Budget Seeks To Put More Money In Aam Aadmi Pockets

Thursday, July 10, 2014

 

The Union Budget 2014-15 was going to be a tough balancing act for Finance Minister Mr. Arun Jaitley, given the precarious state that the Economy was in. And he has managed it well. With a plethora of announcements, be it in the form of further opening up FDI, promoting investments in Infrastructure and Health Care or proposals for poverty alleviation and rural development, the Finance Minister has taken positive steps that would not just boost overall confidence, but also go a long way in generating employment.

 

His focus has been on empowering the Middle Class and particularly the emerging Middle Class, besides taking care of their health. Bringing cheer to individual taxpayers, Mr. Jaitley, in his maiden Budget, has raised the personal Income-Tax exemption limit to Rs 2.5 lakh from the current Rs 2 lakh. Besides, I-T exemption limit for senior citizens has been raised to Rs 3 lakh. Also, the Investment limit under Section 80C has been hiked to Rs 1.5 lakh from the current Rs 1 lakh, while the housing loan interest rate deduction limit has been hiked to Rs 2 Lakh. This would surely put more money and more savings in the hands of the common man and fuel consumerism.

The new government seems committed to strengthen investor confidence. The minister’s assurances to not introduce any changes retrospectively, besides creating a mechanism to issue clarification on grey areas are investor friendly and would help spur growth.

 

It is also heartening to see that the new government is finally moving ahead with the introduction of the long-pending Goods & Services Tax (GST). GST -- which aims to replace a series of existing taxes such as excise duty, service tax and value added tax -- will go a long way in streamlining tax administration and result in higher tax collection for center and states. The government has announced its commitment towards introducing GST. According to independent estimates, it will provide a stimulus to the economy and could push economic growth up to 2%.

 

The government has reduced Excise Duty on machinery used in the manufacture of fruit juices and on packaging machinery from 10% to 6%. This is a positive step.

 

I also welcome Mr. Jaitley's renewed focus on improving urban infrastructure, which has been languishing. Providing good infrastructure in urban areas including public transport, solid waste disposal, sewerage treatment and drinking water were mentioned as thrust areas for the new government.

 

I am quite happy with the government continuing the rural focus and initiating steps not just towards poverty alleviation but also skill development for the rural populace. These initiatives would help improve their standards of living and ensure continued rural demand.

 

Mr. Byas Anand Corporate Communications Dabur India Limited PH:- 0120-3982000, 3001000 extn 2101/2508 Fax: 0120-4374935 Email:corpcomm@dabur.com