New Delhi, Jul 5 Sporting an impression of a middle class woman next door, 59-year-old Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday scripted history by becoming the second woman to present India's budgetary proposals for the fiscal year.
The proceedings were witnessed from the VIP gallery by her aging parents and daughter Vangmayi Parkala .
Before rising to read the Budget speech, Ms Sitharaman folded hands towards the direction of her parents. Her father acknowledged the gesture and raised his right hand, symbolising his blessings.
An alumnus of the capital's prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University, Ms Sitharaman emerged the nation's first full-fledged woman Finance Minister to present the Budget which earned applause for striving to strike a correct balance between financial prudence, public spending in rural areas and also sought to lead India to join global value chain of production of goods and services, becoming part of the international financial system.
Her experience as Union Minister for Commerce and Defence in the previous regime came handy in her work as FM as Ms Sitharaman is also perhaps the only leader who dealt three core sectors of economy and budget making — the commerce, the industry and the defence in her first term.
In 2014, Ms Sitharaman was inducted as Commerce Minister and three years later elevated as Defence Minister. Ms Sitharaman read out an Urdu couplet and referred to a quote by Chanakya, the ancient India's royal advisor and philosopher, which led to thumping of desks.
Swadeshi
Notably, she played up the Swadeshi spirit of her right wing party and deliberately did away with
the 'British hangover' of briefcase culture.
For a change, it was a maroon coloured folder which she carried to the Lok Sabha to put the Budget papers.
At her first post-Budget news conference, Ms Sitharaman fielding a question said, "It is very Indian… It is easy to carry. And it is high time to overcome the British hangover”.
In fact, her remarks and earlier the move to shun the British legacy has provoked one of the former FMs and senior Indian National Congress leader P Chidambaram to remark - "Take it from me, our Congress Finance Minister will in future bring an iPad".
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Now when that happens remains to be seen as the Congress is out of power for the second term consecutively with its strength in Lok Sabha also reduced to less that one-tenth of the total strength of the House of the people.
While presenting the Budget, Ms Sitharaman also matched the file colour with her maroon sari and despite making a marathon 135 minutes long speech - she remained erect constantly and did not opt for a sip of water.
Engrossing words
Lok Sabha members, irrespective of party affiliations, appreciated the Finance Minister. The entire Budget presentation saw members listening to her in rapt attention.
On some earlier occasions during the Budget presentation, opposition members especially from regional parties used to raise their concerns vociferously.
Speaker Om Birla observed at the end of the speech that the attention shown by members deserved appreciation.
Underlining the importance of tax collection and the role of faceless tax payers, Ms Sitharaman on Friday made use of words of 'wisdom' in a line from Pura Nanooru, a Tamil Sangam era work by Pisirandaiyaar, and gave a parable of elephant trampling more rice if it enters the paddy field than it could consume.
"......a few mounds of rice from paddy that is harvested from a small piece of land would suffice for an elephant. But what if the elephant itself enters the field and starts eating? What it eats would be far lesser than what it would trample over," she said while making her maiden Budget speech on the floor of Lok Sabha.
Commencing the Part B of the speech that dealt with 'tax proposals', Ms Sitharaman quoted the Tamil saying much to the amusement of DMK members from Tamil Nadu as DMK's Dayanidhi Maran and A Raja were seen relishing the moment.
"I begin by thanking our taxpayers who, as responsible citizens, perform their duty by paying their taxes," she remarked.
At the news conference, when asked about 2 per cent Tax Deduction at Source on cash withdrawal of Rs 1 crore in a year, she said, "we encourage digital transaction".
However, as expected, Opposition parties slammed the Budget with Congress calling it directionless and Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury said it was 'fraudulent.'
Chidambaram counters Sitharaman's red potli with iPad jibe
New Delhi, July 5 Kept out of power for second consecutive term, the Congress party on Friday sought to unleash a virtual technological war with the ruling BJP - which often takes pride in highlighting 'swadeshi' spirit.
Shortly after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that she deliberately opted for a red potli to carry the budget papers into the chambers of the Lok Sabha as she wanted to do away with the 'British hangover', senior Congress leader P Chidambaram shot back at a media conference saying, "take it from me, our Congress Finance Minister will in future bring an iPad".
Ms Sitharaman, not only became the first full-fledged woman Finance Minister to present Union Budget 2019-20 in Parliament on Friday, but she also broke the tradition of carrying the budget papers in a briefcase.
