Interim Budget 2019: Highlights

New Delhi: Piyush Goyal, the interim finance minister, presented the 2019-20 Budget to Parliament on Friday, keeping his eyes firly on the most disgruntled lot -- farmers and the country's middle class -- this poll-bound year. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government tried its best to shore up its political support with these farm giveaways and tax cuts for the middle class in its final budget.

Here are the updates:

* In last five years, India has been universally acknowledged as a growing economy. Today India is the 6th largest economy in the world.

* Major reforms have taken place in taxes, banking, bankruptcy law.

* Questionable practices in banking stopped. Clean banking introduced.

* Rs 3 lakh crore recovered from defaulters to restore banking health.

* Era of transparency introduced in many fields, including in real estate.

* Inflation controlled or families would have spent 35 to 40 per cent more on daily use items. 

* NDA govt contained double digit inflation; government has broken the back of high inflation. 

* India attracted USD 239 billion n in FDI in last five years.

* Fiscal deficit will be 3.4 per cent of GDP; Current Account Deficit to be 2.5 per cent of GDP.

* Path-breaking structural reforms by introduced like GST.

* FDI liberalised FDI allowing more investment through automatic route. 

* Culture of phone banking stopped. Goyal refers to allegations of rampant loans over phone during UPA regime.

* This government had the guts to ask RBI to look at bad loans and present correct picture to nation. 

* BoI, OBC and Bank of Maharashtra have been removed from the PCA framework of RBI. 

* Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code is helping in recovery of non-performing loans. Even big businessmen are now worried about loans

* We have run a corruption-free government.  

* India has achieved over 98 per cent rural sanitation coverage.

* Hope other banks too would soon come out of PCA framework.

* Poor have the first right over nation's resources.

* We have worked to bridge the urban-rural divide. 

* 2016 Realty Law RERA has helped in bringing transparency in real estate sector.

* Government t has provided 10 per cent reservation for economically weaker section, job quota to provide 2 lakh seats in educational institutions.

* Government announces the Pradhan Mantri Samman Nidhi for small and marginal farmers; farmers to get Rs 6,000 per year.

* Government spent Rs 1.7 lakh crore to supply food grains at cheaper price to poor in 2018-19 as against Rs 92,000 crore in 2013-14.  

* Farmers to be provided Rs 6,000 per year in three instalments, fully funded by the central government.

* About 5.4 lakh villages made open defecation-free.

* Allocation to MNREGA hiked to Rs 60,000 crore for 2019-20.

* Plan to provide urban facilities in rural areas while preserving 'soul of village', 

* Construction of rural roads tripled under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.

* 2.5 cr families were without electricity in 2014; government has provided power to almost all families. 

* 143 crore LED bulbs were made available for lower and middle class families.

* As many as 1.53 crore houses constructed during 2014-18 under Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojna.

* Cheaper drugs being provided through Jan Aushadi stores.

* Pension scheme for unorganised sector workers to be implemented from this year. 

* Government has fixed MSP for 22 notified crops at 50 per cent higher than cost of production.

* Government to implement special strategy for uplift of nomadic tribes. 

* There is need for structured income support for poor, landless farmers to meet input cost.

* 21 AIIMs established or operating in country, of which 14 sanctioned since 2014. Another to be set up in Haryana. 

* 2 pc interest subvention to farmers involved in animal husbandry and fishery.

* Farmers hit by natural calamities to get 2 per cent interest subvention; 3 per cent more on timely repayment of loans:

* Govt to provide Rs 750 crore in FY to support animal husbandry and fishing.

* Farmers affected by severe natural calamity will get 2 pc interest subvention on all rescheduled crop loans and additional 3 per cent on timely repayment.

* High growth,formalisation of economy has resulted in increased EPFO membership by 2 cr in last two years.

* High growth and formalisation of economy has led to rise in EPFO membership by Rs 2 cr in last two years.

* Gratuity limit increased from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 30 lakh.

* More than 70 per cent of MUDRA yojna beneficiaries are women.

* Out of 8 cr free LPG connections under Ujjwala, 6 cr connections to poor women have already been provided.

* 75 pc of women beneficiaries under Mudra Yojana, 26 weeks maternity leave and Pradhan Mantri Matritva Yojana are all empowering women.

* Under the Mudra scheme, govt has sanctioned 15.56 lakh loans amounting Rs 7.23 lakh crore.

* India has become 2nd largest hub of start-ups.

* Over 1 crore youth trained under skill initiatives of the government.

* Country now has 100 operational airports; passenger traffic has doubled in last five years.

* Rs 1 crore loan can now be obtained under 59 minutes.

* India is fastest highways developer in the world.

