Union Budget 2021-22 | Proposals established on 6 Pillars; Tax Relief for Senior Citizens above 75 years of age [Read the live Updates]

Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union budget 2021-22 in the Parliament Today.

6 Pillars:

• Health and Well-Being
• Physical and Financial capital and infrastructure
• Inclusive Development for Aspirational India
• Reinvigorating Human Capital
• Innovation and R&D
• Minimum Govt., Maximum Governance

LIVE UPDATES

• Three areas – Preventive health, curative health and well-being – to be strengthened
• Urban Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 will be implemented with more budget
• New Centrally Sponsored Scheme PM Aatmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana to be launched, outlay of ₹ 64,180 crore over 6 years To develop capacities of health care systems, develop institutions for detection & cure of new and emerging diseases
• Main Interventions under the above Scheme: Support for Health and Wellness Centres, Setting up Integrated Public Health labs in all districts,  Critical care hospital blocks,  Strengthening of NCDC
• Supplementary Nutrition Programme & POSHAN Abhiyaan to be merged, Mission POSHAN 2.0 to be launched
• To strengthen nutritional content, delivery & outcome
• Intensified strategy for improving nutritional outcomes in aspirational districts
• Proposals in Part A will strengthen the Sankalp of NATION FIRST 1. Doubling farmers’ income 2. Strong Infrastructure 3. Healthy India 4. Good Governance 5. Opportunities for Youth 6. Education for All 7. Women Empowerment, and 8. Inclusive Development
• Urban Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 with outlay of ₹ 1,41,678 crore over 5 years from 2021 Focused on complete fecal sludge management, waste water treatment, source segregation, management of waste from urban construction, bioremediation of legacy dump sites
• ₹ 2,217 crore for 42 urban centres with million plus population, to tackle burgeoning problem of air pollution
• Voluntary vehicle scrapping policy to phase out old and unfit vehicles Vehicles to undergo fitness test in automated fitness centres after 20 years (personal vehicles) and 15 years (commercial vehicles)
• The pneumococcal vaccine, limited to only 5 states at present, to be rolled out across the country Will avert more than 50,000 child deaths annually.
• ₹ 1.97 lakh crore over 5 years starting this FY, for Production Linked Incentive Schemes to create manufacturing global champions
• Scheme of Mega Investment Textile Parks to be launched, in addition to PLI scheme, to create world class infra in textile sector, with plug-and-play facilities, to create global export champions 7 textile parks to be set up over 3 years
• To give further thrust to National Infrastructure Pipeline, three concrete actions to be taken: Creating institutional structures, Monetizing assets, Increasing the share of capital expenditure in central and state budgets.
• Professionally managed Development Financial Institution to be set up, to provide, enable & catalyze infra financing | ₹ 20,000 crore to capitalize this institution | Aim is to have lending portfolio of at least ₹ 5 lakh crore in 3 years.
• National Monetization Pipeline of potential brownfield infrastructure assets to be launched, for monetizing operating public infra assets
• Asset Monetization Dashboard to track progress and provide visibility to investors
• Five operational roads being transferred to NHAI | ₹7,000 crore assets to be transferred to PGCIL | Railways to monetize dedicated freight corridor assets for O&M, after commissioning | Next lot of airports to be monetized for ops & mgmt. concessions
• Sharp increase of 34.5% in capital expenditure as compared to previous budget estimates – resulting in the allocation of ₹ 5.54 lakh crore
• ₹ 40,000 crores for programmes, projects and departments which show good progress in capital expenditure and which may be in need of further funds | More than ₹ 2 lakh crore for states and autonomous bodies for CAPEX (Capital Expenditure)
• By March 2022, another 8,500 km of road projects to be awarded, additional 11,000 km of NH corridors to be completed, under Bharat Mala Pariyojna project
• Enhanced outlay of ₹ 1,18,101 crore for
  MORTH India out of which ₹ 1.08 lakh crore is for capital, the highest ever provided
• Western Dedicated Freight Corridor and Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor to be commissioned by June 2022
• 100% electrification of rail broad gauge routes to be completed by December 2023
• High-density rail networks and highly utilized rail routes to be provided with indigenously developed automatic train protection system which will eliminate train collision due to human error
• a record sum of Rs 1,10,055 crores for Railways of which Rs. 1,07,100 crores is for Capital Expenditure only
• New scheme at a cost of ₹ 18,000 crore for augmentation of public bus transport services will facilitate deployment of innovative PPP models enabling private players to finance, acquire, operate and maintain over 20,000 buses
• MetroLite and Metro New Technologies to be deployed to provide metro rail systems in tier 2 cities and peripheral areas of tier 1 cities, at much lesser cost, with same experience, convenience and safety
• Framework to be put in place, to provide consumers with alternatives to choose from, from among more than one power distribution company
• Revamped, reforms-based, result-linked Power Distribution Sector Scheme to be launched, with outlay of ₹ 3,05,984 crore over 5 years
• Seven port projects worth more than ₹ 2,000 crore to be offered by major ports in PPP Mode, in FY 2021-’22. To move to a model where private partner will manage operations of ports
• Scheme for promoting flagging of merchant ships in India to be launched, by providing subsidy support to Indian shipping companies in global tenders floated by Ministries and CPSEs. ₹ 1,624 crore over 5 years for this.
