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No fresh burden on ‘aam aadmi’
Rs 500 crore for crop diversification brings cheer to Punjab
FII tax issues, surcharge spook markets
Telecom sector feels left out
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SUVs, imported cars to be costlier
Major thrust on infra projects; Srinagar-Leh power link okayed
22% boost for agriculture
PC scores low in education sector
Excise duty exemption rejuvenates textile industry
Health gets 8.24% jump
Himachal industry not happy
Children’s share cut
Govt keeps gold import duty steady - for now
Aid for judicial infrastructure doubled
‘Nothing special for Kashmir’
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No fresh burden on ‘aam aadmi’
And, the Congress is not complaining. Chidambaram has not placed any additional burden on the ‘aam aadmi’ already reeling under the burden of runaway inflation. The party is also relieved because the decision not to take the populist route scotches prevailing speculation about an early
election. At the same time, Chidambaram has provided relief in small measure wherever possible. He has reached out to the urban middle class, youth and women with special schemes and concessions to arrest their drift away from the Congress-led UPA government. He has not stinted on the UPA government’s flagship programmes like the rural employment guarantee scheme and the proposed food security Bill, has ensured more than adequate funding for the party’s support base comprising the rural poor, farmers, minorities and SC/STs, has not reduced subsidies on food, fuel and fertilisers and funds and promised the poor a better deal through the Direct Benefit Transfer scheme. In other words, there is something in it for
everybody. Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari also maintained the budget would boost growth and augment equity which fitted in with the UPA’s guiding philosophy. "The three P's of FM's budget - prudent, productive & progressive,” he tweeted. Others spoke in the same vein, describing the budget as pragmatic and practical. Taking a cue from Congress President Sonia Gandhi emphasis on the concerns of women, youth and the urban middle class in her speech at last month’s Jaipur Chintan Shivir, Chidambaram has taken care to address their needs and aspirations. Acknowledging that the recent gang rape case in Delhi had cast a shadow on “our liberal and progressive credentials”, Chidambaram pledged to do everything to empower women and keep them secure. He announced a contribution of Rs 1,000 crore for a special Nirbhaya Fund to fund various initiatives for women and the girl child. His announcement of India’s first Women’s Bank which will lend mostly to women, women run businesses and support women SHGs drew a special applause. Though the income tax limit has not been enhanced, he has provided some relief by providing a tax credit of Rs 2,000 to each person earning up to Rs 5 lakh. First time home buyers will now be entitled an additional deduction of interest of Rs 1 lakh for those who take a loan upto Rs 25 lakh. Not only will this encourage home ownership but also rev up construction-related industries. Having focused on the rural populace so far, the UPA government has turned its attention to the need for housing in urban areas. For starters, Chidambaram has proposed an urban housing fund for which Rs 2,000 crore has been allocated. Taking note of growing frustration among the youth by providing allocations for improving their employability. He has not only earmarked Rs 1,000 crore for skilling 10 lakh youth, but also announced a monetary award of Rs 10,000 to each person who gets a certificate in skill development in a clear attempt to woo the youth. Cong not complaining
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Rs 500 crore for crop diversification brings cheer to Punjab
Chandigarh, February 28 In fact, Punjab was the only state that has been pressing the Centre hard to make allocation of Rs 5,000 crore to facilitate its proposed plan for diversification in the farm sector. A detailed blue print of the plan was submitted to the Centre following which Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had held a number of meetings with Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. Diversification plan was prepared following the Centre’s caution to the state government regarding the growing of paddy. The Centre had urged for switching over to some other crops in due course. The Centre’s plea was that most of the rice eating states have become self-sufficient and in the years to come, there would be no buyers of Punjab’s rice. Asked about the Centre’s provision, Agriculture Adviser to the state government, Dr Balwinder Singh Sidhu, said: “It was good development that the Centre had finally recognised state’s problem and accepted its proposal for diversification. Allocation will hopefully set the ball rolling”. It is true that the state government has not got what it had sought (Rs 5,000 crore). However, it will rightfully ask that entire allocation should be given to it. To begin with Rs 500 crore is enough to set the process of diversification in motion. On an average, the paddy is transplanted in about 26-27 lakh hectares in the state. Experts say that the state should at least reduce the paddy transplantation to 16 lakh hectares and even less in case it’s proper alternative becomes available. The state government could not shift 10 lakh hectares from under the paddy crop in a year. At least 5-6 years would be required to do so. In case, the Centre continues to give funds for this purpose, then it would not be difficult to reduce the targeted area under the paddy. As farmers in the state have been persisting with paddy crop, it has led to steep fall in the sub-soil water table reducing most part of the state to what is technically called dark zone, an area where subsoil water is recklessly pumped out. The state government is keen to switch over to horticulture, maize and some other crops. It also wanted to promote poultry, dairy and the allied ventures. GoM set up to address agri concerns
