●PM on Union Budget
"This is a Budget that converts hopes and aspirations of the people into trust; new ray of hope for the poor and downtrodden"
"The Budget will give an impetus to Jan Bhagidari (people’s participation) and Jan Shakti (people's power)"
"We are going in the right direction to overcome challenges faced in last decade"
PM congratulates Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley on presenting his maiden Budget
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi termed the Budget as a Budget that converts hopes and aspirations of the people into trust. The Prime Minister expressed confidence that the Budget will take India to newer heights of progress and stated, “This Budget is a new ray of hope for the poor and downtrodden sections of society.”
Congratulating the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley for his maiden budget, the Prime Minister said, “The Budget will give an impetus to Jan Bhagidari (people’s participation) and Jan Shakti (people's power).” He described the Budget as an effort to make India skilled and digital, guided by the usage of the latest technology.
He said that for the moribund economy, this budget has come as a Sanjeevani (new life) and an Arunoday (sunrise) for the last man in the line. The Prime Minister said development should be all-encompassing ("samaveshak, sarvadeshak, sarvasparshi") and should also reach those parts of the country which have so far remained underdeveloped.
Shri Modi assured the people of India that the Government is leaving no stone unturned in doing their duty to develop India and rid the nation from the challenges it faces. He recalled how the entire world had immense expectations from India but how in the last decade the entire economic system crumbled due to which not only India but also the world lost hope and there was an atmosphere of pessimism.
Talking about the new Government's efforts, the PM said, “Since we formed the Government there were discussions about whether this Government can free the nation from crisis but the Railway Budget and today’s General Budget show that we are moving in the right direction.”
The PM categorically stated that despite the testing times, his Government is committed to extend every possible help to the poor, the neo-middle class and the middle class, inspired by the mantra of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas.’
Shri Modi talked about the innovative provisions in the Budget for the development of tribal communities and schemes for giving an impetus to skill development for youth. “The Budget is in line with the Government’s vision to create a skilled and digital India,” Shri Modi said.
He elaborately talked about the measures for the farmers such as Krishi Sinchai Yojana that would benefit farmers and achieve the guiding principle of ‘per drop, more crop.’ He particularly mentioned the provisions in the Budget for the cleaning of the Ganga.
The PM pointed that the Budget will give a ray of hope to the housewife who is being burdened by rising prices and will place utmost importance to women empowerment and girl's education.
He reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to make India self-reliant in the defence sector.
The Prime Minister said his Government was committed and confident of bringing India out of crisis. And this confidence was due to the capabilities and strength of 125 crore Indians. He said this strength would be channeled towards taking the country to new heights.
●Statement by Shri Rajnath Singh on Union Budget
said that the Union Budget 2014-15 presented today by the Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley has successfully captured the imagination of the people by addressing their hopes and aspirations. It has defined a roadmap for ‘New Vibrant India’.
The Home Minister said that exhibiting an appetite for change, the Union Budget provides an enabling framework to realise the true potential of Indian economy. In a clear move to achieve fiscal consolidation and economic recovery, the Budget has made many concrete announcements. Schemes like 'Skill India' announced in the Budget will boost the confidence of India's youth and create massive job opportunities in the country, Shri Singh added.
Shri Rajnath Singh said that the 'Pradhan Mantri Gram SinchaiYojana’ designed to provide irrigation facilities in rain-fed areas will not only benefit the farmers but also strengthen our food security. The Budget has allocated Rs 500 crores for displaced Kashmiri migrants which will help in expediting the process of relief and rehabilitation in J&K.
Shri Singh further said that by outlaying Rs 3000 crores for police modernisation, the Budget has highlighted our government's resolve to strengthen the existing police infrastructure in the country.
The Home Minister stated that the Budget has also proposed to hike the income tax exemption limit from existing Rs 2 Lakhs to Rs 2.5 lakhs which will provide much needed relief to salaried class.
Shri Rajnath Singh mentioned that by proposing six new ‘Textile Clusters’, the Budget gives boost to Indian textile industries and also create job opportunities. The Budget has also allocated funds to Ganga rejuvenation and river interlinking project which is indeed a welcome step.
The Budget carries good news for almost every sections of the society be it farmers, youth, businessmen, industrialists, workers, women, SC-STs or even the people with disabilities, the Home Minister mentioned.
●Dr. Jitendra Singh Thanks Finance Minister for Budget Allocationster
Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions today thanked the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley for financial allocation for the State of Jammu & Kashmir.
