Highlights of Interim Budget 2009-10

New Delhi, Feb 16 (ANI): Acting Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented the Interim Budget 2009-10 in the Lok Sabha today. The highlights are as follow:

*Rs 40,000 crore relief extended through tax cuts to counter economic slowdown.
*Budgetary support increased for Ministries of Rural Development, Road Transport and Highway, Power, Railways, Industrial Policy and Promotion and IT.
* Defence allocation increased to Rs1,41,703 crore in wake of Mumbai attacks.
* Revised fiscal deficit estimated at 6 per cent of GDP as against 2.5 per cent in the Budget estimate. Revised revenue deficit placed at 4.4 per cent as against 1 per cent in the Budget estimate for 2008-09.
*Fiscal deficit has gone up from Rs 133,287 crore in the budget estimates to Rs 326,515 crore in the revised estimates for 2008-09.
*Rs 40,000 crore relief extended through tax cuts to counter economic slowdown.
*Budget estimate for expenditure for 2009-10 put at Rs 953,231 crore. This includes Rs 285,145 crore for plan expenditure while non-plan spend put at Rs 668,883 crore.
* India remains second-fastest growing economy in the world
* Economy expected to grow 7.1 percent this fiscal
* Need to make economic growth inclusive
* Government spent Rs.70,000 crore on 37 infrastructure projects in 2008-09
* Under public-private partnership (PPP), 54 central infrastructure projects approved
* Total expenditure of PPP projects estimated at Rs.67,700 crore
* India Infrastructure Finance Company to raise Rs.10,000 crore by end-March
* India has weathered inflation crisis, but no room for complacency
* Country’’s agriculture outlook is encouraging
* Focussed attention to agriculture
* Plan allocation for farm sector hiked 300 percent in past five years
* Three-fold increase in short-term agriculture credit to Rs.250,000 crore
* Farm debt worth Rs.65,300 crore waived
* Government will continue to provide additional subsidy to farmers
* Corpus of Rural Infrastructure Development Fund hiked to Rs.14,000 crore from Rs.5,500 crore
* Outlay for higher education hiked 900 percent for 11th Five Year Plan
* Country’’s social security net will be strengthened
* Record foreign direct investment of 32.4 billion dollars attracted
* Global economic situation not encouraging
* Extraordinary situation merits extraordinary measures
* Need to consider additional fiscal measures in regular budget
* Financial sector reforms need to be accelerated
* In past three years, India grew by average of over nine per cent
* Per capita income expanded by 4.7 per cent per annum
* Fiscal deficit was brought down from 4.5 per cent to 2.7 per cent
* Revenue deficit was cut from 3.6 per cent to 1.1 per cent
* Exports increased 26.4 per cent per annum
* Foreign trade increased from 27.3 per cent to 35.5 per cent
* Tax to gross domestic product ratio expanded by 9.2 to 12.5 per cent
* Agriculture grew by 3.7 per cent per annum (ANI)