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SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Standard deduction of 40% or Rs 30,000 whichever
is less for salary till Rs 5 lakh, above Rs 5 lakh, 20,000.
- Under a new health insurance scheme, an individual
would have to pay one rupee per day as premium for 365 days, Rs 1.50
per day for a family of five and Rs two per day for a family of seven
including dependents and will be eligible for a benefit of Rs 30,000
in case of hospitalisation. In the event of death, the family would
get Rs 25,000.
- Government to maintain tax concessions on housing
interest loans.
- PF, small saving rates reduced by 1%.
- Government to give tax rebate of Rs 12,000 per
child for education.
- Senior citizens' income up to Rs 143,000 to be
fully tax exempt. Outsourcing PAN process, only 2% IT returns to be
scrutinized.
- Electronic filing of individual IT returns, one
page form from April 1.
- 5% surcharge on individual IT, income above Rs
8,50,000 to pay 10% surcharge.
- Tax holiday for domestic, satellite telecom firms
for 1 year.
- India to continue proactive policy of pre-paying
high-cost external debt.
- India to buy back high-interest government bonds
from banks.
- States to swap all loans with interest rates of
more than 13 per cent by 2004-05. States' debt swap to cut interest
costs by Rs 810 billion.
SOCIAL:
- Government proposes development of universal health
insurance scheme at cost of one rupee a day for individuals, Rs 1.50
for a family of five, two rupees for family of seven.
- Life Insurance Corp (LIC) to launch pension scheme
offering guaranteed nine percent return to be subsidised by government.
EXCISE:
- 3-tier excise structure 8, 16 and 24.
- Tyres, soft drinks excise cut from 32% to 24%.
- Excise duty on biscuits/boiled sweets down from
16% to 8%.
FOREIGN INVESTMENTS:
- Overseas investment limit for corporates increased
to 100% of net worth.
- FDI in private banks increased from 49% to 74%,
voting right limitations to be amended.
- Rs 1.50 additional excise duty per litre to be
imposed on light speed diesel.
MACRO ISSUES:
- Fiscal deficit is estimated at 5.6 per cent of
GDP at Rs 1,53,637 crore for the next fiscal.
- Revenue shortfall of Rs 8788 crore.
- Expenditure budget for 03-04 put at Rs 4,38, 795
crore.
- Revenue estimate for 03-04 at Rs 2,53,935 crore.
INFRASTRUCTURE:
- Initial government funding for new infrastructure
projects to total Rs 20 billion for year.
- Government plans to invest around Rs 400 billion
in 48 new road projects, one quarter of them to be made of cement and
concrete.
- Government plans to modernise Bombay and New Delhi
airports to allow them to attain global standards. India to set up private
airports in southern cities of Hyderabad and Bangalore.
MARKETS:
- Issue price of urea fertiliser to be raised by
Rs 12 per 50 kilogram bag.
CUSTOMS:
- Duty on high-voltage transmission parts cut down
to 5 per cent from 25 per cent.
- Customs duty on a large number of textile machinery
reduced from 25 per cent to 5 per cent to encourage modernisation.
- Excise duty on polyester filament yarn cut to 24
per cent from 32 per cent.
- Excise duty on all other filament yarns cut to
12 per cent from 16 per cent.
- Customs duty cut on capital goods for telecom,
IT to 15 per cent from 25 per cent.
- Customs duty for optic fibre cables cut to 20 per
cent from 25 per cent.
- Customs duty on cut, polished gems and stones abolished.
- Customs duty on gold cut to Rs 100 from Rs 250
per 10 grams.
OTHERS:
- Domestic companies to pay 12.5% dividend tax.
- Central govt to compensate states 100% in year
one after VAT introduction, 75% in year two and 50% in year three.
- Excise on garments down to 10% from 12%.
- Exemption on capital gains for 1 year on buybacks.
- Exchanges not to pay any capital gains tax on corporatisation.
