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Budget highlights

Agencies
The following are the highlights of the budget presented in the lok Sabha Thursday by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley:
* Negative list for service tax reduced 
 
* Excise duty on cigarettes raised from 11 percent to 72 percent
 
 
* Thirteen more airports to get 24x7 customs facilities
 
* Excise duty to be cut to revive manufacturing
 
* Allocation of Rs.500 crore for Delhi's water schemes
 
* Colour TVs to cost less on reduced customs duties
 
* Free baggage allowance raised from Rs.35,000 to Rs.45,000
 
* Gas pipeline grid of 15,000 km needs to be doubled
 
* Revenue loss of Rs.22,000 crore due to direct tax proposals
 
* Excise duty on footwear halved
 
* Total expenditure in 2014-15 estimated at Rs.17,97,892 crore; plan expenditure estimated at Rs.12,19,892 crore
 
* Government to take a view on Direct Tax Code
 
* Six debt recovery tribunals to be set up
 
* Five new tourist circuits to be established
 
* World class convention centre to come up in Goa
 
* IT exemption limit for those below 60 raised from Rs.2 lakhs to Rs.2.5 lakhs; from Rs.2.5 lakhs to Rs.3 lakhs for senior citizens
 
* No change in surcharge for corporates; education cess to continue
 
* Allocation of Rs.1,000 crore for implementing One Rank One Pension scheme
 
* War Memorial and War Museum to be established at Princess Park in New Delhi; Rs.1,000 crore allocated
 
* Allocation of Rs.50 crore for National Police Memorial
 
* Allocation of Rs.2.037 crore for creating integrated Ganga conservation mission
 
* National sports foundations to be set up for disciplines like shooting, wrestling and boxing; Jammu and Kashmir gets Rs.200 crore to upgrade sports facilities; Sports university to come up in Manipur 
 
* Defence allocated Rs.229,000 crore; modernisation gets Rs.5,000 crore over and above interim budget
 
* Bharat Depository Receipt to be created
 
* Uniform KYC norms to be introduced across entire financial sector
 
* Steps to revive SEZs
 
* Sixteen new port projects to be taken up this fiscal 
 
* Jal Marg Vikas programme to be launched to promote navigation on Ganga from Allahabad to Haldia
 
* Hastkala Academy to be set up with allocation of Rs.30 crore
 
* Six more textile clusters to be set up with allocation of Rs.200 crore
 
* Corpus of Rs.5,000 crore for long-term loans to farmers 
 
* Kisan TV to be launched to disseminate information in real time
 
* Allocation of Rs.14,389 crore for rural roads
 
* Allocation of Rs.50 crore for breeding of indigenous cattle
 
* Export promotion mission to be established to bring all stakeholders under one umbrella
 
* lok Sabha takes five-minute break during finance minister's speech. Jaitley permitted to sit and read out on resumption
 
* FDI limit in insurance sector raised to 49 percent
 
* All states to get AIIMS like institutions
 
* Allocation of Rs.100 crore for soil testing facilities
 
* Second Green Revolution to be launched with focus on protein revolution
 
* Allocation of Rs.100 crore to promote good governance
 
* Allocation of Rs.3,600 crore for drinking water schemes
 
* Allocation of Rs.500 crore for 5 more IITs and 5 more IIMs
 
* Allocation of Rs.4,000 crore for National Housing Bank
 
* Allocation of Rs.500 crore to improve broadband connectivity in rural areas
 
* To print currency notes with Braille signs 
 
* Allocation of Rs.150 crore to improve safety of women in larger cities
 
* Allocation of Rs.500 crore to provide 24x7 power in rural areas
 
* Allocation of Rs.100 crore for "Beti bachao, beti padao" programme
 
* Allocation of Rs.8,000 crore to improve rural housing 
 
* E-visas to be introduced at nine airports
 
* New scheme to provide assured irrigation 
 
* Total sanitation in every household by 2019
 
* Shares of PSU banks to be sold to retail investors
 
* Aiming at fiscal deficit of 3 percent by 2015-16 and 2 percent by 2016-17
 
* FDI in defence sector raised to 49 percent from 26 percent
 
* CBDT to scrutinize all cases under 2012 law on retrospective tax cases
 
* Problem of black money to be fully addressed
 
* Expenditure Management Commission to be established this fiscal
 
* Slow decision-making has resulted in lost opportunities
 
* Green shoots of recovery in world economy
 
* Budget will lay down steps aimed at 7-8 percent growth in next few years 
 
* The aim is "Sub ke saath, sub ka vikas" (With everyone, For everyone's development)
 
* Should we be victims of populismIJ