The Union Government has set up a Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to address the agriculture related concerns of Punjab and other states. Others members of the GoM are the Union Finance Minister, the Union Commerce Minister, the Union Water Resources Minister and the Union Minister for Food and Public Distribution. Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia would be special invitee to the meetings convened by the GoM, sources said. |
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FII tax issues, surcharge spook markets
Mumbai, February 28 A government proposal to raise taxes on certain individuals and companies also raised concerns, while worries about double tax avoidance agreements also hit shares after the finance ministry said tax residency certificates were no longer sufficient to claim benefits. A perception that the government lacked major initiatives to woo foreign investors added to the disappointment given net inflows from abroad play a key role in share performance. "Inflationary expectations and tax uncertainty are weighing on the market, but I am sure the finance minister would give clarifications on to avoid any further loss of confidence," said Deven Choksey, managing director, KR Choksey Securities. The benchmark BSE Sensex fell 1.52%, or 290.87 points, to end at 18,861.54, hitting its lowest close since November 27, 2012. It was down 5.2% for the month, snapping a three-month gaining streak. The broader Nifty fell 1.79%, or 103.85 points, to end at 5693.05, closing below the psychologically important 5,700 level, and falling 5.7% for the month. Investors expressed broad disappointment over the budget, with incentives such as reducing the securities transaction tax on equity futures and imposing a transaction tax on futures contracts of nonagricultural commodities not seen as big enough to sway investors. Shares in state-owned banks fell on concerns about liquidity in the banking system after the government set its target for gross market borrowing at Rs 6.29 trillion in 2013/14, above estimates of less than Rs 6 trillion. State Bank of India fell 6%, Punjab National Bank ended 5.5% lower, while Bank of India fell 5.7%. Private sector lenders also fell, with ICICI Bank down 4%, after the finance minister proposed to extend a scheme that provides farmers with low-cost loans to private banks. A surprise hike in tax on SUVs hit M&M, sending the automaker down 2.1%. Shares of Suzlon Energy slumped 34% after its promoters sold a 6.19% stake in the open market. Shares in Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd fell 3.2% after the finance minister proposed setting up two new ports in Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, raising worries about more competition in the sector. However, among stocks that gained, Indian education-related companies rose after the allocation to the ministry of human resources and development was increased to Rs 658.67 billion. Everonn Education ended 2.3% higher after gaining as much as 15.5% earlier.
— Reuters Rupee weakens sharply; may slide FURTHER in Near-Term The rupee weakened sharply on Thursday, retreating from a three-week high hit earlier, after the 2013-14 budget increased spending despite keeping fiscal deficit targets in place, while measures to attract foreign flows were seen as limited. The unit dropped 2.1% in February, marking its biggest monthly fall since May 2012. For the fiscal year starting in April, India proposes to raise spending by funding it with higher revenues in a budget aimed at reviving growth. Although the fiscal deficit target was maintained at 4.8% of GDP, investors had expected a closer check on spending and were disappointed as the government sought to increase taxes on certain individuals and companies. Those tax proposals hit stocks, and the government also disappointed some investors by not announcing a cut in debt withholding tax. "The market was expecting a lot from the finance minister. The budget itself is not negative, but given the promises, the market was expecting a lot more," said Hari Chandramgethen, head of forex trading at South Indian Bank. "I’m expecting a 54.00 to 54.80 range in the near-term now. A break of 54.80 is negative for the rupee as the 200-day moving average and trend resistance coincide at that level. A breach of that can push it to 55.15 or even 55.70 levels," he added. The partially convertible rupee closed at 54.36/37 per dollar compared to its close of 53.86/87 on Wednesday. The unit dropped as low as 54.49, its lowest since February 22. Before the budget was unveiled, the rupee had risen as high as 53.59, its strongest since February 8.
