Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Budget. Here are the highlights of his budget speech.
- Credibility of Indian economy has been re-established in the last nine months and the economy about to take-off on a fast growth trajectory. Most growth forecasts have upgraded Indian economic growth while downgrading global economic growth.
- After inheriting an economy with sentiments of “doom and gloom” with adverse macroeconomic indicators, nine months have seen at turn around, making India fastest growing large economy in the World with a real GDP growth expected to be 7.4%
- The three key achievements during the last nine month are Financial Inclusion- 12.5 crores families financially mainstreamed in 100 days. Transparent Coal Block auctions to augment resources of the States. Swachh Bharat is not only a programme to improve hygiene and cleanliness but has become a movement to regenerate India. And the game changing reforms are also in the anvil like Goods and Service Tax (GST) ,Jan Dhan, Aadhar and Mobile (JAM) - for direct benefit transfer.
State of Economy
- Inflation declined - a structural shift . CPI inflation projected at 5% by the end of the year, consequently, easing of monetary policy. Monetary Policy Framework Agreement with RBI, to keep inflation below 6%. GDP growth in 2015-16, projected to be between 8 to 8.5%.
Vision for “Team India” led by PM
- Housing for all - 2 crore houses in Urban areas and 4 crore houses in Rural areas. Basic facility of 24x7 power, clean drinking water, a toilet and road connectivity. At least one member has access to means for livelihood. Substantial reduction in poverty. Electrification of the remaining 20,000 villages including off-grid Solar Power- by 2020. Connecting each of the 1,78,000 un-connected habitation. Providing medical services in each village and city. Ensure a Senior Secondary School within 5 km reach of every child, while improving quality of education and learning outcomes.
- Five major challenges: Agricultural income under stress, increasing investment in infrastructure, decline in manufacturing, resource crunch in view of higher devolution in taxes to states, maintaining fiscal discipline. To meet these challenges public sector needs to step in to catalyse investment, make in india programme to create jobs in manufacturing, continue support to programmes with important national priorities such as agriculture, education, health, MGNREGA, rural infrastructure including roads. Challenge of maintaining fiscal deficit of 4.1% of GDP met in 2014-15, despite lower nominal GDP growth due to lower inflation and consequent sub-dued tax buoyancy.
- Government firm on journey to achieve fiscal target of 3% of GDP. Accordingly, journey for fiscal deficit target of 3% will be achieved in 3 years rather than 2 years. The fiscal deficit targets are 3.9%, 3.5% and 3.0% in FY 2015-16, 2016-17 & 2017-18 respectively.
- Need to cut subsidy leakages, not subsidies themselves. To achieve this, Government committed to the process of rationalizing subsidies. Direct Transfer of Benefits to be extended further with a view to increase the number of beneficiaries from 1 crore to 10.3 crore.
- Major steps take to address the two major factors critical to agricultural production,that of soil and water. ‘Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana’ to be fully supported. ‘Pradhanmantri Gram Sinchai Yojana’ to provide ‘Per Drop More Crop’. Target of `8.5 lakh crore of agricultural credit during the year 2015-16. Focus on improving the quality and effectiveness of activities under MGNREGA.
- Need to create a National Agriculture Market for the benefit farmers, which will alsohave the incidental benefit of moderating price rises. Government to work with theStates, in NITI, for the creation of a Unified National Agriculture Market.
- Postal network with 1,54,000 points of presence spread across villages to be used for increasing access of the people to the formal financial system.
- From Jan Dhan to Jan Suraksha
- Government to work towards creating a functional social security system for all Indians, specially the poor and the under-privileged. Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojna to cover accidental death risk of `2 Lakh for a premium of just `12 per year. Atal Pension Yojana to provide a defined pension, depending on the contribution and the period of contribution. Government to contribute 50% of the beneficiaries’ premium limited to `1,000 each year, for five years, in the new accounts opened before 31st December 2015. Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana to cover both natural and accidental death risk of `2 lakh at premium of `330 per year for the age group of 18-50. A new scheme for providing Physical Aids and Assisted Living Devices for senior citizens, living below the poeverty line. Unclaimed deposits of about `3,000 crores in the PPF, and approximately `6,000crores in the EPF corpus. The amounts to be appropriated to a corpus, which will be used to subsidize the premiums on these social security schemes through creation of a Senior Citizen Welfare Fund in the Finance Bill.
