Highlights of Union Budget 2013-14

FISCAL DEFICIT

* Fiscal deficit seen at 5.2 pct of GDP in 2012/13

* Fiscal deficit seen at 4.8 pct of GDP in 2013/14

* Faced with huge fiscal deficit, India had no choice but to rationalise expenditure

GROWTH

* India faces challenge of getting back to its potential growth rate of 8 pct

* India must unhesitatingly embrace growth as highest goal

SPENDING

* Total budget expenditure seen at 16.65 trillion rupees in 2013/14

* India's 2013/14 plan expenditure seen at 5.55 trillion rupees

* Non-plan expenditure estimated at about 12 trillion rupees in 2013/14

* Revised estimate for total expenditure is 14.3 trillion rupees in 2012/13, which is 96 pct of budget estimate

* Set aside 100 billion rupees towards spending on food subsidies in 2013/14

CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT

* India's greater worry is the current account deficit - will need more than $75 billion this year and next year to fund deficit

INFLATION

* Food inflation is worrying, will take all steps to augment supply side

TAX

* Proposes surcharge of 10 pct on rich taxpayers with annual income of more than 10 million rupees a year

* To increase surcharge to 10 pct on domestic companies with annual income of more than 100 million rupees

* Education cess to continue at 3 pct

CORPORATE SECTOR AND MARKETS

* Plans to issue inflation-indexed bonds * Proposes capital allowance of 15 pct to companies on investments of more than 1 billion rupees

* Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) can use investments in corporate, government bonds as collateral to meet margin requirements

* Insurance, provident funds can trade directly in debt segments of stock exchanges

* FIIs can hedge forex exposure through exchange-traded derivatives

* Investor with less than 10 pct stake in a company will be regarded as FII, more than 10 pct stake as FDI (foreign direct investment)

* Stock exchange regulator will simplify know-your-customer norms for foreign portfolio investors

* To implement quickly recommendations of financial sector legislative reforms commission

POWER AND ENERGY SECTOR

* Proposes zero customs duty for electrical plants and machinery

* Proposes to move to revenue-sharing from profit-sharing policy in oil and gas sector

BANKING

* To provide 140 billion rupees capital infusion in state-run banks in 2013/14

* To allocate 10 billion rupees for India's first women's bank

DEFENCE

* To allocate 2.03 trillion rupees to defence in 2013/14

AGRICULTURE

* To allocate 801.94 billion rupees to rural development in 2013/14

* Plan to allocate 270.49 billion rupees for agriculture in 2013/14

FINANCE MINISTER COMMENTS

* "Faced with a huge fiscal deficit, I have no choice but to rationalize expenditure. We took a dose of bitter medicine. It seems to be working."