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Telecom sector feels left out
As he announced duty increase of 6% on mobile phones priced above Rs 2000 and 5% duty hike on TV settop boxes, it was clear that the government had got a clear signal from the telecom operators that the industry would not be toeing the state policies blindfolded and doing business made more sense. Government has brought down its expectations from the spectrum sale this fiscal drastically from the previous year and expects to garner just about Rs 19,440.67 crore from its sale and other related charges in 2012-13, against Rs 58,217 crore estimated in the budget for 2012-13. According to the budget proposals for 2013-14, the government expects revenue of Rs 40,847.05 crore from other communication services, which include receipt from spectrum sale. "Receipts under 'other communication services' mainly relate to one-time spectrum charges levied as per the recommendations of TRAI, Auction of 1800 MHz and 900 MHz spectrum and receipts from 800 MHz spectrum," the budget document said. In November last year, spectrum auction attracted bids worth just Rs 9,407.64 crore against value of around Rs 28,000 crore fixed by government for airwaves put for auction. There will be a 6% duty on mobile phones above Rs 2,000. This will escalate the price of both feature phones and smartphones. Cellphones enjoy a concessional excise duty of one per cent. "About 70% of imported mobile phones and about 60% of domestically manufactured mobile phones are priced at Rs 2,000 or below," Chidambaram said. “I do not propose to change that in the case of low priced mobile phones. However, on mobile phones priced at more than Rs. 2,000, I propose to raise the duty to 6%," Chidambaram said. However, one of the main announcements, which would give a boost to the manufacturing of high tech electronic products in India, Chidambaram announced zero customs duty for equipments required for setting up semiconductor (electronic chips) plant in the country. “I propose to provide appropriate incentives to semiconductor wafer manufacturing facility including zero custom duty for plant and machinery,” Chidambaram said.
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Defence allocation up 14%
New Delhi, February 28 The revised budget after the mid-fiscal cut was Rs 1,78,504 crore in December 2012. The hike is 14.10 per cent, much lower than last year’s 17.6 per cent hike. Also the share of defence spending in the GDP will be reduced from 1.9 per cent for the year ending March 31 to 1.79 per cent of the GDP. The share of defence spending in the overall expenditure will be 10 per cent of government expenses, a decrease of 11 per cent this year.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram while presenting the budget made a good hike in capital outlay to buy equipment, modernisation and weaponry. This year’s hike caters to the purchase of artillery guns for the Indian Army and new aircraft for the IAF besides payments for Naval warship and submarines. The cut in expenses had seen the capital expenses drop to Rs 69, 578 crore this year impacting new purchases, for the next fiscal Rs 86, 740 crore have been allocated.
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SUVs, imported cars to be costlier
New Delhi, February 28 Presenting the FY14 budget, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said: "SUVs occupy a greater parking space, we intend to increase excise duty on SUVs from 27% to 30%". He, however clarified: "Utility vehicles registered as taxis would not be levied this additional tax.” He also announced that all luxury vehicles, including super bikes will attract 100 per cent import duty. The share of utility vehicles in the passenger car market in India has shot up from 14% last fiscal to over 20.51% this year. The utility vehicles segment has been the fastest growing segment in the Indian passenger vehicle segment and grew by over 56.87% this year between April to January in FY-13 with sales of 451,000 units as against 288,000 units sold for the same period last year. The biggest hit will be for the country’s largest utility vehicles maker, Mahindra & Mahindra which sells over 21,000 units in a month and has a whopping share of almost 48% in the segment. Stating that the affluent class in India consumes imported luxury goods such as high-end motor vehicles, motorcycles, yachts and similar vessels, Chidambaram expressed confidence that "they will not mind paying a little more". "Hence, I propose to increase the duty on such motor vehicles from 75% to 100%," he added. He also proposed to hike the import duty on motorcycles with engine capacity of 800cc or more to 75% from 60%, and on yachts and similar vehicles from 10% to 25%. To boost manufacturing and selling of environment- friendly vehicles, Chidambaram proposed to continue and extend the currently available concessions on specified parts of electric and hybrid vehicles till March 31, 2015. Excise duty on lithium ion battery packs for electric or hybrid vehicles was also cut to 6% from 10%. Chidambaram provided a major boost to the struggling commercial vehicles sector by allocating Rs 14,883 crore for the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission to purchase around 10,000 buses for upgrading bus fleets in cities. Auto industry not happy with excise hike
