Daijiworld Media Network

New Delhi, Jul 5: India’s first woman Union Finance Minister in almost five decades, Nirmala Sitharaman presented the full-fledged Union Budget for the current financial year Friday, July 5, where she proposed reforms in several sectors including PSBs, tax returns and railways.

Sitharaman proposed a Re 1 per litre cess on petrol and diesel prices, and hiked customs duty on gold and precious metals to 12.5 per cent from 10 per cent. She also said that Aadhaar card can be used in place of PAN for filing income taxes now. Also, from the current fiscal year, Rs 2-5 crore taxable income will see effective tax rate rising by 3 per cent and total effective tax rate will be higher by 7 per cent for those with a taxable income of over Rs 5 crore. She also said that the government has proposed a Rs 70,000 crore capital infusion into government-owned banks this year.

Sitharaman also said, “The Government is working towards ‘Har Ghar Jal’ by 2024, 10,000 new farmer producer organisations will be set up, 9.6 crore toilets have been constructed since October 2014, New Space India Limited (NSIL) has been incorporated to tap the benefits of ISRO.” “Railway infrastructure would need an investment of Rs 50 lakh crore between 2018 and 2030. We are looking to implement one nation, one grid in the power sector,” she said.

Here are the Live Updates:

13:39 pm - Nirmala Sitharaman proposes no change in I-T slabs

13:21 pm - FM proposes Legacy Dispute Resolution scheme to solve litigations in service tax and excise

13:12 pm - FY20 fiscal deficit target revised to 3.3% against 3.4%

13:08 pm - Excise duty on petrol and diesel increased by 1 rupee

13:07 pm - Increase customs duty on gold and precious metals from 10% to 12.5%

13:03 pm - Imported defence items to be exempted from basis customs duty: FM

13:01 pm - Surcharge raised on people with income of Rs 2-5 crore rupees and beyond

12:52 - I propose to make PAN and Aadhaar interchangeably usable: FM

12:51 - Interest deduction on housing loan under Section 80EE increased by Rs 1.5 lakh for home loans taken on self-occupied house property by 31/3/2020 Housing sector: enhanced interest reduction of 7 lakh across loan period for homeowners in affordable housing space

12:46 pm - Funds raised by startups will not require any scrutiny by the Income Tax dept, says Sitharaman

12:44 pm - Will provide additional income tax deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh on the interest paid, loans taken to purchase electric vehicles. This amounts to a benefit of Rs 2.5 lakh over the loan period to buy electric vehicles, says Sitharaman

12:43 pm - Corporate tax: Currently lower rate of 25% is applicable on companies having annual turn over Rs 250 crore. This is now enhanced to Rs 400 crore. 0.7% companies will be taxed at the rate of 30%

12:39 pm - Direct tax revenue has increased by 78% since 2013-14. It is now growing at double-digit rate every year: Sitharaman

12:36 pm - India's sovereign external debt to GDP is among the lowest globally at less than 5%. Govt will start raising a part of its gross borrowing program in external markets in external currencies: Sitharaman

12:34 pm - Govt to modify present policy of retaining 51% stake in PSUs: Sitharaman

12:33 pm - Government announces new series of coins will be made available for public use shortly.

12:27 pm - Government assures credit guarantee for the sound NBFCs 1-time, 6-month partial credit guarantee to the PSBs to buy some NBFC loans Sound NBFCs should get funding from Banks and Mutual Funds: Sitharaman

12:21 pm - Government proposes to provide Rs 70,000 crore of capital to PSBs: Sitharaman

12:21 pm - To popularise sports at all levels, National Sports Education Board for development of sportspersons to be set up under Khelo India: Sitharaman

12:20 pm - Provision Coverage Ratio is at its highest in 7 years: Nirmala Sitharaman

12:20 pm - FM Sitharaman proposes to develop 17 iconic tourism sites

12:16 pm - I propose issuing Aadhaar Card to NRIs with Indian passport, after arriving in India without waiting for mandatory 180 days: Sitharaman

