Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is presenting the Union Budget 2017. Jaitley claimed double digit inflation has been controlled and sluggish growth replaced by high growth. With demonetisation a war on blackmoney was launched which was a bold and decisive move. The budget this year focuses on poverty eradication, farmers issues and rural development. Here are the highlights of the budget. WATCH VIDEO | Budget 2017: 5 Things You Need To Understand *36 per cent increase in FDI flow; forex reserves at USD 361 billion in January enough to cover 12 months needs. *World Bank expects GDP growth rate at 7.6 per cent in FY18 and 7.8 per cent in FY19 *Mini labs by qualified local entrepreneurs to be set up for soil testing in all 648 krishi vigyan kendras in the country *Agricultural sector is expected to grow at 4.1 per cent this fiscal *Target of agriculture credit fixed at Rs 10 lakh crore in 2017-18 *Rs 9,000 cr higher allocation for payment of sugarcane arrears *Allocation under MNREGA increased to 48,000 crore from Rs 38,500 crore. This is highest ever allocation, says FM Jaitley. *Space technology to be used for monitoring MNREGA implementation *Market reforms will be undertaken, states will be asked to denotify perishables from Essential Commodities Act *Dedicated micro-irrigation fund to be created with a corpus of Rs 5000 crore. *National Testing agency to conduct all examinations in higher education, freeing CBSE and other agencies *Participation of women in MNREGA increased to 55 per cent from 45 per cent in past *1 crore households to be brought out of poverty under Antodya Scheme *Govt to set up dairy processing fund of Rs 8,000 crore over three years with initial corpus of Rs 2,000 crore. *27,000 crore on to be spend on PMGSY; 1 crore houses to be completed by 2017-18 for houseless *100 per cent electrification of villages to be completed by May 2018 *To construct one crore houses by 2019 for homeless. PM Awas Yojana allocation raised from Rs 15,000 crore to Rs 23,000 crore. WATCH VIDEO | Impact Of Budget 2017 On Real Estate Sector *We propose to provide safe drinking water to 28,000 arsenic and fluoride affected habitations. *In higher education, we will undertake reforms in UGC, give autonomy to colleges and institutions: Jaitley. *The allocation for rural agri and allied sector in 2017-18 is record Rs 1,81,223 crore *PM Kaushal Kendras will be extended to 600 districts; 100 international skill centres to be opened to help people get jobs abroad. *Rs 500 cr allocated to set up Mahila Shakti Kendras; Allocation raised from Rs 1.56 lakh cr to Rs 1.84 lakh cr for women & child welfare. *National Housing Bank will refinance indiviual loans worth Rs 20,000 crore in 2017-18. *1.5 lakh health sub centres to be converted to Health Wellness Centres. *New rules regarding medical devices will be devised to reduce their cost *Two new AIIMS to be set up Jharkhand and Gujarat *Model Shops and Establishment Bill to open up additional opportunities for employment of women *For senior citizens, Aadhaar based health cards will be issued. *35 per cent increase in allocation for SC to Rs 52,393 crore *Allocation for SCs increased from Rs 38,833 cr to Rs 52,393 crore, a rise of 35 per cent *Capital and development expenditure pegged at Rs 1.31 lakh crore for railways in 2017-18 from Budget *Total allocation for rural, agri and allied sectors for 2017-18 is a record Rs 1,87,223 crore, up 24 per cent from last year *Railway line of 3,500 km will be commissioned in 2017-18 as against 2,800 km in 2016-17 *A scheme for senior citizens to ensure 8 per cent guaranteed returns *Rs 1 lakh cr corpus for railway safety fund over five years *Unmanned railway level crossings to be eliminated by 2020 *500 stations will be differently abled by providing lifts and escalators *Government proposes Coach Mitra facility to redress grievances related to rail coaches *Select airports in tier-II cities to be taken up for operations, development on PPP mode *Delhi and Jaipur to have solid waste management plants and five more to be set up later *Service charge on e-tickets booked through IRCTC will be withdrawn *Railway tariffs to be fixed on the basis of cost, social obligation and competition. *New