Dr Jitendra Singh conveyed his gratitude on behalf of the people of J&K for, among other things, sanctioning an I.I.T. for Jammu. Dr Jitendra Singh had personally placed a proposal before the HRD Ministry for an I.I.T. in Jammu.
Talking to media outside the Parliament House, Dr Jitendra Singh observed that Sh Jaitley had adopted a balanced approach not only while allocating funds to different States, but had also tried to strike a balance among the different regions within each State. Citing the example of Jammu & Kashmir, he said, while Jammu had been given an I.I.T., for Kashmir Valley there is a Pashmina promotion allocation and for Ladakh there is provision to promote Solar projects. In addition, both the capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar had been provided funds for upgrading of their respective Sports Stadia.
Dr Jitendra Singh also thanked the Finance Minister for extra allocation to support pensioners keeping in view that the number of pensioners in the country is now more than the number of serving officials. He also thanked the Finance Minister for funding the Science & Technology projects and the space programme for the launch of satellite voyage to Mars.
●ACC Appointments
Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the following appointments:
(i)Shri Rajiv Gauba, IAS (JH:82), Additional Secretary, Department of Electronics and Information Technology as Additional Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs in the vacancy of Shri K.Skandan, IAS (TN:82).
(ii)Shri Bhaskar Chandra Khulbe, IAS (WB:83), at present in the cadre, as Additional Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training in the vacancy of Shri J. P. Prakash, IAS (AM:82).
(iii)Shri Durga Shanker Mishra, IAS (UP:84), Joint Secretary, Ministry of Mines as Additional Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development in the vacancy of Shri D. Diptivilasa, IAS (UP:81) (Retired).
(iv)Shri Arun Kumar Panda, IAS (OR:84), Joint Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare as Additional Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare in the vacancy of Ms. Anuradha Gupta, IAS(HY:81).
(v)Shri Ravi Kant, IAS (BH:84), Joint Secretary, Department of Defence as Additional Secretary, Ministry of Defence in the vacancy of Shri Shankar Agarwal, IAS(UP:80).
●Emphasis of Budget 2014 in the HRD Sector
Union Budget 2014 has many aspects which would promote education in the country: Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani
The Minister feels that:
Ø The focus of the Budget has been on education and skill development. In particular, the Plan Budget of Higher Education has been considerably increased in 2014-15. In the School Education and Literacy sector also, the increase has been substantial. Overall, the Budget of the Ministry of HRD (Plan & Non-Plan), of both the Departments of Higher Education and Department of School Education & Literacy taken together, will witness an increase of 12.3 per cent from Rs. 74,621 crores in RE 2013-14 to Rs. 83,771 crores.
Ø The Budget has specially focused on education of girl child which is one of the major priorities of this Government.
Ø The Budget highlights the resolve to provide the residual one lakh girls toilets and drinking water facilities in schools which will benefit 100 lakh girls in the first phase. This would enable girls to not only enrol in schools but also stay in schools. When girls get the needed sanitation facilities in schools, they would demand similar facilities at home, leading to a cleaner India.
Ø The Beti Bacho Beti Padhao scheme announced in the budget would not only improve the adverse sex ratio but also ensure that girls are educated.
Ø The Budget has emphasised on gender mainstreaming. The school curriculum will have a separate chapter on gender mainstreaming. This will sensitise students, teachers and the community at large to be more sensitive to the needs of girl child and women and will promote growth of a more harmonious society. This will benefit all girls in the country.
Ø Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya’s Teacher Training Programme has been provided Rs.500 crore in the budget. This would enable the Government to better train students who aspire to become teachers in our professional colleges. This will improve the quality of teachers that we would produce and will ultimately lead to improvement in learning outcomes of the students in our school system. This will benefit nearly 20,000 teacher trainees studying in Teacher Education Institutions.
Ø The Budget provides for madarsa modernisation. An additional amount of Rs.100 crore has been provided for this. The madarsa modernisation would enable 10 lakh Muslim children to get education of national standards which is certified through the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS). This would enable Muslim students to progress to higher education or vocational education depending on their choice.
Ø The Budget provides for Rs.30 crore for School Assessment Programme. The assessment of the quality of schools through various parameters, such as levels of student learning outcomes, quality of teaching by teachers etc., and public display of such school performance would enable parents to make a more informed choice about schools. This will ultimately benefit all children, parents and stakeholders.
Ø The Budget has announced support to States to set up 15 braille presses. This would allow publishing of Braille books that would help our visually challenged students.
Ø The Budget provides for Rs.28635 crore for SSA and Rs.4966 crore for RMSA. This would strengthen the elementary and secondary school infrastructure in the country and will improve access and quality of education across the school sector and will benefit nearly 23 crore children in schools.
