New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the full-year Budget for the current financial year 2019-20 in the Parliament on Friday. This was the first Budget after the NDA government’s return to power in a landslide victory in May 2019 led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The budget comes at a time when unemployment has touched a 45-year high, and India lost its tag as the world’s fastest-growing major economy to China in the last quarter of the fiscal year
Sitharaman started her speech by addressing it to the speaker of Lok Sabha. “The recent election was charged with brimming home and desire for a bright and stable ‘New India’. Voter turnout was highest; every section came to stamp their approval for performing Government”.
Here are the key highlights of the Union Budget 2019:
- India to be Open-defecation free by October 2, 2019
- Cargo movement in Ganga will increase 4 times in 4 years
- Every single rural family, except those unwilling to take connection, to have electricity, LPG connection by 2022
- PAN and Aadhaar card made interchangeable, allowing those who do not have PAN to file returns
- Basic customs duty on auto parts, optical fibres, digital camera, cashew, certain synthetic rubber, vinyl flooring hike.
- Aadhaar card for NRIs with Indian passports to be issued after their arrival in India, without waiting for the mandatory 180 days.
- New series of coins of Re 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 easily identifiable for visually challenged to be made available for public use.
- Government to streamline multiple labour laws into a set of four labour code.
- One woman in every SHG to get loan upto Rs 1 lakh under Mudra Yojana
- RBI to get regulation authority of housing finance sector
- Customs duty on certain parts of electric vehicles removed
- TDS of 2 per cent on cash withdrawal of more than Rs 1 cr from a bank account.
- Railway station modernisation programme to be launched this year
- Proposal to setup exclusive TV channel for startups
- Blueprint for a national gas grid, water grid, i-ways and airports to be unveiled.
- Funds raised by startups will not require any scrutiny by tax department.
- Govt to build 17 iconic sites to encourage arrival of tourists in India.
- Govt to liberalise FDI in aviation, media, animation and insurance intermediaries.
- Proposal to expand Swachh Bharat mission to undertake sustainable solid waste management in every village.
- Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana phase 3 to upgrade 1,25,000 km of road length over the next 5 years.
- Package for power sector tariff and structural reforms to be unveiled soon.
- 1.95 cr houses to be constructed under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) from FY20-22.
- NRI portfolio route to be merged with FPI for seamless investment in stock markets.
What’s Costlier:
- Petrol
- Diesel
- Gold
- Imported Books
- Cashew Kernels
- PVC
- Vinyl Flooring Tiles
- Metal Fittings
- Mountings for Furniture
- Auto parts
- Certain kind of synthetic rubbers
- Marble slabs
- Optical fibre cables
- CCTV Cameras
- IP Cameras
- Cigarette
What’s Cheaper:
- Electronic Appliances
- Electric Vehicles
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