As it happened: Union Budget 2015

States to be equal partners in economic growth; move to making India cashless society; social sector programmes to continue.

February 28, 2015 09:20 am | Updated December 04, 2021 11:35 pm IST

12.33 p.m.: The Finance Minister tables the Union Budget, Statement of Receipts and Expenditure and the Finance Bill in Parliament after completing his speech.

12.32 p.m.: DTC - No merit in going ahead with Direct tax Code as it exists today. Net impact of tax proposals Rs. 15,068 crore.

12.31 p.m.: Yoga - included under charitable activites.

12.30 p.m.: Indiviual taxpayer can get benefits up to Rs. 4,44,200.

12.29 p.m.: Transport allowance exemption to be increased to Rs. 1,600 per month.

 

Budget 2015

Here are sector-wise highlights

Taxation

1Abolition of Wealth Tax.
2Additional 2% surcharge for the super rich with income of over Rs. 1 crore.
3Rate of corporate tax to be reduced to 25% over next four years.
4Total exemption of up to Rs. 4,44,200 can be achieved.
5100% exemption for contribution to Swachch Bharat, apart from CSR.
6Service tax increased to14 per cent.

Infrastructure

1Rs. 70,000 crores to Infrastructure sector.
2Tax-free bonds for projects in rail road and irrigation
3PPP model for infrastructure development to be revitalised and govt. to bear majority of the risk.
4Atal Innovation Mission to be established to draw on expertise of entrepreneurs, and researchers to foster scientific innovations; allocation of Rs. 150 crore.
5Govt. proposes to set up 5 ultra mega power projects, each of 4000MW.

Education

1AIIMS in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar and Assam.
2IIT in Karnataka; Indian Institute of Mines in Dhanbad to be upgraded to IIT.
3PG institute of Horticulture in Armtisar.
4Kerala to have University of Disability Studies
5Centre of film production, animation and gaming to come up in Arunachal Pradesh.
6IIM for Jammu and Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh.

 

Welfare schemes

1GST and JAM trinity (Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar and Mobile) to improve quality of life and to pass benefits to common man.
2Six crore toilets across the country under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
3MUDRA bank will refinance micro finance orgs. to encourage first generation SC/ST entrepreneurs.
4Housing for all by 2020.
5Upgradation 80,000 secondary schools.
6DBT will be further be expanded from 1 crore to 10.3 crore.
7For the Atal Pension Yojana, govt. will contribute 50% of the premium limited to Rs. 1000 a year.
8New scheme for physical aids and assisted living devices for people aged over 80 .
9Govt to use Rs. 9,000 crore unclaimed funds in PPF/EPF for Senior Citizens Fund.
10Rs. 5,000 crore additional allocation for MGNREGA.
11Govt. to create universal social security system for all Indians.

Agriculture

Rural Infrastructure Development Bank Micro Irrigation Programme Targeted for farmer credit

Rs. 25,000 c  
Rs. 5,300 cr  
Rs. 8.5 lakh cr

Defence

allocated for defence (an increase of 9.87 per cent over last year)

Rs. 2,46,726 cr
Focus on Make in India for quick manufacturing of Defence equipment.

Renewable energy

electric cars production Solar power Wind power Bio Mass Small Hydro

Rs. 75 cr
2022: 100K MW
60K MW
10K MW
5K MW

Tourism

Develpoment schemes for churches and convents in old Goa; Hampi, Elephanta caves, Forests of Rajasthan, Leh palace, Varanasi , Jallianwala Bagh, Qutb Shahi tombs at Hyderabad to be under the new toursim scheme.
Visa on Arrival for 150 countries

12.28 p.m.: Rs. 50,000 contribution to new pension scheme. "To make India a pensioned society."

12.27 p.m.: Additional deduction of Rs. 25,000 for differently abled persons.

12.26 p.m.: Increase in limit of deduction of health insurance premium of Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 25,000. For senior citizens, limit will be Rs. 30,000. Very senior citizens - Rs. 30,000 deduction on expenses incurred.

