Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today presented Union Budget 2012, the 81st Budget in India's history. Individually, this is Mukherjee's seventh annual Budget, second-highest by any Finance Minister.
Below are the key highlights of Union Budget2012:
> India's GDP estimated to grow at 6.9% in 2011-12
> See signs of Indian economy turning around
> Agriculture and services have continued to perform well and manufacturing appears to be at the cusp of a revival
> Expect headline inflation to moderate in next few months
> Current account deficit likely to be at 3.6% for FY12
> Average crude price likely to exceed USD 115 per barrel in 2012
> Focus on domestic demand driven growth
> Need to remove supply bottlkenecks in nationsl highway, coal, aviation
> Need to address black money issue
> Will encourage private investment
> Government will raise Rs 30,000 cr via divestment in FY13
> GST will become operational by August 2012
> Government to move MFI Bill
> Mandatory to make IPOs of Rs 10 crore plus to introduce it in electronic form
> Will introduce Rajiv Gandhi Equity Scheme to encourage retail investors
> Tax exemption on individual share investments below Rs 10 lakh
> Expect infra investment in the 12th Plan to be Rs 50 lakh crore
> Tax free infrastructure bonds doubled to Rs 60,000 crore
> No progress on FDI in aviation
> Rs 50,000 tax exemption for retail investors
> Fiscal deficit pegged at Rs 5.13 lakh crore for FY13
> DTC not effective this year
> Exemption up to Rs 2 lakh for taxpayers
> No change in corporate tax rate
> STT reduced from 0.125% to 0.1%
> No tax return upto Rs 5 lakh
> Propose to hike service tax rate from 10% to 12%
> Government services, education, entertainment, public transport exempted from service tax
> Senior citizens to be exempt from advance tax payments
> Income above Rs 10 lakh to be taxed at 30%
> Exemption limit for direct taxes increased to Rs 2lakh from Rs 1.8 lakh in FY13
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