Note had warned PM Raja planned to ignore 2G advice

NEW DELHI: The brazenness with which arrested telecom minister A Raja bent rules to distribute telecom licences and 2G spectrum allegedly in exchange of bribes could not have surprised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. 

An internal note warned Singh that the telecom ministry under Raja intended to ignore advice to refer allocation of 2G spectrum to an empowered group of ministers (EGoM) and that such a course of action violated rules of government business. 

The note, put up to the PM in November 2007 in the wake of rising concern over Raja's bid to ram through the 'first-come, first-served' policy, clearly said that differences between law and telecom ministries over the need for wider consultations should be resolved by the Cabinet. 

The PM did ask his office to examine issues, but despite the pitfalls in Raja's interpretation of his policy domain, the DMK leader not only pushed ahead with his controversial implementation of his preferred policy but also managed to subvert the cabinet system in the process. 

If these revelations contained in PMO and Cabinet Secretariat's communication with the Public Accounts Committee find reflection in the committee's report likely to be submitted this week, it will set off fresh confrontation between the government and opposition. The PAC, headed by BJP leaderM M Joshi, is expected to refer to systemic failures in the 2G episode. 

The PMO assessment followed Singh himself asking his office for a note on "whether the action proposed to be taken by the (telecom) ministry is correct or not; whether it is justified in doing what it plans to do." Raja had insisted in a November 2, 2007 letter to the PM that the EGoM route was "totally out of context''. 

Significantly, the PMO is not clear on whether it should have stopped Raja from having his way. Responding to criticism that it failed to ensure his adherence to the 2003 Cabinet decision that pricing of airwaves be jointly decided by telecom and finance ministries, the PMO told the PAC, "Not giving effect to a Cabinet decision is tantamount to varying or reversing the same… it is incumbent on the department to bring it before the Cabinet." 

However, it did not agree that PMO was mandated to ensure the former telecom minister played by rules. "There is no specific requirement for PMO to enforce cabinet decisions nor is this the general practice," PMO told the committee. 

With regard to then finance minister P Chidambaram's January 15, 2008 letter on the need to review telecom ministry's decision to price spectrum, the PMO said: "Prime Minister saw the finance minister's note. No action was formally taken by PMO on the note." It also said that Chidambaram's objections seem to have been resolved by July 2008.The response is in sync with the PM's assertion that in the final analysis finance ministry agreed with Raja's stand that spectrum need not be auctioned. 

Both PMO and Cabinet Secretariat make it clear that the decision in December 2006 to delete pricing of spectrum from the terms of reference of a group of ministers set up in February was approved by the PM. The PMO informed Cabinet Secretariat on November 27, 2006, that the PM had "approved the revised terms of reference", on the urging of Raja's predecessor Dayanidhi Maran. 

When various concerns were brought to his notice even after his November 2, 2007 letter to the PM, Raja did not budge and wrote on November 15 that he was only continuing with the existing spectrum policy. 

Later on December 12, 2007, the telecom ministry candidly told PMO that new licences would be granted to those who fulfilled the letter of intent conditions. The ministry anticipated a rush of applicants as it said "an applicant who fulfils LoI condition first will be granted licence first, although several applicants will be issued LoI simultaneously." 

Raja assured the PM that "discussions with the external affairs minister and the solicitor general (Goolam Vahanavati) have further enlightened him to take preemptive and pro-active decisions. PMO says that it outlined a course of action for the PM's consideration but does not spell it out.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Note-had-warned-PM-Raja-planned-to-ignore-2G-advice/articleshow/8094760.cms

Law ministry proposes 20-yr term for babus

NEW DELHI: The law ministry has prepared a 10-point governance reforms agenda which envisages capping a bureaucrat's term to 20 years and seeks reforms in allocation of mining and land rights. 

The presentation made to key UPA functionaries, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi, says all new recruitments to central government jobs should be for 20 years and any extension beyond that would depend on the outcome of intense review, the law ministry has said in its presentation on governance reforms. 

It has also suggested several transparent systems for exploitation of natural mineral resources which include a comprehensive survey of all mining blocks, allocation of mining leases through competitive process such as electronic auctions and imposition of export tax to discourage exports of raw minerals. 

