http://business.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/feb/26/slide-show-1-budget-2010-video-finance-ministers-budget-speech.htm

highlights of the budget 2010-2011.

-- Petrol, diesel prices may go up as basic duty of 5 percent on crude oil restored

-- Income up to Rs.1.6 lakh per year exempt from income tax; up to Rs.5 lakh to be taxed at 10 percent; income of Rs.5-8 lakh to be taxed at 20 percent and income above Rs.8 lakh to be taxed at 30 percent

-- IT returns forms for individual tax payers to be further simplified

-- Taxes on large cars and SUVs increased 2 percent to 22 percent

-- Tax on cigarettes, cigars and chewing tobacco increased

-- Service sector tax retained at 10 percent to aid the introduction of GST; more services to be taxed

-- Rs. 26,000 crore revenue loss due to reduction of direct taxes

-- Partial roll back of reduction in central excise duty

-- Hope to breach 10 percent growth mark in not too distant future

-- Government has set in motion steps to bring down food inflation

-- Need to review stimulus package; need to make growth more broad-based

-- Fiscal deficit to come down to 5.5 percent in 2010-11

-- Government actively engaged in finalising structure of general sales tax regime; hopes to implement it from April 1, 2011

-- Implementation of direct tax code from April 1, 2011

-- FDI flows in April-December 2009 $20.9 billion

-- FDI policy to be made more user-friendly with one comprehensive document

-- Roadmap for reducing public debt in six months

-- Rs.35,000 crore raised from divestment in 2009-10; will be higher in 2010-11

-- New banks as Indian Banking Association to give additional licences to private players

-- Provision for further capital for regional rural banks

-- Banking facilities to be provided to all habitations with a population of 2,000 and more

-- Apex level financial stability council to be set up for banking sector

-- Expenditure in 2010-11 estimated at 11,l8,749 crore

-- Fifty percent hike in allocation for schemes for women and child development

-- Rs.4,500 crore allocated for ministry of social justice and empowerment, a hike of 80 percent

-- Rs.2,600 crore allocated for ministry of minorities affairs

-- Rs.1,900 crore for Unique Identification Authority of India

-- Rs.147,344 crore allocated for defence

-- Draft Food Security Bill prepared and will be put in the public domain

-- Allocation on primary education raised from Rs.26,800 crore to Rs.31,300 crore

-- Rs.66,100 crore allocated for rural development in 2010-11; Rs.40,100 crore for National Rural Employment Scheme; RS.48,000 crore for Bharat Nirman

-- Rs.1,270 crore allocated for Rajiv Awas Yojana for slum dwellers, up from Rs.150 crore, an increase of 700 percent with the aim of creating a slum free India

-- Forty-six percent of plan allocations in 2010-11 will be for infrastructure development

-- Coal Regulatory Authority to be set up to benchmark standards of performance

-- Allocation for new and renewable energy sector increased 61 percent from Rs.620 crore to Rs.1,000 crore in 2010-11

-- National Clean Energy Fund to be established

-- Government committed to growth of SEZs

-- Four-pronged strategy for growth of agricultural sector

-- Rs.200 crore to be provided in 2010-11 for climate-resilient agricultural initiative

-- Involvement of private sector in grain storage to continue for another two years

-- In view of drought and floods, debt repayment period extended to June 2010

-- New fertiliser policy from April 2010; will lead to improved productively and more income for farmers

-- Economy stabilised in first quarter of 2009-10; strong rebound in second quarter; overall growth at 7.2 and could be higher when Q3 and Q4 are taken into account

-- Export figures for January encouraging

-- India has weathered global economic crisis well; Indian economy in far better position than it was a year ago. In 2009 Indian economy faced grave uncertainty; delay in southwest monsoon had undermined agricultural production

-- First challenge now is to quickly revert to 9 percent growth and then aim for double digit growth; need to make recovery more broadbased

-- Second challenge is to make growth more inclusive; have to strengthen food security

-- Third challenge is to overcome weakness in government's public delivery mechanism; a long way to go in this.

II.

India budget 2010 highlights & India budget 2010 income tax: for poor there is nothing in the budget

26 February, 2010

New Delhi: India budget 2010 highlights & India budget 2010 income tax: for poor there is nothing in the budget. The whole Indian industry is going gaga over the 2010 budget presented by Pranab Mukherjee, the main trouble shooter of the UPA government. But it seems that the Finance Minister has got it all wrong when it comes to the welfare of the poor in the society.

Read more:

Relief for many as personal income tax slabs raised


PM lauds Mukherjee for 'right mix' budget

Budget highlights

With India’s more than half of the population embroiled in abject poverty and more than ninety five percent people spending their lives under great financial stress, his latest budget seems to have kept only five percent upper crest of the society under its lenses of welfare.

For poor and the most deprived people of our society the budget doesn’t have much to offer.

