Economic Survey '09: Key takeaways

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Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented the Economic Survey for financial year 2009 in Parliament today.

Here are the key takeaways of the recommendations:

• Allow 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in health, weather insurance.
• Decontrol sugar and fertilizer industries.
• Convert producer subsidies into direct consumer subsidies.
• Raise FDI in defence production to 40%.
• Lift price controls on all drugs, especially essentials.
• Separate telecom licences from spectrum allocation.
• Introduce new income tax code.
• Rationalise dividend distribution tax (DDT); avoid double taxation.
• Phase out tax surcharges, cesses, transaction taxes.
• Remove commodities transaction tax (CTT), fringe benefit tax (FBT), securities transaction tax (STT).
• Review customs duty exemptions.
• Eliminate inverted duty structure.
• Covert specific textile duties to ad velorum.
• Raise FDI in insurance to 49%.
• List unlisted public sector units (PSUs), offload at least 10% equity.
• Cut oil, fertilizer, food subsidy leakages.
• Limit liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) subsidy to six to eight cylinders per year.
• K-oil subsidy only for non-electrified, non-LPG homes.
• Aim to generate Rs 25,000 crore.
• Start by selling 5-10% of profitable non-navratnas.
• Auction loss making PSUs.
• Link small saving rates to gilt and bank deposits.
• Telecom: Auction spectrum; make it freely tradeable.