Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the 1st Union Budget 2019 of second term of the Narendra Modi 2.0 government.
Here are the highlights of the Union Budget:
- PAN and Aadhaar will become interchangeable. You can use your Aadhaar number to file your I-T Returns soon.
- ₹5 lakh minimum limit announced for taxpayers. In view of rising income levels, those in the ₹2-5 crore and ₹5 crore-and-above brackets will see increase in effective tax rate by 3% and 7%, respectively.
- GST rate on electric vehicles proposed to be lowered to 5%. Additional income tax deduction of ₹1.5 lakh on interest on loans taken to purchase electric vehicles.
- Additional deduction of ₹1.5 lakh on loans up to March 31 2020 for buying affordable houses, giving ₹ 7 lakh benefit to home buyers.
- Proposal to provide Aadhar cards for NRIs with Indian passports, after their arrival in India, with no waiting period.
- ₹20 coin coming up.
- Excise duty on fuel hiked by ₹1.
- To resolve the angel tax issue, startups will not be subject to any scrutiny in respect to valuation. Funds raised by startups will not require any scrutiny by the I-T department.
- TDS of 2% on cash withdrawals exceeding ₹1 crore in a year from bank accounts, to discourage business payments in cash.
- Period of exemption for capital gains arising from sale of house for investment in startups to be extended to March 31, 2021.
- ₹70,000 crore in recapitalisation for public sector banks.
- ₹1.05 lakh crore disinvestment target for the year.
- TV channel to be launched for promoting startups and to help matchmaking for funds.
- New national educational policy hopes to transform Indian education into one of the best in the world, with focus on bringing in foreign students.
- ₹50 lakh crores proposed for Railway infrastructure.
- By 2022, the 75th year of Independence, every single rural family, except those who are unwilling to take the connection, will have electricity and clean cooking facility.
- Stress on zero-budget farming, which is a form of gardening as a self-sustainable practice, with minimum external intervention.
- The pension benefit will be extended to 3 crore retail traders under PM Karam Yogi Maan Dhan Scheme. It requires only Aadhaar numbers and bank accounts.
- ₹1 crore worth of loans proposed to MSMEs. The Government will extend pension benefits to 3 crore retail traders and shopkeepers who have a revenue of less than ₹1.5 crore.
- Investment by FIIs and FDIs in debt securities in infrastructure debt funds to be allowed. Minimum public shareholding in listed companies can be increased from 25% to 35%.
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