Ø The announcement of 5 IITs, 5 IIMs and the National Centre for Himalayan Studies in Uttarakhand in the Budget speech is a welcome step. The new IITs would come up in Jammu, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Goa and Andhra Pradesh. The new IIMs would be established in Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Maharashtra and Odisha. A provision of Rs. 500 crores has been made for the new IITs and IIMs in the Budget.
Ø Setting up virtual classrooms and Massive Open Online Courses are planned for which a provision of Rs.100 crore has made in the Budget. A national e-library will also be created which will be a repository for all educational resources.
Ø The Budget proposes the setting up of Lok Nayak Jai Prakash National Centre for Excellence in Humanities to be set up in Madhya Pradesh– a first of its kind initiative.
The Minister was of the view that the budgetary announcements reflected the developmental strategy of the Government and its mandate of “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas”.
●Rs. 100 Crore for Development of Organic Farming and Rs. 1000 Crore for Development of Rail Connectivity in the North Eastern Region
Rs. 100 Crore for Development of Organic Farming and Rs. 1000 Crore for Development of Rail Connectivity in the North Eastern Region
The Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley announced some major initiatives for North Eastern States and the States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana while presenting the General Budget for 2014-15 in Lok Sabha today. In his maiden budget speech FM Shri Jaitley said, Rs. 100 crore is being provided for development of organic farming in North Eastern States in the current financial year. With a growing global demand for organic food, North Eastern States will benefit from development of commercial organic farming, the Minister added.
The Finance Minister proposed a sum of Rs. 1000 crore for development of rail connectivity in the North Eastern Region over and above the amount provided for in the interim budget.
Shri Jaitley said, in order to provide a strong platform to rich cultural and linguistic identity of the North-East, a new 24x7 channel called “ArunPrabha” will be launched for the expression of cultural identity and for creating greater awareness of the richness of the diversity of our country.
The Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley also announced that his Government is committed to addressing the issues relating to development of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in the AP Re-organization Act, 2014. Provision has been made by various Ministries/Departments to fulfil the obligation of Union Government for both the states.
●Personal Tax Exemption Limit Raised by Rs. 50,000/- ; No Change in the Rate of Surcharge; 15% Investment Allowance to Manufacturing Companies, to Incentivize Small Entrepreneurs and Income from Foreign Portfolio Investors to be Treated as Capital Gains.
The General Budget 2014-15 presented by the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley has raised the personal income-tax exemption limit by Rs. 50,000/- that is, from Rs. 2 lakh to Rs. 2.5 lakh in the case of individual taxpayers, below the age of 60 years. Exemption limit raised from Rs. 2.5 lakh to Rs. 3 lakh in the case of senior citizens. However there is no change in the rate of surcharge either for the corporates or the individuals, HUFs, firms etc. The budget proposes to continue education cess at 3 percent.
Investment limit under section 80C of the Income-tax Act has also been raised from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 1.5 lakh and Deduction limit on account of interest on loan in respect of self occupied house property raised from Rs.1.5 lakh to Rs.2 lakh. To incentivize small entrepreneurs an Investment allowance at the rate of 15 percent to a manufacturing company that invests more than Rs. 25 crore in any year in new plant and machinery. The benefit to be available for three years i.e. for investments upto31.03.2017. Investment allowance to manufacturing company investing more than Rs.100 crore announced last year to continue in parallel till 31.03.2015.
To bring greater certainty and to encourage fund manager to shift to India, income arising to foreign portfolio investors from transaction in securities will be treated as capital gains. Concessional rate of 15 percent on foreign dividends without any sunset date will be continued.
To augment low cost long term foreign borrowings for Indian companies, the eligible date of borrowing in foreign currency has been extended from 31.03.2015 to 31.03.2017 for a concessional tax rate of 5 percent on interest payments. Tax incentive extended to all types of bonds instead of only infrastructure bonds.
The budget proposes introduction of a “Roll Back” provision in the Advanced Pricing Agreement (APA) scheme so that an APA entered into for future transactions is also applicable to international transactions undertaken in previous four years in specified circumstances.To remove tax arbitrage, rate of tax on long term capital gains has been increased from 10 percent to 20 percent on transfer of units of Mutual funds, other than equity oriented funds.
60 more Ayakar Seva Kendras will be opened during the current financial year to promote excellence in service delivery. Net effect of the direct tax proposals will result in revenue loss of Rs.22,200 crore.
