| Union Budget
2008-09 Highlights |

Important Budget Announcements
Union
Budget 08-09 Highlights
KNOW TAX
| For Men |
| Upto Rs. 1,50,000/- |
Nil |
| Rs. 1,50,001/- to Rs.
3,00,000/- |
10 per cent |
| Rs. 3,00,001/- to Rs.
5,00,000 |
20 per cent |
| Above Rs. 5,00,000/- |
30 per cent |
| For Women |
| Upto Rs. 1,80,000/- |
Nil |
| Rs. 1,80,001/- to Rs.
3,00,000/- |
10 per cent |
| Rs. 3,00,001/- to Rs.
5,00,000 |
20 per cent |
| Above Rs. 5,00,000/- |
30 per cent |
| For resident
individual of 65 years or above |
| Upto Rs. 2,25,000/- |
Nil |
| Rs. 2,25,001/- to Rs.
3,00,000/- |
10 per cent |
| Rs. 3,00,001/- to Rs.
5,00,000 |
20 per cent |
| Above Rs. 5,00,000/- |
30 per cent |
Corporate Tax/Corporate Surcharge Tax
Service Tax
- No change in service tax rate
Direct Tax
- Short-term capital gains tax hiked to 15%
- Securities Transactions Tax unchanged
- Banking Transaction Tax withdrawn
- Central Sales Tax up from 2% to 5%
Misc.: Bank cash transaction tax to be exempted
The release of Union Budget 2008-09 by Finance
Minister P Chidambaram on 29 Feb'08 might intend to bring about some
paradigm changes. Lets have a quick look at the gainers:
- Farmers have been granted a package of Rs 60,000-cr
- Rs 44 crore for 22 Sainik schools
- 300 more ITIs to be elevated with an investment of Rs 750 cr
- Setting up of 3 new IITs, 16 central universities
- Power sector would be given national fund for transmission,
distribution reforms
- Hike of Rs 12,966 cr from Rs 10,866 cr in NHDP allocation
- Govt would now cost Rs 50,000 cr on farm loan waiving
- Tea would get Rs 400 mn special support fund
- Agri loans would be reconstructed in 2004-06 under special
packages to be waived
- Tea Research association would be allocated Rs 20 cr
- Micro irrigation scheme allocated Rs 500 cr
- Agriculture share in total investment would be raised to 16% from
10.2%
- Grant for ministry of minorities would be raised to Rs 1,000 cr
- Planned schemes for woman to get Rs 11,460 cr this fiscal
- Child related schemes would be granted Rs 33,434 cr
- 288 branches of public sector banks would be set up in 2008
Affected items after the Union Budget 2008-09
| Expensive |
Cheaper |
- Non filter cigarettes
- Unbranded petrol and diesel
|
- Anti-AIDS drugs
- Two wheelers
- Small cars
- Bulk drugs
- Crude sulphur
- Buses, Chassis
- Water Puriifier
- Refrigeration Components
- Paper and its products
- Naptha
- Pharma goods
|
- BUDGET SPEECH ENDS
- Corporate surcharge tax: unchanged
- Indirect tax proposals to incur a loss of Rs 5,000 cr
- Direct tax proposals would be revenue neutral
- Dividend of subsidiary company will be released from DDT
- Banking transaction tax to be exempted
- Central sales tax: Reduced to 2%
- 15% rise in short term capital gains tax
- 5-yr tax holiday for building hospitals in tier-II, tier III
regions
- Short-term capital gains rises to 15 pc
- Excise duty of Rs 1.35/litre applied on unbranded petrol
- Excise duty of Rs 4.6/litre applicable on unbranded diesel
- Introduction of Commodities Transactions Tax
- Securities Transaction Tax would be considered like deductible
expenditure
- Star hotels: 2,3,4 star hotels to get 5-yr tax holiday in
UNESCO's heritage sites
- FBT exempted on creche, employee sports, guest houses facilities
- Duty on two wheelers slashed from 16 to 12 pc
- Tax slab for Rs 3-5 lakh would be 20 pc
- TAX: exemption raised from Rs 1,10,000 to Rs 1,50,000
- TAX: Women exemption threshold streched from Rs 1,45,000
to 1,80,000
- TAX: Senior citizens' exemption raised from Rs 1,95,000
to 2,25,000
- TAX: Coporate income tax unchanged
- Hike of duty on non filter cigarettes
- Excise duty reduced to 8% on water purification items
- Duty taken off on naptha for production of polymers
- Refigeration components to get less expensive
- Reduction of excise duties on anti-AIDS drugs
- Tax-GDP ratio higher at 12.5%
- Step down of excise on paper and its products
- Reduction of excise duties on buses, chassis
- Excise on small cars stepped to 14%
- Excise on pharma goods reduced to 14%
- General CENVAT rate: dipped from 16% to 14%
- 5% cut of customs duty on some bulk drugs
- Crude sulphur: duties stepped down to 5%
- Relieve of duties on coral
- Fiscal Deficit & Revenue Deficit: pegged at 3.1% &
1.4%.
