Highlights of Union Budget 2019
Highlights of Union Budget 2019
Highlights of Union Budget 2019
On July 5, 2019, Union Minister for Finance and Corporate A airs Nirmala Sitharaman made her maiden
Budget Speech and presented the Union Budget 2019-20 in the Lok Sabha. She broke away from the tradition
when she replaced the conventional leather briefcase with a bright red cloth bag to carry the Budget papers to
the Parliament House. “Gaon, Garib and Kisan” (Village, Poor and Farmer) was the centre of all policies of the
Modi 2.0 Government.
Total expenditure for 2019-20 is budgeted at Rs 2,786,349 crore (US$ 417.95 billion), an increase of 14.09 per
cent from 2018-19 (budget estimates).
India was a US$ 1.85 trillion economy in 2014 and it has reached US$ 2.7 trillion in ve years, the fastest
growing major economy and the sixth largest economy in world, compared to 11th largest in 2013-14.
Metro rail network of 657 km has become operational in the country.
India target to become US$ 5 trillion economy in the next ve years and might become a US$ 10 trillion
economy in the next eight years thereafter.
The Indian economy grew at 6.8 per cent in 2018-19 and fourth quarter growth slumped to 5.8 per cent
which was a 17 per cent quarter low.
Govt cut its scal de cit target to 3.3% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in 2019-20 against 3.4%
estimated earlier.
Total capital expenditure will be Rs 876,209 crore (US$ 131.43 billion) for 2019-20.
Centrally sponsored schemes have been allocated Rs 331,610 crore (US$ 49.74 billion) in 2019-20.
Defence budget is Rs 305,296 crore (US$ 45.79 billion) for the rst time in 2019-20.
Amount of Rs 174,300 crore (US$ 26.14 billion) has been approved for pension in the budget 2020.
The government has allocated Rs 184,220 crore (US$ 27.63 billion), Rs 79,996 crore (US$ 11.99 billion)
and Rs 37,478 crore (US$ 5.62 billion) for Food, fertiliser and Petroleum subsidies respectively.
Building Team India with Jan Bhagidari: Minimum Government Maximum Governance.
Achieving green Mother Earth and Blue Skies through a pollution-free India.
Making Digital India reach every sector of the economy.
Launching Gaganyan, Chandrayan, other Space and Satellite programmes.
Building physical and social infrastructure.
Water, water management, clean rivers.
Blue Economy.
Self-su ciency and export of food-grains, pulses, oilseeds, fruits and vegetables.
Achieving a healthy society via Ayushman Bharat, well-nourished women & children, safety of citizens.
Emphasis on MSMEs, Start-ups, defence manufacturing, automobiles, electronics, fabs and batteries, and
medical devices under Make in India.
Tax Slabs
Rs 10 Lakh and above Rs 1,12,500 + 30% of (Total income minus Rs 10,00,000) + 4% cess
Up to Rs 3 lakh Nil
Rs 10 lakh and above Rs 1,10,000 + 30% of (Total income minus Rs 10 lakh) + 4% cess
Up to Rs 5 lakh Nil
Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh 20% of (Total income minus Rs 5 lakh) + 4% cess
Rs 10 lakh and above Rs 1 lakh + 30% of (Total income minus Rs 10 lakh) + 4% cess
Surcharge on individuals having taxable income from Rs 2 crore to Rs 5 crore and Rs 5 crore and above
was enhanced so that the e ective tax rates for these two categories would increase by 3 percent and 7
percent respectively.
E ective tax rate for individuals having taxable income above Rs 2 crore (US$ 0.30 million) has been
increased.
Relief in levy of Securities Transaction Tax (STT) to be provided.
Businesses with an annual turnover of over Rs 50 crore will o er low-cost digital payments. No charges
or Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) will be levied on customers and merchants. RBI will bear these
expenses.
Additional income tax deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh on the interest paid on loans taken to purchase e-
vehicles.
To boost a ordable housing, an additional deduction up to Rs. 1.5 lakh was provided for interest paid on
loans borrowed up to 31st March, 2020 for purchase of house valued up to Rs. 45 lakh. Overall bene t of
around Rs. 7 lakh over loan period of 15 years was announced.
Faceless Income Tax Assessment in electronic mode to be launched in 2019 in a phased manner
involving no human interface, to reduce taxpayer trouble
Several Direct Tax Incentives to be provided to International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs)
Permanent Account Number (PAN) and Aadhaar made interchangeable for convenience of taxpayers;
Income Tax returns can be led using Aadhaar number, if PAN card is not available and vice-a-versa.
Export duty rationalised on raw and semi- nished leather.
Increase in Special Additional Excise Duty and Road and Infrastructure Cess each by Re 1 per litre on
petrol and diesel.
