UNION BUDGET-2013-HIGHLIGHTS

UNION BUDGET-2013-HIGHLIGHTS

Finance Minister P Chidambaram presented one of the most highly anticipated budgets of recent years today, a blueprint for austerity that forms the centrepiece of India's efforts to stave off a damaging credit ratings downgrade. Here are the highlights of this year's budget:

·         Leather products get cheaper

·         Mobile phones, dinning out, cigarettes, SUVs, motorbikes, set-up boxes get expensive

·         Excise duty on cigarettes raised by 18 per cent

·         Mobile Phones, SUVs to get more expensive: On mobile phones priced at more than Rs.2000, excise duty hiked to 6%. Excise duty on SUVs raised from 27% to 30% Duty free limit for Gold raised to Rs. 50,000 in case of a male passenger and Rs. 1 lakh for female passengers

·         The current slabs were introduced last year. Hence there is no case of revising either )

·         Some tax credit of Rs. 2000 for every person who has an annual income of upto Rs. 5 lakh Tax Administration Reforms Commission to be set up to review tax laws

·         In 2007-08 Tax GDP ratio touched a peak; in short term we must regain that peak

·         The current slabs were introduced last year. Hence there is no case of revising them 

·         But will give some tax relief of Rs. 2000  for every person who has an annual income of up to Rs.5 lakh

·         Rs. 1000-crore Nirbhaya Fund announced for the empowerment of women All Regional Rural Banks and cooperative banks to be e-linked by this year-end

·         National Housing Bank (NHB) to set up urban housing bank fund and Rs. 2,000 crore will be allocated in this regard

·         Standing Council of Experts in Ministry of Finance to examine transaction cost of doing business in India

·         Rs. 14,000 crore capital infusion into public sector banks in 2013-14

·         PSU banks to have ATMs at all their branches by March 31, 2014

·         Rs. 6,000 crore to be allocated for rural housing fund in 2013-14

·         Defence allocation increased to Rs. 2.03 lakh crore Rs. 6,275 crore to ministry of science and technology, Rs. 5,880 crore to Department of Atomic Energy

·         Coal imports during Apr-Dec 2012 crossed 100 million tonnes and expected to go up to 185 million tonnes in 2016-17

·         Finance Minster asks state governments to prepare financial restructuring plan for power distribution companies at the earliest. 

·         Simpler SEBI rules:Securities and Exchange Board of India to simplify procedures for foreign portfolio investors

·         Two new ports to be set up in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh to ad 100 million tonnes handling capacity

·         Gas handling terminal at Dabhol in Maharashtra to be fully operational during 2013-14

·         State governments urged to sign restructuring plans with electricity discoms

·         Tax-free infrastructure bonds of Rs.50,000 crore to be issued

·         Textile ministry allocated Rs.50 crore for establishing apparel parks

·         Handloom sector allocated Rs.96 crore to benefit 150,000 weavers

·         Infrastructure debt funds to be encouraged

·         Regulator to be appointed for road projects; 3,000 km of road projects to be awarded in first six months of 2013-14

·         Incentive allowance of 15 percent over and above permitted depreciation to those investing over Rs.100 crore in infrastructure projects

·         Rajiv Gandhi Equity Scheme to be liberalised

·         Seven new cities identified along Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor

·         Preliminary work begun on Bangalore-Mumbai Industrial corridor
Foodgrain production during 2013-13 estimated at 250 million tonnes

·         Household sector must be incentivised to save in financial instruments rather than gold.Person taking a home loan for his first home during the period 2013-14 will be entitled to an additional deduction of Rs. 1 lakh, announces Mr Chidambaram

·         Re-financing capacity of SIDBI increased to Rs. 10,000 crore from Rs. 5,000 crore for Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises

·         Rs. 27,049 crore allocation to the Agriculture Ministry in 2013-14

·         Rs. 7 lakh crore target fixed for agriculture credit for 2013-14 compared to Rs. 5.75 lakh crore in the current year.

·         Eastern Indian states to get Rs. 1,000 crore allocation for improving agricultural production

·         Infrastructure Development Funds will be encouraged

·         Funds to raise resources for the development

·         Govt committed to food security bill. 10,000 crores set apart for expenditure likely under the act

·         Rs. 37,330 crore allocated for Ministry of Health & Family Welfare

·         Rs. 110 crore to be allocated to the department of disability affairs

·         Rs. 3511 crore allocated to Minority Affairs Ministry which is 60 per cent of the revised estimates

·         Additional sum of Rs. 200 crore to Women and Child Welfare

·         Ministry to address issues of vulnerable women

·         Rs. 37,330 crore allocated for Ministry of Health & Family Welfare

·         Faced with huge fiscal deficit, I have no choice but to rationalise expenditure

·         Development must be sustainable - economically and ecologically

·         Cannot spurn foreign investments, that is an imperative 

·         Great worry is the  current account deficit

·         Without growth, there will be neither development nor inclusiveness

·         The job of a finance minister is to create the economic space and find resources to achieve it

·         Only China and Indonesia growing faster than India

·         By 2013 only China will grow faster than India

·         I seek support as we navigate the Indian economy through crisis that has enveloped the whole world I intend

Prof. John Kurakar