Union Budget 2017: Tax on income up to Rs 5 lakh cut to 5 per cent

Union Minister for Finance Arun Jaitley giving final touches to the Union Budget 201718 at North Block in New Delhi on Tuesday Pic PTIIn a major relief for the middleclass Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced that those earning between Rs 255 lakh will only have to pay 5 per cent tax Here are the highlights of Union Budget 2017Income tax rate cut to 5 pc for individuals having income between Rs 25 lakh to Rs 5 lakhOf 37 cr individuals who filed tax returns in 201516 99 lakh showed income below exemption limit10 pc surcharge on individual income above Rs 50 lakh and upto Rs 1 cr to make up for Rs 15000 cr loss of due to cut in personal IT rate15 pc surcharge on income above Rs 1 cr to continueCash transactions above Rs 3 lakh to bannedDemonetisation a bold measure against decades of tax evasionDemonetisation will help in transfer of resources from tax evaders to governmentEffects of demonetisation not expected to spill over to the next year says Finance MinisterMaximum amount of cash donation a political party can receive will be Rs 2000 from any one source as part of effort to clean political fundingPolitical parties can receive donations in cheque electronic mode electoral bonds to be issued by RBIFPI to be exempt from indirect transfer provisionsCustoms duty on LNG halved to 25 pcNarendra ModiWith abolition of plan and nonplan expenditure the govts focus is on revenue and capital expenditureGovt pegs fiscal deficit target at 32 per cent for 201718 and 3 per cent for next yearRevenue deficit reduced to 21 pc from 23 pc for 201617Of 76 lakh individuals who reported income of over Rs 5 lakh 56 lakh are salariedWe are largely a tax noncompliant societyAfter demonetisation on Nov 8 last year deposit of between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 80 lakh made in 109 cr bank accounts at an average of Rs 503 lakh till Dec 33 yr period for longterm capital gains tax on immovalble property reduced to 2 years base year indexation shifted from 141981 to 142001Rs 7200 cr revenue loss due to reduction in tax on smaller companiesHead post offices to issue passportsGovt to set up a webbased interactive platform for defence pensionerGovt mulling introduction of legal changes to confiscate assets of offenders including economic offenders who flee the countryTotal expenditure in FY18 at Rs 2147 lakh crOver Rs 80 lakh deposits in 148 lakh cr at an average of Rs 331 cr per accountGovt to double lending target under PM Mudra Yojana to Rs 244000 crore for 201718Govt doubles distribution target under Mudra Yojana to Rs 244 lakh crore for 201718Govt to introduce two new schemes to promote BHIM App referal bonus for users and cash back for tradersA proposal to receive all government receipts beyond a certain threshold through emodes under considerationPayment regulatory board to be set up in RBI to regulate electronic payments replacing Board for Regulation and Supervision in Payments and Settlements SystemFRBM review committee has recommended 60 pc debt to GDP ratio 05 pc of GDP deviation from stipulated fiscal deficit targetsGovt considering option to amend Negotiable Instruments Act to ensure that holders of dishonoured cheques get paymentGovt took two tectonic policy initiatives passage of GST Bill and demonetisationTax administration honouring the honest is one of the 10 pillars of Budget 201718Target of agriculture credit fixed at Rs 10 lakh cr in 201718Rs 9000 cr higher allocation for payment of sugarcane arrearsSelect airports in tierII cities to be taken up for operations development on PPP modeBudget allocation for highways stepped up to Rs 64000 crore in FY18 from Rs 57676 croreAllocation of Rs 10000 cr for Bharat Net project for providing highspeed broadband in FY18For transport sector including railways road and shipping government provides Rs 241 lakh croreCoverage of Fasal Bima Yojana to go up from 30 pc of cropped area to 40 pc in 201718 and 50 per cent next yearCrude oil strategic reserves to be set up in Odisha and Rajasthan apart from 3 already constructedDigi Gaon will be launched to promote telemedicine and educationDedicated microirrigation fund to be set up by NABARD to achieve mission of Per Drop More CropRailwaysCapital and development expenditure pegged at Rs 131 lakh cr for railways in 201718 from BudgetRs 1 lakh cr corpus for railway safety fund over five yearsTotal allocation for rural agri and allied sectors for 201718 is a record Rs 187223 cr up 24 per cent from last yearRailway line of 3500 km will be commissioned in 201718 as against 2800 km in 201617Unmanned railway level crossings to be eliminated by 2020500 stations will be differently abled by providing lifts and escalatorsGovernment proposes Coach Mitra facility to redress grievances related to rail coachesDelhi and Jaipur to have solid waste management plants and five more to be set up laterService charge on etickets booked through IRCTC will be withdrawnRailway tariffs to be fixed on the basis of cost social obligation and competitionNew metro rail policy to be unveiledGovt to further liberalise FDI policyComputer emergency response team to be set for cyber security of financial sectorUrgent need to protect poor from chit fund schemes draft bill placed in public domainGovt will amend the Multistate Cooperative Act to protect the poor and gullible investorsRs 274114 crore allocated for defence expenditure excluding pension This includes Rs 86000 crore for defence capitalDispute resolution in infrastructure projects in PPP mode will be institutionalisedModel Shops and Establishment Bill to open up additional opportunities for employment of womenFor senior citizens Aadhaar based health cards will be