Highlights Union Budget 2019: Interchangeability of PAN-Aadhar for ITR; New series of coins and more

Finance Minister, presenting the annual budget statement to parliament, said the government planned structural reforms to kickstart foreign and domestic investment

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on Friday, made her maiden Budget Speech in the Lok Sabha and presented Modi 2.0 government's first post-election budget.

Finance Minister, presenting the annual budget statement to parliament, said the government planned structural reforms to kickstart foreign and domestic investment.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a target of growing India into a $5 trillion economy by 2024/2025 from $2.7 trillion that a government report on Thursday said will be done on the back of higher investment, savings, and exports in the way China's growth was propelled.

Key highlights of Budget 2019-20

Transport

• Inter-operable transport card runs on RuPay card and would allow the holders to pay for bus travel, toll taxes, parking charges, retail shopping.
• State road networks to be developed in the second phase of Bharatmala project.
• Public-Private-Partnership proposed for development and completion of tracks, rolling stock manufacturing and delivery of passenger freight services.
• Regulatory Roadmap for making India a hub for aircraft financing and leasing activities from Indian shores, to be laid by the Government.
• An outlay of Rs. 10,000 crore for 3 years approved for Phase-II of FAME Scheme.
• Upfront incentive proposed on purchase and charging infrastructure, to encourage faster adoption of Electric Vehicles.
• National Highway Programme to be restructured to ensure a National Highway Grid, using a financeable model.
• Customs duty exemption for electric vehicles (EVs).
• A massive program of railway station modernization to be launched

Energy

• Power at affordable rates to states ensured under 'One Nation, One Grid'.
• Cross-subsidy surcharges, undesirable duties on open access sales or captive generation for industrial and other bulk power consumers to be removed under Ujjwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY).
• Power and LPG to all homes by 2022
• Approximately 35 crores LED bulbs distributed under UJALA Yojana leading to cost saving of Rs. 18,341 crore annually.
• Solar stoves and battery chargers to be promoted using the approach of LED bulbs mission.

Taxes

• Tax rate reduced to 25% for companies with an annual turnover up to Rs. 400 crore
• Surcharge increased on individuals having taxable income from Rs. 2 crores to Rs. 5 crore and Rs. 5 crore and above.
• Interchangeability of PAN and Aadhaar (Aadhaar can be used wherever PAN is required)
• 2 pct tax on cash withdrawal of over 1 crore per year
• Pre-filling of Income-tax Returns for faster, more accurate tax returns
• Additional deduction up to Rs. 1.5 lakhs for interest paid on loans borrowed up to 31^st March 2020 for purchase of house valued up to Rs. 45 lakh.
• Overall benefit of around Rs. 7 lakh over a loan period of 15 years.
• STT restricted only to the difference between settlement and strike price in case of exercise of options.
• 5 percent of Basic Customs Duty imposed on imported books.
• Exemptions from Customs Duty on certain electronic items now manufactured in India withdrawn.
• Defense equipment not manufactured in India exempted from basic customs duty
• Direct tax incentives proposed for an IFSC

Rural development

• Electricity and clean cooking facility to all willing rural families by 2022.
• "Housing for All" by 2022 under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Gramin (PMAY-G)
• Target of connecting the eligible and feasible habitations advanced from 2022 to 2019
• 1,25,000 kilometers of road length to be upgraded over the next five years under PMGSY III with an estimated cost of Rs. 80,250 crore.

Urban development

• Over 81 lakh houses with an investment of about Rs. 4.83 lakh crore sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-Urban), of which construction started in about 47 lakh houses.
• Reform measures to be taken up to promote rental housing.

Agro-forestry

• Zero Budget Farming to be replicated in other states.
• 10,000 new Farmer Producer Organizations to be formed, to ensure economies of scale for farmers.
• 75,000 entrepreneurs to be skilled in agro-rural industry sectors.
• Dairying through cooperatives to be encouraged by creating infrastructure for cattle feed manufacturing, milk procurement, processing & marketing.
• Double farm income by 2022

WASH

• India to be ODF by Oct 2, 2019
• More than 95% of cities also declared Open Defecation Free (ODF)
• Swachh Bharat Mission to be expanded to undertake sustainable solid waste management in every village
• New Jal Shakti Mantralaya to look at water resource management in an integrated and holistic manner
• Jal Jeevan Mission to ensure piped water supply to all rural households by 2024

Education

• New National Education Policy to be brought
• National Research Foundation (NRF) proposed
• "Study In India" to be a top priority
• Draft legislation to set up the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI), to be presented.
• To prepare youth for overseas jobs, focus to be increased on globally valued skill-sets including language training, AI, IoT, Big Data, 3D Printing, Virtual Reality, and Robotics.

Women Empowerment

• Women SHG interest subvention program proposed to be expanded to all districts.
• Overdraft of Rs. 5,000 to be allowed for every verified woman SHG member having a Jan Dhan Bank Account
• Rs. 1 lakh loan for one woman per SHG under MUDRA Scheme.
• Committee proposed for moving forward on Gender budgeting

ICT and e-Governance

• TDS of 2% on cash withdrawal exceeding Rs. 1 crore in a year from a bank account
• Interchangeability of PAN-Aadhar for filing ITR
• Mega Investment in Sunrise and Advanced Technology Areas
• Faceless income tax assessment in electronic mode to be launched this year
• New Space India Limited (NSIL), a PSE, incorporated as a new commercial arm of Department of Space.
• To tap the benefits of the Research & Development carried out by ISRO like the commercialization of products like launch vehicles, transfer to technologies and marketing of space products
• Universal Obligation Fund under a PPP arrangement to be utilized for speeding up Bharat-Net
• Public sector banks will use technology, enabling customer of one PSB to access service across all PSBs as well

Economy and business

• The target of Rs. 1, 05,000 crores of disinvestment receipts set for the FY 2019-20
• Rs. 100 lakh crore investment in infrastructure intended over the next five years
• Rs. 70,000 crore proposed to be provided to PSBs to boost credit
• Pension benefits to about three crore retail traders & small shopkeepers with an annual turnover of less than Rs. 1.5 crore
• Rs. 350 crore allocated for FY 2019-20 for 2% interest subvention (on fresh or incremental loans) to all GST-registered MSMEs, under the Interest Subvention Scheme for MSMEs
• Payment platform for MSMEs to be created to enable filing of bills and payment thereof, to eliminate delays in government payments
• Joint development and concession mechanisms to be used for public infrastructure and affordable housing on land parcels held by the Central Government and CPSEs
• Credit Guarantee Enhancement Corporation to be set up in 2019-2020
• Measures to deepen bond markets proposed
• Measures to make India a more attractive FDI destination proposed
• Capital gains exemptions from the sale of residential house for investment in start-ups extended till FY21
• E-verification mechanism for establishing the identity of the investor and source of funds
• Government to realign its holding in CPSEs

Miscellaneous

• Proposal to consider issuing Aadhaar Card for NRIs with Indian Passports on their arrival without waiting for 180 days.
• 18 new Indian diplomatic Missions in Africa approved in March 2018, out of which 5 already opened. Another 4 new Embassies intended in 2019-20.
• Revamp of Indian Development Assistance Scheme (IDEAS) proposed.17 iconic Tourism Sites being developed into model world-class tourist destinations.
• Present digital repository aimed at preserving rich tribal cultural heritage, to be strengthened.
• New series of coins of One Rupee, Two Rupees, Five Rupees, Ten Rupees, and Twenty Rupees, easily identifiable to the visually impaired to be made available for public use shortly

(With inputs from PIB)