Union Budget 2021: Senior citizens exempted from filing ITR, sops for housing loan payers
Story highlights
India's finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Modi government's Union Budget 2021-22 in Parliament today as the country continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic.
The Budget this year will be completely paperless for the first time in the country's history due to the coronavirus pandemic. Ahead of the Budget, India's finance minister Sitharaman had tabled the Economic Survey tabled in Parliament on Friday.
According to the Economic Survey the Indian economy can contract by 7.7 per cent in the current financial year ending on March 31 and the growth could be 11 per cent in the next financial year.
In the quarter ending June 2020, the GDP contracted by 23.9 per cent followed by a milder contraction of 7.5 per cent in the quarter ended September 2020.
Income tax return filers increased to 6.48 crore in 2020 from 3.31 crore in 2014.
Late deposit of employee's contribution (towards social security) will not be allowed as a deduction to the employer.
Home Loans
Additional tax deduction for home loan interest of up to ₹1.5 lakh available for purchases till March 2022 under affordable housing scheme
The tax holiday for developers of affordable housing will also be extended by a year
Budget Live 2021: Exemption for senior citizens
Senior citizens who only have pension income are exempt from filing income tax returns. "We shall reduce the compliance burden for those 75 years and above. Senior citizens above 75 years of age with only interest income will not have to file income tax returns," the FM said.
Agriculture Sector Budget 2021-22:
Agri credit target increased to ₹16.5 lakh crore including animal husbandry, fisheries and dairy farmers.
Micro irrigation fund to be doubled by ₹5,000 crore. Operation green scheme will be expanded to include 22 perishable schemes. Agriculture infra fund to be increased to ₹40,000 crore and this will be available to APMCs.
Portal on migrant labourers
This will be used to provide health and insurance facilities to these workers. Minimum wages will apply to all categories of workers. New labour codes will be employed. Women will be allowed to work in night shifts but the burden of compliance on employers will be reduced.
Budget talks about vehicle scrapping policy
In her Budget 2021 speech, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the voluntary vehicle scrapping policy to phase out old and unfit vehicles. Vehicles to undergo a fitness test in automated fitness centres after 20 years (personal vehicles) and 15 years (commercial vehicles), FM Nirmala Sitharaman says.
Union Budget 2021 allocations for West Bengal, Kerala, Assam
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has allocated Rs 25,000 crore road projects in West Bengal, Rs 65,000 crore for road, highway projects in Kerala, and 3,400 crore for Assam. All these three states will have Assembly elections in the coming months.
Banking Sector Budget 2021-22
Additional Capital of Rs 20,000 Crore for Public Sector Banks.
Disinvestment
Other than IDBI Bank, govt proposes to take up two PSBs and one general insurance company in the year 2021-22.
Insurance Sector
FDI cap for the insurance sector to be raised from 49% to 74% to allow foreign ownership with safeguards.
LIC IPO will be brought in 2021-22, says Finance Minister.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced ₹2,83,846 lakh crore for health and wellness sector which also includes ₹35,000 crore for Covid-19 vaccines.
Union Budget 2021-22 promises Rs 2,217 cr for clean air
Rs 2,217 cr for 42 urban centres with million-plus population for clean air, says FM.
Union Budget 2021 proposals rest on six 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 | India now has one of the lowest #COVID19 death rates of 112 per million population and one of the lowest active cases of about 130 per million: Finance Minister @nsitharaman
— WION (@WIONews) February 1, 2021
Read more: https://t.co/3G6QlbeWHy#IndiaBudget2021 #BudgetSession pic.twitter.com/3W6fjZ9wQr
LIVE | The Government stretched its resources for the benefit of the poorest of the poor. The PM Garib Kalyan Yojana, the three Aatma Nirbhar Bharat packages and subsequent announcements were like five mini-budgets in themselves: Finance Minister @nsitharaman#Budget2021 pic.twitter.com/KeV4QnZn3F
— WION (@WIONews) February 1, 2021
Finance Minister lays out a Rs 64,180 crore spending plan for healthcare over the next six years
- Will be spent on primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare
- In addition to the National Health Mission.
