Union Budget 2019 Highlights: FM Piyush Goyal ends speech; full tax rebate up to Rs 5 lakh the big takeaway

Piyush Goyal: For the welfare of farmers and for doubling their income, the government had increased minimum support price by 1.5 times the production cost for all 22 crops. 

The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme has been approved for assured income support for small and marginal farmers. 

Under this scheme, each farmer with less than 2 hectares landholding will receive Rs 6,000 per year in three instalments. This money will be transferred directly to farmers' bank accounts. The central government will pay the amount. Union finance minister Piyush Goyal in his Budget 2019 speech has announced an increase by 50% in the MSP for 22 different crops.

Goyal said that this initiative will benefit 12 crore small and marginal farmers, at an estimated cost of Rs. 75,000 crore.

Farmers who are severely affected by natural calamities will get 2% interest subvention and additional 3% interest subvention upon timely repayment. This has been proposed in place of rescheduling of crop loans.

India is the fastest highway developer in the whole world, 27 kms of highways built each day, projects stuck for decades completed; Sagar Mala will help faster handling of import and export cars.  

Construction of rural roads has tripled. Under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, 15.8 lakh out of a total 17.84 lakh habitations have been connected with pucca roads. The government has also allocated Rs19,000 crore in 2019-20 under this yojana. 

The finance minister also announced that the indigenously developed semi high speed train Vande Bharat Express is expected to give Indian passengers world class experience. 

The finance minister also announced fiscal deficit as a proportion of GDP 3.4% for the coming year. This was done considering the farmers’ need for income support. Along with completion of fiscal deficit consolidation programme, we will now focus on debt-to-GDP ratio consolidation.
 

HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT! Big cheer from all corners of the House. Defeaning 'Modi, Modi' chants in the House.   

Individual taxpayers earning up to Rs 5 lakh per year to get full tax rebate.

Piyush Goyal: The goods and services tax (GST) is possibly the biggest taxation reform since Independence. India has become a common market as a result of tax consolidation. E-way bills have made inter-state movements faster. Ease of doing business has been strengthened.  

The FM said that GST has been reduced continuously, which has resulted in a relief of Rs 80,000 crore to the consumers. He added that most items of daily use fall in the 0-5% tax bracket now.

GST collections in January 2019 is over Rs 1 lakh crore. 

A Group of Ministers (GoM) is looking into how prospective home buyers can benefit under GST.

Piyush Goyal: The soldiers are the nation's pride. We have implemented one rank one pension. It has been pending for 40 years. Rs 35,000 crore have been already disbursed under OROP. There has been a substantial hike in military service pay.

The defence budget was also enhanced beyond Rs 3 lakh crore.

There have been 75% woman beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana. The Pradhan Mantri Matritva Yojana provides 26 weeks of maternity leave. 

In his Budget 2019 presentation on Friday, finance minister Piyush Goyal has announced the Prime Minister Shramyogi Yojana. Under the scheme,

1. The limit for bonus has been increased to Rs 7,000

2. The limit for gratuity has been increased to Rs 20 lakh

3. Workers earning up to Rs 15,000 will be benefited

4. 10 crore workers will benefit from the scheme

5. Workers in the unorganised sector will get Rs 3,000 per month as pension for premium as low as Rs 55 and Rs 100 per month.

6. The central government will pay an equal amount in this plan under the just-announcedn Pradhan Mantri Shramyogi Man Dhan Yojna.

Finance minister Piyush Goyal's Budget 2019 speech: Instead of a rescheduling of crop loans, farmers severely affected by natural calamities will get 2% interest subvention and additional 3% interest subvention upon timely repayment.
 

Finance minister Piyush Goyal said that direct tax collections increased from Rs 6.38 lakh in 2013-14 to almost Rs 12 lakh crore.

He also said that the tax base is up to 6.85 crore from Rs 3.79 crore. 

An anonymised tax system will do all assessment and verification of IT returns electronically within nearly two years. This will be done without intervention of any official, he added.  
 

"Vikas has become a Jan Andolan," says finance minister Piyush Goyal. He ends by saying that the Modi government has a saaf niyat (clean conscience), spast niti (clear policy) and atal nistha (unshakeable dedication).

It will be facile and simplistic to dismiss Budget 2019 as a populist document read out by finance minister Piyush Goyal keeping in mind the upcoming Lok Sabha election, which would drain the treasury — a pinch the next government will feel while trying to provide for all the welfare schemes.

A fundamental difference between Congress-era welfare schemes and those by the Narendra Modi government is the distinction between revenue expenditure and capital expenditure. In the first, you spend what you earn, thereby exhausting the reserves. In the second, you invest the money, making it multiply.

No amount transferred via DBT, for example, is an amount that was not being spent earlier. The direct benefit transfer is meant to merely plug the holes in transmission; in other words, it’s to ensure that any sum sent to the intended recipient is received wholly by him and not partly siphoned off by politicians and bureaucrats on the way.

Across the world, lower tax rates have always seen higher revenue collection, as citizens pay taxes more readily. In successive announcements, the finance ministry has announced record-breaking GST collections, showing that the pattern shows no aberration in India. At the same time, less expenditure by businesses and consumers means more money left to invest further in businesses and more left in the consumers’ wallets, enhancing their purchasing power. This cycle will make all the welfare measures sustainable.

An India that drives electric vehicles, with renewables becoming major source of energy, bringing down import dependence and increasing energy security for our people. 
 

The finance minister announced that the oceans and coastlines are the sixth dimension of NDA government’s vision for 2030. 

He said that with safe drinking water to all Indians, sustaining and nourishing life, using micro-irrigation techniques; long coastline can be pivotal for the economy. 
 

India will soon become the launchpad of the world, placing an Indian astronaut in space Gaganyaan — an Indian crewed orbital spacecraft — by 2022. 

Piyush Goyal said that self-sufficiency in food and improving agricultural productivity with emphasis on organic food.
 
 

Healthy India, with distress-free and comprehensive wellness system for all is the ninth dimension of our vision for 2030, said the finance minister.
 

Piyush Goyal said that with proactive, responsible and friendly bureaucracy, electronic governance is the 10th dimension of NDA’s vision for India for 2030. 
 

TDS threshold on interest on bank and post office deposits raised from Rs 10,000 to Rs 40,000. TDS threshold on rental income raised from Rs 1.8 lakh to 2.4 lakh.