Some highlights

budget // The first general budget by NDA government sprang a surprise for many who believed a tough, non-populist budget. In one shot, finance minister Arun Jaitley raised the income tax exemption limit by `50,000 for all taxpayers below 80 years of age, allowed an extra `50,000 for tax-saving investments like provident fund and insurance and a tax write-off on an extra `50,000 for interest payments on home loans. Means, the basic tax exemption limit is to be increased from `2 lakh to `2.5 lakh and for senior citizens from `2.5 lakh to `3 lakh. However, the existing education cess of 3 per cent and the surcharge of 10 per cent for annual incomes of `1 crore or more remained unchanged. The maximum deduction for payment of interest on home loans for selfoccupied property is to go up from ` 1.5 lakh to `2 lakh.

The investments in Employees Provident Fund (EPF), Public Provident Fund (PPF) and life insurance policy will have a lock-in period of three years, while equity-oriented mutual funds, Kisan Vikas Patra, National Savings Certificate and fixed deposits will have a five-year term among others. Jaitley hoped the government will be able to find a solution on Goods and Services Tax (GST), that will rationalise tax administration, avoid harassment of the business and result in higher revenue collection both for the Centre and the states.

The foreign direct investments (FDIs) in defence and insurance sector have been proposed to be increased up to 49 per cent from the current level of 26 per cent. The facility of electronic visa authorisation is expected to be introduced in nine airports, with major source countries like the US, the UK, Russia, France and Germany likely to be first off the block. Jaitley has made a pitch for taking away Planning Commission’s key role of allocating development funds to central ministries. If it’s implemented, the plan panel’s authority will get limited to formulating five-year plans. The Budget permits manufacturing units to sell its products through retail including e-commerce platforms without any additional approval. Besides, 100 Smart Cities to be developed as satellite towns of larger cities and by modernising the existing mid-sized cities. Every household wil be covered by total sanitation by 2019, the 150th year of the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi through the “Swatchh Bharat Abhiyan”. The Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana (VPBY) launched by the Vajpayee government is set to be revived for a limited period from August 15, 2014, to August 14, 2015, for the benefit of senior citizens. The biggest shot in arm coms for landless farmers who fall in moneylenders’ traps after being denied loans by the financial institutions. It is proposed to provide finance ofupto `5 lakh to joint farming groups of “Bhoomi Heen Kisan” through NABARD in the current financial year. An eBiz platform to facilitate a business and investor-friendly ecosystem in India is also on anvil.