In her Budget speech, Ms Sitharaman, a fellow Tamil leader like Mr Chidambaram, also underlined the importance of tax collection and referred to use of words of 'wisdom' in a line from Purananooru, a Tamil Sangam Era work by Pisirandaiyaar.
She said, "... a few mounds of rice from paddy that is harvested from a small piece of land would suffice for an elephant. But what if the elephant itself enters the field and starts eating? What it eats would be far lesser than what it would trample over".
Ms Sitharaman, an alumnus of Delhi's prestigious JNU, on Friday wrote herself to history by becoming first woman Finance Minister and also the sixth one from Tamil Nadu.
Late Shanmukham Chetty was the first Finance Minister from Tamil Nadu, who presented the country's first Budget after Independence. Mr Chidambaram has been the fifth from the Southern state who presented his first Budget in 1996.
Former President R. Venkataraman was also among the distinguished Finance Ministers from Tamil Nadu, who served under Late Indira Gandhi and presented his Budget in early 1980s.
Budget: FM pushes India to join 'global value chain,' does not hike public spending
New Delhi, July 5
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday gave a clarion call for India to get 'fully integrated' into the global value chain of production of goods and become part of the financial system but shied away from the announcement of any big jump in public spending as was speculated.
Announcing a slew of measures to attract investment, the maiden Budget proposals after the recent 17th Lok Sabha polls, propose 100 per cent foreign ownership to be permitted for insurance intermediaries and that local sourcing norms will be eased for Foreign Direct Investment in retailers selling a single brand.
As of now, the government allows foreign direct investment in single-brand retail but mandates investors to source locally 30 per cent of the value of goods purchased.
"The Government will examine suggestions to further open up FDI in aviation, media (Animation,Visual effects, Gaming and Comics) and insurance sectors in consultation with all stakeholders," she said.
FDI
Foreign ownership through the automatic route in the insurance sector is allowed up to 49 per cent as of now and thus the new measure could unleash angry reactions and backlash from the trade unions, including right wing bodies Swadeshi Jagran Manch and Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh.
In a statement, BMS president C K Saji Narayanan said there are "certain proposals mentioned in the budget which need to be discussed with trade unions as representing the major stake holders affected before being implemented.''
The Budget proposals say electric vehicle components, camera module and charger of mobile phones and set-top boxes will become cheaper.
But petrol, diesel, gold, silver, cigarettes, fully-imported cars, split air conditioners and other items will become more expensive due to hike in taxes.
FM also said that the fiscal deficit would be 3.3 per cent of Gross Domestic Product in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2020 and essentially this could be achieved only by higher tax collections.
Stressed economy
The economy has been under stress and often the Modi government has been at the receiving end
as growth for the last fiscal was a five year low of 6.8 per cent.
There have been worrying moments as automobile sales have dipped and the index of industrial production has also plummeted.
The Budget proposals also sought to raise import duties on gold and other precious metals to 12.5 per cent from 10 and levied a cess one rupee per tonne on crude oil to boost the revenue.
Addressing a media conference later, the Finance Minister said the budget proposals she has presented in Parliament has ''a ten-year vision in mind'' but it is realistic in terms of achieving targets.
''All the targets are reasonably realistically placed....and every target that we have given, tax collection and revenue collection are absolutely within reasonable limits,'' Ms Sitharaman said.
Referring to the proposal to pump in Rs 70,000 crore in public sector banks, she said the debate over the issue that the lenders are not passing on the benefits to the customers, is ''squarely addressed''.
The finance minister said the government's support to banks would help it provide lending and also spur economic growth.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said the budget proposals she has presented in Parliament has ''a ten-year vision in mind'' but it is realistic in terms of achieving targets.
''All the targets are reasonably realistically placed....and every target that we have given, tax collection and revenue collection are absolutely within reasonable limits,'' Ms Sitharaman told reporters at her first press conference shortly after she made history by becoming full-fledged finance minister to present the Budget.
Referring to the proposal for pumping in Rs 70,000 crore in public sector banks, she said the debate over the issue that the banks are not passing on the benefits to the customers, is ''squarely addressed''.
The Finance Minister said the Budget proposals clearly reflect the ten-year vision of the government and it is a ''point of continuity'' on what was suggested in the interim budget in February.
''What we expect to achieve in 10 years is very well narrated and also what is attainable among the targets within five years,'' she said.
''All the targets are reasonably realistically placed....and every target that we have given, tax collection and revenue collection are absolutely within reasonable limits,'' Ms Sitharaman told reporters at her first press conference shortly after she made history by becoming full-fledged finance minister to present the Budget.
