Union Budget 2021 Highlights - Highlights of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's speech on the Union Budget for 2021-22 (Apr-Mar), made in Lok Sabha today:
FY-2022 ESTIMATES
* FY22 fiscal deficit pegged at 6.8% of GDP
* FY22 gross market borrowing pegged at 12 trln rupees
* To spend 34.83 trln rupees in FY22
* Propose 5.54-trln-rupee capex for FY22
* Allocate 2.2 trln rupees for health, wellbeing
* Disinvestment revenue seen 1.75 trln rupees
* Farm credit target 16.5 trln rupees
* Outlay for MSMEs at 157 bln rupees
* Allocate 37.68 bln rupees for census
FY21 REVISED
* To borrow 800 bln rupees more from market in FY21
* Fiscal deficit pegged at 9.5% of GDP
* Spending seen 34.5 trln rupees
* Capital expenditure seen at 4.39 trln rupees
Also Read - Government May Cut Stake To 51% in These Four Public Sector Banks in this Budget
FISCAL HEALTH
* COVID necessitated deviation from FRBM Act
* To introduce amendment to FRBM Act
* To submit a fiscal deviation statement
* Fiscal deficit to fall below 4.5% of GDP by FY26
* Plan to move ahead on path of fiscal consolidation
* To augment contingency fund to 300 bln rupees
* To cap borrowing by states at 4% of GSDP in FY22
* States' fiscal deficit to reach 3% of their GDP by FY24
* Pandemic resulted in weak revenue flow
* Food subsidies to be financed by Budget
* Finance panel recommended 41% tax devolution to states
* Propose to divest 2 PSU banks, 1 general insurance company in FY22
* NITI Aayog to prepare list of PSUs to be divested
* To complete divestment of BPCL, Air India, IDBI, other companies in FY22
* Worked towards disinvestment in many companies despite COVID-19
* BEML, Shipping Corp, CONCOR divestment to be completed in FY22
* To bring down number of centrally sponsored schemes
* To bring revised mechanism for timely closure of sick PSUs
DIRECT TAX
* Seek to simplify direct tax regime
* No income tax return filing for pensioners above 75 years
* To cut time limit for tax assessment reopen to 3 years vs 6 years
* Setting up dispute resolution panel for small taxpayers
* To set up faceless income tax appellate tribunal
* To notify rules to protect NRIs from double taxation
* 110,000 tax-payers opted for Vivaad se Vishwas scheme
* Vivaad se Vishwas scheme saw 850-bln-rupee disputes for settlement
* Won't allow deductions if company late in depositing staff PF
* Doubling limit for tax audit for digital transactions
* Dividend payment to REITs, InVits exempt from TDS
Tax holiday for aircraft leasing companies located in IFSC
* Tax holiday eligibility to startups extended to Mar 31, 2022
INDIRECT TAX
* To review more than 400 old customs duty exemptions
* Revised customs duty structure from Oct 1
* To rationalise customs duty on gold, silver
* Customs duty on copper scrap cut to 2.5%
* Customs duty on some mobile phone parts to be raised to 2.5%
* To reduce customs duty on some alloy, steel products to 7.5%
* Customs duty on naphtha cut to 2.5%
* Customs duty on solar inverter raised to 20%
* Customs duty on solar lanterns cut to 5%
* Increasing customs duty on some auto parts to 15%
* Propose hike in customs duty on steel screws to 15%
* Customs duty on finished synthetic gems to be raised
* Raising customs duty on cotton to 10%
* To take all possible measures to smoothen GST process
REFORMS
* To bring in needed legislative changes for divestment
* Propose to set up SPV for land monetisation
* To bring revised mechanism for timely closure of sick companies
* To form a single securities market code
* SEBI to be regulator of gold exchange
* New administrative framework for multi-state cooperatives
* Propose to discontinue loans to FCI from small savings fund
FINANCIAL SECTOR, MARKETS
* Allocate 200 bln rupees for recapitalisation of PSU banks in FY22
* To set up AMC to take bad loans
* Need measures to clean up bank books
* To up FDI limit in insurance to 74% from 49%
* To allow foreign control in insurance companies with safeguards
* Infrastructure debt funds can raise money via zero coupon bonds
* Affordable home projects can avail tax holiday for 1 more year
* Financial technology hub to be set up at GIFT City
* To create body to buy corporate bonds to develop secondary market* To rationalise functioning of tribunals
* To allocate 10 bln rupees for Solar Energy Corp of India
* To amend deposit insurance law to address depositors' issues
* To decriminalise Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008
* NCLT framework to be strengthened, to implement 'e-courts'
* To hike capital, revenue cap for definition of small companies
* To incentivise incorporation of one-person companies
* To improve debt resolution for MSMEs
* Margin money requirement for Standup India loans cut to 15%
INFRASTRUCTURE, INDUSTRY
