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Key Highlights of Union Budget 2021-22

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03 Feb 2021 | 5 min read

The Finance Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman presented her third union budget and the first paperless budget of India in the Parliament. The entire budget hovered around the six pillars viz. health and well-being, physical and financial capital and infrastructure, inclusive development for aspirational India, reinvigorating human capital, innovation and research and development, and minimum government, maximum governance. 

Core announcements included substantial hikes in the customs duty to facilitate Make in India, proposal to disinvest two more public sector banks and a general insurance company, and several infrastructural promises to poll-bound states.

In this blog, we have accumulated almost every major aspect of the budget session 2021 which will help you understand the budget seamlessly. Let’s take a look at the key highlights of those major segments!

Health and Sanitation

Following are the highlights of the announcements which were made for the healthcare and sanitation sector under the union budget 2021:

  • The FM announced a new scheme, titled Pradhan Mantri Atma Nirbhar Swasthya Bharat Yojana. The objective of launching the scheme is to develop the primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare.
  • Mission POSHAN 2.0 announced to boost the results of nutrition across 112 aspirational districts.
  • 17 new public health points to be open.
  • Updations of existing health units throughout 32 airports and 15 seaports and land ports.
  • Better supply of water is aimed to be spread across the nation under Urban Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 with a budget of 2.87 lakh crores.
  • Urban Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 will be enforced with a budget of 1.41 lakh crores, which will be spread across 5 years.

Infrastructure

Following are the highlights of the announcement for the infrastructure sector under the union budget 2021:

  • Scrapping policy launched to filter the old and unfit vehicles. Every personal vehicle will have to go through the fitness test in automated fitness centres every 20 years and every commercial vehicle will have to perform the same every 15 years.
  • Highway and road works and developments will be carried out in the state of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, and West Bengal.
  • To track the progress and extend the visibility to investors of asset monetisation process, National Asset Monetising Pipeline has been launched.
  • National Rail Plan built to convey a future-ready Railway system by 2030.
  • Electrification to be brought in the railway sector by 2023.
  • Metro services to be carried out across 27 cities. Additional allocations for Chennai Metro Phase 2, Bengaluru Metro Phase 2A and B, Nashik Metro, Nagpur Metro and Kochi Metro has been structured.
  • National Hydrogen Mission will be commenced to produce hydrogen from green power sources.
  • The recycling capability of ports will be doubled by 2024.
  • Announcement of gas pipeline project set up in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
  • The benefits under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana will be extended to additional 1 crore people.

Tax

Following are the highlights of the announcement for the tax segment under the budget session of 2021:

  • People above the age of 75 years with only pension or interest income or both incomes are not required to file ITR.
  • Recommencement window for IT assessment cases dropped from 6 years to 3 years. Although, in the event of a substantial tax avoidance which is equivalent to or beyond Rs. 50 lakhs it can go up to 10 years.
  • 1-year of tax holiday extended for affordable housing projects.
  • Small trusts will get relief in the compliance burden whose annual receipts does not surpass Rs. 5 crores.
  • Duty on copper scrap lowered to 2.5%.
  • Custom duty on gold and silver to be pruned.
  • Duty on naphtha lowered to 2.5%. 
  • Duty increased from 5% to 20%, and from 5% to 15% on solar inverters and solar lanterns respectively.
  • Custom duties to be levied 5% on all types of nylon products.
  • Tunnel boring machines to draw customs duty of 7%.
  • Custom duties to be levied 10% on cottons.
  • Agriculture infrastructure and development cess will be levied on particular items including crude soya bean and sunflower oil, urea, apples, Kabuli chana and peas, and crude palm oil.

Economy and Finance

Following are the highlights of the announcement for the economy and finance segment under the budget session of 2021:

  • Fiscal shortfall stands at 9.5% of the GDP; estimated stands near 6.8% in 2021-22.
  • Proposal to authorize states to maximize borrowings up to 4% of GSDP in 2021.
  • Proposal of the incorporation of a Unified Securities Market Code, uniting provisions of the SEBI Act, Depositories Act, and two other laws.
  • Proposal to maximize FDI limit from 49% to 74%.
  • An asset reconstruction company will be incorporated to seize underlined loans.
  • Deposit insurance maximized from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 5 lakhs for bank depositors.
  • The Limited Liability Partnership Act of 2008 to be decriminalised.
  • Two Public-Sector Undertaking (PSU) banks and one general insurance company to be disinvested in 2021.
  • During the financial year 2021, an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) to be unveiled.
  • BPCL, IDBI Bank, Air India to be sold along a strategic way.

Education

Following are the highlights of the budget proposed for the education sector under the union budget 2021:

  • 100 new Sainik Schools will be established. 
  • 750 Eklavya schools will be established in the tribal regions.
  • A central university will be set up in Ladakh.

Employment

Following are the highlights of the announcement for the employment segment under the union budget 2021:

  • A portal to be launched with the objective to maintain the information of the gig workers and construction employees.
  • Social security to be rendered to gig and platform workers.
  • Margin capital needed for loans through Stand-up India scheme dropped from 25% to 15% for SCs, STs and women.

Agriculture

Following are the highlights of the announcement for the agriculture sector under the union budget 2021:

  • APMCs will be provided fund for the augmentation of the agriculture infrastructure.
  • 1,000 additional Mandis to be merged into the E-NAM market place.
  • Development will be carried out across 5 major fishing hubs including Kochi, Chennai, and Paradip.
  • A multi-functional seaweed park will be set up in the state of Tamil Nadu.

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