The automobile industry today expressed its unhappiness over the latest proposals made in the FY14 budget by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram saying the increase in the excise duty in SUVs and import of cars was not expected. The industry said that the budget did not meet the expectations and the increase in the duties will severely impact the industry which is already seeing a major downturn and needed an impetus from the government. SIAM president S. Sandilya, while welcoming the overall budget, said the auto industry had expected the finance minister would come out with more specific roadmap for implementation of goods & services tax. The industry would be keenly looking forward to full implementation of GST at the earliest. The other area which the industry did not expect was the hike in excise duty on SUVs used as personal vehicles. This is the only segment in the industry which has been doing well this year and increasing price of these vehicles would dampen sales and impact market sentiments further. Lowel Paddock, president & MD of General Motors India said the budget did not meet the expectations of the industry. “We were expecting the roll back of the excise duty imposed last year. Instead there is an increase of three per cent excise duty on SUVs and there is also a hike in customs duty of 25% on high-end imported vehicles. These hikes are not on the expected lines and will impact the sale of SUVs,” Paddock said. Michael Perschke, head, Audi India, said hike in custom duty on imported cars and excise duty on SUVs will severely impact the auto industry. |
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Major thrust on infra projects; Srinagar-Leh power link okayed
Infrastructure got a major thrust in the 2013-14 budget with Finance Minister P. Chidambaram announcing a slew of measures to boost sector's growth, like raising Rs 50,000 crore through taxfree bonds and setting up of major ports. In some other decisions which would boost the infrastructure development in the country, the government also said that it would set up a road regulatory authority in FY2013-14 to address financial stress, construction risk and contract management in the road sector and start work on two more industrial corridors between Bangalore and Chennai and Bangalore and Mumbai. "The power transmission system from Srinagar to Leh will be constructed at the cost of Rs 1,840 crore, Rs 226 crore provided in current budget," Chidambaram said in his budgetary proposals for next fiscal. In a move that is also strategic for the region, the proposed 220 kV line from Srinagar to Leh, to be implemented by Power Grid Corp, will pass through Kargil, Drass, Khalsi and is aimed at enhancing the reliability of power supply. In a move to allay industry's concerns that the government's austerity drive could crimp investments in crucial sectors like infrastructure, Chidambaram said planned expenditure in the next financial year would be 29.4% higher than the current year. "I have provided sufficient funds to all ministries and departments, now it is up to the ministers to use these funds properly," he said while adding that this year’s budget had one objective —creating jobs. The infrastructure sector needs Rs. 55 lakh crore, according to the 12th Five Year Plan, and the government will take steps to encourage private investment in the infrastructure sector. It will set up a regulator for the road sector to help clear regulatory hurdles that players face. It also plans to build two new ports in Sagar Island, West Bengal, and in Andhra Pradesh. "Challenges not envisaged earlier including financial stress, enhanced construction risk and contract management issues are best addressed by an independent authority... hence the government has decided to constitute a regulatory authority for the road sector," Chidambaram said. The key functions of the proposed regulator are likely to include tariff setting, regulation of service quality, assessment of concessionaire claims, collection and dissemination of sector information, service-level benchmarks and monitoring compliance of concession agreements.