The government has been contemplating administrative reforms to improve governance in the country. There has been widespread criticism in recent year about the deterioration in governance and delivery of public services. 

Regarding reforms of the bureaucracy the law ministry says that all public servants shall be subjected to two intensive reviews on completion of 14 years and 20 years of service. It calls for specific tenures to be fixed for each post to ensure objectivity, continuity and autonomy and to avoid arbitrary transfers. 

To curb naxalism, the law ministry has suggested payment of reasonable monthly amount in cash to all below poverty line families in the affected areas. It says mineral processing areas should be set up in these areas and those who lose their land for setting up such units should be made stakeholders either through equity or employment or both. 

"To improve the quality of life and also to mainstream them it is necessary that bulk of the proceeds from the exploitation of natural resources in the tribal areas should be utilized for their welfare," the ministry said in its presentation. 

On urban land management, it calls for a ban on allotment by public agencies through discretionary quotas and has backed immediate survey and preparation of accurate urban property records. 

It also suggests that the Real Estate Regulation Bill being proposed by the Urban Development Ministry should be expedited and all natural resources such as spectrum should be allotted by a competitive transparent process. 

"Because of the pressures of rapid urbanization urban land has become a scarce and valuable commodity. This has encouraged speculation, black marketing and unauthorized land markets," the law ministry says. 

"This has been facilitated by the inadequacies in our urban property records and weak and pliable town planning. This has created a class of land mafia, which has become a source of black money and political clout." 

It says suggests the setting up of a district level ombudsman to ensure that rights of the citizens through the Right to Information Act, National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, Forest Right Act, Right to Education etc are protected and there is a redressal system at the grass-roots structure.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Law-ministry-proposes-20-yr-term-for-babus/articleshow/8052062.cms

India plans peace and cricket with Pak, despite Rana's revelations

NEW DELHI: In a fresh friendly gesture to Pakistan, India has decided to resume the bilateral cricket series which was put on hold in retaliation against the 26/11 terror attack on Mumbai. 

The decision was announced by foreign minister SM Krishna here on Wednesday, strengthening the growing estimate, including in the country's security establishment, that Pakistan may have been fully reprieved over 26/11. 

Notably, the announcement came just after the disclosure that Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Pakistani expatriate who along with David Coleman Headley did the recce for the mass slaughter in Mumbai, had told a US court that he was acting at the instance of the Pakistani government and ISI. 

Questioned about Rana's admission, Krishna said, "Peace talks will go on, cricket matches will go on and simultaneously, our relentless efforts will continue to bring to justice all those responsible for the heinous crime against India in Mumbai." 

The foreign minister said India would take up Rana's statements with the Pakistani government. "There are no contradictions in that position," he said when asked whether the revelations made by Rana would have an impact on India-Pakistan peace talks. "I have said that both these things will have to go on... Just look at the Sharm el-Shaikh declaration," he said. 

Pakistan has been shunned by cricket nations and has not received any team since March 2009 when the visiting Sri Lankan team was attacked by terrorists. Pakistan's moves for the resumption of ties had so far not been successful. Besides the anger over 26/11 and suspicions about Islamabad's intent to bring the masterminds to book, Team India's concerns for their safety also came in the way. 

The situation has changed dramatically since Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agreed to resume the bilateral dialogue at Thimphu, de-linking the process with India's grievance against Pakistan's unhelpful attitude over 26/11. 

The push for normalization of ties gathered momentum after Singh's talks with his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani at Mohali. As a matter of fact, the first indication of India's readiness to restore cricketing ties came from foreign secretary Nirupama Rao. In an interview she gave after the talks at Mohali, Rao said India was open to the idea of sending M S Dhoni and his mates to Pakistan. 

For all the keenness of the government, resumption of the Indo-Pak series is not likely till March next year because of the busy cricketing calendar. That apart, any plan to send the Indian team across will also have to contend with the reservations of Indian players who don't consider Pakistan to be a safe venue. As a matter of fact, the Sri Lankan squad that came precariously close to being wiped out had gone to Pakistan after the Indian team pulled out because of security concerns. 

