10.01 am: As BJP leaders express confidence about a “popular” Budget, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav takes a jibe at the government.
“When the nation’s performance has gone down/declined in every department, what will you do by presenting the Budget?” he tweets in Hindi.
10.05 am: Did you know that Piyush Goyal, set to present his first Budget, is a chartered accountant? He is an all-India second-rank holder chartered accountant and second-rank holder in law from the Mumbai University, according to his website.
In the run-up to the 2014 General Elections, Goyal also headed the BJP’s Information Communication Campaign Committee and oversaw its publicity and advertising campaign, including social media outreach.
10.10 am: Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha says the government will look to increase investment in the network. “The way the government has increased the investment in railways, from installing CCTV cameras to Wi-Fi, I believe further investment in railways will certainly be increased,” he tells ANI.
The Railway Budget merged with the Union Budget in 2017 after being presented separately for 92 years.
10.16 am: Another Opposition leader takes a dig at the government and the Budget ahead of its presentation.
“All the budgets presented by them in the past has only been ‘jumle’ [gimmicks], today’s will be the same,” Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge tells Times Now.
10.21 am: Union Minister of Agriculture Radha Mohan Singh tells ANI that the last five budgets have been dedicated to the farmers. “The government’s sixth budget will also be for the farmers, it will empower them,” he says.
10.38 am: Telugu Desam Party MPs dressed in black are protesting in the Parliament complex against the central government ahead of the presentation of the Interim Budget, according to ANI. During the Parliament’s Winter Session, the protests demanding special category status for Andhra Pradesh had resulted in several adjournments.
10.47 am: The Union Cabinet, led by PM Narendra Modi, has approved the Interim Budget, according to The Economic Times.
10.55 am: The BSE Sensex is up 138.11 points at 36,394.80, while the National Stock Exchange Nifty 50 is at 10,871.90, higher by 40.95 points. The rupee is now trading at 71.20 against the dollar, 12 paise lower than Thursday’s close.
10.56 am: Congress leader Manish Tewari claims the BJP-led NDA government has “leaked” parts of the Interim Budget ahead of its presentation, according to ANI.
“Since the morning, government sources have been sending budget pointers to media houses, now if these pointers are there in the finance minister’s speech, then it [is] tantamount to a leak,” says Tewari. “It would be a serious issue of breach of secrecy.”
11.01 am: Piyush Goyal starts the Budget presentation in Parliament
11.05 am: “We got India back on track, we are now marching towards prosperity,” says Piyush Goyal.
11.07 am: “We broke the back of back-breaking inflation,” says Piyush Goyal, adding the NDA government has brought down the rate of inflation during its tenure. “We brought down inflation to 4.6%.”
Inflation in December 2018 was just 2.1%, says Goyal.
11.08 am: Goyal says the fiscal deficit is set to be 3.4% of GDP in 2018-’19. The government had earlier budgeted it at 3.3% of GDP.
The current account deficit, meanwhile, is likely to drop to 2.5% of GDP this year, he adds.
11.11 am: “We had the courage to ask the RBI to look at bad loans,” says Goyal.
11.12 am: The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, has helped bring down non-performing assets, says Goyal.
11.15 am: “We have ushered in a new era of transparency,” says Goyal. The Real Estate Regulation Act and Benami Transactions Prohibition Act have helped bring down corruption in the real estate market, he adds.
11.17 am: Piyush Goyal proposes budget allocation of Rs 60,000 crore for National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in 2019-’20.
11.19 am: “As a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, the world’s largest behavioural change movement, Swachh Bharat, has been initiated,” says Piyush Goyal. “More than 98% rural sanitation coverage has been achieved, more than 5.45 lakh villages have been declared open defecation-free.”
11.21 am: “Rs 19,000 crore has been set aside for Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.
11.22 am: “The pace of construction of rural roads has been tripled under our tenure.”
11.23 am: Goyal says Haryana will get the 22nd campus of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. He also mentions the BJP’s victory in the Jind Assembly bye-election on Thursday.
11.24 am: “115 of the most backward districts have seen improved development indices through the Aspirational Districts Programme.”
11.25 am: “During 2014-’18, 1.53 crore houses have been constructed under the PM Awas Yojana.”
11.26 am: On structured income support for farmers’ family, Goyal says it will help avoid indebtedness and dependence on moneylenders. Called the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, the scheme will provide farmers with land up to two hectares Rs 6,000 annually in direct annual support.
