New Budget Focuses More On Health and Well being

Amid the unprecedented crisis due to Covid-19, Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday presented her budget for the year 2021-2022. It was her second budget after being sworn in as Finance Minister in the second Narendra Modi government.

According to PTI, the finance Minister 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, registering an increase of 137 %.

Ms. Sitharaman has also proposed Rs. 35,000 crore outlay for COVID-19 vaccines for the next fiscal and announced the roll out of pneumococcal vaccines across the country to help save over 50,000 deaths annually, the report said.

“I have provided Rs. 35,000 crore for COVID vaccines for 2021-22. I commit to provide further funds if required,” the Finance Minister said while presenting the Budget for 2021-22, the PTI reported.

In her Budget speech, Sitharaman mentioned that this year’s budget focused on six pillars- Health and Well being, Physical and Financial Capital, and Infrastructure, Inclusive Development for Aspirational India, Reinvigorating Human Capital, Innovation and R&D and minimum government and maximum governance, ANI reported.

Presenting the first-ever digital Union Budget, the minister stated that India’s fight against COVID-19 continues into 2021 and that this moment in history, when the political, economic, and strategic relations in the post-COVID world are changing, is the dawn of a new era – one in which India is well-poised to truly be the land of promise and hope, the report said.

Key highlights of Union Budget 2021-22 as ANI reported:
1. A new Center-sponsored scheme Prime Minister Atmanirbhar Swasthya Bharat Yojana with an outlay of Rs 64,180 crores to boost healthcare infrastructure across the country amid ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
2. Senior citizens above 75 years of age, having pension and interest income exempted from filing tax returns
3. A National Faceless Income tax Appellate Tribunal Centre shall be established and all the communication between the Tribunal and the appellant shall be made electronically
4. In order to provide transparent tax appellate mechanism, it is proposed to make the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal faceless and jurisdiction-less
5. For reducing litigation and to give an impetus to the dispute resolution for small taxpayers, a Dispute Resolution Committee is proposed to be constituted.
6. To incentivise digital transactions and to reduce the compliance burden of the person who is carrying almost all of their transactions digitally, it is proposed to increase the limit for tax audit for persons who are undertaking 95 per cent of their transactions digitally from Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore
7. Rs 1,000 crore to be provided for welfare scheme for tea workers of Assam & West Bengal especially women and children
8. National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) expanded to 7,400 projects
9. Rs 2,23,846 crore outlay for Health and Well being in Budget Estimates (BE) 2021-22 as against Rs 94,452 crore in BE 2020-21 – an increase of 137 per cent
10. Rs 35,000 crore for COVID-19 vaccine in Budget Estimates 2021-22
11. Rs 64,180 crore outlay over 6 years for PM AatmaNirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana – a new centrally sponsored scheme to be launched, in addition to NHM
12. Rs. 2,87,000 crore over 5 years for Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban) to be launched
13. Rs. 1,41,678 crore over 5 years for Urban Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0
14. Rs. 2,217 crore to tackle air pollution, for 42 urban centers with a million-plus population
15. Voluntary vehicle scrapping policy to phase out old and unfit vehicles (After 20 years in case of personal vehicles and 15 years in case of commercial vehicles)
16. Rs 1.97 lakh crore in the next 5 years for Production Linked Incentive scheme (PLI) schemes in 13 Sector
17. Rs 20,000 crore to set up and capitalize a Development Financial Institution (DFI) – to act as a provider, enabler and catalyst for infrastructure financing
18. Rs 5.54 lakh crore capital expenditure in BE 2021-22 – a sharp increase of 34.5 per cent over Rs. 4.12 lakh crore allocated in BE 2020-21
19. Rs 1,18,101 lakh crore, highest ever outlay, for Ministry of Road Transport and Highways – of which Rs 1,08,230 crore is for capital
20. Rs 1,10,055 crore for Railways of which Rs. 1,07,100 crore is for capital expenditure
21. Rs 3,05,984 crore over 5 years for a revamped, reforms-based and result-linked new power distribution sector scheme
22. Capital infusion of Rs 1,000 crore to Solar Energy Corporation of India and Rs 1,500 crore to Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency
23. FDI limit in Insurance Sector increased from 49 per cent to 74 per cent
24. Rural Infrastructure Development Fund to be enhanced to Rs 40,000 crore from Rs 30,000 crore
25. Rs 15,700 crore budget allocation to MSME Sector, more than double of this year’s BE
24. An agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess of Rs 2.5 per litre has been imposed on petrol and Rs 4 per litre on diesel. Unbranded petrol and diesel will attract basic excise duty of Rs 1.4 and Rs 1.8 per litre respectively
25. 100 per cent Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess on Alcoholic beverages.