Tuesday, March 11, 2008

"LOVE ME FOR WHO I AM" Really..??

I was reading TOI e-paper a catchy title “Love me for who I am” hold my attention… I thought this will be related to introspection skewed towards self realization and I started reading the article… After finishing the reading I couldn’t decide what to say and how to react…. I shared the article with one my friend and we were discussing…. Quite a lot points popped up, I was stunned when my friend said that she is feeling bad for that guy and she is alright with the stand this guy has taken... I asked myself if someday my son comes to me proclaims that he likes guys; I will be like lost cow...!!!For most of us its not easy to accept homosexual relationship…!! I believe our generation people started behaving NEUTRAL instead of +ve /-ve till the time it is concerned with some one ELSE. But, when it comes to some one who is our OWN reaction turns NEGATIVE. Imagine your father, boyfriend, husband, brother or son is Gay? How open are we to accept it, and what logic do we have to refute it?? If I can’t take it what reason do I have to give, I disapprove it because, “cause is blank….”??
Form the mentioned article few things are worth noticing-
1- Level of confidence and conviction is very strong
2- Age of the boy 21 and he started thinking he is gay at the age of 14
3- Educated by all the means of academics and access lot of information
4- Good Analytical power
5- Emotional and self centric thinking
Why I said those points are worth noticing is because each of these have relevance in the way this person is thinking and convinced about his thought are just RIGHT.
In the movie Kalyug, Amrita Singh is the owner of porn site and she is convinced with the fact that she is just running the business to cater the need, DEMAND and SUPPLY…!! But she becomes furious and unable to take the fact when her own daughter works for porn site which she herself is running….!!As far as the example of Khjuraho temple is concerned the concept is pretty scientific psychologically…! The sculptures on the outer walls of temple which are erotic and seductive, it is to manifest when a person is going to temple all the lusty desires should be dropped outside and enter inside with purity of mind to be with God. During our course of discussion we discussed about the book Kamasutra which was written in ancient time decades ago and affirms the concept of homosexuality, my stand on that is take the book as it is if you are capable to do so… and if there are books like KS there are numerous books on moral science… there is a certain age to read different kinds of book…. From childhood till teenage its time to built your personality and charecter, the various shades in charecter can be added or removed later on but addition or deletion of color itself in charecter is impossible later…. Nobody can teach qualities like self-respect, dignity, shame etc etc.. Nothing is absolutely right or wrong in this world, its just our perception which decides whether is right or wrong for us… Perception is something which nobody can teach someone or guide in it, rather its governed by ones moral and ethical thoughts…. Being God fearing, respecting and obeying parents since early age directs us to walk on path which is moral and ethical in lot many ways…. I remember an ad for “incredible India” campaign; there were few questions few I can still recall….. Who decides when party is over?Whether prostitution be legalized?Those were really incredible thoughts…. Some thing is called Custom which society by in large makes to be followed by culture and heritage together…. Sometime I really wonder what kind of parenthood I am going to lead..?? When I was a kid there were no comps, internet, mobiles around me, media exposure was also very less…. On the name of TV Channels only doordarshan was there with more of generic programs which doesn’t cater specific sects need unlike today… Being so much addicted to internet and seeing its penetration in all the vital domains of life is difficult to keep myself aloof from it… I don’t know whether parenting is lagging behind or kids are really becoming TRUE westerner by birth, as they are shedding all the walls of culture, tradition, morality…..I remember when I was kid, as usual like all the others I also use to demand lots of things to my parents… I believe they were pretty judgmental to put filter between the need which they are going to fulfill and the other not… and my mother to be on her best given reply “First deserve and then desire”.
Crux is don’t disappoint the child by refuting all the needs on the other hand don’t pamper also by fulfilling all the needs… a right balance is prime requisite, and to achieve that right balance one really requires right acumen…!

The NPA rule that kills banks, businesses, the economy itself

'NPA'. The three letters strike terror in banking and business circles today. NPA is the short form of 'Non Performing Asset'.
The dreaded NPA rule says simply this: when interest or other due to a bank remains unpaid for more than 180 days, the entire bank loan automatically turns a 'non-performing asset'. This arithmetic has made automatic the classification of a loan as performing or non-performing. The recovery of loans has always been problem for banks and financial institutions. In the past after factoring different attributes of a loan --like who has borrowed, their record, whether the industry is cyclical-- they would classify their loans as good, doubtful or bad. How then did the paradigm shift from assessing a debt as doubtful or bad to automatic classification of debts into NPAs?