- Sharp increase in outlays of roads and railways. Capital expenditure of public sector units to also go up. National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), to be established with an annual flow of `20,000 crores to it. PPP mode of infrastructure development to be revisited and revitalised.
- Gold monetisation scheme to allow the depositors of gold to earn interest in their metal accounts and the jewellers to obtain loans in their metal account to be introduced. Sovereign Gold Bond, as an alternative to purchasing metal gold scheme to be developed.
- Investment
- Foreign investments in Alternate Investment Funds to be allowed. Distinction between different types of foreign investments, especially between foreign portfolio investments and foreign direct investments to be done away with. Replacement with composite caps.
- `1000 crores to the Nirbhaya Fund. Tourism
- Less than 5% of our potential work force gets formal skill training to be employable. A national skill mission to consolidate skill initiatives spread accross several ministries to be launched. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gramin Kaushal Yojana to enhance the employability of rural youth. A Committee for 100th birth celebration of Shri Deen Dayalji Upadhyay to be announced soon. A student Financial Aid Authority to administer and monitor the front-end all scholarship as well Educational Loan Schemes, through the Pradhan Mantri Vidya Lakshmi Karyakram.
- An IIT to be set up in Karnataka and Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad to be upgraded in to a full-fledged IIT. New All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) to be set up in J&K, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and Assam. Another AIIMS like institutions to be set up in Bihar. A post graduate institute of Horticulture Research & Education is to be set up in Amritsar. 3 new National Institute of Pharmaceuticals Education and Research in Maharashtra, Rajasthan & Chattisgarh and one institute of Science and Education Research is to be set up in Nagaland & Orissa each. An autonomous Bank Board Bureau to be set up to improve the governance of public
sector bank. The National Optical Fibre Network Programme (NOFNP) to be further speeded up
by allowing willing states to execute on reimbursement of cost basis. Special assistance to Bihar & West Bengal to be provided as in the case of Andhra Pradesh.
- Non-Plan expenditure estimates for the Financial Year are estimated at `13,12,200 crore. Plan expenditure is estimated to be `4,65,277 crore, which is very near to the R.E. of 2014-15. Total Expenditure has accordingly been estimated at `17,77,477 crore. The requirements for expenditure on Defence, Internal Security and other necessary expenditures are adequately provided. Gross Tax receipts are estimated to be `14,49,490 crore. Devolution to the States is estimated to be `5,23,958 Share of Central Government will be `9,19,842. Non Tax Revenues for the next fiscal are estimated to be `2,21,733 crore. Fiscal deficit will be 3.9 per cent of GDP and Revenue Deficit will be 2.8 per cent of GDP.
- Objective of stable taxation policy and a non-adversarial tax administration. Fight against the scourge of black money to be taken forward. Efforts on various fronts to implement GST from next year. No change in rate of personal income tax. Proposal to reduce corporate tax from 30% to 25% over the next four years, starting from next financial year. Rationalisation and removal of various tax exemptions and incentives to reduce tax disputes and improve administration. Exemption to individual tax payers to continue to facilitate savings.
- Abolition of Wealth Tax.
- Rate of corporate tax to be reduced to 25% over next four years.
- Broad themes : Measures to curb black money; Job creation through revival of growth and investment and promotion of domestic manufacturing – “Make in India” ; Improve ease of doing business - Minimum Government and maximum governance; Improve quality of life and public health – Swachh Bharat; Benefit to middle class tax-payers; and Stand alone proposals to maximise benefit to the economy.
- General Anti Avoidance Rule (GAAR) to be deferred by two years. GAAR to apply to investments made on or after 01.04.2017, when implemented.
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