Hope to implement GST this year: Jaitley

Published on:

10 Jul 2014, 12:00 am

The government will work to introduce the much awaited Goods and Service Tax (GST) this year, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, presenting the budget for 2014-15 fiscal.

The GST aims to replace a series of existing taxes such as excise duty, service tax and value added tax (VAT).

The GST is an indirect tax that will be imposed on almost all goods and services produced in India or imported.

Jaitley said the GST will "streamline tax administration and and result in higher tax collection for the centre and the states".

The previous UPA had tried to push through the ambitious GST but failed as several states said they were not being adequately compensated by the central government for the losses arising from its implementation.

Experts say the GST is expected to bring down net taxes on goods and services while increasing the overall tax collection due to improved compliances.

Moreover, it will provide a stimulus to the economy and could push economic growth up to 2 percent.

E-visas facility at nine airports soon

E-visa facilities will be introduced at nine airports in the next six months to attract more tourists.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced this while presenting the first national budget of the Narendra Modi government.

He said tourism helped in job creation and e-visas would encourage more tourists to visit India,

During the past year, India has relaxed its visa regime and expanded the Visa-on-Arrival (VoA) scheme to include more countries.

Four new AIIMS to be established

The government will set up four new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the country, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said Thursday.

"We propose to set up four more AIIMS and Rs.500 crore set aside for this. The four new AIIMS will be in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Vidarbha and Purvanchal in Maharashtra," Jaitley said while tabling the union budget in parliament.

He also said that the other six AIIMS at Jodhpur (Rajasthan), Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Patna (Bihar), Rishikesh (Uttarakhand), Bhubaneshwar (Orissa) and Raipur (Chhattisgarh)have become functional.

Five more IIMs, IITs to come up

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Thursday said that five new IITs and IIMs will be set up across the country.

"...I also intend to set up five more IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology) in Jammu, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala," Jaitley said while presenting the budget for 2014-15.

"Five more IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management) would be set up in the state of Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Punjab and Maharashtra. I propose to allocate an amount of Rs.500 crore for this."

Jaitley said that the country needs a large number of courses of higher learning which are of world class, and proposed the setting up of the lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan National Center for Excellence in humanities in Madhya Pradesh.

State-run banks' capital to be raised

The capital of state-run banks will be raised through sale of shares to the public, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced Thursday while presenting his maiden annual budget.

He clarified that the government would continue to hold the majority ownership in these banks.

The measure is to meet India's obligations under the Basel banking accord signed by 27 nations on capital adequacy norms to ensure that financial institutions have enough capital on account to meet obligations and absorb unexpected losses.

Upwards of Rs.240,000 crore of capital by equity is required to be infused into India's banking sector by 2018, Jaitley said.

National rural broadband mission to get Rs.500 crore

The government proposes to allocate Rs.500 crore for the National Rural Internet and Technology Mission, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said Thursday.

Rs.100 crore for metros in Ahmedabad, lucknow

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Thursday announced Rs.100 crore to set up metro projects in Ahmedabad and lucknow.

"I announce Rs.100 crores for the developement of metro rail projects in Ahmedabad and lucknow under the PPP (Public Private Partnership) mode," Jaitley said.

Price Stabilisation Fund for farmers

The government will set up a Price Stabilisation Fund of Rs.500 crore to help farmers, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced Thursday while presenting the 2014-15 budget.

The fund, he said, was "to mitigate the suffering of farmers from price volatility in agriculture", which has added to their woes.

Jaitley also announced a separate fund to check farmers' indebtedness.

New airports in smaller cities, towns

New airports will be developed in smaller cities and towns to encourage air travel in the country, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced Thursday.

The Airport Authority of India (AAI) will build the airports through public private partnership (PPP) process, the minister told the lok Sabha while presenting the national budget.

Jaitely said that while air travel has increased, it is still a dream of many Indian to fly.

Non-metro airports in the country now account for only about 30 percent of the total air traffic but this is expected to rise to 45 percent in the next few years.

India plans to build 200 low-cost airports in the next 20 years to connect tier-II and tier-III cities, the minister said.

The government has finished development work at 33 non-metro airports for increasing regional connectivity.

The government also plans to construct 15 additional airports under the greenfield airport policy by identifying the most suitable low cost viable model.

India's Economic Survey for 2013-14 Wednesday showed a healthy increase of 5.2 percent in domestic passenger traffic at Indian airports during April-March 2013-14.

According to the Survey, the domestic passenger count during the period under review stood at 122.43 million passengers, up from 116.37 million in the corresponding period of 2012-13.

Tax exemption limit raised by Rs.50,000

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Thursday raised the exemption limits for all individual tax payers by Rs.50,000 while keeping the rates untouched in the national budget for this fiscal.

The tax exemption limit for individuals below 60 years stands revised to Rs.250,000, subject to parliament's approval, while for senior citizens it is proposed at Rs.300,000.

This apart, deductions allowed under various heads such as investments in insurance, pension and house rent are also proposed to be raised by Rs.50,000 to Rs.150,000.

Rs.1,000 crore proposed for railways in northeast

To encourage rail travel, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Thursday proposed an outlay of Rs.1,000 crore to build railway infrastructure in the northeastern region.

The minister told the lok Sabha while presenting the national budget that this sum will be over and above the funds allocated in the railway budget for the northeast.

On Tuesday, Railway Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda allocated Rs.5,116 crore for projects in the northeastern region.

The railways is expected to take up eco-tourism and education tourism services in the northeast.

There are 23 projects under way in the region, of which 11 are national projects.