Presenting the Union Budget for 2021-22, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that 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’. 

Significant announcements included a slew of hikes in customs duty to benefit Make in India, proposal to disinvest two more PSBs and a general insurance company, and numerous infrastructure pledges to poll-bound States. Fiscal deficit stands at 9.5% of the GDP, and is estimated to be 6.8 per cent in 2021-22. Personal income tax slabs remain as is.  

Here are the highlights of this year’s budget: 

Health and Sanitation

• A new scheme, titled PM AtmaNirbharSwasthya Bharat Yojana, to be launched to develop primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare 
• Mission POSHAN 2.0 to improve nutritional outcomes across 112 aspirational districts 
• Operationalisation of 17 new public health units at points of entry 
• Modernising of existing health units at 32 airports, 15 seaports and land ports 
• Jal Jeevan Mission Urban aimed at better water supply nationwide 
• Strengthening of Urban Swachh Bharat Mission 

Education

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

Infrastructure

• Vehicle scrapping policy to phase out old and unfit vehicles – all vehicles to undergo fitness test in automated fitness centres every 20 years (personal vehicles), every 15 years (commercial vehicles) 
• Highway and road works announced in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Assam 
• National Asset Monetising Pipeline launched to monitor asset monetisation process 
• National Rail Plan created to bring a future ready Railway system by 2030 
• 100% electrification of Railways to be completed by 2023 
• Metro services 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 to be launched to generate hydrogen from green power sources 
• Recycling capacity of ports to be doubled by 2024 
• Gas pipeline project to be set up in Jammu and Kashmir 
• Pradhan MantriUjjwalaYojana (LPG scheme) 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 reduced from 6 to 3 years. However, in case of serious tax evasion cases (Rs50 lakh or more), it can go up to 10 years 
• Affordable housing projects to get a tax holiday for one year 
• Compliance burden of small trusts whose annual receipts does not exceed Rs. 5 crore to be eased 
• Duty of copper scrap reduced to 2.5 per cent
• Custom duty on gold and silver to be rationalised 
• Duty on naphtha reduced to 2.5 per cent
• Duty on solar inverters raised from 5 per cent to 20 per cent, and on solar lanterns from 5 per cent to 15 per cent
• All nylon products charged with 5 per cent customs duty 
• Tunnel boring machines to attract customs duty of 7 per cent
• Customs duty on cotton raised from 0 to 10 per cent
• Agriculture infrastructure and development cess proposed on certain items including urea, apples, crude soyabean and sunflower oil, crude palm oil, kabulichana and peas

 Economy and Finance

• Fiscal deficit stands at 9.5 per cent of the GDP; estimated to be 6.8 per cent in 2021-22 
• Proposal to allow States to raise borrowings up to 4 per cent of GSDP this year 
• A Unified Securities Market Code to be created, consolidating provisions of the Sebi Act, Depositories Act, and two other laws 
• Proposal to increase FDI limit from 49 per cent to 74 per cent
• 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 
• Proposal to decriminalise Limited Liability Partnership Act of 2008 
• Two PSU bank and one general insurance firm to be disinvested this year 
• An IPO of LIC to debut this fiscal 
• Strategic sale of BPCL, IDBI Bank, Air India to be completed 

Agriculture 

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

Employment

• A portal to be launched to maintain information on gig workers and construction workers 
• Social security 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