Highlights of 2008 Budget...Part II

.P Chidambaram concludes his Budget speech and the House is adjourned till the 3rd of March.
.No change in coporate income tax rate. Short term Capital Gains Tax increased.
.Income Tax exemption rates raised from 1.1 lakhs to 1.5 lakhs across the board.

Exemption limit for women raised to 1.8 lakhs.
.Prices of non-filter cigarettes to go up.
.Excise duty cut on wireless data cards.
.Excise on small cars down to 14%.
.Reduction of excise duties on anti-AIDS drugs.
.Duties on convergence products slashed to 5%.
.Full exemption of duties on Set Top boxes .
.Duties reduced on steel melting scrap, aluminum scrap .
.Cut in duties on sports goods from 7.5 % to 5%.
.Revenue Deficit will be 1.4 % against the Budget estimate of 1.5% .
.6th Pay Commision will meet employee expectations.
.Rs 624 cr allocated for Commonwealth Games.
.Defence allocation raised Rs 1,05,600 cr.
.Rs 5,000 cr fund for enhanced re-finance operations.
.Commercial banks advised to have 250 rural accounts every year.
.Completion rate of Golden Quadrilateral project is 98.3%.
.Rs 12,970 cr allocated for National Highways.
.Govt to provide Rs 303 cr as debt support to PSUs.
.Loan waiver will discourage fresh lending.
.Rescheduled agricultural loans are also eligible for waivers.
.At least 4 cr farmers to be benefited by debt waiver.

.Waiver of loans for small farmers holding up to 1-2 hectares.
.Uproar in the Lok Sabha over PC's proposal on farmers.
.All loans for farmers due up to 31 Mar 2007, have been waived.
.Rs 75 cr for mobile soil-testing labs in 260 districts.
.Banks to disperse agricultural credit of Rs 2,80,000 cr.
.Rs 16,202 cr for schemes with 30% women representation.
.Urban infrastucture spending raised to Rs 6,870 cr.
.Allocation of Rs 1000 cr to Ministry of Minority Affairs.
.Rs 650 cr for model school programmes, 6000 new schools.
.Health insurance of Rs 30,000 for BPL families.
.Rs 195 cr for ST development programmes.
.Rs 164 cr for OBC developement programme.
.Rs 804 cr towards SC development programmes.
.Rs 500 cr for the development of NE regions.
.Rs 1,200 cr for sanitation programmes.
.Rs 750 cr will be allocated towards 1 lakh scholarship.
.Rs 70,200 cr allocated for drinking water mission.
.All knowledge bodies to be connected via broadband.
.Remuneration of Anganvadi workers to be increased to Rs 1,500 pm.
.Total plan spending allocated Rs 2lakh 40 thousand cr.
.Health spending to increase by 15 %.
.Secondary education Scheme Rs 4,554 crore.
.Upgraded mid day meal scheme to help 2.5 cr children.
.Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana for every worker under BPL category.
.Rs 100 cr for setting up National Knowledge Network.
.Age limit for Science scholarship raised.
.Mid day meals extended to upper primary classes
.16 central universities and 3 IITs will be set up.
.Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan gets Rs 13,100 crore.
.Agricultural credit poised to reach 2lk 40,000 cr by Mar 2008.
.2008-09 should be the year of consolidation.
.Education allocation has been increased by 20 %.
.Govt will closely monitor capital inflows.
.Determined to become self sufficient in food grains.
.stimated output of food grains at 219.32 mln tonnes.
.Growth will be led by services and manufacturing sector.
.Manufacturing sector to grow by 9.4%.

.Services sector to grow by 10.8%.
.Confident of maintaining average growth rate of 8.8%.
.gricultural growth pegged at 9.2%.
.C starts his budget speech in the Lok Sabha.