- Tax holiday for R&D companies.
- It is proposed to exempt equity based schemes from
dividend and distribution tax for one year.
- Introduction of service tax and VAT from April
1
- Tax concessions on housing loans to be maintained.
- Two companies to be set up for building four new
airports.
- Cash management to be introduced in major spending
ministries.
- Private airports at Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and
Hyderabad.
- Additional funds for rural roads from increased
cess on diesel.
- Premature repayment of loan of $3 billion from
World Bank and Asian Development Bank.
- Customs duty on life savings equipment lowered.
- Leave Travel Allowance to government employees
restored.
- Senior citizens can self declare tax returns.
- Debt swap scheme between centre and states to save
states Rs 810 billion in interest payments.
- New scheme on hi-tech horticulture farming.
- Concession extended to IT under section 10 a and
12 b will be continued.
- Income Tax exemption for pharmaceuticals and biotechnology
to be at par with Information Technology.
- New low cost general insurance plan.
- Self declaration of tax returns will be accepted
from senior citizens.
- Prime Minister will inaugurate 227 ex-servicemen
medical centres in the country including in remotest districts.
- Varisht Bima Yojana for senior citizens above the
age of 55 years to be introduced. The yojana will carry nine per cent
interest rate.
- Reduced customs duty on hearing aids, tricycles
by five per cent.
- Royalty income on books etc free from IT till Rs
3 lakh.
- Education expenses upto Rs 12,000 per child to
come under Sec 88 benefit.
- Innovative funding mechanism for modernisation
of Railway, airports and ports and roads will be undertaken.
- Income Tax exemptions will be given for corporations
set up by central and state governments for exservicemen.
- New pension scheme with equal contribution from
employers and the government.
- Life saving drugs exempt from excise duties.
- In a move to encourage research and development
in medical sector and the need to upgrade facilities, it has been decided
to increase rate of depreciation of life saving equipment from existing
25 per cent to 40 per cent.
- To promote India as a major health destination,
Singh announced to extend tax benefits to private hospitals.
- To encourage sports and games, the government would
shortly issue guidelines for direct funding for sports infrastructure
facilities through public-private funding.
- Basic customs duty on glucometer and strips will
be reduced from 10 to 5 per cent.
- It is proposed to reduce customs duty on life-saving
equipment from 25 per cent to five per cent.
- The income tax interest deduction on housing loans
up to Rs 1,50,000 for self-occupied houses will continue.
- PSU general insurance companies to work out universal
health insurance scheme at Re 1/day.
- Additional cess of 50 paise per litre of fuel for
funding North-South and East-West corridors to mop up Rs 2,600 crore.
- Modernisation of JNPT and Kochi Ports at a cost
of Rs 7,500 crore including dredging.
- Addl 50 paise levy on diesel, petrol per litre
to fund infra-development projects.
- No customs or excise on water supply projects,
power projects customs duties reduced to 5%.
- It is the government's resolve to encourage diversification
of Horticulture and Floriculture, Singh said.
- Debt of States towards Centre is Rs 2.44 lakh crore
besides Rs 100,000 crore as coupon rate securities.
- Urea price hike by Rs 12, DAP to cost Rs 10 more.
- Adequate outlay is being provided for the Task
Force on inter-linking of rivers.
- Special programmes for desert districts of Rajasthan
for developing pastures. Rs 100 crore for setting up a Task Force for
the purpose.
- Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu
will head a bipartisan task force with agriculture ministers from other
states to expand and quicken drip irrigation projects.
- Bank credit for 50,000 self-help groups to be provided.
Rs 598 crore already spent on 25,000 self-help groups as on January
3 this year.
- Private banks will encouraged to open branches
in rural sector to provide credit for farm equipment including tractors.
- To promote marine products, it has been decided
to reduce excise duties on shrimp from 15 to five per cent.
- All powerloom workers to be provided with special
insurance scheme for accidents.
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