12:13 pm - I propose to increase women SHG interest subvention to all the districts in India. An overdraft of Rs 5000 shall be allowed in Jan Dhan bank accounts. One woman in every SHG will also be made eligible to take loan up to Rs 1 lakh under Mudra scheme, says Sitharaman

12:11 pm - Govenment plans to modernise railway stations this year: Sitharaman

12:09 pm - Programmes will be accelerated, red tape reduced: Sitharaman

12:08 pm - 35 crore LED bulbs have been distributed under the Ujala Yojana. Rs 18,341 crore savings has been achieved from this annually: Sitharaman

12:05 pm - The government is planning to streamline multiple labour laws into 4 labour codes, says Sitharaman

12:04 pm - A TV channel for startups as a platform to be set up. It will be designed and executed by startups themselves, says Sitharaman

12:02 pm - Training in AI, IoT technology will also receive push, says Sitharaman

11:59 am - Draft legislation to be presented for higher education, By concerted efforts, we have now 3 institutions -- two IITs and IISc Bengaluru in top 200 institutes in the world. We will improve the performance of higher learning institutesfor 2019-20.India has the potential to become the hub of higher education to attract foreign students, says Sitharaman

11:55 am - A new education policy to transform India into one of the global best education systems. Focus on research and innovation by creating aNational research foundation to encourage research in India.

11:55 am - Rwilways would be encouraged to invest more in the suburban railways through special purpose vehicles (SPVs): Nirmala Sitharaman

11:53 am - India will reach 100% ODF by October 2, 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, 'Gandhipedia' to be unveiled to make people more aware of Gandhian values, says Sitharaman

11:51 am - 9.6 crore toilets have been constructed since October 2, 2014 -- the day Swachh Bharat was launched. 5.6 lakh villages have become open defecation free, as well, says Nirmala Sitharaman 2 crore Indians have been made literate digitally.Every panchayat to have Internet connectivity,says Nirmala Sitharaman

11:42 am - Nearly 1,25,000 km of roads will be upgraded under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana at estimated cost of nearly Rs 80,200 crore: Nirmala Sitharaman

11:42 am - Department of fisheries will address critical gaps in the value chain, says Nirmala Sitharaman

11:39 am - Time has come to harness India's space ability commercially. New Space India Limited, a public sector enterprise, has been incorporated to tap the benefits of R&D carried out by ISRO. The company will spearhead commercialization of various space products, says Sitharaman

11:37 am - By 2020, every rural family will have electricity and clean cooking energy: Sitharaman

11:33 am - Propose to merge NRI investment route with FPI scheme route: Nirmala Sitharaman

11:30 am - Govt to examine suggestions in opening up FDI in aviation, media, animation and AVGC sectors, says Nirmala Sitharaman

11:25 am - India requires investment of 20 lakh crore every year, says Nirmala Sitharaman

11:24 am - Govt to create payment platform for MSMEs: Sitharaman

11:18 am - 657 km of metro rail network has become operational in the country, says Nirmala Sitharaman

11:15 am - It is the right time for India to enter aircraft financing and leasing, says Nirmala Sitharaman

11:14 am - There is a need to invest heavily in infra, digital eco & job creation in MSMEs, says Nirmala Sitharaman

11.08 am - We aim to become $3 trillion economy this year itself: Nirmala Sitharaman

11:06 am - "India went from $1.85 trillion economy to $2.7 trillion in 5 years. It is well within our capacity to reach $5 trillion economy within few years", says Nirmala Sitharaman

11.00 am - Nirmala Sitharaman begins Budget speech

10. 23 am - Nirmala Sitharaman meets President.

10. 20 am - The first Union budget of independent India covered a period of seven-and-a-half months from 15 August 1947 to 31 March 1948 and was interim budget. A budget for the year had been passed in March but it ceased to be operative due to the division of the country into India and Pakistan.

10.14 am -  Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and MoS Finance Anurag Thakur arrive at the Parliament. Setting a new precedent Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday was seen hugging the budget documents wrapped in a red cloth, the traditional 'bahi khaata' way, instead of the leather briefcase that until now her predecessors walked around with.

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