Skip to main content

India Budget 2008 - Highlights

Budget 2008 Highlights

 

NEW DELHI - Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram presented the union budget for 2008/09 on Friday, the fifth and final full one of the administration before elections due by May 2009.

 

  • Banking cash transaction tax withdrawn from April 1, 2009
  • Indirect tax proposals to result in loss of Rs 5,000 cr
  • Direct tax proposals to be revenue neutral
  • Dividend of subsidiary company exempt from DDT
  • Reduce central sales tax to 2%
  • Increase in short term capital gains tax to 15%
  • 5-yr tax holiday for setting up hospitals in tier-II, tier III regions
  • Excise duty of Rs 1.35/litre on unbranded petrol
  • Excise duty of Rs 4.6/litre on unbranded diesel
  • Commodities Transactions Tax to be introduced
  • Securities Transaction Tax to be treated like deductible expenditure
  • 5-yr tax holiday to 2,3,4-star hotels in UNESCO's heritage sites
  • NO FBT on creche, employee sports, guest houses facilities
  • No change in corporate income tax rate
  • No change in corporate surcharge tax
  • Duty on two wheelers reduced from 16 to 12 pc
  • Tax slab for Rs 3-5 lakh is 20%, above 5 lakhs 30%
  • Senior citizens' exemption hiked from Rs 1,95,000 to 2,25,000
  • Women exemption threshold hiked from Rs 1,45,000 to 1,80,000
  • Tax exemption hiked from Rs 1,10,000 to Rs 1,50,000
  • Duty on non filter cigarettes to be raised
  • Excise duty slashed to 8% on water purification items
  • Duty withdrawn on naptha for production of polymers
  • Reduce excise duties on anti-AIDS drugs
  • Tax-GDP ratio up at 12.5%
  • Excise on paper and paper products reduced
  • Excise duties on buses, chassis slashed
  • Excise on small cars to 14%
  • Excise on pharma goods slashed to 14%
  • General CENVAT rate on all goods from 16% to 14%
  • Customs duty on few bulk drugs cut to 5%
  • Customs duties on crude sulphur reduced to 2%
  • Exempt on duties on coral
  • Duties on convergence products slashed to 5%
  • Fully exempt duties on Set top boxes
  • Reduce duties on steel melting scrap, aluminum scrap
  • No change in peak rate of customs duties
  • Revenue Deficit will be 1.4 % agt Budget Estimate of 1.5%
  • Planning Commission to evaluate major schemes
  • Sixth central pay commission to submit report by March 31, 2008
  • Grant of Rs 50 cr to Natl Tiger Conservation Authority
  • Rs 75 cr to ICCR for cultural development
  • Defence allocation hiked by 10% to Rs 1,05,600 cr
  • Rs 32,676 crore as subsidy to PDS
  • Smart-card based PDS system in Haryana, Chandigarh
  • Allocation of Rs 44 cr to 22 Sainik schools each
  • Rs 75 cr to Agri Ministry for soil testing labs in 250 districts
  • Rs 15,000 cr for non-profit body for skilled dev programme
  • Launch a world-class skilled development programme
  • PAN requirement for all securities transactions
  • To start a forex derivative market
  • More transparency in the derivative market
  • Risk Capital Fund to be set up in SIDBI
  • National Highway Dev programme gets Rs 12,966 cr
  • Accelerated power development programmes to get Rs 8,000 cr
  • Ultra mega power project at Tilana shortly
  • Rs 12,956 Cr for NHDP
  • Banks to be encouraged to embrace total financial inclusion
  • Foreign invt up to $8 bn expected for oil block exploration
  • Coal regulator to be set up
  • 17 lakh families of weavers under Health Insurance
  • State data centres scheme approved and get Rs 275 cr
  • 1 lakh broadband-enabled common service centres in villages
  • Enhance allocation of NHDP programme
  • Rs 800 cr for power reforms
  • Manufacturing growth rate to be taken to double digit
  • RIDF corpus to be hiked to Rs 14,000 cr
  • Total estimate of loans being waived is Rs 50,000 cr
  • Implementation of debt waiver scheme to end by June 30
  • Waiver amounts to 4% of total bank loans
  • Rescheduled farm loans eligible for waiver
  • Sensex down 210 points
  • Speaker calls for silence
  • Din in House over PC's relief plans to farmers
  • Marginal, small farmers to get full waiver on all loans
  • 500 soil testing labs to be set up in the country
  • Scheme of debt waiver and debt relief for farmers
  • Allocation for NRHM increased to Rs 12,050 cr
  • National Horticulture Mission gets Rs 1,100 cr
  • Weather-based crop insurance scheme to get Rs 50 cr
  • Rs 20,000 cr for irrigation projects under AIPB
  • Special grant of Rs 20 cr to Tea Research Association
  • Rs 500 cr to be allocated for micro irrigation schemes
  • More funds for cardamom, coffee growing
  • Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana to get Rs 2,80,000 cr
  • 53 minor irrigation programmes to be implemented
  • Target of Rs 2.80 lakh cr for agri-credit in 2008-09
  • Ministry of Woman and Child Dev gets Rs 7,200 cr
  • 24% increase in allocation for child development
  • Rs 500 cr for development of border areas
  • Rs 1,042 cr for anti-Polio drive
  • Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission to get Rs 6,865cr
  • Growth of agri-credit impressive
  • Allocation for ICDS increased to Rs 6,300 cr
  • Minority Affairs Ministry fund doubled to Rs 1,000 cr
  • 288 PSU bank branches in minority districts
  • LIC to cover all women Self-help Groups linked to banks
  • Rs 200 crore for potable water in schools
  • Rs 12,050 cr for strengthening rural health services
  • Sanitation programmes to get Rs 1200 cr
  • More minority recruitments in central para-military forces
  • ICDS allocation hiked to Rs 6,300 cr
  • Rs 300 cr for desalination plant near Chennai
  • Rs 75 cr for Rajiv Gandhi Natl Fellowship Prog
  • Natl Handicap Development Corp to get Rs 9 cr
  • Natl Minorities Development Corp to get Rs 75 cr
  • Allocation for NE schemes up from 14,365 cr to 16,400 cr
  • Rajiv Gandhi Drinking Water mission allocation hiked
  • NREG scheme to be rolled out in 596 districts
  • National Rural Health Mission allocation hiked by 15%
  • Remuneration of Anganwadi helpers hiked to Rs 750
  • Remuneration of Anganwadi workers hiked to Rs 1,500
  • 3 IIScs in Bhopal and Trivandrum
  • National Programme for the Elderly to be set up
  • Rs 30,000 health cover for every worker in unorganised sector
  • 2 schools of Planning and Architecture
  • Secondary education Scheme Rs 4,554 crore
  • Rs 100 cr to Ministry of Science and tech for Natl Knowledge Network
  • All knowledge bodies to be connected via broadband
  • Rs 85 crore to building a knowledge society
  • Scholarships for science and research
  • Education and Health allocation up 20%
  • Service Sector to grow at 10.7%
  • 3 IITs in AP, Bihar and Rajasthan
  • 16 central universities to be set up
  • Mid-day meal scheme extended to upper primary classes
  • Budgetary allocation for mid-day meal scheme Rs 8,000
  • Rs 10 cr for Nehru Kendras in 110 districts
  • Rs 34,400 cr budgetary allocation for education
  • Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan gets Rs 13,100 cr
  • Bharat Nirman Programme gets allocation of Rs 31,280 cr
  • 410 Vidyalayas in villages
  • Navodiya Vidyalayas in 6,0-00 districts
  • 6,000 model high schools to be set up
  • Agricultural growth rate at 2.6%
  • Education, health pillars of social sector reforms
  • 2008-09 will be a year of consolidation
  • Budget 08-09 about raising our sights, doing better
  • Capital inflows in excess of economic deficit
  • Confident of maintaining 8% growth
  • Impact of global mkts on local mkts unclear
  • Govt, RBI to jointly work to check capital inflow
  • Govt will monitor foreign fund inflow
  • Check foreign inflow to stabilise Indian mkts
  • Capital Inflow needs to be managed more actively
  • Agri credit doubled in first 2 years of UPA rule
  • Global markets are weak
  • Inflation will be checked
  • Sustained progress thanks to economic reforms
  • Launched Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna
  • All time record for food grain output in 2007
  • Total output of food grains 219.32 mn tonnes
  • We must be vigilant for downside risk
  • Crude oil down significantly
  • Agriculture was disappointing
  • Capital inflow poses a challenge to monetary management
  • Growth rate is 8.8%
  • Service sector is the driver of Budget
  • Since Aug 2007 financial economies witnessed turmoil
  • 2007-08 has been a challenging year
  • Finance Minister P Chidambaram begins addressing Parliament
  • Pandemonium in the House as Oppn holds up speech
  • This is PC's seventh Budget, UPA government's last before it goes to poll next year
  • The next Union Budget will be a vote-on-account because of general elections

