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Budget "O" Highlights -
2008
- Income
tax exemption limit hiked to Rs 1.5 lakh
- 10% tax
for income between Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 3 lakh
- 20%
between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 5 lakh
- Income
above Rs 5,00,001 to attract 30% 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
- Banking
cash transaction tax to be removed
- STT
applicable on commodities trading
- Tax on
short term capital gains increased to 15% from 10%
- 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% 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% 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 unorganised
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
- Three
IITs, two IISces and two 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 1,000
crore provided for Aam Adami Bima Yojana
- Allocation
under Indira Gandhi Old Age Pension Scheme increased from Rs 2392 crore
to Rs 3,443 crore
- Rs
32,667 crore provided for food subsidy under public distribution system
- Rs 1,000
crore provided for establishing a non-profit corporation for skill
development
- Rs 750
crore allocated for upgrading 300 it is
- 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% of the amount
- Customs
duty on project imports slashed from 7.5% to 5%
- Duty on
steel and aluminium scrap abolished
- Excise
duty on pharmaceutical sector reduced from 16% to 8%
- 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%
- Export
duty on chrome ore increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 per metric tonne
- Cenvat
on all goods reduced from 16% to 14%
- Central
sales tax proposed to be reduced to 2% from April 2008
- Excise
duty on bulk cement brought on par with packaged cement; clinkers to
attract excise duty of Rs 450 per metric tonne
- PAN
(Permanent account number) made compulsory for all transactions in the
financial market subject to suitable exemption limit
- Allocation
for defence increased 10% from Rs 96,000 crore to Rs 105,600 crore
- Revenue
deficit estimated at Rs 55,184 crore
- Fiscal
deficit pegged at 2.5% of GDP
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