We spotted a new eatery in the busy commercial hub of Sector 17, Vashi, and the signboard got our attention immediately — Nothing But Chicken, it boldly announced, Now Open. Mental note to self — must check this place out. Soon enough, we find ourselves at the new eatery one afternoon. With just four high chairs, the place is more a take-away, but we choose to have our working lunch at Nothing But Chicken (NBC).

The décor is cheery and functional with doodles of smiling hens giving us company. We also note signage about the restaurant being Halal & ISO 22000 compliant, and most importantly for us, that the meat is fresh, not frozen.

Chicken seekh kabab

Chicken all the way
At the entrance, NBC sports a huge refrigerated display that has raw, pre-cut and in some cases, pre-marinated chicken portions. You can choose from a variety of sausages — jalapeno and cheese, cocktail, classic salami to name a few — or you could buy pre-marinated chicken, grill it yourself and enjoy it in the comfort of your home. Options include chimichuri, peri-peri, Greek yogurt and pepper, cheesy garlic breast among others.

The second display counter has all the ready-to-eat goodies — you can choose from a variety of sandwiches and salads or simply opt for a pilaf or chicken vada pow, desi burger, chicken seekh pow or chicken kheema pow. We order the chicken vada pow (`65), grilled chicken wrap (`105), two pieces of galouti seekh kabab (`34), three pieces of classic seekh kabab (`48), tandoori tangdi (`102) and chicken mayo roll (`105). We realise much later that they billed us for a classic salad (`82), which we were not served. When we point it out to the staff the following day, they are polite and refund the amount and the applicable taxes, too.

Chicken vada pow

Back to our chicken encounter. The order is served one item at a time, heated in front of us in a microwave oven. The presentation is fuss-free and practical. The wrap, kababs and tandoori tangdi are so hot, they are steaming right to the very last bite.

Vada pav vs burger
We are informed that the lone difference between a chicken vada pow and a desi burger is the flavour and spices of the patty.

Tandoori tangdi

The former comes served with a chicken patty in a brown bread pav with cheese dip and schezwan sauce. It is tasty, but since the dish is named after the popular Mumbai snack, we would have preferred the traditional chutneys to go with it. That, we feel, could have been the differentiating element between the desi burger and the chicken vada pow. The patty is mildly spiced and despite being reheated, hasn’t become tough. This, in fact, is true for everything we order.

The tandoori tangdi is well marinated with the classic smoky taste, cooked just right so it is tender. The chicken mayo roll is too bland and sour for our taste. The galouti seekh kabab and the classic seekh kabab taste different, in a good way — the chicken in both offerings is tender and flavourful.

The interiors

The grilled chicken wrap is a whole wheat roti with a masala chicken filling. It has the right balance of spice and is quite filling. By now, we need something to quench our thirst; NBC stocks regular soft drinks and we wash down our meal with a couple of fresh fruit juices on offer. With its reasonably priced, no-frills menu, NBC is ideal for a quick, VFM meal, or to help you cut down your chicken preparation time at home. With courteous staff, they seem to have their act in order. However, given their location, they are likely to face stiff competition from their F&B neighbours.

Time 9 am to 11.30 pm
At Sector 17, Shiv Center, Next to Arneja Corner, Vashi, Navi Mumbai.
Call 8828812200

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Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan on Monday re-imagined India for the "post-COVID world" and suggested measures across different sectors, including an "epidemic preparedness budget" for the health sector.

"While there are concerns, it's worth praising how this crisis is setting a precedent with state governments coming together and co-operating with each other as well as with the Centre. I sincerely hope this becomes a norm and help overcome perennial battles like the water crisis, pollution, migrants' woes, women's safety, communal violence, healthcare etc," Haasan said on his Twitter account.

"The last full-scale war India fought was almost half a century ago, but poor healthcare is an everyday war leading to 1.6 million deaths annually. Yet, year after year our Defence budget overshadows the healthcare budget," Haasan stated and added that it's a "pity that India continues seeing Defence as a more newsworthy proposition compared to healthcare".

