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Corbett has the highest density of Tiger in the country- approximately one every 5 sq.km. and it was here that the prestigious “Project Tiger” was launched in 1973. Four of deer- hog deer, samber, chital and barking deer and other prey like the wild boar support the predator. Besides the tiger, Corbett national park is a haven for 50 mammals, 580 kinds of birds and 25 reptile specie. The park has elephants, the Himalayan black bear in the higher elevations, sloth bear, varieties of lesser cats, dhole- the wild dog and an entire spectrum of colorful birds including water birds, pheasants, jungle fowl and the Indian hornbill.

Basking along the banks of the Ramganga are the slender snouted Gharial and the mugger or marsh crocodile. The river is rich in the magnificent mahaseer—a fine sporting fish prized by anglers, though angling is not permitted inside the national park. Other varieties fish found here are the goonch and the brown trout.

The nearest airport to the Corbett Park is the Pantnagar airport. The nearest rail head is that of Ramnagar. It is 51 kms from Dhikala. Entry to the forest is just outside Ramnagar.  Ramnagar is on the Moradabad- Ramnagar line. Again from Ramnagar one has to take the road to access the park. Ramnagar, is headquarter of Project Tiger is an obligatory point for going to the park. Here, besides regular bus services, government run mini buses are also available.

The best time to visit Corbett park is from mid- November to mid- June. The park is open to visitors between November and June. The best time to visit depends upon the interest of the visitor- summer is best for observing the larger mammals and winter, for water birds.

A few tips when you go there:

Do not disturb the animals during the day time as most of the nocturnal animals sleep during the day time.
Do not try to irritate the animals or make them angry by teasing them. Take official guides along with you on the park trip.
Do not use flash or intrusive photography. Picking of plants and insects is strictly prohibited.
Wear loose fitting and simple clothes that blend with the park surroundings.
For the safety of the visitors walking and hiking within the vicinity of the park is not allowed.
Camping and picnicking is not allowed within the park.
Carry plenty of water along with you.

The withdrawal of tax benefits for petroleum refineries, proposed in the budget, needs to be seen in the proper perspective. There is clearly no shortage of domestic refining capacity. There is much scope for exports of petro- products. In fact, petro-goods are now our biggest export item.

 But the idea that the exchequer needs to continue propping up export capacities with generous tax exemptions is thor0ughly questionable. Multi-year fiscal benefits for capital intensive oil refineries may well mean actual misallocation of resources and over-investment, in what remains a rather poor country.

That is why the move to do away with 100% income- tax holiday available on refinery profits, for seven years, as per Section 80 IE (9) of the I-T Act, makes ample sense. Reports say that at least three upcoming refinery projects, in Bhatinda, Bina and Paradeep, would be affected. But oil refineries need to be viable sans fiscal prop-ups.

Also, proper project management and fast-forwarding completion schedules would likely shore up internal rates of return and make long-term tax breaks quite redundant.

There may still be a case for faster depredation benefits, to incentivize the setting up of world -class refineries. But blanket tax exemptions would be fiscally imprudent. We do need to do away with such tax breaks on the double-quick.

That said, the proposed dropping of Sec 80 IB (9) tax benefits for exploration and production (E&P) as well, in the upstream oil and natural gas sector, needs to be promptly reconsidered. Given the high risks and uncertainties in E& P, continuing with the tax holiday seems unexceptionable. It could be argued that tax exemptions, across the board, do need to end. And that with crude oil at over $100 per barrel, it’s incentive enough to foray into E&P. But the fact is that over half our sedimentary basins remain essentially unexplored. Also, up to 10 billion tonnes of crude and a trillion cubic meters of gas are estimated to be in situ in Indian waters. With domestic crude output stagnant - actually declining - for years, we need a proactive policy to coagulate funds in the E& P sector. It would be for the greater good.

Julia Roberts has a new claim to fame. She’s topped an online poll for the most memorable on-screen prostitute. The Oscar winner’s role in Pretty Woman saw her beating off competition from Jennifer Jason Leigh and Patricia Arquette among others. But it’s not just Hollywood that has created memorable hookers; Bollywood too, has had its share. Here we pick five of the best.

The first name to pop up is from a little while back. Sharmila Tagore, might be busy heading the Indian Censor Board, but was uncensored and fabulous as Kajli in Mausam, where she played a foul-mouthed prostitute living in a brothel.

Fast forward to the Naughtiest and you have a slew of young actresses doing full justice to their roles as women of the night and delivering award winning performances. Like our next nominee, Kareena Kapoor in Chameli. In this movie by Sudhir Mishra, she played a prostitute who has been sold at a young age by her uncle to a brothel. For this tough, street smart hooker’s performance she won an award for Best Performance.

Another incredible performance was delivered by Tabu in Chandni Bar for which she won a slew of awards for Best Actress, including the National Award Our next pick is Rani Mukherji for her role in Mangal Pandey-The Rising, where the actress played a prostitute named Heera, sold to the highest bidder. Interestingly, Rani Mukherji’s her role of a prostitute in two other movies, Saawariya and Laaga Chunari Mein Daag.

Last but not the least is Preity Zinta, who did a surprisingly non-stereotypical role in Chori Chori Chupke Chupke. Playing a street walker named Madhubala; her character was very upfront about being in it for the money.

SEBI’s primary market advisory committee is reportedly in favour of making underwriting mandatory for initial public offers (IPOs). This is an avoidable complication, and one which we have already experimented with in the past. It would further distract retail investors and may even give them false comfort. In the early 1990s, SEBI had introduced mandatory underwriting when IPO pricing was freed. But the concept was found wanting and mandatory underwriting was withdrawn in October 1994. Underwriting of IPOs is essentially a risk-mitigating mechanism, a kind of insurance.

The issuer enters into an agreement with the underwriter(s) to take up the unsubscribed portion, if any, subject to some limits, of the IPO so that the issue sails through even if investor response is poor. In exchange, the issuer pays an underwriting fee to the underwriters. Therefore, while underwriting pushes up the issue costs, it provides a cover against under-subscription. Meanwhile, investors, supposedly, have comfort that the issue has the support of an informed market intermediary.

These intermediaries would also, because of the risk of devolvement, ensure better pricing. This may have been an important consideration in the early years of market reforms, but not any longer. The primary market now has large institutional participation and book-building ensures a better price discovery, though it has some shortcomings. Indeed, most retail investors look at the institutional subscription before applying for an IPO. In such a situation, underwriting is needed largely to cover under-subscription risks.

Whether an issuer wants to cover the risk is best left to an individual issuer. Indeed, most IPOs do have some sort of underwriting arrangement. Besides, underwriting anyway is no guarantee that the issue would sail through. We saw some high profile issues withdrawn recently because the investor response was so poor that even after underwriters taking up their share, these IPO s would have failed. We have also had many instances of underwriters reneging on their commitment and SEBI initiating proceedings against them. SEBI should move ahead and not reverse the clock.