* Indian Railways has witnessed its safest year in history. All unmanned crossings on broadguage network have been eliminated.

* Nine priority areas identified; National Artificial Intelligence Portal to be developed soon.

* 27 km of highways built each day, projects stuck for decades completed; SagarMala will help faster handling of import and export cars.

* Defence Budget increased to over Rs 3 lakh cr in 2019-20:FM. 

* Rs 35,000 cr given under OROP in last three years.

* Tax collection increased to Rs 12 lakh crore this year, returns filed to 6.85 crore. 

* Substantial hike in military service pay has been announced. 

* Capital expenditure programme of Railways at all-time high of Rs 1.58 lakh cr in next financial year.

* Income Tax: 99.54 per cent of all returns were accepted without scrutiny, transforming I-T department, return to be processed in 24 hours, processed simultaneously. 

* Urgent steps needed to boost domestic oil and gas production to cut imports.  

* Vande Bharat Express will provide speed, service and safety to citizens and will give boost to Make In India

* Government to launch mega pension yojna for 42 cr unorganised sector workers; assured monthly pension of Rs 3,000 after reaching age of 60 years. 

* Average monthly GST tax collection Rs 97,100 cr as compared to Rs 89,700 cr last year.

* In last 5 years under all categories of workers, minimum wages increased by 42 per cent which is the highest ever.

* India leading world in mobile data consumption; mobile consumption data has risen by 50 times. 

* 1 lakh digital villages to be created in next five years.

* Budget allocation to North East region increased by 21 per cent to Rs 58,166 crore for 2019-20.

* Cost of data, voice calls in India is now possibly lowest in world; mobile and mobile part manufacturing companies have increased from 2 to 268.

* Single-window clearance for film-making to be made available to Indian film-makers, anti-camcording provision to be introduced to Cinematography Act to combat privacy.

* Impactful steps taken to reduce tax, bring benefits for middle class citizens.

* As many as 34 cr Jan Dhan accounts opened in 5 years, Aadhaar ensured benefits reach poor.

* India will drive on electric-vehicles with clean sources of energy production; lead world in use of renewable sources to cut oil imports.

* India will be modern, technology driven, equitable and transparent society by 2030. GST has continuously reduced, relief of Rs 80,000 cr to consumers; most items of daily use for poor and middle class are now in 0-5% tax bracket.  

* Govt committed to eliminating ills of blackmoney. Anti-blackmoney measures including demonetisation led to discovery of undisclosed income of Rs 1.30 lakh cr, seizure of Rs 50,000 cr.

* More than 1.06 crore people filed I-T returns for first time in 2017-18, the year after demonetisation.

* NDA govt has laid foundation for India's growth and development for times to come. 

* We are poised to become a USD 5 trillion economy in next five year and aspire to become USD 10 trillion economy in next 8 yrs.

* Building physical and social infrastructure for USD 10 trillion economy. Outlines 10 yr vision in the Interim Budget speech.

* India is on the way of becoming global manufacturing hub including automobiles, electronics and defence.

* Fiscal deficit for 2018-19 to be 3.4 per cent as against 3.3 per cent targeted; breach primarily because of farm income support.

* Individuals with income up to Rs 5 lakh will not have to pay any income tax.

* Rs 76,800 crore allocated for welfare of SCs/STs for 2019-20, up from Rs 62,474 crore in 2018-19.

* Individuals with gross income of Rs 6.5 lakh annually will not have to pay any tax after considering investments of Rs 1.5 lakh in tax saving schemes.

* Standard deduction increased to Rs 50,000 from Rs 40,000 currently.

* Capital expenditure estimated at Rs 3.36 lakh crore for 2019-20.

* Expenditure to rise by 13 per cent from Revised Estimate 2018-19 to Budget Estimate 2019-20.

* TDS threshold on interest from bank, post office deposits raised from Rs 10,000 to Rs 40,000.

Modi is facing growing discontent over depressed farm incomes and doubts over whether his policies are creating enough jobs. Media reports on Thursday quoted a government survey as saying the jobless rate was the highest in at least 45 years, putting further pressure on the government.

The Budget, which is interim and is likely to be followed by a full one in July, trumpeted the Modi government's achievements in the last five years. 

Stung by opposition parties’ victories in three state polls in December and needing to call a national election by May, Modi has already exempted many small businesses from paying taxes under a unified goods and services tax (GST).

More than 900 million people will be eligible to cast votes in the world’s biggest ever democratic exercise and the pressure to woo them is intense.

Rahul Gandhi is closing in on Modi’s lead, according to polls. His promise of a minimum income for the poor increased pressure on the government to make populist announcements in its Budget.

end-of