●Finance Minister Proposes Rs. 200 Crore for Power Reforms and Rs. 500 Crore for Water Reforms to Make Delhi a World Class City
The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley proposes Rs. 200 crore for power reforms and Rs. 500 crore for water reforms to make Delhi a truly World Class City. Making his maiden Budget Speech in Lok Sabha today, the Finance Minister announced that Rs. 50 crore is being provided to solve the long term water supply issues to the capital region. For that construction of long pending Renuka Dam would be taken up on priority, the Minister added.
For Andaman and Nicobar Island, Shri Jaitley announced that Rs. 150 crore are being provided to tide over communication related problems of the Island. Rs. 188 crore has been set aside for Puducherry for meeting commitments for Disaster preparedness, he added.
Announcing proposals for Kashmiri people, the Finance Minister highlighted in his budget speech that Rs 500 crore will be provided to support Kashmiri migrants for rebuilding their lives.
Also in the current financial year, an initial outlay of Rs 100 crore has been provided to set-up a National Centre for Himalayan Studies in Uttarakhand to increase the capacity in the country for Himalayan Studies, the Finance Minister announced.
Shri Jaitley also announced during his maiden Budget Speech that it is proposed to set up the National Academy for Customs and Excise at Hindupur in Andhra Pradesh.
●More Services Bought in the Service Tax Net, Indirect Taxes to Yield Rs.7525 Crore
To broaden the tax base in Service Tax, sale of space or time for advertisements in broadcast media has been extended to cover such sales on other segments like online and mobile advertising. Announcing the tax proposals, the Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said during his maiden budget speech that sale of space for advertisements in print media however would remain excluded from service tax. However services provided by radio-taxis have been brought under service tax. The Finance Minister said that the tax proposals on the indirect taxes side are estimated to yield Rs.7525 crore during 2014-15.
The Finance Minister announced that the services by air-conditioned contract carriages and technical testing of newly developed drugs on human participants have been brought under service tax. Services provided by Indian tour operators to foreign tourists in relation to a tour wholly conducted outside India will be taken out of the tax net and Cenvat credit for services of rent-a-cab and tour operators will be allowed to promote tourism.
Shri Jaitley said that services provided by the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation for the period prior to 1st July 2012 have been exempted from service tax. Exemption available for specified micro insurance schemes has been expanded to cover all life micro-insurance schemes where the sum assured does not exceed Rs.50, 000 per life insured.
24X7 customs clearance facility will be extended to 13more airports in respect of all export goods and to 14 more sea ports in respect of specified import and export goods to facilitate cargo clearance.‘Indian Customs Single Window Project to facilitate trade will be implemented.
Customs and Central Excise Acts will be amended to expedite the process of disposal of appeals. The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley said that the Government is committed to implement GST at the earliest and the issues raised by the states will be resolved soon.
●Budget Estimates for 2014-15 Project Fiscal Deficit of 4.1% and Revenue Deficit of 2.9% of GDP
Gross Tax Receipts of Rs. 13,64,524 Crore Estimated
Rs. 5,75,000 Crore Plan Expenditure – An Increase of 26.9 Per cent Over Actuals of 2013-14
The Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said that the Modi Government has mandate to fulfill for the people provision for the essential items without compromising fiscal consolidation. Making his maiden Budget Speech in Lok Sabha today, the Finance Minister Shri Jaitley announced the Budget estimates with Non-plan Expenditure for the financial year estimated at Rs. 12,19,892 crore with additional provision for fertilizer subsidy and capital expenditure for Armed forces.
Rs.5,75,000 crore have been allocated towards Plan expenditure, marking an increase of 26.9 per cent over actuals of 2013-14 (Rs. 4,53,085 crore). Plan increase is targeted towards agriculture, capacity creation in health and education, rural roads and National Highways Infrastructure, railways network expansion, clean energy initiatives, development of water resources and river conservation plans, the Finance Minister added.
Total expenditure estimates thus stands at Rs.17,94,892 crore. To finance this expenditure, Gross Tax receipts of Rs. 13,64,524 crore have been estimated. In his maiden Budget Speech Shri Jaitley said that the net share of centre will be Rs. 9,77,258 crore. Non Tax Revenue for the current financial year will be Rs. 2,12,505 crore and capital receipts other than borrowings will be Rs. 73,952 crore.
Thus, Fiscal deficit will be 4.1 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Revenue deficit will be 2.9 per cent of GDP, Shri Jaitley added.
