Key Takeaways From Union Budget 2019-20

The first budget of Modi government is present today by Nirmala Sitharaman following are the top 100 highlights of budget :

• No income tax for less than 5 lakh per annum income
• 3% Increase in surcharge for individuals with incomes between 2 to 5 cr. 7% increase in surcharge for incomes above 5 cr
• Propose to make PAN and Aadhaar interchangeable. ITR can be filed without PAN by quoting Aadhaar
• Direct tax revenue has grown 78 percent from 2014 to 2019. The tax collection has increased to 11.37 lakh crore to 2018-19 from 6.37 lakh crore from 2013-14.
• To discourage practice of making business payments in cash, I propose to levy TDS of 2% on cash withdrawal exceeding Rs 1 crore a year from a bank account
• Propose to increase special additional duty and road and infrastructure cess on diesel and petrol by Re 1
• Currently, the lower rate of 25% is applicable to firms with annual turnover of Rs 250 crore. I propose to widen this to all companies with annual turnover of up to Rs 400 crore. This will cover 99.3% of all companies
• Additional income tax deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh on the interest paid on loans for EVs
• 350 crore rupees allocated for 2% interest subvention for all GST-registered MSMEs on fresh or incremental loans
• Propose to extend period of exemption of capital gains arising from sale of residential house for investment in startups to 31-3-2021
• GST rates have been eased with a relief of Rs 92,000 crore provided during the year. Further measures are being worked out to ease filing returns and tax compliance. A simplified single monthly return is now being ruled out. Taxpayers with an annual turnover of less than Rs 5 crooe will have to file only quarterly returns
• Additional deduction of up to Rs 1.5 lakh for interest on loans borrowed upto March 31, 2020 for purchase of house upto Rs 45 lakh
• Business establishments with annual turnover of Rs 50 crore will offer low-cost digital mode of payments to customers and no charges or merchant discount rates shall be imposed on customers as well as merchants
• Every verified woman SHG member having a Jan Dhan account, an overdraft of 5000 rupees will be allowed
• The Securities Transaction Tax or STT is proposed to be restricted to the difference between settlement and strike price of options
• To resolve the issue of Angel Tax the startups and investors who file requisite declarations will not be subjected to any kind of scrutiny in respect of valuation of share premium. A mechanism of e-verification will be put in place and with this, the funds raised by startups will not require any tax scrutiny.
• One woman in every SHG shall be made eligible for a loan of Rs 1 lakh under MUDRA scheme
• NRI investment in Indian capital market is less. I propose to merge the NRI portfolio investment scheme route with FPI route
• 95 crore houses proposed to be provided under PMAY Grameen by 2021
• 25 lakh kilometers of roads will be upgraded:
• The government proposing to streamline multiple labour laws into a set of ‘four labour codes’
• Aim to simplify tax admin and bring greater transparency. My tax proposals will aim to stimulate growth.
• Tv program for the start-ups Stand up india scheme for entrepreneurs. A new channel is proposed to be started under Doordarshan bouquet to provide a platform for startups to disseminate information in the industry
• Rs 100 lakh crore for infrastructure development for next 5 years
• By 2022, power and LPG will be provided to all households. Assures that every single rural family will have electricity and clean cooking facility by 2022
• Propose setting up a Social Stock Exchange for listing Social enterprises, voluntary organisations. Social Stock Exchange under SEBI proposed
• The government is setting an enhanced target of Rs 1,05,000 crore for disinvestment during FY20 and will continue with disinvestment of PSUs in the non-financial space as well
• More than 45,000 public toilets have been uploaded on Google maps and nearly 1 crore citizens have downloaded the Swachhta app
• Several reforms would be undertaken to promote rental housing, current rental laws are archaic as they do not address lessor-lessee relationships fairly
• Have suggested to SEBI to increase threshold of public shareholding in listed companies from 25% to 35%,
• 100% FDI will be permitted for insurance intermediary. FDI inflows have remained robust despite global headwinds. India’s FDI inflows remained strong despite global slippages. We saw a 6% y-o-y growth in foreign investment Government is mulling organizing an annual global investors’ meet in India
• Govt will create a payment platform for MSMEs to enable filing of bills and payment on the platform itself
• As key source of capital to Indian economy, it is important to ensure hassle-free experience to foreign portfolio investors. We plan to streamline KYC to make it more investor-friendly
• Pension benefits will be offered to 3 crore shopowners with annual turnover of less than Rs 1.5 crore under new scheme called Pradhan Mantri Man dhan Scheme
• A modern tenancy law will be finalized and given to the states
• Upfront incentive to be offered on purchase of EVs
• Railway infra would need an investment of Rs 50 lakh crore between 2018 and 2030
• It is proposed that several reform measures will be taken up to promote rental housing
• India have become fifth largest economy in the world. 5 years ago we stood at 11th position. In Purchasing Power Parity we are at number 3 only next to US and China
• Indian Economy well within capacity to reach $5 tn target in a few years. Our economy was $1.85 trillion when we assumed power and it reached $2.7 trillion. We have the capacity to reach 5 million US in five years. It took us over 55 years to Indian economy to reach $1 trillion but the people’s hearts filled with Vishwas and Akansha (hopes of the people of the country) has helped us achieve the next couple of trillions within a short span
• Last mile delivery stood out, citizens in every nook and corner of the country felt the difference; our objective was and continues to be Mazbooth Desh Ke Liye Mazbooth Nagarik
• If before India Inc understood Swadeshi they now look at Make in India. Gone are the days of policy paralysis and Licence Raj regimes. India is now a wealth creator, says Sitharaman, adding she wishes to announce a number of reforms to further the country’s growth prospects.
