IT looks at sunny days as deals begin to flow

Small Deals Offer Big Hope Ahead Of Q1 Show AS COMPANIES in the $60-billion technology services sector gear up to announce results for the first quarter of 2009-10, the straws in the wind suggest that they may have weathered the worst of the global economic downturn.     The biggest indication is the return of the deal flows, albeit in smaller sizes of about $25-30 million. A welcome development considering that in the past couple of quarters clients had battened down the hatches by suspending discretionary spending, freezing IT budgets and putting offshoring decisions on hold.     Many of the new deals involve what is referred to as 'business transformation outsourcing', where an Indian vendor would work with a client to reshape entire processes such as payroll or HR administration to make them more efficient and achieve cost savings.     In May, India's largest software exporter TCS signed a five-year deal with the Volkswagen Group in the UK to provide IT support and transformation of its IT infrastructure. TCS also bagged a contract from ABB in the UK to implement business software. Wipro signed a $34-million contract to extend a deal with Sunoco, a US-based marketer of petrochemical products. 'IT sales growth in Q1 will not exceed 15%' IT SECTOR analysts believe that sales growth during the April-June quarter will not exceed 15%, but agree that the software services industry could be looking up. The first big result for the IT sector begins with India's secondlargest software exporter Infosys Technologies on July 10.     Infosys has forecast a decline of 6.5-8.2% in its dollar revenues and a 11-13% increase in rupee terms for the quarter ended June 30, 2009.     Research and advisory firm Booz & Co as well as investment bank Avendus Advisors see sales growing by 10-15% for the top six IT companies. Suvojoy Sengupta, a partner at Booz & Co, expects operating margins at over 20%. "Of course, it's a massive scale down from the 40% operating margin levels which companies had got used to," he says.     However, Gartner, an IT-focused research company, predicts single-digit sales growth quarter-on-quarter for the sector.     While the Q1 results may only be marginally better compared with the previous couple of quarters, the outlook seems more promising. Says Partha Iyengar, vice-president and senior analyst at Gartner: "We have started getting calls from clients (in the US and Europe) on how to cut costs by offshoring. These are positive signs. We have already hit the bottom. But we might see a recovery only by late 2009."     Software industry grouping Nasscom has said that it expects single-digit export growth during 2009-10. Some analysts are advising investors to stay away from the sector in the short term. "I don't see a recovery any time in the next two quarters. Infosys, however, has a habit of giving conservative guidance and may spring a positive surprise," says Dhirendra Kumar, CEO, Value Research Online, a mutual fund watcher.     Harit Shah, IT analyst at Angel Broking, agrees that a wait of at least two quarters is warranted before a revised outlook is pronounced.     "In the short term, we might see single-digit sales growth for top tier IT majors. Year-on-year, we might see a flattish sales growth. However, in dollar terms, we might see a dip for some IT companies," he said. Operationally, the manpower-intensive sector, which employs about 2.3 million, continues with its freeze on recruitment. Selective hiring is, however, on for those with specialist skills in areas such as enterprise resource planning, business software and IT architecture development, but the numbers are negligible. There is also a greater focus on shifting employees and work from client locations onsite to offshore destinations such as India.     Among the positive signs is that the domestic market looks attractive despite lower margins compared to exports. Also, with former Infosys co-chairman Nandan Nilekani now part of the government to oversee the Unique Identification Card Project, domestic IT spends could get accelerated. Telecom, e-governance initiatives, state-run companies and the Indian Railways are throwing up newer opportunities for IT. While export-focused companies look at the domestic market as well, the revival of confidence, especially among US clients, bodes well for large and small players.     "Clients feel that the worst is behind them. Especially in the US, many customers took aggressive measures to cut costs and renegotiate contracts," says S Gopalakrishnan, CEO of Infosys.     