The Finance Minister recalled in his Budget Speech that the previous NDA Government under Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had initiated a compulsory non-lapsable 10 per cent allocation of plan funds for North Eastern Region. Shri Arun Jaitley said that from the current Budget a New Statement will separately show plan allocation made for North Eastern Region. In the current financial year, an allocation of Rs. 53,706 crore has been made for North Eastern Region.
He announced an allocation of Rs. 98,030 crore for women and of Rs. 81,075 crore for children welfare in General Budget 2014-15 presented in Lok Sabha today.
●Basic Custom Duties Reduced on Certain Items to Encourage Investment and Domestic Production
To boost domestic manufacture and to address the issue of inverted duties, the General budget 2014-15 has reduced basic customs duty (BCD) on certain items. To encourage new investment and capacity addition in the chemicals and petrochemicals sector, basic customs duty has been reduced. This was announced by the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley while making his maiden Budget speech in Lok Sabha here today. The Finance Minister said that steps have been taken to boost domestic production of electronic items and reduce our dependence on imports. These includes imposition of basic customs duty on certain items outside the purview of IT Agreement, exemption for inputs/components in PC manufacturing from SAD, imposition of education cess on imported electronic products for parity etc.
Colour picture tubes have been exempted from basic customs duty to make cathode ray TVs cheaper and more affordable to weaker sections.To encourage production of LCD and LED TVs below 19 inches in India, basic customs duty on LCD and LED TV panels of below 19 inches has been reduced from 10 percent to Nil.
To give an impetus to industry, the finance Minister said that the basic customs duty on imported flat-rolled products of stainless steel increased from 5 percent to 7.5 percent, Concessional basic customs duty of 5 percent extended to machinery and equipment required for setting up of a project for solar energy production, he added.
The budget proposes reduction in the basic customs duty from 10 percent to 5 percent on forged steel rings, used in the manufacture of bearings of wind operated electricity generators. Concessional basic customs duty of 5 percent has been proposed on machinery and equipment required for setting up of compressed biogas plants (Bio-CNG).
Basic customs duty on metallurgical coke has been increased from Nil to 2.5 percent in line with the duty on coking coal.
The budget proposes increase in duty free entitlement for import of trimmings, embellishments and other specified items from 3 percent to 5 percent of the value of their export for readymade garments.
Export duty on bauxite increased from 10 percent to 20 percent. For passenger facilitation, free baggage allowance has been increased from Rs.35,000 to Rs.45,000.
To incentivize expansion of processing capacity, excise duty on specified food processing and packaging machinery has been reduced from 10 percent to 6 percent.
Concessional excise duty of 2 percent without Cenvat benefit and 6 percent with Cenvat benefit on sports gloves and the excise duty has been increased from 12 percent to 16 percent on pan masala, from 50 percent to 55 percent on unmanufactured tobacco and from 60 percent to 70 percent on gutkha and chewing tobacco and also levy0 an additional duty of excise at 5 percent on aerated waters containing added sugar.
To finance Clean Environment initiatives, the Clean Energy Cess has been increased from Rs.50 per tonne to Rs.100 per tonne.
●Energy Sector given due Importance in Budget 2014-15
Energy Sector given due Importance in Budget 2014-15
Ultra-Modern Super Critical Coal Based Thermal Power Technology Scheme to be Launched
Measures Taken to Provide Adequate Quantity of Coal to Power Plants
Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects to be Set Up
The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley, while presenting the General Budget 2014-15 in Parliament today, has announced several initiatives for strengthening energy sector.
Power
The Finance Minister has proposed to allocate an initial sum of Rs. 100 crore for preparatory work for a new scheme “Ultra-Modern Super Critical Coal Based Thermal Power Technology” to promote cleaner and more efficient thermal power.
Coal
The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley also announced comprehensive measures for enhancing domestic coal production with a stringent mechanism for quality control and environmental protection. Measures will be initiated to provide adequate quantity of coal to power plants which are already commissioned or would be commissioned by March, 2015 to unlock dead investments.
New & Renewable Energy
The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley has proposed to take up Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Laddakh in J&K. A sum of Rs. 500 crore is allocated for this purpose. He also allocated a sum of Rs. 400 crore for launching a scheme for Solar Power driven agricultural pump sets and water pumping stations. An additional amount of Rs. 100 core is set aside for the development of 1 MW Solar Parks on the banks of canals. Implementation of Green Energy Corridor Projects will be accelerated in this financial year to facilitate evacuation of renewable energy across the country.
Petroleum & Natural Gas
The Finance Minister has announced the initiation to accelerate production and exploitation of Coal Bed Methane reserves. The possibility of using modern technology to revive old or closed wells will also be explored to maximize the production.
