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- Banking cash transaction tax withdrawn from April 1, 2009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- Duty withdrawn on naptha for production of polymers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
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