A new statue of a resolute young girl staring down Wall Street's famous Charging Bull was erected by a major asset managing firm for International Women's Day to make a point: There's a dearth of women on the boards of the largest US corporations.

State Street Global Advisors, the Boston-based investment giant, had the statue created to push companies to increase the number of women directors.

Artist Kristen Visbal's "Fearless Girl" drew crowds on Wednesday that initially came to pose for pictures with the bull, but the novelty quickly became a New York hot spot.

The girl is sculpted in bronze, her hands firmly planted on her waist, ponytailed head held high.

"Know the power of women in leadership. SHE makes a difference," reads a plaque at her feet.

"As a steward of nearly 2.5 trillion of assets, we want to engage with boards and management around issues that we think will drive core results," said Lori Heinel, State Street's deputy global chief investment officer. "And what you find repeatedly is having more diverse boards and more diverse senior management will actually drive better results for companies."

Twenty-five percent of the Russell 3000 a broad index of US companies have no women on their boards, according to State Street, which manages many of their assets.

According to ISS Analytics, a business research firm, just 16 percent of board seats on companies in the Russell 3000 are held by women; the average board of directors has eight men and one woman.

"It's going to happen to the end of time unless you change something," says Erik Gordon, a lawyer and professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. "It's got to not just be the rules. It's got to be the culture."

State Street has three women on an 11-member board.

Heinel said her company also will urge those in Great Britain and Australia to add women to their leadership.

One man working in corporate America needed no convincing.

Chandrasekar Sundaram says a woman is the CEO of the company he works for in Texas, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and has quite a few women reporting to her.

"But when it gets to 50 per cent, that's when I think it'll be right," said Sundaram, a Dallas resident and native of India who was visiting New York with his family with the Charging Bull as one of their stops.

The mammoth bronze was a "guerrilla art" act, dropped in the middle of the night in Bowling Green Park in 1989 without permission, by an artist who created it as a symbol of Americans' survival energy following the 1987 stock market crash. The city gave its permission for the bull to remain.

This week, McCann New York, a top advertising agency, installed the statue of the girl before dawn Tuesday with a city permit for one week. Negotiations are underway for the piece to remain longer.

Why choose the Charging Bull as the site to place the girl?

"Well, we really wanted the bull to have a partner, and a partner that we thought was worthy of him," Heinel said. "And so we got a very determined young woman who is fearless and is willing to drive the change that we believe we need."

Sundaram's 8-year-old daughter, Sankaribriya, got the message. She wanted to pose with the sculpted girl "because I just wanted to look at her and wanted to feel like her."

Two militants were killed in a fierce gun battle that broke out on Thursday morning between security forces and Lashkar-e-Toiba militants in south Kashmir's Padgampora area of Pulwama district.

"The slain militants have been identified as Jehangir Ganai and Mohammad Shafi alias Sher Gujri," a senior CRPF officer said, adding that Ganai was involved in the killing of a local policeman last year.

"Both militants are resident of Koel village of the district (Pulwama)," the officer said.

Security forces from the CRPF and Special Operation Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir police have started search operations and cordoned off the area where two-three militants of the group were holed up.

The Army was deployed in the area to carry out combing operations.

"Two heavily armed terrorists are believed to be trapped in a house. Troops of 130 Battalion CRPF, 55 Rashtriya Rifles and SOG Pulwama are involved in the operations," police said.

Locals said gunshots were heard after security forces have sealed all the entry and exit points.

Meanwhile, the Bannihal-Baramulla train service has been suspended as the railway track moves close to encounter site in Padgampora village.

This is the second major encounter in the area in last four days. Last week, top Hizbul Mujahideen militant Aqib Maulvi was killed along with a Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammed militant Osama in Tral area of Pulwama district.

Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day on Thursday without transacting any business as a mark of respect to the memory of its sitting member Haji Abdul Salam who died recently.

When the House met for the second part of the Budget session, Chairman Hamid Ansari mentioned the passing away of Salam on February 28 at the age of 69 years.

Salam represented Manipur in the Upper House since April 2014.

"In the passing away of Haji Abdul Salam, the country has lost a distinguished parliamentarian, an able administrator and a dedicated social worker," Ansari observed in his obituary reference.

