The Union Budget 2011 was presented on February 28, 2011 by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherji, in the background of Indian economy swiftly coming back to a broad-based growth recovery path. The task on hand was to ensure that the continuance of recovery is aided through policy actions, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, to balance the growth trajectory with the rising concerns on inflation.

HIGHLIGHTS OF UNION BUDGET 2011

TAXES
=> Standard rate of excise duty held at 10 percent; no change in CENVAT rates.
=> Personal income tax exemption limit raised to Rs 180,000 from Rs 160,000 for individual tax payers.
=> For senior citizens, the qualifying age reduced to 60 years and exemption limit raised to Rs 2.50 lakh.
=> Citizens over 80 years to have exemption limit of Rs 5 lakh.
=> To reduce surcharge on domestic companies to 5 percent from 7.5 percent.
=> A new revised income tax return form 'Sugam' to be introduced for small tax papers.
=> Raise minimum alternate tax to 18.5 percent from 18 percent.
=> Iron ore export duty raised to 20 percent
=> Nominal one per cent central excise duty on 130 items entering the tax net. Peak rate of customs duty maintained at 10 per cent in view of the global economic situation.
=> Service tax widened to cover hotel accommodation above Rs 1,000 per day, A/C restaurants serving liquor, some category of hospitals, diagnostic tests.
=> Service tax on air travel increased by Rs 50 for domestic travel and Rs 250 for international travel in economy class. On higher classes, it will be ten per cent flat.
=> Works of art exempt from customs when imported for exhibition in state-run institutions; this now extended to private institutions.

SUBSIDIES
=> Subsidy bill in 2011-12 seen at 1.44 trillion rupees.
=> Food subsidy bill in 2011-12 seen at 605.7 billion rupees.
=> Revised food subsidy bill for 2010-11 at 606 billion rupees.
=> Revised fertilizer subsidy bill for 2010-11 at 550 billion rupees.
=> Revised petroleum subsidy bill in 2010-11 at 384 billion rupees.
=> State-run oil retailers to be provided with 200 billion rupee cash subsidy in 2011-12.

FISCAL DEFICIT
=> Fiscal deficit seen at 5.1 percent of GDP in 2010-11.
=> Fiscal deficit seen at 4.6 percent of GDP in 2011-12.

SPENDING
=> Total expenditure in 2011-12 seen at 12.58 trillion rupees.
=> Plan expenditure seen at 4.41 trillion rupees in 2011-12, up 18.3 percent.

REVENUE
=> Gross tax receipts seen at 9.32 trillion rupees in 2011-12.
=> Non-tax revenue seen at 1.25 trillion rupees in 2011-12.
=> Corporate tax receipts seen at 3.6 trillion rupees in 2011-12.
=> Tax-to-GDP ratio seen at 10.4 percent in 2011-12; seen at 10.8 percent in 2012-13.
=> Customs revenue seen at 1.52 trillion rupees in 2011-12.
=> Service tax receipts seen at 820 billion rupees in 2011-12.

GROWTH, INFLATION EXPECTATIONS
=> Economy expected to grow at 9 percent in 2012, plus or minus 0.25 percent.
=> Inflation seen lower in the financial year 2011-12.

DISINVESTMENT
=> Disinvestment in 2011-12 seen at 400 billion rupees.
=> Government committed to retaining 51 percent stake in public sector enterprises.

BORROWING
=> Net market borrowing for 2011-12 seen at 3.43 trillion rupees, down from 3.45 trillion rupees in 2010-11.
=> Gross market borrowing for 2011-12 seen at 4.17 trillion rupees.
=> Revised gross market borrowing for 2010-11 at 4.47 trillion rupees.

POLICY REFORMS
=> To create infrastructure debt funds.
=> FDI policy being liberalized.
=> To boost infrastructure development with tax-free bonds of 300 billion rupees.
=> Food security bill to be introduced.
=> To permit SEBI registered mutual funds to access subscriptions from foreign investments.
=> Raised foreign institutional investor limit in 5-year corporate bonds for investment in infrastructure by $20 billion.
=> Setting up independent debt management office; Public debt bill to be introduced in parliament soon.
=> Bills on insurance, pension funds, banking to be introduced.

SECTOR SPENDING
=> To allocate more than 1.64 trillion rupees to defence sector in 2011-12.
=> Corpus of rural infrastructure development fund raised to 180 billion rupees in 2011-12.
=> To provide 201.5 billion rupees capital infusion in state-run banks in 2011-12.
=> To allocate 520.5 billion rupees for the education sector. Rs.21,000 crore for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.
=> To raise health sector allocation to 267.6 billion rupees.
=> Rs.500 crore more for national skill development fund.
=> Rs.54 crore each for AMU (Aligarh Muslim University) centres at Murshidabad and Mallapuram.
=> Rs.58,000 crore for Bharat Nirman; increase of Rs.10,000 crore.
=> Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme wage rates linked to consumer price index; will rise from existing Rs.100 per day.
=? Infrastructure critical for development; 23 percent higher allocation in 2011-12.

