Union Budget 2013-14: P Chidambaram presents his 8th Budget today

Highlight97:Service Tax exemption granted to films exhibited in cinema halls.#

Highlight96:Zero excise duty at fibre stage for cotton; in case of yarn there will a duty of 12% at fibre stage.#

Highlight95:Negative list on service tax increased to 19 from 17.#

Highlight94:Abatement rates for luxury homes reduced.#

Highlight93:Excise duty on cigarettes hiked again.#

Highlight92:Excise duty on mobile phones costing more than Rs 2,000 increased to 6%.#

Highlight91:1% TDS on property sale of more than Rs 50 lakh, agricultural land exempted.#

Highlight90:Duty cut on leather and leather goods.#

Highlight89:Female passengers can bring duty free gold of up to Rs 1 lakh.#

Highlight88:Male passengers can bring duty-free gold worth up to Rs 50,000.#

Highlight87:Service tax to be levied on air-conditioned restaurants.#

Highlight86:Excise duty on SUVs raised from 27 pc to 30 pc.#

Highlight85:Increase in import duty on high end motor vehicles from 75% to 100% and on motorcycles from 60% to 75%.#

Highlight84:Service tax and excise tax unchanged at 12%.#

Highlight83:1% Import duty on set top boxes and raw silk hiked by 5% to 10%.#

Highlight82:1% TDS on property sale of more than Rs 50 lakh, agricultural land exempted.#

Highlight81:0.01% Commodity Transaction Tax to be levied on non-agriculture items.#

Highlight80:Direct Taxes Code: Work in progress.#

Highlight79:Surcharge on dividend distribution tax raised from 5%to 10%.#

Highlight78:No change in personal tax rates and slabs.#

Highlight77:Tax credit of Rs 2000 for taxpayers with annual taxable income up to Rs 5 lakh.#

Highlight76:2-5 per cent surcharge on comapnies with income more than Rs 1 cr per year.#

Highlight75:10 pc surcharge on persons with income above Rs 1 cr per year.#

Highlight74:Fiscal deficit for current fiscal estimated at 5.2%, 4.8% in next fiscal.#

Highlight73:Nirbhaya Fund of Rs 1,000 cr set up for women safety.#

Highlight72:294 more cities to be connected by FM radio.#

Highlight71:Rs 6245 cr for Scince and technology 15 per cent incentive over s 100 cr investment.#

Highlight70:15 per cent incentive over s 100 cr investment.#

Highlight69:National Institute of Sports, Patiala gets Rs 200 cr; AMU, BHU get Rs 100 cr each.#

Highlight68:Rs 203,672 for defence expenditure.#

Highlight67:Rs 5.80 lakh crore to States and Union Territories.#

Highlight66:Rs 800 cr for wind energy projects.#

Highlight65:Widespread tinkering of capital markets rules in consultation with Sebi.#

Highlight64:New definition for FDI and FII. foreign investment is less than/equal to 10%, then it is FII. More than 10% is FDI.#

Highlight63:SEBI to simplify KYC norms governing foreign investors.#

Highlight62:Group insurance cover extended to self-help groups, teachers in schools and nurses in hospitals.#

Highlight61:Insurance companies will be able to start branches in tier 2 cities and below without approval of IRDA.#

Highlight60:Propose to provide Rs 600 cr to rural housing fund in 2013-14.#

Highlight59:Rs 2,000 cr for urban housing funds.#

Highlight58:Introduction of inflation indexed bonds or certificates; details will be announced later.#

Highlight57:Rs 14,000 cr capital infusion in public sector banks.#

Highlight56:Govt must conform to timeframe set for GST.#

Highlight55:India's first all-women public sector bank to be set up.#

Highlight54:Schemes to benefit single and unemployed women.#

Highlight53:Two new ports in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.#