Before getting into details, let's look at the anatomy of the NPA issue in India. The first issue is when the Indian economy is not performing, can non-performing accounts in banks be avoided? Cannot be. Another point. Many western scholars are coming round to the view that the infamous Washington Consensus, which is the mother of the idea of globalised NPA norms, is a failure. They now say that domestic finance should be based on counter cyclical approach, that is, if the economy is under-performing there should be liberal financing to lift the economy. Today's NPA policy is precisely the other way round.
The second issue is the total amount of NPAs in the Indian financial system. This is estimated at Rs 120000 crores. Break this figure up. Just three categories of loans account for half this figure. Loans to petroleum sector [Rs 29000 crores], to steel sector [Rs 22000 crores], and to the infamous Enron power project [Rs 9000 crores]. Can the banks tell steel and petroleum industries to go to hell? Not if our economy has to survive. These portfolios have to be restructured. Once restructured, they will disappear from the NPA radar. However the money sunk in Enron is gone. Eventually, for all its sins, the government will have to offer this amount as a subvention or as subsidy. Deducting these loans, the resulting balance Rs 60000 crores [over $12 billions] is within 10% of the total commercial credit of banks and financial institutions. This is less than 4% of our GDP.
Look at Japan and China and other Asian nations in contrast. The total NPA in Japan is estimated at $1.26 trillions, equivalent to about 26% of Japan's GDP. In China it is $600 billions, that is, 45% of its GDP; in Malaysia 48% of its GDP; in Thailand 41% of its GDP; in Taiwan 27% of its GDP. Compare this with NPA at 4% of India's GDP. Where is the comparison? Yet despite all pressure Japan has steadfastly refused to accept the NPA norms universalised by the west. But surprisingly we have.
Universalised NPA rule is a western strategy to keep global banking and finances under its thumb. It is tailor made to suit equity-driven economies, that is, the Western ones. In the US where 55% of the households are linked to the stock market, equity constitutes most of business finance with debt playing only a limited role. In contrast in India less than 2% of household savings is invested in stocks. The result. India is debt-driven with more than 2/3 of the business funds being provided by debt. It is the other way round in the US driven by high equity and low debt. Where, with such low debt, interest or principal remains overdue for more than 180 days, the debt may be automatically regarded as non-performing. In contrast in India where debt in business is two times the equity, if the large debt is not serviced for 180 days, it cannot be automatically labelled as non-performing, without further appraisal.
Yet once a borrower is unable to pay interest for more than 180 days his account is to be regarded as non-performing and the new rule will deny him further credit, which he needs most then. With banks handling over 60% of national financial savings and the government handling the balance, where else will needy businessmen turn for funds? Thus, starved of funds, businesses, which are only weak, turn sick. Even though the banker knows the problem, he cannot fix it, thanks to the rule. Should any banker breach the rule to solve the problem of his client he is sure to end up in CBI custody. Will any banker risk his job and self if he has to deviate from the rules to save businesses? Never. What then does he do? He does not lend at all. That is why Indian banks are flush with funds and the businesses are starved of them. By the way, how can CBI authority over bank business and globalisation co-exist? Has any advocate of globalisation thought about it?
Not just on banks. The RBI has forced the NPA rule even on non-banking finance institutions. Ask non-banking finance companies about their experience. You will hear from them stories after stories as to how there is disconnect between the rule and their business. They will say how their clients like the Malabar lorry operators will tell them 'sir, for the next one year we will not pay any instalment; we will pay everything at the end of the year', and will do so promptly. But even though the finance companies would get their payments at the year end as the lorry operators had assured them, they would have to declare their accounts as NPAs meanwhile, leading to disastrous consequences to finance companies.
Indisputably, the NPA rule is unsuitable to banks and business; even harmful, killing both, why, our very economy, all at one stroke. Ask the bank heads in private, and see how critical they are about RBI for enforcing the global NPA standards as a fit-all-model. 'It will finish the banks and businesses' they whisper. So do the finance company promoters who are more efficient than some bankers. Of course all of them only whisper, not talk. Yet every one, including the media, swears by this suicidal rule as if it were an inerrant law. Why rules disconnected to India are framed? Simple. Those who frame them are disconnected from India.
