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The Budget has been tabled in the Parliament. What effect it's going to have on your daily budget? Take a look at this slide show to find out how what's cheaper and what's costlier.

Are you a chain smoker? If so, seriously think about kicking the habit.

For, apart from affecting your health, smoking is going to burn a hole in your pocket as well with the finance minister proposing to raise duty on non-filter cigarettes during his Budget speech in the Lok Sabha on Friday.

Non-filter cigarettes, which were enjoying favourable tax regime, will now be brought on par with filter cigarettes which attract higher taxes.

For the smaller non-filter cigarettes not exceeding 60 mm length, the excise duty has been increased nearly five times to Rs 819 per 1,000 cigarettes from prevailing Rs 168.

But for the longer cigarettes, the excise duty has been increased by over two and half times to Rs 1,323 from Rs 546 for every 1,000 sticks.

An Indian man smokes a cigarette in Mumbai.

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If you are happy with Budget proposals placed in the Lok Sabha on Friday and want to throw a party, go on.

With Finance Minister P Chidambaram's proposal not mentioning anything about the liquor prices, there's no need to think about the price tag of your favourite drink.

A prospective buyer looks at the prices of high-end Indian made liquor at a retail outlet in New Delhi.

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Were you planning to get yourself a new car? Well, wait till April 1.

For, Finance Minister P Chidambaram has proposed a reduction in the customs duty on small and hybrid cars during his Budget speech in the Lok Sabha on Friday.

Chidambaram has provided relief to auto manufacturers of hybrid cars by reducing the excise duty on them from 24 per cent to 14 per cent.

These cars are currently not on sale in India, and use a combination of electric motors with gasoline/diesel engines to enhance efficiency and reduce pollution.

Effective April 1, the move paves the way for manufacturers such as Honda Siel, Toyota India and Mahindra & Mahindra to immediately launch their vehicles that were on display at the Auto Expo in January.

These include the Honda Civic hybrid and the Mahindra Scorpio hybrid, while Toyota have displayed the technologies surrounding the Prius in past years.

Both the Prius and the Civic will enter through the import route, while the hybrid Scorpio will be developed and locally manufactured.

The Budget 2008-2009 proposal makes Tata's small car Nano more affordable.

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Have you been eyeing that glossy two-wheeler at the roadside showroom?

Instead of window shopping, you can actually buy it now with Finance Minister P Chidambaram reducing the excise duty on two wheelers while presenting his Budget proposal in the Lok Sabha on Friday.

Indian visitors walk past a modified Royal Enfield motorcycle displayed at the Bikex India 2007, an expo of two-wheelers in New Delhi.

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Have you been postponing the purchase of a new washing machine? Is your purse not permitting you to get hold of a frost free refrigerator?

Well, thanks to Finance Minister P Chidambaram, you can now fulfil your wish.

"The manufacturing sector is the backbone of any economy. It is consumption that drives production and it is production that drives investment . . . I believe there is a need to give a stimulus to the manufacturing sector," Chidambaram said while presenting the General Budget for 2008-09 in Parliament on Friday.

He announced a 2 per cent general cut in excise duty on all consumer goods.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram has proposed a 2 per cent general cut in excise duty on all consumer goods.

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The Budget spelt good news for manufacturers of sports goods and exports of gems and jewellery, helicopter simulators, domestic fertiliser production.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram proposed varied customs duty sops for makers of these items.

Shoppers walk past a sport good retail outlet in New Delhi.

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The finance minister's Budget announcement had some great news for the students of this country.

Chidambaram has announced a 20 per cent hike in education budget this year from Rs 28,674 crore (Rs 286.74 billion) to Rs 34,400 crore (Rs 344 billion).

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan will be provided Rs 13,100 crore (Rs 131 billion), Mid Day Meal scheme Rs 8,000 crore (Rs 80 billion) and Secondary education Scheme Rs 4,554 crore (Rs 45.54 billion).

Indian students from a Mumbai school check their Class X CBSE results on a school notice board.

Have you been waiting for the Budget to be over before you can buy yourself the hi-tech mobile phone that your friend owns?

Please don't. For, Finance Minister P Chidambaram's Budget proposals do not have any encouraging news for the mobile phone industry.

In fact, mobile phone users would now have to shell out more money for buying new handsets, with the government proposing to levy one per cent excise duty on them.

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combo picture shows Indians talking with their mobile phones.

What Finance Minister P Chidambaram said during his Budget proposal in the Lok Sabha on Friday was music to the senior citizens' ears.

For, he raised the I-T threshold limit for senior citizens from Rs 1,95,000 to Rs 2,25,000.

For senior women citizens, the I-T limit increases from Rs 1,95,000 to Rs 2,25000.

The minister also announced that a national programme for the elderly with a plan outlay of Rs 400 crore (Rs 4 billion) will be started in 2008-09.

During the 11th Plan period, two national institutes of ageing, eight regional centres and a department for geriatric medical care in one medical college/tertiary level hospital in each state will also be established, he said presenting the Budget.

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Residents of an old age home 'Godhuli' walk towards the dining room of the home in New Delhi.

Do your monthly medical bills give you heart attacks?

Here's a piece of good news from this year's Budget proposal presented to the Lok Sabha by Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday.

The minister has proposed to reduce customs duty on specified life saving drugs from 10 per cent to 5 per cent.

Anti-AIDS drugs have also got excise duty exemption.

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An Indian pharmacist stands near a display of Cipla products, the country's third largest pharmaceutical company, at a medical store in New Delhi.

Web freaks need to be cautious as the Budget 2008-2009 has not been favourable for the software industry.

During his Budget proposals in the Lok Sabha on Friday, Finance Minister P Chidambaram proposed raising the excise duty on packaged software from 8 per cent to 12 per cent.

The finance minister took this step to bring packaged software on par with customised software.

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Schoolchildren use a laptop to browse a new self-assesment tool in Hyderabad.

The breakfast food like corn flakes, sharbat, coffee and tea pre-mixes and packaged tender coconut will cost less as the Budget for 2008-09 has either exempted or reduced excise duties on a number of processed food items.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram has totally exempted from excise duty packaged tender coconut water, paws, puffed rice, milk containing edible nuts and tea and coffee pre-mixes.

The duty has been halved to 8 per cent on muesli, corn flakes and sharbat. It has been done so even on the packaging material like open top sanitary (OTS) cans, aseptic packaging paper and aseptic bags.

Total exemption has also been given on specified refrigeration equipment for the installing of a cold storage, cold room or refrigerated vehicle, on end-use basis.

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Italian model Rosa Catalano (centre) poses amongst Indian staff at a western style food outlet in Bangalore.