Highlights of Budget for 2011-12:
* Service tax widened to cover hotel accommodation above Rs 1,000 per day, A/C restaurants serving liquor, some category of hospitals, diagnostic tests
* Service tax on air travel increased by Rs 50 for domestic travel and Rs 250 for international travel in economy class. On higher classes, it will be 10 per cent flat
* Eligibility age for senior citizens for tax exemptions reduced to 60 from 65 years
* Exemption limit to senior citizens above 80 increased to Rs five lakhs, says FM
* Rs 9 lakh compensation to be given to men of defence and Central military forces for permanent disability and discharged from service
* Housing loan limit for priority sector lending raised to Rs.25 lakh.
* Agriculture growth key to development: Green Revolution waiting to happen in eastern region.
*Remuneration of anganwadi workers raised from Rs 1500 to Rs 3,000 per month. Helpers to get Rs 1,500 from Rs 750
*Proposal to introduce self-assessment of customs dutywherein importers and exporters will themselves assess payment of duty.
*Capital investment in fertiliser production to beconsidered as infrastructure sub-sector
*Tax free bonds of Rs 30,000 cr to be issued forinfrastructure development. This will cover Warehousing Corporation, NHAI, IRFC and HUDCO
*Nabard capital base to be strengthened; Rs 10,000 crto be provided to it as short term credit fund.
*Existing interest subvention scheme on short term farmloans at seven per cent interest to continue
*Government proposes to promote organic farming methods to enable farmers get best from their land.
*Credit flows to farmers raised from Rs 3.75 lakh crore to Rs 4.75 lakh crores
*Rs 300 cr provided to promote pulses cultivation in rain-fed areas, another Rs 300 cr to promote farm product cultivation:
*Allocation under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana to be raised from Rs 6,755 crore in the current year to Rs 7,860 crore
*Government plans to create a women self help group development fund with a corpus of Rs 500 crore.
*Budget proposes to raise housing loan limit from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 25 lakh from priority sector lending
*Direct Tax Code Bill likely to be passed by Parliament next financial year after getting Standing Committee report
*Peak rate of customs duty maintained at 10 per cent in view of the global economic situation
*Nominal one per cent central excise duty on 130 items entering the tax net. Basic food and fuel and precious stones, gold and silver jewellery will be exempted
*No change in CENVAT rates.
*Threshold income tax limit raised from 1.6 lakh to 1.8 lakh
*Revenue deficit fixed at 2.3 per cent in revised estimates of 2010-11 and 1.8 per cent in 2011-12
*Budget allocation of Rs 100 cr for Ladakh and Rs 150 cr for Jammu for implementation of projects identified by taskforce
*Old age pension to persons of over the age of 80 raised from Rs 200 to Rs 500
*Rs 50 cr grant to Aligarh Muslim University centres in Murshidabad in West Bengal and Malappuram in Kerala