Union Budget 2021-22

• The Minister of Finance presented the Union Budget 2021-22.
• This was the first ever digital Union Budget.
• The Budget proposals for this financial year rest 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, Maximum Governance'.
• The first Budget of Independent India was presented in 1947.
• Budget outlay for Health and Wellbeing in 2021-22 as against 2020-21 is an increase of 137%.

Health and Sanitation:

• A new scheme, titled PM Atma Nirbhar Swasthya Bharat Yojana, is to be launched to develop primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare.
• Mission POSHAN 2.0 will be launched to improve nutritional outcomes across 112 aspirational districts.

• Operationalisation of 17 new public health units at points of entry of existing health units at 32 airports, 15 seaports and land ports.
• Jal Jeevan Mission Urban aimed at better water supply nationwide will be launched.
• Strengthening of Urban Swachh Bharat Mission.

Education:

• 100 new Sainik Schools is to be set up.
• 750 Eklavya schools is to be set up in tribal areas.
• A Central University is to come up in Ladakh.

Infrastructure:

• Vehicle scrapping policy to phase out old and unfit vehicles.
• Under this all vehicles to undergo fitness test in automated fitness centres every 20 years (personal vehicles), every 15 years (commercial vehicles).
• Highway and road works are announced in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Assam.
• National Asset Monetising Pipeline will be launched to monitor asset monetisation process.
• National Rail Plan will be created to bring a future ready Railway system by 2030.

• 100% electrification of Railways is to be completed by 2023.  
• Metro services are announced in 27 cities, plus additional allocations for Kochi Metro, Chennai Metro Phase 2, Bengaluru Metro Phase 2A and B, Nashik and Nagpur Metros.
• National Hydrogen Mission is to be launched to generate hydrogen from green power sources.
• Recycling capacity of ports is to be doubled by 2024.

• Gas pipeline project is to be set up in Jammu and Kashmir.
• Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (LPG scheme) is to be extended to cover 1 crore more beneficiaries. 

Tax:

• No IT filing for people above 75 years who get pension and earn interest from deposits.
• Reopening window for IT assessment cases was reduced from 6 to 3 years.
• However, in case of serious tax evasion cases (Rs. 50 lakh or more), it can go up to 10 years.
• Affordable housing projects is to get a tax holiday for one year
• Compliance burden of small trusts, whose annual receipts does not exceed Rs. 5 crores, are to be eased.

• Duty of copper scrap reduced to 2.5%.
• Custom duty on gold and silver is to be rationalised.
• Duty on naphtha reduced to 2.5%.
• Duty on solar inverters raised from 5% to 20%.
• Duty on solar lanterns raised from 5% to 15%.
• All nylon products will be charged with 5% customs duty.
• Tunnel boring machines is to attract customs duty of 7%
• Customs duty on cotton raised from 0 to 10%
• Agriculture infrastructure and development cess is proposed on certain items including urea, apples, crude soyabean and sunflower oil, crude palm oil, kabuli chana and peas.

Economy and Finance:

• Fiscal deficit stands at 9.5% of the GDP; It is estimated to be 6.8% in 2021-22.
• There is a Proposal to allow States to raise borrowings up to 4% of GSDP this year.
• A Unified Securities Market Code is to be created by consolidating provisions of the SEBI Act, Depositories Act, and two other laws.
• Proposal to increase FDI limit from 49% to 74%.
• An asset reconstruction company will be set up to take over stressed loans.
• Deposit insurance increased from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh for bank depositors.
• Two PSU bank and one general insurance firm is to be disinvested this year.
• An IPO of LIC is to debut this fiscal year.
• Strategic sale of BPCL, IDBI Bank, Air India is to be completed.

Agriculture:

• Agriculture infrastructure fund is to be made available for APMCs for augmenting their infrastructure.
• 1,000 more Mandis are to be integrated into the E-NAM market place
• Five major fishing hubs, including Chennai, Kochi and Paradip, are to be developed
• A multipurpose seaweed park is to be established in Tamil Nadu.

Employment:

• A portal is to be launched to maintain information on gig workers and construction workers.
• Social security is to be extended to gig and platform workers.

• Margin capital required for loans via Stand-up India scheme reduced from 25% to 15% for SCs, STs and women.

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