Big rush for RATION CARD, 4 Lakh Families Applied So Far

When the food and civil supplies department invited fresh applications for ration cards on November 18, they didn’t expect lakhs of responses. The reason could be that the department had decided to issue applications after a gap of two years. 
    Another reason is perhaps because ration card serves as an identity proof for various transactions. The department has received applications from 4,74,192 families from Bangalore alone. In the state, in just 35 days, nearly 11 lakh 
families have filed applications. “This response has made us aware of the importance of the ration card. We are yet to announce issuance of the ration cards. But based on the applications that we have got, we started physical verification of the applicants’ residential address and revenue register number of the electricity connection and supportive identity documents. There is no deadline as such for the bulk applications while issuing ration cards. We will gear up,’’ said M C Gangadhar, deputy director, food and civil supplies. 
    But online service has some glitches. For instance, 64-year-old Sathyanarayana Kotta was shocked when he was told that the ration card that he had used for the last 30 years was not valid. The department’s website reflected this. 
    Kotta was one among the many who was waiting for the issuance of the new ration cards for the last one year and was happy when the service for the ration card was made completely online. “I applied for one in the first week of December as my ration card was valid till December 2006. I tried to apply online for a new ration card in place of the existing one. The system indicated that the ‘old ration card number is not valid’,’’ he said. 
    When contacted, Gangadhar, deputy director of the department, said that in such a situation, many like Kotta want to know if they can freshly apply for the new ration card. “This is one of the cases of temporary ration cards that the department had issued only in Bangalore. In such cases the applicants will have to apply afresh if the card has expired. If the old ration card number is not found in the database, a remark can be made in the application giving the old ration card number,” said Gangadhar.

Source : TOI,Bangalore

IPS officer caught cheating in law exam

Regional passport officer (RPO) J.P. Singh was allegedly caught cheating while he was appearing for the LLB Exam of Lucknow University. When his answer script was snatched, he threatened the flying squad with dire consequences.

As per reports, during the LLB Exam of Lucknow University, the flying squad caught three candidates red-handed. When JP Singh's answer sheet was confiscated and sent to examination controller. If proven, his entire examination could be cancelled.

As per a member of the flying squad whent hey entered the examination room number 102 they suspected J.P. Singh of foulpay and warned him. In return Singh began misbehaving with the squad members. When Singh's desk was searched and he was patted down they found a numbers of chits on him, after which he began threatening the officers and examiners on duty.

Singh, however, clarified his stance and returned fire with fire alleging flying squad officers and examiners of conspiring against him. He vehemently denied all allegations.

Source : 

Take a new year “JOYRIDE”

Wondering how to usher in the New Year? How about taking a ride on the Metro, soaking in the sights and scenes of the city’s life by night? Namma Metro will operate till 2am Jan. 1 and this could be a big boon for those heading home after a night of revelry.
    The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd has extended its timings, but just for a day. The services could be extended on Christmas Day too, but that would depend on the number of footfalls, said a BMRC press release.
    The Metro operates between MG Road and Byappanahalli till 11pm in the first week of getting on track, though the normal operating time is 6am to 10pm. The timing was extended because of the huge flow of excited commuters who wanted to take a joy ride. During weekends, the average ridership was around 50,000 per day during the two months. 

Secrets Of Samsung Corby Mobile Phone

Samsung Corby is really a cool series from Samsung mobile phone and some of the models are having some unknown and never said secrets which are really surprising and a lot interesting. I want to share some secrets with you today. First we will go with basic codes and after that we will get into real action.

We Start with the basic secret code which is common for all mobile phones

*#06#  - This will show the IMEI(International Mobile Equipment Identity) number of the mobile phone.

*2767* 5282# - This will reset the Java Application (It Deletes All Java Midlets which are installed in your phone)

#*7728# - This is a master reset code which will not delete any thing from your mobile but will set everything to factory default settings when it was on the time when we bought at the time of purchase.

