Union Budget-2010 Highlights

Budgets in India are much more than the statement of accounts for the world's largest democracy. As the finance minister, seasoned politician Pranab Mukherjee, said: "It has to reflect the government's vision and signal the policies to come in future."
In this budget Mr Mukherjee has sought to roll back some of the fiscal stimulus measures introduced from late 2008 in the wake of the global economic crisis.

Highlights of Union Budget are as mentioned below:
■To waive excise duty on solar panels
■Petrol prices to go up
■Fresh services to be brought under service tax
■Service tax to GDP ratio 1%
■Service tax to result in net revenue gain of Rs 3000 cr
■Customs duty on silver at Rs 1500/kg
■Custom duty on gold to be reduced
■Mobile phones to be cheaper
■No capital gains tax on conversion of a business entity into Limited Liability Partnership
■To encourage manufacture of accessories such as battery chargers and hands-free sets, the concessions will be extended the mobile phone sector
■5% customs duty on crude petroleum back
■Peak customs duty unchanged at 10%
■FM raises central excise duty on all non-petroleum products from 8 to 10 per cent
■Revenue loss of Rs 26,000 crore on direct tax proposals
■Stimulus-led excise duty rollback partially reversed
■FM allows housing projects to complete projects in 5 years instead of 4 years to avail tax break
■One-time interim relief to housing and real estate sector
■Businesses up to Rs 60 lakh and professionals up to Rs 15 lakh to be exempted from auditing obligations of their accounts
■Uproar in Parliament over petrol price rise
■To levy excise duty of Re 1/litre on petrol
■New tax rates would offer relief to 60 per cent of tax-payers
■CET on petroproducts hiked by Re 1
■Uniform Direct tax receipts to fall by Rs 56,000 cr
■Standard excise rate up from 8 to 10%
■Large cars, SUVs excise up to 22% from 20%
■Sops for real estate, housing projects extended by a year
■Partial roll back the rate reduction in central excise
■Direct tax scheme to result in revenue loss of Rs 26,000 cr
■Compliance burden reduced on professionals and entrepreneurs
■Corporate tax surcharge down from 10 to 7.5%
■New income tax slabs will bring relief to the middle class
■Rs 20,000 additional tax break for infra bonds
■Minimum Alternate Tax hiked to 18%
■R&D allocation increased 200%
■To unveil new Saral 2 form for salaried individuals in two pages
■Deduction of additional 10% for investment on infrastructure bonds
■Tax slabs: Broadening 1.6 lakh - Nil above 1.6 lakh-up to 5 lakh 10%
■5-8 lakh- 20% above 8 lakh- 30%
■Tax paying interface to be de-cluttered
■States to be offered assistance to computerise commercial taxes
■Greater transparency in tax administration targeted
■Centralized Tax Centre at Bengaluru fully functional
■Fiscal deficit at 5.5% for FY'11
■Rolling target for fiscal deficit 4.2%
■Gross tax receipts at Rs 7.46 lakh cr
■New symbol for Indian Rupee
■Tech advisor group under Nandan Nilekani
■Allocation for development of micro and small scale sector raised from Rs 1,794 cr to Rs 2,400 cr
■Rs 2,600 cr for Minority Affairs Ministry
■To create 50 cr skilled workers by 2022
■Rs 1,900 cr to UID authority allocated
■First set of UID to be issued by this year
■Rs 19,484 cr allocated for road development, to build 20 km of highway every day
■Subsidy for affordable housing extended
■Skill development programme for textile and garment sector
■Pvt sector to meet deficit in grain storage
■50% increase in women & child development allocation
■Development of rural infra remains high priority area
■Power sector allocation doubled to Rs 5130 cr
■Rs 400 cr corpus for micro-finance scheme
■National pension scheme allocation increased
■States to get Rs 3,675 crore for primary education at rural level
■Rs 400 cr corpus for micro-finance scheme
■NREGA allocation to Rs 40,100 crore
■National Social Security fund to be set up for unorganized sector
■Urban Development allocation to be raised by 75 per cent
■20,000 mw of solar power by 2022
■Rural development allocation to Rs 61,000 cr
■Indira Awaas Yojana allocation raised in proportion to plain and hill area housing
■Development of rural infra remains high priority area
■Social sector spending at Rs 1.38 lakh cr for FY11
■Rs 500 cr for Clean Ganga Mission
■Rs 66, 100 cr for rural development in FY10-11
■Allocation for school education up from Rs 26, 800 crore to Rs 31, 036 cr
■Rs 22, 300 crore allocated for Health Ministry
■Coal regulatory authority proposed
■Rs 300 cr for Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana
■Bank farm loan target: Rs 3.75 lakh crore
■Rs 200 cr To Tamil Nadu for textiles
■Need to take firm view on opening up of the retail sector
■National clean Energy Fund to be set up
■Rs 200 crore to Goa as a special golden jubilee package to restore beaches and increase green cover
■To provide 2% loan subsidy to farmers
■Extend loan payment by calamity hit farmers
■Rs 400cr for four-part strategy for agriculture
■2% interest subvention for exports extended
■Additional banking licenses for pvt players
■4 pronged strategy for agriculture
■Rs 16,500 cr capital support for PSU banks
■Will consider Parikh report on fuel pricing
■Goods and services tax to be introduced in 2011
■Fertiliser subsidy to be reduced
■GDP growth for FY'10 is seen at 7.2 pc
■Rs 25,000 cr disinvestment target this year
■India weathered economic crisis well
■Direct tax code to be implemented from April 1, 2011
■Gradual phasing out of economic stimulus
■Pvt investment can sustain 9 pc growth
■First challenge: Return to GDP growth
■Manufacturing growth highest in the past 2 years
■Indian economy is in a far better position today
■FM is expected to simplify tax laws in 2010
■Biggest challenge is to make the growth all inclusive
■Need to strengthen food security
■Pranab: Indian economy has stood through the test of time
■Economic growth slows down to 6 pc in Q3
■Finance Minister presents Budget 2010
■Pranab Mukherjee presents his 5th Union Budget
■Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee reaches Parliament
■Inflation is forecast to reach 10 percent in coming weeks
■Government borrowing was forecast to rise by another 2.2 percent
■Economists forecast India may cut its fiscal deposit to 5.6% of GDP