Union Budget 2019-20 Top Highlights & Key Features

The much anticipated Union Budget for the year 2019-20 is now announced by the honourable Finance Minister of India – Mr. iyush Goyal. Here is top highlights & key features of budget 2019-20..[…]

Interim Budget 2019 Highlights

Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal presented an Interim Budget for 2019 in Parliament on February 1 2019. An Interim Budget usually doesn’t list out new schemes or doesn’t unveil any policy measures. The government will present the vote on account for the next four-to-five months. A full-fledged Budget will be presented after the House reassembles after the general election.

Here are the highlights of the Union Budget 2019-20:

India to become a USD 5-trillion economy in the next five years and aspires to become a USD 10-trillion economy in the next 8 years

Taxes changes

• No income tax for income up to Rs 6.5 lakh (Rs 5 lakh + Rs 1.5 lakh under 80C of the Income Tax Act)
• Full tax rebate for income up to Rs 5 lakh per annum
• No tax on notional rent on second self-occupied house
• Capital Gains exemption under Section 54 to be available on two house properties
• Tax benefit of Rs 18,500 crore given to three crore middle-class tax payers
• Standard deduction raised to Rs 50,000 from Rs 40,000
• TDS limit hiked from Rs 10,000 to Rs 40,000 on post-office savings
• Group of Ministers looking at ways to ease GST burden on homebuyers

Economy

• FY20 fiscal deficit target set at 3.4 percent
• Expenditure target for FY20 set at Rs 27.84 lakh crore
• Capital expenditure for FY20 set at Rs 3.36 lakh crore
• FY19 fiscal deficit pegged at 3.4 percent of GDP; current account deficit at 2.5 percent of GDP
• FY20 gilt repayment pegged at Rs 2.36 lakh crore

Farmers

• Farmers with less than two hectares to be offered Rs 6,000 per year as direct transfer under PM Kisaan Samman Nidhi. The benefit will be transferred directly into the bank account of beneficiary farmers in three instalments of Rs 2,000 each. Around 12 crore farmers to benefit from the scheme. This scheme will cost the government around Rs 75,000 crore
• Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee program’s allocation increased by Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 60,000 crore for FY20
• Farmers struck by natural calamities will now receive 2-5 percent interest subvention under insurance scheme
• Two percent interest subsidy to be given to farmers involved in animal husbandry activities via kisaan credit card scheme. An additional three percent subsidy will be paid on timely payment of loans
• Government announces setting up of Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog to enhance productivity of cows

Rural infrastructure

• Pradhan Mantra Gram Sadak Yojana allocation set at Rs 19,000 crore, the same as FY19

Fishermen

• Separate Department of Fisheries created, two percent interest subvention for those in fisheries
• To provide Rs 750 crore in FY19 to support animal husbandry and fishing

Workers

• Monthly pension of Rs 3,000 for workers in the unorganised sector to be paid out after retirement. Pension scheme to benefit 10 crore workers in the unorganised sector. Those who join at 18 years of age will have to contribute a mere Rs 55 per month. The government will contribute equal matching share in the pension account. This scheme will cost the government Rs 500 crore
• Employees' State Insurance eligibility cover limit has been raised to Rs 21,000 per month from Rs 15,000 per month
• Gratuity limit increased from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 30 lakh
• Workers who suffer grievous injuries will now receive Rs 6 lakh from Rs 2.5 lakh through Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)

Education

• Rs 38,572 crore allocated for the National Education Mission

Medical

• Another All India Institutes of Medical Sciences to be set up in Haryana

Society

• Rs 76,800 crore allocated for welfare of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs)
• Centre to implement special strategy for uplift of nomadic tribes

Filmmakers

• Single window clearance for film-makers. Anti-camcording provision to be introduced to Cinematography Act to combat film privacy

Railways

• Railway capital expenditure raised to Rs 64,586 crore in FY20 from Rs 53,060 crore in FY19

Defence

• Defence budget for FY20 raised to Rs 3 lakh crore

Vision 2030 in Budget

Ten dimensions of Vision for India of 2030:

1. Next Generation Infrastructure – to provide an “ease of living”.
2. Digital India – reached every corner of the economy and every citizen.
3. Clean and Green India – Making India pollution free by leading transport revolution with Electric Vehicles and focus on Renewables.
4. Rural Industrialization – using modern digital technologies to generate massive employment
5. Clean Rivers – safe drinking water to all Indians using micro-irrigation techniques.
6. Oceans and Coastlines – scaling up of Sagarmala
7. Space Programme – India becoming a launchpad of the world by placing an Indian astronaut in space by 2022
8. Self-Sufficient – in food and improving agricultural productivity with emphasis on organic food
9. Healthy India – with a distress-free and comprehensive wellness system for all
10. Minimum Government, Maximum Governance – with proactive, responsible, friendly bureaucracy and electronic governance.

What’s an Interim Budget?

An Interim Budget is not the same as a ‘Vote on Account’. While a ‘Vote on Account’ deals only with the expenditure side of the government’s budget, an Interim Budget is a complete set of accounts, including both expenditure and receipts. An Interim Budget gives the complete financial statement, very similar to a full Budget.

Major Schemes

New Scheme- namely “Pradhan Mantri KIsan SAmman Nidhi (PM-KISAN)” to extend direct income support at the rate of Rs. 6,000 per year to farmer families, having cultivable land upto 2 hectares is announced.

अगर यह जानकारी आपको पसंद आयी है तो कृपया इसे share अवश्य करे।