*#9998*3323# - This code is used to unlock the samsung corby to all networks.

Now i will write some codes which might not work in all mobile phones but they are really working in some other mobile models of samsung.

*#9998*4357# - This will bring a Help Menu where we can select a lot of inbuilt options.

*#9998*5282# - This will bring a Java Menu where we can set the GPRS/CSD Settings for java server.

*#9999#0# - This will bring a Monitor Mode Menu.

*#9999# or *#9998*9999# - This will bring a Software Version Menu.

*#8888# or *#9998*8888# - This will bring a Hardware Version Menu.

*#9998*746# or *#9998*0746# or *#0746# - This will give the Sim Information.

*#9998*523# or *#9998*0523# or *#0523# - This will display the Contrast options.

*#9998*842# or *#9998*0842# or *#0842# - This will bring the Vibration On options.

*#9998*289# or *#9998*0289# or *#0289# - This will bring the Buzzer On option.

*#9998*288# or *#9998*0288# or *#0288# - This will bring the Battery & Field Information.

*#9998*377# or *#9998*0377# - This will bring the Error log

*#9998*778# or *#9998*0778# or *#0778# - This will bring the Sim Service table

*#9998*782# - This will bring the date and alarm clock options.

*#8999*638# - This will bring the network information.

*#9998*5646# - This will bring the change operator logo at startup

*#9998*76# - This will show the production number

*#9998*968# - This will bring the melody for alarm option.

*#9998*585# - This will bring the Non-Volatile Memory (NVM) option.

*#3243948# - This will bring the Digital Audio Interference Off option.

*#32436837# - This will bring the Digital Audio Interference On option.

Will update if anymore found...cheers.

LTA treatment before TAX

Leave Travel Allowance (LTA) is granted by the employers to the employees as part of the remuneration to provide for travel expenses incurred during the year. Leave Travel Allowance also covers such expenses of the spouse, children as well as dependent parents and siblings. However, there is a restriction. The allowance is restricted to two children born on or after October 1, 1998. There is no restriction on the number of children born before this date.

Expenses that Leave Travel Allowance covers
Leave Travel Allowance (LTA) only covers travel expenses incurred on travelling with your family within the country; i.e. exemption can only be claimed if it is within the country under Section 10(5) of the Income Tax Act. Some other expenses which cannot be included are expenses on hotel rooms, sightseeing, food, etc. Another condition is that you must make sure to opt for the shortest possible route, only then can you claim expenses. There is also a restriction on the fare component. Tax exemption can only be claimed for economy class air fare, first class AC rail fare or first/deluxe class bus fare. However in the absence of public transport, you can hire a taxi or rent a car and claim for expenses equivalent to first class AC rail fare.

Can the entire amount be claimed as an exemption?
Yes, provided that the entire amount has been spent according to the tax rules specified under LTA laws.

Can you claim Leave Travel Allowance every year?
While you can claim LTA every year for which you will be taxed, LTA exemption can only be claimed twice in a block of four calendar years.

Does claiming LTA in alternate years mean that the two year entitlement gets added together?

It does. If you are entitled to an LTA of Rs.10,000 per year and do not utilize it for the the first year it is carried forward to the next year. In the second year you can claim the entire amount (Rs.20,000) as tax exempt provided you spend it according to the specification in LTA tax laws as detailed above.

Carry over concession for Leave Travel Allowance
Leave Travel Allowance (LTA) comes with a carry forward feature. You can carry forward your Leave Travel Allowance in the situation that it has not been used. It can be brought forward and claimed in the first year of the next block.

No travel proof required for Leave Travel Allowance (LTA)
Supreme Court announces that there is no need to submit proof of travel in order to claim Leave Travel Allowance. Employers while assessing the travel allowance claims, do not need to collect proof of travel to submit to the tax authorities. Though it is not mandatory for employers to demand proof, they still have the right to demand documentary proof depending on its policy. The announcement by the Supreme Court has only moved the responsibility from the employer to the employee, the assessing officer can still ask for the employee to provide details of travel.