Nothing illustrated the shift in government's stand better than Krishna's invoking the Sharm el-Sheikh statement. 

It's the first time the UPA government has invoked the 2009 joint statement signed by PM Manmohan Singh which was criticized in India to the extent that the government had to walk back from it. Singh was isolated within his own party and Parliament for the politically damaging reference to Balochistan, also part of the same joint statement. The foreign minister's reference to the declaration underlined government's willingness to delink dialogue and terrorism. "We are in constant touch with the Pakistan government through our diplomatic channels," Krishna said in response to questions. 

In fact, India has not been able to maintain a steady policy on Pakistan. A year after the 2006Mumbai blasts, India was back to talking with Pakistan. After its 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament and the year-long Operation Parakram, the earlier Vajpayee government was busy holding a summit in Islamabad to restart the composite dialogue process. In fact, when the next terror attack happens, which most security experts believe is inevitable, the government can claim a tough reprisal by merely cutting off all talks. 

The 26/11 trial has not taken off within Pakistan. During last month's home secretaries' talks, Pakistan only agreed in principle to allow Indian officials to talk to the accused in Pakistan. No dates, or modalities have been agreed to by Pakistan. And in Lahore, Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed on Tuesday, trashed cricket diplomacy and reasserted jihad against India. 

Saeed continues to roam freely in Pakistan, making anti-India tirades, even as Pentagon's Pacific Commander Gen Willard said LeT had become a global phenomenon. In a testimony to the US Congress, he said, "It has historically been focused on the Kashmir region, particularly in order to conduct attacks inside India. And it was responsible for the attack in Mumbai that we're all very familiar with," he said. "Unquestionably, they have spread their influence internationally, and they are no longer solely focused in South Asia and on India, although that continues to be their main training ground, and India continues to be their main target." 

On Tuesday, Saeed made a rare public appearance in Islamabad -- and trashed Indo-Pak cricket diplomacy while vowing for a "jihad" in J&K. 

"The stand taken by the Pakistan government for friendship with India is not acceptable to the Pakistani people under any circumstances," said Saeed.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-plans-peace-and-cricket-with-Pak-despite-Ranas-revelations/articleshow/7976955.cms

2G scam: 'Candid' Tata admits chemistry problem with Maran

NEW DELHI: Tata Group chief Ratan Tata and corporate lobbyist Niira Radia deposed before the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee probing the 2G scam on Monday, leaving its members feeling that while Tata had been "candid" in his deposition, Radia was "evasive." 

Tata admitted before the committee his group had a "chemistry problem" with ex-telecom minister A Raja's predecessor, Dayanidhi Maran. He indicated that things indeed improved after Maran was replaced by Raja in May 2007, but denied having been part of an effort to ensure Raja became telecom minister again in 2009. He added, "I didn't manipulate the system for 2G license allocation." 

On being asked about his letter to DMK chief and Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi praising Raja's stewardship of the telecom ministry, Tata said, "We had a chemistry problem with Maran." He pointed out that Tata Teleservices' applications were kept pending for more than 80 days and he had, in fact, been disadvantaged as GSM operators seemed to enjoy more clout. 

His claim that there was no controversy about spectrum allocation when he wrote to Karunanidhi was, however, challenged by committee members who said the decision to shift the cut-off date had been taken and finance ministry as well as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had already written to Raja by then. 

BJP leader Yashwant Sinha told Tata that it would have been unexceptional if he wrote to the Prime Minister but instead he sent a letter to Karunanidhi showering encomiums on Raja. Tata is believed to have said the letter was carried in a sealed cover by Niira Radia. "I did not leak it, it did not benefit me," he is learnt to have said. 

Niira Radia was questioned by the committee on her taped conservations which suggested she had mounted a concerted campaign efforts to re-install Raja as telecom minister in May 2009. Radia replied saying she was "too small a fry" to influence ministerial appointments. 

Radia, who met the committee before Tata, is learnt to have drawn a warning from PAC chair Murli Manohar Joshi when she said some of the leaked tapes on her conversations with Raja, Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi, Tata and other industrialists and journalists, were "doctored". Asked to substantiate her claim, she said the tapes were with the CBI. 