• The ambitious project of Bharatmala will enhance road connectivity and Sagarmala will help port and waterways connectivity, she says. These along with other such initiatives such as Udaan scheme will improve India’s infrastructure and enable connectivity and bridge the rural and urban divide
• The department of fisheries will address critical gaps in the value chain, including production, quality control, post-harvest management, etc
• Confident of achieving our goals, says FM, quotes Chanakaya, ‘With determined humans efforts, the task shall surely be completed’
• Mega programmes that we initiated in the first five years will now be further accelerated
• Between 2014 and 2019, we provided rejuvenated Centre-state dynamic, cooperative federalism, GST Council and a strident commitment to fiscal discipline; set the ball rolling for a New India
• New metro rail projects have been approved during 2018-19. Also, during 2019, 210km of metro lines have been operationalized
• The time is right for India to enter into aviation finance. The Udan scheme is providing air connectivity to the common man. All these programmes are also helping bridge rural and urban divide. The ambitious programme of Bharatmala will help develop roads and highways, while Sagarmala will enhance port connectivity
• National Common Mobility Card was launched by PM Modi in March this year. This will enable people to pay multiple transport charges across India. This card runs on RuPay card and allows users to pay bus charges, parking charges, etc
• One Nation, One Grid” for power availability to states at affordable rates. It is therefore proposed to use Public-Private partnership to unleash faster development
• India’s FDI flows in 2018-19 remained strong compared to global at $54.2 billion, 6 percent higher than last year. The government will examine options of opening up FDI in media, animation and some other sectors to improve these flows further
• The government is contemplating organising an annual global meet to get all three sets of global players: Industrialists, corporate leaders, corporate sovereign and venture funds
• India has emerged as a major space power. Time has come to harness this ability commercially. New Space India Limited, a public sector enterprise, has been incorporated to tap the benefits of R&D carried out by Isro. The company will spearhead commercialization of various space products
• The Gaon (village), Garib (poor) and Kisan (farmers) are at the Centre of all our efforts:
• By 2022 Every rural indian family will have Electricity and clean cooking facility
• Lauds efforts of farmers in production of pulses
• 75000 entrepreneurs targeted in Agri sector
• Ease of doing business to extend to farmers and they should not face state level arbitrages Back to Basics – zero budget farming farmers are being trained on this – extend to others
• Jal ministry to focus on providing adequate drinking water, which is a primary area of concern. We seek to provide water to all rural households under ‘har ghar jal. Steps such as these will help double farmers’ income by 2022
• Time for completion of houses under PMAY reduced from 314 days in 2015-16 to 114 days in 2017-18, enabling the scale of achievement in PMAY
• 1592 critical blocks over 256 districts identified for Jal Skhakti Abhiyan
• 6 crores toilets have been constructed under Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan
• 5 lakh villages are now open-defecation free
• More than 95% of our cities have declared themselves open-defecation free
• We aim to make India open-defecation free by October 2, on 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi
• A Gandhipedia is being developed to sensitize youth and society at large on positive Gandhian values:
• Local sourcing norms for FDI to be eased for single-brand retailing sector.
