Promotion of pulses villages to boost productivity and strengthen market linkages through targeted budgetary rural support.
The Union Budget proposes to promote 60,000 pulses villages in rainfed areas to increase pulses crop productivity and strengthen market linkages, deploying a centrally funded programme with a dedicated appropriation to support productivity-enhancing interventions and market access measures that convert positive production estimates into sustained farmer uptake and resilience.

Budget allocation for palm oil promotion to expand domestic production and reduce import dependence through farmer-market integration.
A budgetary allocation of Rs. 300 crore is proposed to promote palm oil by bringing 60,000 hectares under plantation and integrating farmers with markets to boost domestic edible oil supply, targeting an increase in palm oil output to about three lakh metric tonnes annually within five years to reduce import dependence.

Infrastructure fund tax exemption enables foreign investment with reduced withholding on interest and exempt income for notified SPVs.
Extension of investment linked deductions to fertilizer production and to specified affordable housing schemes; reduction of tax on dividends from foreign subsidiaries to 15%; extension of an additional deduction for long term infrastructure bond investments; increase of weighted deductions for payments to specified research institutions to 200%; and establishment of notified infrastructure funds whose income is tax exempt and whose interest payments bear a reduced withholding tax rate of 5%.

Green Revolution initiative extended to Eastern Region, continuing targeted funding and measures to improve rice based cropping systems.
Allocation of additional central funds continues to support a targeted agricultural development programme to bring a Green Revolution to the Eastern Region, extending last year's initiative into 2011 12 with a further allocation to improve rice based cropping systems across Assam, West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh through coordinated, state targeted interventions.

Special allocation of funds for cleaning significant lakes and rivers other than the Ganga announced in national budget.
A special allocation in the national budget establishes a targeted budgetary provision to finance cleaning and remediation of important lakes and rivers other than the Ganga, supporting projects under river-basin project frameworks and extending similar interventions to culturally and historically significant waterbodies.

Minimum Alternate Tax increased while surcharge on domestic companies reduced; MAT extended to Special Economic Zone developers and units.
Surcharge on domestic companies is reduced as part of a phase out, and the MAT rate on book profits is marginally increased to maintain the effective MAT burden; MAT is extended to developers of Special Economic Zones and units operating within SEZs.

Environmental remediation funding announced to finance launch of pollution remediation programmes and address public health concerns.
The Budget announces a central contribution from the National Clean Energy Fund to finance the launch of environmental pollution remediation programmes, designating the Fund as the source of the Centre's contribution to address environmental pollution identified as a public health concern.

Tax exemption increase creates uniform relief and distinct senior and very senior citizen exemption categories with higher thresholds.
Increase in individual income-tax exemption raises the general exemption limit to Rs. 1,80,000, providing uniform relief and aligning rates with the Direct Tax Code. The qualifying age for Senior Citizens is lowered to 60 years with their exemption increased to Rs. 2,50,000, and a Very Senior Citizen category (80 years and above) is created with a higher exemption of Rs. 5,00,000.

Exit age relaxation in Swavalamban scheme: subscribers may exit earlier under revised tenure and minimum service conditions.
Exit provisions for the co contributory pension scheme Swavalamban have been amended to permit earlier cessation of membership by allowing exit at a younger specified age or after a defined minimum tenure, whichever is later, and the government contribution period for new enrollments has been extended from three to five years for the specified enrollment window.

Pension eligibility lowered under old age national scheme, and increased benefits for the oldest beneficiaries.
Eligibility under the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme for Below Poverty Line beneficiaries is reduced to admit younger old-age claimants, and the scheme's monthly pension rate for the oldest age group is increased, creating an age-based benefit increase targeted at the most elderly within the scheme.

Health sector allocation increase expands basic coverage and extends Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana to hazardous unorganized workers.
The Plan allocation for the health sector is increased by 20 per cent to Rs. 26700 crore for 2011 12, and the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana is extended to cover unorganized sector workers in hazardous mining and associated industries including slate, dolomite, mica and asbestos.

Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana expansion to hazardous mining workers increases health coverage for unorganized sector employees.
Extension of Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana to unorganized workers in hazardous mining and associated industries is proposed to broaden eligibility and provide basic health cover to poor and marginal workers in high-risk occupations, including slate and slate pencil, dolomite, mica and asbestos sectors.

State-sponsored cultural award promotes universal brotherhood; government to institute international prize in memory of Rabindranath Tagore.
The Union Government will institute an international state-sponsored commemorative award in memory of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, with prize funding to promote the values of Universal Brotherhood; national 150th birth anniversary celebrations will commence in the capital and include international events coordinated under a Joint India-Bangladesh Celebrations Committee.

National Skill Development Fund allocation to expand vocational training capacity and support placement-linked workforce targets.
Provision in the Union Budget allocates additional resources to the National Skill Development Fund to support the National Skill Development Council's mandate to expand the skilled workforce ahead of the stipulated target year, noting sanctioned projects with aggregate funding intended to generate millions of skilled workers and current training delivering a high placement rate.

Special grants to universities allocated to select institutions under the Union Budget 2011-12 proposals for academic excellence.
The Union Budget 2011-12 proposed special grants to specified universities and academic institutions during 2011-12 to support establishment of new centres, research infrastructure, libraries and institutional development, naming beneficiaries such as Aligarh Muslim University centres, Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya centres, IIT Kharagpur, Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development, IIM Kolkata, Maulana Azad Education Foundation, Delhi School of Economics and Madras School of Economics.

Service tax rationalization: penal relief for compliant taxpayers and clarification of CENVAT credit rules proposed.
Proposals aim to rationalise service tax by restructuring penal provisions to favour assessees who maintain truthful records while targeting deliberate evaders, by clarifying the scope of inputs and input services, and by streamlining allocation of CENVAT credit between exempt and taxable supplies; a public consultation on taxing services via a small negative list will inform the approach to GST.

Financial sector legislative reform to rewrite and harmonise laws, alongside reintroduction of the Companies Bill this session.
A Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission has been constituted to rewrite, streamline and harmonise financial sector laws, rules and regulations to meet modern sectoral requirements, with a mandate to complete its work within a fixed period. The Government also proposes to introduce a pending Companies Bill in the current parliamentary session following its return from parliamentary review.

International cooperation in science and technology advances bilateral projects and plans to reconvene the Joint Commission Meeting this year.
India and Zimbabwe committed to deepen cooperation in science and technology, agriculture (including agro-processing), and renewable energy, with India providing educational sponsorships and SME Project support including on site training by Indian experts. The countries intend to reconvene the Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) this year to coordinate bilateral initiatives, and noted existing trade patterns where major Indian exports to Zimbabwe include pharmaceuticals, machinery and electronics, while Zimbabwean exports to India include non ferrous metals, raw cotton and minerals.

Wholesale Price Index shows inflation uptick in articles and fuel & power due to food and raw material price rises.
The Wholesale Price Index for Primary Articles and Fuel & Power for the week ended 12 February 2011 shows Primary Articles at 189.4 (provisional), up 0.5 percent week on week, with point to point annual inflation at 15.77 percent. Food Articles fell slightly while Non Food Articles rose sharply due to increases in raw cotton, castor seed, copra and other raw materials; Fuel & Power inched up, influenced by higher furnace oil and naphtha prices.

Trade liberalisation through CEPA expands bilateral commerce and opens services and investment opportunities between India and Korea.
The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) has been implemented and reviewed at ministerial level; post implementation trade has risen substantially, with CEPA presented as the principal mechanism to unlock complementary strengths, create business opportunities for Korean companies, and expand market access for Indian services providers in IT, engineering, finance and telecommunications, alongside notable inbound foreign direct investment in real estate, power, steel products and telecommunications services.