Joshi is understood to have warned her to choose her words carefully as her deposition to a committee can be a matter of privilege. Asked why she had not filed a legal case if the tapes were tampered, Radia said she was waiting for further CBI chargesheets. In a bid to correct herself, she said the context of her conversations was often not clear. 

With Joshi later telling the media that Radia was "evasive", it appears the lobbyist did attract the ire of members. She said her work was both public relations and communication and it involved listening to what people had to say and conveying this to her clients. She is learnt to have often said that she did not remember what exactly transpired. 

Tata, however, said the tapes were genuine and he recognized his voice. On the land deal involving Voltas, Tata said his firm was a tenant. 

Asked by Congress's Saifuddin Soz whether price of 2G spectrum involved a loss of revenue, Tata did not respond directly. He said revenue sharing and upfront payment, as suggested by Soz, could be options but different formulas have worked in different countries. He said rather than being a beneficiary, Tatas had suffered in the past. 

Tata said he had met Radia when he was trying to create a Tata tie-up with Singapore Airlines. He admitted that he felt Radia would give him a voice in Delhi where the GSM telecom operators seemed to enjoy an advantage. He claimed firms like Vodafone and BSNL had got spectrum in excess of their rights. 

On Radia, Joshi said, "Our experience was that she did not come out clearly. Regarding the tapes first she tried to be evasive giving various excuses. Later when PAC confronted her saying she had already appeared before the CBI, she accepted that she had heard some of the tapes and they were genuine." PAC has now asked her to submit a list of tapes that she has already heard. 

On Tuesday, Anil Ambani, senior officials of Etisalat, DB group, S Tel, and Unitech Wireless are set to appear before the PAC.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/2G-scam-Candid-Tata-admits-chemistry-problem-with-Maran/articleshow/7869611.cms

PJ Thomas nearly quit in Dec, but chose to hang on

NEW DELHI: PJ Thomas could have escaped the ignominy of being sacked by the Supreme Court and spared the government a huge political embarrassment if he had heeded advice to quit. 

Months after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and home minister P Chidambaram rode roughshod over Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj's resistance to put Thomas in the lead role at the anti-corruption watchdog, Congress leadership recognised that the CVC had turned into a political liability. 

Unfortunately for the government, the mild-mannered CVC suddenly became unyielding after initial indications that he would put in his papers. Negotiations with Thomas had progressed to the extent that his well-wishers had even sought advice on how to draft his resignation letter. He was to announce his resignation in the first week of December when the heat on UPA over corruption was growing. 

But all that was rendered irrelevant by Thomas's sudden refusal to go. He conveyed his resolve to the negotiators on December 4. Soon followed a defiant declaration that he was not going to follow the script written for him. 

Two theories have been put forward for the turnaround. According to one, Thomas changed his mind after a senior minister egged him on to stay put. The minister was concerned about loss of face. 

According to another theory, the about-turn was at the instance of Thomas's family members and close friends who warned him that quitting would taint him forever. A close relative is learnt to have told him that it could not be just his call as the matter concerned the reputation of the entire family. 

The episode is seen as yet another instance of the failure of the top babus in the regime. The set was supposed to have a leverage with Thomas — one of the reasons why Congress managers thought that they would be able to shake off what had become an albatross. But the estimate was belied, adding to the growing sense of resentment against the babus.

Read more: PJ Thomas nearly quit in Dec, but chose to hang on - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/PJ-Thomas-nearly-quit-in-Dec-but-chose-to-hang-on/articleshow/7631227.cms#ixzz1FhOPL1kH

Gaddafi likens his crackdown to India’s action in Kashmir

NEW DELHI: Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi told PM Manmohan Singh last week that his actions against his people in Libya were akin to India's actions against Kashmiris. 

On the eve of the UN Security Council debate and vote against Libya on February 26, Gaddafi, in a missive to Singh, asked for India's support for his actions as civil war broke out in Libya. 

The request for support came even as African and European countries, including Libya's UN envoy who defected to the rebels, made an impassioned plea in the Security Council to refer Gaddafi to the International Criminal Court. India voted for the UNSC resolution, which was passed unanimously. 

