| FARMER FRIENDLY DECISIONS |
|
| New scheme of debt-waiver and debt relief for farmers |
| All agriculture loans disbursed by PSU banks, co-operatives till March 2007 waiting recovery to be covered under scheme |
| Complete waiver of loans for small and marginal farmers holding upto 2 hectares of land |
| One-time settlement scheme for “all other” farmers |
| Agricultural loans restructured by banks through special packages. All such loans will also be eligible for waiver under the scheme |
| Implementation of loan waiver scheme to be completed by June 30, 2008 |
| Farmers will also be eligible for fresh loans |
| Govt to allocate 60,000 crore for this scheme |
| Four crore farmers expected to benefit |
| CHEAPER vs DEARER |
|
| Cheaper: Small cars, motorcycles and scooters, dairy products, washing machine and ACs, set-top box, gems and jewellery, water purifiers, three and four star hotel tarrif, all pharma products, imported life-saving drugs |
| Dearer: Mobiles, non filter cigarettes, packaged softwares , stock and commodity exchange services |
| All agriculture loans disbursed by PSU banks, co-operatives till March 2007 waiting recovery to be covered under scheme |
|
| TACKLING TAXES |
|
| Threshold exemption limit increased from 1,10,000 to 1,50,000 |
| Income Tax exemption limit for women hiked from Rs 1,45,000 to 1,80,000 |
| Senior citizens' exemption limit hiked from Rs 1,95,000 to 2,25,000 |
| New tax slabs — 1.5 lakh to 3 lakh: 10%; 3 lakh to 5 lakh: 20%: 5 lakh and above: 30% |
| No change in corporate tax; no change in surcharge |
| Duty on two wheelers reduced from 16 to 12 % |
| Excise duty slashed to 8% on water purification items |
| Duty withdrawn on naptha for production of polymers |
| Central Sales Tax up from 2% to 5% |
| Introduction of commodity transaction tax |
| Short-term capital gains tax hiked to 15% |
| Securities Transactions Tax unchanged |
| Banking Transaction Tax withdrawn |
| BALANCE SHEET |
|
| GDP increased by 8.8% during first 3 years of UPA govt |
| Growth to be 8.7% this fiscal |
| Manufacturing growth at 9.4% |
| Services growth at 10.7% |
| Agriculture growth pegged at 2.4% |
| Govt to monitor and moderate capital inflow to ensure stock market stability |
|
| AGRICULTURE |
|
| Agriculture sector has grown by 2.4% |
| Agri credit doubled during UPA government’s tenure |
| Record food grain production at 290 mn tonnes |
| Record rice production at 98.04 million tonnes |
| Record maize production at 16.7 million tones |
| 75-78% of total credit by PSU banks |
| Target for credit to farmers in 2008-09 is at Rs 280,000 crore |
| Additional irrigation potential to be developed for 5 lakh hectares |
| Rs 500 crore for rain-fed area development programme to be launched in new areas |
| World Bank aiding many states in agriculture |
| 14 national agricultural projects approved |
| New financial institution IWRFC to be launched with an initial allocation of Rs 100 crore to mobilise funds for agriculture |
| 500 soil testing labs to start via PPP |
| Rs 175 crore for mobile soil testing units in 200 districts by March 2009 |
| Rs 20 crore to Tea Research Institute |
| National agricultural insurance scheme to continue for Kharif, Rabi crops |
| Fertiliser subsidy to continue |
| New nutrient based fertiliser subsidy regime to be launched |
| Prof Vaidyanathan Committee recommendations on micro-credit to be implemented |
|
| INFRASTRUCTURE AND INDUSTRY |
|
| Power generation on target for 11th Plan |
| Allocation of Rs 5,000 crore for rural electrification |
| Rs 12,966 crore for highways |
| 96.48% of Golden Quadrilateral completed |
| 26.36% of East-West, North-South Corridor completed |
| Rs 380 crore for oil and gas exploration |
| New coal regulator to be appointed |
| Rs 1,680 crore for IT Ministry |
| One lakh broadband centres to be set up in rural areas |
| All 30 integrated textile parks have been approved |
| Clasuter Approach for handloom has been a success |
| 17 lakh weavers to be covered under insurance scheme |
| SIDBI to reduce guarantee fee |
|
| EDUCATION |
|
| Education outlay increased by 20% to Rs 34,400 crore |
| Mid-day meal scheme to be extended to all govt and govt-aided schools |
| 410 new Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidayalaya to be set up |
| New model school programme to be started |
| New Navodaya Vidyalaya to be set up in 20 backward districts |
| 1 lakh new scholarships to be granted |
| Nehru Yuva Kendras to be set up in all districts |
| Central Universities for all states; 16 central universities this year |
| Three new IITs in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan |
| Two Schools of Planning and Architecture in Bhopal and Vijaywada |
| Ministry of Science and Technology to start a new scholarship scheme |
| Rs 100 crore to build National Knowledge Network to connect all knowledge centres via broadband |
|
| HEALTH |
|
| Health outlay increased by 15% to Rs 16,543 crore |
| Rs 16,000 crore for National Rural Emplyoment Guarantee Scheme |
| National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to be extended to all districts |
| 46,200 Asha workers have been trained |
| Anganwadi workers remuneration increased to Rs 1,500 |
| More than 300 district hospitals to be upgraded |
| Rs 12,050 crore for National Rural Health Mission |
| Rs 900 crore for combating AIDS |
| Rashtrya Health Bima Yojna to be launched in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan on April 1 |
| Integrated Child Development Scheme allocation increased to Rs 6,000 crore |
|
| FOR SENIOR CITIZENS |
|
| Two national institutes of ageing |
| New national programme for the elderly |
|
| No change in peak rates of customs duty |
|
| DEFENCE |
|
| Budget increased by 10% to to Rs 1,05,600 crore |
| Rate of attrition high in defence forces |
|
| MISCELLANEOUS |
|
| Special fund of Rs 500 crore for Arunachal Pradesh |
| Rs 12,155 crore to Ministry for North East Development |
| Rs 200 crore for clean water to school children |
| Rs 1,000 crore for Ministry for Minorities |
| Rs 75 crore for Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Programme |
| Rs 60 crore to enhance the corpus fund of Maulana Azad programme |
| Rs 11,460 crore for 100% women specific scheme |
| Rs 45.5 crore to modernise madrasas |
| Rs 288 crore for nationalised banks in minorities areas |
| Allocation of Rs 1,200 crore for sanitation programmes |
| More minority recruitments in central para-military forces |
| ICDS allocation hiked to Rs 6,300 cr |
| Rs 300 cr for desalination plant near Chennai |
| National Handicap Development Corp to get Rs 9 crore |
| LIC 'Janashree Yojana' for women self-helf groups |
| Target of Rs 2,80,000 for credit in agriculture |
| Rs 300 crore for rain affected areas |
| USD 730 million World Bank agreement for water storage development programme |
| Rs 500 crore for development of border areas |
| Rs 1,100 core for National Horticulture Mission |
| 500 new labs for soil testing |
| Rs 500 crore to Centre of Development Studies, Tiruvananthapuram |
|
| CHIDAMBARAM SPEAK |
|
| 2008 should be a year of consolidation |
| UPA wants to make growth inclusive |
| We can do better and we should; Budget 08-09 is about doing more |
| India determined to become self sufficient in agriculture |
| Finance Minister confident of 8.8% this fiscal |
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