AGRICULTURE
=> Removal of supply bottlenecks in the food sector will be in focus in 2011-12.
=> To raise target of credit flow to agriculture sector to 4.75 trillion rupees.
=> 3 percent interest subsidy to farmers in 2011-12.
=> Cold storage chains to be given infrastructure status.
=> Capitalisation of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) of 30 billion rupees in a phased manner.
=> To provide 3 billion rupees for 60,000 hectares under palm oil plantation.
=> Food storage capacity to be augmented; 15 more mega food parks to be set up in 2011-12; of 30 sanctioned in previous fiscal, 15 set up.
=> Comprehensive policy on further developing PPP (public-private-partnership) model.

MISCELLANEOUS
=> To move towards direct transfer of cash subsidy for kerosene, LPG and fertilizers.
=> Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission, headed by former Supreme Court judge B. Srikrishna, to complete its work in 24 months; to overhaul financial regulations.
=> Five-fold strategy against black money; 13 new double taxation avoidance agreements; foreign tax division of CTBT strengthened; strength of Enforcement Directorate increased three-fold.
=> Bill to be introduced to review Indian Stamp Act.
=> New coins carrying new rupee symbol to be issued.
=> Anganwadi workers salary raised from Rs.1,500 to Rs.3,000.
=> Housing loan limit for priority sector lending raised to Rs.25 lakh.

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Here are some globally recognized management games that  might help you in your career

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Are you Business-Savvy?

Do you like/love managing people?

Are you good at prioritizing your tasks? 

Are you good at managing your funds?

If the answer for the above questions is 'yes', then you might be having an interest in management. If you are aiming for a management job, you should acquire some skills that will give you an edge over the others in the market.

-Can be developed through case studies and projects

-Can be developed through assignments and project reports

-Can be developed through presentations on group work

-Can be developed through group work on cases and projects

-Word processing and graphics, spreadsheets, databases, and electronic conferences 

-Can be developed through an in-company project

-Can be developed through meeting and program demands

-Through a continuous process of challenging assumption and reflection on practices 

This is an invariable question in any MBA Entrance Interview. Getting this answer pat right is critically important because it shows how clear you are about your expectations from the course. It is imperative that you answer this question to yourself before you rush to fill up forms to various MBA colleges.

It is crucial on two counts: -

1. If you do qualify for a course and find yourself a complete misfit for the curriculum, it would mean you are actually not cut out for the management cadre in the corporate world. So you are likely to saddle yourself with a career that makes you unhappy.

2. An MBA course is an investment, both in terms of time and money; hence, wasting it is an offence.

Moving on, let’s look at a few caricatures wherein an MBA degree can be handy: -

a) The Anointed Heir who wants to hold the keys to his/her kingdom. This guy is someone like an industrialist’s son, who will have to take over the running of an existing corporate empire.

b) The Shop Floor Enthusiast who wants to sit in the gilded corporate office. This guy is typically someone who has devoted many years on the shop floor (it could also be in a lab... or in sales... or in data collection...), mostly a technical person who executes rather than strategises. This guy now wants to be a part of the strategic team.

c) The Intrepid Entrepreneur who wants to create an empire. This guy is someone who is all set to start his or her own business and wants to know the tools of how to do so.

d) The Power Seeker who wants to crack the management ceiling he/she has hit because of the lack of an MBA degree. This person is typically someone who is a part of management but sees many promotions pass by him/ her due to a perceived lack of managerial perspective. Most of the top management believe that a person with a management degree has managerial perspective.

e) The Money Player who would like to increase his/her pay packet. An MBA degree immediately increases your market value. If a post-graduate in Economics is offered say Rs. 7,000 per month as a starting salary, an MBA graduate is typically offered at least Rs. 10,000 to 12,000 per month.

f) The Reluctant Graduate who believes that he/she has learnt nothing at all that can get him/her a job. The non-professional graduate courses available today are not perceived to have any marketable value by the corporate world. These, therefore, need to be augmented to make the graduate ‘market worthy’.

The underlying advantage in all the six caricatures is that an MBA degree immediately flags you off as someone who can be trained to take up positions of authority.

Apart from the positive boost that a person’s career gets, an MBA degree also offers three side benefits. Some may argue that these are the main benefits: -

1. An MBA course is a hot-house where you are pushed to deliver. You are introduced to fierce competition. The conditions work on you in such a way that either you break-down and leave the course half-way, or you end up becoming a tough professional.

2. An MBA programme exposes you to a very wide area of experience in terms of subjects and people. You get exposed to varied subjects like macro-economics, consumer behaviour, psychology, marketing, cultural heritage, communication theory, operations research, quantitative techniques, finance, HR, etc. Most programmes cover over 30 subjects! Apart from exposure to subjects, you meet people from various backgrounds and places. This really broadens your outlook!

3. And last but not the least, an MBA course brings together impressionable young men and women, and you may just catch your soul mate while slogging over case studies!

If you are still not clear as to why you want to do an MBA, ask yourself the above mentioned questions - you will soon get the right answer :-)

Links you might want to visit

Why Do You Want to Be a Manager? 

How to Become a Manager — 13 Skills You’ll Need