Presenting the interim budget for the year 2005-2005, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh announced the overall GDP growth for the current fiscal will be between 7.5 per cent to 8 percent and the fiscal deficit will be down at 4.8 per cent. Inflation will be at 4.8 percent this fiscal.

A remarkable achievement, which according to Singh will step up the 'Gross National Contentment' of the nation. What he said in short was 'Don't worry, be happy and move.'

He has left the tax structure unchanged. Net tax revenue is targeted at Rs 1,87,539 crore as against the budget estimate of Rs 1,84,165 crore. Rs 11,145 crore savings was achieved in expenditure while the non-tax revenue has been pegged at Rs 75,488 crore, an increase of Rs 5732 crore.

Non plan expenditure is up by Rs 16,218 crore on account of debt servicing, defence and food subsidies. Apart from containing fiscal deficit at 4.8 per cent of GDP, revenue deficit has been contained at 3.2 per cent.Singh expects inflation to be contained at 4.3 per cent.

On the healthcare front six hospitals, one each in in Andhra Pradesh, J&K, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Uttaranchal, will be upgraded to the level of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences under the Prime Minister's Swastha Suraksha Yojana

The Minister also announced that the Prime Minister has directed implementation of accelerated drinking water projects for mega cities like Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Delhi. Additional funding will be given for faster execution of Indira Gandhi Canal project in Rajasthan.

All farmers will be eligible for credit cards by March 31, 2004. A committee is being set up under eminent agricultural economist V S Vyas to go into all issues relating to agricultural credit while keeping in mind NPA norms of banks and collateral security.

Tea growers will get loans upto Rs 2 lakh at 9 per cent interest rate, Singh said.

Further, a National Cattle Development Board will be set up through funding by the Centre.

The loan limit on credit card for small scale entrepreneurs with a good track record would be raised from Rs 2 lakhs to Rs 10 lakhs.

Government has decided to merge 50 per cent of the DA with the basic pay of the Central Government employees and this would come into effect from April 1, 2004.

On the development front and to give a boost to the Tourism industry, the Jaipur airport will be upgraded to an international airport.

The Government proposes to strengthen IDBI's role as a lead development financial institution.

E-filing of excise returns to be introduced from June 30 and there will be single return and registration for service tax payers. Customs clearance to be on basis of self assessment from June 30.

The government has also created a non-lapsable defence modernisation fund of Rs 25,000 crore.

Singh said it was the government's conviction and also a commitment that fiscal benefits available to new projects in the power sector should be extended upto 2012 instead of 2006 and fiscal benefits should also be available to cases of take-over from state electricity boards.

On the direct tax front, the Finance Minister said the regime of listed equities on or after March 1, 2003 being exempt from long-term capital gains tax should be extended for a further period of three years.

Finance Minister Jaswant Singh today raised free baggage allowance from Rs 12,000 to Rs 25,000.He also reduced of customs duty on such baggage from 50 per cent to 40 per cent.
This will substantially reduce the congestion at the customs counters in arrival halls of international airports. It will come into force with immediate effect.

The proposed outlay for departments of power, roads and highways goes up by more than Rs 3,000 crore each with power getting Rs 15,630 crore and road transport and highways Rs 10,344 crore.

Singh said other major focus areas of the government will be health and family welfare which gets Rs 7,481 crore, HRD being earmarked Rs 10,625 crore and agriculture getting Rs 4,192 crore, an increase of more than Rs 1,000 crore each. The Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Shipping will get a hike of more than Rs 1,000 crore compared to last year.

The total Central plan outlay will be Rs 1,56,428 crore as compared to Rs 1,41,766 crore in the revised estimate of the year 2003-04, he added.

The Finance Minister announced that the existing stamp duty structure is being halved.

Jaswant Singh also launched several initiatives and reform measures directed towards removing poverty. He outlined the objective of the Interim Budget 2004-05 as "Poor to get food and housewives to get money."

Singh said the Antodaya Ann Yojana announced by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in year 2000 at present covers 1.5 crore families Below Poverty Line.

Buoyed by the success of the programme, which directly addresses poverty alleviation and nutritional adequacy, the government has decided to increase its coverage to two more crore BPL families covering tribal states and districts. This would be effective from April 1, 2004.