(Author : S Gurumurthy)

Sub Prime

Subprime lending, also called lending, is the practice of making loans to borrowers who do not qualify for the best market interest rates because of their deficient credit history. The term also refers to paper taken on property that cannot be sold on the primary market, including loans on certain types of investment properties and certain types of self-employed individuals. Subprime lending is risky for both lenders and borrowers due to the combination of high interest rates, poor credit history, and adverse financial situations usually associated with subprime applicants. A subprime loan is offered at a rate higher than A-paper loans due to the increased risk. Subprime lending encompasses a variety of credit instruments, including subprime mortgages, subprime car loans, and subprime credit cards, among others. The term "subprime" refers to the credit status of the borrower (being less than ideal), not the interest rate on the loan itself. Subprime lending is highly controversial. Opponents have alleged that the subprime lending companies engage in predatory lending practices such as deliberately lending to borrowers who could never meet the terms of their loans, thus leading to default, seizure of collateral, and foreclosure. Proponents of the subprime lending maintain that the practice extends credit to people who would otherwise not have access to the credit market.The controversy surrounding subprime lending has expanded as the result of an ongoing lending and credit crisis both in the subprime industry, and in the greater financial markets which began in the United States. This phenomenon has been described as a financial contagion which has led to a restriction on the availability of credit in world financial markets. Hundreds of thousands of borrowers have been forced to default and several major American subprime lenders have filed for bankruptcy.

Budget Glossary

Annual Financial Statement:Article 112 of the Constitution requires the government to present to Parliament a statement of estimated receipts and expenditure in respect of every financial year — April 1 to March 31. This statement is the annual financial statement. The annual financial statement is usually a white 10-page document. It is divided into three parts, consolidated fund, contingency fund and public account. For each of these funds, the government has to present a statement of receipts and expenditure.
Consolidated Fund: This is the most important of all government funds. All revenues raised by the government, money borrowed and receipts from loans given by the government flow into the consolidated fund of India. All government expenditure is made from this fund, except for exceptional items met from the Contingency Fund or the Public Account. Importantly, no money can be withdrawn from this fund without the Parliament’s approval.
Contingency Fund: As the name suggests, any urgent or unforeseen expenditure is met from this fund. The Rs 500-crore fund is at the disposal of the President. Any expenditure incurred from this fund requires a subsequent approval from Parliament and the amount withdrawn is returned to the fund from the consolidated fund.
Public Account: This fund is to account for flows for those transactions where the government is merely acting as a banker. For instance, provident funds, small savings and so on. These funds do not belong to the government. They have to be paid back at some time to their rightful owners. Because of this nature of the fund, expenditure from it are not required to be approved by the Parliament. For each of these funds the government has to present a statement of receipts and expenditure. It is important to note that all money flowing into these funds is called receipts, the funds received, and not revenue. Revenue in budget context has a specific meaning. The Constitution requires that the budget has to distinguish between receipts and expenditure on revenue account from other expenditure. So all receipts in, say consolidated fund, are split into Revenue Budget (revenue account) and Capital Budget (capital account), which includes non-revenue receipts and expenditure. For understanding these budgets — Revenue and Capital — it is important to understand revenue receipts, revenue expenditure, capital receipts and capital expenditure.
Revenue receipt/Expenditure: All receipts and expenditure that in general do not entail sale or creation of assets are included under the revenue account. On the receipts side, taxes would be the most important revenue receipt. On the expenditure side, anything that does not result in creation of assets is treated as revenue expenditure. Salaries, subsidies and interest payments are good examples of revenue expenditure.
Capital receipt/Expenditure: All receipts and expenditure that liquidate or create an asset would in general be under capital account. For instance, if the government sells shares (disinvests) in public sector companies, like it did in the case of Maruti, it is in effect selling an asset. The receipts from the sale would go under capital account. On the other hand, if the government gives someone a loan from which it expects to receive interest, that expenditure would go under the capital account. In respect of all the funds the government has to prepare a revenue budget (detailing revenue receipts and revenue expenditure) and a capital budget (capital receipts and capital expenditure). Contingency fund is clearly not that important. Public account is important in that it gives a view of select savings and how they are being used, but not that relevant from a budget perspective. The consolidated fund is the key to the budget. We will take that up in the next part. As mentioned in the first part, the government has to present a revenue budget (revenue account) and capital budget (capital account) for all the three funds. The revenue account of the consolidated fund is split into two parts, receipts and disbursements — simply, income and expenditure. Receipts are broadly tax revenue, non-tax revenue and grants-in-aid and contributions. The important tax revenue items are listed below.
