Indian Budget 2009-2010, Complete Highlights

• Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee presents Union Budget 2009-2010
• Full exemption from excise duty on branded jewellery
• Excise duty on petrol-driven small trucks reduced to ten percent
• 100% deduction in donation to electoral trusts
• 10% surcharge on personal income tax removed
• Fringe Benefit Tax abolished
• Commodity Transaction Tax abolished
• Female tax payers exemption limit raised by Rs 10,000
• For senior citizens personal tax exemption limit raised by 15,000
• For all, tax exemption raised by Rs 10,000 from Rs 1,50,000
• No change in corporate tax
• New direct tax code in 45 days
• Effort is to improve tax collection by eliminating distortions in tax system and expanding the base
• Minimum Alternate Tax on book profits increased to 15 percent from 10 percent
• Share of direct taxes has increased to 56 percent in 2008-09 over 41 percent in 2007-08
• Investment linked tax benefits in areas of agriculture and national grid |Presumptive Taxation of 8 percent on businesses of turnover of up to Rs 40 lakh
• Need to sustain growth of 9% per annum at the earliest: Pranab
• Will create close to 12 million jobs
• Domestic industry showing signs of recovery
• Agriculture credit to be 3.35 lakh crore
• Significant foreign capital inflow increase
• Farm loan waiver period increased by six months
• Allocation of railways increased to 15,800cr
• Fiscal stimulus of 1,86,000cr provided
• LNG infrastructure in the country being expanded
• Rs 3937cr for improvement of urban poor
• Funding to NHAI stepped up by 23%
• Fiscal deficit grew from 2.7% to 6.8% of GDP
• Local production of petroleum products to double
• Sensitive to youth expectations: Pranab
• Competitive education system: Pranab
• Govt to set up expert group on pricing of petroleum products
• Subsidy regime for fertilisers to change to nutrient- based rather than price-based
• To return to FRBM target for fiscal discipline at the earliest
• Extension of stimulus package for print media by another six months beyond June 30 in view of the economic downturn
• IT return forms to be made more user friendly
• Export Credit Guarantee scheme extended till March 2010
• Incentives in interest rates to farmers to pay back agriculture loans in time
• Banks and insurance firms to remain in public sector
• Allocation for market development assistance scheme enhanced by 148 percent
• Rs 100 crore to be given as one time grant in aid to expand banks in unbanking area |'Aam admi' is focus of all our programmes and schemes, says Mukherjee |Government is committed to provide Rs 100 a day as wages under NREGA
• National Mission for Female Literacy with emphasis on minorities, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to be launched. Fifty per cent of all rural women to be brought into self-help group programmes
• Work on National Food Security scheme for providing food at cheaper rates to the poor has begun
• Allocation of Rs 39,100 crore to be made for NREGA in 2009-10, an increase of 144 percent
• Allocation for flagship Bharat Nirman progamme is being raised by 45 percent
• Full interest subsidy for students taking courses in approved institutions. Five lakh students to benefit
• Modernisation of national exployment exchanges to be carried out
• Action initiated to provide social security to unorganised sector workers
• Allocation for National Rural Health Mission to be raised by Rs 257 crore over and above the outlay in the interim budget
• Under National Action Plan on climate change, eight national missions are being launched. For one of the missions, National Ganga Project, government proposes to increase allocation to Rs 562cr
• Rs 500cr for rehabilitation of Tamils in Lanka
• Biometric smart cards in 12-18 months- provision of Rs 120 crore for the project| Rs 2,113 crore allocated for IIMs and new IITs
• Allocation for Commonwealth Games increased to Rs 3472 crore from Rs 2112 crore
• One lakh dwelling units for paramilitary forces personnel to be constructed
• Total budget expenditure for 2009-10 will Rs 10,28,032 crore, crossing Rs 10 lakh crore mark for the first time since Independence
• Plan expenditure, for both Centre and States, to go up by Rs 61,000 crore over the interim budget
• Rs 1,000 crore for rebuilding infrastructure damaged by the recent 'Aila' cyclone in West Bengal
• Fiscal deficit in 2009-10 is proposed at 6.8 percent of GDP