INDIA BUDGET 2015

HIGHLIGHTS OF BUDGET – 2015

Taxation
1. To provide social safety net, pension, additional deduction of Rs.50,000 to be provided for new pension scheme
2. To raise limit of deduction of health insurance premium to Rs.25,000
3. 100% tax deduction for Swachh Bharat, Clean Ganga schemes
4. To increase clean energy cess to Rs.200 per metric tonne of coal
5. To increase service tax plus education cess to 14%
6. To increase threshold for transfer pricing to Rs.20 crore
7. To increase excise duty to 12.5%; excise duty cut on leather footwear
8. To defer GAAR by two years
9. To reduce customs duty on 22 items
10. Rich and wealthy must pay more tax
11. To abolish wealth tax; Two percent additional surcharge on super-rich tax
12. To rationalize capital tax regime
13. Quoting of PAN number mandatory for any transaction over Rs.1 lakh
14. To allow tax pass-through for Alternative investment funds
15. Binami transaction prohibition bill to introduced in current session
16. To enact law to deal with black money stashed abroad
17. Strict measures including imprisonment, hefty fines to deal with tax evasion with regard to foreign assets
18. corporate tax rate to be cut to 25% over next four years
19. To rationalize, remove exemptions for corporates over four years
20. Fight against black money to get stronger
21. GST expected to play transformative role To modify permanent establishment norms
22. Considered as having high corporate tax regime
23. Transport allowance, which is currently Rs.800 per month, has been increased to Rs.1,600 per month

24. Defence sector allocation of Rs.2,46,000 crore
25. Pursuing Make in India policy in defence sector
26. Rs.68,960 crore to eduction sector, Rs.33,000 crore to health sector
27. Propose to provide similar special assistance to Bihar and West Bengal as in the case of Andhra Pradesh
28. Making good progress on Digital India
29. To set up AIIMS IN Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tamil Nadhu, Himachal Pradesh and Assam
30. To set up another AIIMS-like institution in Bihar, IIT in Karnataka, IIMs in J&K and Andhra Pradesh
31. Good progress of BMIC corridor
32. To launch National Skills Missions
33. To set up film institute in Arunachal Pradesh
34. To set up autonomous bank board bureau to select PSU heads
35. To celebrate 100th birth anniversary of Deendayal Upadhyay
36. Regulatory reform law for infrastructure to be taken up
37. Public contracts (resolution of disputes) bill to be introduced
38. Parliament should discuss need to have a procurement law
39. To launch scheme for faster adoption of electric vehicles: Rs.75 crore
40. To increase visa-on-arrival scheme coverage to 150 countries in stages
41. Propose to do away with different types of foreign investment, specially FPI and FDI
42. To allocate Rs.1,000 crore to Nirbhaya fund
43. To develop churches and convents of old Goa, Hampi, Elephanta caves, Varanasi, Jallianwalla Bagh
44. To work towards making India a cashless society to curb black money
45. To produce Indian gold coin with Ashoka Chakra To set up public debt management authority
46. To amend Section 6 of FEMA
47. For employees below certain section of income, EPF contribution should be voluntary
48. Introduce gold monetization scheme to let depositors to earn interest in metal accounts
49. Develop sovereign gold bonds as alternative with fixed rate of interest
50. Propose to merge FMC with Sebi
51. Five ultra-mega power projects, each of 4,000MWs
52. To increase MGNREGA allocation by Rs.5,000 cr; This year’s allocation highest ever in MGNREGA
53. Rs.1,400 crore to Integrated Child development Scheme
54. Rs.5,000 crore to new infra fund
55. To appoint committee to explore replacing multiple project permissions with single regulatory system
56. Kudankulam nuclear plant to be functional in 2015-16
57. To permit tax-free infra bonds for projects in roads, railways
58. R&D and scientific research: Rs.150 crore to be set aside