Key Highlights of Union Budget 2017

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Union Budget 2017 in Parliament on 1 st February. The Union budget comprises of measures to improve economic growth, social and economic reforms as well as relief to income tax payers (the middle class).

1. The focus will be on energizing youth to reap benefits of growth and employment.
2. IMF estimates world GDP will grow by 3.4 per cent in 2017.
3. Risks to Indian economy include rising oil prices, dollar and volatile commodity prices.
4. India is seen as engine of global growth and the lone bright spot amidst economic gloom.
5. Demonetization is a bold and decisive measure, for many decades tax evasion was a way of life for many.
6. Note ban, via demonetization, is expected to have only a transient impact on economy.
7. Jaitley remarked, I am reminded of what our father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi said: “A right cause never fails”.
8. Effects of demonetisation not expected to spill over to next year.
9. Budget preponement to February 1 (from the usual practice of last week of February) will give sufficient time to departments to implement government schemes.
10. Our Budget agenda is – transform, energize and clean India – TEC India.
11. The approach to preparing the Budget is to spend more on rural areas, infrastructure and poverty alleviation with fiscal prudence.
12. Agriculture sector is expected to grow at 4.6%,
13. 36% increase in FDI flow; forex reserves at $361 billion in January, which is sufficient to cover 12 months needs.
14. Allocation under MNREGA increased to 48,000 crore from Rs 38,500 crore. This is the highest ever allocation for the scheme.
15. Total allocation for rural, agricultural and allied sectors for 2017-18 is Rs 187223 crore, which is 24% higher than last year.
16. 1 crore houses for the poor by 2019.
17. Safe drinking water to cover 28,000 arsenic and fluoride-affected habitations in the next four years.
18. 133-km road constructed per day under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY( as against 73-km in 2011-14.
19. For senior citizens, Aadhar cards giving their health condition will be introduced.
20. Two new All India Institute of Medical Sciences(AIIMS) to be set up in Jharkhand and Gujarat .
21. 3500 km railway lines to be put up.
22. Service charge on rail tickets booked through IRCTC to be withdrawn.
23. Rail safety fund with corpus of Rs 100,000 crore will be created over a period of five years.
24. 500 rail stations to be made differently abled-friendly by providing lifts and escalators. (Accessible India)
25. A new metro rail policy will be announced, which will open up new jobs for our youth.
26. Foreign investment promotion board (FIPB) to be abolished.
27. Allocation for infrastructure at a record Rs 3,96,135 crore .
28. Government to set up strategic crude oil reserves in Odisha and Rajasthan.
29. 1.25 crore people have already adopted Bhim App for digital payments.
30. Aadhaar Pay- an app for merchants- to be launched. 20 lakh aadhaar- based POS by September 2017.
31. Government is considering introduction of new law to confiscate assets of offenders who escape the country.
32. Defence expenditure excluding pension at Rs 2.74 lakh crore.
33. Fiscal deficit for 2017-18 pegged at 3.2 percent of GDP. Fiscal deficit target for next three years pegged at 3 percent.
34. India’s tax-to GDP ratio is very low. We are largely a tax non compliance society, when too many people evade taxes burden falls on those who are honest.
35. Small firms with turnover up to Rs 50 crore to pay 25% tax now, instead of 30%.
36. Black money SIT has suggested no cash transaction above Rs 3 lakh. The government has accepted this recommendation.
37. Maximum cash donation any political party can receive will be Rs 2000 from one source.
38. Political parties will be entitled to receive donations by cheques or digital modes.
39. An amendment being proposed to RBI Act to enable the issuance of electoral bonds for political funding.
40. Income tax rate reduced from 10% to 5% for tax slab of Rs 250,000 to Rs 500,000 .
41. Surcharge of 10% for those whose annual income is Rs 50 lakh to 1 crore.
42. 15% surcharge on incomes above Rs 1 crore to continue.

To know about How Budget is prepared, read – All you want to know about Budget 

To read on key highlights of Economic Survey 2016-17 –Chapter wise analysis of Economic Survey 2016-17