- 17,000 rural and 11,000 urban health and wellness centres to be set up
- Integrated public health labs to be set up in each district
Finance Minister announced a Rs 30-lakh-crore plan, in 'mini-budgets' to beat Covid
AtmaNirbhar Bharat programmes
Performance-linked incentives
Boost for domestic manufacturing
Improved credit access for enterprises
Moratorium on interest payments
Thrust on affordable housing
Booster shots for MNREGA
Sensex surges 600 pts, Nifty nears 13,800 as Union Budget 2021 speech begins.
Union Budget 2021 live updates
Seeing revival in the economy; Govt fully prepared to support & facilitate the economic reset.
FM Nirmala Sitharaman
The Govt stretched its resources for the benefit of the poorest of the poor. The PM Garib Kalyan Yojana, the three AatmaNirbhar Bharat packages and subsequent announcements were like five mini-budgets in themselves.
FM Nirmala Sitharaman
Union Budget 2021 live updates:
The total financial impact of all AatmaNirbhar Bharat packages, including measures taken by the RBI was about ₹ 27.1 lakh crore, more than 13% of GDP.
Budget speech 2021:
The finance minister quotes Rabindranath Tagore
Budget speech 2021:
Preparation of this Budget was undertaken in circumstances like never before.
We could not have imagined last year that the global economy would slip into a contraction, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Union Budget 2021: Rupee rises 7 paise to 72.89 against US dollar in early trade.
Budget 2021: Union Cabinet approves Budget 2021
The Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved Budget for the fiscal year 2021-22.
Union Budget 2021: Tablet replaces 'bahi khata' in Sitharaman's paperless Budget
Amid the pandemic, India's finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday emerged from the finance ministry with a tablet instead of a "bhai khata" which was presented last year as India's Budget goes paperless.
Finance Minister @nsitharaman, MoS Finance & Corporate Affairs @ianuragthakur, and senior officials of the Ministry of Finance, called on President Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan before presenting the Union Budget 2021-22. pic.twitter.com/FUNptDXnHB
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) February 1, 2021
Latest developements
Sitharaman meets President Ram Nath Kovind ahead of Budget presentation
Union home minister Amit Shah and Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan arrive at Parliament
Sensex surges over 360 points in early trade ahead of Sitharaman's Budget
The markets had closed down on Friday amid decline in pharmaceutical and information technology stocks.
The Sensex had closed 1.26 per cent down to end at 46,285.77 on Friday with the NSE Nifty 50 index falling 1.32 per cent to end at 13,634.6 which was the sixth session of losses ahead of the Budget.
India's finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman arrived at the finance ministry on Monday ahead of the Budget presentation in Parliament today.
Four basic things about India's Budget, you need to know!
Date of Budget presentation has varied throughout the history of independent India.
Since 2017, the Union Budget has usually been presented on the first of February, every year. Before that, it used to be presented on the last day of February.
What Indian corporates, economists and market experts expect
In Union Budget 2021, corporates and industry lobby groups expect the government to announce greater spending on healthcare and infrastructure, as well as tax breaks for the automotive, manufacturing and tourism industries, reeling from the coronavirus crisis.
The drugs industry is hoping for incentives to spur more investment in research and development (R&D), via bigger tax deductions on R&D spending, said Sudarshan Jain, secretary-general of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman during the Economic Survey had highlighted recent efforts to cut down on regulation and encourage investment in the agriculture and defence sectors.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the Budget will be in continuation of government efforts to revive sectors impacted by pandemic which has hit all economic activities and led to millions of job losses mainly in small businesses.
Ahead of her Budget presentation, the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her team will meet President Ram Nath Kovind and will likely be accompanied by her deputy Anurag Thakur and other officials of the finance ministry.
The cabinet will hold a meeting at 10:15 am before the Budget presentation in Parliament.
Time to fulfill dreams of freedom fighters, says PM Modi ahead of the Budget session
Ahead of the budget session of Parliament Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that this decade is very important for the bright future of India.
"Today commences the first Session of this decade. This decade is very important for the bright future of India. A golden opportunity has come before the nation to fulfil the dreams seen by the freedom fighters," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Real estate sector pinning hopes on infrastructure status and tax incentives
The real estate sector, which took a hard hit due to COVID-19, is pinning hopes on the Union Budget to be presented on Monday for easing regulatory norms and for steps which will help in completion of pending projects and sale of build-up houses.
Neetish Sarda, founder of the co-working space company Smartworks, said that the pandemic has accelerated the need for flexible office spaces and the co-working market is poised for growth with new entrants.
India's finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled begin her Budget speech at around 11 am in Parliament on Monday.