He also referred to the passing away of former members Puttapaga Radhakrishna, P Shiv Shanker, Syed Shahabuddin and former Lok Sabha Speaker Rabi Ray who was also a member of the Upper House.

Shahabuddin, who passed away on March 4 at the age of 81 years, represented Bihar in Rajya Sabha from July 1979 to April 1984.

A writer and ideologue, he was known for his strong belief in the federal structure of India, Ansari said, adding in his passing away, the country has lost a noted diplomat, scholar and a distinguished parliamentarian.

Ray passed away on March 6 at the age of 90 years. He represented Odisha in the Upper House form April 1974 to April 1980. In his death, the country has lost a distinguished parliamentarian, an able administrator and a dedicated social worker, Ansari said.

Radhakrishna, an advocate by profession who represented Andhra Pradesh in Rajya Sabha from April 1984 to April 1990, died on January 27 at the age of 72 years.

In his death, the country has lost an able parliamentarian and a noted lawyer, Ansari said.

Shiv Shanker, who passed away on February 27 at the age of 87 years, represented Gujarat in the Upper House from May 1985 to August 1987 and from August 1987 to August 1993, with Ansari saying the country has lost a legal luminary, a distinguished parliamentarian and an able administrator.

"We deeply mourn the passing away" of a sitting member and four former members, he said after which the House stood in silence as a mark of respect to the memory of the departed.

He then adjourned the House till Friday.

Markets regulator Sebi on March 8 slapped a fine of Rs.10 lakh on ISG Traders for non-disclosure of acquisition of shares in Stone India Ltd.

The entity had violated Sebi SAST (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations by failing to make a public announcement after its shareholding in Stone India crossed 25 per cent.

Under Sebi regulations, entities whose stake in a listed company crosses 25 per cent have to make adequate disclosures to the exchanges.

In an order on March 8, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) imposed a fine of Rs.10 lakh on ISG Traders.

Stone India had issued 20 lakh warrants on preferential basis to ISG Traders in 2013. On conversion of these warrants, ISG Traders' shareholding rose to 30.66 per cent in April 2015 from 12.40 per cent in March 2014.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s hattrick enabled Borussia Dortmund to ease past Benfica 4-0 (4-1 on aggregate) to reach the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League on Thursday night in a one sided round-of-16 tie at the Signal Iduna Park.

While Benfica had a 1-0 advantage from the first leg in Lisbon, it had never looked like enough and once Dortmund took the lead as early as the 4th minute, the Bundesliga side’s progression into the last eight never looked in doubt.

Rising high to head home after Ousmane Dembele’s corner from the right had been flicked on to the fast post by Christian Pulisic, the Gabonese striker made amends for his poor showing in the first leg by getting the hosts off to a blistering start.

Benfica had a couple of chances after that as the game settled into a more sedate pace after a breakneck start, with centre back Luisao coming closest to getting an away goal but his header went straight to Dortmund keeper Roman Bürkl.

Dortmund went searching for a second goal but were unable to find one in the first half, despite having the lion’s share of the possession as their attack looked to be a little sluggish in the final third.

Post the interval, Benfica emerged the stronger of the two and should have had their away goal when Franco Cervi pulled the trigger inside the box but thanks to some desperate defending from Die Borrussen, was thwarted much to the disbelief of the away team.

And then two goals in a span of two minutes effectively sealed the tie in the German side’s favour, the first a brilliant dinked finish from Pulisic in the 59th minute. Defender Lukasz Piszceck’s smart through ball had set the 18-year-old forward free but the goal was all about the finish.

Not content with their slender advantage, Thomas Tuchel’s men pressed for a third and they got one with a well-worked team move which ended with Marcel Schmelzer passing across the face of goal for Aubameyang to tap, just two minutes later.

He then got to take the match-ball home when he bagged his hattrick five minutes from time with another tap in as a deflated Benfica side faded horribly towards the end.

Dortmund join the likes of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and Barcelona in the last eight of Europe's most prestigious competition and while they aren't favourites, they are very much this year’s dark horses and can upset the continent’s elite on their day.

Britain's economy will grow far stronger than expected this year, Finance Minister Philip Hammond said in a budget update on as the government prepares to trigger Brexit.

Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed to activate Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty in the next three weeks, sparking a painful two-year divorce process — and tense talks over the terms of Britain's departure from the European Union.

