India Budget 2009-2010
The Acting Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee presented the budget revealing spending plans for year 2009-10 from April to July, taking care of essential spending during and in immediate after month of the general elections.
Highlights of Budget 2009-2010:
- Budget spells out the target for the UPA: To bring back the 9% growth
- Commodities Transaction Tax (CTT) to be scrapped
- 10% surcharge on personal Income tax scrapped
- Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) to be scrapped
- IT exemption limit for Women hiked to Rs 190,000
- IT exemption limit for Senior Citizens hiked to Rs 240,000
- Rs 12000 crore earmarked for expenditure on rural roads in FY 2010
- Drugs related to heart diseases to be cheaper
- Service Tax to be now applicable on law firms
- Bio-diesel custom duty lowered
- Customs Duty on import of Gold and Silver increased
- Branded women's jewellery to be cheaper
- Rs 16300 Crore to be set aside for the upcoming Commonwealth Games
- IITs and NITs to get Rs 2113 crore
- Corporate Tax unchanged
- One rank-one pension provision/scheme to be in place for Ex-Servicemen
- National Ganga Project allocation to go up to Rs 562 Crore
- Unique Identification (UID) project under Nandan M. Nilekani to be out in 12-18 months
- NRHM allocation to be raised by Rs 257 crore
- A national level action plan in place for climate change
- National Employment Exchanges to be modernized
- Interest subsidy for home loans up to 1 lakhs
- Indira Awaas Yojna bolstered up by 63% to Rs 8883 crore
- Saral 2 forms to simply tax filing process
- Emphasis on fertilizer subsidy reaching out directly to farmers
- Petroleum price expert panel to set petroleum prices which would be in sync with the global levels
- Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna allocation increased by 30%
- IIFCL, being a new company shall look into the infrastructure needs
- Extension of farm loan waiver scheme by 6 months
- The allocation for National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) increased by 23%
- Fiscal stimulus at 3.5% pf the GDP
- Small scale businesses to be exempted from advance tax
- 50% reduction in the Custom Duty on LCD panels
- Set top boxes to be costlier
- Goods and Services Tax (GST) to be in effect from April, 2010
- Textile units to enjoy continued tax holidays
- Pranab praises the 3 stimulus packages which were rolled out by the UPA to fight the global economic meltdown
- Signals of revival in the domestic market: Pranab Mukherjee
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