Baby Falak who died of a heart attack

Baby Falak, the two-year-old who had India watching her in hospital and praying for her recovery, will be cremated by her mother. The baby died of a heart attack yesterday - her third in two months. Doctors at Delhi's AIIMS hospital, where Falak went through multiple surgeries, say they've been told that Falak's mother, Munni, will meet them  most likely tomorrow to collect her youngest child. Falak was being monitored by the Child Welfare Committee, and the officials have asked for an inquiry on her death.  That could take till tomorrow to complete.

Falak was introduced to India under circumstances that made the country sick with anger. She was brought to AIIMS by a young teen who had been looking after her. Her face had been bitten, her head had repeatedly been smashed into a wall, and her chest showed burn marks from a hot clothes iron. The nurses who tended to her at the Intensive Care Unit named her Falak meaning "the sky." In recent weeks, doctors had said Falak was showing healthy signs of recovery and was strong enough to leave hospital. But because nobody requested them for her custody, she was moved to the general ward. Yesterday, her heart beat fluctuated all day. Then last evening, she had a heart attack. Two earlier cardiac arrests had weakened her heart greatly. For 40 minutes, doctors tried to revive her. Finally, they gave up.

Till Falak met the doctors and nurses who devoted their days and nights to her, the baby had known only a world of unimaginable neglect and horror. Her mother's story is one that shames India repeatedly - she couldn't afford to look after her three children. So after being passed from one disinterested adult to another, Falak's last few weeks before being admitted to hospital were with a teen living with a married man. The young girl abused her after the man she had eloped with took off to see his wife and children.

A long police search located Falak's mother, named Munni, in Rajasthan. Munni originally lived in Bihar with her husband and three children, including Falak. Then her husband left her. Munni was lured to Delhi by a gang who trafficked sex workers. She refused to prostitute herself, so the women in the gang arranged a marriage for her to a man in Rajasthan. They brokered the deal, unknown to Munni, for two lakhs. They said she should leave her children behind, and that once she settled into her new life, her husband would be persuaded to accept them. The women then divided up the children. Falak's sister was sent home to Bihar. Her brother is five-years-old. And Falak was passed from one adult to another, all known to the gang of traffickers, till she ended up with the teen who brought her to AIIMS.

Falak's mother visited her once in hospital. She broke down after she saw her baby. She has been staying at a shelter for women run by an NGO.

The Child Welfare Committee was to decide whose custody Falak would be placed in once she left AIIMS.

Sensex falls 90 pts

The BSE Sensex shaved off all its gains after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee hiked standard excise duty rate from 10% to 12%. Even he raised duty on large cars from 22% to 24%.

Service tax increased to 12% from 10%, which will yield Rs 18,660 crore for the government, FM says.

The BSE benchmark lost 90 points to 17,585.63 and the NSE benchmark fell 22 points to 5,358.05.

At 12:25 hours IST: Choppy Sensex trades higher; FM cuts STT by 20% to 0.1%

The BSE Sensex was extremely volatile during speech by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. He said the government has reduced Securities Transaction Tax (STT) by 20% on delivery transactions to 0.1%.

He set fiscal deficit target 5.1% of GDP for FY13. He, during his Union Budget Speech, said income upto Rs 2 lakh exempted from tax. "Income from Rs 2-5 lakh - tax will be 10%; income from Rs 5-10 lakh - tax will be 20%; and above Rs 10 lakh - tax of 30%."

The Sensex was up 38 points at 17,714.11 and the NSE Nifty rose 17 points to 5,397.85.

Even the market breadth improved further; about 750 shares advanced while 696 shares declined on the National Stock Exchange.

Budget 2012: New tax slabs announced

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced new tax slabs in his budget speech on Friday.

The new tax slabs are:

*Up to 2 lakh rupees - NIL

*2 lakh - 5 lakh rupees - 10%

*5 lakh - 10 lakh rupees - 20%

*Above 10 lakh rupees - 30%

Mukherjee also said there will no change in corporate tax rates.

Union Budget 2012: FM announces calibrated excise duty hike to 12%

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced a 2 percentage point hike in the peak excise duty from 10% to 12%. He also proposed to set up a common tax code for service tax and excise duty.

This hike in excise duty means auto companies now have to pay excise tax of 24%.

Duty on readymade garments and processed raw food was reduced and mobile phones have been retained at 1%. Silver jewellery has been exempted.

This hike in excise and customs duty will yield over Rs 27,000 crore for the government, but will adversely impact the common man.
 
Due to slowing growth and high inflation, the manufacturing sector was already having a tough time making ends meet. A hike in excise duty will only add to their problems, making the cost of producing goods more expensive.

Excise duty has a direct relation to such sectors as auto, FMCG, capital goods, leather, gems and jewellery, fertilizer, textiles and consumer durables.

Though the collection of excise is to augment as much revenue as possible to the government, over the years it has been used as an instrument of fiscal policy to stimulate economic growth. But for a nation already reeling under cost pressures, this hike will (would have) only make (made) the cost of goods more expensive for consumers.

CII was against a hike in excise duty as it would adversely affect the growth prospects of the industry and result in higher cost to the consumer, in turn leading to inflation. However, because the dire fiscal situation, a hike in excise will only mean higher revenues for the government.

Travel from Bangalore to Chennai in 2 hrs

Bangalore, March 14, The privilege of travelling in an high-speed air-conditioned double-decker express to Chennai, covering a distance of about 360 km in a little over two hours.

Of the seven new express/mail trains Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi announced Wednesday for Karnataka in the 2012-13 rail budget, introduction of a daily non-stop AC double-decker express will be eagerly awaited as it will reduce the travel time between the two cities by three hours from the five hours theShatabdi Express currently takes.

"Reducing travel time from Bangalore to Chennai by nearly three hours will be possible, as the double-decker express coaches are designed and built to run at 150 km per hour on upgraded tracks with no stoppages," a senior South Western Railway (SWR) official told IANS here.

Of the seven direct express/mail trains operated between the two cities, two are Shatabdis on six days a week, which run at 110 kmph, and two are inter-city trains that take over six hours due to their many halts.

"The double-decker express will be launched as soon as we get the new coaches and funds to upgrade the tracks, which currently enable Shatabdis to travel at 110 kmph," the official said on condition of anonymity.

The double-decker rakes, comprising eight stainless steel coaches and two power cars, are manufactured at the Rail Coach Factory at Kapurthala in Punjab.

"A double-decker coach can carry 128 passengers in comparison to 78 in a Shatabdi chair car, increasing the capacity by about 70 percent. With lower weight per commuter, the coaches are more energy efficient," the official pointed out.