Gaddafi has reportedly used airplanes to strafe his own people who are fighting to take Libya out of Gaddafi's control. According to some estimates, over 6,000 people have died in the fighting, which continues even after 10 days. 

Gaddafi's mercurial character, though, was on full display on Libya's national day, which he celebrated earlier this week. In a five-hour address in Tripoli, he mentioned India at least five times, including saying that he would give future commercial contracts to Indian and Chinese companies and that he was very pleased with India's vote in the UN Security Council. 

Gaddafi has rarely been a person India has been comfortable with. In September 2009, Gaddafi, in a 100-minute speech at the UN General Assembly, railed against India and Kashmir as well. "Kashmir should be an independent state, not Indian, not Pakistani. We should end this conflict. It should be a Ba'athist state between India andPakistan," he said.

Read more: Gaddafi likens his crackdown to India’s action in Kashmir - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Gaddafi-likens-his-crackdown-to-Indias-action-in-Kashmir/articleshow/7631784.cms#ixzz1FhKqk7MD

Sachin and India: Tale of two majestic growth stories

The 1990s was a time of awakening for the Indian economy. It was a time of VCRs, Walkmans and Maruti-800s. It was an age when still cameras needed roll film, there was only one Bachchan, Air India was still making money and the gift-toting NRI uncle was treated as a VIP. It was also the era of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.

If Manmohan Singh broke the shackles of the nation's economy in 1991, the same happened on the cricket field through the bulky bat of a 5-foot-5 batsman with a squeaky voice and the most vicious on-drive ever. Tendulkar, with his middle-class upbringing in suburban Mumbai's Sahitya Sahawas, went where no man had gone before.

As our economy began its majestic rise, the nation saw hope in this genius from Indian cricket's capital. Finally, we had a player who went after the impossible. If Gavaskar was the man who staved off defeat, Tendulkar was the prodigy who always eyed victory... he was the competitor who gave the opposition a taste of their own medicine. Cowed down for years, it was time for India to hit back, whether in business or on the cricket pitch — and hit back we did, with aplomb.

In Sachin, Indians saw the aggression of Richards, the technique of Gavaskar, and the heart of Kapil. And when he entertained them, they forgot their troubles, rooting for the "little bundle of dynamite" who made 'blond bombers' look pedestrian. For Sachin, failure was not an option. Old women prayed for him, executives skipped office, and an entire generation dreamt of becoming cricketers. While the 'Little Champion' was at the crease, there was always hope.

Carrying a super-heavy bat, synonymous with the burden of the nation he bore, he had his days on the pitch and as had our roaring economy. If there was desert storm in Sharjah where he single-handedly destroyed the Australian attack), then there was also the sensex crossing the 10,000 mark. 'Sensexational' said one TOI headline, 'Batman Begins' said another. Our forex reserves went up at the same speed with which 'Tendlya' accumulated hundreds. "We lost to Sachin," Aussie captain Steve Waugh once said.

As India's software engineers began putting their stamp on global markets, a resurgent Team India, inspired by Sachin, started doing something they had rarely done before — winning abroad. Once that barrier was breached, there was no looking back.

Of course, it's not just his batting talent that has always been revered (or the fact that he turns the ball more than any Indian spinner)...but also the humility that this magician brings to the turf. This is the same person who sits atop a mountain of advertizing cash. Remember the commercial where every kid wears a Sachin mask, or the one where the soundtrack screams 'Sachin aala re', echoing the thoughts of millions of Indians. Even now, he seems omnipresent.

Through the years, as India's economy gained momentum, the economy of the Tendulkar household didn't do too badly either. Sachin's pathbreaking multi-crore deal with WorldTel made him cricket's first millionaire. Not that he let it affect his game. He stayed in the zone, the monk with the Ferrari.

Now, 20 years after the reforms that transformed our sleeping economy into a crouching tiger, and ages after an enthusiastic boy convinced his skipper to let him open the innings, we are one of the two fastest growing big economies in the world, while that teen with the squeaky voice has become a legend. Still, when he goes out to bat, India holds its breath.

