Delhi Budget 2013-14: Highlights

Highlights of the Delhi budget for 2013-14 presented Wednesday by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit:

- Financial support of Rs.1,000 per month for transgenders living in Delhi for at least 3 years.

- Monthly aid of Rs.1,500 for senior citizens, differently-abled person and women in distress.

- Two new hostels, one each for boys and girls, for blind university students.

- Residential school for scheduled castes/Scheduled Tribes/other backward class/minorities students

- One-time grant of Rs.100,000 to RWAs which offer to provide house essential equipment and open the facility to public at no profit no loss basis.

- 100 new ambulances to be procured for Centralised Accident & Trauma Services (CATS).
- Rs.5 crore fund for the welfare of journalists of Delhi.

- Rs.150 crore to improve level of civic services in industrial estates.

- Seven new hospitals and nine new dispensaries.

- Five new Rajakiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya (RPVV), and one RPVV for exclusive science. Thirty-four new school buildings to be completed in 2013-14.

- Skill Development Centre to come up at Jaunapur.

- Ownership rights to be granted for 45 JJ resettlement colonies.

- New water treatment plant of 31 MGD at Palla.

- Procurement of 625 low floor and 1,100 other buses.

- Eight thousand new auto rickshaws for corporate houses on the lines of radio taxis.
- Desi ghee, LED lights to be cheaper.

- Refuse Derived Fuel also to get cheaper.

- No Value Added Taxes (VAT) on chilly spray used for woman's self defence, pencil boxes and geometry boxes.

- Organic colours, rock salt, singhada (water-chestnut) and kuttu (buck-wheat) flour also exempted of VAT.

- Footwear priced up to Rs.500 exempted from VAT.

- Penalty up to 80 percent to be mitigated for dealer, who voluntarily admit their tax liability.

- Uniform tax period for all dealers irrespective of their quarterly turnovers.

- New tax facility of online registration under the Delhi Value Added Tax Act and Central Sales Tax Act.