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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 » Sector Analysis |
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| Sector Analysis |
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| AUTO |
| Negotiating a rough patch |
| Outlook for 2008-09 continues to be positive. Demand growth is expected to be buoyant driven by new vehicle launches, likely softening of interest rates and continued growth on the export front. |
| BANKING & FINANCE |
| Boogie-woogie for the brokerages |
| Increased interest rates have positively impacted their spreads, while the slowdown in credit off-take has contained asset growth. |
| CEMENT |
| On terra firma |
| The double-digit growth in demand during the last couple of years is likely to continue, thereby leading to a significant surge in cement prices, with margins expected in excess of Rs 1,000 per tonne. |
| FMCG |
| A year marked by M&A |
| The FMCG sector accounted for five per cent of the total factory employment and created employment for over three million people in downstream activities in 2007. |
| HOSPITALITY & TOURISM |
| On a high growth trajectory |
| The rural infrastructure spending has been raised to Rs 140 billion ($3.5 billion) in the 2008-09 budget to support development projects in the rural areas. |
| IT & ITES |
| Hemmed in by manpower costs |
| The US and the UK remain the key markets for the Indian IT-ITES exports accounting for nearly 80 per cent of the total exports. |
| MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT |
| Good news all the way |
| The media and entertainment industry was estimated at Rs 55,000 crore in 2007, having grown 22 per cent over the previous year. |
| METAL & MINING |
| Steeling for growth |
| Strong domestic demand for steel has led to both greenfield and brownfield capacity expansions, making India the fifth-largest crude steel producer in the world. |
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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".