- Duties on convergence products dipped to 5%
- Set top boxes: 100% exemption
- COMMONWEALTH GAMES: allocated Rs 624 cr.
- Steel melting & aluminum scrap: duties reduced
- Peak rate of customs duties unchanged
- Sixth central pay commission would submit report by March
- Revenue Deficit would be 1.4 % agt Budget Estimate of 1.5%
- Planning Commission to assess major schemes
- PROTECT TIGER: Rs 50 cr to Natl Tiger Conservation
Authority to get Rs 50 cr
- Rs 75 cr for ICCR for cultural development
- Defence allocation raised by 10% to Rs 1,05,600 cr
- PDS to get Rs 32,676 as subsidy
- Smart-card based PDS system to come up in Haryana, Chandigarh
- PDS to be toned up
- Grant of Rs 44 cr to 22 Sainik schools each
- Rs 75 cr to given to Agri Ministry to set up soil testing labs
in 250 districts
- Rs 15,000 cr to be given for a non-profit body for dev programme
- Set up a world-class skilled development programme
- PAN requirement extended to all securities transactions
- Set up bond, derivative market
- More clarity in Derivative market
- Risk Capital Fund to be established in SIDBI
- Allocation of Rs 12,966 cr for National Highway Dev programme
- Rs 8,000 cr for accelerated power development programmes
- Ultra mega power project to come up at Tilana shortly
- NHDP to get Rs 12,956 Cr
- Banks would be bucked up to embrace total financial inclusion
- Foreign invt: Oil block exploration anticipated to get up
to $8 bn
- Setting up of Coal regulator
- Health Insurance for 17 lakh families of weavers
- Approval of State data centres scheme and gets Rs 275 cr
- 1 lakh broadband-enabled common service centres to be set
up in villages
- Better allocation of NHDP programme
- Power distribution to get Rs 800 cr
- Public Sector Bank: Around 288 branches to be opened in
districts with minority community concentration.
- Manufacturing rate of growth planned to be doubled
- RIDF corpus to be raised to Rs 14,000 cr
- Education: 20% hike from Rs 28,674 cr to Rs 34,400 cr
- Total amount of loans being waived is Rs 50,000 cr
- Debt waiver scheme to end up by June 30
- Minority Affairs Ministers alloted Rs 1000 cr.
- Total amount of loans being waived is Rs 50,000 cr
- Debt waiver scheme to end up by June 30
- Interest subvention would prove negative for banks
- Waiver forms up to 4% of total bank loans
- Sensex dipped to 210 points
- 500 soil testing labs would be established in the country
- Marginal,small farmers gets 100% waiver on all loans.
Benefit to 4 crore farmers
- Farmers would provided with scheme of debt waiver and debt relief
- Allocation for NRHM hiked to Rs 12,050 cr
- National Horticulture Mission would be allocated Rs 1,100 cr
- Rs 50 cr for Weather based crop insurance scheme
- Tea Research Association would be given a special grant of Rs 20
cr
- Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana would be allocated Rs 2,80,000 cr.
- 53 minor irrigation programmes would come into action
- Coffee, cardamom growing gets more funds
- Child specific schemes would be given Rs 34,334 crores
- Rs 2.80 lakh cr has been set for agri-credit in 2008-09
- Ministry of Woman and Child Development to be alloted Rs 7,200 cr
- 24% hike in allocation for child development
- Border area development gets Rs 500 cr
- Anti-Polio drive gets Rs 1,042 cr
- Hospital sector likely to gain Interest subvention has been
increased in the year 2007-08
- Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission would be alloted Rs
6,865cr
- Development of agri-credit has been impressive
- Minority Affairs Ministry fund raised to Rs 1,000 cr
- Setting up of 288 PSU bank branches in minority districts
- Rs 540 cr to be given for the development plan for minority
districts
- LIC would entail all women SEGs
- Rs 200 crore to be given for potable water in schools
- Rural health services would be alloted Rs 12,050 cr for its
development
- Publishing market would gain from education boost
- Sanitation programmes would be alloted Rs 1200 cr
- More number of minority placements in central para-military
forces
- Higher Education: more institutions in the 11th plan.