Infosys Australia recently won an IT application development and maintenance contract worth A$450 million (Rs 1,800 crore) from Telstra, a large Australian telecom company.     A weaker monsoon this year is expected to increase agriculture imports, and thus weaken the rupee just as the rise in crude oil prices has weakened the Indian currency. Buoyed by the hope of recovery, IT companies are now going all out to spend more to win new contracts and increasing their sales force.     However, challenges persist. As KS Ananthanarayan, CFO, Birlasoft points out, the biggest challenge now is getting new business. "Companies are investing a great deal in salespeople, and there is an increased focus on incumbency of clients," he says.     Infosys, for instance, added 217 employees to its sales and marketing team in FY09, its highest ever since the company was founded in 1981, according to Edelweiss Research. Similarly, Wipro, HCL, TCS and Birlasoft have augmented their sales teams. But this strategy needs to be improved with a focus on business rather than technology.     "In the current scenario, multinational IT companies are still winning new contracts because of the effectiveness of their marketing teams which are focused on selling business needs. In comparison, Indian sales staff is focused on selling technical needs," remarks Gartner's Mr Iyengar.     One reason for that could be the lack of topend skills and consulting capability. To plug this gap, companies are looking for acquisitions. The IT & ITeS sector accounted for 50% of cross-border acquisitions in 2007-08 and 40% in 2008-09. Buyouts like HCL's acquisition of Axon last year will provide the much-needed boost.     Overall, the road to recovery seems visible now and companies just need the critical fuel in the form of new business to reach the end of this fiscal, after which offshoring is expected to see its next peak. Till then, the road is tough, but at least the worst is behind them. SUBSCRIBE TO Free SMS Alerts on India Stock Markets OR SEND SMS "ON WAY2TRADE  " TO 9870807070 |DisasterAwareness | Health | Insurance |  Forex| Commodities| Earn decent money by receiving SMSes on your cell phone.  Free Signup! Chat ways2invest wilint Contact Me Ways2Health Overweight children at higher risk of asthma

Govt may take action against RIL on KG gas

Says RIL Can't Commit National Property Without Its Nod; RNRL Says HC Ruling Overrules Executive Decision THE government is contemplating penal action against Reliance Industries (RIL) for committing 28 million standard cubic meters of gas per day (mmscmd) from its KG basin block to Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL) at a price of $2.34 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) as part of the Ambani family settlement without the permission of the government.     "RIL is merely a contractor for the KG basin block (D-6) and not the owner. Two promoters (read Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani) can't divide a national property between themselves without the government's approval. The matter is being examined," a senior official in the know told ET, requesting anonymity.     The government's intention of penalising RIL was first broken by ET NOW, this newspaper's business channel, on Tuesday evening.     The proposed penalty could come as a blessing in rather thin disguise for RIL, which would like to negate any contractual obligation on its part to supply gas to RNRL at a price of $2.34 per mmBtu, significantly lower than the government-set price of $4.20 per mmBtu at which RIL is selling gas to other users.     An RNRL executive claimed that such a move against RIL would in fact help the company in its dispute with RNRL. According to this person, the government had approved the proposal to sell gas to RNRL at the lower price as "part of its approval of the scheme of demerger."     When asked for comments, a senior RNRL said: "These aspects (price, term and quantity) are adequately and clearly covered in the judgement of the Bombay High Court." The high court ruling clearly overrides any executive order. The only option for RIL is to approach the Supreme Court, if it disagrees with the order. FREE SMS ALERTS ON India Stock Market Cricket Live Score Job Openings Entrance Exams Disaster Awareness DisasterAwareness | Health | Commodities Earn decent money by receiving SMSes on your cell phone.  Free Signup!