12.25 p.m.: 2 per cent cess on services for Swachch Bharat.

12.24 p.m.: 100 per cent deduction for contribution to Swachch Bharat and Clean Ganga schemes.

12.23 p.m.: Service Tax rate increased to 14 per cent.

12.22 p.m.: Educational cess and higher educational cess to be subsumed as a part of GST.

12.19 p.m.: Wealth tax - Rs. 1,008 crore in 2013-14. Wealth tax to be abolished and replaced with a super-rich tax for those with income of over Rs. 1 crore.

12.17 p.m.: Basic custom duty rate reduced for 22 items.

12.16 p.m.: GAAR - applicability to be deferred by two years.

12.15 p.m.: Allocation for renewable energy

12.10 p.m.: Allocation for agriculture

12.08 p.m.: First proposal is to deal with black money. In the last 9 months, a major breakthrough was achieved when a delegation of the Revenue Department visited Switzerland.

12.07 p.m.: Exemption to individual taxpayers will continue.

12.04 p.m.:Taxation

Basic rate of corporate tax in India is now 30 per cent. But rate of collection is 23 per cent. A regime of exemptions has led to loss of revenue.

Coporate tax rate wil be reduced to 25 per cent over the next four years.

12.02 p.m.:Budget estimates

Non-plan expenditure - Rs. 13,12,200 crore

Plan expenditure - Rs. 4,65,277 crore

Fiscal deficit - 3.9% of GDP

12.01 p.m.: Make in India policy for defence equipment - Rs. 2,46,727 crore allocation for defence.

12.00 noon: Rs. 68,968 crore for education sector.

11.57 a.m.: We are making good progress on Digital India.

11.55 a.m.: AIIMS in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Assam. AIIMS-like institution in Bihar. IIT in Karnataka. IIMs in Jammu and Kashmir, and Andhra Pradesh. Centre for Film Production and Animation in Arunachal Pradesh.

11.54 a.m.: Fully IT based student financial aid scheme for higher education.

11.53 a.m.: National Skills Mission for skill development and entrepreneurship - Rs. 1,500 crore.

11.52 a.m.: Procurement law for public contracts. Govt. to introduce Public Contracts (Resolution of Disputes) Bill. Regulatory reform law to be introduced.

11.51 a.m.: Rs. 75 crore for electric cars production.

11.50 a.m.: Visa on arrival scheme - increased to 150 countries in different stages.

11.49 a.m.: World Heritage Sites - churches and convents of old Goa, Hampi, Elephanta caves, Leh palace, Varanasi temple town, Jallianwala Bagh etc., will be developed to make them more tourist-friendly.

11.48 a.m.: Rs. 1,000 crore additional allocation to the Nirbhaya fund.

11.47 a.m.: Will do away with different types of foreign investment — like FPI and FDI — and replace them with a comprehensive type.

11.46 a.m.: We will look at making India a cashless society by incentivising card transactions.

11.44 a.m.: EPF - Employee may opt for EPF or new pension scheme, employee's contribution to EPF below an income threshold will be optional without reducing employer's contribution.

11.43 a.m.: Direct Tax regime which will be internationally competitive on rates.

11.41 a.m.: Will merge Forward Markets Commision with SEBI. Will set up a public debt management agency.

11.40 a.m.: Rs. 5,000 crore additional allocation for MGNREGA.

11.37 a.m.: Ports will be encouraged to corporatise and become companies under Companies Act.

11.35 a.m.: The govt. is establishing a mechanism for techno-financial incubation and facilitation programme - Rs. 1,000 crore set aside for this.

11.33 a.m.: Investment in Infrastructure will go up by Rs 70,000 crore in 2015-16. Annual inflow of Rs. 20,000 crore by way of a trust, to use this extra equity to leverage investment in infrastructure. PPP model to be revisited and revitalised. Atal Innovation Mission - for entrepreneurs and researchers to foster a culture of innovation: R.s 150 crore for this purpose.