Source- IBNLive- TV 18

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Story - ICICI Prudential's success story

ICICI Prudential's success story It is a real life story. A story of an insurer that has managed to hold on to its lead in the marketplace for seven years. ICICI Prudential, a joint venture between ICICI Bank   and Prudential UK, has been around ever since the private sector was allowed to sell life insurance policies.   Since then the tribe of life insurers has grown from 12 to 16, but ICICI still leads the private sector pack. With a portfolio of over 6.5 million policies, India's biggest private sector life insurer has not merely held on to its share but grown it; at the end of January 2008, the firm commanded 29 per cent of the share owned by private sector players. Quite some way below was Bajaj Allianz with 21 per cent, while State Bank of India   came in third with 10 per cent. How did ICICI achieve that? Says Ashvin Parekh, national leader, financial services, Ernst & Young, "Their strategy has been to grow the portfolio large enough so ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Annual Premium Rates-Term Plan

Term life insurance is the original form of life insurance and is considered pure insurance protection because it builds no cash value. Term life insurance provides coverage for a limited period, the relevant term. After that period, the insured can drop the policy or pay annually increasing premiums to continue the coverage. If the insured dies during the term, the death benefit will be paid to the beneficiary. Term insurance is often the most inexpensive way to purchase a substantial death benefit on a coverage amount per premium dollar basis. This is purely risk protection. Below the comparative chart of premium (without return of premium Option) for a 25-Year-old person for a sum assured of 1000000 for a term of 20 years. Insurer (Insurance Provider) Premium Comments (Riders- Accidental death & Disability, Weaver of Premium, Critical Illness) Bharti AXA Life Insurance 2620 No Riders SBI Life Insurance...
1 comment
Read more

Auto Insurance Claims - An Auto Insurance Claims Walkthrough

Getting in a car accident can be a very upsetting experience to say the least, and dealing with the aftermath can be equally upsetting. At least the car accident is over in seconds. Auto insurance claims can take weeks to be finalized. Making it through the process will be much easier if you have an idea of how to file an auto insurance claim. After the accident the first thing you should do is to make sure no one is injured. The next thing to do is to call the police. Even if the accident is minor the police should be called. They will be an impartial witness to the accident and make sure that all of the paperwork is handled correctly. The next step is to exchange information .This means you should get, and give, all drivers license information, insurance information, and the license plate number. It is also very important to get the telephone number of the other driver. This is also a good time to look for any witnesses to the accident. If there are witnesses ask them if they are wi...
Read more