NO DEVIATION YET

IN the last derivatives dairy, we discussed how the Nifty may have to undergo a strength test even after continuous out-performance over its US complement Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA).     However, not only did the Nifty remain in a tight range of 240 points last week but also the June futures showed a weak rollover into the July series. After losing more than 1% during the first four days of the week, the Nifty rebounded only on Friday. This rise however followed Dow's gains on the previous day as the US index managed to bounce back towards its 200 Day Moving Average (DMA). THE STRUGGLE As we pointed out last week, the 76.4% retracement of the rally from March'09 to Mid–June (from 2539 to 4693), at 4180 turned out to be a good support. However, as can be seen from the first chart, the crossover of 10 DMA below 20 DMA, is weighing on the Nifty. Even as the Nifty managed to close past its 10 DMA on Friday, a strong resistance is expected to emerge in the coming week at the 20 DMA (currently at 4446) level. This resistance also coincides with the support line extending from the March 2009 lows, which was breached last week. ROLLOVER ANALYSIS With the expiry week in place, the Nifty was expected to show some striking moves as it did in the last four months. However, the rollover in the July series at 54.6% showed a sizeable decline from the average rollover of the last four months at 69.9%. A look at the open interest data in the last one week reveals that from Tuesday, the addition in July futures open interest was higher than the decline in open interest in June series (see table). The premium of July futures over the underlying index also rose from 10.5 to 17.8 on Thursday. However, a decline in the July put call ratio (PCR) from 1.22 to 1.10 during the period indicates that number of calls written outpaced the number of puts.     On Thursday, the July 4700 calls held the highest open interest of 14 lakh shares, while the 4200 puts held the highest open interest of 20 lakh shares. Even as the 4200 puts added the maximum open interest of 9.5 lakh shares, the 4300 calls experienced the maximum addition of open interest, of 4.8 lakh shares. This indicates that as on Thursday, 4200-4700 was perceived to be a key trading range for the July series. DOW NEAR 200 DMA – RESEMBLING DECEMBER 2007? In last two diaries, we highlighted how the 76.4% retracement has worked efficiently during all the corrective phases, which came since March 2009. This magical level seems to have supported the Dow last week. As can be seen from the second chart, the Dow showed a rebound closer from 8300, which is the 76.4% retracement level of the index's move in the latest rally (from 6470 to 8878).     After briefly moving above the crucial 200 DMA in the first week of June, the Dow gave away these gains in the second week. On Thursday again, a rebound from that retracement level and subsequent gains brought it closer to the key indicator.     The Dow's current position is similar to the last week of December 2007. As shown in the third chart, after a decline from its peak in October, the Dow managed to move past 200 DMA in the first week of December but fell below it in the second week. In the third week, it managed to surpass this crucial indicator, but the gains were given away for good towards the end of the month. One important difference between these two is the positioning of 100 DMA. While in December 2007, the 100 DMA was acting as strong resistance, it can act as a strong base this time around. FRESH TRADE While the support at 4180 held well last week, the call was not initiated as we recommended going long only when the Nifty moves past the 20-DMA. The analysis on Friday shows that July 4300 puts added huge 6.7 lakh shares in open interest, while 4200 continue to hold the highest open interest. Meanwhile, the July 4700 and 4400 puts experienced a piling of 5 lakh and 4 lakh shares respectively. To sum up, with the market's close above 4300, the important resistance range has now shifted towards 4400-4450.     