| FARMER FRIENDLY DECISIONS |
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New scheme of debt-waiver and debt relief for farmers |
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All agriculture loans disbursed by PSU banks, co-operatives till March 2007 waiting recovery to be covered under scheme |
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Complete waiver of loans for small and marginal farmers holding upto 2 hectares of land |
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One-time settlement scheme for “all other” farmers |
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Agricultural loans restructured by banks through special packages. All such loans will also be eligible for waiver under the scheme |
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Implementation of loan waiver scheme to be completed by June 30, 2008 |
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Farmers will also be eligible for fresh loans |
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Govt to allocate 60,000 crore for this scheme |
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Four crore farmers expected to benefit |
| CHEAPER vs DEARER |
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Cheaper: Small cars, motorcycles and scooters, dairy products, washing machine and ACs, set-top box, gems and jewellery, water purifiers, three and four star hotel tarrif, all pharma products, imported life-saving drugs |
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Dearer: Mobiles, non filter cigarettes, packaged softwares , stock and commodity exchange services |
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All agriculture loans disbursed by PSU banks, co-operatives till March 2007 waiting recovery to be covered under scheme |
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| TACKLING TAXES |
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Threshold exemption limit increased from 1,10,000 to 1,50,000 |
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Income Tax exemption limit for women hiked from Rs 1,45,000 to 1,80,000 |
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Senior citizens' exemption limit hiked from Rs 1,95,000 to 2,25,000 |
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New tax slabs — 1.5 lakh to 3 lakh: 10%; 3 lakh to 5 lakh: 20%: 5 lakh and above: 30% |
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No change in corporate tax; no change in surcharge |
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Duty on two wheelers reduced from 16 to 12 % |
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Excise duty slashed to 8% on water purification items |
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Duty withdrawn on naptha for production of polymers |
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Central Sales Tax up from 2% to 5% |
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Introduction of commodity transaction tax |
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Short-term capital gains tax hiked to 15% |
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Securities Transactions Tax unchanged |
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Banking Transaction Tax withdrawn |
| BALANCE SHEET |
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GDP increased by 8.8% during first 3 years of UPA govt |
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Growth to be 8.7% this fiscal |
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Manufacturing growth at 9.4% |
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Services growth at 10.7% |
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Agriculture growth pegged at 2.4% |
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Govt to monitor and moderate capital inflow to ensure stock market stability |
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| AGRICULTURE |
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Agriculture sector has grown by 2.4% |
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Agri credit doubled during UPA government’s tenure |
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Record food grain production at 290 mn tonnes |
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Record rice production at 98.04 million tonnes |
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Record maize production at 16.7 million tones |
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75-78% of total credit by PSU banks |
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Target for credit to farmers in 2008-09 is at Rs 280,000 crore |
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Additional irrigation potential to be developed for 5 lakh hectares |
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Rs 500 crore for rain-fed area development programme to be launched in new areas |
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World Bank aiding many states in agriculture |
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14 national agricultural projects approved |
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New financial institution IWRFC to be launched with an initial allocation of Rs 100 crore to mobilise funds for agriculture |
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500 soil testing labs to start via PPP |
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Rs 175 crore for mobile soil testing units in 200 districts by March 2009 |
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Rs 20 crore to Tea Research Institute |
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National agricultural insurance scheme to continue for Kharif, Rabi crops |
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Fertiliser subsidy to continue |
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New nutrient based fertiliser subsidy regime to be launched |
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Prof Vaidyanathan Committee recommendations on micro-credit to be implemented |
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| INFRASTRUCTURE AND INDUSTRY |
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Power generation on target for 11th Plan |
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Allocation of Rs 5,000 crore for rural electrification |
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Rs 12,966 crore for highways |
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96.48% of Golden Quadrilateral completed |
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26.36% of East-West, North-South Corridor completed |
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Rs 380 crore for oil and gas exploration |
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New coal regulator to be appointed |
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Rs 1,680 crore for IT Ministry |
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One lakh broadband centres to be set up in rural areas |
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All 30 integrated textile parks have been approved |
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Clasuter Approach for handloom has been a success |
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| EDUCATION |
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Education outlay increased by 20% to Rs 34,400 crore |
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Mid-day meal scheme to be extended to all govt and govt-aided schools |
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410 new Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidayalaya to be set up |
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New model school programme to be started |
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New Navodaya Vidyalaya to be set up in 20 backward districts |
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1 lakh new scholarships to be granted |
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Nehru Yuva Kendras to be set up in all districts |
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Central Universities for all states; 16 central universities this year |
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Three new IITs in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan |
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Two Schools of Planning and Architecture in Bhopal and Vijaywada |
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Ministry of Science and Technology to start a new scholarship scheme |
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Rs 100 crore to build National Knowledge Network to connect all knowledge centres via broadband |
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| HEALTH |
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Health outlay increased by 15% to Rs 16,543 crore |
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National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to be extended to all districts |
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46,200 Asha workers have been trained |
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Anganwadi workers remuneration increased to Rs 1,500 |
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More than 300 district hospitals to be upgraded |
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Rs 12,050 crore for National Rural Health Mission |
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Rs 900 crore for combating AIDS |
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Rashtrya Health Bima Yojna to be launched in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan on April 1 |
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Integrated Child Development Scheme allocation increased to Rs 6,000 crore |
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| FOR SENIOR CITIZENS |
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Two national institutes of ageing |
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New national programme for the elderly |
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| DEFENCE |
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Budget increased by 10% to to Rs 1,05,600 crore |
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Rate of attrition high in defence forces |
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| MISCELLANEOUS |
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Special fund of Rs 500 crore for Arunachal Pradesh |
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Rs 12,155 crore to Ministry for North East Development |
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Rs 200 crore for clean water to school children |
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Rs 1,000 crore for Ministry for Minorities |
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Rs 75 crore for Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Programme |
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Rs 60 crore to enhance the corpus fund of Maulana Azad programme |
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Rs 11,460 crore for 100% women specific scheme |
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Rs 45.5 crore to modernise madrasas |
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Rs 288 crore for nationalised banks in minorities areas |
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Allocation of Rs 1,200 crore for sanitation programmes |
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More minority recruitments in central para-military forces |
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ICDS allocation hiked to Rs 6,300 cr |
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Rs 300 cr for desalination plant near Chennai |
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National Handicap Development Corp to get Rs 9 crore |
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LIC 'Janashree Yojana' for women self-helf groups |
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Target of Rs 2,80,000 for credit in agriculture |
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Rs 300 crore for rain affected areas |
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USD 730 million World Bank agreement for water storage development programme |
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Rs 500 crore for development of border areas |
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Rs 1,100 core for National Horticulture Mission |
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SIDBI to reduce guarantee fee |
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17 lakh weavers to be covered under insurance scheme |
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500 new labs for soil testing |
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Rs 16,000 crore for National Rural Emplyoment Guarantee Scheme |
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National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to be extended to all districts |
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No change in peak rates of customs duty |
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Rs 500 crore to Centre of Development Studies, Tiruvananthapuram |
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| CHIDAMBARAM SPEAK |
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2008 should be a year of consolidation |
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UPA wants to make growth inclusive |
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We can do better and we should; Budget 08-09 is about doing more |
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India determined to become self sufficient in agriculture |
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Finance Minister confident of 8.8% this fiscal |
"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".
