In a slew of measures the Finance Ministry on Saturday proposed allocation of funds for various sectors and ministries.
Presenting the Union Budget 2020, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the fundamentals of the economy were strong and inflation had been well contained, adding the banks had cleaned up accumulated loans.
Here's are the key takeaways and major announcements from the Union Budget 2020.
Income Tax
Sitharaman proposed a significant reduction in Income tax rates for those foregoing exemptions in the "new tax regime". The government will be foregoing revenue of Rs 40,000 crore per annum due to the new income tax rates for individuals, the Finance Minister said.
Education
Sitharaman said a new education policy will soon be announced and the government proposes to provide about Rs 99,300 crore for the education sector in 2020-21.
Skill Development
The government proposed Rs 3,000 crore for 'Skill India' to provide relevant skill training to the youth in the country, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday.
Ministry of Culture
Sitharaman said Rs 3,150 crore has been allocated for the Ministry of Culture and Rs 2,500 crore for the Ministry of Tourism.She also proposed the setting up of a tribal museum in Ranchi, Jharkhand. "Five archaeological sites in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu to be developed with on-site museums," the Finance Minister said.
Industry and Commerce
Finance Minister said that the government proposes "Rs 27,300 crore for the development and promotion of industry and commerce in 2020-21". The Finance Minister said that the government intends to make every district an export house. "We wish to turn every district into an export house," said Sitharaman.
UTs of J&K, Ladakh
The Finance Ministry said the Centre has proposed allocation of Rs 30,757 crore for Jammu and Kashmir, and Rs 5,958 crore for Ladakh for fiscal 2020-21.
Real Estate
The Centre extended additional Rs 1.5 lakh tax benefit on interest paid on affordable housing loans to March 2021. Also, it has extended the date of approval of affordable housing projects for availing tax holiday on profit earned by developers extended by 1 year.
Infrastructure
To augment India's infrastructure and create jobs, the government has launched Rs 103 lakh crore infra projects and will release a logistic policy soon, besides accelerating highways construction, Finance Minister Nirmala said.
MSME
The government said a scheme will be introduced to provide subordinate debt to MSME entrepreneurs. It has also asked the RBI to extend the Debt Restructuring window for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by a year to March 31, 2021, in measures aimed at imparting a thrust to the sector.
Agriculture
The Centre announced an outlay of Rs 2.83 lakh crore for agriculture and allied sector for the financial year 2020-21. It has also set to disburse Rs 15 lakh crore among farmers as credit during the year 2020-21.
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Campaign
The Centre said that Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign has given tremendous results as the Gross Enrolment Ratio is now higher for girls than for boys at all levels. She also announced Rs 28,600 crore for programmes which are specific to women.
Nominal GDP
The Centre said nominal GDP growth for 2020-21 is estimated at 10 per cent. The receipts for 2020-21 are pegged at Rs 22.46 lakh crore while expenditure at Rs 30.42 lakh crore. The revised estimated expenditure for FY20 has been pegged at Rs 26.99 lakh crore and receipts at Rs 19.32 lakh crore, she said.
LIC
The government will reduce its stake in state life insurer LIC through an IPO. "Government will list LIC on the stock exchanges", Sitharaman said.
