Union Budget 2020-21 News

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday (February 8) said that the economy is at its "robust-level" and asserted the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country is at an all-time high, while interacting with industry traders in Chennai at an event titled `Jan Jan ka Budget`.

The Central government has allotted a total Rs 30,42,230 crore for defence which is a hike by 6 percent from the previous year's budget amounting to Rs 3.19 lakh crore. The total defence budget accounts for 15.49 per cent of the total central government expenditure for the year 2020-21. 

The FM announced that the proposed cut in income tax rates, which would help save about Rs 31,000 a year in tax for persons with annual income of up to Rs 17 lakh, was conditioned on current exemptions and deductions including standard deduction for Rs 50,000 as well as the waiver earned on payment of up to Rs 1.5 lakh in tuition fee of children, and contribution towards insurance premium and provident fund, being given up.

Speaking at a press conference after presenting her second budget, FM said income tax cuts follow a reduction in corporate tax rates in September last year and in the same manner, with or without exemptions.

FM Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced a proposal to extend additional deductions of up to Rs 1.5 lakh for the interest paid on loans for the purchase of affordable houses, up to March 2021.

The new and simplified personal income tax regime wherein income tax rates will be significantly reduced for the individual taxpayers who forgo certain deductions and exemptions. 

"New reforms announced in Budget will give a push to the economy. Govt has announced many measures in Budget to push employment in the country," the Prime Minister said.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday (February 1) proposed to allocate Rs 2,500 crores in 2020-21 for the tourism sector in the Union Budget 2020-21, making India an attractive destination for both international and domestic tourists. 

Here are the major highlights of FM Nirmala Sitharaman's speech and announcements regarding the Indian Railways.  

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday (February 1) tabled the Union Budget 2020-21, unveiling a series of far-reaching reforms, aimed at energizing the Indian economy.

Budget 2020 has given an option to the personal income tax-payers to avail of lower rates for those earning up to Rs 15 lakh per year. 

Sitharaman said that as many as 150 trains will be running on Indian Railway network in the coming year under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model and that the request for quotation invite has already been sent. 

Sitharaman said, "To build a seamless national cold supply chain for perishables, Indian Railways will set up Kisan Rail through PPP model so that perishable goods can be transported quickly." 

India Budget 2020 has laid great emphasis on the education sector with Nirmala Sitharaman proposing that a total of 150 higher education institutes will have apprenticeship programmes by March 2021. Reading out the budget 2020 speech, Nirmala Sitharaman said there have been dialogues with states about the National Education Policy which will be announced soon.

India Budget 2020 speech: The FM said that GST has been the most historic of the structural reforms, adding it has been gradually maturing into a tax that has integrated the country economically. She revealed that a total 60 lakh new taxpayers have been added in the last two years and as many as 40 crore income tax returns have been filed. The finance minister also informed the Lok Sabha that 105 crore e-way bills have been generated under the GST. 

Going by the people's expectations, a cut in personal income tax rate slabs, sops for rural and agriculture sectors as well as an aggressive push on infrastructure spending are likely to be part of Finance Minister's "feel-good" second General Budget.

Economic Survey 2019-20 projected the revival of economic growth to 6-6.5 per cent in the next fiscal beginning April 1 but suggested the government should relax the budget deficit target to boost growth from a decade low.

In order to know about the amount spent by a common person for a 'thali' across India, the Economic Survey on Friday said affordability of vegetarian 'thalis' improved by 29 per cent while that of non-vegetarian by 18 per cent during the 2006-07 and 2019-20 period.

The Economic Survey 2019-20 emphasised the idea that wealth creation should do no harm, highlighting several ideas on the themes of Sustainable Development and Climate Change. 

The President said that start-up India is a flagship initiative of the government that intends to build a strong eco-system for nurturing innovation and startups in the country to drive sustainable economic growth and generate large scale employment opportunities.