Referring to the proposal for pumping in Rs 70,000 crore in public sector banks, she said the debate over the issue that the banks are not passing on the benefits to the customers, is ''squarely addressed''.
The Finance Minister said the Budget proposals clearly reflect the ten-year vision of the government and it is a ''point of continuity'' on what was suggested in the interim budget in February.
''What we expect to achieve in 10 years is very well narrated and also what is attainable among the targets within five years,'' she said.
FM 'kept run-rate moving', targets 1 lakh jobs through MRO sector
New Delhi, Jul 6 There have been more reasons than one for Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to get thumps up for her maiden Budget presented in Parliament on Friday.
Post-Budget analysis certainly leads industry players, political leaders and other stakeholders to record their appreciation for the efforts made to push growth through MSMEs, target over 1 lakh jobs in MRO sector and try out innovative measures to boost up aviation and insurance sectors.
"MSMEs are the potential growth engine of the Indian economy. The government has very rightly diagnosed the importance of MSMEs and the announcement of 2 per cent interest subvention for all GST registered MSMEs on fresh or incremental loans and creation of payment platform for MSMEs would facilitate them in getting better access to credit and expansion in business activities," said
Rajeev Talwar, President, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry said.
Business tycoons took shelter of cricket analogy in the season of World Cup competition to share their views on Budget and said some of the measures were like stroke play of Hardik Pandya to achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi's target of 'Modern India'.
Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra also tweeted : "She chose instead to take steady singles & keep the run-rate moving. Despite expectations of big moves to instantly crank-up the economy she decided to keep her eye firmly on the long term," Mahindra said.
Ms Sitharaman laid out quite an ambitious roadmap to push the aviation sector allowing higher FDI in domestic airlines and seeking to encourage the aviation financing and leasing business.
China and Ireland dominate the scene as of now and thus India can play a significant role.
FM was eloquent in stating - " .............the time is ripe for us to enter into aircraft financing and leasing activities from our shores".
There have been a sea change in aviation industry as the sector nosedived to negative territory after recording a double digit growth for more than four years till December 2018.
To cope with growing domestic demand, the aircraft maker Boeing has projected that domestic carriers would need 2,300 planes worth USD 320 billion over the next 20 years.
The Budget proposals - the first of Modi 2.0 Government had plans for boosting the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) industry as well. Ms Sitharaman has pledged creating 'a congenial atmosphere' for the development of MRO. Being the fastest-growing aviation industry, creating a domestic MRO ecosystem is seen as strategically masterstroke for the industry.
Bharat Malkani, president of the MRO Association of India said, "the proposal can turn us from an importer of MRO to a net exporter and create over 1 lakh direct jobs".
There can be revenue collection of over Rs 35,000 crore in the next five years as well. India INC has expressed optimism that the budget 2019-20 will lead a flush of liquidity if the government is able to achieve the fiscal deficit target of 3.3 per cent.
The higher tax slapped on super rich should boost revenue collection. If the budget proposal is implemented, the super rich earning over Rs 5 crore will be paying an income tax which will be as high as 42 percent of their earnings, analysts say.
Another novel feature of the budget is to 'marry the benefits' of rural infrastructure development with sustainable livelihood opportunities, a statement from FICCI president Sandip Somany said.
"....the focus now is to promote traditional resource-based industries and create avenues for self-employment and entrepreneurship. From the point of view of the farm community, the decisions to set up 10,000 farmer producer organisations and fully leverage the benefits of e-NAM for getting fair and remunerative price are welcome," he said.
Tata Steel CEO and MD T V Narendran said - "We believe investment in infrastructure sector and moves to attract private capital in railways and waterways can have a positive cascading effect in the economic activity across sectors of development and growth". He further said connecting rural India, both physically and digitally, is another positive step.
New Delhi, Jul 5 Underlining the importance of tax collection and the role of faceless tax payers, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday made use of words of 'wisdom' in a line from Pura Nanooru, a Tamil Sangam Era work by Pisirandaiyaar, and gave a parable of elephant trampling more rice if it enters the paddy field than it could consume.
"......a few mounds of rice from paddy that is harvested from a small piece of land would suffice for an elephant. But what if the elephant itself enters the field and starts eating? What it eats would be far lesser than what it would trample over," she said while making her maiden Budget speech on the floor of Lok Sabha.
