Budget 2013-14: Highlights

Budget 2013-14: Highlights

Following are some of the key highlights of the Union Budget 2013-14 presented by Finance Minister P Chidambaram in Parliament on Thursday:

*No change in income tax slabs

*Relief of Rs 2,000 for tax payers in tax bracket of Rs. 2-5 lakh

*10% surcharge on persons with taxable income of over Rs. 1 crore

*Tobacco products, SUVs and mobile phones to cost more

*Income limit under Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme raised to 12 lakh from Rs 10 lakh

*First home loan of up to Rs 25 lakh to get extra interest deduction of up to Rs 1 lakh

*Duty free limit of gold import increased to Rs. 50,000 for male passengers and Rs 1 lakh for female passengers

*India’s first women’s bank to be set up by October

* Concessional six per cent interest on loans to weavers

* Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana benefit extended to rickshaw pullers, auto and taxi drivers, among others

* ‘Nirbhaya Fund’ of Rs 1,000 crore to empower women and provide safety in the wake of Delhi gang-rape incident

*Fiscal deficit for 2013-14 pegged at 4.8 pc of GDP and 5.2 per cent in 2012-13

*Plan expenditure pegged at Rs 5,55,322 crore and non-Plan at Rs 11,09,975 crore

*New taxes to collect Rs 18,000 crore for government

*Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme launched for recovering service tax dues

*Rs 14,000 crore earmarked for capital infusion in public sector banks in 2013-14