Highlight52:We need to reduce dependence on imported coal.#

Highlight51:The natural gas pricing policy will be reviewed.#

Highlight50:Rs 200 cr for new crop project.#

Highlight49:Rs 7,000 lakh crore for farm loans.#

Highlight48:Rs 5,000 crore to NABARD to build cold storages and godowns.#

Highlight47:Rajiv Gandhi Equity Saving Scheme limit raised from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 12 lakh.#

Highlight46:To promote savings, Inflation Index Security Certificate scheme to be introduced.#

Highlight45:For home loans taken during 2013-14 interest exemption raised by Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh.#

Highlight44:Rs 17, 500 cr for village roads.#

Highlight43:Rs 55 lakh for infrastructure.#

Highlight42:Cabinet Committee on Investment has been set up to monitor and guide the projects to remove bottlenecks.#

Highlight41:The road construction sector faces challenges not envisaged earlier.# 

Highlight40:Tax-free bonds of Rs 50,000 crore to be issued for infrastructure development.#

Highlight39:Rs 307 crore for National Livestock Mission.#

Highlight38:Additional Rs 10,000 crore for Food Security Bill.#

Highlight37:Rs 1,400 crore for water purification plants; to allocate Rs 15,260 crore for water, sanitation.# 

Highlight36:JNNURM is being continued in the 12th Plan; Rs 14,873 cr to be provided to the mission.#

Highlight35:Rs 27,049 cr to be allocated to the agriculture ministry.#

Highlight34:Watershed management crucial; Rs 5,387 cr allocated for Integrated Watershed Programme.#

Highlight33:Agriculture Credit to be raised to Rs 7 lakh crore.#

Highlight32:To allocate Rs 500 crore for crop diversification projects.#

Highlight31:Indian Institute of Biotechnology to be set up in Ranchi.# 

Highlight30:45 per cent hike in rural budget allocation.#

Highlight29:Agricultural exports break all records.#

Highlight28:Rs 33,000 cr to be allocated to MNREGA.#

Highlight27:Rs 14,700 cr to National Urban Renewal Mission.# 

Highlight26:Will allocate Rs 17,700 cr to ICDS.#

Highlight25:Food security bill to be passed at the earliest.#

Highlight24:Rs 1,000 cr for eastern state developemnts.#

Highlight23:Multi-sectoral programme to fight malnutrition will be implemented, Rs 300 cr to be allocated, 100 districts to be covered.#

Highlight22:Allocation to Midday Meal Scheme Rs 13,215 cr.#

Highlight21:We need $75 billion to fund our current account deficit account next year.#

Highlight20:To allocate Rs 41,536 cr for SC, ST.#

Highlight19:Rs 33,000 cr for employment guarantee programme.#

Highlight18:The new national health mission will get 24.5% increase over the RE.#

Highlight17:Sexual harassment at workplace to be taken care of; ministry of women and child development given Rs 200 cr for new schemes for the same.# 

Highlight16:Rs 110 cr to be allocated to department of disability.#

Highlight15:Allocation of Rs 65,867 cr to Human Resource development.#

Highlight14:Health and education to all remain our priority.#

Highlight13:Getting back to higher growth rate a challenge.#

Highlight12:Plan expenditure seen at Rs 5.53 lakh crore.#

Highlight11:CAD high due to high imports in coal and oil.#

Highlight10:Food inflation worrying.#

Highlight9:Foreign investment is imperative.#

Highlight8:Only China might grow faster than India.#

Highlight7:Battle against inflation should be fought on all fronts.#

Highlight6:No reason for gloom or pessimism.#

Highlight5:Global economic growth slowed from 3.9% in 2011 to 3.2% in 2012.#

Highlight4:Between 2004 and 2008 and again in 2009-10 and 2010-11 the growth rate was over 8%.#

Highlight3:Chidamabaram begins Budget speech.#

Highlight2:Union Cabinet approves General Budget 2013.#

Highlight1:Finance Minister P. Chidambaram reaches Parliament to present India's 82nd Union Budget in the Lok Sabha.#