Monday, February 16, 2009

UPA Interim Budget

Interim Fin Min and man friday, Pranab Mukherjee, presented the interim budget of the UPA govt. today.

It was a rather uninspiring one, belying expectations of almost all sectors. No major sops were announced for sectors like banking, real estate, infrastucture etc. Neither were any changes made to income tax slabs, rates etc for direct taxes.

The govt. it seems has chosen to remain within constitutional propriety by not announcing any major policy changes, but has instead chosen to highlight its achivements over the past five years.

A rather lack-lustre operation which neither woos nor repels.

The night the dogs went silent.

It was the night the dogs went silent. The eerie feeling must have got to them too. It was the night of 26th November 2008 (26/11).

The quiet of the night was punctuated by the noise of the news telecast. The humming of the air conditioners normally heard outside your window was replaced by the constant updates on your friendly neighbourhood news channels. Mumbai was under terrorist attack!

Yes, the whole world and the neighbours were up. Only the street dogs had gone silent!
Perhaps they were mourning the loss of a loved one…..