21 highlights of Budget 2021 you shouldn't miss!

The country expected and hoped the Budget to address areas that would provide relaxation in taxation policies, new schemes for driving women entrepreneurship opportunities such as increasing the availability of collateral free loans for women entrepreneurs especially in MSMEs and start-ups. The pandemic has led to significant setbacks across the socio-economic fabric of the country. Following are the highlights of the 2021-22 Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Monday:

 

 

 

(Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com) 

 

 

- Spending on healthcare hiked by 137 pc to over Rs 2.23 lakh crore

 

- Rs 35,000 cr outlay for COVID vaccine in fiscal beginning April 1

 

- Today India has 2 vaccines available, 2 more vaccines are expected soon

 

- Sharp increase in capital expenditure for next fiscal to Rs 5.54 lakh cr, up from Rs 4.39 lakh cr of last fiscal

 

- Fiscal deficit for current fiscal at 9.5 pc, against 3.5 pc budgeted

 

- Fiscal deficit for next fiscal pegged at 6.8 pc, government to borrow Rs 12 lakh crore

 

- Committed to bring down fiscal deficit below 4.5 pc of GDP by 2025-26

 

 

 

 

- ITR filing not mandatory for senior citizens above 75 years, banks to deduct TDS

 

- Time bar for reopening I-T assessment cases halved to 3 years, for serious frauds it is 10 years

 

- Income tax return filers increased to 6.48 cr in 2020 from 3.31 cr in 2014.

 

- Agri infra cess of 2.5 pc on gold, silver and dore bars; 35 pc on apples

 

- Agri infra cess of 30 pc on Kabuli chana, 10 pc on peas, 50 pc on Bengal gram/chickpeas, 20 pc on lentil (mosur); 5 pc on cotton

 

- Rs 2.5 per litre agri infra cess on petrol, Rs 4 on diesel

 

- New Agri Infra Development Cess to be applicable from February 2

 

- Tax deptt to notify rules to remove hardships of double taxation faced by NRIs

 

 

- Tax holiday for startups, capital gains exemption extended by 1 yr

 

- Tax exemption for aircraft leasing cos; tax exemption for notified affordable housing for migrant workers.

 

- Rs 1.5 lakh tax deduction on payment of interest for affordable housing extended by 1 yr

 

- Exemption from tax audit limit doubled to Rs 10 cr turnover for companies doing most of their business through digital modes

 

- Proposes review of over 400 customs duty exemptions; to begin extensive consultation from October 2021

 

 - Customs duty on certain auto parts, solar equipment raised

 

 

 

- FDI in insurance increased to 74 pc from 49 pc

 

- Disinvestment target pegged at Rs 1.75 lakh crore

 

- BPCL, IDBI Bank, two more PSU banks, one insurance company to be privatised among others

 

- PSU Bank recapitalisation pegged at Rs 20,000 crore next fiscal

 

- Aatmanirbhar health programme with an outlay of Rs 64,180 cr to be introduced

 

- Budget proposals rest on 6 pillars-- health and well-being, physical and financial capital and infra, inclusive development for aspirational India, human capital, innovation and R&D, Minimum Governance and Maximum Governance

 

 

- Govt to introduce a bill to set up development financial institution with an outlay of Rs 20,000 cr

 

- Voluntary vehicle scrapping policy to phase out old vehicles; fitness tests after 20 yrs for personal vehicles

 

- National monetisation pipeline for potential brownfield infrastructure assets

 

- Rs 3,726 cr for forthcoming Census which will be the first digital census.

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