The Budget of 2018-2019 is out, and it is bound to be a hot topic for GD-PI of all B-Schools.
Did you know that:
- Mobile phones, televisions, vehicles etc. are all set to become more expensive.
- 2 crore toilets will be built by the Government in a span of 1 year.
- Aiport Capacities will increase by 5 times. UDAN, the regional airport development scheme launched in 2017, will connect 56 unserved airports and 31 unserved helipads in the country.
Unaware of facts like these? Don’t know what the summary of the budget is? Missed it because it was boring? Worry not.
Below are a few pointers from the Budget 2018-2019 which will give you an edge over everyone else in your GD-PI.
Key highlights of Arun Jaitley's Budget 2018-19:
* Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presents Union Budget 2018-19 in Parliament.
* The cabinet, in a meeting, approved the Budget.
* Our emphasis is on generating higher benefits and productive employment for the farmers: Jaitley while addressing the agricultural sector in his Budget speech 2018.
* Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has arrived in the Parliament to present his Budget for the year 2018-19.
* The Budget of 2018 is India's first after the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in June last year.
* Arun Jaitley proposed to tax long-term capital gains exceeding Rs 1 lakh at 10 % without indexation.
* Electronic IT assessment will be rolled out across the country, leading to greater efficiency and transparency: FM
* Mobile phones set to become costlier as customs duty on them has been increased to 20%
* Health and education cess has been increased to 4 %
* For senior citizens, exemption of interest income on bank deposits raised to Rs 50,000.
* FM Jaitley proposes to introduce the tax on distributed income by equity-oriented mutual funds at 10 %
* Standard deduction of Rs 40,000 for salaried employees in lieu of transport and medical expenses: FM Jaitley
* Companies with turnover of up to Rs 250 crore to be taxed at 25 %.
* Arun Jaitley says that the government does not propose any changes in tax slabs for the salaried class this year.
* FM proposes a fiscal deficit of 3.3% of GDP for 2018-19.
* Finance Minister Arun Jaitley proposes increasing the salaries of as per the following structure:
- Rs 5 lakh for the President of India (Ram Nath Kovind)
- Rs 4 lakh for the Vice President (Venkaiah Naidu)
- Rs 3.5 lakh for the Governors
* Mr Jaitley also proposes an automatic revision of emoluments of Parliamentarians every five years, indexed to inflation.
* 5 lakh WiFi hotspots will be set up in rural areas to provide easy internet access.
* Government will take all steps to eliminate use of cryptocurrencies which are funding illegitimate transactions.
* Govt announces Amrut program to focus on the water supply to all households in 500 cities. Water supply contracts for 494 projects worth Rs 19,428 core will be awarded: FM
* NITI Aayog will establish a national programme to direct our efforts in Artificial Intelligence towards national development: FM
* Airport capacity to be hiked to handle 1 billion trips every year.
* Arun Jaitley says that 4,000 km of new railway track will be laid down by 2019.
* All railways stations with footfall more than 25,000 to have escalators, says the Finance Minister.
* Mumbai transport receives Rs 40,000 crore.
* The government will undertake redevelopment of 600 major railway stations across the country.
* Arun Jaitley announces capital expenditure of Rs 1,48,528 crore for Indian Railways in 2018-19.
* National Heritage City Development Augmentation Scheme has been undertaken to preserve and protect heritage cities in the country, announces the Finance Minister.
* Government to contribute 12 % of EPF contribution for new employees in all sectors: FM
* Infrastructure is the growth driver of economy: Jaitley
* Target of 3 lakh crore for lending under PM Mudra Yojana: FM
* MSME enterprises are a major element for growth, says Jaitley. He also added that mass formalisation of MSME sector is happening after demonetisation and GST.
* Govt will launch health scheme to cover 10 crore, poor families, Arun Jaitley says.
* The Government is slowly but steadily progressing towards universal health coverage: FM
* Government aims to bring 60 crore bank accounts under the Jan Dhan Yojana.
* Eklavya schools to be started for Scheduled Tribe populations: Finance Minister
* Rs 600 crore allocated to Tuberculosis patients undergoing treatment.
* Govt will set up two new Schools of Planning and Architecture, says Finance Minister Jaitley.
* To tackle brain drain, Jaitley announces the scheme to identify bright students pursuing B Tech in premier engineering institutes, and providing them higher-education opportunities in the IITs and IISc. These students will receive handsome fellowships and will be expected to dedicate a few hours to teach in higher education institutions weekly.
* Specialised railway university to be set up at Vadodara.
* Jaitley proposed integrated BEd programme for teachers: "training of teachers during service is essential." Technology will be the biggest driver in improving the quality of education.
* Budget allocates money for social security and protection programme for all widows and orphaned children.
* We have a target to provide all Indians with their own homes by 2022, says Jaitley.
* Ujjwala scheme to amplify targets will now provide 8 crores, rural women, free LPG connections.
* Air pollution in Delhi-NCR has been a cause of concern, govt has proposed subsidised machinery for in-situ management of crop residue in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and NCT Delhi.
* Govt of India will take necessary measures to put in place measures for the state government to purchase surplus solar power produced by local farmers at suitable prices.
* Arun Jaitley proposes a sum of Rs 500 crore for 'Operation Green' on the lines of 'Operation Flood'.
* Arun Jaitley on Minimum Support Price of agricultural products: Only increasing the MSP is not enough, the government will fix the MSP of agricultural products at 1.5 times the market rate.
* Our government has worked sincerely, and without weighing the political costs, hoping that benefits are delivered to people at their doorsteps. The Direct Benefit Transfer system of India is a success story that is reiterated across the world: Jaitley.
* The finance minister also pointed out that India is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.
* Arun Jaitley recalls the measures -- like GST, FDI, demonetisation, etc. -- taken by the NDA government in the past four years that have impacted the economy of the country.
Source:
Budget 2018 Highlights - Times of India
Hope you put this information to good use and get an edge over your competitors in what is bound to be one of the hottest topics for Group Discussions and Personal Interviews.
All the best!