Key highlights of the Union Budget presented today:
- Central government debt reduced to 48.7% of GDP from 52.2% in 2019
- Fiscal deficit target pegged at 3.8% of GDP for FY 19-20 and 3.5% for FY 20-21
- Nominal GDP growth for FY 20-21 has been estimated at 10%
On taxation:- A new tax regime has been proposed with tax payers having the option of whether they want to opt for the new regime. The changes in the new regime are as below
Income between 5 Lacs & 7.5 Lacs: reduced to 10% from 20% | Income between 7.5 Lacs and 10 Lacs: reduced to 15% from current 20% | Income between 10 Lacs and 12.5 Lacs: reduced to 20% from current 30% | Income between 12.5 Lacs and 15 Lacs: reduced to 25% from 30% | Income above 15 Lacs: continues at 30%
However, in the new regime, more than 70 deductions will not be available.
(i) Corporates have been made exempt from payment of dividend distribution tax. (ii) Corporate tax for existing companies slashed to 22%. (iii) Govt proposes 100 per cent tax concession to sovereign wealth funds on investment in infra projects. Moreover, concessional tax rate of 15 per cent extended to power generation companies.
On banking & finance:- (i) bank deposit insurance cover has been increased from 1 Lac to 5 Lac per depositor (ii) Government plans to amend the Company’s Act to decriminalise civil offences. (iii) Government to sell part of its stake in LIC through an IPO. Government will also sell stake in IDBI to private investors.
On agriculture:- (i) the budget allocates 2.83 Lac crores for the agriculture & allied activities sector (ii) the budget targets to double farmer income by 2022 (iii) agri-credit availability target set at 15 Lac crore for FY 20-21 (iv) the budget proposes comprehensive measures to help 100 severely water stressed districts (v) the budget proposes to help 20 lakh farmers set-up standalone solar pumps and another 15 lakh in solarizing their power grid. (vi) Indian railways to have refrigerated coaches in kisan trains for carrying perishable commodities. Krishi Udan schemes to national & international routes to be launched.
On healthcare:- (i) the budget announces allocation of 69000 crore for the healthcare sector (ii) also announces 12300 crore for Swachh Bharat this year (iii) proposals tabled for construction of hospitals in tier II & III cities through public-private partnership (PPP) (iv) Jan Ausadhi scheme to be expanded to provide for all hospitals under Ayusmann Bharat by 2025. (v) 3.6 lac crores allocated towards piped water supplies to households (vi) 35600 crore allotted for nutritional related programs in the coming year.
On Education:- (i) budget announces 99300 crore for the Education sector and 3000 crore for skill development in the coming year. (ii) urban local bodies to provide 1 year internships to young engineers (iii) Degree-level full fledged online education programmes by institutions ranked in top 100 in NIRF rankings, especially to benefit underprivileged students. (iv) proposal to setup a national police university and a national forensics university (v) 8000 crore allotted for National Mission on Quantum Technology & Computing.
On infrastructure:- (i) budget proposes 1.7 lakh crores in transport infrastructure for coming year (ii) a national logistics policy to be released soon (iii) 100 new airports by 2024 (iv) 5 new smart cities (v) government to monetize 20 lots of national highways by 2024 (vi) target electrification of 27000 Kms of lines. 1150 trains will be run under the PPP scheme. 4 stations to be redeveloped through private participation (vii) plans to develope large solar power capacity for Indian railways (viii) work to start on Chennai-Bengaluru expressway. Budget also allocates 18600 crores for a suburban railway project in Bangalore (ix) 9000 Kms of economic corridor to be created. Work on Delhi-Mumbai expressway to be completed by 2023 (x) 550 wi-fi facilities have been commissioned at railway stations. 1 lakh gram panchayats to get optical fibre link. 6000 crore to be provided for BharatNet scheme.
On industry & commerce:- (i) Allocation of 27300 crore for development of industry and commerce (ii) 20000 crore allotted to renewable energy (iii) National Textiles Mission to be launched with 1480 crores
Others:- (i) 28600 crores allocated for women linked schemes for coming year (ii) allocation for senior citizens and ‘divyang’ increased to 9500 crores (iii) 85000 crores has been budgeted for development of scheduled castes and other backward classes (iv) 4400 crores announced for tackling Delhi’s air pollution problem.
Indian Political Debate 