Finance Minister casts Rs 12 Lakh spell

In a big relief to the middle class, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announces major income tax cuts for the salaried class, with nil tax for those earning up to Rs 12 lakh a year. Fixed on Viksit Bharat and looking to shore up the economy, she unveils a blueprint for next-gen reforms. Presenting her 8th consecutive Budget, she attempts a balancing act between fiscal prudence and growth through focus on agriculture, MSMEs, investment and exports.

The government has put a substantial amount of money in the hands of people through the I-T rate rejig… We have reduced tax rates to benefit the middle class. One crore more people will pay no income tax due to hike in rebate to Rs 12 lakh. — Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance minister 

At the heart of ‘reformist’ Budget

Income Tax Individuals earning up to Rs 12 lakh in a year will not have to pay any tax after the Finance Minister raised the exemption threshold from Rs 7 lakh. An additional Rs 75,000 standard deduction is available for the salaried class.

Gig workers recognised A social security cover for nearly 1 crore gig workers, who will get identity cards. The government will maintain a national registry, ensuring their inclusion in welfare schemes

Push to start-ups A Rs 10,000 cr fund of funds (FoF) announced for start-ups, offering term loans of up to Rs 2 crore for first-time entrepreneurs, with focus on women, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Is aimed at promoting inclusive entrepreneurship

Loan limit for KCC Loan limit under the Modified Interest Subvention Scheme to be enhanced from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh for loans taken by farmers through the Kisan Credit Cards

Crop diversification Pradhan Mantri Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana targeting 100 low-productivity agri-districts aims to benefit 1.7 crore farmers through crop diversification and improved infra. Six-year pulses mission gets Rs 1,000 crore boost

Pay less for

Life-saving drugs 36 medicines to treat cancer, chronic diseases exempted from basic customs duty

LED/LCD TVs Customs duty on open cell for touch sensor for LED/LCD TVs cut from 15% to 5%

Mobile phones Duty on mobile parts like cameras, microphones, sensors, etc. cut to nil from 2.5%

EV/phone batteries Exemption for 35 new goods for making batteries of EVs, 28 of cellphones

Imported bikes Duty on 1,600 CC bikes cut to 40%, semi-knocked down to 20%, fully knocked down to 10%

Shell out more for

Knitted fabrics Customs duty hiked from 10% to 20%

Interactive flat display Duty on panels imported as completely built units hiked from 10% to 20%

Markets end flat in highly volatile trade

Sensex and Nifty ended flat in a special trading session on Saturday as investors saw little coming in for retail investors and the overall markets in the Union Budget

No TDS on interest income up to Rs 1L for sr citizens

The limit for tax deduction at source on interest for senior citizens has been doubled from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh. For others, the limit for TDS has been increased to Rs 50,000 from the current Rs 40,000