The government will spend Rs 75,000 crore annually on the scheme, which will come into effect retrospectively from December 1, 2018. It is set to benefit 12 crore small and marginal farmers.
11.28 am: The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi resembles Telangana’s Rythu Bandhu scheme or Farmers’ Investment Support Scheme, where Rs 8,000 per acre is paid to farmers in two installments per crop season. The scheme was launched in May 2018.
There had been speculation that the Centre would announce such a scheme.
11.33 am: “All farmers in animal husbandry and fisheries, who have been affected by severe natural calamities, will get interest subvention of 2%.”
If they repay loans on time, an additional 3% interest subvention will be given, says Goyal.
11.35 am: “Rashtriya Kamdhenu Ayog will look after the effective implementation of policies and schemes for welfare of cows.”
11.37 am: Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha criticises the government’s new scheme for small and marginal farmers. “After brutalising the farmers for five years, a cosmetic support of just Rs 75,000 crore allocation for farmers. This is peanuts,” he has tweeted.
11.39 am: The BSE Sensex is now up 162.77 points at 36,419.46, while the National Stock Exchange Nifty 50 is at 10,873.50, higher by 42.55 points.
The rupee is now trading at 71.06 against the dollar, up two paise since Thursday’s close.
11.39 am: Goyal announces a Mega Pension Yojana, called the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Mandhan. It will provide an assured monthly pension of Rs 3,000, with a monthly contribution of Rs 100, for workers over the age of 60 in the unorganised sector. These would include unorganised workers like domestic helps, rag-pickers, rickshaw-pullers, among others.
11.41 am: “One crore youth are being trained under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Scheme to enable them to get employment,” says Goyal.
11.43 am: “Committee under NITI Aayog to be set up to identify and denotify nomadic and semi-nomadic communities; Welfare Development Board to be set up under Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for welfare of these hard-to-reach communities and for tailored strategic interventions.”
11.48 am: “India’s youth have turned job creators from job seekers, India has become the second largest hub for start-ups.”
11.49 am: “Rs 35,000 crore disbursed under One Rank, One Pension [OROP] scheme in the current NDA term.”
11.49 am: “National Artificial Intelligence Portal to be developed soon,” says Goyal.
11.50 am: “The country now has 100 operational airports.”
11.51 am: “India is the fastest highway developer in the world, with 27 km of roads laid each day, projects stuck for decades have been completed.”
“All unmanned level crossings on broad gauge rail network have been completely eliminated.”
11.52 am: “To ensure cleaner fuel and health assurance, we embarked upon Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, a programme to give eight crore free LPG connections to rural households. Six crore connections have been given already.”
11.55 am: “Allocation for Northeastern region proposed to be increased to Rs 58,166 crore in this year, a 21% rise over the previous year.”
11.56 am: “We will make 1 lakh digital villages in the next five years.”
11.57 am: “The cost of data and voice calls in India is now possibly the lowest in the world; mobile and mobile part manufacturing companies have increased from two to 268.”
11.58 am: The government proposes to allocate Rs 64,587 crore for capital expenditure of Railways in 2019-’20, says Goyal.
11.58 am: “Single-window clearance for filmmaking to be made available to Indian filmmakers, anti-camcording provision to be introduced to Cinematography Act to combat film privacy,” says the minister.
12 pm: “Tax collections increased from Rs 6.38 lakh crore in 2013-14 to almost Rs 12 lakh crore this year. Tax base went up from 3.79 crore to 6.85 crore.”
12.01 pm: “The taxation process will become more assessee-friendly. All returns will be processed in 24 hours and refunds processed immediately.”
12.03 pm: “Impactful steps have been taken in reducing tax, bringing benefits for middle class citizens.
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12.05 pm: “Within nearly two years, almost all assessment and verification of IT returns will be done electronically by an anonymized tax system without any intervention by officials.”
12.05 pm: “Within nearly two years, almost all assessment and verification of IT returns will be done electronically by an anonymized tax system without any intervention by officials.”
12.07 pm: “GST is undoubtedly the biggest taxation reform implemented since Independence. Through tax consolidation, India became one common market, inter-state movements became faster through e-way bills, improving the ease of doing business.”
12.08 pm: “GST has been continuously reduced, resulting in relief of Rs 80,000 crore to consumers. Most items of daily use for poor and middle class are now in the 0%-5% tax bracket.”
12.09 pm: Goyal refers to GST collections having surpassed Rs 1 lakh crore in January. The Union Finance Ministry had made this announcement on Thursday.