Since the Nifty is still capped by 20 DMA level, we recommend being on the sidelines. While a breach past the above mentioned resistance range could bring back the index on a gaining streak, a crossover of 10 and 20 DMA will be essential for the rally to continue.     devangi.joshi@timesgroup.com  SUBSCRIBE TO Free SMS Alerts on India Stock Markets OR SEND SMS "ON WAY2TRADE  " TO 9870807070 |DisasterAwareness | Health | Insurance |  Forex| Commodities| Earn decent money by receiving SMSes on your cell phone.  Free Signup! Chat ways2invest wilint Contact Me Ways2Health Overweight children at higher risk of asthma

highlights of the Union Budget for 2008-09

Following are the highlights of the Union Budget for 2008-09 2 Apr-Mar) presented by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram in Lok Sabha today: 3 4 GROWTH, INFLATION LOAN WAIVER 5 GLOBAL IMPACT SOCIAL SECTOR 6 FISC FARM, RURAL SECTOR 7 DIRECT TAXES NON-FARM COMMODITIES 8 INDIRECT TAXES SUBSIDY 9 SPENDING INDUSTRY 10 TRADE FINANCIAL SECTOR 11 CORE SECTOR HEALTH 12 INVESTMENT, SAVINGS MISCELLANEOUS 13 EDUCATION 14 15 16 17 GROWTH, INFLATION LOAN WAIVER 18 India growth story interesting, inspiring Farmers' debt worth 500 bln rupees to be waived off 19 Manufacturing, services to grow 10.7%, 9.4% respectively 40 mln farmers to benefit from loan waiver scheme 20 Confident of 8.8% GDP growth in FY08 Complete waiver of all loans for marginal, small farmers 21 FY08 H1 GDP growth was 9.1% Loan waiver for marginal farmers holding up to 1 ha 22 FY08 most challenging of last 4 years 11 bln rupees for National Horticulture Mission FY09 23 12 successive quarters of over 8% GDP growth until December Farm loans by bank, RRBs, co-op bks until Mar 07 covered 24 8.7% GDP growth seen FY08 as per CSO estimates Farm loan waiver scheme to be completed Jun 30 25 Second year of plan extremely critical Farmers can get fresh loans after debt reschedule 26 Farm growth seen 2.6% FY08 Farm loan waiver to cover 600 bln rupees of loans 27 FY09 year of consolidation, implementation, monitoring Debt waiver scheme implementation to be completed by Jun 28 Must be vigilant, swift for growth with price stability Loan waiver scheme to be completed by June 29 Keeping inflation in check remains cornerstone of policy Waiver also for farm loans recast by banks since 2005, 2006 30 Rescheduled farm loans will also be eligible for waiver 31 GLOBAL IMPACT One-time settlement scheme for "other farmers" 32 Capital inflows in excess of economic deficit Farm loan waiver scheme liability 600 bln rupees 33 Capital inflows need to be managed more actively Loans worth 500 bln rupees to be waived under scheme 34 To take steps on foreign inflows to ensure stable markets 10 mln other farmers to also gain from loan waiver 35 Downside risks have increased worldwide 30 mln small, marginal farmers to benefit from waiver 36 Global markets weak since August, impact on local market not clear 30 mln small, medium farmer to gain from loan waiver 37 Govt will monitor foreign fund inflows 38 Chidambaram says need to be vigilant on global risks SOCIAL SECTOR 39 Impact of US slowdown on emerging mkts not clear yet India midday meal scheme is world's largest 40 Outlook for global econ benign early FY08 182,000 girls in residential schools under Kasturba plan 41 114 mln children covered by midday meal scheme 42 FISC FY09 2nd year of plan should be year of consolidation 43 Govt targets FY09 fiscal deficit at 2.5% of GDP 52 villages per day get phone connections under Bharat Nirman 44 Govt targets FY09 fiscal deficit 1.33 trln rupees 4,113 rural villages computerised everyday. 