Nirmala's Budget 2019: 'Gaon, gareeb, kisan' to be core agenda, India inc new job creator, 25% tax for Rs 400 cr firms

Budget 2019 Live: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is presenting the first budget of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government in Parliament on Friday, July 5. At a time when the country is witnessing a sharp slowdown in India's economic growth, Sitharaman's main focus will be to revive economic growth through higher investments. Apart from revving growth, rising fiscal deficit and slowdown in consumer demand are the other two challenges that Sitharaman addressed. Stay with ibtimes.co.in to get all the live updates from Nirmala Sitharaman's Union Budget 2019 speech.

FM Nirmala Sitharaman said, "I propose to increase special additional excise duty and road and infrastructure cess each one by 1 rupee a litre on petrol and diesel."

• AADHAAR & PAN interchangeable for filing IT return
• Faceless tax assessment to be launched
• TDS of 2 percent on cash withdrawal exceeding Rs 1 crore/year
• Angel tax relief for startups
• Additional 1,50,000 deduction on housing loans
• Enhance surcharge on taxable income of Rs 2-5 crore
• 7% extra tax on the income of more than Rs 5 crore

Union Budget 2019: New series of coins of Re 1, Rs 2, Rs 5, Rs 10, Rs 20 easily identifiable to the visually impaired were released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 7, 2019. These coins will be made available to the public very soon, Nirmala Sitharaman in Lok Sabha.

• Union Budget 2019 cuts Corporate tax rate to 25% for companies with an annual turnover of Rs 400 crore
• Additional IT deduction on interest on loans for electric vehicles. GST rates on e-vehicles from 12% to 5%
• RBI to regulate housing loan sector
• No income tax less than Rs 5 lakh/year income
• 'Direct tax revenue has increased'
• Sitharaman brings 99.3% firms under 25% corporate tax slab

• Financial gains from cleaning banks visible
• NPAs has drastically reduced, cleared by over Rs 1 lakh crore; recoveries of over Rs 4 lakh crores made
• Domestic credit growth has risen by 13 percent
• 6 Public Sector Banks out of 'critical stage'
• NBFCs should continue to get funding

The Modi government wishes to encourage the role of women. "By empowering women, will ensure naari to narayani transformation takes place," says Nirmala Sitharaman in Lok Sabha.

• Railway modernisation programme to be launched this year
• Expand 'Swachh Bharat' to undertake solid waste management in villages
• Bharat Net to aim at internet connectivity in local bodies
• Focus on skills for jobs abroad
• New initiatives will boost business
• Women equal partners in all walks of life
• Labour laws to be streamlined. 4 Labour codes to be set up.

In its push for a Swachh Bharat Mission and a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, Nirmala Sitharaman says India will be open defecation free by October 2.

• Comprehensive restructuring of National Highways Programme
• Under PMAY-Gramin, 1.95 crore houses to eligible beneficiaries
• See rapid urbanisation as an opportunity rather than a challenge
• 'Swachh Bharat Mission' to be expanded
• Construction of over 26 lakh houses completed
• Cities and villages to be made better with tech
• 'New education policies' to improve schools, higher education
• Steps to double farmers income
• National Research Foundation to be set up
• Funds from ministries to be integrated in NRF
• 3 Indian colleges in global top 200
• Develop 75,000 skilled entrepreneurs in agro-rural industries
• 'New Policy' to attract foreign students
• 'Khelo Indian scheme' to be encouraged

• 'Water for all Indians a priority for us'
• 'Har ghar jal' mantra for all villages by 2024
• Stress on 'zero budget farming'
• Railway infra would need an investment of Rs 50 lakh crores between 2018 and 2030; PPP to be used to unleash faster development and delivery of passenger freight services.

FM Nirmala Sitharaman: Rs 350 crore allocated for 2 percent interest subvention for all GST-registered MSMEs on fresh or incremental loans. Pension for shopkeepers and retailers with turnover less than Rs. 1.5 crore to be launched under Pradhan Mantri Karma Yogi Maan Dhan Scheme. Sitharaman also said that the NDA government will create 1.95 crore houses for poor by 2022.

• 100% FDI in insurance intermediaries
• Open FDI in aviation, media
• India has emerged as a major space power
• Foreign investment portfolios for NRIs
• Banking Reforms: FM announces easing of KYC Norms
• Boost to the retail sector: Investment norms to be eased in single-brand retail
• Sitharaman proposes public-private partnership in railways
• Electricity, clean cooking facility for every rural home
• Incentives for buying e-vehicles
• 'Gaon, gareeb, kisan' focus

Presenting her first budget, Nirmala Sitharaman said, "one India-one grid will give push to connectivity in India."

"National Common Mobility will enable people to pay multiple transport charges across India. This card runs on RuPay card and allows users to pay bus charges, parking charges, etc. National transport card for universal travel which can be used on various modes of transport (road, railways etc). Rail and metro project for 300 km have been approved," said Nirmala Sitharaman.

Schemes such as 'Bharatmala', 'Sagarmala' and UDAN are bridging the rural and urban divide, improving our transport infrastructure, says Nirmala Sitharaman in Lok Sabha.

Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman quoted Chanakya as she presented her maiden budget.

The Indian economy will grow to become a 3 trillion dollar economy this year itself, says Nirmala Sitharaman.

Job creation is one of our main priorities, says Nirmala Sitharaman in Lok Sabha.

• Voter turnout was highest; every section came to stamp their approval for a performing government.
• The people of India have validated their two goals for our country's future: national security and economic growth.
• Between 2014 and 2019, we provided rejuvenated centre-state dynamic, cooperative federalism, GST Council and a strident commitment to fiscal discipline; set the ball rolling for New India.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents her maiden budget in Lok Sabha.

Prime Minister arrives in Parliament for Budget 2019. Watch the video here:

Cabinet approves budget, Nirmala Sitharaman to present it shortly.

One can watch the live budget telecast on national television channels such as Doordarshan, Lok Sabha TV and Rajya Sabha TV. The Union Budget 2019 will be presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Lok Sabha at 11 am on Friday.

As per tradition, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, MoS Anurag Thakur met President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan before presenting the Union Budget 2019.

Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian on Sitharaman's four-fold red cloth instead of a briefcase, "It is in Indian tradition. It symbolises our departure from the slavery of Western thought. It is not a Budget but a 'bahi khata' (ledger)."

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman broke the brown Budget briefcase tradition and was spotted holding budget papers in a red folder. Sitharaman posed along with her team, including MoS Finance Anurag Thakur and Finance Secretary S C Garg, outside the Finance Ministry in the North Block with the Union Budget-2019 documents.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has arrived at the Ministry of Finance. She will present the Budget 2019 in Lok Sabha today at 11 am.

Ahead of the Union Budget 2019, Sensex has hit 40,000 for the first time since June 11. The Sensex gained 104.96 points at 40,013.02 and the Nifty50 rose 28.20 points to 11,975.