The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley stated that the usage of Piped Natural Gas will be rapidly scaled-up in a mission mode as it is clean and efficient to deliver.
●Rs 100 Crore Allocated for Technology Development Fund
Rs 100 Crore Allocated for Technology Development Fund
An initial sum of Rs 1,00 crore has been allocated to set up a technology development fund to provide necessary resources to public and private sector companies, including SMEs, as well as academic and scientific institutions to support research and development of Defence systems that enhance cutting-edge technology capability in the country. Making this announcement while presenting the General Budget in Lok Sabha today, the Union Finance Minister said that in the year 2011, a separate fund was announced for this purpose but beyond the announcement, no action was taken.
●All Households to be Provided with Banking Services
All Households to be Provided with Banking Services
Banks to be Encouraged to Extend Long Term Loans to Infrastructure Sector
RBI to Create A Framework for Licensing Small Banks
Six New Debt Recovery Tribunals to be Set up
A Financial Inclusion Mission will be launched from Independence Day this year as a time bound programme to provide all households in the country with banking services. This was announced by the Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley while presenting the General Budget 2014-15 in Lok Sabha here today. Shri Jaitley said that this step would particularly focus to empower the weaker sections of the society, including women, small and marginal farmers and labourers. He said two bank accounts in each household are proposed to be opened.
The Finance Minister said long term financing for infrastructure has been a major constraint in encouraging larger private sector participation. He said on the assets side, banks will be encouraged to extend long term loans to infrastructure sector with flexible structuring to absorb potential adverse contingencies, sometimes known as the 5/25 structure. Shri Jaitley said on liability side, banks will be permitted to raise long term funds for lending to infrastructure sector with minimum regulatory pre-emption such as CRR, SLR and Priority Sector Lending.
The Union Finance Minister said that after making suitable changes to current framework, a structure will be put in place for continuous authorization of universal banks in the private sector in the current financial year. He said RBI will create a framework for licensing small banks and other differentiated banks. Shri Jaitley said differentiated banks serving niche interests, local area banks and payment banks etc. are contemplated to meet credit and remittance needs of small businesses, unorganized sector, low income households, farmers and migrant workforce among others.
Expressing concerns over the rising Non Performing Assets (NPA) of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) the Union Finance Minister announced setting-up of six new Debt Recovery Tribunals at Chandigarh, Bangaluru, Ernakulum, Dehradun, Silliguri and Hyderabad.
●Institution for Mainstreaming PPPS will be Set-Up
Institution for Mainstreaming PPPS will be Set-Up
Shipping, Inland Navigation, Airports and Roads Sector Given Priority
The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley, while presenting the General Budget 2014-15 in Parliament today, has proposed to set-up an institution to provide support to mainstreaming PPPs called 3P India with a sum of Rs. 500 crore. The institution will facilitate nuanced and sophisticated models of contracting and developing quick dispute redressal mechanism of PPPs.
Shipping
The Finance Minister announced sixteen new port projects to be awarded this year with a focus on port connectivity. An amount of Rs. 11,635 crore will be allocated for the development of Outer Harbour Project in Tuticorin for phase I. SEZs will also be developed in Kandla and JNPT. A comprehensive policy will also be announced to promote Indian ship building industry in the current financial year.
Inland Navigation
The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley also announced a project on the river Ganga called ‘Jal Marg Vikas’ (National Waterways-I) to be developed between Allahabad and Haldia to cover a distance of 1620 kms, which will be completed over a period of six years at an estimated cost of Rs. 4,200 crore.
New Airports
The Finance Minister has announced a scheme for development of new airports in Tier-I and Tier-II Cities to be launched for implementation through Airport Authority of India or PPPs.
Roads
The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley announced an amount of Rs. 37,880 crores for National Highways Authority of India and State Roads, out of which Rs. 3,000 crores will be spent in the North East. He announced that during current financial year, a target of construction of 8500 kms of National Highways will be achieved. He also announced initiation of work on select expressways in parallel to the development of industrial corridors.
●More Funds for War Memorial and National Police Memorial
Announcing the setting-up of a war memorial at Princes Park, New Delhi, the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said that it will be supplemented by a war museum. Making this announcement while presenting his first General Budget in Lok Sabha here today, the Minister allocated a sum of Rs 100 crore for this purpose. Shri Jaitley said that country is deeply indebted to the officers and the jawans of the armed forces for having made huge sacrifices to defend its honour. In doing so, a very large number of them gave up their lives. He said “It is a privilege for the nation to erect a befitting memorial in their memory”.
