The new symbol was designed by IIT post-graduate D Udaya Kumar.

Kumar’s entry was chosen from among 3,000 designs competing for the currency symbol. He will get an award of Rs 2.5 lakhs. Kumar, who is with the Department of Design at IIT Guwahati, explained that the design is based on the Indian Tricolour…”My design is based on the Tricolour with two lines at the top and white space in between. I wanted the symbol for the Rupee to represent the Indian flag. It is a perfect blend of Indian and Roman letters: a capital ‘R’, and Devnagari ‘Ra’, which represent rupiya, to appeal to international and Indian audiences. After working onthe design for few months, I shortlisted eight to 10 designs and then refined them further till I got this one,” said Kumar.

The symbol will be printed or embossed on currency notes or coins. The government will try that the symbol is adopted within six months in the country and globally within 18 to 24 months. The symbol will feature on computer key boards and softwares so that it can be printed and displayed in electronic and print.

It would also help in distinguishing the Indian currency from rupee or rupiah of countries like Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

The decision to have a symbol for the Indian rupee was taken by the government last year. The finance ministry wanted the symbol to represent the historical and cultural ethos of the country and called for entries from the public.

Many working people often shift their houses. For them, it is difficult to produce an address proof issued by Government with latest address.

Our India Post (Post Office) has come up with a solution. Now you can get an address proof along with your photo from India post. Since the ID proof is issued by India Post which is a Central Government organization, it is similar to other ID cards like Driving License, Voters ID etc. It can be used for opening bank accounts, for getting telephone and gas connections etc.

The total cost for getting this ID card is Rs.250/ (Rs.10 for application and Rs.240/- processing fee). For more details enquire at your nearest post office.

Do inform everybody. This is very useful.

Please find attached form in pdf format : Address Proof Card – Application Form

Bangalore: Indians are more focused on education and savings than Americans, reveals a recent study by economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, reports Shefali Anand from the Wall Street Journal. The Indian financial literacy level is the same as in Netherlands but 20 percent higher compared to the U.S.

The study looked at people in the top third of India’s economic class. The results shows that a vast majority of the respondents appear to be financially literate – they answer the numeracy, inflation, and diversification questions correctly.

Indians use about 38 percent of monthly income to cover monthly expenses – they save or invest 62 percent of their salary on average. However, the study has found that most consumers are ill prepared to meet their goals based on their asset, liabilities and risk profiles. The survey of the literature suggests that financial counseling is an important tool in educating consumers in their decision making.

A security expert has identified flaws in the design of some automated teller machines that make them vulnerable to hackers, who could make the ubiquitous cash dispensers spit out their cash holdings.

Barnaby Jack, head of research at Seattle-based, security firm IOActive Labs, will demonstrate methods for “jackpotting” ATMs at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas that starts on July 28.

“ATMs are not as secure as we would like them to be,” Jeff Moss, founder of the Black Hat conference and a member of President Obama’s Homeland Security Advisory Council said. “Barnaby has a number of different attacks that make all the money come out.”

Jack declined to discuss his techniques before the conference. The world’s biggest ATM manufacturers include Diebold Inc and NCR Corp. Officials with those companies could not be reached for comment.

Banks may cringe when he speaks, fearing would-be crooks will adopt his methods. But Moss said that going public will raise awareness of the problem among ATM operators and prompt them to tighten security.

One potential route of attack is via communications ports that are sometimes accessible from outside an ATM, Moss said.

“You want everybody to know there are possible ways to jackpot these machines, so they will go and get their machines updated,” he said.

Joe Grand, a hardware security expert, said he was not surprised to learn of Jack’s research.

“People are starting to realize that hardware products do have security vulnerabilities. Parking meters, ATMs, everything that has electronics in it can be broken,” Grand said.

“A lot of times a hardware product is just a computer in a different shell.”

The next time you visit your bank branch for a teller transaction, don’t be surprised if you are charged for the same. From pass book updation to depositing cash in your current account or doing more than five transactions during a month, banks now charge for such transactions.

Such charges become more evident if one person banks at a non-home branch (the home branch is where the customer has opened his or her account) of the same bank. For instance, SBI charges Rs 10 for updating passbook if one goes to a non-home branch. “We would like customers to maintain close relationship with their parent branch. Lot of our branches across the country have non-home transactions and this is more evident in those areas where there is a huge migrant workforce. We want to correct this anomaly, ” say senior SBI officials.

Some banks also charge current account customers who deposit cash whether in home or non-home branches of the bank. Bankers say this is necessary because current account is a business account and such deposits entail a holding cost for the bank as cash involves counting and storage. “We charge a nominal sum for those current holders who deposit in excess of Rs one lakh in the non-home branch because KYC (know your customer) issues come into play,” says TM Bhasin, CMD, Indian Bank.

From July 1, HDFC Bank will allow SB account holders only five transactions within the branch in a month. The sixth and subsequent ones would be charged Rs 100 per transaction. Besides, the bank has also set a limit of only 100 transactions at the branch level in a year. “Salary account holders occupy our time. If they still wish to transact without levies let them switch over to holding a current account,” an HDFC Bank employee said.

With such charges coming into play, the purpose of anytime, anywhere banking and banking for all surely stands defeated.