Election budget gives sops, writes off farm loans
Faced with the problem of farmers' suicides on account of indebtedness, the Finance Minister announced a scheme of debt waiver and relief under which all loans upto March 2007 and overdue upto December last will be covered. Three crore small and marginal farmers will benefit to the tune of Rs 50,000 crore by the waiver while the one-time settlement for other farmers will cost Rs 10,000 crore. Under the Income Tax proposals, he raised the exemption limit from 1.1 lakh to 1.5lakh. Income Tax exemption limit raised
Personal income upto Rs 1.50 lakh will attract no income tax, Finance Minister P Chidambaram announced while presenting the Budget for 20008-09 in the Lok Sabha today. Cars, fertiliser, medicines cheaper; Cigarettes, mobiles dearer
The Finance Minister proposed to reduce excise duty on small cars from 16 per cent to 12 per cent. Similarly, he has proposed to remove excise duty completely on electric cars... Opposition calls debt relief for farmers an 'eyewash'
As members of BJP, Shiv Sena and TDP continued to question the Finance Minister asking him to clarify the details of the schemes, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee asked them to let Chidambaram complete his speech. REACTIONS: Left, Opposition term it election budget
Mr Gurudas Dasgupta of the CPI said the budget would not lead to decline in prices nor would it lead to any inclusive growth. ''It is an election budget with a popular punch,'' the CPI leader said. Indian-friendly but not India-friendly, say NRIs in UAE
Suresh Kumar, CEO of Emirates Financial Services and a former IBPC governor, said the budget lacks boldness. FM gets approval from wife
Nalini Chidambaram emerged from the House with a huge smile on her face, saying, "I am happy with the Budget, everyone will be happy." Highlights of Union Budget
Where Rupee comes from and goes
The Government spends 11 per cent of its revenue on the Defence, and 8 per cent on subsidies, while Customs contributes 13 per cent of the government's total earnings.
Musharraf's fat hotel bill irks Pak Senators Musharraf, who undertook a 10-day tour of the European countries last month, stayed in a royal suite of an expensive hotel near Hyde Park in London. His three-day stay cost Rs 63 lakh.
Beijing opens world's largest airport terminal The roof of the swanky new terminal looks like a dragon from the air with its wing spread running 3.25 km. The structure has 175 escalators, 173 lifts, 437 travelators, 64 restaurants, 300 check-in counters and an ultra modern baggage handling system on 50 km of conveyor belts.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh interacts with the media about the Union Budget 2008-09 after its presentation at the Parliament House in New Delhi on Friday. PTI Photo
Watch this space for live updates on the Union Budget Feb,29 2008. For Budget Alert, SMS 54848.
Pedestrians walk past a billboard featuring Chinese NBA star Yao Ming, on a sidewalk in Beijing on Thursday. Yao Ming's season-ending injury on Wednesday prompted shock and concern in his native China, though every Chineses hopes he will still make the Beijing Olympics in August. The emotional response highlights the basketball star's role as the world's best known Chinese athlete. AP
India beat New Zealand to reach final
In a thrilling rain-curtailed semifinal, the Kiwis rode on middle order bat Corey Anderson's 68-ball 70 to score a modest 205 for eight in 50 overs after electing to bat.
Who's to be blamed the most for Karnataka’s failure to get enough railway projects and funds during the last four years: Lalu Prasad, State MPs or the UPA government?
Express your opinion in 100 words and send them to Deccan Herald, No 75, M G Road, Bangalore - 560001 or e-mail: editordh@deccanherald.co.in latest by 2 pm on Saturday. A selection of responses will be published in Sunday’s edition.
COMPLETE TEXT OF UNION BUDGET 2008-09
Pedestrians walk past a billboard featuring Chinese NBA star Yao Ming, on a sidewalk in Beijing on Thursday. Yao Ming's season-ending injury on Wednesday prompted shock and concern in his native China, though every Chineses hopes he will still make the Beijing Olympics in August. The emotional response highlights the basketball star's role as the world's best known Chinese athlete. AP
Hosted jointly by Air India and Deccan Herald, the Rank Award is for students while the Bolt award is for teachers. 
