Union Finance Budget 2012-13 (in pics)

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee arrives at Parliament House to present the Union Budget 2012-13 in New Delhi on March 16, 2012.

A large number of tax payers turn up for filing the IT returns in New Delhi. The IT exemption limit for salaried people has risen to Rs. 2 lakhs. From Rs. 2 lakhs to Rs. 5 lakhs it is 10 per cent. From Rs. 5 lakhs to Rs. 10 lakhs it is 20 per cent and above Rs. 10 lakhs it is 30 per cent.

The Right to Education (RTE) Act is being implemented with effect from April 1, 2010 through the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). For 2012-13, the Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, in his Union Budget 2012-13, provided Rs. 25,555 crore for RTE-SSA. This is an increase of 21.7 per cent over 2011-12.

National Urban Health Mission is being launched to emcompass the primary healthcare needs of people in the urban areas. The Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) aimed at setting up of AIIMS-like institutions and upgradation of existing Government medical colleges is being expanded to cover upgradation of 7 more Government medical colleges. It will enhance the avaailability of affordable tertiary health care.

According to Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, agriculture will continue to be a priority for the Government. The total plan outlay for the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation is being increased by 18 per cent from Rs. 17,123 crores in 2011-12 to Rs. 20,2 08 crores in 2012-13. The outlay for Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) is being increased from Rs. 7,680 crores in 2011-12 to Rs. 9,217 crores in 2012-13.

In his Union Budget 2012-13 speech the Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said his attention has been drawn to the plight of a few sectors that are highly labour-intensive and produce items of mass consumption. As a measure of support, he proposed to enhance basic customs duty on bicycles from 10 per cent to 30 per cent and on bicycle parts from 10 per cent to 20 per cent.

In the Budget 2012-13, a provision of Rs. 1,93,407 crores has been made for Defence Services which include Rs. 79,579 crores for capital expenditure. As always, this allocation is based on present needs and any further requirement would be met. Government is making efforts to increase the availability of residential quarters to forces. In 2012-13, it is envisaged to construct nearly 4,000 residential quarters for Central Armed Police Forces for which Rs. 1,185 crore is allocated.

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in his Budget speech, along with water quality, poor sanitation is one of the factors contributing to malnourishment. He also proposed to increase the budgetary allocation for rural drinking water and sanitation from Rs. 11,000 crore in 2011-12 to Rs. 14,000 crorre in 2012-13. This is an increase of 27 per cent.

According to Union Budget 2012-13, for the Indian economy this was a challenging year. A number of global and domestic factors militated against the growth that had revived in the last two years. But India has thrived under challenges and India will do so now. The sovereign debt crisis in the Euro Zone intensified, political turmoil in Middle East injected widespread uncertainty, crude oil prices rose, an earthquake struck Japan and the overall gloom refused to lift.

Union Finance Minister in his Union Budget 2012-13 has increased the basic customs duty on standard gold bars; gold coins of purity exceeding 99.5 per cent and platinum from 2 per cent to 4 per cent and non-standard golds from 5 per cent to 10 per cent, In sync, basic duty on gold ore, concentrate and dore bars for refining is being enhanced from 1 per cent to 2 per cent. On the excise side, duty on refined gold is being increaswed in the same proportion from 1.5 per cent to 3 per cent.

In the Union Budget 2012-13, the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said completely built units of large cars/MUVs/SUVs having engine capacity above a prescribed threshold and whose value exceeds $ 40,000 per vehicle are permitted for import without type approval. Basic customs duty on such vehicles is being enhanced from 60 per cent to 75 per cent ad valorem.

The Union Budget 2012-13 stated that full exemption from excise duty is currently available to hand-made matches while others attract the standard rate. It is proposed to reduce excise duty on matches manufactured by semi-mechanised units from 10 per cent to 6 per cent.