Come Budget-time, and the media is rife with rumours about which taxes will be raised or lowered, and the direction in which the government might make fresh public investment.

This year is no different – although the corporate sector seems to be a little more relaxed than it has usually been in the past on Budget eve.

It's not only the various industry lobbies that push their demands on the government through the media. The government too does some kite flying, to see how the public (or sections of industry) might react to plans on the anvil.

Sometimes very few of the rumours turn out to be true. They end up as nothing but wishful thinking, or statements of a utopian dream.

But which of the rumours will turn out to be true and which will be falsified this time?

We'll never know, will we, until Budget day?

We thought it might be an interesting exercise to list the various rumours and speculations on government plans, along with industry demands floating around, and then see how they actually fare on budget day. Catch the score on 29 February 2008!

Watch this space for the Aviation and Aerospace expectations, and we'll keep adding to it as and when new ideas are floated. Those doing the rounds till now, are listed below:

• The Civil Aviation Ministry has requested for a rationalisation of the aviation tax structure, a cut in sales tax on aviation turbine fuel,  and the scrapping of service tax on business and first-class tickets for Indian international carriers.
• Although India has allowed foreign funds to invest in domestic airlines, overseas carriers are still barred from doing so. The communist allies of the government are blocking a move to allow foreign airlines into the local market.