Union Budget of India 2008- Part I

Income Tax exemption to Rs 1.5 lakh
Income Tax exemption for women to 1.8 lakh
Income Tax exemption for senior citizens to 2.25 lakh
Revenue deficit at 1.4 pewr cent of GDP
Duty on project import cut to 5 per cent from 7.5 per cent
Excise duty on two and three wheelers down to 12 per cent
Anti-AIDS drugs exempted from excise duty
Reduce general CEVAT to 14 per cent on all goods from 16 per cent
No change in corporate tax
Ad Valorem duty on diesel and petrol removed
Higher tax rates on cigarettes
Five year tax holiday from Income Tax for hospitals across India
Five year tax break for UNESCO heritage two, three and four star hotels
Four new sectors brought under tax net
Excise duty on Pharma products down to 8 per cent from 16 per cent
Haryana & Chandigarh to develop smart card facility for food subsidy distribution
Loan waver and debt relief of farmers having less than 2 hectares
Marginal and small farmers to get complete waver
All loans to farmers up to March 2007 under the scheme
Implementation of scheme for farmers by June 2008
Total relief package for farmers to cost Rs 60,000 crore
Three IITs to be established in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan
Government confident of 8.8 percent growth rate
National agriculture insurance scheme will continue
Other farmers to get one time relief settlement by paying 75 percent debt

Agricultural credit to reach Rs 2.4 lakh crore by year end
Reduce custom duty on natural rubber and basic raw materials
Spending to increase by 20 percent to benefit NIIT, Educamp and Aptech
Rs 11460 crore for women specific allocation
Gross budgetary support Rs 2.28 trillion
Agricultural growth estimated at 2.6 per cent
Rs 12,970 crore allocated to Natonal Highway
Public Sector Units to get Rs 16436 cr in 2008-09
Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna launched
Education gets a hike of 20 percent, a total of Rs 34,400 crore allocated
Export taxes on key raw material of steel to be increased
Iron ore export duty is at Rs 300 per tonne, decreased by 15 percent
Fertiliser subsidy o continue
Exercise duty on finished steel products reduced to 8 percent
Customs duty on import of scrap metal scrapped
No customs duty on Internet, broadband data cards
15 percent hike in Health sector
Sarva Shikshya Abhiyan gets Rs 13,100 crore
Mid day meal scheme to get Rs 8000 crore
Bharat Nirman to get Rs 31,280 crore
16 Central universities to be setup
Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya to get Rs 130 crore
1042 crore for eradication of Polio
990 crore for AIDS programmes
Rural job scheme to roll out in 596 districts
Govt to tap in resource of SCB's to set up funds
Rs 3966 crore allocated for SC, ST and OBCs
National programme for elderly to receive 400 crore
Rs 500 crore for Arunanchal Pradesh and other north eastern states
Rs 5000 crore fund for enhancing refinance operations
Commercial banks advised to have 250 rural accounts every year
Defence allocation increased by 10 per cent, raised to Rs 1,05,600 crore
Allocation for Minority Ministry doubled
Rs 33,434 crore allocated for child specific schemes
Minority community in Central Paramilitary forces
Rs 624 crore allocated for 2010 Commonwealth Games
Rs 32,667 crores for food subsidy under Public Distribution System (PDS) scheme
Fiscal Deficit at 3.1 per cent of GDP
Rs 40,000 crore allocated for special purpose Tea fund
NREG scheme to be rolled out in 596 districts
Allocation for NREG scheme at Rs 16,000 crore
Rural credit target set to be increased to Rs 80,000 crore
Total allocation for north-east regions at 16,447 crore
Allocation to NRHM increased to Rs 12,050 crore

Read more in tomorrows blog.........