Can both spouses claim Leave Travel Allowance?
If the husband and wife are benefiting from Leave Travel Allowance benefit in their respective offices, then they both have the option of claiming Leave Travel Allowance exemption from their employers. They can also get the benefit of four journeys in just one block. There is no need to make sure that they do not travel twice in the same year. Also, as long as they adhere to the definition of family members, it does not matter whether they choose to take the same family members or different ones. Family in this case consists of spouse, children, siblings and parents who are dependent on you. In the case of kids who are born on or after October 1, 1998, the exemption will be restricted to only two surviving children. The only exception for this is if after the birth of the first child, the second conception results in multiple births (twins or triplets).

If both spouses travel together, can they both claim Leave Travel Allowance simultaneously?
No, both spouses cannot claim Leave Travel Allowance simultaneously. Leave Travel Allowance cannot be claimed twice for the same journey.

Bhagwad Gita's sales go up after Russia controversy

The Bhagwad Gita is a bestseller, controversy or no controversy. The holy book notches up steady sales through the year. In the last financial year, for instance, Gita Press, Gorakhpur, one of the major publishers of the ancient Hindu scripture, sold around six lakh copies of Gita in 13 languages.

Bookshop owners in the city maintain that the Gita sells throughout the year. They have also noticed a small rise in the sales since the controversy erupted late last week. "Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Kannada, Oriya, Nepali - the book sells steadily in each of the languages we publish. Gita is a manual for life. Those who filed the case against it in Russia probably did not understand it," B B Tripathi, chief account officer in the book sales department, Gita Press, Gorakhpur told TOI over phone.

Mirza Afsar Baig of the Midland bookstore in the city's Aurobindo Marg has been selling books for over two decades.

"The controversies that crop up around books never cease to amaze me. I've sold over 60 copies of Swami Chinmayananda's The Holy Geeta in the last two days alone. There was a similar interest in Salman Rushdie after his Satanic Verses was banned," says Baig. There was also a rise in interest in books on the Prophet Mohammad and Islam after a US pastor threatened to burn copies of the Koran on the 9/11 anniversary last year, he says.

The city's International Society for Krishna Consciousness ( ISKCON) reported no spurt in sales. However, the organization is confident that the controversy will get more people interested in the subject.

In June this year, the state prosecutor's office in the Russian city of Tomsk, Siberia, filed a petition asking for a ban on the Gita, interpreting it as war-mongering, extremist literature.

courtesy : TOI

Lokpal bill approved; PM in, CBI & lower bureaucracy out

The Union cabinet on Tuesday approved the much-awaited Lokpal bill, bringing the prime minister under the anti-graft ombudsman with riders but excluding the CBIand the lower bureaucracy. Anna Hazareslammed the move, terming the government "dishonest" and vowed to launch his hunger strike Dec 27. 

The Cabinet chaired by Prime MinisterManmohan Singh approved the bill after an hour-long meeting in the parliament house. 

The bill is likely to be introduced and put up for consideration and passage in Lok Sabha Dec 22, the scheduled last day of the winter session. 

This means the parliament may be extended just for a day for this purpose. 

However, the Lok Sabha's Business Advisory Committee will take a final call on the issue on Wednesday. 

There are two proposals - to discuss the Lokpal bill on Dec 22 and 23 or to discuss the bill during an extended period of the winter session Dec 27-29. 

Accepting only one point - appointment of Lokayuktas in states from the sense of the houseresolution conveyed to haz in August this year, the bill has kept out the other key demand - lower bureaucracy from coming under the Lokpal. 

While the bill puts the lower bureaucracy under the Central Vigilance Commissioner with the superintendency of the Lokpal, it says the ombudsman would have no investigation wing and will only have a prosecution department with lawyers under it.

courtesy : times of india