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Surfers' comments
The threshold limits on tax need to be increased and tax rates should be spread across more slabs so as not to hurt the salaried class. - Jayaraman

The I-T exemption for men should be Rs 1.8 lakh. Rs 1.5 lakh is peanuts. - Naveen Kumar
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Expert comments
Gaurav Taneja,
Partner & National Tax Director says the Finance Minister has stressed on buoyancy in tax collections and on attaining a Tax—GDP ratio of 12.5%.
Motilal Oswal, Chairman and Managing Director of Motilal Oswal Financial Services says the Finance Minister was uniquely positioned to present a landmark Budget.
Srinivasa Rao, Partner & India International Tax Leader, Ernst & Young is of the opinion that Union Budget has lived up to the populist trend.
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Union Budget 2008-09  »   Top stories
Top stories
Tripura chief minister hails Rail Budget
Manik Sarkar welcomes the Railway Budget, which brings many sops for the northeastern states, saying it will now help link Tripura and other states with South-East Asia.
Upset with rail budget, protestors hold up trains in Orissa
Train services across Orissa were disrupted for three hours on Wednesday by workers of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD), its ally the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Kalinga Sena, who said that the railway budget had neglected the state.
Lalu accused of presenting parochial, discriminatory Budget
The Railway Minister came under attack for presenting a "parochial" and "discriminatory" Budget amid claims that the "UPA train" had met with a serious accident ahead of polls.
Lalu presents people's budget, slashes fares
The Railway Minister announced the launch of several new trains and reduction in fares across all classes amid chaos by the Opposition parties in the Parliament.
Economic Survey to be tabled on Feb 28
The survey, which is a critical government policy document presented annually ahead of the Budget, is likely to focus on the UPA government's achievements in the field of social sector and the efforts to sustain the GDP growth rate at close to 9%.
What will Chidambaram do in this budget?
The economy is slowing down, foreign investors have turned wary, and there is an election to be won next year. So, will Finance Minister P Chidambaram script Budget 2008 for votes or growth?
Top 10 expectations from this Budget
Not surprisingly, rationalisation of different taxes scores high on people's wish lists.
Rail Budget to bring 'basket of comforts'
The Railway Minister is likely to go in for a nominal reduction in passenger fares and rationalisation of freight rates in the "people friendly" Rail Budget to be presented on Tuesday.
Patil sings 'aam aadmi' tune in address to Parliament
In her maiden address to the joint sitting of Parliament marking the commencement of the Budget Session, the President touched upon various issues pertaining to the common man and said the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme would be extended to all rural districts of the country from April.
PM hints at debt relief for farmers
The Prime Minister has assured that demands raised for benefit of farmers will be considered in the upcoming budget.
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Sector Analysis
AUTO
Negotiating a rough patch
Demand growth is expected to be buoyant driven by new vehicle launches, likely softening of interest rates and continued growth on the export front.
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Railway Budget
Lalu presents people's budget, slashes fares
The minister announced launch of several new trains and reduction in fares across all classes amid chaos by Opposition in Parliament.
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Features
A budget for Bharat
Buoyant tax revenues a lower fiscal deficit and an economy that's in top gear permit the FM to pump big money into agriculture and the social sector. Those efforts might help at the hustings, too.
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Economic Survey
'Expand telecom infrastructure, R&D'
"With rapid growth of telecom network, there is a need to further expand the infrastructure and research and development," the survey said.
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Surfers' comments
This is a very good budget, especially for agriculture and education. P Chidambaram is the best.
- By Saravanan P (plsharavanan@rediffmail.com)
If you can waive Rs 50,000 crore for farmers what about the tax on housing loan interest? That should also have been reduced.
- Chandra Shekar V (rilshekar@yahoo.co.in)
Please tax the street hawkers and give relief to the salaried persons.
- Rajaram (rajaramghurup@rediffmail.com)
This is the worst budget the finance minister has ever presented. The backbone of the country's economy is the transport but he completely missed it out.
- Jayakaanthan A (jayakaanthan@gmail.com)
The budget is sure to augment growth and will also lessen the volatility of the stock markets.
- Sidharth Paul (sidharth.paul@gmail.com)
Overall, the budget is satisfactory but the health sector should have been given greater importance.
- Ankit Chaudhary (chaudharyankit1987@gmail.com)
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Business Today's Budget edition
Editorial: Predictably populist budget
Special: Something for everyone...
Column: All for the common man
Exclusive interview with the FM
Maintaining the growth story
The Finance Minister defends Budget 2008 and the Rs 60,000 crore loan waiver doled out to farmers in an exclusive interview to Business Today's Sanjoy Narayan and R Sridharan.
VOX CEOs
"Total reduction of excise duties by 2% will give a welcome boost to the manufacturing sector. Also, the exemption of specified parts of set-top boxes from customs duties is commendable".
- Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Vice Chairman, Bharti Enterprises
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Beginner’s guide to budget
Union Budget is an estimate of the Government of India's revenue and expenditure for the end of a particular fiscal year, which usually runs from April 1 to March 31. Read on...
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