Vote: Which is the best feature? And the worst? Subir Roy: Many pluses, some minuses; Sunil Jain: Deficit reduction illusory; Many reasons for India Inc to be pleased; Income tax exemption limit hiked to Rs 1.5 lakh; 10% tax for income between Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 3 lakh; 20% between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 5 lakh; Income above Rs 5 lakh to attract 30% income tax; Exemption limit for women tax payers increased to Rs 1.80 lakh and for senior citizens to Rs 2.25 lakh; No change in corporate income tax rates and surcharge; No change in peak rate of customs duty; Tax on short term capital gains increased to 15% from 10%; Revenue deficit estimated at Rs 55,184 crore; Fiscal deficit pegged at 2.5% of GDP; Allocation for defence increased 10% from Rs 96,000 crore to Rs 105,600 crore

Top Stories LUCK AND AWE: P Chidambaram arrives in Parliament to deliver the Budget speech.He described himself as a "lucky finance minister" even as he announced the biggest loan waiver in history.    Budget Poll Which is the best feature? Raising the IT exemption limit Cutting excise on vehicles STT set off as a deductible expense Reducing the ambit of FBT Cut in Cenvat Which is the worst feature? Rs 60,000 crore farm loan waiver scheme Raising capital gains tax from 10% to 15% Introducing the commodity transaction tax Expansion of the service tax regime Sensex 14405 (121)   Nifty 4659.95 (-34.2)   Rs-$ 46.64  Budget Headlines   PC budgets for early elections P Chidambaram unveiled a Budget cleverly designed to win him many popularity contests. There were concessions on the income tax, reductions in customs and excise duties, and the mother of all farm  Read Earning Rs 5 lakh? Save up to Rs 45,000 Income tax payers will feel happier after this Budget. Presenting the Union Budget for 2008-09 in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today raised the basic exemption limit from Rs 1.1 lakh  Read FM on Budget: Historic decision for farmers It was an aggressive Finance Minister P Chidambaram going all the way to promote the mother of all loan waivers -- the Rs. 60,000 crore farm loan waiver. Defying charges of his political opponents and  Read Budget STT-umps markets The budget proposals were a dampener for the stock markets. The Finance Minister hiked the short-term capital gains tax from 10% to 15% in order to encourage investors to stay invested for a  Read PM on waiver: Unorthodox, 'generous' response Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today termed the Rs 50,000 crore agriculture loan waiver as a "generous" gesture from his government towards distressed farmers.  Commenting on the union budget  Read An election budget, but remarkable: India Inc Dubbing it as an "election budget", India Inc today said Finance Minister P Chidambaram has done a "remarkable job" to ensure that economy continues to grow at 9% even as it was divided over loan  Read A budget of sweeping gestures... Union Budget 2008-09 unfolded modest increases in allocations for the social sector but the emphasis was on sweeping gestures impacting a large number of people. Farmers were the main beneficiaries of  Read More News      Budget Reactions Gross injustice done to Bihar in Budget: Nitish Glass manufacturers unhappy with the budget Ford, Honda cuts car prices by up to Rs 6,000 Legal community divided over service tax on legal services Haryana CM hails Union Budget More News      Tax Calculator   BS Videos No tax till Rs 1.5 lakh: FM  Debt waiver for farmers: FM  Sunil Jain: A terrible budget    Budget Highlights Click here for Budget Speech Income tax exemption limit hiked to Rs 1.5 lakh 10% tax for income between Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 3 lakh 20% between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 5 lakh. Income above Rs 5 lakh to attract 30% income tax No change in corporate income tax rates and surcharge Banking cash transaction tax to be removed STT applicable on commodities trading Tax on short term capital gains increased to 15% from 10% Rs 60,000 crore agricultural debt relief package; complete loan waiver for small and marginal farmers; 4 crore farmers to benefit Rs 2,80,000 crore target set for farm credit in 2008-09; short term crop loan to continue at 7% interest Irrigation and Water Resources Finance Corporation to be set up; rainfed area development programme to be started More News

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