Batting for posterity

• Sachin has scored highest aggregate runs and maximum 100s and 50s in both Tests and ODIs game. He also holds the record of most 90s in ODI, getting out 18 times in the 90s

• Has hit 1,943 ODI and 1,892 Test fours, which is the highest for any batsman

• Played 177 Tests and 446 ODIs, the highest by any player

• His 21-year, 71-day career is the longest among current players as well as cricketers who have played more than 100 Tests

• Is the only player to score more than 1000 Test runs six times and 1000 ODI runs seven times in a calendar year

• In the 2002-03 ICC World Cup, he scored 673 runs, the highest for any player

• In 1998, he scored 1,894 runs in ODIs, the highest number of runs scored by any batsman in a calendar year

• Has scored 9 hundreds against Australia, the highest against any team by a single batsman

• Has scored 1,778 runs in the 42 innings he has played at the Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium in UAE, his highest on any ground

• Has faced 778 different bowlers, of whom 528 have failed to get him out even once

• Of the 250 bowlers who managed to get him out, Brett Lee has been the most successful, scalping him 14 times

• Sachin has scored 600 runs off Muralitharan, his highest off any bowler

• Has faced 47,788 balls in international cricket. This is equal to 7,965 overs

• In his over 21-year career, he has spent 1,145 hours on t

Read more: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/union-budget-2011/Sachin-and-India-Tale-of-two-majestic-growth-stories/articleshow/7598432.cms

FM may raise tax exemption limit to Rs 2 lakh

NEW DELHI: With an eye on improving the public mood ahead of crucial polls in five states, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee appears set to appease the middle class as well as UPA`s aam aadmi constituency. 

An increase in the income tax exemption limit from Rs 1.6 lakh to Rs 2 lakh is expected to be part of Mukherjee`s Union budget speech on Monday. Though the exemption limit is Rs 1.6 lakh, this year, there is an additional benefit of Rs 20,000 for those who invest in infrastructure bonds. 

The benefit available for investment in these bonds is expected to continue though Mukherjee, who will present his third budget in his second innings in finance ministry, is unlikely to heed demands for a Rs 50,000 benefit for investment in these instruments. 

The veteran politician is also likely to announce a debt relief scheme for weavers who draw largely from the Muslim community and are a sizeable constituency in poll-bound Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, besides states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. 

The amnesty may cost the Centre Rs 3,400 crore and would be similar to the Rs 70,000-crore debt waiver scheme for farm loans which is said to have turned the tide for UPA in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. 

Heir-apparent Rahul Gandhi led a party delegation to Mukherjee on the weavers` scheme on Wednesday, lending weight to the demand. His authorship on the relief for minorities is part of an extended campaign for organisational revival in Uttar Pradesh which goes to poll next year. 

That powerloom and handloom weavers are also present in Tamil Nadu, which goes to polls in April, makes the proposed waiver a key election sop. It would be a magnet for the ruling DMK and textiles minister Dayanidhi Maran is learnt to have lobbied hard. 

Tax exemptions on cotton and silk yarns may add to weavers` relief. 

Congress circles are hoping that the budget will help beat down the perception of UPA`s decline, somewhat alleviate the pain of prices and turn people`s attention away from the scams that have eroded the goodwill that the Manmohan Singh regime enjoyed in 2009. 

The goodies will form part of Congress`s political outreach for key social groups in the backdrop of unrest over inflation. 

As per political calculations, the higher exemption limit may help blunt the pressure on the government from middle class which is weighed down by the burden of high inflation, which latest numbers put above 8%. Despite some moderation, food inflation remains above 11% and has upset monthly calculations for most households in the country.

Though the government could lose some revenue due to higher exemptions, the estimate is that higher growth will help rake in more revenue besides keeping fiscal deficit under check. 

Estimates suggest that the economy, despite the burden of higher interest rates and the spike in oil and metal prices, would grow at around 9%, helping the government to stay on course to achieve the fiscal deficit target of 4.8% of GDP

.

Source:-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/FM-may-raise-tax-exemption-limit-to-Rs-2-lakh/articleshow/7567189.cms