Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday unveiled General Budget for 2016-17, making several announcement to give a push to reforms in India's rural pockets.
Here are the highlights
To reduce multiplicity of taxes and cascading, 13 taxes with collections of less than Rs.50 crore a year abolished
Income tax deptartment will expand e-sahyog to assist small taxpayers
Scope of e-assessment to be expanded to seven mega cities to simplify compliance for taxpayers
Taxation proposals to increase government revenue by Rs.19,610 crore
Penalty to be 50 percent of tax in income under-reporting cases, 200 percent in misreporting of facts
Tax arrears can be paid in lieu of interest liabilities in retrospective taxation cases
Direct Benefit Transfer in fertilisers on pilot basis in few districts
Limited tax compliance window from June 1 - September 30 for declaring undisclosed income at 45 percent including surcharge and penalties
Clean energy cess increased from Rs.200/tonne to Rs.400/tonne on coal, lignite and peat
Moving towards a low tax regime with non-litigious approach
Committed to provide a stable and predictable taxation regime
Relief of Rs.3,000 per year to taxpayers with income below Rs.5 Lakh per year to benefit one crore taxpayers
Surcharge on income tax for incomes exceeding Rs.1 crore per annum raised from 12 percent to 15 percent
Service tax exempted for general insurance schemes under Niramayi Swasthya Bima Yojana
Suitable changes to be made in customs and excise duty rates to improve competitiveness and boost Make In India
Plan, Non-Plan distinction to be removed from 2017-18
For income below Rs.5 lakh per annum, tax ceiling has been raised from Rs.2,000 to Rs.5,000
Relief to those in rented houses: Deduction raised from Rs.24,000 to Rs.60,000 under Section 88G
Corporate income tax: Incentives for new manufacturing companies and relatively small enterprise companies
Fiscal deficit for 2016-17 targeted at 3.5 percent
Committed to implementing General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) from April 1, 2017
New policy for managing assets of public enterprises
Comprehensive approach to be adopted for government investment in central public sector enterprises
Three initiatives for better delivery of public services
Increased allocation of Rs.1,80,000 crore under PM MUDRA Yojana
Market Stabilization Fund for Pulses gets Rs.900 crore
Financial Data Management Centre for integrated data collection and analysis
RBI Act being amended to provide statutory basis for monetary policy framework
100 percent FDI to be allowed through FIPB route in food products produced and marketed in India
Department of Disinvestment to be renamed Department of Investment and Public Asset Management
Comprehensive plan being drawn up to be implemented in the next 15-20 years for exploiting nuclear energy
Government to provide health insurance of up to Rs.1 lakh per family; 300 generic drug stores to be opened under PM Jan Aushadhi Yojana
Roads and highways allocated Rs.55,000 crore, 50,000 km of state highways to be taken up for upgradaing to national highways
Stand Up India scheme allocated Rs.500 crore for SCs, STs women entrepreneurs
Government to incentivise gas production from deep sea and other unutilised deep sources
Public Utility Resolution of Disputes Bill for resolution of infra sector disputes
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojan gets Rs.1,700 crore
Digital depository for school leaving certificates
Higher education financing agency to be set up with fund of Rs.1,000 crore
National Skill Development Mission has imparted training to 76 lakh youth; 1,500 multi-skill training institutes to be set up
Model Shops and Establishments Bill to be circulated for voluntary adoption by states
Current account deficit down to $14.4 billion
Rs.2.87 lakh crore for rural and urban local bodies
Animal welfare programme, animal health card, e-marketing platform for connecting breeders
100 percent village electrification to be achieved by May 1, 2018
Appreciation for 75 lakh middle class and lower middle class families for willingly giving up LPG Subsidy
Rs.19,000 crore allotted for PMGSY
Rs.8.5 lakh crore of agricultural credit targetted in 2015-16; and Rs.9 lakh crore in 2016-17
Rs.35,984 crore allocated for agriculture in 2016-17
Five lakh acres to be brought under organic farming over three-year period
MGNREGA to get Rs.38,500 crore
Recapitalisation of banks during next fiscal
Prudent fiscal policy needed, domestic demand should be raised, reforms need to be carried out
Farm, rural sector, infra and social sector to get more funds
Need to prioritise expenditure given recommendations of 7th Pay Commission and OROP implementation
Nine pillars for reforming India, among them agriculture, social sector, education, infra, fiscal discipline, and tax reforms
Presenting budget when global economy in a serious crisis
Amidst global headwinds, the Indian economy has held its own
Converted challenges we inherited into opportunities
CPI inflation down to 5.4 percent from 9 percent-plus, bringing big relief to the public
Forex reserves at highest-ever level
