Budget 2013: Chidambaram offers minor sops to income tax payers, targets super-rich

Vocational courses in state-aided institutions and agriculture testing facilities have been exempted from service tax.

In a one-time amnesty scheme, 10 lakh service tax defaulters have been offered a voluntary compliance encouragement scheme under which penalty and interest will be waived for returning to the tax fold.

Aiming at higher growth rate for inclusive and sustainable development and revive manufacturing, Chidambaram hiked outlays for health, water and sanitation, SCs/STs and tribals and rural development.

While the direct tax proposals will bring in Rs 13,300 crore, those on indirect tax side will rake in Rs 4,700 crore.

Hoping to put behind a bad year on account of economic slowdown, Chidambaram said he has a confidence to be more ambitious in the coming year in pegging the total expenditure at Rs 16,65,297 crore and Plan expenditure of Rs 5,55,322 crore. Non-Plan expenditure is estimated at Rs 11,09,975 crore.

This is more than 29.4 per cent of the revised estimate in the current year.

"All flagship programmes have been fully and adequately funded. I dare say I have provided sufficient funds to each ministries or departments consistent with the capacity to spend the funds," he said in his Budget speech that lasted over 100 minutes.

However, during the current year the revised estimate for total expenditure was reduced to Rs 14,30,825 crore, down from Rs 14,90,925 crore.,

The fiscal deficit for the current year has been contained at 5.2

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