He suggested that India needs to earmark an "epidemic preparedness budget with immediate effect".

"We are under threat a lot more from within than from outside our borders. Our priority towards Health needs to be reimagined with a handsome budget to match," Haasan said.

The Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) President later went on to talk about the Agriculture sector and said that India requires a 'Green Plus' revolution that firstly converts part of our agricultural land for an allied enterprise like processing, logistics, etc.

"Secondly, we need to accelerate productivity maximization on a war footing. Boosting agro based MSMEs will help retain youth in the sector and build a sustainable and prosperous future for farming. This will also solve the problem of seasonal lack of work for farmers," Haasan said.

He also suggested bringing India's vast informal sector into the formal fold.

"Bringing India's informal workers under the formal fold must become the biggest national exercise that the government needs to undertake in the near future. Other than boosting the morale of this segment and paving way for its growth, it will also mean enhanced tax collection, a lot of which can be ploughed back to improve infrastructure and offer welfare to the same workers," Haasan said.

"There is also a need to change our outlook towards the vast majority of women who toil their lives away under the status of 'housewife'. Women engaging in housework must be accorded job status. They have little or no savings and a Universal Income Guarantee will give a boost to their savings. Savings always help during any kind of crisis," he added.

Haasan even suggested correction in income inequality and poverty alleviation.

He added, "COVID-19 has shown us that poverty still remains India's most critical challenge. In a crisis, the rich will take a hit but they will not starve to death. Our leaders must learn to integrate the poor man's life in how they plan the running of the country. Relief measures are mere afterthoughts."

In conclusion, Haasan said, "It's time we reinvent the word superpower, India's pipe dream for decades. Let's be a universal thought leader, to put it in parlance a Vishwa-Guru and for all the right reasons."

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"Extraction" director and popular Hollywood stunt coordinator Sam Hargrave feels cinema has space for either "super big-budget movies like superheroes" or smaller movies, saying that it doesn't leave much room for mid-budget action movies.

Talking about his upcoming Netflix action film, Hargrave told IANS: "It seems that there's not as much space in the cinemas for these kinds of mid-budget action movies. It seems that it's mostly the super big-budget superhero movies or the kind of the smaller stuff."

Hargrave is glad that his first movie will reach a wider audience through Netflix.

"Netflix has carved out space for itself for movies like these to exist, which I think is really great… Because there are a lot of great stories out there… These kinds of movies, now, have a place to be seen, be viewed and be enjoyed," he said.

With "Extraction", Hargrave is graduating from being Chris Evans' stunt double in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" for fight scenes and stunt coordinator in "Captain America: Civil War" to a feature director. Hargrave was an additional second unit director in "Avengers: Infinity War".

Hargrave continued: "I think that's a really great thing for audiences around the world. I'm happy that my first time directing (feature film) come out on a platform like Netflix where so many people can see this. It is a very unique experience and one that I'm looking forward to seeing how it all plays out when it comes out on April 24."

For his first film, Hargrave reunited with his "Avengers" family. He got "Thor" star Chris Hemsworth to lead the film, screenplay of which is done by Joe Russo. The film is produced by Russo Brothers (Joe and Anthony Russo), Mike Larocca, Chris Hemsworth, Eric Gitter, and Peter Schwerin.

Originally titled "Dhaka", the film also stars Indian actors Randeep Hooda, Pankaj Tripathi, Priyanshu Painyulli, and Rudraksh Jaiswal. It revolves around Tyler Rake (essayed by Hemsworth), a fearless, black market mercenary, who embarks on the most deadly extraction of his career when he is enlisted to rescue the kidnapped son of an imprisoned international crime lord. It has been shot extensively in India, along with other places around the world.

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India has published in its Official Gazette legislation to give effect to tax announcements in the 2019-20 Budget.