Annual turnover limit for 25% corporate tax raised to Rs 400 crore from Rs 250 crore. Taxpayers with an
annual turnover of less than Rs 5 crore have to le only quarterly.
Direct tax revenue was increased by 78% to Rs. 11.37 lakh crore.
2% TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) on withdrawals of Rs 1 crore in a year from bank accounts for business
payments.
Appropriate class of persons exempted from the anti-abuse provisions of Section 50CA and Section 56 of
the Income Tax Act.
Increase in Special Additional Excise Duty and Road and Infrastructure Cess each by Rs. 1 per litre on
petrol and diesel.
Sabka Vishwas Legacy Dispute Resolution Scheme proposed for quick closure of service tax and excise
related litigations.
As per the current Aadhaar laws, every resident shall be entitled to obtain an aadhaar number by submitting
his demographic information and biometric information by undergoing the process of enrolment. If a person
has resided in India for more than 180 days even if he is a NRI or foreign national, he will be eligible to apply
for Aadhaar. But now, in the Union Budget, it has been proposed that issuing Aadhaar card for non-resident
Indians (NRIs) with Indian passports after their arrival in India without waiting for the mandatory 180 days.
GST
Goods and Services Tax (GST) processes were simpli ed while adding that businesses with less than Rs 5
crore annual turnover will need to le quarterly GST return.
The threshold exemption limit for a supplier of goods was proposed to be enhanced from Rs 20 lakh to
an amount exceeding Rs 40 lakhs.
Merchant exporters have to pay nominal GST of 0.1% for procuring goods from domestic suppliers for
export.
Interest on certain bad or doubtful debts by deposit-taking as well as systemically important non-deposit
taking NBFCs to be taxed in the year in which interest is actually received.
To allow Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) and Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) in debt securities
issued by NBFCs.
Proposals for strengthening the regulatory authority of RBI over NBFCs to be placed in the Finance Bill.
The requirement of creating a Debenture Redemption Reserve will be done away with to allow NBFCs to
raise funds in public issues.
Steps to allow all NBFCs to directly participate in the Trade Receivable Discounting System (TReDS)
platform.
100 % pro t-linked deduction section 80-LA in any ten-year block within a fteen-year period.
Exemption from dividend distribution tax from current and accumulated income to companies and
mutual funds.
Exemptions on capital gain to Category-III Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs).
Exemption to interest payment on loan taken from non-residents.
To reduce Net Owned Fund requirement from Rs 5,000 crores to Rs 1,000 crore.
Non Performing Assets of commercial banks reduced by over Rs. 1 lakh crore in 2018-19.
Record recovery of over Rs. 4 lakh crore a ected over the last four years.
Provision coverage ratio at its highest in seven years.
Domestic credit growth increased to 13.8%.
Rs 70,000 crore proposed to be provided to Public Sector Banks to boost credit.
Return of regulatory authority from National Housing Bank to RBI proposed, over the housing nance
sector.
100 lakh crore investment in infrastructure intended over the next ve years. Committee proposed to
recommend the structure and required the ow of funds through development nance institutions.
Steps to be taken to separate the National Pension Scheme Trust from Pension Fund Regulatory and
Development Authority (PFRDA).
Government to o er an investment option in ETFs on the lines of Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS).
Government to meet public shareholding norms of 25% for all listed PSUs and raise the foreign
shareholding limits to maximum permissible sector limits for all PSU companies which are part of
Emerging Market Index.
New series of coins of One Rupee, Two Rupees, Five Rupees, Ten Rupees and Twenty Rupees, easily
identi able to the visually impaired to be made available for public use shortly.
Target of Rs. 1,05,000 crore of disinvestment receipts set for the FY 2019-20.
Government to reinitiate the process of strategic disinvestment of Air India, and to o er more CPSEs for
strategic participation by the private sector.
Government to consider going to an appropriate level below 51% in PSUs where the government control
is still to be retained, on a case to case basis.
The present policy of retaining 51% Government stake to be modi ed to retaining 51% stake inclusive of
the stake of Government controlled institutions.
Digital Payments
TDS of 2% on cash withdrawal exceeding Rs. 1 crore in a year from a bank account.Business establishments
with annual turnover more than Rs. 50 crore shall o er low cost digital modes of payment to their customers
and no charges or Merchant Discount Rate shall be imposed on customers as well as merchants.
Scheme to invite global companies to set up mega-manufacturing plants in areas such as Semi-conductor
Fabrication (FAB), Solar Photo Voltaic cells, Lithium storage batteries, Computer Servers, Laptops, etc was
proposed. Investment-linked income tax exemption will be provided along with indirect tax bene ts.
