India Budget FY 2013-14: Highlights

--Duty free limit for Gold raised to Rs. 50,000 in case of a male passenger and Rs. 1 lakh for female passengers.
--One-time Amnesty Scheme for service tax due from 2007: FM
--To set aside '9,000 cr as compensation to states for CST: FM
--To impose service tax on all AC restaurants: FM
--Nirbhaya Fund for women safety
--Royalty tax hiked from 10% to 25%.
--Transactions on immovable properties are usually undervalued. This justifying his move of imposing TDS of 1% on land deals over Rs 50 lakh.
 --High-end smart phones to get more expensive.
--SMEs allowed to listed on MSME exchange without making a public offer
--SED on cigarettes hiked by 18%; cigars and cheerots too

--Custom duty on imported motor vehicles hiked
--To up import duty on set-top boxes to 10% from 5%
--To up import duty on luxury cars to 100% from 75%: FM
--Coal blending only solution
 --FY2013-14 non plan expenditure at Rs 12 lakh crore
--TDS at 0.1% of land deals over '50 lakh: FM
--To reduce STT on equity futures, MF units: FM
--CTT to be introduced in non-agri commodities in futures @0.01%
--Extend 80IA by 1 year: FM
--Tax holiday for power plants extended to March 2014: FM
 --DDT surchage raised to 10% from 5%
--No room to give away tax sops
 --5-10% surchage on companies with income over 10 cr
--To continue with education cess of 3%
--No case to revise direct tax rates, slabs: FM
--Revenue deficit at 3.9% for FY13: FM
--10% surcharge on people whose taxable income above Rs 1 cr per year
--FY 14 Fiscal deficit at 4.8%; revenue deficit at 3.3%
--Youth skill  development gets Rs.1000 cr
--Plan expenditure for FY14 at 5.55 lakh crores
--294 more cities to be connected by FM Radio
--Rs 1000 cr for ensuring safety and dignity of women
--FIIs may hedge forex exposure through ETFs
-- Defence allocation has been increased to Rs 236000 crore in the upcoming fiscal, marginally up from Rs 195000 crore this year.
--Aligarh, Varanasi universities get Rs 100 crore.

--Rs 6275 crore to Ministry of Technology, Rs 5216 crore to Department of Space, Rs 5280 crore to Department of Energy. These amounts are substantial increases.
--Generation based incentives for wind energy projects
--Low cost finance provided for viable renewable energy projects
--To expand private FM radio to 294 cities
--Chennai- Bengaluru Industrial corridor: DIPP and Japan's JICA preparing plan
--Power transmission system from Srinagar to Leh; Rs 226 crore provided in current Budget
--839 new fm channels to be auctioned
--Low cost finance provided for viable renewable energy projects

--Generation based incentives for wind energy projects
 --Insurance, pension companies can trade directly in debt segment in stock exchanges
 --Pension, insurance  funds can invest in ETFs
--6275 cr for ministry of science and technology
--Govt plans to spend Rs 16.65 lakh crore for the coming fiscal year
--FIIs to be allowed in currency derivatives segment
--SEBI to simplify procedures for FIIs, unify categories for FIIs
--Rs 2000 crore for Urban Housing fund

--Regulatory authority for the road sector
-- Dedicated debt section in Stock exchagnes
--KYC of banks sufficient to acquire insurance policies
--Insurance firms to open branches in tier iii cities with out IRDA approval
--Rs 2000 cr for urban housing fund

 --Social security package for unorganised sector
--Congratules SEBI for regulation of markets

 --14,000 crore for capital infusion for public sector banks
--Social security package for unorganised sector
--Banks to be permitted to act as insurance brokers
--By Oct 2013 to get approval to constitute panel on transaction costs, financial policies

--India's first woman's bank as public sector bank; Rs 1000 cr as initial capital
 --Bank for women
 --Rs 14,000 cr to public sector banks for additional cppital infusion to meet BASEL III requirements by March 2014
--Public sector banks: 12517 cr - addl capital for banks by March 2013
--Rs 500 cr to SIDBI to act as guarantee to a factoring fund
--Rs 24,000 cr for textile technology upgradation
--Additional 96 cr in 2013-14 for ministry of textiles for Interest Subvention
--Handloom sector is in distress--- working capital -term loans - concessional rate of 6%
--To increase refinancing of SIDBI to help MSME
 --Funds to tech incubators by corporates will be considered as CSR expenditure
 --Natural Gas pricing policy to be reviewed
--To issue inflation indexed bonds/certificates
--Housing loans upt ot Rs 25 lakh to be allowed additional deduction of Rs 1 lakh

--PPP policy with Coal India as partner to increase coal production
--Worry about coal imports; will rise to 185 mn tons in 2016-17; We must reduce dependence on imported coal
--Some companies can issue tax free bonds upto Rs 50,000 cr for infra
--To raise Rs 25,000 cr via tax-free bonds in FY 13:FM
 --Rs 5000 cr to be made available to NABARD to finance agri-produce storage
--3000 km of road projects will be awarded in first six months of FY14
--Inflation Indexed bonds to be introduced to wean people's savings away from gold
--Tax benefit in RGESS for 3 years

--In mutual funds, listed stocks, Rs 10-lakh to 12 lakh income limit
--Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme to be liberalised
--Rs 10,000 cr additional for food security bill in FY 2014
--Infra debt funds for investment in infrastructure
--55 lakh cr for infrastructure in the 12 th plan

--4% farm loan scheme extended to private sector banks
--NABARD to give funds to build godowns, warehouses and cold-storage
--Rs 27049 Cr for Ministry of Agriculture, 22% Y-oY
--Rs 250 crore given away to Food security mission
--Coconut rejuvenatiion scheme Rs 75 cr to be extended all over Kerala
--Farm credit target at Rs 7 lakh crore

**FM: India's excessive dependence on gold very worrying.
**Economic space constrains due to high fiscal deficit, lower savings and investment and tight monetary policy
**Average economic growth rate in 11th Plan period is 8 per cent, highest ever in any Plan period
**There is no reason for gloom or pessimism
**Indonesia and China growing faster than India

--India not unaffected by what is happening in the global economy, says Chidambaram
--China, Indonesia: Only the two economies growing faster than India
--No reason for gloom or pessimissm, asserts Chidambaram
--Greater worries on CAD
--Excessive import of gold, oil, slowing of exports a concern
--$75 bn to finance CAD-- FDI, FII, external commerical borrowing the options
--Says opening up economy is a must to contain CAD
--Battle against inflation should be fought on all fronts
--Food inflation is worrying
--Steps to augment the supply side for food
--India econom has experienced slowdown after 2010
--Plan expenditure in 2013-14 to go up 29%
--Budget to create opportunities for youth, to give them decent jobs, income, safety, security of households
--Adequate funds to benefit women, children and minorities
--Total expenditure is 96% of the earlier budgeted expenditure
--FY 2013-14 total expenditure at Rs 16.65 lakh crores
--Foreign investment instrumental in tackling CAD

--Rs 13215 cr for mid-day meal scheme
--Clean Drinking water Rs 15, 260 cr
--JNNURM- continued in 12 th plan- Rs 14873 cr,
--10000 buses to be purchesed esp by Hill states
--Rs 33,000 cr allocation for MGNREGS

--46% hike in Rural Development Spending
--Rs 500 crore for crop diversification projects
--Budget presentation begins
10.52 AM: India's cabinet clears the budget
10.46 AM: Chidambaram arrives at the Parliament to present the budget.
10.37 AM: India's Finance Minister P.Chidambaram has left his office to present the budget.