"As we start our negotiations to exit the European Union, this budget takes forward our plan to prepare Britain for a brighter future," Hammond told parliament as he unveiled a series of measures, including new investment for British schools, as part of the government's latest tax and spend plans.

Hammond, called "Spreadsheet Phil" by fellow Conservative lawmakers for his dry delivery, was viewed as rather uninspiring by the British media and financial analysts when he gave his first budget statement in November.

"I turn now … to the (growth) forecast. This is the spreadsheet bit, but bear with me because I have a reputation to defend," Hammond joked in reference to his nickname.

With UK activity performing better than expected following its shock June 23 referendum in favour of Brexit, Hammond predicted gross domestic product growth would come in at 2.0 percent this year, much higher than the government's previous 1.4-percent GDP forecast.

As a result, the nation would borrow far less than expected this year.

But highlighting the uncertainty surrounding the UK economy as the country prepares to quit the EU, the 1.4-percent 2017 growth prediction given in November had itself been a sharp downgrade on a prior estimate of 2.2 percent.

GDP growth would stand at 1.6 percent next year, down slightly on a prior official estimate of 1.7 percent. Hammond also downgraded forecasts for 2019 and 2020.

Britain meanwhile stands on the cusp of triggering Article 50 by the end of March.

"Today, we reaffirm our commitment to invest in Britain's future, and we embark on this next chapter of our history confident in our strengths and clear in our determination to build a stronger, fairer, better Britain," Hammond insisted on today.

The government confirmed plans to pump more than 500 million into Britain's education system, building new schools and renovating others.

Days after Karan Johar made a huge statement by saying that he is done with Kangana playing the ‘victim’ card, the actress fired back in style that she is not playing the ‘victim card’ but the ‘badass card’.

The whole fiasco started when Kangana Ranaut called Karan Johar a ‘flagbearer of nepotism’ on his talk show to which Karan replied that he has never launched his relatives.

Hitting back at the filmmaker, the Queen actress said “I can’t speak for Karan Johar’s understanding of nepotism. If he thinks that it is restricted to nephews, daughters and cousins, I have nothing to say.”
Karan also said in a talk show that he gave Kangana a platform to express her views and he never chose her for any of his films.

Disagreeing to his claims, the actress said “To say that he chose not to give me work is to mock an artiste. As importantly, his memory appears to be poor because we worked together in a movie (Ungli), which was produced by him. And quickly realised our sensibilities did not match. I’m also at a loss to understand how he gave me a platform by inviting me to be on his show. I’ve been on several platforms before with several global icons.”
“To say he helped me voice my opinions is to discredit me as an artiste and a public personality. And, I think, it should be added here that I was invited to be a part of the show in its fifth season. His team requested my team for months for my dates,” Kangana added.

Kangana also accused Karan for shaming a woman for being a woman. She gave it back on Karan’s use of the term ‘Victim card’ and ‘Woman card’.

“But what is pertinent here is: why is Karan Johar trying to shame a woman for being a woman? What is this about the ‘woman card’ and the ‘victim card’? This kind of talk is demeaning to all women, particularly the vulnerable because they are the ones who really need to use them. The ‘woman card’ might not help you become a Wimbledon champ, or win you Olympic medals, or bag National Awards. It might not even land you a job, but it can get a pregnant woman who feels her water is about to break a ‘ladies’ seat on a crowded bus. It can be used as a cry for help when you sense a threat. The same goes for the ‘victim card’, which women like my sister, Rangoli, who is a victim of an acid attack, can use while fighting for justice in court, “the actress was quoted as saying.

Kangana who never holds back her views, elaborated on why every woman should use such cards, “I use every card possible. At the workplace, it’s the badass card to fight cutthroat competition. With my family and loved ones, it’s the love card. When fighting the world, it’s the dignity card, and for a seat in a bus, it’s the woman card. What is important to understand is that we are not fighting people, we are fighting a mentality. I am not fighting Karan Johar, I am fighting male chauvinism.”

The Tanu weds Manu actress also advised Karan Johar to offer all these cards to his new born girl.

“Now that Karan is the father of a little daughter, he should provide her with all these cards — the ‘woman card’ and the ‘victim card’, as also the ‘self-made-independent-woman card’, and the ‘badass card’ that I flashed on his show. We will use whatever we need to ensure no one rocks our boat,” the actress said.
 

