Chidambaram presented his seventh full budget - two when the United Front government was in power and the remaining five under the United Progressive Alliance government.

The Finance Minister presented the Budget against a backdrop of slowing expansion and creeping inflation which has hit the poor hardest.

Here are the major highlights:

• Personal income tax exemption hiked to Rs 1.5 lakh
  
• Senior citizens threshold tax limit increased from Rs 1,95,000 to Rs 2,25,000
  
• Tax exemption for women increased to Rs 1.8 lakh
  

• Excise on packaged softwares to be lower from 8% to 12%
  
• No excise duty on refrigerating equipments
  
• Anti-Aids drug exempted from excise duty
  
• Small cars to become cheaper
  
• Reduced excise duty on two, three wheelers
  
• Excise duty on hybrid cars cut from 24 pct to 14 pct
  
• Excise on small cars cut to 12 pct from 16 pct
  
• Rs 50 cr for tiger conservation
  
• Sixth Pay Commission report by March 2008
  
• Defence allocation up by 10% from Rs 96,000 cr to Rs 1,56,000 cr
  
• 22 Sainik schools get Rs 44 crore
  
• Rs 624 cr for Commonwealth Games
  
• PAN sole identification in securities market
  
• Debt waiver scheme and relief to small and marginal farmers
  
• Duty reduced on life saving drugs
  
• Rs 750 crore for upgradation of 300 ITIs in 25 districts.
  
• No change in peak customs duty
  
• Central sales tax cut from 3% to 2%
  
• Govt withdraws banking transaction tax
  
• Revenue implication of Indirect taxation to be 5900 cr
  
• Direct taxation changes to be revenue neutral
  
• Levy on STT only on option premiums
  
• Commodities transaction tax introduced like STT
  
• Short term capital gains to be taxed at 15%
  
• No change in surcharge of corporate tax
  
• Money changers and people running gains of chance and tour operators to be brought under service tax net
  
• Revenue Deficit is Rs 55,184 cr at 1% of GDP and fiscal deficit is Rs 1,33,287 cr at 3.1% of GDP
  
• Estimated planned expenditure at Rs 2,43,086 cr and non-panned expenditure Rs 57,409 cr
  
• Central Plans Scheme monitoring system under Plan Panel to be unveiled
  
• Non-agri peak rates for customs raises to 10% from 2% in 2004
  
• Tax to GDP ratio at 9.2% in 2004 up by 12.5% in 2007-08
  
• Custom duty on steel scrapped
  
• Set-top boxes to become cheaper
  
• Custom duty on vitamin pre-mixes to lower from 30% to 20%