Commencing the Part B of the speech that deals with 'tax proposals', Ms Sitharaman quoted the Tamil saying much to the amusement of DMK members from Tamil Nadu as DMK's Dayanidhi Maran and A Raja were seen relishing the moment.
"I begin by thanking our taxpayers who, as responsible citizens, perform their duty by paying their taxes. It is because of their valuable contribution that our Government is able to work for our collective dream of inclusive and all round development of our nation. At this juncture, I find wisdom in a line from Pura Nanooru, a Tamil Sangam Era work by Pisirandaiyaar. The verse ,” Yannai pugundha nilam” was sung as an advice to the King Pandian Arivudai Nambi," she said and also offered the translation.
In terms of text book studies, taxation is certainly more than the just “money grab” from the state exchequer.
Taxes do help raise the standard of living and in democracy tax paying is economic participation
of the citizens akin to voting in terms of political participation.
Taxes collected by the government help business to flourish and the money collected from tax measures are pumped into development to push infrastructures and promote economic activities.
New Delhi, Jul 5 In her maiden budget as the country's first full-fledged woman, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday outlined a road map for growth, unveiled measures to give a boost to foreign investment and infrastructure and firmly kept the focus on rural development, poor and farmers.
Large sections of the burgeoning middle class were disappointed as there were no extra tax breaks, the Budget for 2019-20, the first of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government which returned to power with a massive mandate for a second term, announced incentives for people seeking to buy affordable houses and electric vehicles. To boost digital economy and check huge cash withdrawals from banks, the Budget imposes tax on super rich.
The Finance Minister announced new levies of Rs. 2 per litre on petrol and diesel and asserted that the Budget will pave the way for making India a $3 trillion economy in the current fiscal and go up to $5 trillion in the next few years. Facing criticism for lack of employment, she announced plan to invest in infrastructure and job creation. The Budget failed to enthuse the stock market as it took a beating and the Sensex fell by about 400 points.
Reiterating Prime Minister's Modi's ambitious goal of doubling farmers' income by 2022 through measures like "zero budget farming". "Gaon (village), garib (poor), and kisan (farmer)" will be at the Centre of all government steps, the Finance Minister announced.
Prime Minister Modi said the budget for a New India has a roadmap to ``transform the agriculture sector of the country, this budget is one of hope.''
He said the middle class will progress with this budget, development work will expedite even more. The tax structure will simplify and infrastructure will modernize, he added.
Ms. Sitharaman said the government will ensure water security and provide access to safe drinking water to all Indians on priority. A major step in this direction was the constitution of Jal Shakti Ministry.
Keeping the focus on “Gaon, Garib, Kisan", she announced a slew of schemes to boost investment in the rural sector and the uplift of farmers.
In her 135 minute-long Budget speech, she pointed out that 9.6 crore toilets have been constructed since Oct 2, 2014. More than 5.6 lakh villages have become open defecation free.
``We have to build on this success. I propose to expand the Swachh Bharat mission to undertake sustainable sold waste management in every village,'' she said. India will become Open Defecation Free by October 2 this year, she announced.
Senior Congress leader and former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram described Ms. Sitharaman's Budget speech as one of the "most opaque ever." He pointed out that it leaves out all crucial information regarding the government's expenditure, revenue, fiscal deficit, and even the allocation for the defence sector.
There were no changes in individual income tax and the Rs. 5 lakh-per-year ceiling announced in February's interim budget remained unchanged. In a step to tax the super rich, the Budget proposed a 3 and 7 per cent surcharge on people earning Rs. 2-5 crore and above Rs. 5 crore respectively.
Ms. Sitharaman, in a bid to widen the base and offer a lower rate of tax, proposed that all companies with an annual turnover of Rs. 400 crore will now be under the 25 per cent tax bracket as against the current bracket of Rs. 250 crore or less. Foreign direct investment restrictions in single-brand retail, aviation, insurance, media and animation sectors will be eased, she said.
Proposals for startups included no scrutiny of angel funding for investors and companies filing requisite returns and a new government-funded television channel.
Public sector banks will be infused with Rs. 70,000 crore of additional capital. The government announced a 2 per cent TDS or tax deduction at source for cash withdrawals exceeding Rs. 1 crore per year in a move to encourage business to move to electronic transactions.
Over the next five years, 1.25 lakh kilometres of roads will be upgraded at a cost of over Rs. 80,000 crore. The Finance Minister announced that the fiscal deficit will be brought down to 3.3 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product from the present 3.4 per cent of the GDP. The Budget also proposed to raise the disinvestment target in the current fiscal from Rs. 90,000 crore to Rs. 1.05 lakh crore.
ends
New Delhi, Jul 6 There have been more reasons than one for Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to get thumps up for her maiden Budget presented in Parliament on Friday.
