
Finance
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented Union Budget 2021-22 with a wish to lay a
vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat. She said AtmaNirbharta is not a new idea.
Ancient India was largely self-reliant, and equally, a business epicenter of
the world. AtmaNirbhar Bharat is an expression of 130 crore Indians who have
full confidence in their capabilities and skills.
The proposals will further strengthen the Sankalp
of Nation First, Doubling Farmers' Income, Strong Infrastructure, Healthy
India, Good Governance, Opportunities for Youth, Education for All, Women
Empowerment, and Inclusive Development, among others.
Senior citizens of 75 years of age and having only
pension income is exempted from filing their income tax returns.
The
budget proposals rest on 6 pillars of Health and Well-being; Physical &
Financial Capital, and Infrastructure;
Inclusive Development for Aspirational India; Reinvigorating Human Capital;
Innovation and R&D and Minimum Government and Maximum Governance.
To
tackle the problem of air pollution 2,217 crore rupees will be provided for 42
urban centers. 35,000 crore rupees was already allotted for the Covid-19 vaccine in
budget estimate 2021-22; further funds
to be provided, if required.
An
increase of 137 percent provided from the Budget outlay for Health and
Well-being i.e. over 2.23 lakh crore rupees as against this year’s budget and estimate of 94,452 crores.
To
strengthen nutritional content, delivery, outreach, and outcome, the
Supplementary Nutrition Programme and the Poshan Abhiyan will be merged and
Mission Poshan 2.0 will be launched to improve nutritional outcomes across 112
Aspirational Districts.
To
promote affordable housing in the country, the government has extended till
31st of March 2022, the eligibility for an additional deduction of interest
amounting to 1.5 lakh rupees for loan taken to purchase an affordable house. To
keep up the supply of affordable houses, the minister said that affordable
housing projects can avail of a tax holiday for one more year - till 31stof March,
2022.
A new centrally sponsored scheme, PM Atma Nirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana, will be launched with an outlay of about 64,180 crores over 6 years. This will be in addition to the National Health Mission.
Urban
Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 to be implemented with a total financial allocation
of over 1.41 lakh crores over a period of 5 years from 2021 to 2026.
The government has also allowed tax
exemption for notified Affordable Rental Housing Projects for migrant workers.
In
order to incentivise start-ups in the country, the Government has extended the
eligibility for claiming tax holiday for start-ups by one more year - till
31stof March, 2022. The Government has also extended the capital gains
exemption for investment in start-ups by one more year - till 31stof March,
2022 to incentivise funding of the start-ups.
The Government has increased FDI limit from 49 to 74 per cent in Insurance Companies and allowed foreign ownership and control with safeguards.
The Government has proposed to infuse 20
thousand crore rupees to re-capitalized Public Sector Banks.
To
provide adequate credit to farmers, the government has enhanced the
agricultural credit target to 16.5 lakh crore rupees in next fiscal with focus
on ensuring increased credit flows to animal husbandry, dairy, and fisheries.
Government has also enhanced the allocation to the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund from 30,000 to 40,000 crore rupees.
It has enlarged the scope of Operation Green Scheme to include 22 perishable products besides tomatoes, onions, and potatoes.
Government has also decided to integrate 1,000 more mandis with e-NAM to ensure transparency and competitiveness in the agricultural market.
The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund will be made available to APMCs for augmenting their infrastructure facilities.
Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban) will be launched to provide universal water supply in all 4,378 Urban Local Bodies with 2.86 crore household tap connections to be implemented over 5 years, with an outlay of 2 lakh 87 thousand crores.
To make the nation a 5 trillion US
dollar economy, the government has committed nearly 1.97 lakh crores, over 5
years starting financial year 2021-22. Mega Investment Textiles Parks (MITRA)
will be launched in addition to the Production Linked Incentive scheme to
create world-class infrastructure in exports. Seven Textile Parks to be
established over 3 years.