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22% boost for agriculture
New Delhi, February 28 Finance Minister P Chidambaram hiked the agriculture budget by 22 per cent, increased farm credit limit to small and marginal farmers from Rs 5,75,000 crore to Rs 7,00,000 crore in 2013-14 and announced setting up “nutri-farms” pilot project. The sector got a major boost, in line with the UPA’s ambitious food security Bill (which got an allocation of Rs 10,000 crore) and the next general election, as sufficient sops have been announced for farmers in the Budget. Also for the first time perhaps, the government set aside separate funds - Rs 500 crore - to start a programme on crop diversification. Without naming the states, Chidambaram said the original Green Revolution states were facing the problem of stagnating yields and over-exploitation of water resources. “The answer lies in crop diversification. I propose to allocate Rs 500 crore to start a programme of crop diversification that will promote technological innovation and encourage farmers to choose crop allocations,” he said. Though the amount is much less than what would be required for a turnover, agriculture ministry officials said the amount was sufficient to make a “good start” in the direction. He also increased allocations for the ministry to boost technological innovations in agricultural research. Further, Rs 200 crore has been allocated for starting “nutri-farms” to introduce new crop varieties such as iron-rich bajra, etc. What farm sector got in budget allocation
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PC scores low in education sector
New Delhi, February 28 The Plan Budget is Rs 65,869 crore which is Rs 4,442 crore more than Rs 61,427 crore in last fiscal. “We will certainly ask for more money with the Right to Education Act in mind. Considering the target date is approaching and all states will ask us for more from the central share, we have to be prepared. This raise is little,” HRD Minister MM Pallam Raju said. He appeared under pressure as he has refused to consider advancing the RTE Act deadline beyond March 31. The budget for school education is Rs 49,659 crore which is only 8 per cent more than last year. The allocation for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is up from Rs 25,500 crore last fiscal to Rs 27, 258 this year an increase of Rs 1,758 crore which is very low considering SSA is the main vehicle to implement the RTE Act. Midday Meal scheme has been allocated Rs 13,125 crore as against Rs 11,937 crore last year, an increase of Rs 1,260 crore. |
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PC sings for the poor, women and youth
New Delhi, February 28
He treaded between being pro-poor on the one hand and rolling out the red carpet for foreign direct investment on the other. The Congress MPs responded with resounding thumping of desks with each swing in his speech. The markets responded negatively, the BSE and the Nifty plunged. The BJP, UPA supporters Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party joined the chorus of critics. “India does not have the choice between welcoming and spurning foreign investment. It is an imperative,” said Chidambaram. The response was muted from the Congress MPs even as the BJP led by Sushma Swaraj and LK Advani was intent on taking notes to respond. Minutes before this, Chidambaram had pushed his party slogan “aap ka paise aap ke haath” by promising to roll out direct benefits transfer scheme - the one to provide cash incentive to the poor — throughout the country. MNREGA, scholarships to students belonging to SC, ST, OBC and Minorities were well received by the Congress. At one stage, he announced an additional scheme for rural roads and Uttar Pradesh was left out, prompting MPs from the state to rise in unison. Chidambaram had by then shifted to the food security Bill, dear to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. Here he switched gears and talked how ‘doing business in India’ must be seen as easy and friendly. He went on to do some number crunching - aimed at foreign investors - in trillion US dollars along with the conversion in rupees even as Rahul Gandhi got up from his aisle seat in the eight row of the Lok Sabha and stood nervously in the aisle. From the first floor visitors gallery, the Finance Minister’s son, his mother, wife, daughter-in-law and grand-daughter watched the proceedings. As he made it clear that no changes in income tax slabs were possible at this stage, The BJP back-benchers expressed unhappiness and there was sign of unhappiness even on the treasury benches.
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Excise duty exemption rejuvenates textile industry
Chandigarh, February 28 Finance Minister P Chidambaram today said the readymade garment industry is in the throes of a crisis and needs a lifeline. “The industry had been demanding the zero excise duty route for cotton and manmade sector (spun yarn) at the yarn, fabric and garment stages. I propose to accept the demand. In case of cotton, there will be zero duty at the fibre stage and in case of spun yarn there will be a duty of 12 per cent at the fibre stage. The zero excise duty will be in addition to the CENVAT route now available,” he said. The issue had been brought to the notice of the Finance Minister by Vijay Inder Singla, Sangrur MP. With the zero excise duty, the cost of production for the textile industry here will come down and in turn help bring down the cost of readymade garments by 10 per cent. Ajit Lakra, president of Ludhiana Knitters Club, told The Tribune that this was a welcome step, as they were forced to pay 12.3 per cent excise duty on 30 per cent of the MRP of the garment. “With this, we will not have to pay excise duty and our working capital will improve substantially. There are over 4,000 garment manufacturing units in Ludhiana alone and production had been very low because of shrinking profit margins. This step of a zero excise duty will revive the sagging garment industry,” he said. For the handloom sector, the Budget has announced a concessional rate of interest of 6 per cent on the working capital and term loans. Ramesh Verma, president of Handloom Export Manufacturers Association, Panipat, said this would mean easy availability of finance to the handloom sector. “In Panipat, the handloom sector has been in distress. Over the past seven years, the number of handlooms has come down from three lakh to 60,000, because there was no regular work and poor availability of finance. As a result, the migratory weavers have stopped coming here, leading to a further crisis in the handloom industry. But hopefully, this will change,” he said. |