The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley also announced the construction of a befitting National Police Memorial and proposed to allocate a sum of Rs 50 crore for this purpose. He said the nation is equally indebted to the officers and the jawans of the police forces, including the central armed police forces, who are constantly engaging with the enemy within and in the process sacrificing their lives in the line of duty.
●Handlooms Trade Facilitation Centre and Crafts Museum will be Set Up at Varanasi
The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley, while presenting the General Budget 2014-15 in Lok Sabha today, has proposed to provide Rs. 50 crore to set-up a Trade Facilitation Centre and a Crafts Museum to develop and promote handloom products and carry forward the rich tradition of handlooms of Varanasi.
The Finance Minister has announced to set-up eight Textile Mega Clusters at Varanasi, Bareily, Lucknow, Surat, Kuttch, Bhagalpur, Mysore and one in Tamil Nadu with a sum of Rs. 200 crore.
The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley proposed to set-up a Hastkala Academy for the preservation, revival and documentation of the handloom/handicraft sector in PPP mode in Delhi with a sum of Rs. 30 crore. He also proposed to start a Pashmina Promotion Programme (P-3) and a programme for the development of other crafts of Jammu & Kashmir with a sum of Rs. 50 crore.
●Defence Allocation Raised to Rs 2,29,000 crore Capital Outlay for Defence Modernization Increased by Rs 5,000 crore
Allocation for defence in this year’s General Budget has been raised to Rs 2,29,000 crore. Presenting the Union Budget in Lok Sabha today, the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley also proposed a further sum of Rs 1,000 crore to address the pension disparities while implementing the policy of “one rank one pension” for soldiers.
Emphasizing on the modernization of the armed forces to enable them to play their role effectively in the defence of country’s strategic interests, the Finance Minister also proposed to increase the capital outlay for defence modernization by Rs 5,000 crore over the amount provided for in the interim Budget. This includes a sum of Rs 1,000 crore for accelerating the development of the Railways system in the border areas. He said urgent steps would also be taken to stream line the procurement process to make it speedy and more efficient
●Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Sector will be Revamped
Technology Centre Network to be Established
The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley while presenting the General Budget 2014-15 in Parliament today said that the financial structure of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector, mainly owned or run by SCs, STs and OBCs which is of critical importance, has to be strengthened. For this purpose, he proposed to appoint a committee with representatives from Finance Ministry, Ministry of MSME and RBI to give concrete suggestions in three months.
The Finance Minister stated that the promotion of entrepreneurship and start-up companies remains a challenge. In order to create a conducive eco system for the venture capital in the MSME, he proposed to establish a Rs. 10,000 crore fund to act as a catalyst to attract private Capital by way of providing equity, quasi equity, soft loans and other risk capital for start-up companies.
The Finance Minister also announced to establish Technology Centre Network to promote innovation, entrepreneurship and agro-industry. He proposed in the Budget to set-up a corpus fund of Rs. 200 crore. The Finance Minister has announced to develop an entrepreneur friendly legal bankruptcy framework for SMEs to enable easy exit. He said that a nationwide “District level Incubation and Accelerator Programme” would be taken up for incubation of new ideas and providing necessary support for accelerating entrepreneurship.
●Allocation for Modernization of State Police Forces Raised to Rs 3,000 crore
A sum of Rs 2,250 crore Allocated to Strengthen and Modernize Border Infrastructure
The Union government has raised the allocation for modernization of state police forces from Rs 1,847 crore in the BE of 2013-14 to Rs 3,000 crore in the current financial year. While presenting the General Budget in Lok Sabha today, the Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said that scheme for modernization for State police forces would be reviewed. He said “I am also allocating adequate funds for carrying out small but much needed developmental activities as Additional Central Assistance for Left Wing Extremist Affected districts.
The Finance Minister also an announced allocation of a sum of Rs 2,250 crore to strengthen and modernize border infrastructure. Shri Jaitley said in addition, a sum of Rs 990 crore has been allocated for the socio economic development of the villages along the borders. He said a sum of Rs 150 crore has also been ear-marked for the construction of Marine Police Station, Jetties and purchase of boats etc.
●Special Economic Zones will be Strengthened
The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley while presenting the General Budget 2014-15 in Parliament today, has announced that the Government is committed to revive the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and make them effective instruments of industrial production, economic growth, export promotion and employment generation.
The Finance Minister stated that effective steps would be undertaken to operationalize SEZs to revive investors’ interest to develop better infrastructure and to effectively and efficiently use the available unutilized land.
