First ever Oppn. walk-out during budget

New Delhi, Feb 26-Unfazed by the first ever walkout on a budget day, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee first invoked the Rain God, Lord Indra and said at the commencement of his budget speech, "Today, as I stand before you, I can say with some confidence that we have weathered these crises well."

The Finance Minister was referring to the global ecnomic crises that affected Indian economy.

His reference to Lord Indra came as he explained that a good monsoon was necessary to maintain the growth trajectory of the economy.

But the Finance Minister's budget speech threw up shocks for the people as well.

Prices of cars, fuel, cement, cigarettes, air conditioners, TV sets and steel will go up. And so will the prices of tobacco products and liquor. There will be no tax on income upto Rs 1.60 lakh.

The slab on gratuity which was fixed at Rs. 3 lakh has been hiked to Rs. 10 lakh. Previously the earning class had openly expressed to eliminate the limit in total so that every individual included under the gratuity cap gets paid off.

The proposed Rs. 10 lakh limit is rational and profitable for salaried individuals.

The Economic Survey had suggested that food coupons will replace the old ration cards. Food grains would be subsidized directly to households.
• No tax on income up to Rs 1.6 lakh • Income between Rs. 1.6 lakh to 5 lakh - 10 % tax
• Income from Rs. 5 lakh to 8 lakh - 20 per cent tax
• Income above Rs. 8 lakh - 30 per cent tax
• Govt. to set up National Mission for Delivery of Justice
• Liquor prices set to go up
• Prices of gold, silver, precious stones set to rise
• Makers of mobile accessories to get tax breaks
• Prices of cars, cement, fuel, cigarettes, steel to go up
• Allocation for defence raised to 1.47 lakh crore.
• UIDA to roll out first set of IDs by end of 2010.
• Allocation of Rs. 1900 crore to Unique Identity Project.
• Allocation to Minority Welfare Ministry Rs. 2600 cr.
• Govt. to contribute Rs. 1000 per month for pension security
• Home loans up to Rs. 20 lakh to get 1 per cent subvention up to March 2011
• Allocated Rs. 66,100 crore for rural development.
• Social Security Fund to have a corpus of Rs. 1000 cr.
• National Social Security Fund for unorganised sector.
• Annual health survey in rural areas in 2011.
• Govt ready with draft food securty bill.
• Investment linked deduction benefit for two star hotels.

Courtesy : Star Of Mysore