Indian economy will become a 3 trillion dollar economy in 2019-20 and Government aspires to make India a 5
trillion dollar economy in the coming years.
India’s Ease of Doing Business ranking under the category of ‘paying taxes’ jumped from 172 in 2017 to 121 in
2019.
Capital gains exemptions from the sale of residential house for investment in start-ups extended till
FY21.
In terms of Angel Tax Issue, startups and their investors who le requisite declaration & provide
information in their return will not be subjected to any kind of scrutiny in valuation of share premiums.
E-veri cation mechanism for establishing the identity of the investor and source of funds.
Special administrative arrangements for pending assessments and grievance redressal.
No scrutiny of valuation of shares issued to Category-II Alternative Investment Funds.
Relaxation of conditions for carry forward and set o of losses.
Small businesses/MSMEs
Centre will create a payment platform for MSMEs for payment of bills
Hundred new clusters will be set up in 2019-20 to enable 50,000 artisans to come into the economic
value chain
It will set up 10,000 new farmer producer organisations.
350 crore allocated for FY 2019-20 for 2% interest subvention (on fresh or incremental loans) to all GST-
registered MSMEs, under the Interest Subvention Scheme for MSMEs.
Payment platform for MSMEs to be created to enable ling of bills and payment thereof, to eliminate
delays in government payments.
The government proposes to extend pension bene ts to three crore retail traders with an annual
turnover less than Rs 1.5 crore under Pradhan Mantri Karam Yogi Man Dan Scheme.
A separate portal will provide up to Rs1 crore loan in 59 minutes for MSMEs (Micro, Small & Medium
Enterprises).
Transportation
India’s rst indigenously developed payment ecosystem for transport, based on National Common
Mobility Card (NCMC) standards, launched in March 2019.
Inter-operable transport card runs on RuPay card and would allow the holders to pay for bus travel, toll
taxes, parking charges, retail shopping.
Massive push given to all forms of physical connectivity through Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana,
Industrial Corridors, Dedicated Freight Corridors and Bhartamala and Sagarmala projects, Jal Marg Vikas
and UDAN Schemes.
Navigational capacity of Ganga to be enhanced via multi modal terminals at Sahibganj and Haldia and a
navigational lock at Farakka by 2019-20, under Jal Marg Vikas Project.
Four times increase in the next four years estimated in the cargo volume on Ganga.
The transport sector has been allocated enhanced outlay of Rs 83,000 crore.
To harness India’s space ability commercially, incorporated as a new commercial arm of Department of Space
called New Space India Limited (NSIL). It has been incorporated to tap the bene ts of Research &
Development carried out by ISRO like commercialization of products like launch vehicles, transfer to
technologies and marketing of space products.
Budget allocation for the Department of Space for the year 2019-20 has gone up to Rs. 12,473.26 crore.
Railways
Rural India
Ujjwala Yojana and Saubhagya Yojana have transformed the lives of every rural family, dramatically
improving ease of their living.
Electricity and clean cooking facility to all willing rural families by 2022.
10,000 new Farmer Producer Organizations to be formed, to ensure economies of scale for farmers.
Government to work with State Governments to allow farmers to bene t from e-NAM(National
Agriculture Market).
Promotion of “Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF)” to reduce the cost of production of farmers and
thereby double their income.
In the proposed Budget 2019-20, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
(MGNREGS) was allocated Rs 60,000 crore.
It aims to achieve “Housing for All” by 2022. Eligible bene ciaries to be provided 1.95 crore houses with
amenities like toilets, electricity and LPG connections during its second phase (2019-20 to 2021-22).
Target of connecting the eligible and feasible habitations advanced from 2022 to 2019 with 97% of such
habitations already being provided with all weather connectivity. 30,000 kilometers of PMGSY roads have
been built using Green Technology, Waste Plastic and Cold Mix Technology, thereby reducing carbon
footprint. 1,25,000 kilometers of road length to be upgraded over the next ve years under PMGSY III
with an estimated cost of Rs. 80,250 crore.
Common Facility Centres (CFCs) to be setup to facilitate cluster based development for making
traditional industries more productive, pro table and capable for generating sustained employment
opportunities. 100 new clusters to be setup during 2019-20 with special focus on Bamboo, Honey and
Khadi, enabling 50,000 artisans to join the economic value chain.
Scheme for Promotion of Innovation, Rural Industry and Entrepreneurship’ (ASPIRE) consolidated
80 Livelihood Business Incubators (LBIs) and 20 Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) plan to be setup
in 2019-20. 75,000 entrepreneurs will be skilled in agro-rural industry sectors.
New Jal Shakti Mantralaya to look at the management of our water resources and water supply in an
integrated and holistic manner.
Jal Jeevan Mission to achieve Har Ghar Jal (piped water supply) to all rural households by 2024.
