General Budget 2012 was presented on 16th March 2012 by Hon'ble Finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee.

Some Highlights of the General Budget are as follows:

Income tax exemption limit raised from Rs. 1,80,000 to Rs. 2,00,000; 10 per cent tax for 2-5 lakh income; 20 per cent for 5-10 lakh and 30 per cent beyond Rs. 10 lakh; Savings bank account interest up to Rs. 10,000 exempted from tax. No change in corporate tax rate, but standard rate of excise duty, as also service tax rates, raised from 10 per cent to 12 per cent;

No change in peak customs duty of 10 per cent on non-agri goods. Boost for capital markets: Securities Transaction Tax on cash delivery reduced by 25 per cent to 0.1 per cent; Economy expected to gain ground: GDP growth rate pegged at 7.6 per cent in 2012-13; Rs. 15,888 crore to be provided for capitalisation of public sector banks and financial institutions; Infrastructure investment of Rs. 50 lakh crore in 12th period, with half from private sector; Tax free bonds of Rs. 60,000 crore to be allowed for financial infrastructure projects. GST network to be operational by August 2012; Central Excise and Service Tax being harmonized. A General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) to be introduced to counter aggressive tax avoidance. Efforts on to allow FDI in multi-brand retail and permitting foreign airlines invest in domestic players; External borrowings to the extent of USD one billion for aviation companies; Qualified Foreign Investors to get access to corporate bond market. Sectors like agriculture, infrastructure, mining, railways, roads, civil aviation, manufacturing, health and nutrition, and environment to get duty relief;

Turnover limit for compulsory tax audit for SMEs raised from Rs 60 lakh to Rs 1 crore. Target for agricultural credit raised to Rs 5,75,000 crore; Fiscal deficit targeted at 5.1 per cent of GDP in 2012-13, down from 5.9 per cent in 2011-12; Total expenditure budgeted at Rs. 14,90,925 crore; plan expenditure at Rs. 5,21,025 crore, 18 per cent higher than 2011-12 budget; non-plan expenditure at Rs. 9,69,900 crore.

Net tax to the Centre in 2012-13 estimated at Rs. 7,71,071 crore; Non-Tax Revenue Receipts estimated at Rs. 1,64,614 crore and Non-debt Capital Receipts at Rs. 41,650 crore. Total expenditure for 2012-13 budgeted at Rs. 14,90,925 crore, including Rs. 5,21,025 crore of Plan Expenditure and Rs. 9,69,900 crore as Non-Plan Expenditure.

Railway Budget 2012- 2013 was presented on 14th March 2012 by Hon'ble Railways Minister Mr Dinesh Trivedi.

Salient features of the Rail Budget are as follows:

Hike of 10 paise per km for third AC passengers. Sleeper class passengers to pay 5 paise more per km. First AC fare hiked by 20 paise per km. 2 paise per km hike for 2nd class suburban trains.2AC passengers to pay 15 paise more per km. 3 paisa per km for mail and express trains. Platform ticket hiked to Rs.5. It earlier cost Rs.3. 2-30 paise fare hike proposed in different classes. Independent tariff authority suggested; needs serious debate; experts panel established; decision after debate in Parliament.

New passenger services: 820 new items; 75 new express trains; 21 new passenger trains; 75 new services in Mumbai suburban system.

Targeting freight carriage of 1,025 million tonnes to bring in Rs.89,339 crore; passenger earnings estimated at Rs.36,073 crore; gross receipts estimated at Rs.1.32 lakh crore.

Guru Parikarma special trains to cover Sikh pilgrimage centres of Amritsar, Patna and Nanded. Separate trains to run for wait-listed passengers.Excess of Rs.1,492 crore after meeting expenses/dividend payments not adequate for meeting costs of several projects.

One lakh people to be recruited in 2012.Corrosion from night soil being discharged from toilets on tracks costs Rs.350 crore annually; green toilets to be installed in 2,500 coaches in the next one year.

Electric loco plant in Chhapra to be commissioned soon. 750 km tracks to be converted in double lines. Eco-friendly toilets to replace openly discharged ones. Tickets will be sold at post offices also. Garib Raths to have one special AC coach for differently-abled commuters. 2100 specially designed coaches manufactured to meet needs of the differently abled; aim to provide one such coach in each express train.

Upgradation of 929 stations. 1000 new stations to be set up through public-private partnership. Electrification to be undertaken over 6,500 km at an allocation of Rs.8,000 crore during 12th Plan. 12 car trains to run for Navi Mumbai. 1500 new coaches for Mumbai local trains. 825 km of railway tracks to be transformed into broad gauge. Train protection warning system on 3000 km of tracks.

Extension of Kolkata Metro continues to be on track. Railways expect gross budgetary support of Rs.2.5 lakh crore during 12th Plan. Improvements to railway stations can provide employment to 50,000 people. Four rail factories to be set up in Kerala. Capacity augmentation to get Rs.4,410 crore during 2012-13.Eighty-five new line projects to be taken up during 2012-13.

19,000 km of railway tracks to be modernised.Rs.39,110 cr needed over next 5 years to fund rail safety. Railways must attract 10 per cent of the Rs.20 lakh crore government expects to spend on infrastructure during 12th Plan.Railways should contribute 2 per cent of GDP from the present one per cent.

Rs.14 lakh crore needed in next 10 yrs for modernisation.Need Rs.2.5 lakh cr to build better infrastructure. Planned outlay highest ever for Railway. Outlay of Rs.60,100 crore during 2012-13, the highest ever. Rs.5.5 lakh crore to connect rural areas. Focus on 5 areas, including, consolidation, modernisation, safety and congestion487 rail projects worth Rs.1 cr still pending.

Railway Safety Plan for 12th Plan will be Rs.16,842 crore. Sam Pitroda to head railway modernisation panel.Anil Kakodkar to head railway safety panel.