Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented Union Budget For 2021-2022, Everything you need to know

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday presented the Union Budget for 2021-22 in Parliament. Being the first budget of a new decade and also the one during the pandemic, the budget was focussed on boosting, encouraging India towards being Aatmanirbhar (Self-Reliant). The two main key segments where the government focussed its spending were infrastructure and health. This is the first paperless budget in the history of independent India.

Finance Minister said this year's budget was based on 6 pillars to ensure the overall development of the country.

- Health and well-being

- Physical and financial capital and infrastructure

- Inclusive development for aspirational India

- Reinvigorating human capital

- Innovation and R&D

- Minimum government and maximum governance

In significant changes to the taxation process, Sitharaman announced the scrapping of income tax for senior citizens under certain conditions, new rules for removal of double taxation for NRIs, and a reduction in the time period of tax assessments among other measures. Startups will get an extension in their tax holiday for an additional year.

Here are the announcements made by Finance Minister

Mission Poshan 2.0(Health & well being)

The supplementary nutrition programme and the Poshan Abhiyaan has been merged to launch Mission Poshan 2.0 to strengthen nutritional content, delivery, outreach, and outcome

"To strengthen nutritional content, delivery, outreach, and outcome, we will merge the Supplementary Nutrition Programme and the Poshan Abhiyaan and launch the Mission Poshan 2.0. We shall adopt an intensified strategy to improve nutritional outcomes across 112 aspirational districts," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. 

Poshan 2.0 is an umbrella scheme covering the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), Anganwadi Services, Poshan Abhiyaan, Scheme For Adolescent Girls and National Creche Scheme.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed Rs 2,23,846 crore budget outlay for health and well-being for 2021-22, compared to Rs 94,452 crore in the current fiscal, which is an increase of 137 per cent.

Out of Rs.24,435 crore allocated to the Women Child Development (WCD) Ministry, an amount of Rs.20,105 crore has been assigned to Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0.

In addition, the finance minister also announced that the government will provide Rs 35,000 crore for Covid-19 vaccines in 2021-22.

Vehicle Scrapping Policy

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a voluntary vehicle scrapping policy to phase out old and unfit vehicles that will not only help reduce pollution, but also reduce India’s fuel import bills.

Presenting the Budget for 2021-22 in Parliament, Ms Sitharaman said that under voluntary vehicle scrapping policy, personal vehicles would undergo fitness test after 20 years while commercial vehicles would require it after completion of 15 years.

The details of the vehicle scrappage scheme will be made available later, said the minister.

Earlier Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari had said last week that policy to scrap more than 15-year-old vehicles owned by government departments and PSUs is likely to be notified soon and will be implemented .

Infrastructure and Industry

At Rs 5.54 lakh crores, governmentt expenditure for FY22 hiked by 34.5% said Finance Minister.

For 2021-22, the Finance Minister Sitharaman proposed a sharp increase in capital expenditure and provided Rs 5.54 lakh crores, a spike of 34.5% more than the budgetary estimates for 2020-21, Finance Minister added.

The Finance Minister said that over 13,000-km length of roads at a cost of Rs 3.3 lakh cr has already been awarded under Rs 5.35 lakh crore ‘Bharatmala project’ of which 3,800 kms have been constructed. By March 2022. we would be awarding another 8,500 Km & complete an additional 11,000 kms of National Highway Corridor, she added.

The Finance Minister committed an infusion of Rs 1.97 lakh crore for the manufacturing sector.

 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that infra and financial capital strengthening was a must to achieve the dream of India becoming a 5 trillion economy. She emphasized that the manufacturing sector would have to grow in double digits on a sustained basis towards this end.

The Finance Minister also announced the setting up of a mega-investment textile park scheme. An estimated 7 textile parks will be established over the next 3 years.

Record sum of Rs 1,10,055 crores allocated to Indian Railways

Finance Minister said that the Indian Railways has prepared a 'National Rail Plan' for India 2030 which aims to create a "future-ready" railways system by 2030 - bringing down logistic cost for the industry. She said this was at the core of a strategy to boost 'Make in India' in order to boost local manufacturing. 

"Indian Railways has prepared a National Rail Plan for India 2030. The plan is to create a future-ready railways system by 2030 - bringing down the logistic cost for the industry is at the core of a strategy to enable Make in India. I am providing a record sum of Rs 1,10,055 crores for Railways of which Rs 1,07,100 crores is for capital expenditure only," she said.

 "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 ,100 per cent electrification of rail broad gauge routes to be completed by December 2023," she added.

 The Finance Minister also touched upon Safety adding a number of measures were undertaken in the past years which bore results. "To further strengthen, high-density network and highly utilised network routes of Railways will be provided with indigenously developed automatic train protection system that eliminates train collision due to human error," she further added.

 Finance Minister proposes to set up central university in Leh

The FM proposed setting up 100 new Sainik schools will be set up in partnership with NGOs, private schools, and states, adding the government will bring legislation to implement the setting-up of the Higher Education Commission of India. The government also said a central university in Leh will be set up for accessible higher education in Ladakh.

 "100 new Sainik schools will be set up in partnership with NGOs, private schools, and states. We would be introducing the legislation this year to implement the setting-up of the Higher Education Commission of India," she added.

 More than 15,000 schools will be strengthened under NEP 2020," said Sitharaman.

Electricity

Sitharaman said there is a need to provide choice to consumers through competition. “We have added 139 Giga Watts of installed capacity, connected an additional 2.8 crore households and added 1.41 lakh circuit km of transmission lines,” she said.

 “The distribution companies across the country are monopolies, either government or private. There is a need to provide choice to consumers by promoting competition. A framework will be put in place to give consumers alternatives to choose from among more than one distribution companies,” Sitharaman said.

 A Hydrogen Energy Mission for 2022 for generating hydrogen energy will be launched.

Import duty on gold, silver cut from 12.5% to 7.5%

In a bid to rationalize custom duties on gold and silver,  Finance Minister Sitharaman said import duties on gold and silver will be cut from current 12.5% to  7.5%. During her budget speech,  Finance Minister also said that customs duties on certain auto parts, solar equipment, cotton and raw silk were raised.

At Rs 1.35 lakh capital expenditure in FY22, India's defence budget sees 19% hike

The Ministry of Defence was allocated Rs 4,78,195.62 crores which after pensions is pegged at Rs 3.62 lakh crore as compared to last year’s Rs 3.37 lakh crore. The Ministry of Home Affairs has been allocated Rs 1,66,546.94 crores.

"I specially thank Prime Minister & Finance Minister for increasing the defence budget to 4.78 lakh cr for FY21-22 which includes capital expenditure worth Rs 1.35 lakh crore. It is nearly 19% increase in defence capital expenditure. This is highest ever increase in capital outlay for defence in 15 years," said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

"People hadn't expected a Budget of this kind because, in a way, the government had presented five mini-budgets earlier. Several packages were announced, of which Aatmanirbhar Bharat is also a part. It's a superb Budget. The more it is praised, the less it is," he added.

"We chose to spend big on infrastructure across a wide variety of sectors. We have attended to the needs of the health sector, capacity building in health given a big place" said Finance Minister in her post-budget press conference on Monday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated  Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for an individual, investor, and infrastructure-centric Union Budget 2021-22. PM Modi said very few budgets in the past elicited the kind of positive reactions within the first 1-2 hours of being tabled in the Parliament. He said many experts had assumed that the government will put the burden of revenue collection on the shoulders of common man but we did no do it, he added.