• Propose to establish National Research Foundation to fund and coordinate research in India
• 80 Livelihood business incubators and 20 technology business incubators to be set up in 2019-20 under ASPIRE to develop 75,000 skilled entrepreneurs in agro-rural industries
• Greater focus on R&D through a National Research Foundation. This will fund, promote research. Funds will be assimilated from schemes running across various ministries
• Focus on Global Education Model and R&D will arm the Youth of today to fight the unknown future we see ahead full of disruption and new age entry and exits
• None of our technological institutions were in top 200 in 2014. But now, there are five in the list
• To upgrade level of teaching, Gian initiative was started. It was a roadmap to counter challenges, To upgrade level of teaching, Gian initiative was started. It was a roadmap to counter challenges. To upgrade quality of teaching, the GYAN was started aimed to bring in the global pool of scientists and researchers, she says, adding such initiatives have paid off. From no single Indian institute in top 200 universities ranking until 5 years ago, we now have 3 institutions in the top 200 global institutions bracket. To make India a hub of higher education the government proposes ‘Study in India’ to bring in foreign students to pursue education here
• India will be soon a hub of higher education. ‘Study in India’ initiative will be started for the exchange of foreign student
• We will increase our efforts to improve the skills of our youth in newer areas such as Artifical Intelligence, Big Data, Robotics, etc valued highly within and outside the country to ensure they can secure high paying jobs both in India and abroad
• Under Pradhan Mantri Grameen Digital Saksharata Abhiyan, Bharat Net is targeting internet connectivity in local bodies in every panchayat in the country; this will be speeded under Universal Service Obligation Fund
• 100 new clusters to be set up in 2019-20 under SFURTI, which will enable 50,000 artisans to join the economic value chain
• The Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan Dhan Yojana of providing Rs 3,000 – nearly 30 lakh workers have joined the scheme
• Approximately 35 crore LED bulbs have been distributed under the Ujala scheme, saving Rs 18,341 crore annually
• For the women of India – Naari to Narayani has been the tradition of the country., she says quoting Swami Vivekananda, “There is no chance for the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is improved. It is not possible for a bird to fly with one wing
• Contribution of women is significant in every sector. The recent election saw record turnout of women voters, at par with men. We also have a record 78 women MPs in the House
• Propose a committee to evaluate and suggest measure to improve women’s welfare, she says, pointing out how India’s women have stood out distinctly in every field. This reinforces our approach of going beyond just women-centric policies to building women-led movements
• Under PMAY (Urban), over 81 Lakh houses with investment of about Rs 4.83 Lakh Cr have been sanctioned of which construction has started in about 47 Lakh houses. Over 26 Lakh houses have been completed of which nearly 24 Lakh houses have been delivered, to beneficiaries.
• 400 crore rupees under head, World Class Institutions in 2019-20, more than 3 times the revised estimates of previous year.
• The government proposes to consider issuing Aadhaar cards to NRIs with Indian passports in India without having to wait for the necessary 180 days
• To popularize sports at all levels, National Sports Education Board for development of sportspersons to be set up under Khelo India
• The government is developing 17 iconic tourism sites as world-class tourist centres to improve the flow of domestic and foreign tourists to these destinations. Documentaries with anthropological details will be stored for tourists
• PSBs are now proposed to be further provided Rs 17,000 crore of capital to boost credit.
• Government has smoothly carried out consolidation, reducing the number of PSBs by 8
• Record recovery of over Rs 4 lakh crore due to IBC (Insolvency code) have been effected in the last four years
• NPAs of commercial banks have reduced by over Rs 1 lakh crore over the last year
• The government has proposed to allocate Rs 70,000 crore for PSU Bank recapitalisation
• For purchase of high-rated pooled assets of financially sound NBFCs amounting to a total of Rs 1 lakh crore, govt will provide a one-time six-month partial credit guarantee to PSBs for first loss up to 10%
• Broadbased committee to evaluate and suggest actions for moving forward on gender analysis of budget to be formed
• Govt proposes to return the regulation authority over housing finance sector from National Housing Board to the RBI
• To further encourage women entrepreneurship, Women SHG Interest Subvention Programme to be expanded to all districts in India
• 4 new embassies to be opened in 2019-20, to improve footprint of India’s overseas presence and to provide better public services to local Indian communities
• India’s sovereign external debt to GDP is among the lowest globally at less than 5%, she points out.
• A new series of coins including for Rs 20 will be made available for public use shortly
• Foreign shareholding limit of CPSEs is proposed to be hiked to permissible sectoral limits
• Separate NPA trust with PFRDA. A move for providing the pensioners’ ease of investment and procedure.
• Because of taxpayers, government is able to work for a collective dream of inclusive development
• She quotes a verse in Tamil  – ‘Just a few mounds of rice cooked from a small piece of land is enough for the elephant. But if the same elephant enters a paddy field it will end up trampling more than it would consume’ Explaining the verse, she says the government does not intend to ‘trample’ anybody like the elephant.
• Proposes incentives to IFSC including profit linked deduction u/s. 80LA for 10 years in 15 years block
• Defence sector needs modernization. Import of defence equipment is being exempted from basic customs duty