There are many income tax calculators that are available, but given that the income tax rules change every year, with various exemptions, rules, etc, and with the slabs changing every time, the need is for an updated tax calendar, so my attempt is to show the best tax calculators in India. Here goes:

1. Tax calculator on Sify

2. A download software

3. Taxoffice

4. Etaxesindia

5. Nithya’s tax calculator

In addition, here are the individual tax rates for the current assessment year

If you have applied for a passport and want to know current status of the passport, there is a way to find out the status online. If you have applied for a passport to the passport offices in any of these cities, Ahemadabad, Bangalore, Bareilly, Bhopal, Bhubhaneshwar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Delhi, Ghaziabad, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jallandhar, Jammu, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Malapuram, Mumbai, Nagpur, Patna, Pune, Ranchi, Srinagar, Surat, Thane, Thiruchirapalli, Trivandrum, Vishakapatnam, then refer to the following URL for finding the current status of passport

http://164.100.17.25/passmain.php?city=dlh

July 31 is the last date for filing of individual income tax in India. This is a pretty strict deadline, and not necessary that it would be extended, so it would be a good move for individual tax payers to actually make sure that all their income tax for the previous financial year is paid and the returns filed by this date. There is always some confusion over the forms to be used for filing of income tax, so here is the government of India website for Income tax. Forms (Saral forms - ITR1, ITR2, ITR3, etc) required to file the Income Tax are available at this link.

If you want to pay your income tax online and hold an account with UTI Bank, click here
If you hold accounts with any of HDFC Bank, IDBI Bank, SBI or Union Bank of India, then click here

There are a number of post offices where you can file your income tax returns, the full list is given here

If you want to do e-filing of your income tax, then this is the location where to file

If you have any queries on PAN or eFiling, call this number 0124-2438000

If you want to apply for PAN, you can apply to either NDSL or UTI

How many times have we heard that a bank used force to get back its unpaid / defaulted loan from a customer. We would have felt that maybe a bank was justified in re-possessing a loan if the customer did not pay back. However, a recent Lucknow High Court judgment laid out the law in this regard. A bank cannot use force, or use any means such as muscle men to get their money back. This is an excellent order, protecting the customer from large banks who will use any measure to get their money back, and worthy of being deemed an order to be quoted in favour of customer / consumer rights.
Banks or other financial institutions are supposed to use legal means to get their assets back, and any other measure is a violation of the law. Such cases are civil proceedings, and any direct action is not allowed. Refer this article:

In a significant order, the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court on Thursday ruled that a bank, private or nationalised, cannot use force, hire hooligans or gangsters on contract to recover the loan amount.
Taking note of these facts and the practice of realising the default amount forcibly through musclemen, the Bench observed that the law of the land cannot be given a go-bye and life and movement of property of an individual cannot be put to ransom nor his movement can be restricted against the provisions of law.

Of course, such a judgment will cause a problem problem for banks due to the fact that our legal system is very slow, and banks may be tempted to be much more strict about giving out loans if it is not allowed to take such measures to get back NPA (Non Performing Assets). But maybe this will push banks to be more strict about setting up a customer credit history board, that will give customers benefit if they have a positive credit history.
One hopes that one will see less media news about people having died due to forcible action by credit recovery agents, or about a person’s car being picked up a bank’s recovery agents by force anywhere on the street. I once remember a case where i had a long-standing dispute with a bank over a yearly fee over a credit card, and eventually I got a softly menacing call from a recovery agent. For people who actually owned money, I can just visualize what they would have to face.

There are 2 ways to get a passport, either fill in the form and go stand in line after taking a token. There is another way that has been recently introduced, and that is a part online, part standing in line process. What do you need to do ?
Well, if you belong to one of the areas covered by these passport offices, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Kozhikode, Ranchi, Bareilly, Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Surat, Bhopal, Goa, Malampuram, Srinagar, Bhubaneshwar, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Thane, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Nagpur, Trichy, Chennai, Jammu, Patna, Trivandrum, Cochin, Kolkata (Calcutta), Pune or Vizag, then you can apply online for registration at the following link
In addition, you can download some of the affidavits required at this link
Most important of all, refer to this checklist whether you are applying for a fresh passport, or going in for a re-issue or renewal, or applying for a name change or adding spouse name, or applying for a child passport.
Instructions for filling in the form online are available at this link
If you want to apply for a passport under the Tatkal scheme, then refer to this link

Once you have entered in all information, the system will generate a PDF file containing the details you need to fill in. You need to print it, and then enter a few additional details. The printed form will also have the date and time of appointment stamped on it. Paste 3 photographs with the specified size onto the form and then go to the passport office at the time of your appointment with the proofs that you need.

If you find that your passport is not coming in time, then you can contact your regional Regional Passport Officer. The page containing contact information is at this link.

For queries such as whether you need to update your passport if changing address, or ECNR stamp, addition of spouse name, baby passports, difference between re-issue and renewal, change of name in case of divorce, etc, refer to the FAQ’s located at this page.