Union Budget 2009-10 – Key Highlights – Poor, Rural, farmers, Women

Farmers

• Additional budget allocation for farmers. Target for agriculture loans raised to Rs 3,25,000 crore in 2009-10 from Rs 287,000 crore.
• Additional allocation of Rs 1,000 crore for accelerated irrigation project.
• Announced loans at a subsidized interest rate of 6% for farmers who pay their dues in time, which is one per cent less than what others would get.
• The debt waiver scheme, announced during 2008-09 Budget, would be extended till December 31 this year, in view of delay in monsoon.

Women

• Fifty per cent of all rural women to be brought into self-help group programmes.
• National Mission for Female Literacy with emphasis on minorities, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to be launched.
• Rashtriya Mahila Kosh corpus to be raised from Rs 100 crore to Rs 500 crore.

Rural and Pro poor

• For Indira Awas Yojana, allocation to be increased by 63 per cent in 2009-10 to touch Rs 8,800 crore.
• Allocation for flagship Bharat Nirman progamme is being raised by 45 per cent.
• An allocation of Rs 39,100 crore to be made for NREGA in 2009-10, an increase of 144 per cent.
• Rs 7,000 crore to rural electrification scheme
• Allocation for National Rural Health Mission to be raised by Rs 257 crore over and above the outlay in the interim budget.