Singapore will hike its seven percent goods and services tax rate to nine percent some time between 2021 and 2025, Singapore's Finance Minister, Heng Swee Keat, announced in the territory's new Budget.

Singapore's recently released 2019 Budget included few significant tax announcements except confirmation that Singapore's carbon tax will be levied this year and the goods and services tax will be hiked in the medium term.

Malaysia is to use targeted tax breaks to support certain industries in this year's budget and in particular small and medium sized businesses, according to a government minister.

The Malaysian Government in its Budget 2018 announced numerous tax changes, including an income tax cut, incentives for women to return to work, and tax relief for property investors and venture capital firms.

A number of incentives have been included in the Finnish Government's 2019 Budget to encourage investment in the shares of both small and listed companies.

On September 10, 2019, German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz presented to the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, the Government's draft Budget for 2020, which includes tax reduction measures.

On September 17, 2019, the Finnish Ministry of Finance announced that the Government has reached an agreement on the contents of the 2020 Budget, which includes some tax reductions for both companies and individuals.

On September 24, 2019, the Polish Government adopted the draft Budget for 2020, which takes into account recent reductions in personal income tax.

On October 7, 2019, the Greek Ministry of Finance presented to parliament the 2020 Budget, which includes numerous tax cut measures announced recently by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

The UK's 2018 Budget includes changes to tax rules for companies, and notably for multinational groups to conform with the EU's Anti Tax Avoidance Directive. Most significantly, the UK has decided to move ahead of the EU in announcing that it will apply a tax on the turnover of certain digital businesses.

Malaysia's 2019 Budget contains plans for an overhaul of sales and service tax rules and a corporate tax cut for small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau has made tax non-compliance in the real-estate market a major focus of his 2019 Budget.

The Canadian Government is consulting on draft legislative proposals to implement a number of tax measures announced in the 2019 Budget.

On October 23, 2018, the European Commission issued a request to the Italian Government that it revise its draft budgetary plan for 2019 because it breaches European Union fiscal rules.

On October 16, 2019, the Italian Council of Ministers approved the draft Budget law for 2020, which will prevent an automatic rise in the rate of value-added tax, and includes further measures designed to combat tax avoidance and evasion.

Algeria has released its draft Budget Law for 2020, including proposals for a number of tax reliefs.

Caribbean territory Trinidad and Tobago announced changes to corporate tax breaks in its 2020 Budget, in which it committed to clear the almost TTD4.5bn (USD664m) in unpaid VAT refunds.

Mauritius has published in its Official Gazette legislation to enact measures announced in the territory's latest Budget, contained in The Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2019.

Hong Kong's new Budget contained a number of new tax perks for individuals and measures to promote the adoption of environmentally friendly technologies, but few measures for businesses.

On March 9 Hong Kong's Inland Revenue Department gazetted the Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill 2018, containing measures worth HKD30bn (USD3.82bn) announced in the Budget.

Hong Kong's Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, James Lau, has welcomed the recent passage of the 2018/19 Budget Bill through the special administrative region's parliament.

Hong Kong's 2020 Budget includes plans for a one-off reduction of profits tax, salaries tax, and tax under personal assessment.

The UK's 2020 Budget, released on March 11, 2020, includes proposals to waive business rates on small retailers, to introduce a new tax on plastics, and to remove value-added tax on electronic publications.

The Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis and Minister of Finance, Timothy Harris, delivered a "tax-free Budget" on December 12, 2019.

The Isle of Man's 2018 Budget maintains the zero percent company tax rate, and announces a banking tax review, which will look at taxing all banking profits at the 10 percent rate from next year.

Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has announced that the Government will bring forward the start date for its package of income tax cuts.

On December 19, 2019, Luxembourg's Chamber of Deputies approved the Government's Budget for 2020, which among other measures includes important changes to the validity of advanced tax rulings.

Hong Kong's 2020 Budget includes plans for a one-off reduction of profits tax, salaries tax, and tax under personal assessment.

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