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Health gets 8.24% jump
New Delhi, February 28 Although Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad put up a brave face today saying, “This is the best that could have been done in a trying economic condition,” the reality is that the budget falls very short of expectations. This allocation will do nothing to improve India’s health spending as a percentage of the GDP which is only 1.36 per cent as per 2012-13 figures. Private expenditure on the other hand is almost double 2.9 per cent of the GDP indicating the lack of will on part of the government to expand public expenditure in a crucial sector. Highlight of Chidambaram’s speech today was the 18 per cent hike in excise duty on cigarettes, cigars and cheroots making these products costlier but no taxes were proposed on other tobacco products such as ‘bidis’ despite the recommendation to do so by the high-level group of the Planning Commission on Universal Health coverage. The committee had suggested tax based financing of UHC in India. This year’s plan budget for health which will go into disease prevention and control and a range of other activities represents 8.2 per cent raise over the last year. WHAT HOSPITALS GOT
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Himachal industry not happy
Solan/Shimla, February 28 The presence of the Congress government both in the state as well as the Centre had raised the hopes of the investors and they were particularly hopeful of getting some relief after the case was emphatically pleaded by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and the Industry Minister Mukesh Agnihotri before the Centre. The industry in Himachal has, however, been left high and dry with no such announcement having been made today. The textile industry had, however, welcomed the continuation of the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme in 12th Plan with an investment target of Rs 1, 51,000 crore. The realty sector, which had been demanding industry status, has been disappointed with no such announcement having been made. The realtors, however, opined that since the first home loan from a bank or housing finance corporation upto Rs 25 lakh will be entitled to additional deduction of interest up to Rs 1 lakh it was a positive step as it will boost housing in the tier 2 and tier 3 cities opined Anil Manrao a realtor. The automobile industry had some reasons to cheer as an increase in tax of imported Completely Built Units will promote domestic auto manufacturers, opined a senior executive of a leading automobile manufacturing unit in the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh industrial area. |
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India Inc gives thumbs up to 2013-14 budget
Mumbai/New Delhi, Feb 28 "Many proposals are development-inclusive. It will add to the country's GDP growth. We are particularly glad to see incentives for agricultural sector, MSME sector, infrastructure and capital market," CII president Adi Godrej said. Sharing similar views, FICCI president Naina Lal Kidwai said this is a responsible budget. "I think growth is central... The Budget has stressed on the issue of growth and creation of more jobs." Assocham secretary general D.S. Rawat said: "The finance minister has presented a bold and pragmatic budget, ahead of the general elections next year. It is an investor-oriented and growth-oriented budget." Besides, the chamber said, the Budget has focused on human resource and rural agriculture sector without touching and giving pains to any section of the society. Aiming at higher growth rate for inclusive and sustainable development and to revive manufacturing, Chidambaram hiked outlays for health, water and sanitation, welfare of the less privileged sections and rural development. Also, he proposed a sharp increase of Rs 1.25 lakh crore in agriculture credit target to Rs 7 lakh crore for the next fiscal. On a 10% surcharge on super-rich for a year on income above Rs one crore, FICCI said: "We would have preferred no disturbance in the tax regime. But the fact is that we have to bear it." The PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry said the projection of fiscal deficit is encouraging with the view that fiscal consolidation is critical for the economy to move towards growth. The fiscal deficit for the current fiscal has been contained at 5.2 per cent of GDP, lower than 5.3 percent, the finance minister said today.
— PTI
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Children’s share cut
New Delhi, February 28 Overall child budget has risen from Rs 71,028.11 crore in 2012-13 to Rs 77,236 crore in 2013-14 but the rate of increase is not proportional. The Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS), key to prevention of child abuse, has seen allocations reduced today by 25 per cent from Rs 400 crore in 2012-13 to Rs 300 crore. A 7.67 per cent decline in the budget for child protection is feared to worsen the situation further especially at a time when the Centre has pushed the implementation of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Bill. The pruning
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Govt keeps gold import duty steady - for now
Mumbai, February 28 "It is good the government has not imposed any restrictions or any further duty hike on bullion," said Prithviraj Kothari, director of RiddiSiddhi Bullions, whose imports of 100 tonnes of the precious metal accounted for about a tenth of India's total last year. "If any data shows a further increase in current account deficit, they might hike the import duty," he added. India, the world's top gold consumer, imports almost all it needs. Gold imports have already surpassed $38 billion, the forecast a year ago for the entire 2013 fiscal, and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has urged people to moderate buying to reduce pressure on the rupee. Recent falls in gold prices have undermined his efforts. Domestic gold prices have dropped about 3% since January 21.
