Infrastructure and public- private partnership projects form the focus of the budget.
The finance minister on Monday presented to parliament the federal budget for the year March 2010.
Following are the highlights from his speech:
-"The first challenge is to return the GDP growth rate of 9 percent per annum at the earliest."
-The main growth driver in the current period is the private investment
- Govt to sell stakes in RITES, Manganese Ore
- Infrastructure investments to be 9% of GDP.
- Increase agriculture growth by 4% every year
- First challenge is to lead the economy back to the 7% GDP growth
- NHAI support up by 23%
- To hike private partnerhip in all PSU's
- Budget makes subvention of 1% as incentive to farmers
- NREGA Outlay increased by 144%
- IIFCL, banks can support projects worth Rs 1,00,000 crore
- Govt to support natural gas grid
- To initiate institutional measures to control fiscal deficit
- Govt to set up panel to advice on oil pricing
- Irrigation programme outlay increased 75% to 1,000 crore
- Local production of natural gas will be doubled
- Income tax return forms to be simplified
- Rs 3.25 lalk cross agiculture credit for current year
- Simple, exemption free tax structure in four years
- To modernise empployment exchanges through PPP mode
- To add handloom clusters in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu
- Nutrient based fertiliser subsidy being worked upon
- Government wants public shareholding in PSUs to go up
- NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) has been an outstanding success
- Biometric smart cards issued to 18.6 lk families
- Govt to work closely with industry to address concerns
- NREGA's minimum wage set at Rs 100/day
- 46 lakh BPL families under new health insurance plan
- Banks, insurance cos are out of disinvestment plans
- Govt to launch housing programmes for central paramilitary
- Paramiltary housing project to cost Rs 1,000 crore
- Farm loan waiver plan extended
- Govt to spend Rs 120 cr in FY 10 on unique ID project
- Commonwealth games allocation raised substantially
- New AMU campuses in West Bengal and Kerala
- Food security to provide wheat and rice at Rs 3/kg
-Indira Awaas Yajona outlay raised by 63%
- PM's Adarsh Gram Yajana starts with Rs 100 crore funding
- Bharat Nirman outlay incresed by 59%
- Plan expenditure is raised by 34%
- Govt to spend 1.42 lk crore on defence
- Interest payments are a third of expenditure plans
- Fiscal deficit seen at 6.8% in FY10
- Govt to move food security bill very soon
- PSU cos will remain under govt control
- Revenue Deficit seen at 4.8%
-Construction industry gets full exemption for concrete slabs
PART B of the Budget
- To release new direct tax code in 45 days
- To introduce GST by April, 2010
- GST will be dual in nature
- States and Federal Government to impose GST
- No changes in corporate taxes with a view to provide interim relief to small and micro enterprises
- To raise personal IT exemption to Rs15,000 for seniors
- To raise severe disability limit
- Surcharge on paersonal income tax scrapped
- FBT ( Fringe Benefit Tax) has been scrapped
- Tax Holidays for exporters extended to 2011
-Minimum Alternative Tax raised to 15% of book profits
- MAT Tax credit extended to 10 years from 7 years earlier
- National Pension scheme made exempt from STT
- National Pension scheme given tax exemptions
- Commodity transaction Tax ( CTT ) is abolished
- Political funding will get 100% tax deduction
-Tax holiday extended on commercial production of natural gas
- Manufacturing growth barely appears to be turning corner
-Maintaining overall excise, service , custom tax
- Customs duty on set top boxes is now 5%
- Customs duty on some bulk drugs halved to 5%
- 4% excise duty on cotton textiles restored
- 8% excise duty on manmade fibres restored
- Exempting branded jewellery from excise
- No new taxes on edible oil imports
- Exporters are exempted from service tax to transporters
- Some law services brought under service tax
- Individual law consulattion not to attract service tax
- Govt to extend service tax to goods moved by rail, post
RSS Feed
The 2009-10 budget has been prepared under severe fiscal constraints. Yet finance minister tried to please every section of the society.The mounting revenue and fiscal deficit has questioed the Fiscal management bill. The basic question is should policy guide the events or shoud events guide the policy. If the later is true , why make long term policy and lofty statements at all.
N. K. Dashora