Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget 2016 speech stressed on Indian economy’s resilience amidst the current global economic turmoil. “Global economy is in a serious crisis. Financial markets have been battered but Indian economy has held its ground firmly.”
“IMF has hailed India as a bright spot. Let us look at our achievements compared to the last three years of the last government. We inherited an economy with low growth and high inflation,” Jaitley said.
“We have bridged the trust deficit created by the previous government,” Jaitley added. We take a look at highlights from his speech:
> Cheer for common man! HRA tax relief raised from Rs 24,000 to Rs 60,000 under Section 88G
> Retains FY16 fiscal deficit target at 3.9% of GDP. FY17 fiscal deficit target at 3.5%
> Nine pillars to transform India:
1) Agriculture and farmer welfare with an aim to double farmers’ income in the next five years 2) Rural sector 3) Social sector including healthcare 4) Educational skills and job creation to make India a knowledge based and productive economy 5) Infrastructure investment to enhance quality of life 6) Financial sector reforms 7) Governance reforms and ease of doing business 8) Prudent management of government finances 9) Tax reforms to reduce compliance burden
> Target of 10,000 kms of national highway and upgradation of 50,000 kms of state highways in 2016/17
> Nearly 85% of the stalled road projects have been put back on track
> Total outlay for infrastructure development stands at Rs 2.21 lakh crore in FY17
> NHAI to raise Rs 15,000 cr through bonds in FY17. Allocated Rs 800 crore for port development in FY17
> Abolition of Permit-Raj in public transport system. Private players will be allowed to operate fleet services.
> Ensure universal coverage of LPG connection
> There will be no excise duty or CVD on dialysis equipment
> All retail shops will be allowed to operate all 7 days of the week
> Objective to skill 1 crore youth in the next 3 years under the PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana
> Rs 9,000 crore allocated to Swaccha Bharat Abhiyaan
> Rs 1700 crore for Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana
> A Digital depository for school leaving certificates
> A Higher Education Financing Agency to be set up, with a fund of 1000 crore
> Rs 35,984 crore allocated for Agriculture in 2016-17. Target: 8.5 lakh crore of agricultural credit in 2015-’16; in 2016-17: Rs 9 lakh crore
> To increase crop yield in rainfed areas, two schemes launched to promote organic farming
> 28.5 lakh hectares will be brought under irrigation under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sichai Yojana
> Five lakh acres of land to be brought under Organic farming in three years under Krishi Vikas Yojana
> We will work for passage of insolvency and bankruptcy laws. We will undertake significant reforms
> Government to provide incentive for deepwater gas exploration
> We will enact a law to confer benefits on deserving sections on Aadhar platform
> Rural electrification: 5542 villages in Feb 2016, more than total combined achievement of previous three years
> Rs 60,000 crore for recharging of ground water recharging
> Government to set apart Rs 412 crore to encourage organic farming
> Rs 5500 crore to be allocated to PM Fasal Bima Yojana for next fiscal year
> CPI inflation was 9.4 per cent in the last 3 years of previous government. CPI inflation has come down to 5.5% under our government, despite two poor monsoons
> Our external situation is robust, CAD has declined to $14.4 billion this year, will be 1.4% of GDP at the end of fiscal
> Our forex reserves are at the highest level
> Pradhan Mantri Safal Beema Yojana has already been announced for farmers
> New initiative being launched for BPL families. They will be provided cooking gas connection with government help and subsidies
> We see external challenges as an opportunity. Risk of global turbulence is mounting; India must brace for tough times
> 7th Pay Panel recommendations, OROP to put burden on government expenditure next year
> Government’s bold measures have helped India to stay ahead in challenging times. Growth exceeded 7.6% despite big fall in exports.
> Government to enhance expenditure for social, rural and agricultural sector
> We must strengthen firewalls against risks through structural reforms; rely on domestic market so that growth does not slow down
> Animal welfare programme, animal health card, emarketing platform for connecting breeders
> 62 new Navodaya vidyalayas to be opened in next two years
> Certain parts of dylasis machines to be exempt from all forms of customs duty; national dylasis service programme to be launched in all district hospitals
> 3,000 medical stores will be opened under Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushodi Yojana to make quality medicine available
> Govt to provide Rs 500 crore for Stand Up India scheme
> A new health protection scheme to provide cover up to Rs one lakh per family; top up of Rs 35,000 for people above 60 years
> 3,500 medical stores will be opened under Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushodi Yojana to make quality medicine available
> Rs 1000 crore provided for LPG connection to rural households in name of women; scheme to go on for 2 years to cover 5 crore BPL households
> 75 lakh people have given up LPG subsidy
> Rs 87,765 crore allocated for rural development
> Digital literacy scheme to be launched to cover 6 cr additional rural households
> Govt to develop 300 ‘rurban’ clusters
> Rs 38,500 crore allocated for MNREGA in 2016-17, the highest ever if entire amount is spent
> Rs 2.87 lakh crore will be given as grants-in-aid to village panchyats and municipalities to boost rural economy
> Govt to spend Rs 850 crore in a few years on animal husbandry, cattle and livestock breeding
> States will be encouraged to take up decentralised procurement of foodgrains
> Govt to allocate Rs 5,500 crore for crop insurance scheme
> Rs 19,000 crore allocated for Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana in 2016-17; in all, Rs 27,000 crore after state contribution
> 2.87 lakh crore to be given grant-in-aid for gram panchayats and municipalities; it is quantum jump of 228 per cent
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