11.32 a.m.: Nayi Manzil scheme - to enable minority youth to obtain school leaving certificate and gain better employment.

11.31 a.m.: Assisted living devices for senior citizens living below the poverty line.

11.30 a.m.: Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana - Rs. 1 per day premium, Rs. 2 lakh coverage.

11.28 a.m.: Accident death risk - Rs 2 lakhs for a premium of Rs. 12 per year. Atal Pension Yojana - defined pension depending on contribution. Govt. will contribute 50 per cent of the amount.

11.27 a.m.: NBFCs registered with RBI above Rs. 5,000 crore to be considered financial institutions.

11.26 a.m.: We will bring a comprehensive bankruptcy code in 2015-16.

11.26 a.m.: Will create Mudra Bank with corpus of Rs. 20,000 crore for microfinance. "We are banking the unbanked and funding the unfunded."

11.25 a.m.: MGNREGA - Rs. 34,699 crore

11.23 a.m.: Rs. 8.5 lakh crore of rural credit for the year.

11.21 a.m.: In order to improve soil health, the Agriculture Ministry's organic farming programme, Rs. 5,300 crore for micro-irrigation watershed projects.

11.20 a.m.: Gross disinvestment in loss-making units will be undertaken. DBT will be further expanded from 1 crore to 10.3 crore.

11.17 a.m.: Total public investment will be Rs 1.25 lakh crore. "Will complete the journey to fiscal deficit of 3 per cent in two years and not three years."

11.16 a.m.: Government will continue all social sector programmes like MNREGA, rural schemes etc.

11.14 a.m.: "We have devolved a 42 per cent share of divisible taxes to States. Devolution will be Rs. 5.2 lakh crore in 2015. Total transfer to States will 62 per cent."

11.13 a.m.: "The rural-urban divide is no longer acceptable."

11.12 a.m.: "All our schemes should focus off-centre on the poor. We need to upgrade 80,000 secondary schools."

11.11 a.m.: Housing for all by 2022 announced — 2 crore in rural areas, 5 crore in urban areas.

11.10 a.m.: Estimated GDP for 2015-16 will be between 8 and 8.5 per cent. "Aiming for a double-digit growth rate seems feasible."

11.08 a.m.: We have embraked on two other programmes now — GST and JAM Trinity. GST will be implemented by April 2016 says Mr. Jaitley.

11.07 a.m.: Mr. Jaitley puts forth three achievements of the new government — the success of the Jan Dhan Yojana, coal auctions and Swachch Bharat Abhiyan. "We will attain the target of building 6 crore toilets. It's at a deeper level a programme of preventive healthcare."

11.05 a.m.: "The people of India have voted resoundingly for quick change, faster growth and high levels of transparency. We have lived up to that trust."

11.04 a.m.: "We inherited a sentiment of doom and gloom. We have come a long way since then. The CAD for the year is expected to be below 1.3% of GDP. Foreign exchange reserves have risen to $340 billion."

11.02 a.m.: "The credibility of the Indian economy has been reestablished," says Mr. Jaitley. "We are a round-the-clock, round-the-year government."

11 a.m.: Arun Jaitley begins his Budget speech. "We have embraced the States as equal partners in the process of economic growth."

10.50 a.m.: Budget documents arrive at the Parliament. Photo: Sandeep Saxena

10.45 a.m.: The Swachch Bharat Abhiyan has a target of building 120 million toilets over five years with an investment of Rs. 2 lakh crore. But the FY '15 target of 12 million targets seems set to be missed.

10.34 a.m.: Which are India’s most effective subsidies, the ones that best reach the poor?

Read The Hindu 's National Data Editor Rukmini S.' >analysis on how India's Rs. 3.8 lakh crore subsidies don’t always reach the poor.

10.25 a.m.: Take a look at how our Business team >demystified the Economic Survey 2014-15, in a live chat with our readers.

10.20 a.m.: Before the Budget speech begins, familiarise yourself with terms that will be used in the speech using our >glossary .