* Enhanced outlay of 1.18 trln rupees for road ministry
* Part of eastern freight corridor to be taken up in PPP
* Providing 180 bln rupees for public buses
* Record outlay for railways at 1.10 trln rupees
* Project reports to be prepared for 3 new freight corridors
* 100% electrification of broad rail routes by December 2023
* Adding new routes on rail freight corridors
* To launch scheme to run buses on PPP mode
* To provide 148 bln rupee for Phase 2 of Bengaluru metro project
* Framework to let consumers choose from more than 1 electricity distribution companies
* Major ports to bring private partner for management
* To launch hydrogen energy mission in FY22
* Seven port projects to be offered on PPP mode in FY22
* Launching voluntary vehicle scrappage policy
* Details of scrappage policy to be announced
* Scrappage policy for 15-year-old commercial vehicles
* Scrappage policy for 20-year-old personal vehicles
* To launch 7 mega investment textile parks over 3 years
* National infrastructure pipeline expanded to 7,400 projects
* To enhance share of central, state capex in infrastructure projects
* To have big thrust on monetisation of assets
* To set up national monetisation pipeline for brownfield projects
* Next lot of airports to be monetised
* Railways to monetise dedicated freight corridor assets
* Roads worth 50 bln rupees being transferred to NHAI InVit
* Plan more economic corridors for road infrastructure
* Suitable reforms to be made in InvITs, REITs
* Development institution loan book aim 5 trln rupees in 3 years
* Warehousing assets of PSUs to be monetised
* To launch development-finance institutions
* To enhance capex at central, state levels
* Over 2 trln rupees to states, autonomous bodies for capex
* To provide 200 bln rupees for development-finance institution
* Oil, gas pipelines of GAIL, IOC, HPCL to be monetised
* To set up independent gas transport system operator
* To make efforts to bring more ships to India for recycling
* To award 8,500 km of highways by March 2022
* 11,000 km of national highway corridor to be completed
* Launch deep ocean mission with 40-bln-rupee outlay for 5 years
* Total cost of AatmaNirbhar Bharat package 27.1 trln rupees
* AatmaNirbhar Bharat package was 13% of GDP
* Wish to lay a vision for Atmanirbhar Bharat
* AtmaNirbhar Bharat to boost infrastructure development
* AtmaNirbhar to strengthen 'Nation First' concept
SOCIAL SECTOR
* Express heartfelt gratitude to frontline COVID-19 workers
* Fight against COVID-19 continues into 2021
* Two or more COVID vaccines expected soon
* Allocate 350 bln rupees in FY22 for COVID-19 vaccines
* To launch health scheme worth 641.80 bln rupees over 6 years
* To set up 4 regional institutes for virology
* Committed to provide more for COVID vaccines if needed
* Operationalisation of 17 new public health units
* Support for over 17,000 rural, 11,000 urban health centres
* To strengthen National Centre for Diseases Control
* Expansion of integrated health database to all states
* Health spending to rise substantially
* To focus on education for all, inclusive development
* To focus on health, physical and financial infrastructure
* To launch urban Jal Jeevan Mission
* Five-year outlay for Jal Jeevan Mission 2.87 trln rupees
* Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana to be extended to 10 mln more beneficiaries
* To bring 100 more districts under city gas distribution
* Propose to launch portal to collect data on 'gig workers'
* Portal to also collect data on construction workers* Ration card portability to be completed in a few months
* To set up a central university in Leh
* National Research Foundation outlay 500 bln rupees over 5 years
* To set up mechanism to quickly address contractual disputes
FARM SECTOR
* Govt committed to welfare of farmers
* Immediate need to improve agriculture infrastructure
* Propose agriculture infrastructure development cess
* Paid farmers 751 bln rupees as wheat MSP in FY21
* FY21 paddy MSP scheme spend seen 1.72 trln rupees
* To add 1,000 more mandis to e-NAM
* To up rural infrastructure development fund corpus to 400 bln rupees
* To make agriculture infrastructure fund available to APMCs
* To develop 5 major fishing hubs
* To set up multipurpose seaweed park in Tamil Nadu
* Allocate 10 bln rupees for tea workers in Assam, Bengal
MISCELLANEOUS
* Preparation for Budget done under never-before circumstances
* Risk was far higher if lockdown wasn't imposed
* Measures announced in May were like five mini Budgets
* This will be a digital Budget, give thrust for new decade
* Focus on innovation, Research & Development
* Focus on minimum government, maximum governance
* India to have leading role in post-COVID world
* Opted for series of medium-sized economic packages in pandemic