While the plan allocation for agriculture has gone up by 300 percent between the period 2003-04 and 2008-09, the agriculture credit disbursement too has increased from Rs 87,000 crore (Rs 870 billion) to Rs 2,50,000 crore (Rs 2500 billion) up to 2007-08.
The outlay for the flagship programmes, which -- in addition to the Bharat Nirman scheme -- include the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and others, is proposed to be raised to Rs 1,23,000 crore (Rs 1,230 billion) during 2009-10 from Rs 90,000 crore last year, representing an increase of about 37 per cent.
The country's apex exporters body Federation of Indian Export Organisations said that support extended by the minister for research and development activities and reduction of duties on capital goods will help in increasing competitiveness of Indian products in the global market.
P Chidambaram presented the Union Budget for the eighth time.
Apart from this, the health sector as a whole has an allocation of Rs 4,447 crore (Rs 44.47 billion). The finance Minister said the response for Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, which was operationalised last year, has been very good.
The government has approved the 'Terms of Reference' for the 16 Finance Commission, which makes recommendations on sharing of tax revenues between the Centre and states. The recommendations would cover a five-year period commencing April 1, 2026, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said on Wednesday, giving details about the decisions taken at the Cabinet meeting last evening. The commission would submit its report by October 31, 2025, Thakur said.
The rise in the fiscal deficit, which is a reflection of the government's borrowing, was mainly on account of subdued tax collection. The revenue deficit also rose to 3.27 per cent, up from the revised estimate of 2.4 per cent of the GDP.
Officers now know that they need to deliver conclusions. There are no 'ifs' and 'buts'. Chidambaram has laid down clear timelines for targets.
The Congress survey thinks that in the absence of a Congress-SP alliance, Mayawati will win more than 40 out of 80 seats in UP. The survey is an eye-opener for the Congress. It seems that inspite of the ongoing rhetoric and sometimes ugly exchanges between SP leader Amar Singh and Congress leaders, it is most likely the Congress and SP will sew up an alliance to defend their turf against Mayawati once elections are announced.
The much-awaited auction of third-generation (3G) spectrum, essential to launch high-speed value-added mobile telephony services, will not happen this financial year.
Railway Minister Lalu Prasad on Monday announced in Lok Sabha that a statutory inquiry, to be conducted by the Commissioner of Railway Safety, had been ordered in the Coromandel Express mishap. Making a suo motu statement in the Lower House soon after the interim budget was presented, Prasad said the cause of the accident is being investigated. He also announced relief to the victims of the mishap.
India's gross domestic savings rate increased from 29.8 per cent in 2003-04 to 30.7 per cent in 2007-08, said union Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is holding additional charge of the finance portfolio while presenting the Interim Budget for 2009-10 on Monday in parliament.
The CRPF bagged the lion's share -- Rs 1,698 crore. It got Rs 7,208.18 crore this year against Rs 5,510.10 crore in 2008-09. The BSF, entrusted the task of keeping vigil along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir and the country's 6,622 km borders with Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar, got Rs 1,156.23 crore more compared to last year's Rs 5,376.99 crore. The elite commando force NSG, which played a sterling role in Mumbai terror attacks, has got Rs 44.63 crore more.
Borrowings will account for 29 paise of every rupee the government will earn in FY'10 and it would spend 20 paise towards servicing debt, as it battles dwindling tax resources on account of economic slowdown.
However, he disappointed big time by not announcing any relief in taxes or change in the tax structure to bring relief to the common man.
The industry's reactions to the Budget have been mixed.
You don't prep for 2028 but for 2040, or even 2044. Sustained sporting excellence is based on mass support, grassroots development, and funding - and it is this trifecta India needs to work on, systematically, asserts Prem Panicker.
Insisting that PM Modi has consistently cared for the farmers, Goyal said the Rs 75,000 earmarked for paying Rs 6,000 per annum to each of 12 crore farmers is not one time but a 'sustainable' provision.
According to official statistics, half of India's GDP comes from as many as 420 million workers in the unorganised sector including street vendors, rickshaw pullers, construction workers, rag pickers, agricultural workers, among others. This massive workforce remains outside the purview of the formal banking and insurance industries.
Agriculture credit is likely to exceed the target of Rs 7,00,000 crore while farm exports are expected to increase to over $45 billion in the current fiscal, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said today.
The presentation of the Interim General Budget for 2009-10 was on Monday interrupted briefly as the Lok Sabha adjourned after JD(S) member M P Veerendrakumar complained of uneasiness.
Two premium new long-distance trains and plan to convert a strategically important metre gauge line into broad gauge were announced on Wednesday for the Northeastern region in the Railway Budget, but opposition BJP and AGP dubbed the sops as "frustrating".
Vice Chairman Harivansh regretted that 78 hours of business were lost due to disruptions and that the House functioned for only 27 hours.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his Independence Day address in 2007 had announced setting up of 6,000 new high quality schools, one in every block of the country. The education sector as a whole received Rs 41,978.21 crore as against Rs 37,366.57 crore (Rs 373.66 billion) in the revised estimate of 2008-09 budget, showing a jump of Rs 4,611.64 crore (Rs 46.11 billion).
An analysis of the frequency of various watchwords in the finance minister's Budget speech shows that he was perhaps trying to hold on to his ideas without treading on anybody else's toes, says A K Bhattacharya.
Buoyed by the proposed public offerings in six companies, including Oil and Natural Gas Corp and Gas Authority of India Ltd, the government on Tuesday set an ambitious target of mobilising Rs 16,000 crore
India's current account deficit (CAD) will be contained at USD 45 billion this financial year, well below the record high level of 2012-13, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said on Monday.
With Deputy Governor Viral Acharya and another member Chetan Ghate voting for a status quo, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das and three others outvoted them for reduction in repo rate to 6.25 per cent from the existing 6.50 per cent.
In line with the relief package for tea growers announced in the Interim Budget, Commerce Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday sought a three-point package including two per cent reduction in interest rate on Special Coffee Term Loans.
A great monsoon and the rising FII investment in Indian markets have contributed to the 'feel good' factor.
Finance Minister Jaswant Singh while presenting the Interim Budget for fiscal 2004-05 in Parliament on Tuesday said 50 per cent of dearness allowance of the pay will be merged with basic salary of central government employees.
Foreign brokerage Goldman Sachs on Monday said it expects new Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to peg the fiscal deficit target for FY15 at 4.3 per cent, up from the 4.1 per cent stated by his predecessor P Chidambaram.
Employees of around 150 firms may lose out on PF benefits as their companies failed to get an exemption certificate from the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)
It is unclear if he would be renamed the finance minister soon after his return.