45 FY09 non-plan expenditure seen 5.70 trln rupees 42 villages/day get power connections under Bharat Nirman 46 FY09 plan expenditure seen 2.43 trln rupees "Can do better" on ensuring more inclusive growth 47 One more year needed to remove revenue deficit Noon meal scheme to be extended to upper primary schools 48 Fiscal deficit not only achieved but also some headroom Mid-day meal plan to be extended to all blocks in country 49 FY09 revenue deficit 551.84 bln rupees, 1% of GDP Midday meal scheme extended to all govt schools 50 FY09 revenue expenditure projected at 6.58 trln rupees Mid-day meal plan extension to help 25 mln children 51 Govt targets FY09 fiscal deficit at 3.1% of GDP vs 3.3% Cleanliness drive allocation upped to 12 bln rupees FY09 52 More equity to Commissions for minorities, SC/ST 53 DIRECT TAXES SC, ST, minorities to continue getting special attention 54 Income Tax slabs changed Northeast, especially Arunachal, face "special problem" 55 Income tax threshold up to 150,000 rupees for all assesses Plan to give potable water to schools in scarcity areas 56 On course to achieve budget estimate of direct taxes FY09 plan for districts with minorities 37.8 bln rupees 57 Agriculture income exempt from income tax 288 more bank branches by Mar in mainly minority districts 58 Demat corp debt instruments exempt from TDS 2 bln rupees for new potable water plan for schools FY09 59 Reverse mortgage income won't be considered income for tax Paramilitary forces to have more SC, ST candidates 60 10% income tax for 150,000-300,000 rupees income Initial grant for potable water in schools 2 bln rupee 61 Stock, commodity bourses under service tax net Potable water in schools cost 15,000-30,000 rupee/system 62 All income tax payers get minimum relief of 4,000 rupee/yr Non-profit cooperation fund for national skill development 63 30% income tax for income above 500,000 rupees Need to set up world class skill development programme 64 I-T threshold for women 180,000 rupees vs 145,000 rupees Smart card based PDS food delivery in Haryana, Chandigarh 65 No change in corporate income tax, surcharge 3 social security schemes for unorganised workers FY09 66 Direct tax proposals revenue neutral National Handicapped Corporation to get 90 mln rupees 67 Withdraws banking cash transaction tax 68 No change in securities transaction tax FARM, RURAL SECTOR 69 Short-term capital gains tax 15% vs 10% Food grain adequacy will be a challenge in FY09. 70 Introduces STT for commodity futures trades Farm credit seen 2.4 trln rupees by March end. 71 Dividend distribution tax to be 15% Promises new initiatives for agriculture. 72 Deduction of STT paid allowed Cotton output seen at 23.38 mln bales FY08. 73 Can setoff dividend income from arms vs dividend tax Cotton output estimated 24.38 mln bales. 74 Exemption limit for small service providers 1 mln rupee/yr Maize output seen at 65.78 mln tn FY08. 75 Services contribute 55% of GDP 88% rise in wheat prices, 15% rise in rice prices. 76 Svc sector to get amortisation benefit Soybean output estimated 9.45 mln tn. 77 5 yr tax holiday for hospitals set up to serve rural areas Rice output seen at 94.08 mln tn FY08. 78 To up short-term capital gains tax to 15% in some cases Maize output estimated 16.7 mln tn. 79 High growth rates helped boost tax revenue collection FY08 food grains output at record high of 219.32 mln tn. 80 Senior citizen I-T threshold 225,000 rupees vs 195,000 Rice output estimated 94 mln tn. 81 Production of seeds added to VAT list FY09 farm credit aim 2.8 trln rupees 82 30% income tax on over 500,000 rupees per year Farm credit growth impressive 83 FBT exemption to creche facility, guest houses Gross capital formation in farm 12.5% of GDP FY07 84 125% weighted deduction for research co on R&D outsourcing Aims to up farm contribution to GDP to 1.6% in 11th plan 85 Crucial to manage inflow of food supply 86 INDIRECT TAXES FY09 agri credit target 2.8 trln rupees 87 Indirect tax proposals revenue loss 59 bln rupees 16 bln rupee interest subvention for short-term crop loan 88 Not surprised with buoyancy in tax revenues 900,000 ha to be developed under World Bank aid 89 Excise duty on 2 wheelers, 3-wheelers cut to 12% vs 16% Irrigation Resources Finance to have 1 bln rupee capital 90 Excise on small cars cut to 12% vs 16% More