Beginning with the Halwa ceremony, the interim budget 2020 came into limelight on February 1, 2020. The budget brought in several breaking news. The current finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman announced the budget. Here are a few highlights of the current budget.
1.Taxes
Rates for personal income has been simplified in budget 2020. This is done to avoid confusion in terms of paying taxes. The rates of taxes for people with various levels of income are listed below.
Rs. 5 to 7.5 Lakh, the taxation has been reduced from 10 percent. The earlier taxation was 20 percent for the same income.
Similarly, a lower tax rate is availed for people of all income range, except those above Rs. 15 lakh, who will continue to pay a taxation amount of 30 percent.
The best and most praised part about taxation for the corporate sector is the abolition of DDT. Introduced in 1997, companies were asked to pay an amount of 7.5per cent, toward efficient tax collection. This has been abolished under the 2020 budget. The main advantage is that the taxation system targets investors and not companies. This is expected to bring out some change in the business sector in the upcoming years.
2. Housing
The shelter is a basic essentiality to all living beings. To ensure that houses are made available to all Indians, the newer budget has come up with a new scheme that promotes constructions. The “Housing for all” scheme date shave been extended, with an additional 1.5 Lakh rupees waive off for all those who fall under this scheme.
In the case of constructions and builders, the tax holiday is provided to those who offer homes at low prices. This has to be submitted and approved before March 31, 2020.
3. Transportation
Smart cities are the new trend. Top-rated cities in India are moving towards an easy and faster mode of transportation. The budget has come with schemes to build 100 new airports, 5 new smart cities and 10, 000 kilometers of the gas grid. All this has been done to facilitate transportation. The finance minister has also stated to involve young engineers with novel ideas in these programs for the betterment of the community.
Indian railways have also been taken into consideration under this budget. The railways are offered with 550 new WiFI facilities for the betterment of the people. Along with this, the Delhi-Mumbai expressway works are expected to be completed by the year 2023. This would be a breakthrough in the field of Indian transportation.
4. Energy
To minimize the stress on the non-renewable resources, several new ideas have been taken into consideration under this budget. For instance, setting up of solar panels nearby rail tracks is an innovation that has been done to increase the power production in the country.
A fund of Rs. 22000 crore has been released for the development of renewable energy in FY 21.
5. Tourism
The major earning source for a country like India is its tourism. Tourism in India is also taken into consideration under this budget. Special trains that connect most tourist spots have been proposed for initiation. This will attract a lot of tourists and in turn, is expected to generate income.
Several new historic places are to be renewed and refurbished, to improve the tourism sector.5 major archaeological sites have been chosen for this purpose.
6. Agriculture
The backbone of India is agriculture. To improve the agriculture production sector in India several new schemes have been included in the budget 2020. A total amount of Rs. 1.6 lakh crore has been allowed for the sole purpose of irrigation in agriculture. 100 drought-affected areas were assessed are to be offered compensation under this budget. The budget also stresses on the importance of transport in agriculture. And hence has come up with modes of aviation and water transport for the movement of agriculture goods not just within the country, but also for export purposes.
Other schemes in agriculture include setting up the solar pump, one-product one district scheme and so on. On an overall notion, this has been designed to improve the life of agriculturalists and also to encourage them to work more.
7.Sanitation and health
The total amount allotted under this sector is Rs.69,000 crores. Following the Jan Arogya Yojna, this has already been established in 20,000 different locations. Rural areas with no hospitals are to be taken into consideration int eh first phase this year. The Jan Aushad schemes have enabled the provision of medicines for people of all classes.
The government has also come up with new ideas for waste management. This includes greywater recycling, solid waste disposal and management, etc.
8. Education
The development of a country primarily depends on the learned personnel. To improve the field of education, a brand new education scheme is to be introduced shortly. Special institutes that train students for positions in policing sciences and forensic sciences is to be introduced under this budget.
The schemes under this sector also include internships for up to one year for freshers under urban local bodies. The ministry of health along with skill development has come with new ideas to sort issues faced by the people in the service sector that includes, nurses and para-medical assistants.
Other schemes
To promote the livelihood of women and children, schemes on the allocation of nutrition resources for the weaker sections have been made. The schemes for the development of lower castes based on reservations have also been made to improve their livelihood. This sums up to an amount of Rs.53,700 crore. A total amount of Rs. 4400 crore is dedicated exclusively to the betterment of climate change. This includes the reconstruction of old thermal power plants and creating new renewable energy sources.
The overall budget is aimed to create a development in the Indian economy. The budget is also designed with the Motto to avoid corruption and to improve the basic amenities, by providing it to people fo all classes.
