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More Highlights of Union budget
The highlights of India's national budget for 2008-09 presented by Finance Minister P Chidamabaram in the Lok Sabha Friday:
The highlights of India's national budget for 2008-09 presented by Finance Minister P Chidamabaram in the Lok Sabha Friday:
No income tax on annual earnings of Rs 150,000
Rs 4,000 minimum relief for all tax assesees
10 per cent tax on income between Rs 150,000 and Rs 300,000
20 per cent tax on income between Rs 300,000 and Rs 500,000
30 per cent tax on income over Rs 500,000
No income tax for women with annual income up to Rs 180,000
No income tax for senior citizens with annual income up to Rs 225,000
Over 8 per cent growth for 12 successive quarters starting January 2005 till December 2007.
Maintaining growth with price stability
Maintaining supply of food main task in coming fiscal
Concern: Inflationary trends
Concern: Capital inflow exceeds current account deficit
Farm growth disappointing at 2.6 per cent
Gross budgetary support rises to Rs 380 billion
Education gets 20 percent more to Rs 344 billion from Rs 286.8 billion
Rural infrastructure scheme Bharat Nirman to get Rs 312.8 billion
Midday meal scheme for schoolchildren to get Rs 80 billion
School enrolment scheme Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan to get Rs 131 billion
Government and Reserve Bank of India to manage capital inflow
16 new central universities
3 new Indian Institutes of Technology
Government to raise additional resources worth Rs 100 billion
National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) extended to all 596 rural districts
NREGS to get Rs 160 billion, more money will be provided on need
Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission to get Rs 68.66 billion, up from Rs 54.82 billion
National health insurance for poor introduced
Northeast development to get Rs 14.55 billion
Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, minorities get special allocations
Rs 5.5 billion for minority dominated districts
HIV/AIDS prevention to get Rs 9.93 billion
Complete loan waivers for farms up to 2 hectares
Weather based crop insurance scheme to continue
Rs 400 million for special tea fund
Rs 200 billion for irrigation
Total plan spending will be Rs 2.4 trillion
Farm credit target at Rs 2.8 trillion
Health spending to rise 15 per cent
Loan waiver to benefit 40 million farmers
Farm debt waiver scheme to cost Rs 600 billion
Farm debt scheme to be completed by June 30
Additional 10,000 MW power generation by March 2009
Government to create national fund for power transmission and distribution
Foreign direct investment in April-Dec 2007 at $12.7 billion
Banks to open 250 rural household accounts every year in rural branches
Banks to give loans to self-help groups for income-generating activities, social needs and debt swapping
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) to get Rs 50 billion to refinance loans
Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) to get Rs 40 billion to refinance loans
National Housing Bank to get Rs 12 billion
Foreign Exchange Derivatives Market to be set up
Coal regulator to be set up
Textile upgrading funding to get Rs 10.9 billion
National highways to get Rs 129.7 billion
Rs 440 million to improve infrastructure at 22 Sainik schools
Food subsidies at Rs 326.67 billion
Defence spending to rise 10 per cent
Rs 80 billion for accelerated power development programmes
PAN requirement extended to all securities transactions
Rs 129.66 billion for National Highway development programme
100,000 broadband-enabled common service centres to be set up in villages
Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana to get Rs 2.8 trillion
Tax-GDP ratio rises to 12.5 per cent
Sixth central pay commission to submit report by March
General central value-added tax rate slashed to 14 per cent from 16 per cent
Fiscal and revenue deficit pegged at 3.1 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively
Revenue deficit would be 1.4 per cent against budget estimate of 1.5 per cent
