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Budget 2007-08: Highlights
Published on Thu, Jan 31, 2008 at 13:23, Updated at Fri, Feb 01, 2008 in section
Tags: Union Budget, Highlights
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Sonia hints at more concessions for farmers
Farmers who have not benefited from Budget loan waiver will be considered.
- 100 per cent subsidy for small farmers and 50 per cent for other farmers for water recharging scheme.
- National Agricultural Insurance Scheme to be continued for Kharif and Rabi this year.
- Bonds worth Rs 5,000 crore to augment (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) NABARD to be issued.
- Death and disability cover for rural landless families to be introduced, known as 'Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana'.
- Seventy lakh households to be covered under a social welfare scheme with LIC and with support from state governments. Fifty per cent of the premium at Rs 200 per household to be given by the Centre. Rs.1,000 crore fund to be maintained by LIC for the purpose.
- Central public sector enterprises will be given Rs 16,261 crore as equity support and loans of over Rs 2,600 crore.
- FDI inflows between April and January this fiscal touched $12.5 billion while portfolio investment reached $6.8 billion.
- Allocation for National Highway Development programme to be stepped up from Rs 9,955 crore to Rs 12,600 crore.
- Work on Golden Quadrilateral road project nearly complete. Considerable progress made on North-South, East-West corridor and likely to be completed by 2009.
- Textile Upgradation Fund raised to Rs 911 crore as against Rs 535 crore during 2006-07.
- Health insurance cover for weavers to be enlarged to ancillary industries. Allocation increased from Rs 241 crore to Rs 321 crore.
- A scheme for modernisation and technological upgradation of choir industry has been introduced and for which Rs 23.55 crore has been earmarked.
- Tourism infrastructure to get an allocation of Rs 520 crore as against Rs 423 crore last year.
- The ceiling of loans for weaker sections under differential rate of interest scheme will be raised from Rs 6,500 to Rs 15,000 and in housing loan from Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000.
- Regulations would be put in place for mortgage guarantee company for housing loans.
- Regional Rural Banks, which are willing to take up greater responsibilities, to undertake aggressive branch expansion programme. One RRB branch for each of 80 districts so far uncovered.
- Insurance companies to launch a senior citizens scheme in 2007-08.
- Indian investors to be allowed investment in overseas capital markets through mutual funds. Mutual funds to set up Infrastructure Fund schemes.
- Defence allocation increased to Rs 96,000 crore. This includes capital expenditure of Rs 41,922 crore.
- Backward Regions Grant Fund to be raised to Rs 5,800 crore.
- E-governance allocation to be increased from Rs 395 to Rs 719 crore
- A high-powered committee report aimed at making Mumbai a world class financial centre submitted. Public suggestions will be invited.
- Rs 50 crore provided to begin work on vocational education mission for which task force in Planning Commission is chalking out a strategy.
- 1,396 Indian technical institutes to be upgraded to achieve technical excellence.
- An autonomous Debt Management Office in government to be set up.
- Government to create one lakh jobs for physically challenged. Government will reimburse the EPF contributions of employers in the case of physically challenged people taken on rolls of the company and included in the PF scheme. A fund of Rs 150 crore to be started which will go up to Rs 450 crore.
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Finance Minister message to farmers:%22Take loan .. don't repay! if you are repaying you are a fool! -- good message
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