Highlights of the union budget for the current fiscal presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the Lok Sabha Monday:
- Fiscal deficit estimated at 6.8 percent of GDP
- National Housing Bank to get Rs.2,000 crore for rural housing funds
- Higher education outlay increased by Rs.2,000 crore over interim budget
- Geological Survey of India, Botanical and Zoological Survey of India to get Rs.15 crore each.
- National River programmes to get Rs.562 crore, up from Rs.335 crore earlier
- Rs.1,000 crore for reconstruction activities in the Aila-hit areas in West Bengal
- An additional amount of Rs.430 crore allocated to modernise police machinery in states
- Rs.190 crore budgetary support for civil aviation
- One handloom mega cluster each will be set up in West bengal and Tamil Nadu
- One powerloom mega cluster in Rajasthan
- At least 50 percent of the total rural women to be brought under the self-help group (SHG) network
- Banking network to be expanded to "unbankable" areas
-Expert group to be set up to advice on petroleum and diesel prices
- No change in corporate tax rate
-Centralised processing centre at Bangalore to streamline taxation
- Income tax exemption limit for senior citizens increased by Rs.15,000, for women and others by 10,000 each
- New indirect tax will be introduced in 45 days
- Fringe benefit tax abolished
- Duties on life saving drugs reduced
- Excise duty on petrol-driven trucks reduced
- Goods and services tax (GST) will be introduced April 1, 2010
- An alternative dispute settlement mechanism to be set up to settle tax disputes
- Lawyers brought under the ambit of service tax
- Tax exemption on profits in the natural gas sector extended
- Customs duty on LCD TVs reduced to 5 percent from 10 percent
- Five percent customs tax imposed on set-top boxes
- Rs.500 crore for the rehabilitation of displaced Sri Lankan Tamils and reconstruction activities in that country
- Aligarh Muslim University off-campus centres to be set up in Murshidabad in West Bengal and Malappuram in Kerala
- Allocation for the minority affairs ministry raised to Rs.1,740 crore
- Plan expenditure up 34 percent, non-plan spend up 37 percent
- Total spending increased to Rs.10.2 lakh crore
- Rs.420 crore for new IITs and NITs
- Commonwealth Games allocated Rs.3,472 crore
- National unique identification numbers to start rolling out in 12-18 months
- Paramilitary forces such as CRPF to get 100,000 homes
- Banking services in under-banked areas to be increased, scheme allocated Rs.100 crore
- Agriculture debt waiver extended by six months
- Outlay for national rural health mission increased by Rs.2,057 crore from the Rs.12,070 crore provided in the interim budget
- Allocation towards National Rural Employment Guarantee Act increased by Rs.39,100 crore
- Allocation for Bharat Nirman scheme increased by 45 percent
- Rs.20,000 crore for rural housing
- Rural electrification scheme to get Rs.7,000 crore more
- Tax department to work on early introduction of Saral 2 forms
- Stimulus for print media extended from June 13 to Dec 31
- Rs.1,000 crore to accelerate irrigation projects
- Agriculture development fund increased from Rs.2.87 lakh crore to Rs.3.25 lakh crore
- Market development assistance scheme for exporters increased by 148 percent to Rs.124 crore
- Pre-shipment interest subvention set at 2 percent for textile exporters
- Sufficient funds for infrastructure development
- Allocation for national highways development stepped up by 23 percent
- Allocation for urban poor schemes to be raised to Rs.39,730 crore
- LNG infrastructure to be expanded
- Allocation for Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission raised by 87 percent to Rs.12,887 crore