Interim Budget: Highlights

By our correspondent

Agartala, February 01, 2019: Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal today presented Union Budget for 2019-2020 in Parliament. Goyal proposed several steps offering Income Tax relief for tax payers, proposed major social pension schemes and financial boost to farming communities. Also fund for North East augmented.

Here are the highlights:

• Fiscal deficit target pegged at 3.4 per cent of GDP for 2019-2020 FY

• Zero Tax slab extended Upto Rs 5L for benefit of salaried people, pensioners and Sr citizens

• Standard Deduction raised from Rs 40k to Rs 50K

• No TDS upto Rs 40K on deposits in Banks and Post Offices from existing Rs 10K

• TDS threshold for rental income hiked to Rs 2.4L from existing 1.8 Lakh

• Allocation of fund for North East up by 21%.

• Bonanaza for Farmers, Rs 75K cr scheme announced

• Direct benefit transfer of Rs 6,000 a year to small, marginal farmers

• Total Expenditure up by 13.3%

• Aim is to creat $10 trillion Economy in 8 years

• Rs 1.30 Cr unaccounted money traced, Rs 50,000 cr worth assets traced

• 1 cr people filed IT returns for the first time after Demonitization

• Major Pension scheme announced, 10 cr workers of unorganized sector to be benefited

• Direct Tax collection almost doubled from Rs 6,38L cr to Rs 12L cr

• Defence budget augmented to Rs 3L cr

• MNREGA allocation up by 9 per cent to Rs 60,000 crore