Corporation Tax:
Tax on profits of companies.
Taxes on Income other than corporation tax: Income tax paid by non-corporate assesses, individuals, for instance.
Fringe benefit tax (FBT): The taxation of perquisites — or fringe benefits — provided by an employer to his employees, in addition to the cash salary or wages paid, is fringe benefit tax. It was introduced in Budget 2005-06. The government felt many companies were disguising perquisites such as club facilities as ordinary business expenses, which escaped taxation altogether. Employers have to now pay FBT on a percentage of the expense incurred on such perquisites.
Securities transaction tax (STT): Sale of any asset (shares, property) results in loss or profit. Depending on the time the asset is held, such profits and losses are categorised as long-term or short-term capital gain/loss. In Budget 2004-05, the government abolished long-term capital gains tax on shares (tax on profits made on sale of shares held for more than a year) and replaced it with STT. It is a kind of turnover tax where the investor has to pay a small tax on the total consideration paid / received in a share transaction.
Banking cash transaction tax (BCTT): Introduced in Budget 2005-06, BCTT is a small tax on cash withdrawal from bank exceeding a particular amount in a single day. The basic idea is to curb the black economy and generate a record of big cash transactions.
Customs: Taxes imposed on imports. While revenue is an important consideration, Customs duties may also be levied to protect the domestic industry or sector (agriculture, for one), in retaliation against measures by other countries.
Union Excise Duty: Duties imposed on goods made in India.
Service Tax: It is a tax on services rendered. Telephone bill, for instance, attracts a service tax. While on taxes, let us take a look at an important classification: direct tax and indirect tax.
Direct Tax: Traditionally, these are taxes where the burden of tax falls on the person on whom it is levied. These are largely taxes on income or wealth. Income tax (on corporates and individuals), FBT, STT and BCTT are direct taxes.
Indirect Tax: In case of indirect taxes, the incidence of tax is usually not on the person who pays the tax. These are largely taxes on expenditure and include Customs, excise and service tax. Indirect taxes are considered regressive; the burden on the rich and the poor is alike. That is why governments strive to raise a higher proportion of taxes through direct taxes. Moving on, we come to the next important receipt item in the revenue account, non-tax revenue.
Non-tax revenue: The most important receipts under this head are interest payments (received on loans given by the government to states, railways and others) and dividends and profits received from public sector companies. Various services provided by the government — police and defence, social and community services such as medical services, and economic services such as power and railways — also yield revenue for the government. Though Railways are a separate department, all its receipts and expenditure are routed through the consolidated fund.
Grants-in-aid and contributions: The third receipt item in the revenue account is relatively small grants-in-aid and contributions. These are in the nature of pure transfers to the government without any repayment obligation. We now look at the disbursements section of the revenue account of the consolidated fund. It lists all the revenue expenditures of the government. These include expense incurred on organs of state such as Parliament, judiciary and elections. A substantial amount goes into administering fiscal services such as tax collection. The biggest item is interest payment on loans taken by the government. Defence and other services like police also get a sizeable share. Having looked at receipts and expenditure on revenue account we come to an important item, the difference between the two, the revenue deficit.
Revenue Deficit: The excess of disbursements over receipts on revenue account is called revenue deficit. This is an important control indicator. All expenditure on revenue account should ideally be met from receipts on revenue account; the revenue deficit should be zero. When revenue disbursement exceeds receipts, the government would have to borrow. Such borrowing is considered regressive as it is for consumption and not for creating assets. It results in a greater proportion of revenue receipts going towards interest payment and eventually, a debt trap. The FRBM Act, which we will take up later, requires the government to reduce fiscal deficit to zero by 2008-09. Receipts in the capital account of the consolidated fund are grouped under three broad heads — public debt, recoveries of loans and advances, and miscellaneous receipts.
Public debt: Public debt receipts and public debt disbursals are borrowings and repayments during the year, respectively. The difference is the net accretion to the public debt. Public debt can be split into internal (money borrowed within the country) and external (funds borrowed from non-Indian sources). Internal debt comprises treasury bills, market stabilisation schemes, ways and means advance, and securities against small savings.
