New Delhi: Presenting the Interim
Budget 2014 in Parliament, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday proposed no changes in income tax slabs.
However, he slashed the excise duty from 12 percent to 10 percent on capital goods and consumer durables.
The Finance Minister said GDP growth has improved and will be 4.9 percent for the current financial year. Economic growth had slowed to a decade's low of 4.5 percent in 2012-13.
India's current account deficit (CAD) will be contained at USD 45 billion this financial year, well below the record high level of 2012-13, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said.
"CAD that threatened to exceed last year's USD 88 billion will be contained at USD 45 billion," he said in the interim budget presented in Parliament.
The Finance Minister also said, "I am happy to inform the House that we expect to add about USD 15 billion to the foreign exchange reserves by the end of the financial year."
Chidambaram also said India's exports are likely to touch USD 326 billion in 2013-14. Exports were about USD 304.5 billion in 2012-13.
The full Budget for 2014-15 will be presented by the new government in June-July.
Source : zeenews.india.com