2009 Union Budget Highlights

Total budget expenditure for 2009-10 will Rs 10,28,032 crExemption limit for income tax raised by Rs 10,000Hike in IT exemption for women to Rs 1,90,000Hike in IT exemption to Rs 2,40,000 for senior citizensNo change in corporate taxEliminate surcharge on personal Income Tax by 10 pctService tax exempted for exporters on select servicesDefence gets Rs 1,41,703 crore for 2009-10, a 34 pct hike from 2008-09 budgetary allocation Service tax imposed on certain legal servicesCustoms duty to be reduced on drugs for heart treatmentMobile phone accessories to become cheaperBranded jewellery to become cheaperCustoms duty on bio-diesel reducedTax holiday textile units extendedCustoms duty on gold and silver import increasedCustom duty on gold re-imposedSmall businesses exempt from advance taxOverall customs and excise duty structure maintainedTo impose 5 pct customs duty on set top boxesCustom duty on LCD panels halvedTax holiday to natural gas extendedAnonymous funds to charitable bodies get tax reliefMAT rate hiked to 15% of book profitCommodities Transaction Tax to be abolishedEffort is to improve tax collection by eliminating distortions in tax system and expanding the baseDirect Tax code to be released in 45 days along with discussion paperShare of direct taxes has increase to 56 pct in 2008-09 over 41 pct in 2007-08Tax holiday for exporters extended until 2012Fringe Benefit Tax to be abolishedIncome tax incentives on education loans expanded to cover vocational studies after schoolingGoods and Services Tax to be introduced from April 1, 2010New tax code to be set up in 45 daysGovt committed to tax reformsPlan expenditure, for Centre and States, to go up by Rs 61,000 crFiscal deficit seen at 6.8 pct Higher public investment in infrastructureRs 500 crore allocated for rehabilitation of internally displaced Tamils in Sri Lanka Rs 1,000 crore for rebuilding infrastructure damaged by 'Aila' in West BengalRs 25 cr allocated each for AMU campuses in Murshidabad, MallapuramOne lakh dwelling units for paramilitary forces personnel to be constructed Pension of non-commissioned officers to be hikedOne rank, one pension for ex-servicemen from July 1Rs 2,113 cr for IITs and NITsAllocation of Rs 50 cr to Chandigarh UniversityCommonwealth allocation hiked to Rs 16,300 crGovt to hike allocation to National Ganga Project to Rs 562 crFirst Unique ID to citizens to roll out in 12-18 months; Rs 120 crore proposed for the projectAllocation for National Rural Health Mission to be raised by Rs 257 crNational action plan on climate changeAllowances to para-military forces at par with defence forcesModernisation of national employment exchanges to be carried outAction initiated to provide social security to unorganised sector workersFull interest subsidy for students taking courses in approved institutions; five lakh students to benefitTo add handloom cluster in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal50 pct of all rural women to be brought into self-help group programmesRashtriya Mahila Kosh allocation to be raised to Rs 500 crNational Mission for Female Literacy with emphasis on minorities, SC/ST to be launchedInterest subsidy for home loans hiked to Rs 1 lakhAllocation for Bharat Nirman progamme raised by 45 pctFull interest subsidy for poor students for higher educationRs 100 cr one-time grant to expand banks in unbanking areasWork on National Food Security scheme for providing food at cheaper rates to the poor has begunIndira Awaas Yojna hiked by 63 pct to Rs 8,883 crRs 31,100 crore allocated to NREGANREGA gave employment opportunities to more than 4.479 cr households in last fiscalTo return to FRBM target for fiscal discipline at the earliestSubsidy regime for fertilisers to change to nutrient-based rather than price-basedBanking network to be expandedBanks and insurance firms to remain in public sectorThreshold for non-promoter public listed companies raisedSaral-II forms to simplify taxation processMove towards energy security via Integrated Energy ActAn expert group to look into petroleum product pricingExport Credit Guarantee scheme extended till March 2010Print media stimulus package extended by 6 monthsTarget for agriculture credit raised to Rs 3,25,000 cr in FY10Allocation of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna stepped up by 30 pctWill create close to 12 million jobsFarmers loan interest to come down to 6 pctTotal fiscal stimulus during FY09 is Rs 1,86,000 crFund allocation for urban poor accommodation is 3,973,000 crHousing allocation hiked under Rajiv Awaas YojanaMumbai flood management allocation hiked to Rs 500 crIIFCL will re-finance 60 pct of commercial bank loans in PPPShare of trade has doubled to 38 % of GDPUncertainties of global economy remainIIFCL to be given greater flexibilityGovt took 3 stimulus packages to fight slowdownTrade in goods and services doubled in 2008Significant hike in foreign capitalInfra investment to exceed 9% of GDP by 2014One Budget can't solve all issues: FMPolicy target to revive agriculture and industrial growthEnsure 4 pct growth for agriculture: FMIncrease investment in infrastructure: PranabGrowth Target at 9 pct per annumCabinet approves Union BudgetPranab Mukherjee begins presentation of Union Budget 2009-10 in Lok Sabha
 

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