Main highlights from Arun Jaitley's populist 2017 budget

    * Tax rates halved to 5% for income of Rs 2.5-5 lakh, tax  slabs unchanged
    * 10% surcharge on people earning between Rs 50 lakh-1 cr
    * 15% surcharge on annual income above Rs 1 cr to continue
    * Cash transactions above Rs 3 lakh to banned
    * Corporate tax for SMEs with turnover up to Rs 50 cr cut  to 25%; 96% companies to benefit
    * Customs duty of LNG halved to 2.5%
    * Fiscal deficit pegged at 3.2% next year, 3% in FY'19
    * Political parties barred from accepting cash donation  beyond Rs 2,000 per individual
    * They can receive donations via cheques, electronic mode;  electoral bonds to be issued by RBI
    * Aadhaar-based health cards for senior citizens; a scheme  for them to ensure 8 pc guaranteed returns


 

    * FIPB to be abolished; further FDI policy liberalisation
    * Government to have time-bound procedure for CPSE listing
    * Railway PSUs -- IRCTC, IRFC, IRCON to be listed
    * Payment Regulatory Board to be set up within RBI to  regulate digital payments
    * Negotiable instruments Act to be amended to deal with  cheque bounce cases
    * Legislative changes to confiscate of assets of economic  offenders who flee country
    * Demonetisation bold, decisive measure; to help GDP  growth, taxes mop up to rise
    * Effect of demonetisation not to spill over to next year
    * GST, demonetisation 'tectonic changes' for economy
    * Service charges on e-tickets booked via IRCTC waived

    * Capital expenditure of Railway fixed at Rs 1.31 lakh cr
    * Rail safety fund of Rs 1 lakh cr over 5 years, unmanned  level crossing to be eliminated by 2020
    * Budget based on 3 agenda -- Transform, Energise, Clean  India (TECIndia).
    * 3 yr period for long-term capital gains tax on immovable  property reduced to 2 years; base year indexation  shifted from April 1, 1981 to April 1, 2001
    * Disinvestment target at Rs 72,500 cr, up from 56,500 cr
    * Gross market borrowing pegged at Rs 6.05 lakh cr
    * Duty exempted on POS machines and Iris readers for  encouraging digital payments
    * Tax benefits for Start ups to be for 3 out of 7 yrs
    * FPI to be exempt from indirect transfer provision
    * Integrated public sector oil major to be created to  match global giants
 

    * Direct Tax collection growth 15.8%, indirect tax 8.3%
    * Total expenditure pegged at Rs 21.47 lakh crore
    * Capital expenditure up 24%; to have multiplier effect
    * Allocation to states hiked to Rs 4.11 cr
    * FRBM Committee suggests Debt-GDP ratio of 60% by 2020
    * Retail inflation to remain within 2-6 pc
    * 2 new AIIMS to come up in Jharkhand, Gujarat
    * Highest ever allocation of Rs 48,000 cr to MNREGA
    * Farm sector to grow at 4.1% this fiscal, to double farm income in five years
    * Farm credit target for next fiscal at Rs 10 lakh crore

    * Fasal Bima yojana increased to 40% of crop area; raised to Rs 1.41 lakh crore in Kharif 2017 season
    * Infrastructure investment pegged at Rs 3.96 lakh cr
    * To double irrigation fund corpus to Rs 40,000 cr
    * Infrastructure status accorded affordable housing
    * Dairy processing fund with Rs 2000cr corpus to be set up
    * Rs 1.84 lakh cr allocated for women, child initiatives
    * Rs 1.87 lakh cr allocated to rural, agri, allied sectors
    * 1 crore houses by 2019 for homeless
    * PM Awas Yojana allocation up from Rs 15,000 cr to Rs  23,000 cr
    * 100% village electrification to be achieved by May 2018 
    * Rs 31,920 cr allocated for Scheduled Tribes, Rs 4,195 cr minority affairs, outcome-based budgeting to start
    * Road sector allocation hiked to Rs 64,000 cr
    * Innovation Fund to be created for Secondary Education
    * Allocation of Rs 2.41 lakh crore rail, road, shipping to  create jobs, spur economic activity
    * New metro rail policy to be announced
    * New crude oil reserves proposed at Odisha and Rajasthan; to take strategic reserve capacity to 15.33 mmt
    * India on cusp of digital revolution
    * FDI increased 35 pc to Rs 1.45 lakh crore in H1 FY'17.
 

• Union Budget 2017
• Finance Minister
• Arun Jaitely
• Highlights
• India