rediff ILAND
 Welcome Guest, | Create your own iLand| Sign In  | New User? Get Started
BLOGS
iLand
Blogs
Friends/Contributors
Guestbook  
 
Raguram
Categories
TRENDSETTER
Shameless
Budget
Sports
Blogs
Money cant Buy...
Not Love
What is an RSS feed?
RSS Feed 
ragupage.rediffiland.com/  
Saturday 6 September, 2008
 14:11 | 29/Feb/2008 |  4 Comment(s)
  Add Raguram as Friend     Write to Raguram     Forward this link
Highlights of Budget 2008

Budget Highlights




  •    No change in coporate income tax rate. Short term Capital Gains Tax increased.


  •    Income Tax exemption rates raised from 1.1 lakhs to 1.5 lakhs across the board. Exemption limit for women raised to 1.8 lakhs.


  •    Prices of non-filter cigarettes to go up.


  •    Excise duty cut on wireless data cards.


  •    Excise on small cars down to 14%.


  •    Reduction of excise duties on anti-AIDS drugs.


  •    Duties on convergence products slashed to 5%.


  •    Full exemption of duties on Set Top boxes .


  •    Duties reduced on steel melting scrap, aluminum scrap .


  •    Cut in duties on sports goods from 7.5 % to 5%.


  •    Revenue Deficit will be 1.4 % against the Budget estimate of 1.5% .


  •    6th Pay Commision will meet employee expectations.


  •    Rs 624 cr allocated for Commonwealth Games.


  •    Defence allocation raised Rs 1,05,600 cr.


  •    Rs 5,000 cr fund for enhanced re-finance operations.


  •    Commercial banks advised to have 250 rural accounts every year.


  •    Completion rate of Golden Quadrilateral project is 98.3%.


  •    Rs 12,970 cr allocated for National Highways.


  •    Govt to provide Rs 303 cr as debt support to PSUs.


  •    Loan waiver will discourage fresh lending.


  •    Rescheduled agricultural loans are also eligible for waivers.


  •    At least 4 cr farmers to be benefited by debt waiver.


  •    The waiver amounts to 4% of total loans, is worth Rs 60,000 cr and is to be completed by June 2008.


  •    Waiver of loans for small farmers holding up to 1-2 hectares.


  •    Uproar in the Lok Sabha over PC's proposal on farmers.


  •    All loans for farmers due up to 31 Mar 2007, have been waived.


  •    Rs 75 cr for mobile soil-testing labs in 260 districts.


  •    Banks to disperse agricultural credit of Rs 2,80,000 cr.


  •    Rs 16,202 cr for schemes with 30% women representation.


  •    Urban infrastucture spending raised to Rs 6,870 cr.


  •    Allocation of Rs 1000 cr to Ministry of Minority Affairs.


  •    Rs 650 cr for model school programmes, 6000 new schools.


  •    Health insurance of Rs 30,000 for BPL families.


  •    Rs 195 cr for ST development programmes.


  •    Rs 164 cr for OBC developement programme.


  •    Rs 804 cr towards SC development programmes.


  •    Rs 500 cr for the development of NE regions.


  •    Rs 1,200 cr for sanitation programmes.


  •    Rs 750 cr will be allocated towards 1 lakh scholarship.


  •    Rs 70,200 cr allocated for drinking water mission.


  •    All knowledge bodies to be connected via broadband.


  •    Remuneration of Anganvadi workers to be increased to Rs 1,500 pm.


  •    Total plan spending allocated Rs 2lakh 40 thousand cr.


  •    Health spending to increase by 15 %.


  •    Secondary education Scheme Rs 4,554 crore.


  •    Upgraded mid day meal scheme to help 2.5 cr children.


  •    Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana for every worker under BPL category.


  •    Rs 100 cr for setting up National Knowledge Network.


  •    Age limit for Science scholarship raised.


  •    Mid day meals extended to upper primary classes


  •    16 central universities and 3 IITs will be set up.


  •    Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan gets Rs 13,100 crore.


  •    Agricultural credit poised to reach 2lk 40,000 cr by Mar 2008.


  •    2008-09 should be the year of consolidation.


  •    Education allocation has been increased by 20 %.


  •    Govt will closely monitor capital inflows.


  •    Rs 31,280 Crores allocated for Bharat Nirman programme. Mid day meal scheme the largest in the world.


  •    Determined to become self sufficient in food grains.


  •    Estimated output of food grains at 219.32 mln tonnes.


  •    Growth will be led by services and manufacturing sector.


  •    Manufacturing sector to grow by 9.4%.


  •    Services sector to grow by 10.8%.


  •    Confident of maintaining average growth rate of 8.8%.


  •    Agricultural growth pegged at 9.2%.

 Taxes




  •   Direct tax proposals to be revenue neutral.


  •   Banking transaction tax to be removed.


  •   Short term capital gains tax to be hiked to 15%.


  •   Commodities Transactions Tax to be introduced.


  •   5-yr tax holiday for all hospitals.


  •   Women exemption threshold extended from Rs 1,45,000 to 1,80,000.


  •   No change in coporate income tax rate, surcharge stays.


  •   Income tax exemption limit raised to Rs 2,25,000 for senior citizens.


  •   Exemption limit increased from Rs 1,10,000 to Rs 1,50,000 for all assesses.


  •   Tax to GDP ratio of 9.2%.

 Prices




  •    Excise duty of Rs 4.6/litre on unbranded diesel


  •    Excise duty of Rs 1.35/litre on unbranded petrol


  •    Two and three wheelers to cost less


  •    NO FBT on creche, employee sports facilities


  •    Excise on small cars cut to 14%


  •    Prices of non-filter cigarettes to go up


  •    Reduce excise duties on anti-AIDS drugs


  •    Excise duty cut on wireless data cards


  •    Reduce duties on steel melting scrap, aluminum scrap


  •    Fully exempt duties on Set top boxes


  •    Duties on convergence products slashed to 5%


  •    Keeping inflation under check is the cornerstone of our policy:

 
Category: Budget | Permalink