●National Industrial Corridor Authority to be Set-Up
Export Promotion Mission to be Set-Up
The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley while presenting his first Budget in Parliament today, announced that a National Industrial Corridor Authority, with its headquarter in Pune, is being set-up with an amount of Rs. 100 crore, to coordinate the development of industrial corridors with smart cities linked to transport connectivity. The Finance Minister has also announced that the Amritsar Kolkata Industrial Master Planning will be completed expeditiously for the establishment of Industrial Smart cities in seven States in this corridor.
The Finance Minister said that the Master planning of three new smart cities in the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor region, viz., Ponneri in Tamil Nadu, Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Tumkur in Karnataka will also be completed. The perspective plan for the Bengaluru Mumbai Economic Corridor (BMEC) and Vizag-Chennai corridor would be completed with the provision for 20 new industrial clusters.
The Finance Minister said that Kakinada, its adjoining areas and the port will be developed as the key drivers of economic growth in Andhra Pradesh with a special focus on hardware manufacturing.
The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley urged the States to play an active role in export promotion by providing good infrastructure and full facilitation. He proposed to establish an Export Promotion Mission to bring all stakeholders under one umbrella.
●Reforms in the Food Sector will be Taken up on Priority
●Measures to Increase Investment and Credit Flow into Agriculture Sector
●Technology Driven Second Green Revolution with Focus on "Protein Revolution"
●Rs.200 Crores Allocated For The Statue Of Unity
●National Adaptation Fund to be Established for Climate Change
●Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana
●Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission
●Soil Health Card Scheme for Every Farmer
●Swatchh Bharat Abhiyan
●A Dedicated TV Channel 'Kisan TV' to be Launched for Farmers
●Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana
●2 Agriculture Research Institutes in Jharkhand and Assam and Agri-Tech Infrastructure Fund of Rs 100 Crores to be Setup
●Multi Skill Programme - Skill India to be Launched
●Real Estate Investment Trust and Infrastructure Investment Trust to be Incentivised
●Rs. 200 Crore Set Aside in the Current Financial Year for Developing World Class Sports Stadiums in Jammu and Kashmir;
●Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) Re-Introduced
●Rs. 500 Crore Set Aside in the Current Financial Year to Create Five Tourist Circuits;
●Several Steps Announced to Promote Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Select Sectors
●Finance Minister Sets Up an Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission 'Namami Gange' with an Outlay of Rs. 2037 Crore;
●E-Visa to be Introduced at Nine Airports
●Pending Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill to be Tabled in Parliament Soon; FM
●Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) to Invest Rs.2,47,941 Crores in the Current Fiscal
●Welfare of Girl Child on Upmost Priority of the Government: FM
●Capital of Public Sector Banks to be Raised Through Sale of Shares
●Enactment of Indian Financial Code Necessary for Better Governance and Accountability: FM
●Higher Budgetary Allocations have been Made for Rural Road and Water Sectors
●Allocation of Rs. 7060 Crores for Smart Cities
●Government Reiterates Its Commitment to the Welfare of SCs & STs
●Legislative and Administrative Changes Proposed to Reduce ●Litigation in Direct Taxes
●Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana Launched
●Digital India Programme Launched to Bridge the Divide Between HAVES and HAVE - NOTS
●Fresh Cases Arising Out of Retrospective Amendments of 2012 to be Scrutinised by High Level Committee:FM
●Government to Constitute an Expenditure Management Commission to Look into Various Aspects of Expenditure Reforms:FM
●Five New IITs and Five New IIMS will be Set Up in the States
●Target of Fiscal Deficit of 4.1 Per Cent for 2014-15
●Government Attaches Top Priority for Free Drug and Diagnosis Services to Achieve the Goal of Health for All
●Housing for All by 2022
●Government to Spend 50,000 Crore Rupees for Development of Urban Areas
●Government Committed to Achieve Fiscal Deficit of 4.1% for 2014-15
●Textiles Minister Welcomes Union Budget as Forward-Looking
●Global crude oil price of Indian Basket decreased to US$ 106.39 per bbl on 09.07.2014
●Digital India Programme Launched to Bridge the Divide Between HAVES and HAVE-NOTS
●Agriculture Gets Pride of Place for The First Time in Union Budget: Agriculture Minister
●"Youth bulge not forever, let's harness dividend now"
●NIESBUD Web Portal Designed for the Unemployed Skilled Persons
●Transformative Budget, with Emphasis on Investment -Led Growth : Shri Piyush Goyal