pacts with World Bank likely for Orissa, W Bengal 91 Customs duty on vitamin food, mineral food cut to 20% To set up Irrigation, Water Resources Finance Corp 92 Customs duty on phosphoric acid 5% vs 7.5% 548,000 ha brought under irrigation in last 2 years 93 Some cuts in customs to protect industry To give 2.8 trln rupees of loans to farm sector FY09 94 On course to exceed budget estimate of indirect taxes Funds for rain-fed area 3.48 bln rupees FY09 95 Customs duty on some bulk drugs cut to 5% vs 10% 24 major, 750 minor irrigation projects in FY09 96 Customs duty on project imports cut to 5% vs 7.5% Education plan to up retention, upgrade learning quality 97 Customs duty steel scrap cut to 0% vs 5% To cover 400,000 ha more in micro, dip irrigation 98 No change in peak rate of customs duty Irrigation outlay 200 bln rupees FY09 vs 110 bln yr ago 99 Customs duty on crude sulphur 2% vs 5% IWRFC to be incorporated as company before Mar 100 Fully exempt rough cut stones from import duty Rubber Fund to get 190 mln rupees FY09 101 Raw material for sports goods exempt from customs duty Coconut, cashew, pepper to get priority for crop revival 102 Customs duty on unrefined sulphur cut to 2% vs 5% Special purpose Tea Fund to get 400 mln rupees FY09 103 Customs duty exemption for set top boxes in IT hardware 56,000 old plantations revived under horticulture mission 104 Customs duty on sports goods cut to 5% vs 7.5% To stress on revival of coconut, cashew, pepper crops 105 To give 34.43 bln rupees to social security scheme FY09 To set up 500 soil testing labs as PPP in 11th plan 106 Customs duty on specialised machinery cut to 5% vs 7.5% 276,000 ha brought under horticulture 107 Customs on steel melting, aluminium melting scrap 0% vs 5% To incorporate new water commission before Mar 31 108 Some IT, hardware components exempted from Customs duty Have planned crop insurance scheme for spices next yr 109 Excise on hybrid cars cut to 14% vs 25% 180 mln rupees allocation for coffee in FY09 110 Excise duty on paper cut to 8% vs 12% 50-mln-rupee one-time fund to Trivandrum plantation unit 111 Customs duty on edible oils left unchanged 400 bln rupees allocation for special purpose tea fund 112 General CENVAT rate on all goods cut to 14% from 16% 200 mln rupee grant for Tea Research Association 113 Excise duty on pharma goods cut to 8% vs 16% 750 mln rupees for farm ministry for mobile soil testing 114 FY08 tax to GDP ratio 12.5% vs 9.2% inherited by UPA govt Perpetual fund for Rubber, Cardamom, few others FY09 115 Customs duty on rough coral 5% vs 10% Have planned crop insurance scheme for spices next year 116 Customs duty on crude/unrefined sulphur cut to 2% vs 5% Determined to be self-sufficient in foodgrain output 117 Customs exempt to continue only for naptha for fertiliser 200 mln rupees for tea research 118 Excise duty on water purifiers cut to 8% vs 16% To set up mobile soil testing labs in 230 districts 119 Excise cut on all pharmaceutical goods to 8% from 16% 40 bln rupees for rural roads in FY09 120 Excise duty on bus chassis 12% vs 16% RIDF corpus up 140 bln rupees in FY09 121 No excise duty on anti-AIDS drugs 122 Excise duty on some paper types cut to 10% vs 12% NON-FARM COMMODITIES 123 Wireless data card exempt from excise duty Global crude oil prices sharply up. 124 Excise duty on some writing, printing paper 8% vs 12% Crude oil, iron ore, copper, lead, tin prices elevated. 