1592 critical and over exploited Blocks spread across 256 District being identi ed for the Jal Shakti
Abhiyan. Compensatory A orestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) fund will be
used for this purpose.
Urban India
More than 95% of cities were declared Open Defecation Free (ODF).
Almost 1 crore citizens have downloaded Swachhata App.
Target of achieving Gandhiji’s resolve of Swachh Bharat to make India ODF by 2nd October 2019. To
mark this occasion, the Rashtriya Swachhta Kendra to be inaugurated at Gandhi Darshan, Rajghat on
2nd October, 2019. Gandhipedia being developed by the National Council for Science Museums to
sensitize youth and society about positive Gandhian values.
Railways to be encouraged to invest more in suburban railways through SPV structures like Rapid
Regional Transport System (RRTS) proposed on the Delhi-Meerut route.
Over 81 lakh houses with an investment of about Rs. 4.83 lakh crore sanctioned of which construction
started in about 47 lakh houses.
Over 26 lakh houses completed of which nearly 24 lakh houses delivered to the bene ciaries.
Over 13 lakh houses so far constructed using new technologies.
Youth
Ease of Living
About 30 lakh workers joined the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan Scheme which provides Rs. 3,000 per
month as pension on attaining the age of 60 to workers in unorganized and informal sectors.
UJALA Yojana
Approximately 35 crore LED bulbs distributed under UJALA Yojana leading to cost saving of Rs. 18,341 crore
annually.
A Committee proposed with Government and private stakeholders for moving forward on Gender budgeting.
Self Help Groups (SHGs)
Mission to integrate traditional artisans with global markets proposed, with necessary patents and
geographical indicators.
18 new Indian diplomatic Missions in Africa approved in March, 2018, out of which 5 were already
opened. Another 4 new Embassies intended in 2019-20.
Revamp of Indian Development Assistance Scheme (IDEAS)
17 iconic Tourism Sites being developed into model world class tourist destinations.
Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles (FAME) scheme
Outlay of Rs 10,000 crore for 3 years approved for Phase-II of FAME Scheme.
Only advanced-battery-operated and registered e-vehicles to be incentivized under FAME Scheme.
UDAY
Cross subsidy surcharges, undesirable duties on open access sales or captive generation for industrial and
other bulk power consumers will be removed under Ujjwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY).
Infrastructure nancing
Credit Guarantee Enhancement Corporation to be set up in 2019-2020 to enhance sources of capital for
infrastructure nancing.
Action plan to be put in place to deepen the market for long term bonds with a focus on infrastructure.
PAHAL Scheme
There have been estimated savings/bene ts of Rs. 59,599 crore for the Government upto March, 2019 under
the Direct Bene t Transfer of LPG (DBTL) or PAHAL(Pratyaksh Hanstantrit Labh) scheme of the Ministry of
Petroleum and Natural Gas. The Budget Estimates provide an amount of Rs. 37478 crore as Petroleum
subsidy for the 2019-20, compared to Rs. 24833 crore in revised estimates of 2018-19. Out of the above, Rs.
32989 crore are earmarked for LPG subsidy while Rs. 4489 crore have been allocated for kerosene subsidy.
Allocations to Ministries
Petrol
Diesel
Gold, silver (Import duty at 12.5%)
Cigarettes, hookah
Fully imported cars
Automobile parts
Optical bre cable
Digital camera
Cashew
Synthetic rubber
Vinyl ooring
Imported books (5% Customs duty)
Split air-conditioners
Loudspeakers
Digital video recorders
CCTV cameras
Imported plastics
Raw materials for the manufacture of soap
Tiles
Imported stainless steel products
Newsprint
Mountings for furniture
Camera module and charger of mobile phones
Electric vehicles
Leather items
Defence equipments
Purchasing of Home upto Rs. 45 Lakh
Mobile Phone
Electronic goods
Set-top box
1 trillion dollar added to Indian economy over the last 5 years (compared to over 55 years taken to reach
the rst trillion dollar).
India is now the 6th largest economy in the world, compared to 11th ve years ago.
Indian economy is globally the 3rd largest in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) terms.
Strident commitment to scal discipline and a rejuvenated Centre-State dynamic provided during 2014-
19.
Structural reforms in indirect taxation, bankruptcy and real estate carried out.
Average amount spent on food security per year almost doubled during 2014-19 compared to 2009-14.
Patents issued more than trebled in 2017-18 as against the number in 2014.
Ball set rolling for a New India, planned and assisted by the NITI Aayog.
About Budget:
According to Article 112 of the Indian Constitution, the Union Budget of a year, also referred to as the annual
nancial statement, is a statement of the estimated receipts and expenditure of the government for that
particular year.
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