New Delhi, Feb 29 : Following are the key points of Union Budget 2008-09 tabled by P Chidambaram.

Revenue Deficit will be 1.4 per cent Budget Estimate of 1.5 per cent

Sixth central pay commission to submit report by March

Rs 50 crores to be spent on tiger conservation

Rs 75 crores to ICCR for cultural development

Defence allocation hiked by 10% to Rs 1,05,600 crores

Rs 32,676 crore as subsidy to Public Distribution System (PDS)

Smart-card based PDS system in Haryana, Chandigarh

22 Sainik school allotted Rs 44 crores

Rs 75 crores to be spent on soil testing labs

Rs 15,000 crores for skill development programme

Permanent Account Number (PAN) required for all securities transactions

Plan to start a forex derivative market

More transparency in the derivative market

Risk Capital Fund to be set up in Small Industries Development Bank of India
(SIDBI)

National Highway Development programme gets Rs 12,966 crores

Accelerated power development programmes to get Rs 8,000 crores

Banks to be encouraged to embrace total financial inclusion

Foreign investment up to 8 billion dollars expected for oil block exploration

Coal regulator to be set up

17 lakh families of weavers under Health Insurance

1 lakh broadband-enabled common service centres in villages

Rs 800 crores for power reforms

Manufacturing growth rate to be taken to double digit

Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) corpus to be hiked to Rs 14,000 crores

Total estimate of loans being waived is Rs 50,000 crores

Implementation of debt waiver scheme to end by June 30

Implementation of debt waiver scheme to end by June 30

Waiver amounts to 4 per cent of total bank loans

Rescheduled farm loans eligible for waiver

Marginal, small farmers to get full waiver on all loans

500 soil testing labs to be set up in the country

Scheme of debt waiver and debt relief for farmers

Allocation for National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) increased to Rs 12,050 crores

National Horticulture Mission gets Rs 1,100 crores

Weather-based crop insurance scheme to get Rs 50 crores

Rs 20,000 crores for irrigation projects under Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme

Special grant of Rs 20 crores to Tea Research Association

Rs 500 crores for micro irrigation schemes

More funds for cardamom, coffee growing

Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana to get Rs 2,80,000 crores

53 minor irrigation programmes to be implemented

Target of Rs 2.80 lakh crores for agri-credit in 2008-09

Ministry of Woman and Child Development gets Rs 7,200 crores

24 per cent increase in allocation for child development

Rs 500 crores for development of border areas

Rs 1,042 crores for anti-Polio drive

Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission to get Rs 6,865crores

Allocation for Integrated Child Development Services increased to Rs 6,300 crores

Minority Affairs Ministry fund doubled to Rs 1,000 crores

288 Public Sector Banks (PSU) bank branches in minority districts

Rs 540 crores for development plan for minority districts

Rs 500 crores for corpus fund to subsidize schemes for women

Life Insurance Corporation of India to cover all women Self-help Groups linked to banks

Rs 12,050 crores for strengthening rural health services

Sanitation programmes to get Rs 1200 crores

More minority recruitments in central para-military forces

Public Sector Undertakings allotment hiked by Rs 6,300 crores

Rs 300 crores for desalination plant near Chennai

Rs 75 crores for Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Programme

National Handicapped Development Corporation to get Rs 9 crores

National Minorities Development Corporation to get Rs 75 crores

Allocation for North East schemes up from 14,365 crores to 16,400 crores

The National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) scheme to be rolled out in 596 districts

National Rural Health Mission allocation hiked by 15%

Remuneration of Anganwadi ‘helpers’ hiked to Rs 750

Remuneration of Anganwadi ‘workers’ hiked to Rs 1,500

National Programme for the Elderly to be set up

Rs 30,000 health cover for every worker in unorganised sector

2 more schools of Planning and Architecture

Secondary education Scheme to get Rs 4,554 crore

Services Sector to grow at 10.7 per cent

3 IITs in Andhra Pradesh , Bihar and Rajasthan

16 central universities to be set up

Mid-day meal scheme extended to upper primary classes

Budgetary allocation for mid-day meal scheme Rs 8,000

16 central universities to set up

10 crores for Nehru Kendras in 110 districts

Rs 34,400 crores budgetary allocation for education

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan gets Rs 13,100 crores

Bharat Nirman Programme gets allocation of Rs 31,280 crores

410 Vidyalayas in villages

Education, health pillars of social sector reforms

Budget 08-09 about raising our sights, doing better

Capital inflows in excess of economic deficit

Chidambaram confident of maintaining 8 per cent growth

Impact of global markets on local markets unclear

Government and Reserve Bank to jointly work to check capital inflow

Government will monitor foreign fund inflow

Agriculture credit doubled in first 2 years of UPA rule

Inflation will be checked

Sustained progress thanks to economic reforms

Launched Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna

Total output of foodgrains 219.32 million tonnes

Growth rate is 8.8 per cent (ANI)