New Delhi:
Following are the highlights from the Budget Speech 2020-21 of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
* It proposes new income tax structure for individuals willing to forego certain exemptions and deductions
* Under the new structure, income of Rs 5-7.5 lakh to attract 10 per cent tax, Rs 7.5-Rs 10 lakh 15 per cent, Rs 10-12.5 lakh 20 per cent, Rs 12.5-15 lakh 25 per cent, above Rs 15 lakh 30 per cent
* Income up to Rs 5 lakh to remain exempt from tax
* Bank deposit insurance coverage increased to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 1 lakh
* Dividend Distribution Tax at the hands of companies abolished; dividend to be taxed at the hands of recipients as per applicable slab
* Govt to sell part of stake in LIC through IPO
* Fiscal deficit for FY20 estimated at 3.8 per cent, up from 3.3 per cent projected earlier
* Fiscal deficit for 2020-21 projected at 3.5 per cent
* 2020-21 net market borrowing pegged at Rs 5.36 lakh crore
* Disinvestment proceeds pegged at Rs 1.20 lakh crore for 2020-21, up from Rs 65,000 crore in current fiscal
* Receipts estimated at 22.46 lakh crore, expenditure at Rs 30.42 lakh crore in 2020-21 based on nominal GDP growth of 10 per cent
* PAN to be allotted instantly on the basis of Aadhaar
* India fifth-largest economy, USD 284 billion FDI inflows during 2014-19
* Central government debt reduced to 48.7 per cent of GDP in March 2019, from 52.2 per cent in March 2014
* Proposal to sell the balance government holding in IDBI Bank to private, retail and institutional investors through stock exchanges
* Defence outlay pegged at Rs 3.23 lakh crore in 2020-21, up from Rs 3.16 lakh crore this financial year
* Railways to set up ‘Kisan Rail’ through PPP
* Krishi Udaan will be launched by civil aviation ministry on international and national routes
* Outlay for agriculture and allied activities pegged at Rs 2.83 lakh crore, Nabard’s re-finance scheme to be further expanded
* Agriculture credit target for the year 2020-21 set at Rs 15 lakh crore
* Viability gap funding for setting up hospitals in PPP mode under Ayushman Bharat
* Health sector and Swachh Bharat outlay pegged at Rs 69,000 crore and Rs 12,300 crore, respectively, in 2020-21
* New Education Policy to be announced soon
* Steps would be taken to enable sourcing external commercial borrowings and FDI in higher education
* National Police University and National Forensic Science University are being proposed
* Rs 99,300 crore outlay for the education sector in 2020-21 and Rs 3,000 crore for skill development
* Proposes ‘Investment Clearance Cell’ to provide ‘end-to-end’ facilitation and support, including pre-investment advisory, information related to land banks and facilitate clearances at Centre and state level
* Proposes a scheme focussed on encouraging manufacture of mobile phones, electronic equipment and semi-conductor packaging
* National Technical Textiles Mission proposed with a 4-year implementation period from 2020-21 to 2023-24 at an outlay of Rs 1,480 crore
* NIRVIK scheme being launched to provide for higher insurance coverage, reduction in premium for small exporters and simplified procedure for claim settlements
* Proposes to digitally refund to exporters duties and taxes levied at the central, state and local levels
* National Logistics Policy to be released soon, to create a single-window e-logistics market and focus on employment generation
* Delhi-Mumbai Expressway would be completed by 2023, Chennai-Bengaluru Expressway would also be started
* More Tejas-type trains will connect iconic tourist destinations
* High-speed train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad would be actively pursued
* The government would consider corporatising at least one major port and, subsequently, its listing on bourses
* Rs 1.70 lakh crore outlay for transport infrastructure in 2020-21
* Urges states and UTs to replace conventional energy meters by prepaid smart meters in the next 3 years to give consumers the freedom to choose the supplier. Further, measures to reform Discoms would be taken
* Rs 22,000 crore outlay for the power and renewable energy sector in 2020-21
* Proposes to expand the national gas grid from the present 16,200 km to 27,000 km
* To deepen gas markets in India, further reforms will be undertaken to facilitate transparent price discovery and ease of transactions
* Policy to enable private sector to build data centre parks throughout the country soon
* Rs 6,000 crore outlay to the BharatNet programme in 2020-21
* Proposes a task force to recommend on women’s marriageable age
* Budget allocation of Rs 85,000 crore for Scheduled Castes and Other Backward classes, Rs 53,700 crore for Scheduled Tribes for 2020-21
* Amendments proposed in Companies Act
* Rs 30,757 crore allocated to Union territories of J&K and Ladakh
* Govt to ask RBI to allow MSMEs to restructure debt till March 31, 2021
* FPI limit in corporate bonds hiked to 15 per cent of outstanding stock, from 9 per cent
* New debt-ETF, consisting primarily of government securities, to be floated
* Proposes lower tax rates for cooperatives at 22 per cent with 10 per cent surcharge and 4 per cent cess.
