Growth
• India infrastructure finance company (IIFCL) is given greater flexibility; will be used to take care of asset liability mismatch and free up capital for financing new projects; it can now facilitate incremental lending to infra sector
• IIFCL will finance 50% of projects; involving total investment of Rs1 trillion, public investment in infrastructure to get a big boost.
• Budgetary allocation to highways and railways stepped up by 23%; railways by Rs15,000 crore.
• JNUURM allocation up by 87%
• Scheme for urban poor housing upped to Rs3,973 crore; Rajiv Gandhi Awas Yojana; slum free India
• Mumbai drainage allocation up
• Accelerated power development and reform progamme: Rs2,080 crore (160% increase in allocation)
• Natural gas: long distance highway to facilitate a national gas grid
• Agriculture:Loans will go up from Rs2.87 trilliion to Rs3.25 trillion;continuting interest subsidy scheme for farmer; govt shall pay an additional 1% subsidy to those who paid their loans on time — Rs411 crore over the February interim budget
• Farm loan waiver covered 40 million farmers; six months extension on account of delayed monsoon. Maharashtra loan waiver coverage will be reviewed by a task force
• Accelerated irrigation development programme:75% increase in allocation
Exporters package
• Small scale sector package
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Reforms
• Return to deficit targets at the earliest after the negative effects of the global economy are overcome. 13th finance commission will create a new roadmap in October.
• To bring fiscal deficit under control need institutional controls; will cover subsidy, expenditure and disinvestments.
• Fertilizer subsidy: a nutrient based subsidy scheme as opposed to product based scheme; subsidy to be transferred directly to the farmer.
• Oil and petroleum subsidy: Three-fourths of our oil consumption is met through imports. Task force to decide on oil pricing.
• Direct tax reforms: Sinply returns form. FM stresses tax system that generates revenue on a sustained basis. More reforms spread over 5 years.
• Disinvestment: More shares to be offloaded to individuals; banks/insurance to remain in public sector.
• Average public float of companies should be expanded from 15%. FM proposes to raise level of public shareholding.
Inclusive growth
• Increase in allocation for NREGA to Rs39,000 crore
• National food security act work has begun; 25kg of rice at Rs3 per kg