— Reuters
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Shot in arm for border areas
The Home Ministry and the paramilitary forces under it have been allocated Rs 59, 241 crore, an increase of 8 per cent over last year’s Rs 54, 449. Emphasis will be on works along the borders with Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and China, roads and the fencing will form the Rs 2,025 crore outlay for this. The focus will be to provide new residential quarters for the Central Armed Police Forces personnel, provision of additional financial assistance in the states affected by naxal violence as well as projects in the north-east. Also, Rs 275 crore has been earmarked for assistance to be given to states under crime and criminal tracking network and system (CCTNS).
— TNS Securing frontier
Rs 300 crore for works along the India-China border
Rs 230 crore for works along Pak border
Rs 550 crore from making border roads
Rs 275 crore for CCTNS
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Aid for judicial infrastructure doubled
New Delhi, February 28 The Budget also has a provision of Rs 44 crore, against Rs 37.5 crore in the current year, for the national mission for justice delivery and legal reforms. However, only Rs 0.5 crore was spent during 2012-13 against the allocation of Rs 37.5 crore. The assistance to state governments for setting up and operating Gram Nyayalayas has been brought down sharply from Rs 109 crore to Rs 20 crore. * Up from
Rs 510 crore to Rs 756 crore in 2013-14 * Rs 44 crore for national mission for justice delivery and legal reforms |
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‘Nothing special for Kashmir’ Srinagar, February 28 President of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry Abdul Hamid Punjabi said the budget had “nothing special for Kashmir”. “There is nothing special for Kashmir that would have made us feel that it (Centre) is concerned about the state. Our suggestions have been ignored,” Punjabi said.
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1)
How to contain fiscal deficit as a downgrade threat by global rating agencies still looms?
New Delhi, February 28
India continues to spend very little on the health sector with the spending on health research remaining particularly low. The General Budget 2013-14 presented by Finance Ministry P Chidambaram today provided a budget of Rs 37,330 crore for the Health Ministry which is an increase of only 8.24 per cent over the budget estimates of 2012-13 when Rs 34,488 crore was the proposed allocation.
It is a jugglery of numbers that Chidambaram has done in his Budget.... The additional tax proposals will add to the rising prices and will further hit the common man.
It is a pro-corporate budget. It is a budget which once again is finding ways to give tax exemptions and also this budget shows manipulation of figures by Chidambaram in his presentation.
The
Budget has been drafted to confuse the common man. There is nothing new
in this Budget and there is nothing for farmers, employees and the
middle class.
The Budget is pro-people, progressive and help fuel growth and it has brought relief to various sections of society, especially agriculturists, women and youth.
It is very encouraging that this crop diversification programme will be implemented in the original Green Revolution states
New Delhi, February 28
Chidambaram’s colleagues today acknowledged that he had done the best given that he had limited funds to play around with. Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal showed a determined effort to come out of the global slowdown and charter a path of growth. 
New Delhi, February 28
Successive standing parliamentary committees on defence had recommended the allocation to be raised by at least 3-3.5 per cent of the GDP to modernise the armed forces. In the past, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Defence Minister AK Antony, on separate occasions, had pitched for a 3 per cent share of the GDP for defence.
New Delhi, February 28
Finance Minister P Chidambaram today set aside a budget of Rs 79,451 crore for the entire education sector, including literacy and higher and technical education. This represents a meagre Rs 5,395 crore increase over the budget estimate of Rs 74,056 crore for the Ministry of HRD in the last financial year. The hike constitutes 7.2 per cent over 2012-13 whereas last year the increase for the education sector budget was a handsome 18.6 per cent. Expenditure on education as a proportion of the GDP has increased from 2.59 per cent in 2007-08 to 3.31 per cent in 2012-13.
He narrowed down his choices of doling out sops and schemes, in the process maintaining a near status quo for the urban salaried class workers. Chidambaram, known in power circles as ‘PC’, reasoned it out in a two-hour speech.
New Delhi, February 28