there is no tax on dividend from equity funds and there is no long term cap gains too. dividend reinvest and growth have the same effect as per current tax laws. AS for ELSS "Div. Reinvest" is the best as the dividend reinvested is also treated as fresh investment and gets locked in for another 3 years. advantage is - suppose u invested 70 k in ELSS and it declared a dividend (say rs. 32 k) in march then u ur 1 lak under 80 c is done, while only 70k has gone from ur pockets. logically div. reinvest is the best for ELSS, while for other equity based schemes it is as good as growth. div payout is worst as it does not allow u the value of "compounding". DONT KNOW WHY REDIFF PUBLISHES WITHOUT PROPER RESEARCH
