NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the target is to return to 9% growth as soon as possible but said the growth is a "challenge."

Following are the highlights from his speech

To abolish Fringe Benefit Tax
To scrap Commodities Transaction Tax
To raise minimum alternate tax (MAT) to 15% of book profit
Surcharge of 10% on personal income tax eliminated
Proposes to phase out surcharge on direct taxes
I-T exemption limit enhanced by Rs 10,000
No change in corporate tax rates
New direct tax code in 45 days
To introduce GST from April 2010
Target is 9% growth over a sustained period
FY10 service tax reciepts seen at Rs 65,000 crore
FY10 corporate tax reciepts seen at Rs 2.57 lakh crore
FY10 receipts from 3G auction seen at Rs 35,000 crore
FY10 defence spending at Rs 1.42 lakh crore
FY10 subsidy bill to be Rs 1.11 lakh crore
FY10 net market borrowing seen at Rs 3.98 lakh crore
Indirect taxes changes to yield Rs 2,000 crore in FY10
Tax proposals on direct taxes are revenue-neutral
Fully exempting branded jewellery from excise duty
To cut duty on LCD panels to 5% from 10%
To impose 5% customs duty on set top boxes
To maintain overall customs and excise duty structure
To extend tax holiday to natural gas
Exempt pension trust from Securities Transaction Tax
FY10 fiscal deficit estimated at 6.8% of GDP vs target of 5.5%
To enhance back-pay, pensions for 12 lakh soldiers
Proposes 1 lakh units housing programme for paramilitary forces
First set of unique national ID numbers to be rolled out in 12-18 months
To allocate Rs 7,000 crore to rural electrification scheme
To raise allocation to Bharat Nirman by 45% 
Allocation of Rs 39,100 crore for National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
To set aside Rs 100 crore for banking services in unbanked areas
To raise in a phased manner limit for non-promoter holding in all companies
Banks and insurance firms to remain state-run, to get govt support
Propose to encourage public participation in asset sales
To set up panel to review domestic fuel prices
To offer direct subsidy to farmers
To return to fiscal responsibility targets at the earliest
Allocates Rs 4,000 crore to incentivise lending to small firms
Extend interest subvention to exporters in 7 sectors till March 2010
To extend agriculture debt waiver by 6 months
To pay additional subvention of 1% to farmers who pay short-term farm loans on schedule
Agriculture credit target Rs 3.25 lakh crore
Mumbai flood project BRIMSTOWAD to get Rs 500 crore 
Indian Infra Finance Company (IIFCL) to be set up as an SPV
Significant inflow of foreign capital is important
Govt will create 1.2 crore jobs a year

Click Here to download highlights of Budget 2009