I rue the fact that Mamata is the railway minister. She should have been the finance minister to have taken up the cause of the poor people who don’t get much from any government.

For them the condition is going from bad to worse.

The first thing that strikes me instantly is the way he has neglected the poorest of the poor in the budget.

Why he has not raised the tax limit for individual earning rupees 1.6 lakh.

Given the fact that the inflation has risen rapidly in the last few years, the Finance minister could have done agreat service for the poor of the society had he raised the limit from Rs 1.6 lakh to Ts 2.5 lakh or Rs 3 lakh.

It is a great disservice to ask a person pay ten percent as income tax if he earns as little as Rs 13500 every month. Even a person earning rupees twenty thousand a month finds it impossible to run his house properly if has one or two kids.

Given the fact that most people in our country support more than their own family and support their parents and sisters and brothers, it is impossible to make ends meet in such a small salary.

The government should have hiked the tax rate for the super rich and increased the threshold limit.

BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS

Income Tax

# Personal Income Tax slabs widened

# Income up to Rs 1.6 lakh – NIL

# Above Rs 1.6 lakh to 5 lakh -- 10%

# Above Rs 5 lakh to 8 lakh -- 20%

# Above Rs 8 lakh -- 30%

# Deduction of Rs 20,000 in long term infrastructure bonds

# Contribution under central scheme to be included for Health Insurance exemption

# Income Tax Department ready with Saral-2 form for salaried tax-payers

# 2,000 Income Tax Returns daily

# Revamp needed of internal working system

# One percent interest subsidy on home loan up to Rs 10 lakh March 2011

# Weighted deduction on RD raised to 200% from 150%=

# Professionals with Rs 15 lakh income need account audit

# Interest on tax deduction, not paid, raised to 18%.


Railway Budget 2010: Highlights



Mamata Banerjee tables Rail Budget in Lok Sabha

Social responsibility top consideration of railways

Railway connectivity is key to India's growth

Delayed administration and prosecution should be addressed

Railway to come up with 10-year plan 'Vision 2020'

Special task force to clear business proposals in 100 days

It's time for public-pvt partnership in Railways. Business firms must join Railways, we won't privatise railways.

Mamata proposes 1000 km of new railway lines each year

117 of 120 new trains for current fiscal to be flagged off.

Railway plans to raise 10000-20000 crore rupees in 2010-2011.

Rail Budget promises new model to develop network

Railway promises cleanliness ad better amenities on train

Railway offers sops for women, minorities, senior citizens

Mamata proposes multilayer parking and cheap drinking water

6 bottling plants to supply water to Railways

Railway plans e-ticketing vans at hospitals and universities

Railway proposes new signalling system

Railway offers special safety for passengers

Railway provides special facilities for ex-servicemen and sportsmen

Railways plans to achieve no unmanned Railway crossing in next five years

Special trains for Delhi during Commonwealth Games

No hike in freight tariff

Railway to set up 5 sports academies

New housing scheme for senior citizens

Railway to set up sports academies at Delhi, Secunderabad, Chennai

New housing scheme for employees

Law and order is not Railway but state concern

Railway to set up Tagore museums

New anti-collission devices to be formed

Railway research centre at Kharagpur

5 new coach factories to be set up

54 new trains in 2010-2011

101 new suburban trains for Mumbai

10 more Duranto trains

AC service charge cut to Rs 20 from Rs 40

Cut freight rates on food grains and kerosene by Rs 100 per wagon

More tourist trains on 16 routes

Proposal to extend routes of 21 trains

No forceful land acquisition for Railway

Diesel plant for Bengal if land is available

Railway to set up 10 auto ancilliary hubs under PPP model

To set up more freight corridors

To set up dedicated passenger corridors

Railway benefitted from austerity measures

To ink western corridor pact with Japanese company

Railway to spend 113 cr for better passenger amenities

Coach factory in Rae Bareilly in a year.
Door to door service for freight

Rs 1032 to be provided for Railway amenities

Perambadur and Chittaranjan plants to be upgraded

Despite slowdown, freight load up

National high speed rail authority to be set up

Job for one member of family whose land is taken

Development, remodelling of Kolkata Metro station a priority.

In 150 years, India has averaged 180 kml line in a year

Railway to have master plan for Northern Railway region

No increase in passenger fares
2010/11 PROJECTIONS
* Plan outlay set at 414.26 billion rupees ($9 billion)
* Freight target set at 944 million tonnes

FUNDING
* Indian Railways Finance Corp (IRFC) to borrow 91.2 billion rupees ($1.97 billion) from the market in 2010/11
* Aims to increase earnings from non-core activities to 10 billion rupees from 1.5 billion rupees.

EXPANSION
* To introduce dedicated passenger corridor

NEW MEASURES
* To set up 10 auto, auto-ancillary hubs across India
* To introduce pilot project for fire detection
* To construct more underpasses for safety

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The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
Mahatma Gandhi