125 Excise duty of 1% on polyester filament yarn removed 126 Cement Excise: Higher of 14% advolorem or 400 rupees/tn SUBSIDY 127 Filter, non-filter cigarettes to be taxed at par To give 326.67 bln rupees for food subsidy under PDS FY09 128 Abolish ad valorem component on unbranded petrol, diesel Fertiliser subsidy to continue 129 Excise on refrigeration units above 2 tn cut Mulling new structure for fertiliser subsidy scheme 130 Filter, non-filter cigarettes to be taxed at higher rate To continue providing fertilisers at subsidised rate 131 Excise duty on packaged software 12% vs 8% National Agri Insurance Plan to get 6.4 bln rupees FY09 132 Excise duty on bulk cement 400 rupees/tonne Looking at moving to nutrient-based fertiliser subsidies 133 Excise on packaged software hiked to 12% from 8% 134 Excise duty on packaging software upped to 12% INDUSTRY 135 Money changers, tour operators to come under svc tax net Policy is to list PSUs to unlock their true value 136 Excise duty also exempted on packaged coconut water Aiming to take manufacturing growth rate to double digits 137 Excise duty exemption for coffee mixes, puffed rice Manufacturing industries, apparel, paper growing slower 138 Svc tax net to include svc by shr, commodity exchanges Manufacturing sector growing more slowly 139 Excise duty exempted on wireless data cards 20% growth in capital goods 140 Svc tax net to include asset management svc of ULIPs IIP for consumer goods, durables down in FY08 141 Excise duty on unbranded diesel to be 4.6 rupees/litre Govt to list more arms to unlock value 142 Some fiscal steps to be taken to boost industrial growth 143 SPENDING 55 bln rupees for Rajiv electrification plan in FY09 144 Additional 100 bln rupees plan capital expenditure this yr National fund for power transmission, distribution 145 FY09 defence allocation 1.056 trln rupees vs 960 bln Double-digit manufacturing growth in coal, power, steel 146 Defence allocation up by 10% 8 bln rupees for accelerated power reform plan FY09 147 Sets aside 5 bln rupee for Arunachal, border develop plan Power generation capacity target in 11th plan 78,577MW 148 73 bln rupee for Rajiv drinking water plan FY09 vs 65 bln Tilaiya ultra mega power project to be awarded shortly 149 3 bln rupees for desalination plant in Chennai in FY09 Sharp fall in consumer goods growth in Apr-Dec 150 2 bln rupee initial outlay for drinking water in schools Micro, small enterprises to continue to get govt aid 151 Allocation for northeast 164.47 bln rupees vs 143.65 bln 152 FY09 ministry of minority allocation at 10 bln rupees FINANCIAL SECTOR 153 Nehru Urban Renewal Mission outlay up at 68.66 bln rupee To extend sr citizens pension plan to all above 65 yrs 154 68.66 bln rupees for Jawaharlal Urban plan vs 54.82 bln To give 10 bln rupees to LIC for Aam Admi Bima Yojana 155 FY09 Integrated Child Development Plan sum 63 bln rupees Govt to ask bks to meet credit needs of self-help groups 156 Scheduled Tribe Fin Corp gets 500 mln rupees allocation Home loans for poor brought under banks' DRI scheme 157 National Agri Insurance Plan to get 6.4 bln rupees FY09 LIC to cover 10mln landless farmer in social security plan 158 Food security scheme allocation 48.82 bln rupees Aam Aadmi Bima Yojna to cover 10 mln households by Sep 30 159 IT department allocation 16.80 bln rupees vs 15 bln 20-bln-rupee SIDBI fund for risk financing 160 44% of backward regions' grant to UP, Bihar, Orissa 50-bln-rupee fund in NABARD to up short-term loans 161 To launch exchange traded FX, rate derivative mkt 162 To expand market for corporate bonds 163 TRADE 50 bln rupee NABARD fund for short-term co-ops' lending 164 Rupee up 9.8% from Apr 2007 Banks to embrace total financial inclusion concept 165 Relief to exporters in FY09 to continue as required 288 PSU bank branches to be opened in backward areas by Mar 166 To develop handloom cluster at Varanasi, Shivsagar Will work with RBI for temporary steps to moderate inflow 167 Apr-Dec merchandise export growth 21.8% 256 new bank branches opened in minority districts 168 Merchandise exports to fall short of target 75-79% of farm lending has come from rural, small banks 169 3.40 bln rupees for weavers insurance scheme in FY09 75% of farm credit by scheduled commercial banks 170 Interest spend on MSS is subsidy to export sector 256 PSU bank branches opened in 2007 171 Govt sensitive to needs of merchandise export sector 288 more PSU bank branches to be set up by Mar 172 To create risk capital fund in SIDBI 173 CORE SECTOR Micro, small, medium cos continue to be priority 174 To give 129.66 bln rupee to National