Indian Finance minister Mr. P. Chidambaram has presented own third budget for 2014-15 in parliament .Presenting the interim Union Budget for the year 2014-15, Mr. Chidambaram said that the India’s economy, the11th largest in the world, had stabilized and was showing signs of turnaround. His speech was marred by protests over the proposed division of a Telangana state. Below are the highlights of Union Budget for the financial year 2014-15.
Highlights Budget 2014-15
Income tax rates kept unchanged Plan expenditure for the year 2014-15 will Rs 5,55,322 crore Non Plan expenditure is estimated at Rs. 12,07,892 crore Fiscal deficit for current fiscal to be 4.6% Growth in the third and fourth quarter of the current year is expected to be 5.2 percent. Foreign exchange reserves up by $15 billion. The Growth rate for the whole year has been estimated at 4.9 percent. Plan expenditure will be Rs 5,55,322 crore in 2014-15, unchanged from last fiscal. Fiscal deficit target of 3% to be achieved by 2017. Fiscal deficit for the financial year 2014 to be contained at 4.6 per cent of GDP. GDP growth rate in Q3 and Q4 of 2013-14 will be at least 5.2%. Rs 6000 crore to rural housing fund, Rs 2000 crore for urban housing fund. Defence allocation increased by 10 per cent to Rs 2.24 lakh crore. Excise duty on small cars reduced to 8 per cent. Excise duty on SUVs reduced to 28 per cent. Excise duty for large and mid-segment cars cut to 20 per cent. Excise duty cut from 12 to 10 per cent in capital goods sector to stimulate growth. Excise duty on mobile handset to be 6% on CENVAT credit to encourage domestic production Expenditure on education has risen from Rs 10,145 crore 10 years ago to Rs 79,251 crore this year. Foodgrain production estimated at 263 million tons in 2013-14. Food subsidy will be Rs 1,15,000 crore for implementation of National Food Security Act. Blood banks to be exempt from service tax. Budgetary support to railways increased from Rs 26,000 crore to Rs 29,000 crore 2014-15. Rs 2,46,397 crore allocated for food, fertilizer and fuel subsidy.