10.15 a.m.: Do you know which former Finance Minister used to be a soap salesman and eventually became the first Minister to lose his job over a scam? Head over to our >Budget quiz to answer this and more.

10.10 a.m.:The Hindu 's headlines on previous Union Budgets, over the years. >See the slideshow here .

10:05 a.m.: From mass rapid transit system to standardisation of taxes to higher budgetary spending and steps to curb prices, here are a series of measures that might transform Chennai:

>Empowered cities the key to transport surge

Empowered cities — that is what experts in the transport sector want from Budget 2015.

> Read More...

Photo: M. Prabhu

CHENNAI; TAMILNADU 27/08/2014 ; Ganesh chaturthi Festival Sale koyambedu market on Wednesday Photo : M_PRABHU

>‘Bring in Goods and Services Tax’

The govt. must implement a GST to replace various existing taxes, say traders dealing with various commodities in the city.

> Read More...

CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU, 23/09/2014: merry sales: View of gold jewellery outlet in Chennai on September 23, 2014. Jewellers report a 15-20 per cent increase in sales.
Photo: K.V. Srinivasan

CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU, 23/09/2014: merry sales: View of gold jewellery outlet in Chennai on September 23, 2014. Jewellers report a 15-20 per cent increase in sales. Photo: K.V. Srinivasan

> Jewellers hope for cut in import duty

With Union Budget 2015 -16 round the corner, expectations are running high among jewellers that a cut in import duty will be implemented.

> Read More...

>‘Scrap service tax, spend on infra’

Do away with service tax and invest in infrastructure – these are two key expectations the travel and tourism sector has from the Union Budget 2015.

> Read More...

 

CHENNAI- 12-01-2013- 
Doctors check up the old women at the free Medical Camp at the Peerkankaranai near Tambaram. 
Photo:. M. Srinath.

CHENNAI- 12-01-2013- Doctors check up the old women at the free Medical Camp at the Peerkankaranai near Tambaram. Photo:. M. Srinath.

>Health experts hope for higher allocation

There are many expectations the healthcare sector has from the Union Budget 2015, but the foremost one is an increase in the allocation.

> Read More...

10 a.m.: The BSE Sensex surged over 262 points and the NSE Nifty regained the 8,900-mark in early trade of a special stock market session on Saturday, ahead of Budget 2015. >Read more

9.55 a.m.: The Economic Survey of 2014-15 has suggested three initiatives in the decreasing order of effectiveness and the increasing order of controversy to realise the ‘Make in India’ dream. >Read more

9.50 a.m.: Finance minister Arun Jaitley arrives to present Budget at Parliament House. Photo: R.V. Moorthy

9.50 a.m.: Noting that the stalled projects had risen at an alarming rate during the last five years, especially in the private sector, the chief reason for declining investments, the Economic Survey 2014-15 stressed the need for investment-driven growth led by the public sector. >Read more

9.45 a.m.: India’s Rs. 3.8 lakh crore subsidies don’t always reach the poor. >Read more

9.40 a.m.: The Economic Survey said that by adopting what it called the JAM Number Trinity — Jan Dhan Yojana accounts seeded with Aadhaar numbers and operated through mobile numbers — would allow the States to deliver the subsidies to the poor in a targeted and less distorted manner. >Read more

9.35 a.m.: If you have ever wondered what a fount of information the Budget documents contain, head over to >Hidden gems from the Budget documents for more.

9.30 a.m.: Arun Jaitley and Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha with Finance Ministry staff, at their North Block office before leaving for Rashtrapati Bhavan, ahead of the Union Budget 2015. Photo: Sandeep Saxena

9.25 a.m.: This Budget is an opportunity for the government to play a long-haul game. >Read more

9.20 a.m.: FM @arunjaitley with MoS @jayantsinha left North Block to present Union Budget in the Parliament. #SabkaBudget #Budget2015

9.15 a.m.: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley arrives at North Block. Photo: Sandeep Saxena

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley arrives at North Block. He will present the Union Budget in Parliament later in the day. Photo: Sandeep Saxena

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