Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented India's first paperless, 'unprecedented' budget, committed to driving the economy to higher heights after a tumultuous year.
On Monday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced what may have been one of the most expected budgets in Indian history. This is India's first paperless budget, and Sitharaman's third budget. The Finance Minister began by thanking the frontline staff, who continued to represent the country in these tough times, and declared that Budget 2021 had been prepared in "unprecedented times"
She said, "Only three times, the Budget has followed a contraction in Indian economy. This time, it's because of a global pandemic like in other countries. I want to confidently state that the government is fully prepared to support and facilitate the economic reset."
The FM said the Union Budget 2021-2022 proposals are based on six key pillars —
- Health and wellbeing
- Physical and Financial Capital
- Infrastructure Inclusive development
- Development of human capital
- Innovation and R&D
- Minimum government maximum governance
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has suggested, in a welcome move for Indian start-ups and MSMEs, to facilitate the incorporation of one-person firms without limitations on paid-up capital and turnover, as well as to amend the concept of small companies under the Companies Act, 2013.
By announcing tax benefits for start-ups and an expansion of the capital gains exemption by one year, the Union Budget for 2021-22 further enhanced the Indian start-up ecosystem.
The government is completely prepared to help and promote the economic reset, says Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman "Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark." On Monday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, citing poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore, proposed India's first ever paperless Budget 2021, considered one of the most important ones in modern Industry.
As finance minister prepares for the first paperless budget, Made in India tablet replaces' bahi khata 'This morning, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman made her way to Parliament, a' Made in India' tablet wrapped in a velvety red cloth in tow, a contrast to the typical 'bahi khata' (ledger wrapped in a red cloth) she had been wearing in the past two years. Sitharaman broke free from the Budget' briefcase 'with the bahi khata in her first year as FM to honour age-old traditions. Two years later, she is planning to deliver the first "digital" budget of the world.”
On Monday, FY22 finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman allotted Rs 35,000 Cr for COVID-19 vaccination budget to Rs 35,000 crore for COVID-19 vaccination in fiscal 2021-22. "I have provided Rs 35,000 crore for COVID-19 vaccine in this year 2021-22. I'm committed to provide further funds if required. The Budget outlay for health and well being is Rs 2.23 lakh crore in 2021-22 as against BE of Rs 94,452 crore and marks an increase of 137 percent," she said while presenting the Lok Sabha budget for 2021-22.
FM raises the tax audit cap for businesses that opt for 95 per cent digital transactions In the first paperless budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced a number of amendments to current tax frameworks. For enterprises that trade online, either of these would bring considerable relief. The tax audit cap, which initially was Rs 5 crore turnover, has now been increased to Rs 10 crore. This move aims to promote digital purchases and lower the cost of compliance.
On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the Union Budget 2021, saying it has the vision of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' (self-reliance) and targets all sections of society, while holding farmers and villages at its centre. The 2021 budget has a vision of self-reliance; villages and farmers at its core. "This Budget has a special focus on strengthening the agriculture sector and boosting farmers' income. Villages and farmers are at its heart," PM Modi said. He says Budget 2021 has provisions for the Agri Infrastructure Fund to further improve APMC mandis.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted attempts made to improve the economy in introducing the Union Budget 2021, stating that the Aatmanirbhar Bharat packages and other post-Covid-19 economic relief packages were in themselves like "mini budgets." She added that this budget is now an addition to the same effort.
In a welcome move for Indian start-ups, FM proposes a one-person company without any limitation on the pay-up limit Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed introducing one-person firms without any limitation on pay-up capital and turnover, as well as updating the Companies Act, 2013 concept of small enterprises.
By expanding the capital base to Rs 2 crore from the existing maximum of Rs 50 lakh, the FM suggested revising the concept of small businesses. Budget 2021 also centred on the decriminalisation of associations with limited liability, with the freedom to turn an enterprise into either form or LLP to support more than two lakh enterprises to ease the need for enforcement.
Finance Minister announces the announcement of Rs 64,180 Cr for Aatmanirbhar Swastha Bharat Yojana Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman declared that health and well-being is one of the six pillars of the 2021 Budget, with 2020 being one of the most difficult years for the country due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Nirmala Sitharaman announced the announcement of Aatmanirbhar Swastha Bharat Yojana, with an outlay of Rs 64,180 crore, during the presentation of the Union Budget 2021 on Monday. She said these funds would be used over a span of six years to improve primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare. The Minister of Finance stated that this programme would be an extension to the National Health Mission initiative.
The Union Budget for 2021-22 has further improved the Indian entrepreneurship community by announcing tax benefits for start-ups and an extension of capital gain exemption by one year. Start-ups get tax holidays, capital gains exemption by one more year. Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman said the government had suggested extending the start-up tax holiday eligibility for another year. Further, the capital gains allowance for startups has now been extended by another year.
The speed of structural reforms was increased by Aatmanirbhar packages of Rs 27.1 lakh crore: FM Nirmala Sitharaman Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that the government's Aatmanirbhar packages, totalling Rs 27.1 lakh crore to counter the COVID-19 pandemic, accelerated the pace of structural reforms. In addition, in order to meet the goal of being a $5 trillion economy by 2025, the FM highlighted that "our manufacturing sector has to grow in double digits on a sustained basis" She also revealed the Rs 1.97 lakh crore pledge by the government under the production-linked reward (PLI) scheme.
