1) Budget 2017-18 Highlights
Here’s a sector-wise break up of the Union Budget for the financial year 2017-18
Personal income tax
Tax proposals
Financial sector
Infrastructure and railways
For Health Care
Source: HT
Personal income tax
- Existing rate of tax for individuals between Rs. 2.5- Rs 5 lakh is reduced to 5% from 10%
- All other categories of tax payers in subsequent brackets will get a benefit of Rs 12,500
- Simple one page return for people with an annual income of Rs. 5 lakh other than business income
- People filing I-T returns for the first time will not come under any government scrutiny
- Ten % surcharge on individual income above Rs. 50 lakh and up to Rs 1 crore to make up for Rs 15,000 crore loss due to cut in personal I-T rate. 15 surcharge on individual income above Rs. 1 crore to remain
Tax proposals
- Under the corporate tax, in order to make MSME companies more viable, there is a proposal to reduce tax for small companies with a turnover of up to Rs 50 crore to 25%. About 67 lakh companies fall in this category. Ninety-six % of companies to get this benefit
- The government proposes to reduce basic customs duty for LNG to 2.5% from 5%
- The Income Tax Act to be amended to ensure that no transaction above Rs 3 lakh is permitted in cash
- The limit of cash donation by charitable trusts is reduced to Rs 2,000 from Rs 10,000
Financial sector
- FDI policy reforms - more than 90% of FDI inflows are now automated
- Shares of Railway PSE like IRCTC will be listed on stock exchanges
- Bill on resolution of financial firms will be introduced in this session of Parliament
- Foreign Investment Promotion Board will be abolished
- Revised mechanism to ensure time-bound listing of CPSEs
- Computer emergency response team for financial sector will be formed
- Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana lending target fixed at Rs 2.44 lakh crore for 2017-18
- Digital India - BHIM app will unleash mobile phone revolution. The government will introduce two schemes to promote BHIM App - referral bonus for the users and cash back for the traders
- Negotiable Instruments Act might be amended
- DBT to LPG consumers, Chandigarh is kerosene-free, 84 government schemes are on the DBT platform.
- Head post office as the central office for rendering passport service.
- Easy online booking system for Army and other defence personnel.
- For big-time offences - including economic offenders fleeing India, the government will introduce legislative change or introduce law to confiscate the assets of these people within the country
Infrastructure and railways
- A total allocation of Rs. 39,61,354 crore has been made for infrastructure
- Total allocation for Railways is Rs. 1,31,000 crore
- No service charge on tickets booked through IRCTC
- Raksha coach with a corpus of Rs. 1 lakh crore for five years (for passenger safety)
- Unmanned level crossings will be eliminated by 2020
- 3,500 km of railway lines to be commissioned this year up from 2,800 km last year
- Coach mitra facility will be introduced to register all coach related complaints
- By 2019 all trains will have bio-toilets
- Five-hundred stations will be made differently-abled friendly
- Railways to partner with logistics players for front-end and back-end solutions for select commodities
- Railways will offer competitive ticket booking facility
For Health Care
- Elimination of tuberculosis by 2025 targeted
- Health sub centres, numbering 1.5 lakh, willl be transformed into health wellness centres
- Two AIIMS will be set up in Jharkhand and Gujarat
- Will undertake structural transformation of the regulator framework for medical education
- Allocation for Scheduled Castes is Rs. 52,393 crore
- Aadhaar-based smartcards will be issued to senior citizens to monitor health
Source: HT