BUDGET 2013-14

•  Presented by: Finance Minister P Chidambaram (His eighth Budget-second highest by anyone in the country after a record ten by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai.)
• First budget of independent India was presented by: then Finance Minister R K Shanmukham Chetty.

GROWTH, INFLATION:

• Overall GDP growth rate seen at 6.1-6.7% in FY14
• Global economic growth slowed to 3.2% in FY12 from 3.9% FY11
• India can become 7th largest economy by 2017
• Food inflation is worrying. Oilseed, pulses supply-demand mismatch pushes up inflation
• Efforts over last few months brought down WPI inflation to 7%

 FISCAL DEFICIT:

• Fiscal deficit seen at 5.2% of GDP in 2012/13
•  Fiscal deficit seen at 4.8 % of GDP in 2013/14

TAX REFORMS:

• To set up tax administration reform commission
• Draft bill on GST in Parliament in next few months

HIGHLIGHTS:

• A benefit of Rs 2,000 to individual tax payers with taxable income of up to Rs 5 lakh.
•  No review of tax slabs
•  Surcharge of 10% on those earning over Rs 1 crore in a year.
• Infrastructure Development Funds will be encouraged
• GAAR modified provisions seen effective Apr 1, 2016
• Rs. 1000-crore Nirbhaya Fund announced for the empowerment of women
• India's first women's bank as a PSU proposed, Rs. 1,000 crore working capital announced
• Additional sum of Rs. 200 crore to Women and Child Welfare
•  All Regional Rural Banks and cooperative banks to be e-linked by this year-end
• National Housing Bank (NHB) to set up urban housing bank fund and Rs. 2,000 crore will be allocated in this regard
• Only China and Indonesia growing faster than India
• India's greater worry is current account deficit
• Mobile phones, dinning out, cigarettes, SUVs, motorbikes, set-up boxes get expensive
• Securities and Exchange Board of India to simplify procedures for foreign portfolio investors
• Green revolution in east India significant. Rice output increased in Assam, Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal
• The Rajiv Gandhi Equity Scheme (RGESS) will be liberalized to allow first time investor to invest in mutual funds and equity.
• Proposal to launch Inflation Indexed Bonds or Inflation Indexed National Security Certificates to protect savings from inflation.
• Two new ports in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh
•  an investor has a stake of 10 per cent or less in a company, it will be treated as FII and, where an investor has a stake of more than 10 per cent, it will be treated as FDI