Union Budget 2008-09 highlights

• Rs. 60,000 crore agricultural debt relief package; complete loan waiver for small and marginal farmers; 4 crore farmers to benefit
• Rs.2,80,000 crore target set for farm credit in 2008-09; short term crop loan to continue at 7 per cent interest
• Irrigation and water resources finance corporation to be set up; rainfed area development programme to be started
• Rs.3, 966 crore for schemes for scs and sts; Rs. 18,983 crore for schemes earmarking 20 per cent funds for scs and sts
• Multi-sectoral development plans for all 90 minority concentration districts
• All women self help groups credit-linked to banks to be covered under janashree bima yojana
• National rural employment guarantee scheme to cover all 596 rural districts
• A national programme to be launched for the elderly
• Rashtriya swasthya bima yojana for workers under bpl category in unorganized sector
• A statement on child related scheme introduced in the budget for the first time
• Mid-day meal scheme to be extended to upper primary classes in all blocks
• Special mechanism for north-eastern border areas
• Government to establish 16 central universities
• 3 IITs, 2 IISERs and 2 schools of planning and architecture to be established
• 6,000 high quality model schools to be opened
• New scholarship scheme for promoting innovations in science
• Each district to have a nehru yuva kendra
• Schools in water deficient habitations to have drinking water systems
• Subsidy on houses under indira awas yojana increased from Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 35,000 in plain areas and from Rs. 27,500 to Rs. 38,500 in hill/difficult area
• Rs. 1000 crore provided for aam adami bima yojana
• Allocation under indira gandhi old age pension scheme increased from Rs. 2392 crore to Rs. 3443 crore
• Rs. 32,667 crore provided for food subsidy under public distribution system
• Rs. 1000 crore provided for establishing a non-profit corporation for skill development
• Rs. 750 crore allocated for upgrading 300 ITIs
• Six mega-clusters planned for handlooms, powerlooms and handicrafts
• Government to provide Rs. 16,436 crore as equity support and Rs. 3,003 crore as loans to central public sector enterprises
• Backward region grant fund retained at Rs. 5,800 crore; bihar, orissa and uttar pradesh to get nearly 45 per cent of the amount
• Income tax exemption limit hiked to Rs. 1.5 lakh; 10 per cent tax for income between Rs. 1.5 lakh and Rs. 3 lakh; 20 per cent between Rs. 3 lakh and Rs. 5 lakh. Income above Rs. 5,00,001 to attract 30 per cent income tax
• Exemption limit for women tax payers increased to Rs. 1,80,000 and for senior citizens to Rs. 2,25,000
• No change in corporate income tax rates and surcharge
• No change in the peak rate of customs duty
• Customs duty on project imports slashed from 7.5 per cent to 5 per cent
• Duty on steel and aluminnum scrap abolished
• Excise duty on pharmaceutical sector reduced from 16 per cent to 8 per cent
• Small cars, two and three wheelers, buses and their chassis to cost less
• Non filter cigarettes to cost more, excise on non filter cigarettes will be at par with filter cigarettes
• Four more services brought under service tax net
• Threshold limit of exemption for small service providers increased from Rs. 8 lakh to Rs. 10 lakh
• Customs duty on crude and unrefined sulphur brought down from 5 to 2 per cent
• Export duty on chrome ore increased from rs. 2000 to rs. 3000 per metric tonne
• Cenvat on all goods reduced from 16 to 14 per cent
• Central sales tax proposed to be reduced to 2 per cent from April 08
• Excise duty on bulk cement brought on par with packaged cement; clinkers to attract excise duty of rs. 450 per metric tonne
• PAN made compulsory for all transactions in the financial market subject to suitable exemption limit
• Allocation for defence increased by 10 per cent from 96,000 crore to Rs. 105,600 crore
• Revenue deficit estimated at Rs. 55,184 crore
• Fiscal deficit pegged at 2.5 per cent of GDP

Source : Press Information Bureau

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