New Delhi, Feb 28 Highlights of the budget for 2015-16 presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Lok Sabha Saturday:
- Credibility of Indian Economy Restablished
- World is predicting its India’s chance to fly
- Every Rupee of Public Expendkiture will contribute to Economy
- CAD for this is expected to be 1.30% of GDP
- Rural Urban divide no longer acceptable
- GDP expected to accelerate to 7.4%
- Objective to keep Inflation below 6%
- Working towards substantial reduction of poverty
- Public investment a must for agriculture
- Must encourage entrepreneurship
- Must ensure India becomes a manufacturing hub
- Investors Seeing India with renewed Hope
- India set for faster trajectory growth
- GST and JAM our new game changers
- We are round the clock government
- Rupee has gained by 6.4%
- Foreign Exchange Reserves at record US $ 340 billion
- Roof for each family by 2022
- Ensure employment to India’s youth
- To meet target of fiscal deficit at 4.1% of GDP
- Key challenge : Agriculture incomes falling
- Government firm on meeting 3% fiscal target in medium term
- MNREGA to Stay
- 70,000 crore allocation for infrastructure boost
- National Investment and Infrastructure fund proposed
- Tax free infrastructure bonds for road and rail projects
- PPP model for infrastructure has to be revisited and revitalised
- 1,000 crore to boost self-employment activities
- To address job creation in software sector
- Five Ultra Mega Power Projects of 4,000 MW each to be set up
- To be on plug on play mode
- Estimates for projects is Rs 10,000 crore
- Public Debt Management authority to be set up
- External borrowings to be covered under this
- Vision in place for Direct Tax regime
- Merge FMC (Forward Markets Commission) with SEBI to better regulation
- New Gold Demonetization scheme in offing
- GST to bring in greater tax inflows and transparency
- Employees EPF contribution may be made optional
- Indian gold coin to recycle local gold – to cut overseas gold demand
- Allow foreign investment in alternate investment funds
- To do away with distinction between FII and FDI
- Another Rs 1,000 crore for Nirbhaya Fund
- Renewable Energy target upped to 1.75 lakh MW
- A full IT based financial body to be set up
- Educational loaqn scheme for higher education
- AIIMS type hospitals in Punjab, Haryana, TN, Himachal,J& K AND Assam
- IIT in Karnataka , institution in Dhanbad to be upgraded into IIT
- Apprentice training institute for women in uttatharakhand
- IIM in J&K and Andhra Pradesh
- PSU Bank board to be set up this year
- Special assistance for Bihar and West Bengal
- 68,960 crore allocation for mid day meal and education schemes
- rs 10,351 crore allotment for women and child programmes
- Rs 4173 crore for water resources projects
- Rs 2,46,727 crore for defence
- Rs 1200 crore for fast track projects in Ahmedabad and Mumbai industrial corridors
- Reduce corporate tax from 30% to 25% over the next four years
- Cut in taxes accompanied by cut in exemptions
- GST implementation from next year
- Measures to curb Black Money
- Benefits to middle class tax payers
- New Law on Black Money
- Bill to be introduced for this to deal with money stashed abroad
- FEMA to be amended to accommodate black money
- Stringent Black Money law
- To curb benami transactions in property deals
- A Benami Transaction Legislation to be enacted
- Tax pass throughs to be allowed in category one and two
- Quoting Pan No mandatory for all transactions over Rs one lakh
- Tax on on royalty to be reduced from 25% to 20%
- Reduce basic customs duty in 22 items to reduce manufacturing costs
- Address problems of cenvat credit
- Rentgal income from reit’s to have pass through facility
- GAAR to be applied prospectively from April 2017
- GAAR implementation deferred by two years
- Rich and Wealthy must pay more taxes
- Wealth tax to be abolished with a new principle
- Additional two per cent surcharge on incomes over Rs one crore
- Govt to get Rs 9,000 crore through this measure
- MAT provisions for FIIs to be rationalised
- Revision of excise duty on some items
- EX on leather upper shoes cut to 6%
- Changes in excise duties on tobacco products
- 100% deductions for thos contributing to Swaach Bharat schemes
- 100% deduction on contributions on clean Ganga programme
- Service tax increased to 14% from 12.5%
- Additional deductions of Rs 50,000 for social net payments
- Transport allowance tax rebate doubled from Rs 800 to Rs 1600 per month
- Tax rebate on health insurance raised to Rs 25,000 and to Rs 30,000 for senior citizens
- Individual tax payers benefited by Rs 4,44,000 every year
- Direct Tax concessions breaks will yield to revenue loss of Rs 8,350 crore
- Indirect taxes proposals to yield about additional Rs 23,000 crore
- Net Revenue gain Rs 15,066 crore
