The board of Satyam Computer Services would meet on December 29 to discuss the various issues including the fate of its independent director, Dr Mangalam Srinivasan and Chairman, Ramalinga Raju. Dr. Srinivasan and Mr. Raju are under pressure to quit their posts following the failed attempts to acquire Maytas firms. The Dean of Indian School of Business, Dr Mendu Rammohan Rao would also attend the proposed meet.

The advance tax collection of the country declined over 22 per cent for the third quarter of the current financial year. Tax collection was Rs 54,900 crore in the same period last year and it now stands at Rs 42,600 crore. The decline in the advance tax collection indicates the grim situation following the economic slowdown which may further worsen in the coming times. Now, the growth rate in direct tax collections for the first nine months stands at 12%. Government has set a target to achieve the tax growth rate of 15 per cent with net tax collection of Rs 3,65,000 crore for the current financial year.

The annual Wholesale Price Index-based inflation rate declined marginally to 6.61% for the week ended December 13. It stood at 6.84 per cent in the previous week. The decrease in inflation rate brings respite for the apex bank and the Union Government who are endeavoring to stabilize prices in the market.

The recent decline is mainly due to excise duty cut on various manufacturing products and decline in prices of petroleum products. The government had cut the central value-added tax on manufactured items by four percentage points on December 7 as part of an economic stimulus package.

Sallu aka the Bollywood legend Salman Khan has turned 43 today.

It is believed that the most eligible bachelor of Bollywood will celebrate his birthday at his residence with close friends.

Sallu may have been in news for all wrong reasons — legal troubles or love unrest, but there is no debate over the fact that this 43 year-old hunk has been our best loved actor since the days of Maine Pyaar Kiya. Rib tickling performance in Partner, a serious role in Saawariya and a lover boy in Marigold, one can never get enough of Salman Khan.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) announced an increase of about 7 percent in cable rates, both conditional access system (CAS) notified and non-CAS areas in the country.

The changed tariffs would be applicable from New Year's Day 2009.

As per the new tariffs, a viewer will have to pay Rs 5.37 per channel in the CAS-notified areas (Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai).

In a bid to attract Indian consumers, South Korean major Samsung has introduced its MPower series of CDMA phones - MPower 569 and MPower 309.

The Mpower series of CDMA phones have the capacity of operating on Reliance Mobile, Tata Indicom and Virgin Mobile.

Both MPower 569 and MPower 309 support high speed wireless data of up to 153kbps which provide fast internet browsing experience on the Phone.