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• Banking cash transaction tax withdrawn from April 1, 2009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• Duty withdrawn on naptha for production of polymers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