• Ship Recycling Capacities of around 4.5 million Light Displacement Tonnage to be doubled by 2024, expected to generate around 1.5 lakh jobs for youth.
• Independent Gas Transport System Operator to be set up, for facilitation and coordination of booking of common gas carrier capacity, in all-natural gas pipelines, on a non-discriminatory and open access basis
• A single and rationalized Securities Markets Code to be set up, by consolidating provisions of SEBI Act 1992, Depositories Act 1996, Securities Contracts Regulation 1956 and Govt. Securities Act of 2007.
• Permanent institutional framework to set up, to instill confidence in corporate bond market participants during times of stress and enhance secondary market liquidity
• To set up a system of regulated gold exchanges in the country, SEBI will be notified as regulator and Warehousing Dev. and Regulatory Authority will be strengthened ||For investor protection, Investor Charter as a right of all financial investors across all financial products to be introduced.
• Additional capital infusion of ₹ 1000 crore to Solar Energy Corporation of India and ₹ 1500 crore to IREDA
• Insurance Act 1938 to be amended, to increase permissible FDI limit in insurance companies from 49% to 74% and allow foreign ownership and control with safeguards.
• FM states: Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd. to be set up to consolidate and take over existing stressed debts and manage and dispose of assets for eventual value realization
• Deposit Insurance Cover for bank customers to be increased from ₹ 1 lakh to ₹ 5 lakh, provision to be streamlined to enable depositors get access to funds within insurance coverage limit.
• Minimum loan size eligible for debt recovery under SARFAESI Act 2002, to be reduced from ₹ 50 lakh to ₹ 20 lakh, for NBFCs with minimum asset size of ₹ 100 crores.
• Definition of small companies under Companies Act 2013 to be revised Companies with paid-up capital up to ₹ 2 crores & turnover up to ₹ 20 crores will fall under small companies, benefiting more than 2 lakh companies in compliance req.
• To incentivize incorporation of one-person companies, such companies will be allowed to grow without any restriction on paid-up capital or turnover and to convert into any other type of company at any time.
• NCLT framework will be strengthened, e-court system to be implemented, alternate debt resolution mechanism and special framework for MSMEs to be introduced, Data Analytics and AI-driven, MCA 21 version 3.0 to be introduced
• Two public sector banks apart from IDBI and one general insurance company to be taken up for strategic disinvestment in 2021-’22 IPO of LIC also to be brought in.
• Policy on Strategic Disinvestment of Public Sector Enterprises has been approved.
• To further streamline Ease of Doing Business for cooperatives, a separate administrative structure for them to be set up.
• Agricultural credit target enhanced to ₹ 16.5 lakh crore, focus will be on ensuring increased credit flow to animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries sectors.
• Allocation for Rural Infrastructure Development Fund to be enhanced from ₹ 30,000 crores to ₹ 40,000 crore ₹ 5,000 crore Micro Irrigation Fund to be augmented by another ₹ 5,000 crores.
• 1,000 more mandis to be integrated with National Agriculture Market or eNAM.
• Agricultural Infrastructure Fund to be made available to APMCs for augmenting their infrastructure facilities.
• Portal that will collect relevant information on gig workers, building and construction workers and others to be launched, to help formulate health, housing, skill, food, credit and insurance schemes for all migrant workers.
• To further facilitate flow of credit to SCs and STs and women, margin money required to be reduced from 25% to 15%.
• 100 new Sainik schools to be set up.
• Higher Education Commission to be set up, legislation to be introduced this year for the same.
• Central University to be set up in Leh, for providing accessible higher education in Ladakh.
• Unit cost for setting up 750 Eklavya Model Residential Schools in tribal areas, increased from ₹ 20 crores per school to ₹ 38 crores, and to ₹ 48 crores per school in hilly and difficult areas.
• ₹ 35,219 crores allocated for 6 years till 2025-26, to provide post-matric scholarship to 4 crore Scheduled Caste students.
• National Apprenticeship Promotion and Training Scheme to be realigned, for providing post-education apprenticeship and training for graduates and diploma holders in engineering, over ₹ 3,000 crores to be provided for this.
• National Research Foundation outlay will be ₹ 50,000 crores over 5 years
• ₹ 1,500 crore for a new scheme which will provide financial incentives to promote digital payments.
• National Language Translation Mission to be launched.
• First unmanned launch of space flight ‘Gaganyaan’ slated for December 2021.
• Public-Private Partnership mode for Operational Services at major ports. ₹1,624 crore subsidy support to Indian shipping companies to promote flagging of merchant ships in India.
• Functioning of Tribunals to be further rationalized for speedier delivery of justice.
• National Commission for Allied Healthcare Professionals Bill introduced, to ensure transparent and efficient regulation of 56 allied healthcare professions.
• Customs duty hiked proposed on some mobile parts, auto parts and cotton.
• National research foundation outlay to be Rs 50,000 crore, over 5 years.
• Senior citizens above 75 years of age, having pension & interest income exempted from filing the tax return.
• Decriminalization of the limited liability partnership (LLP) act, 2008 proposed.
• Establishment of National Faceless Income Tax Appellate Tribunal Centre.
• Rs 1000 crore to be provided for welfare scheme for tea workers of Assam & West Bengal especially women & children.
• 7 new textile parks to be launched over 3 years.