 "Govt eyes re-election in its tilt to farms")
Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, given his penchant for abbreviations, might have liked to put it as the new GPS (gas, power, sadak) or compass of his government's policies and programmes in preparation for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's Budget speech suggests that the Modi government has initiated its re-election strategy a couple of years early, promising gas connections to all below-poverty-line families, power to all un-electrified villages, and sadak or road connectivity to all villages by 2018-19.
Lest there were any doubts about his government's agenda for the next three years, the PM departed from tradition to give a live broadcast to the nation in the afternoon. He said: "This Budget is pro-village, pro-poor and pro-farmer…There will be a big change in the lives of the common people." Indications that the Modi government was preparing a leftward shift were in evidence for nearly a year, or at least ever since early 2015 when Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi famously termed it as 'suit-boot ki sarkar'.
In April 2015, with his government barely a year in office and his party recovering from the thrashing in the Delhi Assembly polls, Prime Minister Modi told the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Executive in Bengaluru that henceforth his government was to be guided by 'Antyodaya'.
Jaitley's Budget had little for women of the country or for the social sector but announced several schemes for the youth, particularly Dalit youth. The government has been severely criticised after the suicide of University of Hyderabad Dalit PhD scholar Rohith Vemula, and needs to correct its image among Dalits, with the crucial Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls barely a year away. "What about Rohith Vemula?" piped in an Opposition member as Jaitley rattled out schemes for Dalits.
Senior ministers were asked to engage with the media to explain the Budget. Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram of the Congress criticised the Budget for no mention of exports despite 14 successive months of negative growth. He said the government had done little to reduce agrarian distress by not promising any hike in minimum support price for crops.
Middle class not ignored: Minister
A senior minister termed the Budget as an anti-chartered-accountant Budget. The minister also claimed that the Budget, apart from its focus on farmers and the poor, also had much for the ruling party’s core support base of traders, small shopkeepers, professionals and lower middle classes.
The finance minister said that just as shopping malls remain open all seven days of the week, so can small and medium shops. He also reduced the tax burden on individuals with income not exceeding Rs 5 lakh a year, which will benefit over 20 million taxpayers. In a big tax break, the House Rent Allowance (HRA) deduction was increased from Rs 24,000 to Rs 60,000 a year.
There were also tax concessions to medium and small enterprises. The turnover for presumptive tax scheme was increased to Rs 2 crore. It was also extended to professionals with gross receipts of Rs 50 lakh, with the presumption of profit being 50 per cent of gross receipts. The push for construction of small houses and tax deduction on home loans of up to Rs 35 lakh is likely to help the real estate sector.
Also, the Budget has tax breaks for start-ups. A proposal to change the Motor Vehicles Act to allow private operators in public transport will be a job generator and entrepreneurial opportunity for thousands.
Lest there were any doubts about his government's agenda for the next three years, the PM departed from tradition to give a live broadcast to the nation in the afternoon. He said: "This Budget is pro-village, pro-poor and pro-farmer…There will be a big change in the lives of the common people." Indications that the Modi government was preparing a leftward shift were in evidence for nearly a year, or at least ever since early 2015 when Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi famously termed it as 'suit-boot ki sarkar'.
In April 2015, with his government barely a year in office and his party recovering from the thrashing in the Delhi Assembly polls, Prime Minister Modi told the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Executive in Bengaluru that henceforth his government was to be guided by 'Antyodaya'.
Jaitley's Budget had little for women of the country or for the social sector but announced several schemes for the youth, particularly Dalit youth. The government has been severely criticised after the suicide of University of Hyderabad Dalit PhD scholar Rohith Vemula, and needs to correct its image among Dalits, with the crucial Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls barely a year away. "What about Rohith Vemula?" piped in an Opposition member as Jaitley rattled out schemes for Dalits.
Senior ministers were asked to engage with the media to explain the Budget. Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram of the Congress criticised the Budget for no mention of exports despite 14 successive months of negative growth. He said the government had done little to reduce agrarian distress by not promising any hike in minimum support price for crops.
Middle class not ignored: Minister
A senior minister termed the Budget as an anti-chartered-accountant Budget. The minister also claimed that the Budget, apart from its focus on farmers and the poor, also had much for the ruling party’s core support base of traders, small shopkeepers, professionals and lower middle classes.
The finance minister said that just as shopping malls remain open all seven days of the week, so can small and medium shops. He also reduced the tax burden on individuals with income not exceeding Rs 5 lakh a year, which will benefit over 20 million taxpayers. In a big tax break, the House Rent Allowance (HRA) deduction was increased from Rs 24,000 to Rs 60,000 a year.
There were also tax concessions to medium and small enterprises. The turnover for presumptive tax scheme was increased to Rs 2 crore. It was also extended to professionals with gross receipts of Rs 50 lakh, with the presumption of profit being 50 per cent of gross receipts. The push for construction of small houses and tax deduction on home loans of up to Rs 35 lakh is likely to help the real estate sector.
Also, the Budget has tax breaks for start-ups. A proposal to change the Motor Vehicles Act to allow private operators in public transport will be a job generator and entrepreneurial opportunity for thousands.