Salary earners with an annual income between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 8 lakh will be saving more money, as the new income tax rate structure will come into effect from tomorrow. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had announced the new income tax rate structure in his budget. Though the Finance Bill 2010 has to be approved by Parliament, the direct tax structure will be effective from tomorrow. In the new tax structure, salaried people in the range of Rs 3 lakh and Rs 8 lakh will be paying about 10.3 and 20.6 percent as against the previous rate of 20.60 and 30.90 percent. People earning less than Rs 3 lakh annually will have to pay 10.3 percent tax and people earning above Rs 8 lakh will benefit marginally.

Other than personal income tax, the modified minimum alternate tax (MAT) will also be effective from tomorrow. MAT is the minimum tax that all companies are required to pay on book profit. MAT has also been altered and increased from 15 percent to 18 percent. No major change in tax structure is expected though there might be some minor alterations taking into consideration the industry chambers and other stakeholders at the time of the consideration of the Finance Bill in the Parliament. The direct tax proposals, as per his budget speech, would entail a revenue sacrifice of Rs 26,000 crore during 2010-11.

Sunil Bharti Mittal, the founder and CMD of Bharti Airtel, the country’s top mobile service provider, fulfilled the global dream by entering into a deal with Zain Telecom of Kuwait to acquire its African assets.

The Bharti-Zain deal worth $10.7bn, including the Zain debt of $1.7bn, signed on Tuesday in Amsterdam, the headquarters of Zain’s African operations, will add another 42mn customers to Bharti Airtel, propelling it to the fifth rank among world’s top mobile service providers.

Sunil Mittal termed the deal as a ‘pioneering step towards South-South co-operation’ and said, “This is India’s first and truly post-independence multinational. We will demonstrate to the world the business model we have built. This is a game-changer for India in Africa.”

Mr. Mittal added that Bharti Airtel will remain committed to African requirements and by partnering with local governments will provide ‘affordable telecom services to the remotest geographies and bridging the digital divide’. He added that the African operations of the company will be headed by Africans with support from the Indian side.

The next hurdle for Bharti Airtel is getting necessary regulatory clearance for its operation in 15 African countries. Another priority for the company would be turning around the loss-making operations. Seven of the African units are making huge losses, including its biggest unit and highest revenue earner, Nigeria. The Nigerian and Gabonese unit of Zain may prove to be stumbling blocks with its existing issues.

Despite this, Mr. Mittal is optimistic that Bharti Airtel will emerge a winner in the deal with support from its trusted partners.