- Anganwadi helpers & workers remuneration hiked to Rs 750 &
Rs 1,500
- National Programme for elderly citizens at Rs. 400 crore
- Rajiv Gnadhi Natl Fellowship Programme would be alloted rs 75 cr
- Rs 9 cr for Nat Handicap Development Corp
- Natl Minorities Development Corp would be alloted Rs 75 cr
- Rs. 500 crore for Arunachal and north eastern states
- Education spend to be raised by 20% to Rs 34,400 cr
- NE region would be granted Rs 1, 350 cr for development
- Rajiv Gandhi Drinking Water mission allotment would be raised
- NREG scheme to be implemented in 596 districts
- National Rural Health Mission allocation raised by 15%
- Rs 30,000 health cover allotment for every worker in unorganised
sector
- Increase of Health allocation to 15%
- supply safe drinking water as per Rajiv Gandhi's plan
- 3 IIScs would be set up in Bhopal and Trivandrum
- National Programme for the Elderly to be set up
- Secondary education Scheme: Rs 4,554 crore
- 2 schools would be set up for planning and architecture
- Rs 4,554 crore Secondary education Scheme
- Rs 100 cr would be given to Ministry of Science and tech for
Natl Knowledge Network
- All knowledge bodies would be connected through broadband
- Rs 85 crore for the setting up of a knowledge society
- Scholarships would be given for science and research
- Education and Health allocation up 20%
- Service Sector to rise at 10.7%
- Setting up of 3 IITs in AP, Bihar and Rajasthan
- 16 central universities would come up
- Mid-day meal scheme: for upper primary classes also.
Budgetary allocation Rs 8,000
- Navodiya Vidyalayas to start up in 6,0-00 districts
- 6,000 model high schools to be established
- Agricultural growth rate planned at 2.6%
- reforms for Education, health remains a major concern

- 2008-09 would be a year of integration
- He remains to be convicted to sustain 8% growth
- Effect of global mkts on local mkts is hazy
- Govt, RBI will to take a conjoint step to manage capital inflow
- Govt to monitor all foreign fund inflow
- Govt. to check foreign inflow to stabilise Indian mkts
- Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna launched
- Food grains overall output is 219.32 mn tonnes
- We should remain wakeful for downside risk
- Crude oil has seen a step down
- Agriculture condition was disatisfactory
- Capital inflows proves to be point of consideration against
monetary management
- Growth rate at 8.8%
- Service sector remains the propelling force for Budget
- Since Aug 2007 financial economies has seen a great ups and downs
2007-08 has been a challenging year
- Chaos in the parliament as Opposition interrupts speech
- Finance Minister P Chidambaram starts up to address Parliament
- This Union Budget 2008-09 would be UPA government's last Budget
before elections next year.
- The next Union Budget will be a vote-on-account because of
general elections.
- FM might not deliver a populist Budget as against the general
speculations.
Budget
Expectations
- Complete waiver of loans owed by small and marginal farmers,
landholding below 5 acres.
- Duties on life-saving medicines may be exempted.
- Excise duty may not change: 16 per cent
- Duties on consumer electronics may be slashed down to 12% from
16%.
- Individual Tax Payers: standard deduction limit may be
raised 20 per cent to Rs120,000.
- Surcharge on corporate tax is expected to be abolished.
- 10-year tax exemption under the Software Technology Parks of
India (STPI) scheme may be extended. It ends in March09.
Pre-Budget
Updates
- CORSMA demands a cut in customs
duty on zinc
(Feb 14, 2008)
- Tyre makers demand for a cut
in the import duty from the upcoming Union Budget 2008-09
(Feb 12, 2008)
- Speculations about
reduction in tax rates revolve around upcoming Union Budget
2008-09
(Feb 10, 2008)
- What expectations does Real
Estate Industry have from the coming Union Budget 2008-09?
(Feb 8, 2008)
- Finance Minister,
Chidambram likely to cut off GBS
(Feb 6, 2008)
- Finance Minister Urges Banks to
Facilitate Urban Poor with Loans
(Feb 4, 2008)
- Nasscom's Memo in the Upcoming
Budget
(Feb 2, 2008)
- Views On Union Budget 2008-09
(Jan 31, 2008)
- Women's Groups Expectations from
Budget 2008-09
(Jan 29, 2008)
- The Making of Budget 2008-09
by Finance Minister
(Jan 18, 2008)
- Alterations to be Expected in the
Upcoming Budget regarding Income Tax Exemption Plan
(Jan 17, 2008)
- What Expectations India
Inc has from Budget 2008 ?
(Jan 16, 2008)
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