2007 Budget

Union Budget

The Union Budget 2007-2008 was presented by Shri. P. Chidambaram, Union Finance Minister in the Lok Sabha on February 28, 2007.

This year's budget calls for increased spend on education & health and faster growth.

Funds for Health

Rs 11,010 crore - National Rural Health Mission inclusive of Rs.120 crores for AYUSH.

Ayush

Rs 53.82 crore for development of Ayurveda System.

Rs 32.10 crore for development of Homoeopathy system.

Rs 26.70 crore for development of Unani system.

Funds for School Education and Literacy

Rs 10,671 crore - Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

Rs 7,324 crore - Mid-Day Meals Programme.

Rs 1,305 crore - Scheme of Universal Access and Quality at Secondary Stage (SUCCESS).

Rs 275 crore - Setting up Special Navodaya Vidyalayas to cater to the needs of children from the weaker sections of the society.

Employment for disabled

With regard to people with disability, the government has sought to create more employment opportunities by providing incentives to employers.

The budget proposes a scheme under which government will reward an employer once a physically disabled employee is regularised and is enrolled under the Employees Provident Fund (E.P.F.) and the Employees State Insurance (E.S.I.). The government will reimburse the employer's contribution to the E.P.F. and E.S.I. for the first three years.

The government proposes to support the creation of about 100,000 jobs every year for physically disabled people with a salary limit of Rupees 25,000 per month. The government has earmarked Rupees 1,800 crore under this initiative.

The budget also proposes to bring down the general rate of import duty on medical equipment to 7.5 per cent.

Rail Budget

The Railway budget for the year 2007-2008 was presented by Union Railway Minister Shri. Lalu Prasad Yadav in the Lok Sabha on 26 February, 2007.

Among other things, this year's railway budget proposes specially designed coaches for disabled people.

Coaches equipped with wider doors, wider cushioned seats, more aisle passage and specially designed toilets for passengers on wheel chair. The railways plan to introduce such coaches in all Mail and Express trains over the next 2 years. So far Indian Railways has manufactured about 1250 such coaches already, the minister confirmed.