Introduction
Presenting the first ever digital Union Budget, Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman stated that India’s fight against COVID-19 continues into 2021 and that this moment in history, when the political, economic, and strategic relations in the post-COVID world are changing, is the dawn of a new era – one in which India is well-poised to truly be the land of promise and hope.
The key highlights of the Union Budget 2021-22 are as follows:
6 pillars of the Union Budget 2021-22:
Health and Wellbeing
Vaccines
Health Systems
Nutrition
Universal Coverage of Water Supply
Scrapping Policy
Physical and Financial Capital and Infrastructure
Production Linked Incentive scheme (PLI)
Textiles
Infrastructure
Creation of institutional structures: Infrastructure Financing.
Big thrust on monetizing assets.
Sharp Increase in Capital Budget.
Rs. 5.54 lakh crore (US$ 75.98 billion) capital expenditure in BE 2021-22 – sharp increase of 34.5% over Rs. 4.12 lakh crore (US$ 56.50 billion) allocated in BE 2020-21:
Infrastructure
Roads and Highways Infrastructure
Railway Infrastructure
Urban Infrastructure
Power Infrastructure
Ports, Shipping, Waterways
Petroleum & Natural Gas
Financial Capital
Increasing FDI in Insurance Sector
Recapitalization of PSBs
Inclusive Development for Aspirational India
Agriculture
Fisheries
Migrant Workers and Labourers
Financial Inclusion
Reinvigorating Human Capital
School Education
Higher Education
Skilling
Innovation and R&D
Minimum Government, Maximum Governance
Fiscal Position
Direct Taxes
Achievements:
Relief to Senior Citizens:
Reducing Disputes, Simplifying Settlement:
Relaxation to NRIs:
Incentivising Digital Economy:
Relief for Dividend:
Attracting Foreign Investment for Infrastructure:
Supporting ‘Housing for All’:
Tax incentives to IFSC in GIFT City:
Ease of Filing Taxes:
Relief to Small Trusts:
Electronic and Mobile Phone Industry:
Iron and Steel:
Textiles:
Chemicals:
Renewable Energy:
Capital Equipment:
MSME Products:
Agriculture Products:
Rationalization of Procedures and Easing of Compliance:
Achievements and Milestones during the COVID-19 pandemic
PMGKY, three ANB packages (ANB 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0), and announcements made later were like 5 minibudgets in themselves. Rs. 27.1 lakh crore worth of financial impact of all three ANB packages including RBI’s measures – amounting to more than 13% of GDP. Structural reforms:
Status of India’s fight against COVID-19:
Note: Conversion rate used as on February 1, 2021 is Rs. 1 = US$ 0.014