Finance Minister P Chidambaram presented the Union Budget in Parliament today. He has allocated Rs 22,282 crore (Rs 222.82 billion) for women's development.
The income tax limit is largely unchanged. And the personal income tax exemption limit has been increased by only Rs 10,000, giving assessees a relief of Rs 1,000.
For women assessees, their threshold limit will go up to to Rs 145,000. For senior citizens, it will go up to Rs 195,000.
For senior citizens, there will be a deduction in respect of medical insurance under Section 80 (D) at Rs 20,000 for senior citizens.
Here are some expert opinions on what Budget 2007 means for senior citizens and women:
Amar Pandit, certified financial planner: "I don't see too many changes. For me, the key takeaway is the status quo that has been maintained.
"The individual personal income tax exemption has been unchanged. So, for a person earning Rs 500,000 and above, it doesn't mean anything.
"The increase in medical insurance and premiums under Section 80D is a positive. If you consider the enhanced tax exemption lilmit, the tax benefit you would get is Rs 2,000. That is not so great.
"I would have liked to see the age limit at 60, as oposed to the current 65. Now that would have been a good move. Most people retire at 55-60. They won't get this benefit for next five years.
"For women, there is just a Rs 10,000 increase. Which means you are saving just Rs 1,000. No special products or things have been introduced for them. So no news is good news for women."
Jabin Vora, tax expert: "Senior citizens have not been given much. The limit has just been expanded to Rs 10,000 for women. All they get is a Rs 1,000 tax saving. For senior citizens, it has been raised from Rs 185,000 to Rs 195,000. So they can show a liability of Rs 2,000, which is not much either.
"The FM could have changed the slabs. If he had really wanted to make a difference, he could have increased the slabs to 160,000 to 260,000 and above."
Zankhana Shah, certified financial planner: The budget has no major changes prima facie. It is a normal budget. All taxations are the same. As a planner, there is not more to suggest or more to take away from the budget.
"Except that the education cess has been increased by Rs 10,000. So for women in the urban areas, it mean they will be burdened more. As it is education expenses are high. On top of that comes the edu cess.
"Individual people will not have a great benefit. There will not be great savings, etc. My expectations were more on the lines of what would the FM do to balance everything to maintain GDP growth, dividing the budget across sectors. It is the first time there is high growth in the country.
"I would have liked for him to have provided something on housing loans. That is something people expect in personal finance. Everyone is on credit these days. And higher tax exemptions could have helped in better planning.
"What is important is this budget has to be studied at a macro level. Last year, the issue was personal finance. This year, it is issues like interest rates, inflation and currency. The macro level will be affected by inflation and interest rates. This will ultimately affect the retirees. I am not so worried about the younger ones."