FM Nirmala Sitharaman allocates Rs 15,700 Cr to small and medium-sized companies, exempts customs duties on goods Addressing Lok Sabha today, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the Union Budget 2021, based on Aatmanirbhar Bharat's vision for a V-shape economic growth. She said the Aatmanirbhar government packages, amounting to Rs 27.1 lakh crore to resolve the COVID-19 pandemic, increased the pace of institutional reforms.
Presenting the Union Budget 2021, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman said that this year’s Budget rests on six pillars - Health and Wellbeing, Physical & Financial Capital, Infrastructure, Inclusive Development for Aspirational India, Reinvigorating Human Capital, Innovation and R&D, and Minimum Government and Maximum Governance. Under the third pillar of Inclusive Development for Aspirational India, the finance minister announced the launch of the “One Nation One Ration Card scheme through which beneficiaries can claim their rations anywhere in the country.” She said that migrant workers may benefit the most from this scheme since those staying away from their families can partially claim their ration where they are stationed, while their family, in their native places, can claim the rest.
In this year's budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that, for the first time in the country, social security benefits will apply to staff on gigs and platforms. "The minimum wage will extend to all types of jobs, and all of them will be compensated by the Employees State Insurance Corporation. Women would be able to work in both categories as well as in night shifts with appropriate protection. At the same time, the cost of compliance on employees will be minimised by single registration and licencing and online returns".
On Monday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman declared a series of reforms in customs duties in an attempt to improve local demand, unveiling one of the most awaited budgets in Indian history. She clarified that after last year, the government has revamped the customs duty system and abolished 80 expired exemptions. Proposing a study of more than 400 old exemptions this year, Sitharaman vowed to set up a new customs duty system free of distortions. Small and medium-sized companies, which have been badly impacted by a dramatic increase in costs for iron and steel, will see customs duties lowered uniformly to 7.5 per cent on non-alloy, alloy and stainless steel semis, flat and long goods.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed a tax filing waiver for senior citizens during the filing of the Union Budget 2021 in the Lok Sabha, ahead of the 75th year of independence for our country that will be celebrated next year. This ensures that senior citizens aged 75 and over are no longer expected to file Income Tax Returns and the tax can be withdrawn automatically from their accounts. I begin with my direct tax proposals by offering our senior citizens my pranaam. Many of them have tried to create our country, despite having overlooked some simple necessities of their own,” the Finance Minister said.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in her Budget 2021 speech that the legislation for setting up of the Higher Education Commission of India will be introduced this year. "It will be an umbrella body, having four separate vehicles for standard-setting, accreditation, regulation, and funding," she stated. The proposal to set up the commission was made earlier in Budget 2019-20. The finance minister also proposed setting up a Central University in Leh "for accessible higher education in Ladakh."
The government has unveiled a few primary proposals to drive for Infra Growth, with an emphasis on reviving the economy. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman shared with the Union Budget 2021 that the government has planned a National Rail Programme for India for 2030. "The plan is to create a ‘future ready’ Railway system by 2030, bringing down the logistics costs for our industry is at the core of our strategy to enable ‘Make in India’,"
The use of Artificial Intelligence has made its entrance into the 2021 budget lexicon. Although the budget is about the expected spending of the government in places where development will arise, it is now also about monitoring companies that struggle and the need to comply with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs laws (MCA). Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman said: "During the coming fiscal 2021-22, we will be launching data analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning-driven MCA21 Version 3.0. This Version 3.0 will have additional modules for e-scrutiny, e-Adjudication, e-Consultation and Compliance Management."
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recommended that the foreign direct investment (FDI) cap in the insurance sector be raised to 74 per cent from 49 per cent in an effort to draw more foreign insurance companies to India. "I propose to amend the Insurance Act, 1938, to increase the permissible FDI limit from 49 percent to 74 percent in insurance companies and allow foreign ownership and control with safeguards,"
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday that the government will float shares for the initial public offering of India's largest life insurance firm LIC in 2021-2022, eventually setting aside months of market uncertainty as the high-profile listing takes place. Supposed to be one of the largest IPOs in India's history, the 10% stake in LIC revenues was originally scheduled for the second half of 2020, but was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has proposed a 2.5% custom duty on smartphone parts and sub-parts. Items which had no customs duty until now will have been subject to the customs duty alluded to above from 1 April 2021. This include inputs, parts and subparts of the printed circuit board assembly (PCBA), handheld chargers or adapters, camera modules and cables, and battery packs.
More than 15,000 schools will be qualitatively improved, as proposed in the current National Education Policy (NEP), which will continue to operate and tutor other schools, as stated in the Union budget for 2021-22 on Monday. A total of 100 new Sainik Schools will also be built in collaboration with NGOs, private schools and states.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget 2021 included a range of incentives for the emerging financial technology sector, which saw monumental growth last year in areas such as digital payments, retail investment through online trading platforms, insurance transactions and digital banking, among others. Here's what start-up leaders, senior management, customers, and analysts say of the Fintech boost of the finance minister.
The use of sustainable and green energies would bring India closer to growth and sustainability. With that in mind, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman revealed measures on clean energies during the presentation of Budget 2021. The finance minister highlighted the National Hydrogen Energy Mission in 2021-22 to produce hydrogen from renewable energy sources, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi had proposed at the Third Re-InVest Conference in November 2020.
Profit on employee deposits to the Provident Fund (PF) above Rs 2.5 lakh a year will be taxable as of 1 April 2021, a step aimed at taxing high-value depositors in the EPF. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) is directed at the welfare of employees and that any individual earning less than Rs 2 lakh per month would not be affected by the budget proposal.