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said that the government has taken Kansas shooting incident very seriously and will issue the statement in Parliament next week.

"India has taken US incident seriously. We will give the statement in house next week," Rajnath said.

Srinivas Kuchibhotla, 32, was killed and Alok Madasani, another Indian of the same age, injured in a shooting by navy veteran Adam Purinton, who yelled 'terrorist' and 'get out of my country' before opening fire on them in Kansas last month.

The home minister is also likely to make a statement on the anti-terror operation that took place in Lucknow on Tuesday, as well as the pipe bomb blast in Bhopal-Ujjain train earlier that day.

The US on Thursday said it will take up with India the shutting down of a Colorado-based donor NGO and sought a "transparent process" for foreign NGOs in the country, saying the Christian charity has been facing "significant challenges" for some time.

Compassion International is said to be shutting down its India operations after it was put under 'prior permission category' in May, 2016. When a donor organisation is put under this category, it is barred from funding any Indian NGO without the government's approval.

In December, the Home Ministry said it was unlikely to reconsider the decision, notwithstanding appeals by American authorities.

"NGOs do valuable work overseas. Certainly these countries and governments have their own reasons for the laws they pass, but we believe it should be transparent and clear why they're shutting down these organisations," State Department's acting spokesman Mark Toner told reporters.

He said the US will take up the matter with India.

"Certainly, we'll raise that with the Indian government," he said.

He expressed concern that foreign NGOs had to face challenges to run their operations in India. "Unfortunately, we have seen over the past couple of years a number of foreign-funded NGOs in India that have encountered significant challenges in continuing their operations," Toner said, adding that the US has raised the issue with India through diplomatic channels.

He, however, said that because of the strong US-India relations "we can talk about these kinds of issues."

Toner said that "all parties" should work "cooperatively in a way that not only respects Indian laws, but also encourages a transparent process."

Santiago Mellado, Compassion International's chief executive officer, in a telephone interview to The New York Times said that a briefing on the situation would be submitted to the Trump administration this week.

The reports of the shutdown came amid allegations that the charity was engaging in religious conversion.

Other religious charities are watching the case closely, Mellado told the daily, adding, "What we hear from our friends in India is that it would be tragic if they were successful in shutting down Compassion, because that would leave other ministries very vulnerable."

The rupee on Thursday lost 12 paise to 66.83 as the dollar remained in the driver's seat on the growing buzz that the US interest rate is set to go up.

The Fed is meeting next week to a take call on this. A higher US rate means flight of investors from emerging markets in search of higher returns.

Apart from the increased demand for the American currency from importers and banks, its strength against other currencies overseas pulled down the rupee.

A lower opening in the domestic equity market did not help things.

On March 8, the rupee had weakened 4 paise to 66.71 in a relatively muted trade on renewed demand for the greenback.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex fell 86.92 points, or 0.30 per cent, to 28,815.02 in early session on Thursday.

Around 40,000 protesters took to the streets of Madrid to mark International Women's Day and call for an end to domestic violence.

Gathered in the central square on Thursday, the protesters carried posters reading "Justice" and "We are not all here" — in reference to victims of violence who have lost their lives.

Municipal officials estimated at least 40,000 people had rallied in Madrid, and smaller protests were held in Barcelona and other cities.

"Gender violence must end, equality must be attained and the 'glass ceiling' for women in business broken," Marta Garcia, a protester at the Madrid rally said.

But Garcia said she was pleased to see the number of men taking part in the demonstration.

Manuela Carmena, the city's mayor, released a video message together with the mayor of Barcelona Ada Colau, advocating to an end to violence against women.

In the last three months of 2016 there were 38,402 reports of domestic violence, marking a 14 per cent increase compared to the previous year, according to figures provided by a watchdog group.

Elsewhere in Europe and around the world marches were held to mark International Women's Day, with rallies taking place in Istanbul, Ukraine, New York and Buenos Aires.

As the Budget Session of the Parliament began, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday hoped that the process of GST will be completed this session and said all parties have shown a positive approach in this regard.

"Hoping to see breakthrough in GST, all states and parties have shown a positive approach," PM Modi said.

He said that matters benefitting the poor will be discussed and hoped the level of debate and discussion will be of good quality during this time.

