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| Surfers' comments |
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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 |
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 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%. |
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 Motilal Oswal, Chairman and Managing Director of Motilal Oswal Financial Services says the Finance Minister was uniquely positioned to present a landmark Budget. |
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 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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| Calculators |
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How this budget affects your
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| Union Budget 2008-09 » Top stories |
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| Top stories |
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| Land acquisition for SEZ a concern, says Survey |
| The Centre has advised state governments to give first priority to acquiring wastelands, and if only necessary, single-crop agricultural land, before handing them over to developers for a SEZ. |
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| 'Rising rupee remains a concern' |
| The strengthening of the rupee, which appreciated about 14% against the US dollar in the last one year, has adversely affected Indian exports and with almost 70% of India's external trade invoiced in dollars, any change in the dollar's rupee value has a disproportionate effect on the various stakeholders in the rupee's external value. |
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| India's healthcare indicators remain dismal: Economic Survey |
| Healthcare in India still lags behind countries like Sri Lanka, China and even Bangladesh on several key parameters despite some improvement in the sector, the Economic Survey says. |
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| Inflation to remain above 4%: Chidambaram |
| India's inflation will remain above four per cent for the current fiscal even as efforts will continue to bring down prices, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said on Thursday. |
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| Maintaining 9% growth a challenge: Economic Survey |
| The economy has slowed down to 8.7% due to the appreciating rupee and inflationary impact of foreign funds flow and maintaining this growth will be a challenge. Chidambaram, however, is confident of achieving a 9% growth. |
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| Farmers demand 'Kisan Budget' |
| In a meeting with Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, the Bhartiya Kisan Union demanded a separate budget, just like the railway budget, as they felt their issues were not properly addressed in the General Budget. |
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| Rail Budget not election express: Lalu |
| The minister says Rail Budget should be seen as a historic one that received widespread appreciation from the world and trade and industries' masters. |
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| Reduce duties on gems and jewellery, says industry |
| The gem and jewellery industry, the second highest foreign exchange earner in the country, has demanded a cut in duties on coloured gems and zircons to make India an international jewellery trading centre. |
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| Tax cuts will raise consumer demand, say CEOs |
| According to a survey conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), leaders of Indian industry expect a "significant hike" in tax exemption limit compared to last year. |
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| Features |
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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 |
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'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 |
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This is a very good budget, especially for agriculture and education. P Chidambaram is the best.
- By Saravanan P (plsharavanan@rediffmail.com) |
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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) |
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Please tax the street hawkers and give relief to the salaried persons.
- Rajaram (rajaramghurup@rediffmail.com) |
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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) |
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The budget is sure to augment growth and will also lessen the volatility of the stock markets.
- Sidharth Paul (sidharth.paul@gmail.com) |
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Overall, the budget is satisfactory but the health sector should have been given greater importance.
- Ankit Chaudhary (chaudharyankit1987@gmail.com) |
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| Send your feedback |
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"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".