Treasury bills (T-bills): These are bonds (debt securities) with maturity of less than a year. These are issued to meet short-term mismatches in receipts and expenditure. Bonds of longer maturity are called dated securities.
Market stabilization scheme: The scheme was launched in April 2004 to strengthen RBI’s ability to conduct exchange rate and monetary management. These securities are issued not to meet the government’s expenditure but to provide RBI with a stock of securities with which it can intervene in the market for managing liquidity.
Ways and means advance (WMA): One of RBI’s roles is to serve as banker to both central and state governments. In this capacity, RBI provides temporary support to tide over mismatches in their receipts and payments in the form of ways and means advances.
Securities against small savings: The government meets a small part of its loan requirement by appropriating small savings collection by issuing securities to the fund.
Miscellaneous receipts: These are receipts from disinvestment in public sector undertakings. Capital account receipts of the consolidated fund — public debt, recoveries of loans and advances, and miscellaneous receipts and revenue receipts are receipts of the consolidated fund. We now take up the disbursements on capital account from the consolidated fund. The first part deals with capital expenditure incurred on general, social and economic services. Some of the biggest expenditure items under these heads are defence services, investment in agricultural financial institutions and capital to railways. The second part takes up the public debt (repayments of loans) and various loans by the government. The consolidated fund has certain disbursements ‘charged’ to the fund. These are obligations that have to be met in any case and, therefore, do not have to be voted by the Lok Sabha. These include interest payments and certain expenditure such as emoluments of the President, salary and allowances of speaker, deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha, and allowances and pensions of Supreme Court judges, Parliament and so on.
Budget at a glance: This is a snap shot of the budget for easy understanding. Nonetheless, it introduces some new concepts. While receipts are broken down into revenue and capital, unlike the consolidated fund, it shows the centre's net tax revenues. This is because a decent part of the gross tax revenue, as decided by the relevant Finance Commission, flows to the state governments. Budget at a glance also segments expenditure into plan and non-plan expenditure, instead of splitting into revenue and capital. Each of these is then split into revenue account and capital account. Before discussing plan and non-plan expenditure it is important to discuss the concept of the central plan.
Central plan: Central or annual plans are essentially Five Year Plans broken down into annual instalments. Through these plans, the government achieves the objectives of the Five Year Plans. The central plan’s funding is split almost evenly between government support (from the budget) and internal and extra budgetary resources of public enterprises. The government’s support to the central plan is called budget support. We will take up plan and non-plan expenditure in the next part.
Plan expenditure: This is essentially the budget support to the central plan and the central assistance to state and union territory plans. Like all budget heads, this is also split into revenue and capital components.
Non-plan expenditure: This is largely the revenue expenditure of the government. The biggest items of expenditure are interest payments, subsidies, salaries, defence and pension. The capital component of the non-plan expenditure is relatively small with the largest allocation going to defence. Defence expenditure is non-plan expenditure.
Fiscal Deficit: When the government’s non-borrowed receipts fall short of its entire expenditure, it has to borrow money from the public to meet the shortfall. The excess of total expenditure over total non-borrowed receipts is called the fiscal deficit.
Primary deficit: The revenue expenditure includes interest payments on government’s earlier borrowings. The primary deficit is the fiscal deficit less interest payments. A shrinking primary deficit indicates progress towards fiscal health. The Budget document also mentions deficit as a percentage of GDP. This is to facilitate comparison and also get a proper perspective. Prudent fiscal management requires that government does not borrow to consume in the normal course.
FRBM Act: Enacted in 2003, Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act require the elimination of revenue deficit by 2008-09. Hence, from 2008-09, the government will have to meet all its revenue expenditure from its revenue receipts. Any borrowing would only be to meet capital expenditure. The Act mandates a 3% limit on the fiscal deficit after 2008-09.