"There will be detailed discussion on the Budget and I am sure the level of debate and discussion will be of good quality and matters that will benefit the poor will be discussed during this session," he said.

The second part of the Budget Session of Parliament is all set to begin on Thursday after a month-long recess and will continue till April 12.

The first part of the session started on January 31 and concluded on February 9 after presentation of the Union Budget 2017 and passage of motion of thanks to President’s address to the joint sitting of both the Houses.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, on Thursday, is expected to make a statement on the anti-terror operations, that were carried out in Lucknow on Tuesday, in Parliament. Along with it, he is likely to speak on the pipe bomb blast in Bhopal-Ujjain train earlier on Tuesday.

Always aiming to be the best in the business since his early days, India captain Virat Kohli says he very well knew that he has to consistently perform in all three formats of the game to realise his dream.

Kohli, who won the the Polly Umrigar award for BCCI's International Cricketer of the Year at the Cricket Board's annual awards here on Wednesday night, said he always wanted to be one of the top players in the world.

"I always wanted to be one of the top players in the world for sure. So I understood what it would take for me to maintain my form in all three formats. It is very important in transition phase to be available in all three formats and take the country forward," Kohli said.

Kohli also took a dig at his detractors and said he always believed in his abilities although there were many doubters around him.

"All along in my career, there were many people who had doubted the way I have gone about my game. Even now there are doubters and haters all around, but one thing is for sure that I have always believed in myself," he said.

"I always believed in my heart that if I work 120 per cent everyday in my life I am answerable to no one."

Kohli on Wednesday became the first Indian cricketer to receive the Polly Umrigar award for the third time.

Hailing his teammates for their support and contribution in helping India reach the pinnacle of Test cricket, Kohli said the last 12 months have been a breakthrough year in his career.

"It is been quite unbelievable in the last 10 to 12 months. As cricketers you always have a breakthrough year for everyone. Starting late 2015 to the end of 2016, probably I could term is as the breakthrough year in my career. All the hard work, all the training on a daily basis, all the sacrifices, came together nicely. It could not have been possible without the help of the teammates throughout," he said.

"At times you don't do well but when the champion players in your side step up and everyone delivers what when you start producing results.

"That is why we are the top side in the world at the moment, and it is testimony to the kind of talent we have in the team and how players have stepped up on occasions which helped the team pull through different situations. I thank my teammates for their support, trust and effort," Kohli said.

The Indian skipper said the mantra behind the team's success in the last one year is it's care-free attitude and belief.

"We play with a kind of attitude, we don't care about what happens outside that change-room door," Kohli said.

"That is the attitude I have adopted since late 2015 when I stopped putting pressure on myself. I told myself I am working hard enough, I have the talent and I have the ability.

I am going to go and express myself, but if I get an opportunity I make sure that I win games," he added.

Kohli also thanked the Cricket Board (BCCI) for giving an opportunity to lead the Indian team.

"I am thankful to BCCI for the kind of position it has put me in. I take this as an opportunity. I don't take this as a job. It is an opportunity and a responsibility. I need to do right things, set right examples and follow certain path that the whole team believes in," he said.

Talking about the 75-run come-back-win over Australia in the second cricket Test here, Kohli said the series-levelling victory was a very special one.

"It was good that we came back in the game. We were all sticking together. That (win) was very special and one of the best I have been part of," he said.

The Sensex shed about 87 points while the NSE Nifty cracked below the 8,900-mark in early trade on Thursday on sustained selling in oil and gas, power, healthcare and PSU counters ahead of exit poll results.

The 30-share Sensex barometer, which had lost 146.25 points in the previous two sessions, fell by another 86.92 points or 0.30 per cent to 28,815.02.

The broader Nifty too declined by 24.80 points or 0.27 per cent to 8,899.50.

Brokers said trimming of positions by participants ahead of exit poll results for the assembly elections later in the day amid a weak trend globally, influenced trading sentiment.

Among major losers on BSE were GAIL, Dr Reddy's, Power Grid, ONGC, Adani Ports, Wipro, Hindustan Unilever, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, Cipla, Infosys and ITC Ltd, which fell up to 4.25 per cent in early trade.

In Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down by 1.01 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei rose 0.15 per cent in early trade. Shanghai Composite index shed 0.92 per cent.

