In a major relief to the common man, the Centre today removed all taxes on non-subsidised LPG cylinders. Announcing the decision, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said, there will be zero customs duty and VAT on non-subsidised cylinders. The Finance Minister also welcomed the decision by some of the states to raise the cap on maximum number of subsidised LPG cylinders, a family can buy in a year, from six to nine. Mr. Chidambaram also desired that more state governments would provide subsidy on LPG cylinders.

The Finance Minister also announced that the Centre has cut the withholding tax on External Commercial Borrowings by Indian companies to 5 per cent from 20 per cent. The reduction in tax will encourage Indian companies to raise funds from overseas markets. This will apply to all borrowings between July 2012 and June 2015. Mr. Chidambaram also said that the Foreign investors appetite is improving.

The Finance Minister also approved the Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme, tailor-made to encourage first time investors. Investors whose annual income is below 10 lakh rupees will get 50 per cent tax rebate on investment under the scheme. The maximum investment that can be made under the scheme is 50,000 rupees.