12.10 pm: “Businesses with less than Rs 5 crore annual turnover, comprising over 90% of GST payers, will be allowed to return quarterly returns.”
12.11 pm: “14% growth in state tax collections was guaranteed and underwritten by the government of India.”
12.12 pm: “A Group of Ministers is examining how prospective house-buyers can benefit under GST.”
12.14 pm: “We are committed to eliminating the ills of black money. Anti-black money measures taken have brought undisclosed income of about Rs 1.30 lakh crore to the surface, 3.38 lakh shell companies have been deregistered.”
12.15 pm: “There has been an 18% increase in direct tax collections in 2017-’18, 1.06 crore people have been included in the tax base. More than 1 crore citizens filed IT returns for the first time, after demonetisation.”
12.16 pm: “India is poised to become a $5 trillion-economy in the next five years, and aims at becoming a $10 trillion-economy in the eight years thereafter.”
12.19 pm: Goyal underlines 10 most important dimensions that will guide the government in its Vision 2030.
12.20 pm: The first dimension is to build next-generation infrastructure – physical as well as social – for a $10 trillion economy and to provide ease of living.”
12.21 pm: The second dimension is to build a Digital India that reaches every citizen, our youth will lead us in this, by creating innumerable startups and jobs.”
“The third: Clean and Green India – an India that drives electric vehicles, with renewables becoming the major source of energy, bringing down import dependence and increasing energy security for our people.”
12.22 pm: “Fourth, expanding rural industrialisation using modern industrial technologies, based on the Make In India approach, using grassroots MSMEs and startups across the country.”
12.23 pm: “The fifth dimesion includes clean rivers – with safe drinking water to all Indians, sustaining and nourishing life, using micro-irrigation techniques. A long coastline can be pivotal for the economy, using strength of the blue economy and SagarMala.”
“Oceans and coastlines is the sixth dimension of our vision for 2030.”
12.23 pm: “The fifth dimesion includes clean rivers – with safe drinking water to all Indians, sustaining and nourishing life, using micro-irrigation techniques. A long coastline can be pivotal for the economy, using strength of the blue economy and SagarMala.”
12.24 pm: “India becoming the launchpad of the world, placing an Indian astronaut in space by 2022, is the seventh dimension.”
“Eighth, self-sufficiency in food and improving agricultural productivity, with an emphasis on organic food.”
12.25 pm: “A healthy India, with a distress-free and comprehensive wellness system for all, is the ninth dimension of our vision for 2030.”
“Minimum government and maximum governance, with proactive, responsible and friendly bureaucracy, and electronic governance is the 10th dimension of our vision for India for 2030.”
12.25 pm: “A healthy India, with a distress-free and comprehensive wellness system for all, is the ninth dimension of our vision for 2030.”
12.26 pm: Goyal clarifies on the government being unable to contain fiscal deficit within the target set for 2018-’19.
“Farmer support cost us Rs 20,000 crore this year and will cost Rs 75,000 crore next year,” he says. “If we exclude this, fiscal deficit would have been less than 3.3% of GDP for this year and less than 3.1% for next year.”
12.27 pm: Goyal announces a fiscal deficit target of 3.4% of GDP for 2019-’20.
2.29 pm: The BSE Sensex has jumped 275.01 points to 36,531.70, while the National Stock Exchange Nifty 50 is at 10,904.80, higher by 73.85 points.
The rupee is now trading at 71.07 against the dollar, up one paise since Thursday’s close.
12.30 pm: “On behalf of all the people of India and our government, I thank all our taxpayers for their valuable contribution to nation-building and for providing a better quality of life to the poor and marginalised.”
12.31 pm: “Individuals with taxable income of Rs 5 lakh annually will get full tax rebate.”
12.32 pm: “Individuals with gross income up to Rs 6.5 lakh will not need to pay any tax if they make investments in provident funds and prescribed equities,” adds Goyal.
12.35 pm: “Standard tax deduction for salaried persons has been raised from Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000.”
12.37 pm: “The benefits of rollover of capital gains under Section 54 of Income Tax Act will be increased from investment in one residential house to two for those with capital gains up to Rs 2 crore.”
12.40 pm: “This is not just a Budget, this is a vehicle for the country’s development,” Goyal says in his concluding remarks.
12.42 pm: “Development has become a ‘Jan Andolan’ [people’s movement] under the present government.”
12.43 pm: Piyush Goyal concludes his Budget speech.