Post-Budget analysis certainly leads industry players, political leaders and other stakeholders to record their appreciation for the efforts made to push growth through MSMEs, target over 1 lakh jobs in MRO sector and try out innovative measures to boost up aviation and insurance sectors.
"MSMEs are the potential growth engine of the Indian economy. The government has very rightly diagnosed the importance of MSMEs and the announcement of 2 per cent interest subvention for all GST registered MSMEs on fresh or incremental loans and creation of payment platform for MSMEs would facilitate them in getting better access to credit and expansion in business activities," said
Rajeev Talwar, President, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry said.
Business tycoons took shelter of cricket analogy in the season of World Cup competition to share their views on Budget and said some of the measures were like stroke play of Hardik Pandya to achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi's target of 'Modern India'.
"FM side-stepped a typical Dhoni innings and delivered the modern stroke play of Hardik Pandya. A new India! A modern India," tweeted RPG Enterprises Chairman Harsh Goenka.
Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra also tweeted : "She chose instead to take steady singles & keep the run-rate moving. Despite expectations of big moves to instantly crank-up the economy she decided to keep her eye firmly on the long term," Mahindra said.
Ms Sitharaman laid out quite an ambitious roadmap to push the aviation sector allowing higher FDI in domestic airlines and seeking to encourage the aviation financing and leasing business.
China and Ireland dominate the scene as of now and thus India can play a significant role.
FM was eloquent in stating - " .............the time is ripe for us to enter into aircraft financing and leasing activities from our shores".
There have been a sea change in aviation industry as the sector nosedived to negative territory after recording a double digit growth for more than four years till December 2018.
To cope with growing domestic demand, the aircraft maker Boeing has projected that domestic carriers would need 2,300 planes worth USD 320 billion over the next 20 years.
The Budget proposals - the first of Modi 2.0 Government had plans for boosting the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) industry as well. Ms Sitharaman has pledged creating 'a congenial atmosphere' for the development of MRO. Being the fastest-growing aviation industry, creating a domestic MRO ecosystem is seen as strategically masterstroke for the industry.
Bharat Malkani, president of the MRO Association of India said, "the proposal can turn us from an importer of MRO to a net exporter and create over 1 lakh direct jobs".
There can be revenue collection of over Rs 35,000 crore in the next five years as well. India INC has expressed optimism that the budget 2019-20 will lead a flush of liquidity if the government is able to achieve the fiscal deficit target of 3.3 per cent.
The higher tax slapped on super rich should boost revenue collection. If the budget proposal is implemented, the super rich earning over Rs 5 crore will be paying an income tax which will be as high as 42 percent of their earnings, analysts say.
Another novel feature of the budget is to 'marry the benefits' of rural infrastructure development with sustainable livelihood opportunities, a statement from FICCI president Sandip Somany said.
"....the focus now is to promote traditional resource-based industries and create avenues for self-employment and entrepreneurship. From the point of view of the farm community, the decisions to set up 10,000 farmer producer organisations and fully leverage the benefits of e-NAM for getting fair and remunerative price are welcome," he said.
Tata Steel CEO and MD T V Narendran said - "We believe investment in infrastructure sector and moves to attract private capital in railways and waterways can have a positive cascading effect in the economic activity across sectors of development and growth". He further said connecting rural India, both physically and digitally, is another positive step.
Sitharaman makes use of Tamil maxim and elephant parable to focus on tax payers role
New Delhi, Jul 5 Underlining the importance of tax collection and the role of faceless tax payers, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday made use of words of 'wisdom' in a line from Pura Nanooru, a Tamil Sangam Era work by Pisirandaiyaar, and gave a parable of elephant trampling more rice if it enters the paddy field than it could consume.
"......a few mounds of rice from paddy that is harvested from a small piece of land would suffice for an elephant. But what if the elephant itself enters the field and starts eating? What it eats would be far lesser than what it would trample over," she said while making her maiden Budget speech on the floor of Lok Sabha.
Commencing the Part B of the speech that deals with 'tax proposals', Ms Sitharaman quoted the Tamil saying much to the amusement of DMK members from Tamil Nadu as DMK's Dayanidhi Maran and A Raja were seen relishing the moment.
