Saturday, March 1, 2003, Chandigarh, India
Updated at 3:00 am (IST)

Standard deduction up, IT surcharge goes
Sops for elderly, disabled      Cars, ACs, liquor cheaper      Fertilisers, diesel dearer
New Delhi, February 28 In a please-all Budget in a year of crucial Assembly elections, Union Finance Minister Jaswant Singh raised the standard deduction to Rs 30,000, slashed the interest rate on PPF and small savings by 1 per cent, scrapped the 5 per cent surcharge on income tax, restored LTC for government servants, continued with concessions on housing loans and hiked the effective tax relief for senior citizens to Rs 1,83,000 per year.	LTC restored    PPF, small saving interest cut    Defence allocation up by 16.6 pc Highlights More Budget  stories In video (28k, 56k)

In video: People in New Delhi say they are pleased with the Budget proposals. (28k, 56k)

  Budget copy tabled in RS
 

  New tax liability of the individual tax payer

  Budget at a glance
Business page

  Jaswant for lower interest regime
  Service tax up
 

 

 

 

Urea price up
New Delhi, February 28
A marginal increase in urea and fertiliser prices notwithstanding, Jaswant Singh today sought to usher in second agrarian revolution by offering major sops for the agro sector, including easy credit to farmer.

  Business page: Farm sector ignored
  Petrol, diesel prices up

Oppn flays urea price hike
BJP hints at rollback
New Delhi, February 28
The BJP president Mr Venkaiah Naidu today indicated that the party would seek a withdrawal in the hike of urea and fertiliser prices during discussion on the Union Budget in Parliament.
  In video (28k, 56k)

Defence remains priority, outlay up 16.6 pc
New Delhi, February 28
Defence remained high on the government’s priority list, specially with the prevailing security scenario in the Indian sub-continent forcing Finance Minister Jaswant Singh to make a substantial hike of 16.6 per cent over the last year’s revised estimates.

Tax sops for salaried class, elderly, disabled
New Delhi, February 28
Finance Minister Jaswant Singh today unveiled a major tax reforms initiative peppered with elements to woo the salaried class and corporate houses without actually significantly tinkering with the existing rate structure.

Investor-friendly industrial policy
Provision stores to sell liquor in Punjab
Chandigarh, February 28
The Punjab Cabinet today approved the new industrial policy and also the excise policy, 2003-04. If the former aims to make Punjab investor-friendly and hassle-free destination and proposes to set up three special economic zones with the government acting as a facilitator, the excise policy is loaded against liquor smuggling.