Service tax budgeted at Rs.689 bn for 2009-10

September 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The wait for number portability, which will enable subscribers to switch telecom operators without getting their phone numbers changed, has got longer with the government Thursday extending the implementation deadline from Sep 20 to Dec 31. "The implementation of first phase of the mobile number portability (MNP), in metro and category A service area has been extended to December 31, 2009, an official statement said.

August 22nd, 2009 Enrollment decreasing in Detroit Public SchoolsHere's a look at the enrollment decline in the Detroit Public Schools: —2003-2004: 150,415 —2004-2005: 141,148 —2005-2006: 130,580 —2006-2007: 118,394 —2007-2008: 108,145 —2008-2009: 94,054 —2009-2010: 83,777 (budgeted by district) Sources: Council of the Great City Schools, Detroit Public Schools

August 21st, 2009 Southwest Airlines to provide onboard Wi-FiDALLAS — Southwest Airlines is on its way to providing in-flight Wi-Fi access on all of its aircraft. The airlines and Internet Wi-Fi service provider Row 44 have plans to roll out the program in the first quarter of 2010.

August 20th, 2009 American expands in-flight Internet accessFORT WORTH, Texas — American Airlines has expanded its in-flight internet service to more aircraft. The airline has now made the Wi-Fi service available on 100 MD-80 aircraft, which is two-thirds of the 150 Gogo installations scheduled to be completed by the end of 2009, according to a company news release Thursday.

August 7th, 2009 Why Xbox live is down? nobody knows the answer, but it is still down. Along with Xbox most of social networking sites and some of the popular gaming sites are going down now and then, it appears to be a regular practice.

July 30th, 2009 Xcel reaffirms 2009 profit outlookMINNEAPOLIS — Power company Xcel Energy on Thursday reaffirmed its 2009 profit outlook as rate increases in several states have helped offset lower demand for electricity caused by the recession. Xcel said it expects to make $1.45 to $1.55 per share.

July 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Come September, the about one million residents of Dwarka here will have a shuttle service of low-floor air-conditioned buses within the sub-city. The decision has been taken to improve local transportation in Dwarka sub-city, which is home to about a million people.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's service tax revenue is estimated to be flat at Rs.65,000 crore ($13.4 billion) this fiscal, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Monday while presenting the budget for 2009-10 in the Lok Sabha. The revised estimates of the service tax revenue for 2008-09 stands at Rs.65,000, while the government earned Rs.51,301 crore from the tax in 2007-08.

June 11th, 2009 South Africa marks 1 year to World CupCAPE TOWN, South Africa — South Africa kicked off the one-year countdown to the World Cup in a ceremony Thursday at a nearly complete stadium nestled between mighty Table Mountain, the glistening Atlantic and overlooking Nelson Mandela's former Robben Island prison. "We have made it," South African President Jacob Zuma said as he kicked a ball off a stand at Cape Town's Greenpoint stadium.

March 27th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Indian economy will log a growth of less than 7 percent this fiscal with 2009 turning 'significantly worse' as the current economic crisis was unlikely to end soon, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said Friday. 'The world is going through the worst crisis in 60 years,' Ahluwalia told the national conference and annual session of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at the Taj Palace Hotel here.

February 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The interim budget for 2009-10, presented in the Lok Sabha Monday, has brought down allocation of various child welfare programmes as compared to previous years, says a budget analysis done by a city-based children's rights organisation. 'On issues of health, education, protection and nutrition, the children have either received less in 2009-10 or their share has remained the same,' says the analysis report by Haq: Centre for Child Rights.

February 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government Monday revised the total expenditure estimate in the current fiscal to a little over Rs.9 trillion (Rs.900,953 crore), an increase of Rs.1.5 trillion (Rs.150,069 crore) on account of increased assistance to states, greater sectoral investments and a higher subsidy burden. In the interim budget that he presented in the Lok Sabha, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee hiked the plan expenditure by Rs.395.71 billion (Rs.39,571 crore) to Rs.2.82 trillion (Rs.282,957 crore), against the budgeted estimate of Rs.2.43 trillion (Rs.243,386 crore).

February 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - High global oil prices, that saw a barrel of crude sell for nearly $150 per barrel at one point last year, has secured unexpected bonanza to the government in the form of royalty and profit petroleum, budget papers showed Monday. Against the budgeted receipts of Rs.6,777.04 crore (Rs.67.77 billion/$1.35 billion) for this fiscal from petroleum, revised receipts from royalty, profit petroleum and oil exploration licensing fee have been pegged at Rs.9,423.23 crore (Rs.94.23 billion/$1.88 billion).

February 4th, 2009 HYDERABAD - Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister K. Rosaiah Thursday presented a tax-free revenue surplus vote-on-account for 2009-10 with an overall expenditure of over Rs.1,000 billion (Rs.100,000 crore).

December 22nd, 2008 NEW DELHI - The government will soon come out with a policy on Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO), a senior official of the Department Of Telecommunications (DoT) said here Tuesday. 'MVNO policy is under consideration and we are hoping to come out with the policy by January 5, 2009, that is the last application date,' DoT Joint Secretary J.S.