issued35 pc increase in allocation for SC to Rs 52393 crAllocation for SCs increased from Rs 38833 cr to Rs 52393 cr a rise of 35 per centA scheme for senior citizens to ensure 8 per cent guaranteed returnAllocation under MNREGA increased to 48000 crore from Rs 38500 crore This is highest ever allocation says FMSpace technology to be used for monitoring MNREGA implementationA system of annual learning outcome in schools to be introduced innovation fund for secondary education to be setupIn higher education we will undertake reforms in UGC give autonomy to colleges and institutionsThe allocation for rural agri and allied sector in 201718 is record Rs 181223 crorePM Kaushal Kendras will be extended to 600 districts 100 international skill centres to be opened to help people get jobs abroadRs 500 cr allocated to set up Mahila Shakti Kendras Allocation raised from Rs 156 lakh cr to Rs 184 lakh cr for women amp child welfareNational Housing Bank will refinance indiviual loans worth Rs 20000 crore in 20171815 lakh health sub centres to be converted to Health Wellness CentresNew rules regarding medical devices will be devised to reduce their costTwo new AIIMS to be set up Jharkhand and GujaratMarket reforms will be undertaken states will be asked to denotify perishables from Essential Commodities ActDedicated microirrigation fund to be created with a corpus of Rs 5000 croreModern law on contract farming will be drafted and circulated to statesParticipation of women in MNREGA increased to 55 pc from 45 pc in past1 cr households to be brought out of poverty under Antodya Scheme by 2019Govt to set up dairy processing fund of Rs 8000 crore over three years with initial corpus of Rs 2000 crore133km road per day constructred under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana as against 73km in 201114National Testing agency to conduct all examinations in higher education freeing CBSE and other agencies27000 cr on to be spend on PMGSY 1 cr houses to be completed by 201718 for houseless100 pc electrification of villages to be completed by May 2018To construct one crore houses by 2019 for homeless PM Awas Yojana allocation raised from Rs 15000 cr to Rs 23000 crWe propose to provide safe drinking water to 28000 arsenic and fluoride affected habitationsSanitation coverage in villages has increased from 42 pc in Oct 2016 to 60 pc a rise of 18 pcGDP will be bigger cleaner after demonetisationSecond phase of solar power development to be taken up with an aim of generating 20000 MWTrade Infrastructure Export Scheme to be launched in 201718 total allocation for infra at record Rs 396 lakh crFIPB will be abolishedOver 90 per cent of FDI proposls are now processed through automatic routeFunctional autonomy of the railways to be maintainedAgricultural sector is expected to grow at 41 per cent this fiscalMore steps will be taken to benefit farmers and the weaker sections budget being presented during weak global economyWe are seen as engine of global growth IMF sees India to grow fastest in major economiesOnly transient impact on economy due to demonetisation long term benefit include higher GDP growth and tax revenueUncertainty around commodity prices especially oil to have impact on emerging economiesCAD declined from 1 pc last year to 03 pc in first half of current fiscal36 pc increase in FDI flow forex reserves at USD 361 billion in January enough to cover 12 months needsDouble digit inflation has been controlled sluggish growth replaced by high growth war on blackmoney launchedWe have moved from discretionary based administration to policy based administrationPositive signs for the coming yearProof of higher agricultural growthEarly evidence of banks lending at reduced ratesFocus on infrastructure alleviation of povertyMerging rail budget with general budget is historicTransform energise clean India is next years agendaFinance Minister Arun Jaitley C leaves his office to table the budget in Parliament in New DelhiIts the first time that the Budget is being tabled on February 1 instead of the usual February 28 Also for the first time there will be no separate Rail BudgetPreBudget Updates1100 am Speaker rejects Congressrsquo demand to postpone budget1055 am Budget has sanctity we are already in the eleventh hour There should be no controversy over it Its a constitutional obligation says Venkaiah Naidu1050 am Saddened by E Ahameds demise but Budget will be presented We have to keep in mind that Budget is a constitutional obligation says Sumitra Mahajan1039 am Budget 2017 will be presented today says Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan1021 am In our opinion including JDU leaders and former Prime Minister Deve Gowda the Budget should be postponed says Congress leader Mallikarjun Khadge1004 am Cabinet to meet in Parliament ahead of Budget 2017950 am Finance Minister Arun Jaitley reaches the Parliament to present Budget 2017948 am There is a precedent in the past too a sitting MPMoS passed away and the Budget was presented say government sources945 am Budget 2017 will be presented obituary may happen before or after it government has spoken to all parties and arrived at consensus say sources914 am Budget 2017 copies reach ParliamentFinance Minister Arun Jaitley C leaves his office to table the budget in Parliament in New Delhi911 am Normally Parliament is adjourned on death of sitting MP so chances are Budget can be postponed for a day Speaker will decide says Santosh Gangwar908 am Finance Minister Arun Jaitley leaves for Rashtrapati Bhavan to meet President Pranab Mukherjee ahead of Budget 2017854 am Arun Jaitley reaches Finance Ministry ahead of Budget 2017831 am Due to the death of former union minister E Ahamed Budget 2017 may be postponed by a day say media reports