Resources transferred to the states: A part of the Centre’s gross tax collection goes to state governments. In the Budget 2007-08, the states were to receive nearly 27% of the gross tax collections. The Centre also transfers funds to states by way of support to their plans. It also gives large grants to manage centrally-sponsored schemes. The government counts small savings transfers to state governments, which are in the nature of borrowings, as resources transferred to states. Before March 31, 1999, the Centre used to borrow net accretions to small savings and lend them to the states. From April 1, 1999, states started receiving 75% of net small savings directly; the balance was invested in special government securities during 1999-2000 to 2001-2002. The sums received in the NSS fund on redemption of special securities are being reinvested in special G-secs. From April 2002, the entire net collection under small saving schemes in each state and UT are advanced to the concerned state/UT government as investment in its special securities. The expenditure and receipts Budget take up the respective heads in greater detail.
Value-Added Tax (VAT) and GST: VAT helps avoid cascading of taxes as a product passes through different stages of production/value addition. The tax is based on the difference between the value of the output and inputs used to produce it. The aim is to tax a firm only for the value added by it to the inputs it is using for manufacturing its output and not the entire input cost. VAT brings in transparency to commodity taxation. In this concluding part we take a look at some of the important terms that figure in the Budget-
BHARAT NIRMAN: Bharat Nirman is the current UPA government’s ambitious programme for building infrastructure, especially in rural India. It has six components — irrigation, roads, water supply, housing, rural electrification and rural telecom connectivity. In each of these areas, the government has set targets that are to be achieved by the year 2009, within four years of its launch.
CESS: This is an additional levy on the basic tax liability. Governments resort to cess for meeting specific expenditure. For instance, both corporate and individual income is at present subject to an education cess of 2%. In the last Budget, the government had imposed another 1% cess — secondary and higher education cess on income tax — to finance secondary and higher education.
COUNTERVAILING DUTIES (CVD): Countervailing duty is a tax imposed on imports, over and above the basic import duty. CVD is at par with the excise duty paid by the domestic manufacturers of similar goods. This ensures a levelplaying field between imported goods and locally-produced ones. An exemption from CVD places the domestic industry at disadvantage and over long run discourages investments in affected sectors.
EXPORT DUTY: This is a tax levied on exports. In most instances, the object is not revenue , but to discourage exports of certain items. In the last Budget, for instance , the government imposed an export duty of Rs 300 per metric tonne on export of iron ores and concentrates and Rs 2,000 per metric tonne on export of chrome ores and concentrates.
FINANCE BILL: The proposals of government for levy of new taxes, modification of the existing tax structure or continuance of the existing tax structure beyond the period approved by Parliament are submitted to Parliament through this bill. It is the key document as far as taxes are concerned.
FINANCIAL INCLUSION: Financial inclusion is universalising access to basic financial services (to have a bank account, timely and adequate credit) at an affordable cost. Exclusion from financial services imposes costs on those excluded; these are typically the disadvantaged and low-income group. Exclusion forces them into informal arrangements such as borrowing from local money lenders at high rates. Financial inclusion remains a serious issue in India. The government has proposed a no-frills account to provide cheap banking.
MINIMUM ALTERNATE TAX (MAT): This tax on corporate profits was introduced in 1996-97 and has been modified since. If the tax payable by a company is less than 10% of its book profits, after availing of all eligible deductions , then 10% of book profits is the minimum tax payable. Book profits are profits calculated as per the Companies Act, while profits as per the Income-Tax Act could be significantly lower, thanks to various exemptions and depreciation.
PASS-THROUGH STATUS: A pass-through status helps avoid double taxation. Mutual funds, for instance , enjoy pass-through status. The income earned by the funds is tax free. Since mutual funds’ income is distributed to unitholders, who are in turn taxed on their income from such investments , any taxation of mutual funds would amount to double taxation. Essentially , it means the income is merely passing through the mutual funds and, therefore, should not be taxed. The government allows venture funds in some sectors pass-through status to encourage investments in start-ups .
SUBVENTION: The term subvention finds a mention in almost every Budget. It refers to a grant of money in aid or support, mostly by the government. In the Indian context, for instance, the government sometimes asks institutions to provide loans to farmers at below market rates. The loss is usually made good through subventions.
SURCHARGE: As the name suggests, this is an additional charge or tax. A surcharge of 10% on a tax rate of 30% effectively raises the combined tax burden to 33%. In the case of individuals earning a taxable salary of more than Rs 10 lakh a surcharge of 10% is levied on income in excess of Rs 10 lakh. Corporate income is levied a flat surcharge of 10% in the case of domestic companies and 2.5% for foreign companies. Companies with revenue less than Rs 1 crore do not have to pay this surcharge.
(Source: Economic Times)