The salient features of the Budget are:

• Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan will be provided Rs 13,100 crore, Mid Day Meal scheme Rs 8,000 crore, Secondary education Scheme Rs 4,554 crore.

• 410 additional Kasturba Gandhi Vidyalaya to be set up in backward blocks.

• Navodaya Vidyalayas to be opened in 20 districts with special focus on regions having SC/ST concentration.

• Allocation of Rs 130 crore for this purpose. Rs.750 crore more to be given for merit scholarship to students up to 10th and 12th class.

• Mid day Meal scheme extended to upper primary level in 3479 schools. 16 central universities to be opened in 2008-09.

• Three IITs to be set up in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan.

• Schools of architecture and planning in Bhopal and Vijaywada. More institutes of higher education to be opened.

• Rs 100 crore to be given to Information Technology Ministry to set up national knowledge centres.

• Allocation for NRHM increased to Rs 12,050 crore

• Rs 992 crore for national AIDS programme.

• A national programme for the elderly to be started at a cost of Rs. 400 crore.

• Rashtra Swasthya Beema Yojana to start from April one in Delhi and Haryana.

• Rs 30,000 for each family belonging to unorganised sector.

• Allocation for ICDS increased to Rs 6300 crore.

• Rs 85 crore sanctioned for scholarships to students pursuing science education.

• Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research to be set up at Bhopal and Thiruvananthapuram.

• Agriculture credit doubled in the first two years of the government to reach Rs.2.40 lakh crore by March 2008.

• Eleventh Plan started on a robust growth.

• Gross budgetary support to be raised to Rs 2,43,386 crore, an increase of more than Rs 38,000 crore from the current level.

• Allocation for Bharat Nirman to be raised to Rs 31,280 crore.

• Twenty per cent hike in education budget this year from Rs 28,674 crore to Rs 34,400 crore.

• GDP growth slows down to 8.4 per cent during quarter ended December 31, 2007 as compared to 9.1 per cent a year ago.

• Economy grew over eight per cent over 12 successive quarters since 2005, says Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

• Growth rate of agricultre extimated at 2.6 per cent during the current year.

• Services and manufacturing sectors expected to grow by 10.7 per cent and 9.4 per cent, says Chidambaram.

• Keeping inflation under check is one of the cornerstones of the Government's policy.

• Rice production estimiated at 94.08 million tonnes, maize 16.78 mt, soyabean 9.45 mt and cotton 23.38 million bales.