The I-T department on Thursday nudged blackmoney holders to make "honest" disclosures under the tax amnesty scheme — Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY)– warning that non-declaration could attract 77.25 per cent tax and penalty along with prosecution.

In advertisements in leading dailies, the department said "like fingerprints, your blackmoney will lead us to you".

"Non-declaration of such undisclosed income will be liable to tax, surcharge and cess at 77.25 per cent, along with penalty, prosecution and enforcement actions," the department warned.

The government in December last year had launched the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana under which people holding unaccounted cash or deposits in bank accounts or post offices can declare them and pay tax and penalty of 49.90 per cent.

Also, a quarter of the undisclosed income has to be parked in a 4-year non-interest bearing Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Deposit Scheme.

"The income tax department has information about your undisclosed income and assets. Make your full and honest disclosure under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana by March 31, 2017, to come clean and help the under-privileged," the tax department said in the advertisement.

It has provided full confidentiality from and immunity to wealth tax, civil and other taxation laws as well as prosecution for such declarations.

Offering one last window to blackmoney holders post demonetisation, the government had come out with the PMGKY scheme giving them time until March-end to come clean.

The declaration to the principal commissioner or commissioner of income tax can be done electronically under digital signature or in print.

The tax authorities will issue a certificate to the declarant within 30 days from the end of the month in which a valid declaration has been furnished.

The I-T department on Thursday nudged blackmoney holders to make "honest" disclosures under the tax amnesty scheme — Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY)– warning that non-declaration could attract 77.25 per cent tax and penalty along with prosecution.

In advertisements in leading dailies, the department said "like fingerprints, your blackmoney will lead us to you".

"Non-declaration of such undisclosed income will be liable to tax, surcharge and cess at 77.25 per cent, along with penalty, prosecution and enforcement actions," the department warned.

The government in December last year had launched the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana under which people holding unaccounted cash or deposits in bank accounts or post offices can declare them and pay tax and penalty of 49.90 per cent.

Also, a quarter of the undisclosed income has to be parked in a 4-year non-interest bearing Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Deposit Scheme.

"The income tax department has information about your undisclosed income and assets. Make your full and honest disclosure under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana by March 31, 2017, to come clean and help the under-privileged," the tax department said in the advertisement.

It has provided full confidentiality from and immunity to wealth tax, civil and other taxation laws as well as prosecution for such declarations.

Offering one last window to blackmoney holders post demonetisation, the government had come out with the PMGKY scheme giving them time until March-end to come clean.

The declaration to the principal commissioner or commissioner of income tax can be done electronically under digital signature or in print.

The tax authorities will issue a certificate to the declarant within 30 days from the end of the month in which a valid declaration has been furnished.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has proposed to slash the stamp duty from 5 to 3 per cent and the registration fees from 1 to 0.25 per cent on the partition deeds of properties other than the ancestral ones.

Presenting the state budget for 2017-18, the chief minister on Wednesday stipulated that the reduction in the registration fees would be a maximum to Rs.10,000.

Raje recalled that in her last budget, she had rationalised the rates of stamp duty on partition of ancestral property.

She added that her this year's proposal to slash the stamp duty on division of properties other than ancestral ones is line with her last year's step.

In a bid to provide relief to the common man in payment of stamp duty and registrations fees on the documents like sale agreement and the power of attorney during sale-purchase of properties, Raje in her budget also sought to reduce the stamp duty on these documents from 3 and 2 per cent to 0.5 per cent respectively.

She also sought to slash the registration fees from 1 per cent to 0.25 percent with a cap of Rs 10,000 on the two documents, namely sale agreement and the power of attorney.

The chief minister recalled that her last budget had, in a bid to provide relief in payment of stamp duty on "loan document without possession" slashed the duty to 0.15 percent to a maximum of Rs.10 lakh.

In line with that step, she said, she was now proposing to further bring down the Rs.10 lakh cap on stamp duty to Rs.5 lakh to provide cheaper loan for building houses and developing industries.

She also sought to exempt the stamp duty on the instrument of assignment of debt of a sick industrial unit from bank/ financial institution in the favour of Asset Reconstruction Company and on the instrument of transfer of sick micro and small enterprise as defined in the Rajasthan Sick Micro and Small Enterprises (Revival and Rehabilitation) Scheme, 2015.

Other measures to push growth in the real sector were also announced by the chief minister in her budget speech.