highway plan FY09 Fund for TUFS up to 10.9 bln rupees vs 9 bln rupees 175 NHDP outlay upped to 129.66 bln rupees from 108.67 bln Banks, RRBs to add 250 accounts/yr per rural branch 176 96.4% roads completed in Golden Quadrilateral "Measured steps" to continue in financial sector reforms 177 NELP-7 to attract $3.5 bln-$8.0 bln investments SIDBI cuts SSIs annual services fees to 0.5% from 0.75% 178 $3.5 bln-$8.0 bln needed for oil exploration blocks Risk capital fund for micro, small, medium cos under SIDBI 179 To introduce more reform in coal, electricity sectors To ask states to help develop national securities mkt 180 Coal regulator to be established PAN requirement extended to all financial mkts 181 300 km roads to be completed FY09 under national plan PAN sole identification number in securities market 182 Plans national fund for power transmission, distribution There is no seamless national market for securities 183 4.5 bln rupees allocated for textile parks FY09 Differences in duties, levies hampering securities mkt 184 All 30 integrated textile parks approved PSU bks to give DRI scheme home loans at 4% interest rate 185 Integrated textile park scheme to continue in 11th Plan 186 750 mln rupees for common service centres HEALTH 187 180-km roads completed in FY08, 300 km target FY09 Health allocation up 20% 188 250 clusters for handloom being developed FY09 allocation for AIDS programme 9.9 bln rupees 189 Provision for integrated textile parks 4.5 bln rupees FY09 polio eradication drive allocation 10.42 bln rupees 190 1.57 mln houses to be built by March Rural health plan budget aid upped to 120.50 bln rupees 191 4.1 mln houses built until Dec under rural housing plan 323 district hospitals taken up for upgrade in FY09 192 Sop for housing for poor 35,000 rupees/head from Apr Trained 462,000 personnel in National Rural Health plan 193 165.34 bln rupees allocation for health sector in FY09 194 INVESTMENT, SAVINGS 195 FDI inflow seen at $12.7 bln in FY08 MISCELLANEOUS 196 FII inflow seen at $18 bln in FY08 6th pay commission to submit report by Mar 31 197 Policy is to encourage all investment - local, foreign Concerned about rate of attrition in defence services 198 FY08 investment rate estimated 36.3% of GDP Permanent institutional mechanism to study climate change 199 "Unmistakeable boom of investment" since FY06 Fund worth 6.24 bln rupees in FY09 for Commonwealth Games 200 FY08 savings rate estimated 35.8% of GDP 750 mln rupees to Indian Council of Cultural Relations 201 FY08 savings estimated 35.8% of GDP Allocates funds for special tiger protection force 202 500 mln rupees for national tiger conservation project 203 EDUCATION 204 Education allocation up 20% 205 India has opportunity to become "knowledge society" 206 To set up 2 architecture schools at Bhopal, Vijaywada FY09 207 New IIT in Andhra, Bihar, Rajasthan 208 New central universities in each of uncovered states 209 16 central universities to be set up in FY09 210 16 new central universities in FY09 211 800 mln rupees for Balika Vidyalaya hostels upgrade 212 FY09 allocation for secondary education 45.54 bln rupees 213 1 bln rupees to IT ministry to link knowledge institutes 214 Deccan college in Pune to get 50 mln rupees grant 215 850 mln rupees to new scholarship for scientific research 216 454.5 mln rupees for Madrasa education FY09 217 600 mln rupees to up corpus of Maulana Azad Foundation 218 1 bln rupees for IT ministry to set up knowledge bank 219 Student reservation to continue for SC, ST, minorities 220 Spend on children's schemes FY09 over 330 bln rupees 221 72 bln rupees for ministry for woman, child development 222 162.02 bln rupees allotted for 30% women-specific plans 223 114.60 bln rupees for 100% women specific programme 224 To allot 72 bln rupee for ministry of women, children FY09 225 7.5 bln rupees for upgrade of ITIs in FY09 226 440 mln rupees for Sainik School infrastructure 227 1 bln rupees each for DU, University of Mysore 228 1 bln rupees for Mahatma Phule Vidyapeth