In her budget speech in the Lok Sabha, Nirmala Sitharaman projected a fiscal deficit of 6.8 per cent of gross domestic product for the next 2021-22 fiscal
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during the Budget Session, at Parliament House in New Delhi, on Monday. Pic/PTI
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday proposed more than doubling of healthcare spending while imposing a new agri cess on certain imported goods and raising customs duty on items ranging from cotton to electronics in a bid to pull the economy out of the trough. In her Budget for the fiscal year beginning April 1, she restricted tax-free interest on retirement fund to '2.5 lakh annually but gave tax exemption on Leave Travel Concession subject to incurring of specified expenditure. A new Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess will be imposed from Tuesday on customs duty levied on bullion, alcoholic beverages, coal and agri products ranging from apple to lentil. But to reduce the burden on the consumer, customs or import duty on these items was cut.
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Share brokers watch stock prices on computer screens as Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents the Union Budget 2021-22, in Kolkata, on Monday. Pic/PTI
A cess of '2.5 per litre on petrol and '4 per litre on diesel was also slapped but this was offset by a reduction of an equivalent amount in the excise duty - making it price neutral for consumers. Also, a tax deducted at source (TDS) of 0.1 per cent will be levied on purchase of goods exceeding '50 lakh in a year. The responsibility of deduction shall lie only on the persons whose turnover exceeds '10 crore.
In a relief to senior citizens, those above 75 years of age with only pension and interest income would no longer have to file income tax returns. In order to incentivise the purchase of affordable house, the finance minister proposed to extend the period for claiming an additional deduction for the interest of '1.5 lakh paid for home loans by one year to March 31, 2022. To remove hardship faced by NRIs in respect of their income accrued on foreign retirement benefits account due to mismatch in taxation, new rules for alignment will be notified.
Will it achieve goals of a self-reliant India?
Shivraj Singh Chouhan, MP chief minister
‘Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken effective steps to achieve the goals of a self-reliant India in the Union Budget as well as taking health facilities to the highest level in villages’
Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi chief minister
‘This budget is to provide benefit to some selected big companies. It (budget) will trigger a spike in inflation and will be a burden for common people’
Nitish Kumar, Bihar chief minister
‘Despite the pandemic and problems in revenue collection, a balanced budget was presented by the central government. It is welcome. I congratulate the central government for presenting a balanced budget’
Akhilesh Yadav, Samajwadi Party president
‘I have only one request from the BJP government. This time in the budget they must make provisions for the restoration of the nation’s unity, social harmony, the respect of farmers and workers, the respect of women and youth and freedom of speech, since these have been disturbed because of the divisive policies of the BJP’
Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader
‘Forget putting cash in the hands of people, Modi government plans to handover India’s assets to his crony capitalist friends’
Yogi Adityanath, UP chief minister
‘The General Budget is in accordance with the expectation of public welfare and Aatma Nirbhar Bharat. The budget has taken care of every class including farmers, middle class, poor and women’
Mayawati, BSP chief
‘Will the budget of the central government presented in Parliament today be able to deal with poverty, unemployment and inflation, etc? On this basis, the activities of the government and this budget will be judged’
Agri cess applicable from today; income tax returns not mandatory for senior citizens
>> Spending on healthcare hiked by 137 per cent to over Rs 2.23 lakh crore. About Rs 35,000 cr outlay for COVID vaccine in fiscal beginning April 1
>> Sharp increase in capital expenditure for next fiscal to Rs 5.54 lakh cr, up from Rs 4.39 lakh cr of last fiscal
>> TR filing not mandatory for senior citizens above 75 years, banks to deduct TDS
>> Time bar for reopening I-T assessment cases halved to three years, for serious frauds it is 10 years
>> Income tax return filers increased to 6.48 cr in 2020 from 3.31 cr in 2014.
>> Agri infra cess of 2.5 per cent on gold, silver and dore bars; 35 per cent on apples
>> Agri infra cess of 30 per cent on kabuli chana, 10 per cent on peas, 50 per cent on Bengal gram/chickpeas, 20 per cent on lentil (mosur); 5 per cent on cotton
>> Rs 2.5 per litre agri infra cess on petrol, R4 on diesel
>> New Agri Infra Development Cess to be applicable from February 2
>> Tax department to notify rules to remove hardships of double taxation faced by NRIs
>> Tax exemption for notified affordable housing for migrant workers
>> Rs 1.5 lakh tax deduction on payment of interest for affordable housing extended by 1 year
>> Exemption from tax audit limit doubled to Rs 10 cr turnover for companies doing most of their business through digital modes
>> Customs duty on certain auto parts, solar equipment raised
>> FDI in insurance increased to 74 per cent from 49 per cent
>> Aatmanirbhar health programme with an outlay of R64,180 cr to be introduced
>> Budget proposals rest on six pillars - health and well-being, physical and financial capital and infra, inclusive development for aspirational India, human capital, innovation and R&D, Minimum Governance and Maximum Governance
>> Rs 3,726 cr for forthcoming Census which will be the first digital census
'4.78L CR
Amount allocated for the defence sector
10%
Hike in farm loan target for FY22 proposed
15k
No. of schools to be strengthened as per the new NEP
'3,224 cr
Amount allocated for the aviation ministry
'1.10L CR
Amount allocated for the Railways
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