metro rail policy to be unveiled *Crude oil strategic reserves to be set up in Odisha and Rajasthan apart from 3 already constructed *For transport sector, including railways, road and shipping, government provides Rs 2.41 lakh crore. *Budget allocation for highways stepped up to Rs 64,000 crore in FY18 from Rs 57,676 crore. *Allocation of Rs 10,000 crore for Bharat Net project for providing high-speed broadband in FY18 *Coverage of Fasal Bima Yojana to go up from 30 pc of cropped area to 40 pc in 2017-18 and 50 per cent next year *Digi Gaon will be launched to promote tele-medicine and education *Dedicated micro-irrigation fund to be set up by NABARD to achieve mission of Per Drop, More Crop. *Second phase of solar power development to be taken up with an aim of generating 20,000 MW *Trade Infrastructure Export Scheme to be launched in 2017-18; total allocation for infra at record Rs 3.96 lakh crore. *FIPB will be abolished. *Over 90 per cent of FDI proposls are now processed through automatic route *Rs 2,74,114 crore allocated for defence expenditure, excluding pension; This includes Rs 86,000 crore for defence capital. *Govt to further liberalise FDI policy *Dispute resolution in infrastructure projects in PPP mode will be institutionalised *Computer emergency response team to be set for cyber security of financial sector. *Govt will amend the Multi-state Cooperative Act to protect the poor and gullible investors * Integrated public sector oil major to be created to match global giants * More funds beyond Rs 10,000 crore for recapitalisation of banks will be provided if needed * Of 76 lakh individuals who reported income of over Rs 5 lakh, 56 lakh are salaried * New ETF with diverse stocks will be launched in 2017-18 * The shares of railway CPSCs like IRCTC and IRFC to be listed on various stock exchanges * Govt to double lending target under PM Mudra Yojana to Rs 2,44,000 crore for 2017-18 * Govt doubles distribution target under Mudra Yojana to Rs 2.44 lakh crore for 2017-18 * Govt to introduce two new schemes to promote BHIM App -referal bonus for users and cash back for traders. *A proposal to receive all government receipts beyond a certain threshold through e-modes under consideration *3 yr period for long-term capital gains tax on immovalble property reduced to 2 years; base year indexation shifted from 1.4.1981 to 1.4.2001 *Payment regulatory board to be set up in RBI to regulate electronic payments, replacing Board for Regulation and Supervision in Payments and Settlements System. *FRBM review committee has recommended 60 per cent debt to GDP ratio; 0.5 per cent of GDP deviation from stipulated fiscal deficit targets *Govt considering option to amend Negotiable Instruments Act to ensure that holders of dishonoured cheques get payment. *Govt to set up a web-based interactive platform for defence pensioners *Head post offices to issue passports *Total expenditure in FY18 at Rs 21.47 lakh croreDuty exempted on various POS machines and iris readers to encourage digital payments. *Capital expenditure stepped up by 25.4 per cent in FY18 over previous year. *Maximum amount of cash donation a political party can receive will be Rs 2000 from any one source as part of effort to clean political funding. *Political parties can receive donations in cheque, electronic mode; electoral bonds to be issued by RBI *FPI to be exempt from indirect transfer provisions *Customs duty on LNG halved to 2.5 per cent *With abolition of plan and non-plan expenditure, the govt's focus is on revenue and capital expenditure *Govt pegs fiscal deficit target at 3.2 per cent for 2017-18 and 3 per cent for next year. *Revenue deficit reduced to 2.1 per cent from 2.3 per cent for 2016-17 *Direct tax collection not commensurate with income and expenditure pattern *Of 3.7 cr individuals who filed tax returns in 2015-16, 99 lakh showed income below exemption limit. *Income Tax rate cut to 5 per cent for individuals having income between Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh *10 per cent surcharge on individual income above Rs 50 lakh and upto Rs 1 crore to make up for Rs 15,000 crore loss of due to cut in personal I-T rate. *5 per cent surcharge on income above Rs 1 crore to continue
