HIGHLIGHTS OF BUDGET 2014-15
NO CHANGES IN INCOME TAX SLABS:-
There is no changes in income tax slabs by Finance Minister, P Chidambaram i.e. no cheers for salaried persons.
Finance Minister appealed to all political parties to resolve and pass the GST Laws and the Direct Tax Code in 2014-15.
CAR and BIKE Indusry:-
Some Cheers for Car and Bike Industry as Excise duty on small cars, bikes, scooters and commercial vehicles excise duty reduced from 8% to 12%.
In sedan segment exercise duty reduced from 24-27% to 24-20%.
Excise duty on SUVs has been decreased from 30% to 24%.
CONSUMER DURABLE INDUSTRY:-
Cheers for Consumer durables such as TV sets, Refrigerator, Air Conditioners has also been cut from 10% to 12%.
Relief for state-run banks
Government announced that they will infuse Rs.11,200 crore capital in public sector banks in 2014-15.
Govt provides relief for education loan borrowers
Finance Minister P.Chidambaram has announced a non loan payment period for all education loans taken up to March 31, 2009, and outstanding as of March 31, 2013.
The government will take over the liability for outstanding interest as Dec 31, 2013, but the borrower would have to pay interest for the period after April 1, 2014.Nearly 900,000 student-borrowers would benefit to the tune of around Rs.2,600 crore.
One Rank, One Pension
Chidambaram said the government has approved One Rank One Pension for defence personnel in 2014-15 and a provision of Rs.500 crore has been made for this from the Pension Fund.
Defence spending increased
Defence expenditure has been enhanced by 10 per cent to Rs.2,24,000 crore in 2014-15.
More and More funds for women's security
For safety of women, P Chidambaram allocated an additional Rs.1,000 crore for the Nirbhaya Fund that was announced last fiscal.
The Finance Minister said GDP growth has improved in FY 13-14 and will be 4.9% for the current financial year. Economic growth had slowed to a lowest in last years to 4.5% in 2012-13.
India's current account deficit stands at USD 45 billion for FY 13-14, well below the record high level of 2012-13 when CAD was at USD 88 Billion said Finance Minister.