"I begin by thanking our taxpayers who, as responsible citizens, perform their duty by paying their taxes. It is because of their valuable contribution that our Government is able to work for our collective dream of inclusive and all round development of our nation. At this juncture, I find wisdom in a line from Pura Nanooru, a Tamil Sangam Era work by Pisirandaiyaar. The verse ,” Yannai pugundha nilam” was sung as an advice to the King Pandian Arivudai Nambi," she said and also offered the translation.
In terms of text book studies, taxation is certainly more than the just “money grab” from the state exchequer.
Taxes do help raise the standard of living and in democracy tax paying is economic participation
of the citizens akin to voting in terms of political participation.
Taxes collected by the government help business to flourish and the money collected from tax measures are pumped into development to push infrastructures and promote economic activities.
Budget keeps ``Gaon, Garib, Kisan' at its cente, taxes super rich
New Delhi, Jul 5 In her maiden budget as the country's first full-fledged woman, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday outlined a road map for growth, unveiled measures to give a boost to foreign investment and infrastructure and firmly kept the focus on rural development, poor and farmers.
Large sections of the burgeoning middle class were disappointed as there were no extra tax breaks, the Budget for 2019-20, the first of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government which returned to power with a massive mandate for a second term, announced incentives for people seeking to buy affordable houses and electric vehicles. To boost digital economy and check huge cash withdrawals from banks, the Budget imposes tax on super rich.
The Finance Minister announced new levies of Rs. 2 per litre on petrol and diesel and asserted that the Budget will pave the way for making India a $3 trillion economy in the current fiscal and go up to $5 trillion in the next few years. Facing criticism for lack of employment, she announced plan to invest in infrastructure and job creation. The Budget failed to enthuse the stock market as it took a beating and the Sensex fell by about 400 points.
Reiterating Prime Minister's Modi's ambitious goal of doubling farmers' income by 2022 through measures like "zero budget farming". "Gaon (village), garib (poor), and kisan (farmer)" will be at the Centre of all government steps, the Finance Minister announced.
Prime Minister Modi said the budget for a New India has a roadmap to ``transform the agriculture sector of the country, this budget is one of hope.''
He said the middle class will progress with this budget, development work will expedite even more. The tax structure will simplify and infrastructure will modernize, he added.
Ms. Sitharaman said the government will ensure water security and provide access to safe drinking water to all Indians on priority. A major step in this direction was the constitution of Jal Shakti Ministry.
Keeping the focus on “Gaon, Garib, Kisan", she announced a slew of schemes to boost investment in the rural sector and the uplift of farmers.
In her 135 minute-long Budget speech, she pointed out that 9.6 crore toilets have been constructed since Oct 2, 2014. More than 5.6 lakh villages have become open defecation free.
``We have to build on this success. I propose to expand the Swachh Bharat mission to undertake sustainable sold waste management in every village,'' she said. India will become Open Defecation Free by October 2 this year, she announced.
Senior Congress leader and former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram described Ms. Sitharaman's Budget speech as one of the "most opaque ever." He pointed out that it leaves out all crucial information regarding the government's expenditure, revenue, fiscal deficit, and even the allocation for the defence sector.
There were no changes in individual income tax and the Rs. 5 lakh-per-year ceiling announced in February's interim budget remained unchanged. In a step to tax the super rich, the Budget proposed a 3 and 7 per cent surcharge on people earning Rs. 2-5 crore and above Rs. 5 crore respectively.
Ms. Sitharaman, in a bid to widen the base and offer a lower rate of tax, proposed that all companies with an annual turnover of Rs. 400 crore will now be under the 25 per cent tax bracket as against the current bracket of Rs. 250 crore or less. Foreign direct investment restrictions in single-brand retail, aviation, insurance, media and animation sectors will be eased, she said.
Proposals for startups included no scrutiny of angel funding for investors and companies filing requisite returns and a new government-funded television channel.
Public sector banks will be infused with Rs. 70,000 crore of additional capital. The government announced a 2 per cent TDS or tax deduction at source for cash withdrawals exceeding Rs. 1 crore per year in a move to encourage business to move to electronic transactions.
Over the next five years, 1.25 lakh kilometres of roads will be upgraded at a cost of over Rs. 80,000 crore. The Finance Minister announced that the fiscal deficit will be brought down to 3.3 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product from the present 3.4 per cent of the GDP. The Budget also proposed to raise the disinvestment target in the current fiscal from Rs. 90,000 crore to Rs. 1.05 lakh crore.
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